User Resistance Towards Muslim Pro Application Premium Services: An Innovation Resistance Theory (IRT) Approach

Muslim Pro is a widely used digital Quran application that offers premium services through a freemium business model. However, many users continue to use the free version despite the availability of premium features. This study examines the effects of Usage Barrier, Value Barrier, Risk Barrier, Switching Cost, Tradition Barrier, and Image Barrier on Resistance to Innovation toward Muslim Pro Premium. A quantitative approach was employed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM), with data collected through an online questionnaire from 125 Muslim Pro users who were aware of the premium features but had not subscribed. The results indicate that Value Barrier (B = 0.229, p = 0.004) and Image Barrier (B = 0.428, p < 0.001) have positive and significant effects on Resistance to Innovation, whereas Usage Barrier, Risk Barrier (B = 0.182, p = 0.058), Switching Cost, and Tradition Barrier do not have significant effects. Image Barrier is the strongest predictor of resistance, and the model explains 70.9% of the variance in Resistance to Innovation (R² = 0.709). Academically, this study extends Innovation Resistance Theory in the information systems field to digital religious services by identifying the barriers associated with resistance to premium subscriptions in a religious application context. Practically, the findings suggest that developers should prioritize improving users’ perceptions of premium services through transparent communication about feature benefits, subscription pricing, and the continued availability of essential free features. These efforts may help address image-related concerns and reduce resistance to premium subscriptions.