Original Research

SAGE Open
July-September 2024: 1–16
Ó The Author(s) 2024
Predicting the Continuance DOI: 10.1177/21582440241271090
journals.sagepub.com/home/sgo
Intention to Use Anti-COVID
Mobile App for Crisis Response:
Evaluating User Appraisal and Emotion

Tunde Simeon Amosun1,2 , Olayemi Hafeez Rufai3,

Riffat Shahani2, Miapeh Kous Gonlepa2, Daniel Awomnab1,
and Amosun Emmanuel Iyanuoluwa4

Abstract
This study examines how users’ appraisals of anti-covid mobile app exert influence on their emotional responses and how it
determines their continuance intention to use the app during the period of Covid-19 outbreak in China. There have been
several studies in the past that have focused on IT and how it is integrated in curbing the spread of infections during public
health crisis. However, there have been very few studies that have concentrated on technology artifacts like the anti-covid
mobile app and what stimulate people to continue using the App. The cognitive appraisal theoretical framework provides the
basis for the development of the research model used in this study. The study adopts a quantitative research approach and
data are gathered from 416 research respondents that use China’s coronavirus mobile health code app and the relationship
between different constructs such as appraisal, emotion, and continuance intention to use are critically examined. Also, the
mediating role emotion was also considered. Results from structural equation modeling reveals that users’ appraisals of anti-
covid mobile app indeed have significant influences on their emotions which then exert significant influence on their continu-
ance intentions to use the App. Emotion was also found to play significant mediating role. Detailed interpretations of results
are presented in the analysis section. The theoretical and practical implications are also highlighted, and limitations are also
discussed which identified future research directions.

Plain language summary

Predicting the Continuance Intention to Use Anti-COVID Mobile App for Crisis Response: Evaluating
User Appraisal and Emotion in the Context of China’s Coronavirus Mobile Health Code App
This study explores how users’ assessments of an anti-COVID mobile app influence their emotions and intention to
continue usage during the outbreak in China. Using a cognitive appraisal framework and data from 416 respondents, the
study finds that users’ appraisals significantly impact their emotions, affecting their intention to persist in app usage, with
emotion identified as a key mediating factor. The analysis highlights theoretical and practical implications, discusses
limitations, and suggests future research directions

1
Bowling Green State University, OH, USA
2
University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, China
3
The University of San Francisco, CA, USA
4
University of Ilorin, Kwara, Nigeria

Corresponding Author:
Tunde Simeon Amosun, The Department of Sci-Tech Communication, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Science and Technology of
China, Hefei 230026, China.
Email: [email protected]

Creative Commons CC BY: This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License
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the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access pages
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2 SAGE Open

Keywords
perceived opportunity and threat, emotion, COVID-19, health code app, continuance intention

Introduction pandemic (Kelion, 2020). A technological innovation like

an anti-covid mobile app is therefore of crucial value at
The recent corona virus outbreak, otherwise known as this critical time. Covid-19 tracing app which can be cate-
Covid-19, which is apparently different from the previous gorized under anti-covid mobile app is one of the techno-
related virus like the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome logical innovations that have been deployed in the fight
(Li et al., 2020) started in December 2019 in Wuhan, a against the pandemic. In the study of Velicia-Martin
popular city in the Hubei Province of China. Ever since et al. (2021), they found out that its users acknowledged
then, the virus has been a major public health crisis that the usefulness of Covid-19 tracing app and the ease of its
has caused a great deal of damage to countries across the usage. In a similar study, Covid-19 tracing app was
world. A total of over 110 million infections have been found to be of tremendous benefits to its users by way of
recorded across .200 countries and territories with over helping to track positive cases and also helping the users
2.4 million deaths (Worldometers, 2021). The Covid-19 take precaution regarding their movements from one
pandemic being a huge shock to the world (Chinazzi et al., location to another (Altmann et al., 2020).
2020) has forced so many countries to adopt several inno- For instance, in the recent past, the Bluetooth technol-
vative technologies toward dealing with the global health ogy was used to develop the STOP COVID APP by the
challenges. As a result of this unforeseen circumstance and French government (Bradford et al., 2020). There is the
high rate of infections (Mo et al., 2020), there was a total Corona-Warn-App in Germany, Radar Covid in Spain,
lockdown and quarantine measures were initiated around NHS APP in the United Kingdom, TraceTogether in
the world in order to avoid spread of the virus (Srinivasa Singapore, The Shield in Israel, Coronalert in Belgium
Rao & Vazquez, 2020). The World Health Organization etc. (European Commission, 2020). All these apps are
by way of policy directives have also ensured the need for playing a huge role in the process of ensuring that the
people to adhere strictly to preventive measures aimed at pandemic is defeated.
reducing the rate of infection (Brooks et al., 2020). This Since the outbreak of the coronavirus in China, the
according to Velicia-Martin et al. (2021) has brought Chinese government through its several government
about intense preparation should the next stage of the cor- agencies has taken a lot of decisive actions in ensuring
onavirus pandemic surface and also to ensure that health the mitigation of the spread of the virus. So many
care facilities are not overwhelmed. ANTI-COVID APPs have been developed that are used
Historical facts have revealed that global health crisis my majority of the Chinese population purposely to
like the Covid-19 has the capacity to stimulate various access latest information about the movements of
forms of technological innovations (Tencent, 2020). The infected persons and also to ensure that others don’t
integration of technological innovation in curbing the expose themselves to infected persons (Suh & Li, 2021).
spread of coronavirus is of paramount importance These ANTI-COVID APPS have become very instru-
because the traditional means have proven difficult in mental to its users as it enables them to identify whether
terms of preventing the spread of the virus (Altmann they have gotten exposed to an infected persons or not,
et al., 2020), information dissemination and contact tra- which then make them embrace safety measures such as
cing, among others. self-isolation and medical treatments. China’s corona-
The use of technology by crisis management experts virus mobile health code app is a good example out of
enables them in the process of making effective decisions many anti-covid mobile app, used in strengthening the
whenever crisis arises (Kourti et al., 2019). There have surveillance system in the fight against coronavirus out-
been several ways, and some are still emerging, by which break in China (Feuer, 2020). The App is used to moni-
national and international governments across the world tor the movement of people and inform them if they
are identifying persons who are COVID-19 positive. have been in close contact with an infected person. The
Some of these ways are via blockchain technology used China National Health Commission describes a close
in ensuring that different location is being put under sur- contact has an individual who has been exposed to some-
veillance (Nguyen et al., 2021), the integration of ‘‘Smart one who has been infected with the virus or who is likely
Cities’’ to keep a close watch on people who are carriers to have been infected. However, despite the numerous
of the virus (Allam & Jones, 2020), and the use of advantages of the anti-covid app to public health, there
‘‘immunity passports’’ (Agol et al., 2005). have been various observations as it relates to privacy
Several countries have identified technological solu- concern (Suh & Li, 2021). This is one of the major draw-
tion as a significant measure in the combat against the backs of this anti-covid mobile app. Data which is
Amosun et al. 3

personal to its users is required. This information may WeChat, each having billions of users host the health
include their age, gender, zip code, weight, height as well code service and help it run effectively and efficiently.
as information about whether the user has an underlying The users of this app are assigned certain color code
disease or not (Mayor, 2020). It is also evident according based on their travel record and health status, including a
to the studies of Kaspar (2020) that a large number of QR code meant to be checked and scanned by authorities
people are so much interested in using these apps despite when the need arises (Davidson, 2020). This app gives
the privacy concerns. It is also a known fact that the information in real time whether the user poses a risk of
Chinese population has adopted the use of anti-covid infecting others with the virus and performs surveillance
mobile app for their day-to-day activities. function of monitoring users’ movement and vaccination
Some past studies have applied technological accep- status. Figure 1 contains the screenshot of the health code
tance model (TAM) in studying health information sys- service on WeChat and Alipay (Yang et al., 2021).
tems (Cho et al., 2014; Olver & Selva-Nayagam, 2000; In addition, it is important to note that the Chinese
Whitten et al., 2005) like China’s coronavirus mobile health code system was formally hosted on its own app
health code app. In addition, the findings have revealed before it was been integrated has a mini app on popular
those factors that affect the willingness of people to adopt Chinese app like Alipay and WeChat (Zhou et al., 2021).
and make use of an APP which has the capacity to notify The health code was first launched on February 11, 2020,
them anytime they are exposed to an infected person in Hangzhou municipal through a project led by the local
(Velicia-Martin et al., 2021). Most of the past studies have government supported by Ant Financial, a close com-
also applied the technological acceptance model in unra- pany with Alibaba company. In China, the use of the
veling those factors in different context (Beldad & Hegner, health code system is based on the prerogative of the
2018; Marangunić & Granić, 2015; Velicia-Martin et al., national and provincial authorities. In other words, the
2021), however this study decides to apply the cognitive app is specific to each city or province; nevertheless, users
appraisal theory because so much remains unknown about with the green color code are allowed to travel with no
how the cognitive appraisal of anti-covid mobile app restriction. Users with the yellow color code are meant to
(China’s coronavirus mobile health code app) can influ- be in isolation while those with the red color code are
ence the emotional condition of its users and how the labeled as being Covid-19 infected and are supposed to
emotional condition of users influence their continuance be quarantined.
intention to use the app. In specific terms, it is important The health code app has gone a long way in helping to
to note that this study addresses a relatively unresearched stem the tide of Covid-19 infection in China. This is one
area regarding the use of technology artifacts, specifically of the major reasons for China’s success in curbing the
anti-COVID mobile apps like the China’s coronavirus spread of the virus. Other countries have also adopted
mobile health code app, during public health crises. By the model. There are now several anti-covid mobile apps
examining the relationship between appraisals, emotions, that are used for different purposes in combating the
and continuance intention to use, this study provides valu- virus. For instance, countries such as USA, Russia,
able insights into how individuals are motivated to con- Switzerland, Hungary, India etc. have all developed one
tinue using the app. This information can be used by form of anti-covid mobile app or the other.
policymakers and developers to improve the effectiveness People have also raised different concerns about the
and usability of such apps during future outbreaks. health code app in China especially as it has to do with
This study uses the cognitive appraisal theoretical privacy. Another concern focuses on lack of transpar-
framework to investigate how perceived threats and per- ency as it relates to the operation of the app and the way
ceived opportunities related to China’s coronavirus peoples’ information are being stored (Davidson, 2020).
mobile health code app impact users’ emotions and their Many users have been reported to have complained
intention to continue using the app during the pandemic. about being designated as ‘‘red’’ while there was no rea-
It also explores the role of emotions as a mediator in this son for such ‘‘red’’ designation. People have therefore
relationship. This study is divided into sections on con- tagged this as erroneous and have complained about reli-
text, theoretical background, methodology, analysis, ance on internet connections which can be prone to occa-
results, discussion, implications, limitations, and future sional errors.
research direction.

Theoretical Background
Context: China’s Coronavirus Mobile Health Code App The cognitive appraisal theory opines that peoples’ emo-
The health code app was developed by the Chinese gov- tions undergo the process of constant changes and that
ernment in its effort to contain the spread of COVID-19 emotions are derived as a result of observation and cog-
infection in the country. Platforms like Alipay and nitive assessment of societal events (Bartsch et al., 2008).
4 SAGE Open

Figure 1. Shows the photo of health code mini app on both WeChat (left) and Alipay (right) platforms (Yang et al., 2021).

The appraisal of the society or events have been found to information which could be about carriers of the virus. In
exert influence on emotions and the process of assessing a situation whereby the effect is positive, then it can be
the society has a correlation with emotions (So et al., categorized has opportunity and when the effect is nega-
2019). Information technology plays an important role in tive, it can be categorized as threat (Chattopadhyay et al.,
managing crisis and disaster by way of ensuring that the 2001). It is equally important to know that information
public get easy access to information at the right time technology has many aspects or sides to it, therefore the
about the risk and hazard involved. An appraisal of appraisal of certain type of IT by users could be either
information technology by users is correlated with the positive (opportunity) or negative (threat), depending on
kind of emotion that is derived from using such informa- its importance to the users (Beaudry & Pinsonneault,
tion technology (Suh & Li, 2021). The cognitive appraisal 2005). The emotional experience attached to the usage of
theory has been used in past studies to investigate the information technology explains the mental state of its
way people assess the use of information technology and users which drives behavioral intention (Beaudry &
disaster management as well as how it influence their Pinsonneault, 2010)
emotions (Oh et al., 2021). The cognitive appraisal theory
has been identified in many studies as the theory of emo-
tion because the theory provides adequate understanding
Appraisal as Correlates of Emotion
about how peoples’ emotions are aroused through the Past researchers have revealed that the cognitive apprai-
process of appraisal (Myrick, 2017). For instance, there is sal theory is largely focused on emotions owing to the
a strong possibility that the usage of anti-covid mobile fact that it provides a concrete understanding about how
app might have different influence or effects on its users peoples’ emotions is being aroused by appraisal (Myrick,
during the covid-19 pandemic. On the one hand, it might 2017). According to Stein et al. (2015) emotions are
have positive effects on the users by making them become ‘‘reactions to situational events that are appraised to be
more conscious of the need to adhere to preventive mea- relevant to a person’s needs, goals or concerns.’’ There
sures because of the information that is been disseminated have been various emotional frameworks developed by
through the App. On the other hand, it might have nega- past researchers which are applied in different contexts.
tive effects on its users because of disseminating personal With regards to this study, we adopted the emotional
Amosun et al. 5

framework developed by Beaudry and Pinsonneault see the information been disseminated as advantageous
(2010). According to the framework, emotion attached to them as they are able to keep abreast of the dangers
to IT usage is classified as follows: loss, deterrence, chal- related to the virus and the need for them to avoid visit-
lenge, and achievement. ing locations where infected persons have visited to pre-
Loss emotion as one of the classes of emotion consists vent risk of contracting the virus. So, the users of the
of anger, dissatisfaction, frustration, and disgust anti-covid app could have different appraisals of the app
(Beaudry & Pinsonneault, 2010). IT users do have an either as perceived threat or perceived opportunity. It is
emotion that depict loss when they perceive certain treat on this basis that the following hypotheses are
that seems insurmountable which is associated with the formulated:
IT (Beaudry & Pinsonneault, 2010). In the studies of Suh
and Li (2021), their findings revealed that some users of H3: There is positive association between perceived
anti-covid mobile app experience anger, dissatisfaction, threat by users of anti-covid mobile app (China’s cor-
frustration, and disgust whenever people are been stig- onavirus mobile health code app) and deterrence
matized and condemned as a result of their personal data emotions.
been made public. This according to the study was H4: There is a negative association between perceived
because of perceived threat. In the same study, it was opportunity by users of anti-covid app (China’s coro-
revealed that some anti-covid mobile app users perceived navirus mobile health code app) and deterrence
the app as beneficial because it provided them with up- emotions.
to-date information about the virus and helped them
take preventive steps. This was identified as been caused Challenge emotion according to Beaudry and Pinsonneault
by perceived opportunity in the study. In addition, an (2010) consists of excitement, hope, anticipation, arousal
appraisal of anti-covid mobile app by users is multifa- and flow. These challenge emotions are activated because
ceted with either a positive or negative effect on loss of an appraisal of a situation that can be controlled by peo-
emotion. It is therefore logical to state that the greater ple and that which its opportunity has a high possibility of
the perceived threat by the user, the greater the loss emo- leading to a positive result. In the context of this study and
tion while the greater the perceived opportunity by the based on past studies reviewed, it is an established fact that
user, the lesser the loss emotion. It is on this basis that some users of anti-covid mobile app like the contact tra-
the following hypotheses are formulated: cing app develop challenge emotion when they appraise
the app and realized they have substantial control over its
H1: There is positive association between perceived positive outcomes. For example, in the study of Suh and
threat by users of anti-covid mobile app (China’s cor- Li (2021), they found out that some users of the contact
onavirus mobile health code app) and loss emotions. tracing app have a firm believe that the usage of the app
H2: There is a negative association between perceived would lead to positive outcomes which is the prevention of
opportunity by users of anti-covid mobile app spread of the virus. The results also highlighted the fact
(China’s coronavirus mobile health code app) and loss that users of contact tracing apps support the use of the
emotions. apps in the fight against covid-19 and also acknowledge
the fact that IT plays a significant role in ensuring that
Deterrence emotion consists of anxiety, worry, fear, and public health crisis is well controlled. On the contrary, the
distress (Beaudry & Pinsonneault, 2010). The deterrence same study revealed that some users found the app usage a
emotion arises when there is an appraisal of a situation threat because it exposes their information which may be
or an event which is likely to bring about negative conse- humiliating to carriers of the virus. It is therefore on this
quences. In other words, these types of emotions are basis that the following hypotheses are formulated:
developed when an IT event is perceived as threats which
its consequences can be controlled by users (Suh & Li, H5: there is a negative association between perceive
2021). Within the context of this study, we assumed the threat by users of anti-covid mobile app (China’s cor-
possibility of deterrence emotion when users of anti- onavirus mobile health code app) and challenge
covid mobile app feel that the app is a threat. Part of emotions.
what gives rise to deterrence emotion could be the persis- H6: there is a positive association between perceived
tent messages that users get about the need to adhere to opportunity by users of anti-covid mobile app
safety precautions. Users often get worried, fearful, anx- (China’s coronavirus mobile health code app) and
ious, and distressed when they are consistently bom- challenge emotions.
barded with warning notifications about the virus as well
as information about the movements of infected persons. Achievement emotions consist of happiness, satisfaction,
On the other hand, some users of anti-covid app could joy and pleasure (Beaudry & Pinsonneault, 2010). The
6 SAGE Open

achievement emotions arise when there is an appraisal of Deterrence emotions such as anxiety, worry, fear, and
a situation or an event which is likely to bring about pos- distress arise when there is an appraisal of a situation or
itive consequences. Previous studies have revealed that an event which is likely to bring about negative conse-
the users of contact tracing app derived achievements quences (Beaudry & Pinsonneault, 2010). Just like loss
emotions such as satisfaction, joy, happiness and plea- emotion, deterrence emotions also have the capacity to
sure by using the app (Suh & Li, 2021). The users can exert a negative influence on user’s behavioral intention.
receive loads of information about the virus as well as There is high possibility for IT users with deterrence
make informed decisions regarding their safety which emotions to deter themselves from certain circumstance
makes them satisfied. However, the same study revealed which can result in their disinterest for IT (Beaudry &
that there are some users of the contact tracing app who Pinsonneault, 2010). Since anti-covid mobile app is sti-
do not see the app as that which can bring about oppor- mulated by information technology, we therefore develop
tunity but only threat. This group of users does not see the following hypothesis:
the anti-covid app as that which can bring about achieve-
ment emotions. It is on this basis that the following H10: There is a negative association between deter-
hypotheses are developed: rence emotion of users of anti-covid mobile app
(China’s coronavirus mobile health code app) and
H7: there is a negative association between perceive their continuance intention to use the App.
threat by users of anti-covid mobile app (China’s cor-
onavirus mobile health code app) and achievement Challenge emotions such as excitement, hope, anticipa-
emotions. tion, arousal and flow are activated as a result of an
H8: there is a positive association between perceived appraisal of a situation that can be controlled by people
opportunity by users of anti-covid mobile app and that which its opportunity has a high possibility of
(China’s coronavirus mobile health code app) and leading to a positive result (Beaudry & Pinsonneault,
achievement emotions. 2010). Findings in extant literatures have revealed that
there is a positive relationship between challenge emo-
tions and users intention to use IT (Markus et al., 2004).
Emotions as Correlates of Continuous In the context of this study, it is assumed that users of
Intention anti-covid mobile app with challenge emotion would
According to the cognitive appraisal theory, emotion is attach much importance to the app because they are able
being aroused as a result of certain appraisal which then to access loads of information about the virus through it
leads to action tendency or intentions to behave in cer- and will be able to prevent themselves from contracting
tain ways (Kessler & Schmidt-Weitmann, 2021). Some the virus. It is on this basis that the following hypothesis
past studies have found out that emotions have the is developed:
capacity to influence people to take certain action or
behave in certain ways (Wen-Hai et al., 2019). H11: There is a positive association between challenge
Loss emotion has the capacity to exert a negative emotion of users of anti-covid app (China’s corona-
influence on users behavioral intention by making them virus mobile health code app) and their intention to
to ignore issues that are critical to them (Liang et al., continue using anti-covid mobile app.
2019). Studies in the past have revealed that the various
dimensions of loss emotion which consist of anger, dissa- Achievement emotions such as happiness, satisfaction,
tisfaction, frustration, and disgust (Beaudry & joy and pleasure are activated when there is an appraisal
Pinsonneault, 2010) have the capacity to bring about of a situation or an event which is likely to bring about
negative IT consequences and dissatisfaction (Zeelenberg positive consequences (Beaudry & Pinsonneault, 2010).
& Pieters, 2004) as well as the lack of intention to con- In addition, people experience the various dimensions of
tinue usage (Bougie et al., 2003). In addition, when users achievement emotions when certain types of IT are per-
develop loss emotion about IT, they tend to attach less ceived to meet their needs and expectations.
significance to IT (Lerner et al., 2007). Based on extant Nevertheless, it is important to point out that some users
literatures reviewed, the following hypothesis is might not see the need for more usage of IT simply
developed: because they have limited control over the effects it
exerts on them. For instance, users of the anti-covid
H9: There is a negative association between loss emo- mobile app would be delighted and filled with satisfac-
tion of users of anti-covid mobile app (China’s coro- tion when the information they acquire from the anti-
navirus mobile health code app) and their continuance covid mobile app is advantageous to them. However, it
intention to use the App. is also possible for the users of anti-covid mobile app to
Amosun et al. 7

Emotion

Challenge Emotion
Cognitive Behavioral
Appraisal Achievement Intention
Emotion
Perceived Threat Continuance
Loss Emotion Intention to use
Perceived Anti-Covid
opportunity Deterrence Emotion Mobile App

Figure 2. Illustrates the hypothesized relationships between the variables and the proposed path model.

have the feeling that the anti-covid app is only fulfilling can influence their intentions to continue using the App.
their information needs without them having enough It is in furtherance to these insights that the following
control over the circumstances surrounding them. This hypotheses are developed:
means that those achievement emotions in general would
bring about more positive outcomes than negative out- H13: There is a negative association between perceived
comes which make users develop more interest in the threat by users of anti-covid mobile app (China’s cor-
usage of the App. Past studies have found achievement onavirus mobile health code app) and their intention
emotions to have positive relationship with the kind of to continue using the app.
attitude users have toward the usage of IT (Kim et al., H14: There is a positive association between perceived
2007). It is due to this insight that we proposed the fol- opportunity by users of anti-covid mobile app
lowing hypothesis within the context of our study: (China’s coronavirus mobile health code app) and
their intention to continue using the app.
H12: There is a positive association between achieve-
ment emotion of users of anti-covid app (China’s cor- Based on the cognitive appraisal model presented in
onavirus mobile health code app) and their intention Figure 2, it is clear there is interrelationship in form of
to continue using anti-covid mobile app. direct and indirect relationship between cognitive apprai-
sal, emotion, and continuous intention to use anti-covid
mobile app. To fully explore the cognitive appraisal—
emotion—intention pathways, we therefore propose a
Congnitive appraisal and continuance intention mediation test to examine the mediating role of emotion
The cognitive appraisal theory has stated that an apprai- (challenge emotion, achievement emotion, loss emotion,
sal of a particular situation or event such as IT can bring deterrence emotion) in the relationship between cognitive
about the activation of certain emotional responses. This appraisal (perceived threat and perceived opportunity)
emotional response could either be positive or negative and continuous intention to use anti-covid mobile app
as revealed in past studies (Stein et al., 2015). It is possi- (China’s coronavirus mobile health code app). It is
ble for users of anti-covid mobile app to find the App against this background that we developed the following
very useful and beneficial to them simply because they hypotheses pivoted around the mediating role of emo-
can receive frequent updates about the virus which they tion (challenge emotion, achievement emotion, loss emo-
believe is meant to prevent further escalation of the virus. tion, deterrence emotion).
This can be seen as perceived opportunity. On the other
hand, users of anti-covid mobile app may find the usage H15: Emotion such as (challenge emotion, loss emo-
of the app as a means by which government invade their tion and deterrence emotion) will significantly mediate
privacy through overwhelming surveillance. This can be the relationship between perceived threat and continu-
seen as perceived threat. The users of anti-covid mobile ous intention to use anti-covid mobile app (China’s
app can therefore appraise the App in diverse ways which coronavirus mobile health code app) while
8 SAGE Open

Table 1. Descriptive Information of Samples Demographic questions. The justification for adopting the convenience
Characteristics. sampling method in selecting students from the
University of Science and Technology of China is
Variables Classes Frequency (%)
because the university is in the city of Hefei, which is the
Gender Male 258 (62%) capital of Anhui Province of China. The city is also
Female 158 (37.9%) known as one of the ‘‘natural hubs of communication’’
Age 18–25 194 (46.6%) and in the forefront of leading scientific research. An
26–33 118 (28.4%) online survey was adopted whereby the questionnaire
34 and above 104 (25%)
Education Undergraduate 201 (48.3%) was sent to various WeChat platforms which include dif-
Master 110 (26.4%) ferent personal contacts and chat groups on WeChat.
PhD 65 (15.6%) The questionnaires were accompanied by a written state-
Postdoctoral 40 (9.6%) ment stating that the responses of research participants
Marital status Single 314 (75.4%) were confidential and were for the sole purpose of
Married 102 (24.5%)
research. A total of 450 questionnaires were shared and
the total responses received were 420. A total of 416
(92.4%) questionnaires were found to be useful after
achievement emotion will not significantly mediate eliminating questionnaires with incomplete responses.
the relationship between perceived threat and continu- This was then used in the process of further analysis. The
ous intention to use anti-covid mobile app (China’s demographic report is presented in Table 1. However,
coronavirus mobile health code app). since convenience sampling method, which is used to
H16: Emotion such as (challenge emotion, and loss select the sample, is not random sampling method and
emotion) will significantly mediate the relationship may not provide a representative sample. As such, cau-
between perceived opportunity and continuous inten- tion should be exercised when generalizing the findings
tion to use anti-covid mobile app (China’s coronavirus of the study to the larger population of students in China
mobile health code app) while (achievement emotion or the general population in China.
and deterrence emotion) will not significantly mediate
the relationship perceived opportunity and continuous
intention to use anti-covid mobile app (China’s coro- Measurement
navirus mobile health code app). The scales and questionnaire items used in this study
were adapted from previous studies for the purpose of
testing the proposed research model.
Materials and Methods Perceived threat and perceived opportunity as con-
structs under the cognitive appraisal category were
Participants and Process adapted from the study of Bala and Venkatesh (2016).
It is mandatory for people to use the health code mini The two constructs consist of three items each. To mea-
app in China. People have it on their mobile phone. The sure perceived threat by respondents toward the usage of
reason for this is to help facilitate the fight against the anti-covid mobile app, respondents were asked to indi-
spread of the virus. The health code app is widely used in cate the extent to which they agree with statements about
China because it plays major role in the process of eradi- the negative effects of using the anti-covid mobile app
cating the virus. Students from the University of Science and the responses were scored on a 5-point Likert Scale
and Technology of China, who have the health code app ranging from strongly disagree (1) to strongly agree (5).
running on their smartphones were selected using conve- Items used to measure perceived threat include: ‘‘I think
nience sampling method during the fall semester of 2020 the anti-covid mobile app has negative effect on me,’’
to test the proposed research model. This group was ‘‘the anti-covid mobile app has harmful (or bad) conse-
selected because they are likely to have a higher level of quences on me,’’ ‘‘I feel that the anti-covid mobile app
awareness and compliance with the health code app, might actually have a detrimental effect on my life.’’
which is relevant to the study. Students who did not have To measure perceived opportunity by respondents
the health code app installed on their smartphones were toward the usage of anti-covid mobile app, respondents
excluded from the data collection. Additionally, students were asked to indicate the extent to which they agree
who did not respond to the questionnaire or provided with statements about the positive effects of using the
incomplete responses were also excluded from the data anti-covid mobile app and the responses were scored on
analysis. The questionnaire was in English, but a trans- a 5-point Likert Scale ranging from strongly disagree (1)
lated Chinese version was developed so that those who to strongly agree (5). Items used to measure perceived
do not understand English could be able to answer the threat include: ‘‘I am confident that using the anti-covid
Amosun et al. 9

mobile app has been a positive experience for me,’’ ‘‘I feel reliability and validity of measurement items used in this
that the anti-covid mobile app adds new value to public study and fitness indices of the measurement model while
health,’’ ‘‘the anti-covid mobile app provides opportuni- the second part addressed the structural equation model-
ties for me to control the virus.’’ The Cronbach alphas ing and the test of hypotheses.
for the two scales fall within acceptable standard, per-
ceived threat (.887) and perceived opportunity (.894).
The emotional framework developed by Beaudry and
Results
Pinsonneault (2010) was adapted to measure the degree Reliability and Validity
at which respondents have experienced different emo-
The principal component analysis method and the vari-
tions when using the App. The framework stated loss,
max rotation in SPSS 22 were adopted in conducting the
deterrence, challenge, and achievement as emotions
exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and used to access the
attached to IT usage. The respondents were therefore
factor loadings of measurement items used in this study.
asked to indicate the extent to which they have experi-
As recommended by Hair et al. (2014), a suppressed
enced these emotions. Specific emotion used to measure
value of 0.50 was adopted and the factor loadings for
loss emotion are anger, dissatisfaction, disappointment,
measurement items were identified to be above 0.70 with-
annoyed, frustration, and disgust; for achievement emo-
out cross-loading effects. This therefore indicates that the
tion: enjoyment, pleasure, happiness, and relief; for
measurement items used in this study were adequate and
deterrence emotion: anxiety, fear, worry, distress; for
appropriate for the data in relation to the survey. In
challenge emotion: anticipation, arousal, flow, and hope.
addition, Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin measure of sampling ade-
The responses were scored on a 5-point Likert Scale
quacy (KMO) result was 0.943 closer to 1 which indicates
ranging from (1) not at all to (5) to a very large extent.
the sampling was adequate (Kaiser, 1974). Bartlett’s test
The Cronbach alphas for the constructs are as follows:
of sphericity X2 (227) = 6,755, p \ .001 was also con-
loss (.938), deterrence (.901), challenge (.933), and
ducted which indicates that the structure of correlation
achievement (.879).
was adequate for factor analyses. All the factors’ eigenva-
Lastly, continuous intention as a construct under the
lue were found to be greater than 1.
behavioral intention category was adapted from the
Furthermore, factor 1 was comprised of 3 items scored
study of Bhattacherjee (2001). Four questionnaire items
on a 5-point Likert scale that explained 58% of the var-
were used to measure the construct for continuous inten- iance with factor loadings from 0.709 to 0.844. Factor 2
tion and responses were scored on a 5-point Likert Scale was also comprised of 3 items scored on a 5-point Likert
ranging from strongly disagree (1) to strongly agree (5). scale that explained 65% of the variance with factor
The items estimate the extent at which respondents were loadings from 0.839 to 0.873. Factor 3 was comprised of
ready to continue using the anti-covid mobile app. Items 4 items scored on a 5-point Likert scale that explained
used to measure continuous intention to use anti-covid 63% of the variance with factor loadings from 0.788 to
mobile app are as follows: ‘‘I plan to use the anti-covid 0.982. Factor 4 was also comprised of 4 items scored on a
mobile in the future,’’ ‘‘I intend to use the anti-covid 5-point Likert scale that explained 68% of the variance
mobile app in the future.’’ ‘‘I expect my use of anti-covid with factor loadings from 0.886 to 0.781. Factor 5 was
mobile app to continue in the future,’’ ‘‘if I could, I would comprised of 6 items scored on a 5-point Likert scale that
like to continue my use of anti-covid mobile app in the explains 70% of the variance with factor loadings from
future.’’ The Cronbach alpha for this construct is (.855). 0.880 to 0.891. Factor 6 was comprised of 4 items scored
on a 5-point Likert scale that explained 66% of the var-
Analytic Strategy iance with factor loadings from 0.880 to 0.833. Lastly,
factor 7 was also comprised of 4 items scored on a 5-
After gathering the data, two major statistical packages point Likert scale that explained 66% of the variance
were adopted namely SPSS 22 and AMOS 21 to analyze with factor loadings from 0.824 to 0.842.
the data. The exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was con- The Cronbach reliability and validity for the con-
ducted by using SPSS 22 to confirm the reliability and structs were also calculated through Cronbach alpha
validity of measurement model. In addition, AMOS 21 (CA), Cronbach reliability (CR), and the average var-
was used to examine the structural equation modeling, iance extracted (AVE). Table 2 presents the results for
confirmatory factor analysis and path testing (Hair et al., the values of CA, CR, and AVE which are all within
2014). Structural equation modeling was found to be acceptable (Fornell & Larcker, 1981b; Hair et al., 2014;
suitable in this regard because the current study focuses Wu & Chen, 2017). As shown in Table 2, the AVEs were
on the relationship between evaluations in multiple found to be above 0.50 which is the minimum threshold
dimensions. This section of the study is therefore parti- for convergent validity of constructs and were also
tioned into two parts. The first part addressed the greater than the outer correlation of constructs thereby
10 SAGE Open

Table 2. Convergent Validity and Reliability. Table 3. Heterotrait–Monotrait Ratio (HTMT) Matrix
Discriminant Validity.
Constructs Items FL CA CR AVE
Constructs PT PO CE AE LE DE CI
Perceived threat PT1 0.709 0.887 0.85 0.65
PT2 0.864 PT -
PT3 0.844 PO 0.401 -
Perceived opportunity PO1 0.839 0.894 0.88 0.70 CE 0.352 0.622 -
PO2 0.805 AE 0.559 0.372 0.508 -
PO3 0.873 LE 0.333 0.588 0.497 0.650 -
Challenge emotion CE1 0.788 0.933 0.94 0.78 DE 0.566 0.415 0.634 0.598 0.758 -
CE2 0.944 CI 0.542 0.744 0.386 0.555 0.638 0.411 -
CE3 0.813
CE4 0.982 Note. PT = perceived threat; PO = perceived opportunity; CE = challenge
Achievement emotion AE1 0.886 0.879 0.91 0.72 emotion; AE = achievement emotion; LE = loss emotion; DE = deterrence
AE2 0.822 emotion; CI = continuance intention.
AE3 0.897
AE4 0.781
Loss emotion LE1 0.880 0.938 0.95 0.75
LE2 0.900 The results for the means, standard deviations and
LE3 0.752 bivariate correlations between the constructs used in this
LE4 0.865 study are presented in Table 4.
LE5 0.902
LE6 0.891
Deterrence emotion DE1 0.880 0.901 0.93 0.76
DE2 0.907 Common Method Variance (CMV)
DE3 0.863 Since this study made use of self-reported data, it
DE4 0.833
becomes important to perform CMV. To prevent issues
Continuance intention CI1 0.824 0.855 0.94 0.80
CI2 0.775 of CMV, respondents were assured that their identities
CI3 0.798 would not be revealed at the start of the survey.
CI4 0.842 However, it still becomes imperative to find out if any
form of bias still exists in the data. As a result of this, the
Note. FL = factor loading; CA = Cronbach alpha; CR = composite reliability; Harman’s one-factor test was conducted in order to find
AVE = average variances extracted.
out whether common method variance was a proble-
matic issue or not (Podsakoff et al., 2003). All the items
representing appropriate discriminant validity. The measuring the latent variables were loaded on a single
results from the HTMT analysis also demonstrate ade- factor using SPSS 22. The result indicates that the total
quate discriminant validity because the values are below variance for a single factor accounted for 38.55% repre-
0.85 (Voorhees et al., 2016). Table 3 contains the results senting a value below the recommended threshold of
of the HTMT test. 50% by Podsakoff and Organ (1986). Hence, the result
To examine the fitness indices of the measurement shows that common method bias in this study was not a
model, a confirmatory factor analysis using AMOS 24 threat and did not affect our data.
was conducted. The fitness indices used in this study
include: GFI, AGFI, NFI, IFL, TLI, RMSEA, and CFI.
GFI and AGFI represent the absolute indices, NFI, IFL,
Evaluation of Structural Model
TLI represent the relative indices, RMSEA and CFI rep- After observing good and valid model fitness in the con-
resent the non-centrality indices (Beckett et al., 2017). All firmatory factor analysis (CFA) to examine the struc-
the fitness indices fall within the standard range. CMIN/ tural equation model, the path analysis was subsequently
df is 2.145. The GFI and AGFI are 0.932 and 0.964 conducted by using AMOS 22 in order to test the
respectively, which are above the minimum value of 0.90 hypotheses. The results show that perceived threat exerts
as recommended by Fornell and Larcker (1981a). The significant positive influence on loss emotion
NFI is 0.934, IFL is 0.942 and TLI is 0.977, which are all ((b = .379***, t = 3.638, p ł .001), deterrence emotion
above the minimum threshold of 0.95. The RMSEA is ((b = .357***, t = 3.795, p ł .001) and challenge emo-
0.059 and CFI is 0.981 which are in line with the postula- tion (b = .135*, t = 3.349, p ł .05). However, while per-
tion of Anderson and Gerbing (1988) that RMSEA must ceived opportunity was found to exert significant
be \0.08\ and CFA .0.90. In all, the results show positive influence on achievement emotion (b = .365***,
valid model fitness. t = 7.543, p ł .001) as well as challenge emotion
Amosun et al. 11

Table 4. Descriptive Statistics and Correlations.

Variables Mean SD 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

1. PT 4.15 1.538 (0.806)

2. PO 4.07 1.647 0.048 (0.837)
3. CE 3.25 0.412 0.275** 0.405** (0.883)
4. AE 3.88 0.576 0.171 0.334** 0.248 (0.849)
5. LE 4.11 0.877 0.448** 20.103* 0.027 0.039 (0.866)
6. DE 3.59 1.153 0.468** 0.481 0.042 0.024 0.320 (0.872)
7. CI 3.97 1.559 20.108* 0.329** 0.417** 0.356 20.186** 0.178 (0.894)

Note. The values for Fornell-Larcker discriminant validity are the ones in parentheses. SD = standard deviation; PT = perceived threat; PO = perceived
opportunity; CE = challenge emotion; AE = achievement emotion; LE = loss emotion; DE = Deterrence emotion; CI = continuance intention.
**Correlation is significant at the .01 level (two-tailed), *correlation is significant at the .05 level (two-tailed).

Table 5. Results of Hypotheses Testing. intention to use anti-covid mobile app (b = 2.240,
t = 25.894, p ł .001). The detailed presentation can be
Path (direct found in Table 5.
path) Estimate (b) t-statistics Hypothesis Inference

PT! LE .379*** 3.638 H1 Supported

PO! LE 2.239*** 25.442 H2 Supported Mediation Analysis
PT! DE .357*** 3.795 H3 Supported
PO!DE .227 (ns) 0.186 H4 Rejected The mediation analysis was conducted using the boot-
PT!CE .135* 3.349 H5 Rejected strapping approach by PROCSS macro for SPSS.
PO !CE .283*** 4.206 H6 Supported According to the theoretical framework used in this
PT! AE .234 (ns) 0.244 H7 Rejected study, the mediation model contains single mediation
PO! AE .365*** 7.543 H8 Supported
LE! CI 2.355*** 25.120 H9 Supported
pathways. The pathways are as follows: (perceived threat
DE! CI .210 (ns) 0.138 H10 Rejected ! challenge emotion !continuous intention); (perceived
CE! CI .318** 3.471 H11 Supported threat ! achievement emotion ! continuous intention);
AE! CI .320 (ns) 0.269 H12 Rejected (perceived threat ! loss emotion ! continuous inten-
PT! CI 2.240 25.894 H13 Supported tion); perceived threat ! deterrence emotion ! continu-
PO! CI .394*** 6.839 H14 Supported
ous intention); perceived opportunity ! challenge
Note. ns = not significant; PT = perceived threat; PO = perceived emotion ! continuous intention); (perceived oppor-
opportunity; tunity! achievement emotion ! continuous intention);
CE = challenge emotion; AE = achievement emotion; LE = loss emotion; (perceived opportunity ! loss emotion ! continuous
DE = deterrence emotion; CI = continuance intention. intention); (perceived opportunity ! deterrence emotion
*\.05, **\.01, ***\.001.
! continuous intention). Table 6 contains results of the
mediation analysis. According to Brown (1997), there is
(b = .283***, t = 4.206, p ł .001), it exerts significant a mediating effect when the independent variable (exo-
negative influence on loss emotion (b = 2.239***, genous variable) and the endogenous (dependent vari-
t = 25.442, p ł .001). able) pathways are been linked by a mediator. It is based
Challenge and loss emotion were the only emotion on this assertion that the mediation analysis was
variables that have significant influence on continuance conducted.
intention to use anti-covid mobile app. While challenge The results indicate that challenge emotion (b = 2.45,
emotion exerts significant positive influence on continu- p \ .005; CI [20.055, 0.722]), loss emotion (b = .25,
ance intention to use anti-covid mobile app p \ .005; CI [0.012, 0.065]) and deterrence emotion
(b = .318***, t = 3.471, p ł .001), loss emotion was (b = .15, p \ .005; CI [0.075, 0.255]) significantly med-
found to exert significant negative influence on continu- iate the relationship between perceived threat and contin-
ance intention to use anti-covid mobile app uous intention to use anti-covid mobile app (China’s
(b = 2.355***, t = 25.120, p ł .001) coronavirus mobile health code app) while achievement
Lastly, the analysis revealed that perceived opportu- emotion (b = .33, p = .443; CI [0.048, 0.931]) did not sig-
nity has a significant positive influence on continuance nificantly mediate the relationship between perceived
intention to use anti-covid mobile app (b = .394***, threat and continuous intention to use anti-covid mobile
t = 6.839, p ł .001), while perceive threat was found to app (China’s coronavirus mobile health code app). Thus,
have a significant negative influence on continuance these results are in support of H15.
12 SAGE Open

Table 6. Analysis of Indirect Effects.

Pathways Beta (b) CI p-value Mediate Inference

PT ! CE ! CI 2.45 [20.055, 0.722] *** Yes Accepted

PT ! AE ! CI .33 [0.048, 0.931] .443 No Accepted
PT ! LE ! CI .25 [0.012, 0.065] *** Yes Accepted
PT ! DE ! CI .15 [0.075, 0.255] *** Yes Accepted
PO ! CE ! CI .18 [0.018, 0.054] *** Yes Accepted
PO ! AE ! CI .61 [0.042, 0.056] .132 No Accepted
PO ! LE ! CI 2.27 [20.015, 0.039] *** Yes Accepted
PO ! DE ! CI .54 [0.044, 0.083] .138 No Accepted

Note: ***p\.005, **p\.001, and *p\.01.: PT = perceived threat; PO = perceived opportunity; CE = challenge emotion; AE = achievement emotion;
LE = loss emotion; DE = deterrence emotion; CI = continuance intention.

In addition, the results show that challenge emotion to adhere to safety precautions, they tend to feel anxious,
(b = .18, p \ .005; CI [0.018, 0.054]), and loss emotion worried, fearful, and distressed. Challenge emotion too
(b = 2.27, p \ .005; CI [20.015, 0.039]) significantly med- is also activated by perceived threat which includes exci-
iate the relationship between perceived opportunity and tement, hope, anticipation, arousal, and flow.
continuous intention to use anti-covid mobile app (China’s In addition, perceived opportunity was found to cause
coronavirus mobile health code app) while achievement an increase in achievement emotions which include (hap-
emotion (b = .61, p = .132; CI [0.042, 0.056]) and deter- piness, satisfaction, joy and pleasure) and challenge emo-
rence emotion (b = .54, p = .138; CI [0.044, 0.083]) did tions which include (excitement, hope, anticipation,
not significantly mediate the relationship perceived oppor- arousal and flow). In other words, users of the anti-covid
tunity and continuous intention to use anti-covid mobile mobile app were found to have the opportunity to receive
app (China’s coronavirus mobile health code app). Thus, loads of information about the virus as well as make
these results are in support of H16. informed decisions regarding their safety which led to
positive outcomes and made them satisfied. On the other
hand, perceived opportunity was found to reduce loss
Discussion emotion, meaning that users of anti-covid mobile app
As stated in the Introduction Section, the major objec- don’t develop anger, dissatisfaction, frustration, and dis-
tives which this study seek to address is to identify how gust whenever they are confronted with the advantageous
cognitive appraisals such as perceived threat and per- aspect of the app.
ceived opportunity that users observed about anti-covid Among all the four emotion categories, loss emotion
mobile app influence their emotions about anti-covid stands out, as it exerts the strongest negative influence
mobile app during the pandemic. It is also to identify the on continuance intention to use anti-covid mobile app
influence of users’ emotional states in influencing con- by its users. In other words, when users of an anti-covid
tinuance intention to use anti-covid mobile app. It is to mobile app get angry, dissatisfied, frustrated, and dis-
reveal the direct influence of perceived threats and per- gusted because of their negative experience with the app,
ceived opportunity on continuance intention to use anti- it causes a reduction in the level of continuance intention
covid mobile app. Lastly, it is to find out the mediating to use the app. On the contrary, findings in the study
role of emotion in the relationship between cognitive show that users of anti-covid mobile app tend to con-
appraisal and continuous intention to use anti-covid tinuously make use of the app whenever they develop
mobile app. challenge emotions like excitement, hope, anticipation,
Results in this study revealed that users’ perceived arousal, and flow about the app.
threat about anti-covid mobile app increases loss emo- Interestingly, results also show that negative appraisal
tion such as anger, dissatisfaction, frustration, and dis- of anti-covid mobile app that makes users identify the
gust whenever people are being stigmatized and app as a threat, was found out to have a detrimental
condemned because of their personal data been made effect on their continuance intention to use the app. In
public. Results also revealed that perceived threat causes other words, users’ continuance usage of anti-covid
an increase in deterrence and challenge emotions. This mobile app is adversely affected whenever users perceive
simply means that when users of anti-covid mobile app threat about the app. In contrast, it is revealed that per-
perceive a particular threat about the app which could ceived opportunity leads to an increase in continuance
be the persistent messages that users get about the need usage of anti-covid mobile app by its users.
Amosun et al. 13

Lastly, challenge emotion, loss emotion and deter- In practical terms, it is very clear that access to timely
rence emotion all play significant mediating role in the information plays tremendous role during the period of
relationship between perceived threat and continuous public health crisis like Covid-19 (Pan, 2020). However,
intention to use anti-covid mobile app (China’s corona- findings in this study have revealed that the implication
virus mobile health code app) while achievement emotion can be either positive or negative. Anti-covid mobile apps
did not significantly mediate the relationship between help in providing loads of data to its users about various
perceived threat and continuous intention to use anti- circumstances surrounding the virus. This information
covid mobile app (China’s coronavirus mobile health spread via this app can be quite excessive and users may
code app). Furthermore, challenge emotion and loss not be able to control the impact it has on them which
emotion both played significant mediating role in the can give rise to negative emotions like loss emotion such
relationship between perceived opportunity and continu- as anger, dissatisfaction, frustration, and disgust.
ous intention to use anti-covid mobile app (China’s coro- Based on the foregoing, it is therefore imperative for
navirus mobile health code app) while achievement designers of IT such as the anti-covid mobile app to inte-
emotion and deterrence emotion both did not signifi- grate more functions into the app in such a way that
cantly mediate the relationship perceived opportunity users will be able to exercise more control over its usage.
and continuous intention to use anti-covid mobile app And lastly is the privacy concern, designers of anti-covid
(China’s coronavirus mobile health code app). mobile app must ensure that too much information
about users of the app is not disseminated to the public.
It is equally important for policy makers to initiate poli-
Theoretical and Practical Implications cies that will address privacy concerns of users of anti-
This study provides some theoretical implications that covid mobile apps.
are quite important according to the findings revealed in
this study. First, this study adds to the body of existing
Limitations and Future Research Directions
knowledge in crisis, risk, and disaster management by
explaining the relationship between users’ cognitive Despite the theoretical and practical implications that
appraisals while using the anti-covid mobile app with this study generated, some limitations that future
emotion and continuance intention to use the app. The research scholars can work on as research directions are
anti-covid mobile app becomes very useful in getting identified. First, the data used for this study were gath-
information about the virus and is used to trace the ered from just one big university in China which could
movement of carriers or potential carriers of the virus affect generalizability of its findings. It is suggested that
based on a centralized database system which is done to future studies should explore more samples from more
prevent the spread of the virus. Frequent data update countries with different demographics. In addition, since
and contact tracing through apps play a crucial role dur- the severity of the virus during a particular time could
ing public health crisis like COVID-19 (Cohen et al., affect emotions and subsequent continuance intention to
2020). However, this study revealed that despite the ben- use anti-covid mobile app by the users. It is therefore
efits attached to using anti-covid mobile apps, some indi- important for future studies to factor in the time periods.
viduals still see the app as detrimental because of the This can be achieved by gathering data at different peri-
possible harm that it might inflict on their lives. ods of time. It is believed that if these suggestions are
Studies focusing on how emotion influences the usage put into consideration by future scholars, the generaliz-
of information technologies have been quite scares and ability of these findings will be more strengthened.
suggestions have been made for more studies to be con- Second is the cross-sectional research design that was
ducted in this regard (McGrath, 2006; Stein et al., 2015). adopted in conducting this study which makes the con-
In this study, contribution toward emotional dimensions nections between constructs that are statistically sup-
was achieved. The emotional framework developed by ported to be correlational in nature. It is imperative for
Beaudry and Pinsonneault (2010) was tested empirically future studies to adopt experimental or longitudinal
to examine its utility within the context of this study. research designs to test the causal relationship of
The study of Suh and Li (2021) asserted that some past constructs.
studies have used this emotional framework by focusing Lastly, the data used in this study were collected from
on a specific emotional class or dimension. This current just one source which is from the users of anti-covid
study, however, categorized emotion into various classes mobile app, and the constructs were also measured based
or dimensions by extensively presenting a comprehensive on their perceptions. Despite this, there were no serious
and empirical insight about the role which emotion plays issues regarding common method bias in this study
in influencing continuance intention to use anti-covid based on the analysis conducted. However, it is sug-
mobile app. gested that future studies should endeavor to collect data
14 SAGE Open

from multiple sources which could be based on log data Data Availability Statement
as it relates to some functions to solve issues relating to Data will be provided upon request from the corresponding
common method bias. author.

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