IOSR Journal of Mobile Computing & Application (IOSR-JMCA) e- ISSN: 2394-0050, P-ISSN: 2394-0042.Volume 8, Issue 1 (Jan - Feb 2021), PP 23-25 www.iosrjournals.org DOI: 10.9790/0050-08012325 www.iosrjournals.org 23 | Page More than Technology: Improving Mobile App Research Through Less Mobile App Focus Atilla Wohllebe 1 1 (MATE Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences – Kaposvár Campus, Hungary) Abstract: Background: With digitization and the spread of smartphones, mobile apps have become significantly more relevant in recent years. Research into the acceptance of mobile apps as a technology often focuses on the application of the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). Nevertheless, there are some examples in the research that do not apply the TAM and help to identify new factors and thus improve mobile app research. Materials and Methods: This essay discusses the TAM, as a model that focuses primarily on the technologies themselves. It then presents examples of research results from the context of mobile apps that do not apply the TAM. Results: The presented literature from the context of mobile apps shows that apart from perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use, other factors exist that explain the acceptance and use of mobile apps in different contexts. Conclusion: The acceptance and use of mobile apps depends on many factors. Research in this context should therefore focus more on identifying the less researched factors away from the TAM and quantifying their influence. Key Word: Technology Research; Mobile Apps; Business Informatics; Consumer Behavior. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Date of Submission: 28-02-2021 Date of acceptance: 15-03-2021 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I. Research on Technology Use: Focus on the Technology Itself In business informatics, research into the use of technologies by users already has a long history. With the "Technology Acceptance Model" (TAM), Fred D. Davis developed a model in 1985 that depicts the use of a system via the behavioral intention to use it and the attitude toward its use as a function of the perceived usefulness and the perceived ease of use of the technology [1]. The model is structurally based on the "Theory of Reasoned Action" by Ajzen and Fishbein from 1980 [2]. The model has been further developed several times; today TAM2 [3], TAM3 [4] and the “Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology” (UTAUT) [5] exist. However, the original model is today the quasi-standard when it comes to predicting the use of a technology by users [6]. It has been applied in a wide variety of contexts around the world [7]–[11]. Nevertheless, it must be noted that the TAM assumes that the use of technology ultimately depends exclusively on whether the technology is perceived as useful and whether it is perceived as easy to use. This perspective is symptomatic - if only because of the importance of the TAM - to the study of technology acceptance as a whole: the focus is essentially on the technology itself, leaving out even numerous other potentially relevant aspects. These may include, for example, the manufacturer and/or the merchant of the technology, but also the context of use or the user himself. II. Technology Use in the Larger Context This primarily technology-related perspective can also be observed in the context of mobile apps. With the digitization and the spread of smartphones all over the world, also the relevance of mobile apps has increased in the last years [12]–[14]. Research on the acceptance of mobile apps but also on other questions such as the recommendation of mobile apps is often primarily focused on the app as a technology itself, but not on the broader context. The interactions with other, non-technology-related variables are often not taken into account [9], [10], [15]–[19]. As an example of more comprehensive perspectives, an article by Sirdeshmukh et al. (2002) can be considered. While this work does not come from technology research, it provides a good example of what more comprehensive perspectives can look like. The authors examine how the perceived value of a purchase and the resulting customer loyalty emerge in the retail industry. They conclude that it is not just the purchase itself – good products at a good price – that leads to customer loyalty. Instead, they show that staff on the sales floor also play an important role. If the staff is perceived as benevolent, this has a positive effect on the perceived