Assistant Professor in HEBSBA Publishes Manuscript

Assistant Professor of Management Information Systems Dr. Yi Liu, in the UIW H-E-B School of Business and Administration, has published his manuscript, “Connecting Perceived Effectiveness of App Evolution to App Engagement: A Technology Identity Perspective” in Information Technology and People (ITP). Liu worked with co-authors Dr. Xinlin Tang (Florida State University), Peigong Li (Shanghai Lixin University of Accounting and Finance), and Xuan Wang, (University of Texas Rio Grande Valley) on the paper.

“It's my duty to publish papers in good journals,” said Liu. “UIW offers high-quality education to our students. It is important for us to publish papers in international-level journals, especially good journals. By publishing in a good journal, we can prove that we are keeping pace with current research and knowledge trends and have the ability to provide knowledge to our students.”

Liu and his team initially submitted the manuscript in July 2021. From there, the group received feedback and re-submitted the piece numerous times for review before sending in a final version on June 7, 2022. In August, Liu learned that his paper had been accepted for publication.

Liu noted that, as a peer-reviewed journal, it typically “takes about one year to get published” in ITP. The journal publishes work that aims to understand the impact of information technology as a tool, resource, and format for people in society, as well as in their daily work in organizations.

Liu’s research focused on expanding the current literature on app engagement, identifying dynamic factors that influence app engagement, and identifying the value-creation pathway that connects these factors with app engagement. Design, methodology and approach to survey data were collected from 299 app users to test the proposed research model.

Liu's findings suggest that the perceived effectiveness of evolution content and evolution speed impose both individual and common positive effects on app identity, which in turn drives app engagement. He found originality and value by taking the user perspective to explore how user perceptions of the effectiveness of app development content and speed, which represent unique user experiences in the app context, cultivate app engagement by enhancing app identity. This study reveals the interconnected relationship between the perceived effectiveness of app development, app identity and app engagement.