Mobile internet and consumer happiness: the role of risk

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the influence of mobile internet use and risk factors on MI happiness. Design/methodology/approach An online survey with 521 mobile internet users was conducted to test the direct and moderating effects of risk factors on MI happiness. Findings The results provide evidence that there is a non-linear relationship between variety of use and MI happiness, and consumers become happier with increased frequency of use. The results also indicate that privacy risk and task risk reduce MI happiness, and both types of risk moderate the inverted U-shaped relationship between variety of use and MI happiness. Research limitations/implications This study reconciles two opposing theories, stimulation vs. displacement, on the impact of internet use on consumer well-being. The findings suggest that the stimulation effect of mobile internet use is associated with an intermediate level of usage variety, while social displacement is more likely connected with higher- or low...