EXPRESS: Increasing App Engagement Behaviors via Goal-Enabling Technology Features: The Role of Goal Difficulty Dimensions
研究个人发展类应用中目标赋能技术特征如何影响用户参与和留存，发现中等难度目标最能提升投资行为，并通过现场实验验证子目标难度的因果效应。
Mobile applications in the personal development sector increasingly integrate goal-enabling technology features (GETFs), which allow users to define a service-related end goal, set implementation strategies through subgoals, and monitor progress. Little is known, however, about how the difficulty of goals chosen during GETF adoption affects subsequent app behaviors. This study examines whether customers who set more versus less difficult end goals and subgoals show greater engagement and retention, and whether firms can nudge customers toward goal-difficulty levels conducive to sustained engagement. Using behavioral data from an investment app that introduced GETFs, the authors employ hierarchical modeling with staggered synthetic control and instrumental variable regression to address self-selection and endogeneity. Results reveal substantial heterogeneity: many adopters show no or negative engagement changes, whereas those selecting moderately challenging goals and subgoals significantly increase in-app investment actions, though not sign-ins. Higher engagement post-adoption predicts improved retention after one year. A field experiment confirms that subgoal difficulty causally drives in-app actions. These findings suggest that personalized guidance during GETF adoption can enhance sustained engagement. Marketing managers are advised to tailor goal-setting features to individual needs, providing expert-like support. This research provides novel empirical evidence on goal-difficulty levels that most effectively promote app engagement.