Do the Emotions Evoked by Interface Design Factors Affect the User’s Intention to Continue Using the Smartwatch? The Mediating Role of Quality Perceptions

Based on the S-O-R model as the overall theoretical framework, this study combined objective factors in interface design with subjective perceptions, and investigated whether the emotions evoked by interface design factors would affect user’s intention to continue using the smartwatch through two stages. The first stage, we used two-way ANOVA to analyze whether symmetry and complexity in interface design have different effects on user’s emotions. The findings found that asymmetrical interface designs tend to be more likely to evoke emotional arousal, whereas symmetrical interface designs are more likely to evoke emotional valence. Moreover, complex interface designs are more likely to evoke emotional arousal and valence than simple interface designs. The second stage, the bootstrapping method was adopted to examine the mediating effect of quality perceptions, and to explore the influence of emotions evoked by interface design factors on the user’s intention to continue using smartwatch. The results found that users’ hedonic and pragmatic qualities fully mediate the effect of emotional arousal and valence on continuous usage intention of the smartwatch. Moreover, it is important to address the relationship between users and products through emotions and quality perceptions evoked by interface design factors to increase user experience and enjoyment. Furthermore, it is suggested to design and manufacture products with strong emotional attachment, which is also one of the effective methods to solve some environmental issues caused by consumer electronics.