ABSTRACT:
In the digital economy, understanding user behavior in post-adoption stages is essential for sustained revenue. This paper investigates the role of passive innovation resistance for digital service usage during these stages, an area that has received limited attention. Through a predictive field study (nt1 = 511, nt2 = 356) over five weeks and an experiment (n = 190), we analyze how passive innovation resistance affects user loyalty when modular changes to service business models are introduced. Our findings show that users with high passive innovation resistance may remain loyal despite better alternatives, challenging the belief that such resistance only hinders adoption. We also identify strategies to mitigate negative reactions to business model changes in post-adoption stages. These insights enhance the understanding of post-adoption user behavior, bridging the gap between information systems and innovation resistance research, and offer practical guidance for digital service providers to reduce churn and enhance customer retention.
Key words and phrases: Passive innovation resistance, continuous usage, business model change, digital services, post-adoption online, online retention