Demystifying the Communication-Driven Usefulness Hypothesis: The Case of Healthcare Insurance Applications

Healthcare insurance applications are increasingly vital to and have gained popularity with consumers. Previous information systems research featured perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness as key independent variables to explain behavioural intention impacting the use of information systems. In today's environment, however, many consumers already rely on websites and mobile applications as a key means of communication with healthcare insurance providers. Examining the data from 333 survey respondents, this study reports that perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness are strongly influenced by three communication content variables (information quality, interaction ease, and provider competence). Importantly, consumers may judge applications' ease of use based on the quality of communication contents. Once applications reach some maturity, the prominence of communication quality may drive their use more significantly than before.