“Determinants of health-conscious consumers’ intention to adopt fitness apps”

This study aims to investigate the factors influencing consumers’ intention to adopt health fitness apps. The target population for this study were current users of health fitness apps. The data collection process was completed using a Google e-mail form with a cover letter for the convenience of customers, wherein 308 respondents were the final sample size. Data were collected from current members of health clubs and fitness centers in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Most of the respondents were males (56%, n = 308), whereas females were 44%, n = 134. Five-point Likert scale was used, where ‘1’ means ‘Strongly Disagree’ and ‘5’ ‘Strongly Agree’, to clarify the item-wise questionnaire. SPSS data analysis software for research purposes was used to evaluate the hypotheses. Cronbach Alpha (α) value was used to justify the reliability of the variables. Four items measure price value; perceived performance, health consciousness, facilitating condition, hedonic motivation are measured by two items; self-efficacy – by three. The results show that the selected six determinants positively and significantly affect consumers’ intention to use health fitness apps. Overall, these variables can explain 55.50% of the variance in predicting behavioral intentions to adopt health fitness apps. Furthermore, this results could provide significant clues to health fitness app developers that can severely influence users to adopt health fitness apps for their wellbeing.


INTRODUCTION
The advent of fitness apps on cell phones in recent years has changed the environment for wellness and active living. These apps' remarkable growth stems from their capacity to offer users tools for monitoring and recording, calorie analysis, encouragement and support, affordability, and simplicity to aid in fulfilling fitness goals. Fitness apps can provide users with reliable monitoring of regular exercise by employing smartphone sensors like the accelerometer and GPS, which can be used to establish and monitor goals and track progress over time. Fitness apps' encouraging and engaging elements are crucial for maintaining physical exercise and healthy lifestyle practices (Beldad & Hegner, 2018). Cultural influences can improve accountability and create a sense of community around exercise and health. These aspects include the possibility of interacting with friends and family, sharing progress, and competing. Also, some apps provide specialized coaching and counseling, giving individualized fitness routines, dietary recommendations, and inspirational suggestions. Users may rely on such services to offer them the drive and encouragement they need to achieve their fitness objectives (Baer et al., 2022). Fitness applications are also quite important because they are easy and convenient to use. Without paying for hefty gym memberships or devices, users may work out whenever and wherever they want. Users can alter a wide variety of exercise alternatives, including meditation, progressive muscle relaxation, slightly elevated endurance training, and strength training, to meet their interests and goals. Users can easily include regular exercise and health and fitness practices into their regular routines thanks to such functionalities. By enabling users to track their performance and update their techniques as necessary, fitness applications can help users strengthen their capacity to consciously. Health applications have become critical components for individuals seeking to live a better and more life style (Cho et al., 2020).
The value of fitness apps on cellphones cannot be emphasized in Bangladesh (Yuan et al., 2021;Chen et al., 2022), where regular physical activity and poor diets are common. In Bangladesh, such health fitness apps could provide easy-to-use resources to motivate people to take part in physical exercise and promote healthier lifestyle decisions. Several fitness applications deliver users tailored mentoring and guidance that might give them the enthusiasm and assistance they ought to keep up with current healthy living and physical exercise routines. Smartphone fitness apps can contribute to tackling the nationwide problem of lifestyle factors and help Bangladesh achieve better health results. Several studies in the Bangladeshi context have focused on technology adoption (i.e., Asheq et al., 2022;Rahaman et al., 2022;Akhter et al., 2020;Ali et al., 2022), still studies on fitness apps are scarce in the literature. Therefore, there is a need to explore consumers' intent to use health fitness apps in Bangladesh.

LITERATURE REVIEW AND HYPOTHESES
Studies show the usefulness of fitness applications in encouraging daily fitness and healthy living (Brindal et al., 2013). Over the course of 12 weeks, those who used a fitness app reduced much more bodyweight compared to those who did not, and app users significantly enhanced their nutritional and physical exercise habits (Brindal et al., 2013). A similar investigation by Schoeppe et al. (2016) showed that health wellness apps worked successfully in encouraging adults who were inactive to exercise frequently. Individuals who utilized a health app for four weeks found higher physical activity behaviors in comparison to those who did not use the app.
The price value (PVAL) refers to the perceived worth or usefulness of a product or service in relation to its price. Besides, the price value is a significant factor for consumers, which derives from a product or service in exchange for the amount of money paid to acquire it (Wang et al., 2009;Ahmed et al., 2023). On the other hand, the price value of adopting fitness apps can vary depending on the specific app and the individual's needs and goals (Zhang & Jin, 2016). Some fitness apps may be completely free, while others may require a onetime or recurring fee for access to certain features or content that support customers to the adoptiosn of fitness apps regarding health. Moreover, a past study said that price value includes monetary cost when adopting any technological device regarding the benefits of health consciousness (Venkatesh et al., 2012). Therefore, the positive price value actually brings more adoption of new technology as fitness apps for consumers' perspective on health (Chen & Lin, 2018). Prior studies also verified that the price-to-value ratio is a robust influencing factor of psychological motivation of consumers in relation to their acceptance of fitness apps (Yuan, 2015;Peng et al., 2016).
Perceived performance (PERPER) is defined as the user's perception of how fast, efficient, and effective a system or product is in meeting their needs and expectations in executing specific tasks (Venkatesh et al., 2003). Moreover, perceived performance is considered the subjective evaluation of how well a system, product, or service performs from the perspective of a user or customer (Hoque & Sorwar, 2017 Health consciousness (HCON) is regarded as an individual's awareness and concern about their health and well-being which assists to conserve their physical and mental health (Damberg, 2022). Besides, it plays a crucial role in advancing the cause of health and warding off illness that can affect an individual's health-related behaviors and decisions (Chen, 2018). Furthermore, health-conscious people are more probable to take part in positive health behaviors and avoid risky health behaviors that assist in the promotion of an effective strategy of creating an intention to adopt fitness apps ( Self-efficacy (SELFF) beliefs influence an individual's motivation, behavior, and performance, which helps to benefit from fitness app usage and achieve wellness objectives (Hsia et al., 2014). Besides, self-efficacy is regarded as the belief of an individual in the capacity to perform a specific task or achieve a particular goal successfully within a specified time (Bandura, 1986). On the other hand, Self-efficacy is different from self-esteem or self-confidence, which are broader terms that refer to an individual's overall perception of their worth or competence (Zang & Jin, 2016). Moreover, self-efficacy approaches a positive attitude toward a particular task, which influences consumers' willingness to adopt new fitness apps regarding health consciousness (Al-Somali et al., 2009). Therefore, self-efficacy generates satisfactory outcomes with minimum effort, which directly influences adopting of fitness app (Im et al., 2011;Zhao et al., 2008).
Facilitating condition (FACCON) is considered as the significant factor or circumstances that enable or make it easier for individuals or groups to adopt a certain abilities, resources, and training in a given activity which helps to promote positive outcomes (Venkatesh et al., 2003). Moreover, this factor is indispensable for consumers to adopt the technology as fitness apps (Yuan et al., 2015). On the other hand, facilitating condition is regarded as a significant source that supports the creation of encouragement of using technologies regarding health consciousness ( This paper aims to determine and understand consumers' intent to accept health fitness apps (INTFTAPP) in Bangladesh. This paper identified six antecedents of INTFTAPP using a systemat-ic review process: (i) price value (PVAL), (ii) perceived performance (PERPER), (iii) health consciousness (HCON), (iv) self-efficacy (SLEFF), (v) facilitating condition (FACCON), and (vi) hedonic motivation (HMOT). This paper formulated the following hypotheses after carefully reviewing the literature.
H1: There has been a positive association between price value (PVAL) and intent to accept health fitness apps (INTFTAPP).
H2: There has been a positive association between perceived performance (PERPER) and intent to accept health fitness apps (INTFTAPP).
H3: There has been a positive association between health consciousness (HCON) and intent to accept health fitness apps (INTFTAPP).
H4: There has been a positive association between self-efficacy (SLEFF) and intent to accept health fitness apps (INTFTAPP).
H5: There has been a positive association between facilitating condition (FACCON) and intent to accept health fitness apps (INTFTAPP).
H6: There has been a positive association between hedonic motivation (HMOT) and intent to accept health fitness apps (INTFTAPP).

METHODOLOGY
Investigating the consumers' intention to accept health fitness apps is a significant issue of this study. In this study, the targeted population was the current consumers of health fitness apps. To determine whether customers seek to utilize fitness and wellness applications, 6 (six) determinants have been considered for the research framework, which has been adopted from the previous extensive literature such as (i) price value (PVAL), (ii) perceived performance (PERPER), (iii) health consciousness (HCON), (iv) self-efficacy (SLEFF), (v) facilitating condition (FACCON), and (vi) hedonic motivation (HMOT). For data collection, a survey questionnaire was adopted from past studies where this study is quantitative and exploratory. In this study, there were two parts; the first part consisted of the survey questionnaire, and the second part is generated as demographic information of the respondents. In this study, object non-probability convenience sampling has been used due to unknown customers who use health fitness apps. In Dhaka, Bangladesh, first the owners of health fitness centers were contacted for the email ids of their current members, and it was also confirmed that they were all current users of fitness health apps. For data collection purposes, 350 questionnaires were sent to health fitness app users by using a Google form through e-mail with a cover letter for the convenience of customers. The authors received 320 responses from the respondents, whereas 12 replies had to be cast off because of unacceptable entries. Therefore, a total number of 308 consumers completed the questionnaire in the right manner, whereas the response rate was 88% and the final sample size was 308. To find out the item-wise question calculations, a five-point Likert scale has been used, where 1 stands for 'Strongly Disagree' and '5' stands for 'Strongly Agree'. On the one hand, to justify the reliability of the variables, "Cronbach Alpha (α) value" of 0.70 or more than 0.70 was used as the allowable value in this To evaluate the hypotheses, a 5% significance threshold was used as an indicator, and the SPSS software was used to analyze the data in this study.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
According to demographic information (Table  2), the respondents' age (11%) was in the range of 18-30 years, which corresponds to 33 out of 308 respondents. On the other hand, 60 respondents' age was between 30 to 40, which is mentioned as 19% in this age demographic. The third age group discloses that 34% of respondents' age was between 41 to 50 years, where this number was 104 out of 308 respondents. The next and final stage of the age group was 50 or more than 50 (36%), which encompasses 111 out of 308 respondents in this group. Note: ** n = 308.
As for the gender status of respondents, most of the respondents were males (56%, n = 308), whereas females were 44%, n = 134. In terms of educational qualifications, the preponderance of those surveyed are Bachelor's degree holders (75%, n = 231), whereas the number of Postgraduate Degree holders was 41 (13%) out of 308 participants in this demographic information. The next education class is the high school degree, where the number of participants was 24 of the total of 308 participants in this study, and the last educational qualification is a Diploma Certificate, which was highlighted (4%), which means 12 out of 308 participants. Based on the types of smartphone usage, the number of total Android users was 224, which mentions 73% out of 100% regarding this study. On the other hand, 27% of respondents used iOS as a smartphone, which means the number of participants was 84 in this demographic informa-tion. Lastly and most importantly is the income per month of the respondents, whereas 37 (12%) participants' income was below 20,000 BD" taka, while 63% of respondents' per month income was "20,001 to 50,000" BD" taka; this corresponds to 194 out of 308 participants in this study. Moreover, the 77 participants' income was above 50,000 BD" taka. Note: * p < 0.10; ** p < 0.05 (n = 308). Table 3 and Figure 2 represent the test of hypotheses between each factor, and Table 3 also indicates that R 2 = 0.555 or 55.50% determined the variance, which encirclements six (6) variables such as price value (PVAL), perceived performance (PERPER), health consciousness (HCON), self-efficacy (SLEFF), facilitating condition (FACCON), and hedonic motivation (HMOT), where these are accepted at a 5% significance level. In terms of regression analysis, Hypothesis 1 implies there is a causal link in a favorable direction between price value (PVAL) and intent to accept health fitness apps (INTFTAPP) that is accepted at the 5% significance level (β = 0.305, p < 0.05). The past study also supports this result as price value acts as a robust influencing factor of consumers' behavioral  accept health fitness apps (INTFTAPP). This regression result is accepted at the 5% significance level (β = 0.227, p < 0.05), which is supported by the past studies, since hedonic motivation has a positive and significant effect on the intention to use health fitness apps (Alalwan et al., 2017;Dhiman et al., 2020). According to Hypothesis 6, the regression result is accepted at the 5% significance level (β = 0.203, p < 0.05), and it illustrates that there is a relationship between hedonic motivation (HMOT) and the intent to accept health fitness apps (INTFTAPP). Also, this result is supported by prior studies, hedonistic motivation performs a constructive and essential function in facilitating an increase in the adoption of technology that facilitate the use of Henceforth, future research may focus more on other significant factors such as perceived privacy, anxiety to use new technology, perceived credibility, and trust, which might create more intention to use health fitness apps. The study offers insightful information regarding the elements that influence the acceptance intention of fitness apps among customers that are health conscious. The findings may inform the development and marketing strategies of fitness app developers, as well as provide guidance to healthcare professionals on how to promote the use of fitness apps as part of a healthy lifestyle.

CONCLUSION
This study aimed to investigate what factors influence customers' decisions to download health-oriented fitness apps. From the analysis of this study, it can be concluded that health-conscious consumers generally have a positive attitude towards fitness apps and are likely to adopt them in their daily routine. The findings suggest that factors such as price value PVAL (β = 0.305, p < 0.05), perceived performance PERPER (β = 0.188, p < 0.05), health consciousness HCON (β = 0.272, p < 0.05), self-efficacy SLEFF (β = 0.195, p < 0.05), facilitating condition FACCON (β = 0.227, p < 0.05), and hedonic motivation HMOT (β = 0.203, p < 0.05) are critical determinants of acceptance intention among health-conscious consumers. Furthermore, taken together, these constructs can account for 55.50 percent of the variation in explaining why people decide to use fitness apps that emphasize health. Therefore, health conscious fitness app users are shown to be another important issue in predicting future fitness app usage. The study highlights the importance of designing fitness apps that are user-friendly, engaging, and enjoyable to use, as well as promoting social interaction and support. Developers of fitness apps should also focus on providing accurate and reliable information to build trust among users. On the other hand, if the technology is easy to realize and understand to consumers, it might create more intention to use health fitness apps. Furthermore, the study suggests that there is a potential for fitness apps to improve the overall health and well-being of individuals, as well as provide opportunities for self-monitoring and goal-setting. However, it is essential to acknowledge the limitations of technology and the potential negative impacts of excessive reliance on fitness apps, such as the development of unhealthy obsessions Table 4. Hypothesis testing summary

Proposed Hypotheses Decision
H1: There has been a positive association between price value (PVAL) and intent to accept health fitness apps (INTFTAPP). Accepted H2: There has been a positive association between perceived performance (PERPER) and intent to accept health fitness apps (INTFTAPP). Accepted H3: There has been a positive association between health consciousness (HCON) and intent to accept health fitness apps (INTFTAPP). Accepted H4: There has been a positive association between self-efficacy (SLEFF) and intent to accept health fitness apps (INTFTAPP). Accepted H5: There has been a positive association between facilitating condition (FACCON) and intent to accept health fitness apps (INTFTAPP). Accepted H6: There has been a positive association between hedonic motivation (HMOT) and intent to accept health fitness apps (INTFTAPP). Accepted