2.1. Subscription and Selection Attributes
Selection is an act of choosing the most ideal solution of the issue among several alternatives which are intended to resolve an issue [
17]. An attribute can be defined as a characteristic essential to a particular object or an inherent characteristic of a particular object [
18]. In other words, a selection attribute is an attribute of a particular product or service that is directly relevant to a consumer’s behavior—i.e., buying behavior, decision-making, repurchase intentions—which can ultimately have a positive impact on consumer behavior [
19]. It has to do with how consumer attitudes are formed toward a particular attribute of a product or service that makes the difference between consumer preferences versus what they actually buy and also has to do with how certain attributes of a product or service are distinguishable from others. Bischof et al. [
20] suggested that sales should be promoted by improving upon existing products while developing new products that fulfill consumer needs by taking into account the selection attributes of their respective target consumer groups.
Existing studies that looked at the selection intentions of subscription service users discussed individual customer characteristics [
21,
22], types of products delivered through subscription service [
23], as well as service type—i.e., personalized, unlimited access, subscription box, etc. [
8,
24]. There was particular emphasis placed on the argument that the role of the intermediary was important for existing forms of regular subscription services—i.e., delivery of newspapers, magazines, dairy food products, etc.—depending on what type of direct transaction took place between the producer and consumer [
25].
However, unlike regular subscription models of the past, the technological characteristics of contents and online now serve as important selection attributes in today’s digital platform-based subscription services [
26,
27]. As a primary example, Rudolph et al. [
28] classified product subscription models into pre-defined, curated, and surprise subscriptions according to the pre-notification status of consumers and contended that they were differentiated in terms of convenience, individually personalized services, and inspiration, respectively. Chung [
22] noted that motivation for use had the strongest impact on consumer attitudes toward online shopping subscription services. Tao and Xu [
29] suggested that factors such as knowledge, cognition, and acceptance by consumers served as selection attributes in their adoption intention toward fashion subscription retailing based on the innovation acceptance model.
In particular, Horng [
30] suggested that system and service differentiation, the importance of contents, quality superiority, ease of use, and price quality were factors influencing consumers to pay for online contents subscription services. The relative advantages of subscription services as perceived by consumers in real life included saving time, convenience and ease of use, price quality, personalized services such as styling, elements of fun and surprise, expectations of a new style, etc., which are different selection attributes versus regular subscription services for general products. Consequently, this study chose content superiority, system quality, and service differentiation as the three key selection attributes for products or services delivered to consumers as a form of digital platform-based subscriptions services.
With digital platform-based subscription services, consumers often receive subscription box retail services (SBRS), which is an assortment of diverse contents or product categories that one can choose directly, rather than being a one-sided subscription to generally selected merchandise, which is why from this perspective, the superiority of new and diverse content should be taken into consideration for experiential consumption [
23]. Accordingly, one of the important selection attributes of subscription services may be hedonic motivations such as the uniqueness, novelty, and surprise of the subscribed merchandise or contents, which can then convince users to subscribe [
15,
22]. As Morris and Powers [
31] contended, features such as discriminative function and the quality (curated mechanism) of the subscription service contents can also serve as selection factors.
In addition, subscription services that are based on online and mobile digital platforms ultimately reflect the characteristics of new technology acceptance and factors such as usability, convenience, and utility may affect the selection attributes [
32]. Chen and Fu [
33] used the stimulus–organism–response (S-O-R) paradigm to suggest that whether or not the user feels that shopping takes less time or that the shopping process is convenient is an important factor and that the more innovative the consumers are, the more proactive they were in accepting subscription services. Lastly, the differentiating elements of the subscription service can also serve as important selection attributes [
34]. Marion and Mimoun [
24] indicated that providing curated information and goods was key to e-commerce subscription services. Digital platform-based subscription services can provide customized services to users based on big data analysis, and also offer product recommendations for online content subscriptions by analyzing consumers’ usage data [
35]. As users experience the convenience and usefulness of this kind of subscription mechanism as a differentiated service, they may recognize the distinct characteristics and value of subscription services, which are differentiated from other services, which may prompt selection by the consumer [
36].
2.2. Selection Attributes and Perceived Value
Perceived value can be defined as the consumer’s overall assessment of the utility of a product or service based on perceptions of what is received and what is given [
37]. Sweeney and Soutar [
38] defined perceived value as a multi-dimensional concept on which consumers’ brand selection or purchase decisions are based, dividing them into emotional value, social value, performance/quality value, and price for money value. In previous studies on consumers’ perceived value in online or mobile shopping, perceived value was defined as economic, social, and emotional values [
39,
40]. In particular, factors such as efficiency, excellence, play, aesthetics, status, esteem, ethics, and spiritual value were presented as the perceived value of subscription service users.
As already mentioned in many previous studies, perceived value is affected by leading variables such as product characteristics and selection attributes and may influence purchase intentions [
41]. The perceived value of subscription service users is also affected by their service selection attributes [
13,
23,
30]. How users perceive content superiority, system quality, or service differentiation and their satisfaction thereof may lead to their assessment of perceived value [
42,
43].
Hsu and Lin [
44] made direct reference to their view that consumers’ selection attributes and motivation for use may influence their perceived value of subscription services. Park et al. [
45] explained that selection attributes such as product information, convenience, selectivity, delivery intervals, etc. may affect consumers’ perceived value and perceived risk in subscription commerce. Based on this literature review, the hypothesis that the three selection attributes of content superiority, system quality, and service differentiation may affect consumers’ perceived value toward subscription services was defined as follows.
Hypothesis 1 (H1). Among the selection attributes of subscription services, content superiority positively affects consumers’ perceived value.
Hypothesis 2 (H2). Among the selection attributes of subscription services, system quality positively affects consumers’ perceived value.
Hypothesis 3 (H3). Among the selection attributes of subscription services, service differentiation positively affects consumers’ perceived value.
2.3. Perceived Value, Purchase Intentions, and Continuous Use Intentions
Intention is the will to engage in a future planned act to fulfill a personally set goal. It refers to the probability of a person’s thoughts and attitude being put into action, while continuous use intention refers to a consumer’s behavioral intent to consume a certain product or service again based on a memory (or experience) of past use [
46]. Many studies have noted continuous use intention as the result of a satisfying experience, often referring to a positive act following customer satisfaction or a satisfying purchase experience [
47].
Hoess et al. [
48] defined purchase intention as an individual’s tendency to purchase a particular product, or as their personal belief or willingness to form an attitude toward a certain object and express through a future act. They emphasized that the more positive a consumer’s attitude or thoughts were toward a product or brand, the more likely they were to have purchase intentions and actually make a purchase. Such a positive effect may also lead to continuous use intentions [
49]. Continuous use intention refers to a high likelihood for consumers to continue purchasing the product in the future. It is strongly characterized by a behavioral disposition toward direct consumption behavior and is highly correlated with actual repurchase behavior [
50].
In particular, Calvo-Porral and Levy-Mangin [
51] contended that purchase intentions in the online environment mostly occur in relation to service use and may later affect service experience satisfaction and continuous use intentions. Many different studies on consumption behavior within digital platforms have found perceived value to affect consumers’ buying behavior and continuous use intentions [
44,
52]. Likewise for subscription services, purchase intention occurs when the value perceived by users is positive; actual purchase experience or purchase satisfaction resulting from the purchase intention may affect the individual’s inclination to make recommendations or intentions to continue to use the subscription services or not [
53].
Lee et al. [
54] indicated that in mobile subscription commerce, consumers’ economic, social, and emotional values may have a positive effect on their attitude and behavior royalty. Hamari et al. [
55] noted that users’ perceived value in subscribing to digital contents affected their use intentions. This study formulated the hypothesis that the value perceived by users of digital platform-based subscription services would positively affect their purchase intentions and continuous use intentions.
Hypothesis 4 (H4). Subscription service users’ perceived value positively affects their purchase intentions.
Hypothesis 5 (H5). Subscription service users’ perceived value positively affects their continuous use intentions.
Hypothesis 6 (H6). Subscription service users’ purchase intentions positively affects their continuous use intentions.