Title: Why Chinese listeners stay engaged with podcasts: insights from a modified ECM-UTAUT2 framework

Authors: Yanyan Li; Xinru Sun

Addresses: School of Literature and Journalism, Yantai University, Qingquan Road 30, Yantai, China ' School of Literature and Journalism, Yantai University, Qingquan Road 30, Yantai, China

Abstract: Podcasts have emerged as a popular mobile media in China, yet factors driving sustained user engagement remain underexplored. This study extends the ECM-UTAUT2 model by introducing a novel internal factor, perceived concomitance, which captures users' ability to integrate podcast listening into daily routines and psychological accompaniment. In addition, two external factors, content gratification and social gratification, derived from uses and gratifications theory, are incorporated. Analysis of survey data from Chinese podcast users highlights the critical roles of perceived concomitance, content gratification, user satisfaction, performance expectancy, and confirmation in sustaining engagement. However, social gratification and social influence do not exhibit significant impacts, reflecting cultural and contextual differences in Chinese podcast consumption compared to Western contexts. Our research offers practical insights for fostering sustained engagement in the Chinese podcast market.

Keywords: ECM-UTAUT2; podcast engagement; continuance intention; perceived concomitance; content gratification; Chinese market.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMC.2026.155406

International Journal of Mobile Communications, 2026 Vol.28 No.2, pp.164 - 185

Accepted: 17 Oct 2025
Published online: 31 Jul 2026 *

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