Buyer behavior · Quasi-experimental difference-in-differences study with selection on observables and unobservables, comparing buyer firms that adopted a manufacturer's free B2B mobile app with a non-adopting control group over 15 months.
Return on Engagement Initiatives: A Study of a Business-to-Business Mobile App
Journal of Marketing · 2017
Summary
App adoption increased the manufacturer's annual sales revenue by 19.11%–22.79%; return on engagement remained positive after development costs, and was higher when buyers created more projects in the app.
For your marketing
Possible founder application
Use it as a product, platform or behavior mechanism reference rather than a direct forecast for a SaaS funnel.
Reported result
What the study found
App adoption increased the manufacturer's annual sales revenue by 19.11%–22.79%; return on engagement remained positive after development costs, and was higher when buyers created more projects in the app.
Research question
What the authors investigated
Can a B2B mobile-app engagement initiative generate measurable sales returns, and how does customer participation intensity explain return on engagement?
Design
Quasi-experimental difference-in-differences study with selection on observables and unobservables, comparing buyer firms that adopted a manufacturer's free B2B mobile app with a non-adopting control group over 15 months.
Sample and setting
A tool manufacturer's business buyers and their sales records; the app was offered free to engage buyers, and buyer participation intensity was measured through projects created in the app.
Scope and transfer
Limitations to keep in view
The evidence is from one manufacturer's app and buyer base, and adoption is not randomized; consequently, residual selection, firm-specific implementation effects, and generalization to other B2B apps remain concerns.
Research sources
SAGE's Journal of Marketing page identifies the authors, article, journal, and DOI and reports the 15-month adopter/control design, 19.11%–22.79% sales-revenue effect, cost-adjusted positive RoEI, and participation-intensity result in the abstract. Direct publisher-page retrieval was recorded on 2026-10-09; profile summarizes the accessible record and does not claim independent review of inaccessible full text.