Felice Addeo

A Consumer Perspective on Mobile Market Evolution

In 2006 we performed a wide research on consumer behaviour in the Italian mobile communication market (Mazzoni et al, 2007). Using a multidimensional segmentation framework (LAM model), we identified three demand clusters according to consumers’ lifestyles, use motivations and product attributes. One of the main findings was that two clusters out of three were characterized by a propensity to an integrated and serviceoriented use of mobile communication. In other words, some consumers conceived mobile phones not only as simple communication devices, but also like technologically advanced multipurpose tools. Nowadays these results seem to foresee the increasing importance that services are assuming in consumers’ preferences. Indeed, since 2006, many changes have occurred in mobile market, among them the servitization phenomenon, leading handsets manufacturers towards an extension of their value chain on service delivering. Mixing both good and service components in their offerings, they are integrating phone devices with numerous software applications. While previous studies focus on the supply side of servitization, its implications on consumers is less investigated. In this chapter we therefore aim at analyzing the impact of servitization on mobile phones demand and on the LAM model’s three dimensions. The chapter is therefore organized as follows. Firstly, we present the LAM multidimensional segmentation model and its theoretical rationale, contextualizing it within the current state of literature on the subject of market segmentation with particular attention to the system of used variables (section 2). Results of 2006 research are described in section 3. Industry evolution since that time and consequent changes in the mobile market value are pointed out in section 4. Basing on a literature review, we then focus on servitization, underlining its market and consumer implications (section 5). Finally, the effects of servitization on the LAM model’s three dimensions are briefly considered (section 6). Conclusion brings some considerations about further research (section 7).