Key Pousttchi

Mobile word-of-mouth – A grounded theory of mobile viral marketing

Mobile devices as personal communication tools are used as platforms for viral marketing within existing social networks. Although there is some evidence on the usefulness of mobile viral marketing from the marketers’ perspective, little is known about the motivations, attitudes, and behaviors of consumers engaged in this marketing instrument. The purpose of this research is to better understand the motivations behind a consumers decision to engage in mobile viral marketing strategies. The outcome is a grounded theory of mobile viral marketing with respect to the consumer and his social network, decomposing the mobile viral effect and identifying the determinants of reception, usage, and forwarding of mobile viral content. This result helps researchers and marketers to better understand the critical components of mobile viral marketing strategies and prepares the ground for further research in this emerging field.

Proposing a comprehensive framework for analysis and engineering of mobile payment business models

Although in the era of third generation (3G) mobile networks technical hurdles are minor, the continuing failure of mobile payments (m-payments) withstands the endorsement by customers and service providers. A major reason is the uncommonly high interdependency of technical, human and market factors which have to be regarded and orchestrated cohesively to solve the problem. In this paper, we apply Business Model Ontology in order to develop an m-payment business model framework based on the results of a precedent multi case study analysis of 27 m-payment procedures. The framework is depicted with a system of morphological boxes and the interrelations between the associated characteristics. Representing any m-payment business model along with its market setting and influencing decisions as instantiations, the resulting framework enables researchers and practitioners for comprehensive analysis of existing and future models and provides a helpful tool for m-payment business model engineering.

A modeling approach and reference models for the analysis of mobile payment use cases

Mobile payments can be categorized according to their usage in each of the five payment scenarios presented here. The paper proposes the mobile payment modeling approach (MPMA) especially suited for value-based analysis of mobile payment use cases. Based on this approach, the study also develops a set of seven reference models that can classify any given mobile payment use case or mobile payment procedure and analyze it with regard to the business model, the roles of the market participants, and their interrelation from a value-based perspective. An introspective analysis of the mobile payment service provider role and a market constellation analysis which shows the implications of different actors assuming one or more of the respective roles complete the study.

A Scenario-Based Analysis of Mobile Payment Acceptance

In recent years, a lot of mobile payment service providers entered the market and often left it without any success. They have often disregarded the high complexity of the ecosystem and of the particularities of mobile communication techniques. The contribution of this paper is to understand the determinants of customer acceptance of mobile payment especially the influence of payment scenarios. For that purpose, the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) was extended by new constructs measuring the m-payment particularities like expressiveness and the applicability in different payment scenarios.

Current mobile payment procedures on the German market from the view of customer requirements

The key to mobile payment acceptance is in the hands of customers. In this paper we use the results of the mobile payment survey MP1 in order to identify and roughly weigh the most relevant acceptance criteria. The outcome of the paper is an evaluation scheme containing the covered payment scenarios, important main criteria (security, costs and convenience) and additional functionality requirements for each MP procedure. The scheme is based on empirical results and can assess a given MP procedure with regard to customer acceptance as well as to compare different procedures. The operational MP procedures Paybox, I-mode and Vodafone m-pay are examined and compared according to the scheme. Finally, a prospect is given to possible further development of mobile payment procedures in the direction of an integrative universal mobile payment system (UMPS).

Introduction to the Special Issue on Mobile Commerce: Mobile Commerce Research Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow—What Remains to Be Done?

ABSTRACT Mobile commerce (m-commerce) in the smartphone age is revolutionizing established value networks and transforming the wider economy. In this introduction we strive to build a bridge from the past of m-commerce research to its future. We examine more than a decade of research and conduct a Delphi study among leading scholars in the field. The review reveals significant changes in m-commerce topics as time goes on, and provides initial insights into what the future may hold for us. The most sobering finding is that the m-commerce field has still to establish a strong theoretical foundation. This has been reflected in less than overwhelming success in publishing on the subject in the most prestigious journals of the Information Systems discipline. At the same time, m-commerce forms one of the epicenters of the ongoing digitalization of our life. Therefore, we look forward to m-commerce research rising to the challenge and making significant contributions to understanding one of the important phenomena of our time.

Determinants of customer acceptance for mobile data services: an empirical analysis with formative constructs

Despite all forecasts, innovative mobile data services are not yet widespread. The aim of this research is to explain what influences customer acceptance and usage of mobile data services. For this purpose, we develop a structural equation model. To gain a maximum insight into the reasons for acceptance or rejection of mobile data services, we operationalise our model mainly with formative constructs. The model is validated with data from Europes largest mobile market, Germany. We show that perceived usefulness of any b2c mobile data service highly depends on perceived enjoyment – which for instance explains the high acceptance of iPhone applications compared to others. Our results allow not only for a better understanding of the underlying customer behaviour but also for concrete recommendations on the design of mobile data services.

Value Creation in the Mobile Market

In recent years competitive pressure in mobile markets has increased remarkably. New business models and thus new actors have entered the market. This contribution analyzes the reconfiguration of value structures and strategies in mobile markets. For this purpose, mobile network operators’ service portfolio is analyzed on the basis of a worldwide survey, and the relevant current and future value creation activities are identified with consideration of additional actors and influence factors. On that basis, roles are developed, linked with regard to value flows and combined to a reference model for the mobile market value net. Subsequently, scenario planning is used to develop a set of criteria for the construction of corresponding future scenarios and the application of the reference model is demonstrated with such a scenario.

Analyzing and Categorization of the Business Model of Virtual Operators

Outsourcing strategies of Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) have lead to the emergence of innovative business models, such as virtual operators. In this paper, we use literature review and multi case study analysis in order to analyze different elements of virtual operators and to identify standard types. The outcome is a categorization of virtual operators, which allows the standardization and structured comparison of any Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) business model. Based on this, we describe six virtual operators, which become accepted in the market: Branded Reseller, Service Provider, Enhanced Service Provider, full Mobile Virtual Network Operator, White Label Service Provider and Mobile Virtual Network Enabler. In addition, the categorization may also support virtual operators in defining and evaluating business models.

Analyzing the Elements of the Business Model for Mobile Payment Service Provision

In this paper, we use literature review and multi case study analysis in order to identify and analyze different elements of a mobile payment business model. The result is a set of six partial models:: market model, value proposition model, implementation model, capital model, distribution and communication model, and threat model. These models allow for categorization of any given mobile payment business model and, based on this, structured comparison of different business models. Moreover, the set may also support mobile payment service providers in defining and evaluating business models.