M-Business Organizational Benefits and Value: A Qualitative Study

Abstract

Mobile technology innovations have allowed organizations to expand the way they conduct business. Organizations are increasingly leveraging the unique value propositions of mobile business (m-business) in terms of convenience, ubiquity, unison, and personalization to improve business performance and support their value chain activities. Building on a process-oriented model of IT business value, we propose that m-business value is derived from its perceived impacts on the value chain activities. This article addresses the following research questions: (i) How does m-business create value for organizations? and (ii) Which are the organizational impacts of m-business? Through qualitative research involving in-depth interviews with experts, this article defines m-business value by clarifying the impacts of m-business usage at the organizational level. While the interview results show that m-business does have impact on marketing and sales and internal operations, its impact on procurement requires further research. The findings extend existing literature by proposing a definition of m-business value, based on a more in-depth understanding of m-business impacts on firm performance, highlighting new m-business value components, and developing a conceptual model of m-business value assessment in which task requirements and business characteristics may play a moderating role. The implications of these findings on future research are discussed.

Mobile Commerce Adoption in North American Organizations: An Empirical Study of Organizational Factors

“…Some of the perceived benefits of mcommerce include its ability to allow businesses to reach new customers in different geographic regions through relevant mobile network service providers (Picoto et al, 2013). As these customers are connected to one of the mobile cell towers, it is easy to identify their exact location and offer location-specific solutions.…”

“…Diffusion can be explained as a process of communicating innovation through specific channels. Through unique characteristics, mobile technologies can create value through chain of activities in operations, procurement, marketing and sales (Picoto et al, 2013). DOI lays out steps for innovation and adoption of new technologies, which can be used for mcommerce.…”

“…Regulatory standards are introduced by both state and federal governments in each country (Newman, 2011 Consumer perception about the use of mcommerce certainly influences their decision to use (Picoto et al, 2013). Design aesthetics may also lead to customer loyalty and builds trust (Cyr et al, 2006;Li and Yeh, 2010).…”

Predicting Switching Behaviour of e-Service Users toward m-Services: An Empirical Investigation

“…In fact, the mobile-Internet channel aims to add the ubiquity dimension to the fixed-Internet channel by leveraging the time and location flexibility of the mobile channel [5]. Mobile channels bring salient benefits to the end-user, such as portability, localization and flexible connectivity [1]. Portability refers to the distinct feature of mobile devices that can be transported and conveyed in a way that makes the user able to use them on the move [1].…”

“…With the rapid development of information and communication technology (ICT), M-services have evolved to supplement the traditional web channel, and ultimately to generate opportunities of value and revenue creation [1]. The M-services market has been growing rapidly in Saudi Arabia, where the mobile penetration rate reached 171% in 2014, with 53 million mobile subscribers [2].…”