Findings

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5.2 Findings

Finding 1

High potential value can lead to relatively high realized value for a mobile service.

As we argued before, the potential value of a mobile service is the expected value available to the investor if the implementation process is completely successful.

However, the true value of the Orbi service as these exhibitors ultimately experienced it was different from the expected value because of the barriers that arose after the mobile service had been implemented. In this case, we can see that the exhibitors who had high expectations and intentions surrounding their use of the Orbi service proactively eliminated the conversion barriers and achieved high levels of realized value at the exhibition. Therefore, H1 is supported.

Finding 2

2.1 The number of participants adopting Orbi services does not increase the value of mobile services.

For some products or services, benefits to consumers depend on the number of other consumers who have purchased compatible devices (Katz and Shapiro, 1986), but this finding does not apply to the Orbi service as introduced at this exhibition. The Orbi service is a brand-new service in Taiwan. Even though many exhibitors have expressed their interest in this service, almost none of them have used the service before. In addition, most of the functions are designed for buyers, not exhibitors, and thus, the latter have difficulty judging the value of the service. Moreover, the number of Orbi users (e.g., buyers, mass media, VIP) is not as high as was originally anticipated, and they do not have a channel through which to share their opinions about Orbi. Thus, network externality was not a factor at this exhibition, and H2a cannot be supported.

2.2 A positive attitude toward the adoption of new service innovations in the industry has a significant effect on the potential value of a mobile service.

According to analyses of the global mobile industry (Datamonitor 2009), the widespread mobile market can sustain mobile investment entirely, and those exhibitors who hold a similar attitude noted relevant innovative trends. Thus, a positive attitude toward the adoption of new service innovations in the industry is proven to have a positive effect on the potential value of a mobile service (H2b).

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2.3 Competitive pressure does not have a significant effect on the potential value of mobile services.

The past literature has posited that companies will consider investing in mobile applications when their competitors and strategic partners, the source of competitive pressure, begin to experiment with these new service practices (Wang and Cheung, 2004). Although their willingness to adopt an innovative service may be greatly affected by their competitors, competitive pressure does not play the leading role in this case. One possible reason may be that most of the exhibitors how participated in this exhibition are small and medium-size exhibitors. Most of them focus on a niche market, and their product categories seldom overlap. The competitive pressure to adopt the Orbi service was thus relatively small. It is also very possible that exhibitors do not see the Orbi service as a competitive weapon. If this is the case, the potential value of the mobile service may not be perceived as notable. In any event, H2c is not supported.

Finding 3

3.1 Organization size has a negative effect on the potential value of a mobile service.

Based on the past literature, we argue that the larger exhibitors expect mobile innovations to help them to maintain organizational growth, gain more customers, and increase their exposure rate. However, the data analysis shows the opposite result:

smaller companies perceive a higher value as being associated with the mobile service.

One of the reasons for this may be that most of participants in this exhibition were small companies. Indeed, this figure was 72.5% (with 28.3% employing 1-10 people and 44.2% employing 11-100 people). The data thus cannot objectively demonstrate the perceptions of large companies. Another potential reason for this unexpected result might be that smaller companies are more active and flexible in adopting new services. Because they are under pressure to grow to enhance competitive advantage, the motivation to accept a new market and new technologies such as the Orbi service and thus to maintain an innovative work environment will more intensive. Moreover, if large companies are slow, ponderous, consumed with internal politics and bureaucracy, and staffed with dissatisfied and poorly motivated employees, then the relationship between organization size and the potential value of mobile services may be negated and become irrelevant. On this basis, H3a is not supported.

3.2 Organization age has a positive effect on the potential value of a mobile service.

Some researchers argue that newer organizations have been born into an environment

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saturated with advanced communication and information technologies and that they therefore naturally rely on technologies to achieve competitive advantage (Porter, 1985). Our data analysis shows the opposite result. This may be because old companies constitute the majority of the exhibition firms, as a result of which fact; we cannot observe the intentions of new companies based on the data. However, even though only 20.3% of the firms are newer (with 11.5% that have been in existence for less than 3 years and 8.8% that have been in existence for 4-6 years), those companies did still exhibit significantly stronger intentions to adopt mobile services than did older companies. Another reason may be that older companies might be more experienced in adopting new technologies. The older companies generally possess complete, experienced investment teams ready to face the constantly changing market, and they tend to have employee training systems and rich resources, including appropriate mechanisms for adopting whatever new technologies the market demands.

All in all, organization age does not have a negative effect on the potential value of the Orbi service. Thus, H3b cannot be supported.

3.3 Organizational culture does not have a significant effect on the potential value of a mobile service.

Past studies have found that organizational culture is a key factor in whether a firm decides to invest in an innovation or not. Our data analysis yields inconsistent results.

Most exhibitors may be relatively conservative in adopting new technologies. It may also be possible that many organizations are small companies and do not have sufficient resources to innovate. Therefore, H3c cannot be supported.

3.4 Business alignment has a positive effect on the potential value of mobile service.

In the information explosion age, companies take customer service seriously, and IT-business alignment is becoming a more important way to gain competitive advantage. In this context, the Orbi service, a new mobile service technology that is aligned with companies’ business goals, meets exhibitors’ need to transform an enormous amount of information into a reliable data source, to ensure access to relevant and accurate customer information and to ensure that they can access that information quickly whenever they need to. Thus, the potential value of the Orbi service can be positive affected by business alignment and H3d is supported.

Finding 4

4.1 Mobile knowledge has a positively moderating effect on the relationship between the potential and realized value of a mobile service.

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We define mobile knowledge as a firm’s ability or know-how related to improving the success of mobile service investments. In this case, some exhibitors knowledgeably and rapidly made their exhibition information accessible via the Orbi platform, providing an introduction to their company, product and service information, mobile advertisements and stall activity information to exploit and maintain communication links with their customers. Most exhibitors expressed that they could perceive the value of the mobile service after the participant used it. That means that exhibitors who own the relevant mobile knowledge can positive moderate the value of the Orbi service. Therefore, H4a is supported.

4.2 Mobile operations have a positive moderating effect on the relationship between the potential and realized value of a mobile service.

The current mobile environment, the organizational structure needed to push mobility forward, and the benefits of mobile services can be controlled by mobile operations today (Slilva and Gray 2008). If exhibitors send a message about product and service information to their customers as a routine procedure, this means that they pay significant attention to organizational mobility. The results from this exhibition show that those exhibitors who place importance on mobile operations can realize more value from the Orbi service. Thus, H4b is supported.

4.3 Mobile objects has a positively moderation on the relationship between the potential and the realized value of mobile service.

Even if exhibitors expect high value from the Orbi service, they will not able to achieve that level of value without the support of mobile infrastructure. The results of the survey show that those exhibitors who have developed a great mobile infrastructure as necessary to support market needs and those who have abundant human resources to support such mobile marketing can perceive the Orbi service as providing them with a higher level of value. Thus, H4c is supported.

Finding 5

Knowledge barriers can positively moderate the relationship between the potential and the realized value of mobile service.

Our results show that the exhibitors who have the absorptive capacity and learning ability to collect industry information, make contact with customers and detect customer needs, maintain and develop customer knowledge, exchange inner information and develop new business can create high realized value from the Orbi

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service. Therefore, H5 is supported.

Finding 6

H6: Actual usage positively moderates the relationship between the potential and realized value of a mobile service.

According to the previous literature, we know that actual usage will affect the realization of mobile service value. In this case, the exhibitors indicated that the mobile marketing provided by the Orbi service was useful for them, and they exhibited a high level of intention to use this mobile service in the future. We can say that appropriate use can improve the value of a mobile service. Thus, H6 is supported.

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