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CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
Advances in computing and wireless telecommunications networks have enabled anytime, anywhere access to mobile services on a grand scale through a multitude of mobile devices (e.g., cellular phones, hand-held or palm-sized computers, or vehicle-mounted interfaces) (Lyytinen and Yoo, 2002; Wang et al., 2006). The potential for mobile services to create business value has been widely recognized by researchers and practitioners. For example, Siau (2001) has pointed out that mobile services provide users with the ability to access the internet from any location at any time, pinpoint an individual mobile terminal user's location, access information at the point of need, and update data/information as needed. The Wireless World Research Forum (WWRF), in its “Book of Visions” on the future of wireless networks, has stated that a champion mobile service should be one that can create and maintain emotional impact and pleasant experiences for users (WWRF, 2000, p. 9) (Pedersen et al., 2002). Thus, mobile services such as banking, content downloads, emergency/roadside assistance, and wireless coupons are potential winners in the mobile marketplace that reinforce relationships with key customers through their delivery of value-added, interactive, and location-based services (Wang et al., 2006).
However, mobile services and mobile devices are not equally popular, just as the popularity of wired e-commerce cannot be assessed according to the popularity of computers, as has previously been proven (Anckar and D’Incau, 2002). Gartner did a large-scale global survey of several thousand subscribers in 2007, asking what mobile services they used and the results show that fewer than 10 percent of people in Western Europe have used mobile services and that the number of people planning to try these services in the next year (2008) is only a few percent.
The low adoption rate reflects that users may not fully understand the value of mobile services. Brand-new mobile services have features such as ubiquity, personalization, flexibility, and dissemination, challenging people’s old habits, which are difficult to break (Jessup and Robey, 2002). Thus, as use patterns change, new demands and expectations emerge that cause uncertainty about what people value and are willing to pay for (Tilson et al., 2004). In addition, value cannot be realized without mass adoption; even the best-designed mobile service business model will soon be defeated if it is not widely successful (Anckar and D’Incau, 2002; Pedersen et al., 2002; Pedersen and Ling, 2003). Some researchers have isolated important factors in the adoption of mobile services. For example, Kleijnen et al. (2004) indicate that complexity, ease of use, and compatibility are positively related to the adoption of mobile services. Bouwman and Carlsson (2007) suggest that physical, cognitive, and
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economic barriers have a negative effect on the actual use of mobile services. These findings remind us that notwithstanding the many efforts aimed at developing better and more efficient mobile service systems, these systems either have been ignored by consumers or are seriously underused if firms do not take into consideration crucial barriers that can diminish or erode the value of mobile services (Wang et al., 2006).
Therefore, understanding how the value of mobile service can be communicated and identifying the value-discounting factors that affect consumer intention to use mobile services are indeed pressing issues.
Past researchers have attempted to resolve similar issues in the field of IT in general. Firms are always considering how to improve their efficiency and effectiveness and even gain competitive advantage via the mobile services that they introduce, but few firms actually have the time or the motivation to reflect on innovative technologies. If firms today can evaluate the value of mobile services more accurately, they can make better decisions. Given this information, how can firms determine the ‘right’ value on IT investment to focus? In 2000, Davern and Kauffman (2000) distinguished between two types of IT value, potential value and realized value, by analyzing decision support systems. Potential value represents the maximum value opportunity available to the investor if IT is implemented successfully, and realized value is the measurable value that can be identified after implementation. The model was extended by Chircu and Kauffman (2000) to show that each factor is subject to different influences that diminish the benefits of the investment. They have defined the “limit-to-value” framework as the valuation and conversion processes that are affected by a series of specific value-discounting factors called valuation barriers and conversion barriers. That is to say, there are a number of value flow barriers that affect the assessment of the potential value of IT and its conversion into realized value.
This framework enables subsequent researchers to explain why not all value flows can be realized after the implementation of IT.
While the past literature on the performance of mobile services has focused on either adoption or post-adoption issues, few studies address the value flow through both stages, and therefore, the research that has been done has been unsuccessful in capturing the real value of the service. Although the limit-to-value framework provides a useful methodology for assessing value, there have been no empirical studies done so far. Therefore, our research goal is to use a limit-to-value framework to evaluate the value of mobile services. The framework will be further validated using an empirical study of an innovative mobile service in the Taiwanese exhibition industry.
To be more specific, our research questions are as follows：
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1. What critical factors will alter the perceived value of mobile service for exhibitors? What type of factors will decrease the realized value?
2. What are the valuation barriers and conversion barriers that influence mobile service value before and after the introduction of such services?
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