Adoption and use of mobile services. Empirical evidence from a Finnish survey

Abstract

An analysis of a Finnish survey of 1553 respondents between 9-34 years shows that categories of users differ significantly in their use of Internet and mobile services. The five categories in this subpopulation resemble the adopter categories in diffusion models. The relatedness of the adopter categories to social groups and external sources of influence vary significantly, but seem to follow the predictions of diffusion models. Opinion leaders, change agents and majorities have all adopted the terminals, but the use of services, especially of mobile services, is in the chasm. The mobile services are used mainly in the groups, whose charges are paid by their employer, with the exception of entertainment services. Using Internet services, however, has become commonplace within this subpopulation, and thus provides an alternative. These findings challenge the overtly individual view on the adoption of mobile services and emphasize the importance of right pricing as a means of spreading the diffusion.