The critical role of consumer behaviour research in mobile commerce

Abstract

The changing role of mobile communications is reflected in the increasing use of mobile devices for e-commerce purposes. Supported by the penetration of mobile devices and the evolution of mobile technologies, mobile commerce promises to change the way certain business-to-consumer (B2C) activities are conducted. Focusing on B2C markets, this paper underlines the critical role of consumer behaviour research in mobile commerce and investigates, through an exploratory research approach, the critical success factors towards mobile commerce diffusion. To that end, an online consumer survey ran in three European countries (Finland, Germany and Greece). The results showed that mobile commerce (m-commerce) penetration in Europe is in its infancy. In addition, significant differences regarding consumer attitudes towards mobile commerce were observed among the countries investigated. Lower prices, improved security, improved devices and effective customer support, proved to be the critical success factors towards accelerating m-commerce consumer adoption. It is concluded that the customisation of the marketing mix to the specific characteristics of each target market is a key success factor for mobile operators in Europe.