JOURNAL OF INTERNET BANKING AND COMMERCE EXPLORING FACTORS INFLUENCING THE ADOPTION OF MOBILE COMMERCE

ABSTRACT  This study presents an extended technology acceptance model that integrates innovation diffusion theory to investigate what determine user mobile commerce acceptance. This paper models the factors relationships such as perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, personal innovativeness, subjective norms, behavioral control and intention to adopt mobile commerce. The proposed model was empirically tested using data collected from a survey of mobile commerce consumers. Empirical data from regression analysis reflects users ease of use influence behavioral intention to adopt mobile commerce. The majority of positive relationships between perceived ease of use, subjective norms, behavioral control and intention to adopt are supported by empirical data. Results also reveal that behavioral control and subjective norms influence perceived ease of use which affects then their adoption intention. The paper concludes some important implications for the practitioners. 
Keywords: Mobile Commerce, Adoption, Behavioral Intention JIBC December 2007, Vol. 12, No. 3 - 2 - 
INTRODUCTION  Mobile commerce involves the delivery of products and services via wireless technologies to enable internet commerce activities without restrictions of time and space (Liao et al, 1999). Several independent studies have shown that mobile commerce can have an important influence on business and society in future. Mobile commerce offers very promising possibilities for a broad range of business sectors. According to Wireless week (2004), there are currently 94.9 million mobile commerce users in 2003 worldwide and the segment is expected to grow 1.67 billion by 2008. Global revenues from M-commerce are expected to reach $555 billion in 2008 (Wireless Week, 2004).  Mobile commerce was initially expected to experience a substantial growth for several reasons, i.e. rapid proliferation of mobile device adoption and the obvious advantages of anytime, anywhere connectivity. However, most m-commerce applications, excepts for very few personal applications (i.e. ring tone) have failed to meet expectations. Many factors have hindered consumer’s usage of mobile commerce applications. These include cost of access, credit card security, difficult navigation and low access speed (Smith, 2001). However, today a considerable proportion of mobile commerce consists of purchase of different types of digital content that in most cases is used in the mobile phones. Customers want to personalize their mobile devices with ringing tones, screen savers, wall papers and downloading games. Getting used to buying digital content and services with the mobile devices will make it easier to adapt to mobile payment mechanism for physical goods as well in future.  The primary objective of this research is to identify the factors that can predict the intention to use m-commerce systems. An important goal through out is to develop a model capable of providing useful information to m-commerce practitioners. It will help the practitioners to understand insights and how to promote it to customers. In this research, we combined the factors from various theories to develop a proposed model for this study.  The reminder of this paper is organized as follows; section 2 presents the research model and hypotheses. Next section 3 describes the research method. Then the results are reported in section 4. Finally section 5 presents conclusions.