Determinants of behavioral intentions in the mobile internet services market

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the theoretical and empirical meaningfulness of a composite model of behavioral intentions in a pure mobile internet services context.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper starts by investigating the influence of seven service quality determinants on overall service quality perceptions, employing a qualitative research design. Next, these determinants are embedded in a holistic nomological framework depicting the complex interrelationships between prominent service evaluation constructs and behavioral intentions. The model is tested employing partial‐least squares structural equation modeling in the context of a field experiment involving the delivery of music content over real‐world mobile networks and devices.

Findings

The study finds that content quality, contextual quality, device quality, connection quality and privacy concerns have a strong positive influence on service quality perceptions. Overall, service quality, value and satisfaction have a simultaneous direct effect on behavioral intentions.

Research limitations/implications

Consumer decision making is complex, and, for gaining favorable consumer behavior, it does not suffice to manage and measure service quality, satisfaction and value in an isolated manner but rather in a collective way.

Practical implications

So as to adopt mobile e‐commerce services consumers require to be rewarded with high levels of outcome quality (e.g., wide selection of music songs, sonic and video quality), anytime and most importantly at any place.

Originality/value

Study results imply that when it comes to specifying service evaluation frameworks employing service quality, satisfaction and value‐operationalized at a cumulative level traditional exchange contexts are not different from electronic commerce exchanges.

Citation

Vlachos, P.A. and Vrechopoulos, A.P. (2008), "Determinants of behavioral intentions in the mobile internet services market", Journal of Services Marketing, Vol. 22 No. 4, pp. 280-291. https://doi.org/10.1108/08876040810881687