Citation
Brady, M. (2004), "Mobile Commerce: Technology, Theory and Application", International Journal of Service Industry Management, Vol. 15 No. 2, pp. 220-224. https://doi.org/10.1108/09564230410532529
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2004, Emerald Group Publishing Limited
If this book had appeared during the heady days of the dot.com boom when anything connected to IT, the Internet or mobile applications was flavour of the month, this book would have been pounced upon for its title alone. But in the calm of the post‐boom era this book will need to be relevant, coherent, insightful, helpful, provocative, forward looking and much more to be accepted. The title promises a lot and in my opinion achieves a lot. This is a collection of 18 articles divided between academic and practitioner contributions, providing comprehensive insights from both perspectives.
This was a difficult book to compile, needing to document the current situation and include future predictions, while avoiding the hype and rhetorical that abounded during the dot.com era. This book highlights the complexity of the mobile computing landscape and the reality of the current challenges facing businesses as they view wireless options with interest and some trepidation. A strength of this book is that it clearly shows the emerging nature of this market from a variety of perspectives. It is an informative and interesting exploration of the technology, business models and user applications in both the consumer and the business worlds. If we have learnt anything over the past decade it is that technological diffusion takes time and user acceptance only comes with value added. This book reiterated that despite anticipated growth (which incidentally varies widely from chapter to chapter) growth is dependent on the consumer and business adoption, which will be based on value added. This book has to tread carefully between being overly positive or cautious and the chapters generally strike the right tone, though of course some are more positive than others and it is really only by reading the whole book that you get the real flavour for the reality of the situation.
Another strength of this book is that it is a global book designed for the global networked market and as such is an important contribution, with US, Japanese, Dutch and Finnish examples and world‐wide information dotted throughout the book.
Target audience. The intended target audience was broad, citing managers, academics, technologist and educators. I reviewed the book from a marketer's perspective, and would represent the educator's, academic's and manager's perspective not the technologist's. Your enjoyment of this book could depend on your level of knowledge of this area.
For the manager, this book caterers for a variety players in the industry and users of the technology, both from a B2B and a B2C perspective, utilising many of the management techniques with which they will be familiar and introducing new ones. It is therefore a novel mix between an academic and practical text. For the manager it treats them as intellectuals who should enjoy the challenge of reading this book. Too many books appear to think that managers are unable to digest information unless it is predominantly in bullet points and matrix format, while this book allows managers to use their intellectual capacity to discover the important sections of interest to them. Marketing managers in particular should read this book.
For students and educators. This book allows students to study a developing industry and utilises all the major management tools familiar in management courses including the value chain, porter five forces, networks, strategic alliances, mergers, technology diffusions models, competitive rivalry, marketing practices, segmentation and targeting and so on, making this a valuable book for students (particularly marketing students) at a variety of levels.
As each chapter is a standalone article in its own right, I have reviewed each, as many readers (students and managers) will pick and choose articles at random, though I would recommend reading the whole book in order to get the full flavour of this industry.
Chapter 1. Unfortunately, my main criticism centres on the choice of this review of iMode as chapter 1. If chapter 2 or even chapters 16 or 18 had been chosen, the book would have benefited greatly. Chapter 1 was a disappointing jaunt though the major features of iMode with very little new information, many bland assertions and no real discussion of technology strategies, theories or application to other markets. Much of the focus of this chapter is actually on integrated communications. Maybe it was designed as mini case study to whet the appetite of a novice to mobile technologies.
Chapter 2. I enjoyed chapter 2 and felt that it was excellent, thoughtful, insightful and I wondered why this was not the first chapter, as it introduced and discussed most of the main technologies in this area. This is a very useful chapter for students and a good reference guide for managers, and the inputs/outputs framework was easy to follow. This chapter could be improved through the use of tables and more direction for the reader, rather than the large blocks of text.
Chapter 3. This is a well‐written informative chapter, highlighting an application which is still in its infancy, and mapping the future clearly and distinctly. It offers practical advice, and an excellent review of the challenges, drivers and barriers. It was good to see the criticism of iMode and suggestions for how this model could be adapted for different markets. There was a clear warning to avoid superimposing Internet successes onto a completely different technological platform. For marketing readers, in particular, they will enjoy the marketing focus of the discussion. The Find It, Route it, Share it, Buy it framework was very good.
Chapter 4. This chapter was well matched with chapter 3, thought provoking and inclusive of the major developments and the negative aspects of location‐based services. The focus on the reality of market demand and commercial viability are good and practical reminders that the market and demand is all important “Although the technologies that enable the provision of mobile location services are already in place, the commercial success of such services is primarily dependent on the correct matching between technological capabilities and service offering.”
Chapter 5. The technological battlefield was set out before us and clearly explained with the competing US and European standards dissected and analysed for the lay person. The chapter clearly explores the stage of technological development and the level of uncertainty in regards to the dominant standard. This chapter was bedded in the reality of the situation and again highlighted the need to monitor developments for market benefits and use.
Chapter 6. I really enjoyed this chapter and found it informative, insightful and consider it a must read for anyone involved in not just mobile but any technological development, which is changing behaviour. It also linked well to chapter 5. The networked world was laid before us, highlighting the need for alliances, collaborations, networks, links, and associations among the main players along the value chain. It was a good study of the battles going on behind the scenes and the major decisions which will be made, which will have long‐term impacts on the structure of this industry and customer behaviour. This chapter forces one to think and to worry that mistakes of the past may be repeated. The core discussion focused on market demand and revenue models, asking where is the profit, who owns the customer and noting that technological advances in advance of demand is very dangerous.
Chapter 7. Utilising the value chain, this chapter asks and answers a lot of the questions that companies are currently searching for answers to and provides them in an easy to understand, informative way. For example they look at revenue and ask “How does a breakthrough technology or a breakthrough combination of formerly separate technology become a viable business?”. This is a reality check chapter focusing on the unpredictable nature of the consumer adoption curve and the challenges that companies will encounter. The authors traces the value chain from the 1980s into the future, which looks like a highly networked era, and then reviews appropriate participation strategies It sets up the argument for partnership/networks and then proves ideas and best practice advice in this area.
Chapter 8. A good analysis of the Wap Protocol utilising the Porter Framework provides an informative and interesting chapter. The major developments and most importantly, the strategic alliances and network features of this industry, are well documented. The discussions centring on the complexity of the value chain “where diverse industries which have only been peripherally related in the past” need to converge and merge is excellent and provides some foresight into how this whole area could develop. The customer is placed centre stage in this chapter, which unites customer needs and technological difficulties.
Chapter 9. Highlighting the differences, drivers and obstacles between the two markets and players, this chapter moved from business to consumer to B2B services. This is a critical chapter for many businesses with the major challenges and opportunities laid out before them. The focus is on “integrating mobility into business processes, as extensions of corporate IT systems”. There was an excellent discussion centring on the three value chains for service development, service provisioning and devices and the value net diagram.
Chapter 10. This marketing‐focused chapter centred on the strategy for portals and other aspects of mobile technology. The difficulties for companies and consumers of adapting to mobile worlds were highlighted by focusing on ubiquity, convenience, localisation and personalisation. It challenged companies to move away from attempting to replicate e‐commerce or Internet models in the mobile environment. The central theme was on the value added user experience.
Chapter 11. The reality of IT assimilation comes to the fore in the following two chapters, which cite contemporary research. Therefore a different perspective was provided by this chapter, which utilised a contemporary study of consumer acceptance of mobile gaming, through the customer adoption and technology diffusion models. It provided a more in‐depth study, both theoretically and practically, of marketing and customer variables, matched to behavioural characteristics and rates of adoption. A book of this nature needs to provide empirical evidence of the realities of adoption and to challenge some of the more generalised comments. The focus was on the gaming services but the study's design and findings could be utilised for other services.
Chapter 12. From a business perspective, this chapter presented another empirical study, focusing on the factors impacting on the adoption of mobile technology by small businesses. This was an excellent review for companies large, medium or small, of the organisational characteristics that could exist and the inhibitors and facilitators to technology adoption, not specifically mobile data technology (another new term!). This chapter provided a checklist for companies to pinpoint where they are in relation to technology assimilation and the barriers and opportunities. In many ways this chapter clearly reiterates a lot of what appears in previous parts of the book. Notably that the technology is not ready for the market and that companies are understandably taking a wait and see approach. This chapter carries a warning that the current adoption has been damaged by previous hype from IT investment.
Chapter 13. This chapter on privacy issues is a thought‐provoking, interesting, and necessary addition to the book, but somewhat confusing as it contradicts many of the previous chapters and the orientation of the book. This chapter discusses the invasion of privacy and calls for self‐regulation. I fear that regardless of the strength of the argument this will be a losing battle. Using telemarketing and e‐commerce to allow the past to predict the future was a good strategy, though using e‐mail would have probably provided a more realistic picture of what will happen. I feel that this chapter should have appeared earlier, within the location‐based services chapters in particular. It provides a timely warning but will companies heed the warnings? I fear not! Even the authors contend that it “may sound like an impossible series of suggestions”. New marketing tools bring with them additional concerns about privacy.
Case studies. The remaining four chapters provided case study examples: These case studies are important and early examples of the use of this technology by companies. They clearly demonstrate the embryonic nature of this technology and user applications that are only at the start of the diffusion process.
Chapter 14. The Coca Cola case study was a good, interesting and practical application of the technology, allowing the readers to understand the consumer's mindset. It shows how marketers need to focus on the dynamics of this medium and the differences from the standard online or wired alternatives, as the logical starting point. Ultimately for success there needs to be a “significant paradigm shift in the way consumers use the two medium that must be deeply internalised by marketers”.
Chapter 15. This case returns to location sensitive (new terminology) utilising the Fiat Auto and Auto Desk location service to discuss current and future directions, revenue models, the co‐ordinated effort of players and key technology enablers. There was good use of three critical attributes: personalisation, localisation and actionability, with a clear discussion of how each is needed, in order for adoption to take place and to reduce complexity. This was matched to a focus on location‐based enterprise applications and, very importantly, to revenue models.
Chapter 16. This chapter could make an excellent chapter 1 as it documents what needs to be done before an embedded technology will receive wide spread acceptance and how we are waiting for signs of consumer willingness to adopt. It is obvious from this chapter that there is much we still don't know about how this market will develop or whether there will be a market. The chapter also focuses on the operationalisation of technology capability and that the business model for this industry requires the co‐ordinated efforts of multiple actors. This case highlighted the convergence of the interest of many industries and the cross‐industry dependence with the business community co‐operating in ways never seen before.
Chapter 17. This was a very unusual chapter in that it was very positive in relation to the benefits of mobile advertising while highlighting a campaign that in my opinion annoyed 64,111 consumers. Promotions like these can actually damage the overall industry by creating negative perceptions. We needed a lot more information about this campaign in order to fully judge the problems and issues, rather than the bland and positive discussion which preceded it. This could be considered an example of a misuse of SMS, a failure, and I was glad to see this chapter included, but needed more information on this particular situation, so that we can learn from the mistakes.
Chapter 18. To end a book on a high note is always a challenge and this chapter was ideal – linking much of the consumer and business focus that had preceded it and linking the academic/practitioner, theory/practice areas nicely. The case of a wireless area network using radio frequency instead of mobile within a university setting allowed for the consumer and business applications to be portrayed equally. It really captured the feeling of a new world of possibilities with wireless technology.
There were some general weaknesses within this book that could be easily rectified for the next edition and may affect some readers more than others:
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Content Directional Pages. For each section it would be helpful if there was a guide, so that each set of chapters, which are linked together, have a cover page showing how they link and also where they are set into the overall text. I would also suggest more visual representations of what is a dynamic industry and technology.
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Terminology. A recommendation would be that the terminology is consistent throughout the book, as there are obvious contradictions with terms like mobile and location‐based services referred to in a variety of ways, which is irritating for the reader. A book like this should seek to aid in standardisation rather than contribute to the confusion.
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Index and Glossary. A major oversight on the part of the editor was the lack of an index. An index would help the reader and would also link the various issues, which arose across chapters. I would also suggest a better glossary to allow readers to refresh their memories. This book could be considered as a good reference guide for mobile commerce but would need an index and an extended glossary to fulfil that aim.