The adoption of mobile value-added services: Investigating the influence of IS quality and perceived playfulness

Abstract

Purpose: Mobile telecommunication service providers endeavor to mitigate the declining voice service revenue through popularization of mobile value-added services (MVASs). To understand determinants that influence mobile phone subscribers` intentions to use MVASs, this study aims to investigate the influences of perceived playfulness and information systems (IS) quality on mobile phone subscribers` intentions to use MVASs. Design/methodology/approach: An online survey involving 304 subjects was conducted, followed by a partial least squares (PLS) analysis, which yielded strong evidence in support of our proposed research model. Findings: The results confirmed that information quality, system quality, and service quality serve as important antecedents of perceived ease of use and usefulness among mobile phone subscribers. Additionally, the authors found that the perceived playfulness of MVASs mediates the influence of perceived ease of use on intentions of mobile phone subscribers to adopt the services. The comparison between experienced and inexperienced users also suggests that inexperienced subscribers are attracted to MVASs that satisfy their need for information or play, whereas experienced subscribers tend to take into account system and service qualities. Research limitations/implications: Self-selection within the online data collection process was unavoidable; in addition, this study was unable to perform a comparison across different mobile phone subscriber groups and was limited to those MVASs available at the time of data collection. Practical implications: The results of this study can assist mobile telecommunication service providers in understanding the critical determinants that influence mobile phone subscribers` decisions to adopt MVASs. Besides IS quality factors, the results suggest that service providers should also value the quality of perceived playfulness, which reflects user engagement and enjoyment of the services, beyond usefulness alone. Originality/value: This study contributes to the understanding of MVAS adoption by introducing IS quality factors and perceived playfulness to current theoretical models; and, furthermore, provides sound evidence that information quality, system quality, service quality, and perceived playfulness are critical factors that influence consumer decisions to adopt these services. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.