Explaining Mobile Internet Services Adoption by Context-of-Use and Lifestyle

Abstract

Whether or not mobile Internet services add value depends on the context and objective in which they are used. In this paper, we examine whether consumer attitudes towards the added value of mobile services in specific contexts has a positive impact on their general intention to adopt mobile Internet services, by analyzing the results of a large-scale consumer survey. The results indicate that context-of-use has a positive impact on the intended use of mobile Internet services. This effect is empirically distinct from the more generic attitude towards mobile innovation. Whether physical, social or task-related context-of-use is most important depends on the lifestyle group to which consumers belong. The results imply that future studies should take both context-of-use and lifestyles into account. Service providers should focus on the contextual value of their mobile Internet services, while segmenting between different lifestyle groups.