Committed to Content Provider or Mobile Channel? Determinants of Continuous Mobile Multimedia Service Use

ABSTRACT The focus of the article is analysis of relationships between value perceptions, commitment and intentions to use mobile multimedia service (MMS) content. Attracting a committed wide audience end-user base that uses multimedia content frequently is essential for success of the services. Customers' preferences for both the content provider and for the channel used are included. This is necessary for exploring further how to increase continuous use and revenue per user in the mobile field. In the empirical case of mobile multimedia services in the real estate business, intentions to use the same service provider again were found to be directly influenced by commitment to use the same provider, and indirectly by emotional and social value perceptions of MMS content. The usefulness of the content had no effect on intentions to use the same provider. However, it influenced intentions to use the mobile channel as such. Implications for theory and marketers are discussed. INTRODUCTION In recent years, companies have started to extend their cross-media strategies by implementing SMS (short message service) and MMS (multimedia messaging service)[1] -based content in their service offerings (Feldmann 2005). The importance of the mobile channel in multi-channel strategies is expected to increase, as the customers require interactive service anytime, anywhere (Pagani 2004). The electronic channels add to the traditional media and enable customers to access content via several media or distribution channels (e.g. Internet, mobile channel, digital television, magazines, brick and mortar stores). Offering valuable content via mobile devices is expected to be increasingly important in gaining a competitive edge by strengthening relationships with the customers (Lin and Wang 2006). Creating profitable content requires long-term customer relationships and understanding of what influences the users. commitment to a mobile vendor and their repeat purchase intentions (Lin and Wang 2006). Since there is a finite number of users, customers should value the content so that they are willing to pay for it and optimally be kept long-term after the trial (Peffers and Tuunanen 2005). Lack of understanding of the needs and requirements of the wide end-user audience and of the ability to keep the trial users of new technology may easily result in market failure (Tuunanen 2003). In this vein, value perceptions have proven to be useful, since they are linked to purchase behaviour. Thus, companies should try to attract customers that are committed to the provider and prefer to use the mobile channel to access content services. Furthermore, they should also aim at providing content that these users perceive as valuable. The technology acceptance model (TAM) has become a cornerstone of IS research (Scornavacca, Barnes, and Huff 2006). However, previous TAM theories offer little insight as to how to promote commitment to content provider and what the wide audience perceives as valuable in the content offered with the help of the technology. Traditional TAM studies do not take into account the positive attitude towards a provider that is essential for attracting and keeping the wide audiences. New theories should be tested empirically in the mobile field, where previous research has long been dominated by descriptive and conceptual analysis (Scornavacca, Barnes, and Huff 2006). Thus, this study aims at adding to the mobile research field. It also fills a gap in the IS field by analyzing commitment to content provider and how value perceptions influence it. Theories that help to understand how to commit users to use one content provider's services in the long run are essential for keeping the wide audience end-users. Moreover, perceived value theories are helpful in examining why mobile content is used. Services marketing theories do not explicitly account for the influence of new technology or the channel used to access the service, which is increasingly important in new self-service contexts where users can choose between several distribution channels. …