Mapping the mind of the mobile consumer across borders

Purpose – To define the similarities and differences in perceptions that mobile consumers in culturally distinct markets hold towards the mobile internet.Design/methodology/approach – Using the Zaltman metaphor elicitation technique (ZMET), mental maps between consumers from Indonesia and Japan were developed and compared.Findings – Results showed clear structural similarities between aggregate maps, while differences were found in experiential factors such as technical infrastructure or the underlying business model. The main barriers to widespread consumer adoption of the mobile internet were not found in cognitive structures unique to individual markets, but appeared instead to be caused by inefficiencies within the wireless ecosystem.Research limitations/implications – These results identified factors from a number of pre‐existing theories relevant to the mobile platform, suggesting the need to develop a new, more inclusive theory of mobile consumer behavior. ZMET was also shown to be an effective com...

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