A study of consumer value-added services in mobile commerce: focusing on domestic cellular phone companies in Taiwan, China

Mobile commerce, or e-commerce over mobile devices, has become a major topic of interest for the IS research community and a key priority for many business organizations as it is becoming increasingly evident that PC-based e-commerce has not lived up to the expectations and achieved true mass adoption. However, mobile commerce includes a large range of various services, especially with regard to numerous value-added services. Before we discuss the customers' level of demand for extra services, it is essential to understand and study the existing added services available in the market. This awareness can also assist further research. Balasubramanian et al describes eight different areas of mobile commerce value-added services. Clarke suggests four value propositions for m-commerce to define value added services characteristics. Both Balasubramanian et al and Clarke's models are commonly-used tools to test the characteristics of value-added services. Moreover, this research mainly focuses on Taiwan's current mobile commerce value-added services, while separating them into categories and characteristics. We surveyed the three largest cell phone service providers in Taiwan: Chunghwa Telecom, Taiwan Cellular Corp, TransAsia Telecommunications. We collected and sorted these providers' value-added services using the eight categories of Balasubramanian et al. and Clarke's four Value propositions for m-commerce to examine each value added service's characteristics. The purpose is to better understand the characteristics and current situations of service providers in Taiwan, as well as what areas need improvement. We also provide companies with a clear view of their deficiencies; moreover, cell phone service providers can have an accurate goal for developing future services. Moreover, we provide sufficient suggestions, thereby giving providers a clear direction for further promotions and marketing.