The purpose of this paper is to develop various measures and visualizations that reflect differences in the maturity and characteristics of mobile services. The visualizations and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to develop various measures and visualizations that reflect differences in the maturity and characteristics of mobile services. The visualizations and measures support market research processes with a recently developed handset‐based mobile service research tool.
Design/methodology/approach
A new handset‐based mobile service research platform was used in the study. This platform provides both questionnaire data and accurate usage‐level measurement data. The dataset included 695 Finnish smartphone users from year 2006, and 565 users from 2005.
Findings
Penetration, usage concentration and usage diversity indices illustrate how mobile voice has already reached the mass market and consequently relatively small differences in usage intensities among end‐users exist. On the contrary, many new services such as multimedia and internet browsing still catch quite explorative instead of sustainable usage. User preferences towards emerging mobile services are more heterogeneous than towards mature services. The distribution of usage in new services is quite skewed, whereas more linear cumulative distributions can be observed with mature services. Service life‐cycle reflects in measurement results.
Research limitations/implications
The research includes data only from early‐adopter users. In addition, many background variables are missing that could explain some of the results. In particular, the supply side of the market is inadequately modeled.
Practical implications
The research shows that only a handset‐based data collection method provides accurate enough data to do cross‐service studies in today's more and more complex mobile service market.
Originality/value
The contribution of the paper is its unique data collection method, which makes this kind of accurate analysis possible. Handset‐based data can be efficiently used in micro‐level comparisons of user behavior or service usage patterns. Many of the studied services are such that, for example, network‐based research tools do not provide adequate possibilities for collection of data. The handset‐based research method is the only viable way to do accurate empirical mobile service research and demand‐side estimations in the kind of challenging cross‐service settings introduced in this paper.
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Keywords
The purpose of this paper is to identify several measures that reflect the diffusion of the mobile internet.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify several measures that reflect the diffusion of the mobile internet.
Design/methodology/approach
The measurements are implemented with a newly developed handset‐based mobile service research platform that provides a novel way to accurately identify trends taking place in mobile service usage. These measures are demonstrated in a case example comparing Finnish early‐adopter smartphone users between 2005 and 2006 (500 and 695 users).
Findings
The results indicate that the mobile internet has not yet emerged on a large scale in Finland. On the contrary operators have slightly increased their power, potentially because handset bundling with mobile subscriptions is now allowed in Finland.
Research limitations/implications
The measurement framework can be further utilized in both cross‐sectional and longitudinal study settings in evaluating the emergence of the mobile internet. No other empirical research method provides the accuracy and scope of usage measurements done with the handset‐based research platform. However, the shortcomings of the new method should be realized.
Practical implications
The paper suggests that the mobile internet has not emerged widely, even in early‐adopter user segments.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to the measurement of mobile internet service usage. Mobile internet services are currently emerging in early‐adopter user segments. These services might shake the dynamics of the mobile services industry by introducing different kinds of technical innovation and business logic.
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Hannu Verkasalo and Heikki Hämmäinen
The purpose of the article is to demonstrate the viablity of a handset‐based research platform in measuring mobile service and application usage through various descriptive…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of the article is to demonstrate the viablity of a handset‐based research platform in measuring mobile service and application usage through various descriptive empirical studies.
Design/methodology/approach
A handset‐based research platform was used in measuring mobile usage in an international panel consisting of more than 500 mobile subscribers. The panel took place in 2005‐2006.
Findings
The research paper finds various interesting data points which cannot be derived with any other method. In addition, the paper finds that there are significant differences in certain mobile service and application use cases between different demographic groups.
Research limitations/implications
The main research limitations are the size of the sample and lack of clear business implications. The main idea of the paper was just to demonstrate the type of measurements and studies that can be done with the developed research platform.
Practical implications
3G technology drives packet data usage and 3rd party application usage in smartphones is very promising. Handset‐based research platform can and should be used in the future in various empirical studies on the mobile telecommunication market
Originality/value
A handset‐based research platform has never before been utilized in doing market research, and therefore the process and results discussed in this paper are pioneering ones.
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Hannu Hannila, Joni Koskinen, Janne Harkonen and Harri Haapasalo
The purpose of this paper is to analyse current challenges and to articulate the preconditions for data-driven, fact-based product portfolio management (PPM) based on commercial…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyse current challenges and to articulate the preconditions for data-driven, fact-based product portfolio management (PPM) based on commercial and technical product structures, critical business processes, corporate business IT and company data assets. Here, data assets were classified from a PPM perspective in terms of (product/customer/supplier) master data, transaction data and Internet of Things data. The study also addresses the supporting role of corporate-level data governance.
Design/methodology/approach
The study combines a literature review and qualitative analysis of empirical data collected from eight international companies of varying size.
Findings
Companies’ current inability to analyse products effectively based on existing data is surprising. The present findings identify a number of preconditions for data-driven, fact-based PPM, including mutual understanding of company products (to establish a consistent commercial and technical product structure), product classification as strategic, supportive or non-strategic (to link commercial and technical product structures with product strategy) and a holistic, corporate-level data model for adjusting the company’s business IT (to support product portfolio visualisation).
Practical implications
The findings provide a logical and empirical basis for fact-based, product-level analysis of product profitability and analysis of the product portfolio over the product life cycle, supporting a data-driven approach to the optimisation of commercial and technical product structure, business IT systems and company product strategy. As a virtual representation of reality, the company data model facilitates product visualisation. The findings are of great practical value, as they demonstrate the significance of corporate-level data assets, data governance and business-critical data for managing a company’s products and portfolio.
Originality/value
The study contributes to the existing literature by specifying the preconditions for data-driven, fact-based PPM as a basis for product-level analysis and decision making, emphasising the role of company data assets and clarifying the links between business processes, information systems and data assets for PPM.
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Kimmo Laakso, Anita Rubin and Hannu Linturi
Mobile communication has grown beyond its original scope and scale, and mobile operators have played a significant role in this phenomenon. Since the mobile operator business is…
Abstract
Purpose
Mobile communication has grown beyond its original scope and scale, and mobile operators have played a significant role in this phenomenon. Since the mobile operator business is highly regulated, the authors aim to analyze the effects of regulation on the industry during the period 1985‐2009. They also aim to consider its potential effects in the years 2010‐2015.
Design/methodology/approach
The method selected for this research was the Delphi method. The challenge was that this method was originally created to assess experts' opinions about the course of development of a certain technology or phenomenon in the future, and then by using for example a scenario technique, to draw conclusions about its possible futures. Here the authors used the Delphi method for estimating past development also, i.e. experts' opinions of the causes and effects of laws and other regulations in the past few decades.
Findings
According to this research the ultimate goals of the regulator, set as early as in the middle of the 1980s, have been actualized: in Finland there are several competing nationwide mobile operators and the use of mobile phones is cheap compared to many other countries. One significant finding of this study is that the regulatory framework for the mobile operator business has become more complex over the years and that this complexity is also likely to grow in the future.
Practical implications
Dynamic regulation has enabled strong competition in Finland's mobile operator market and at the same time a very high service level for subscribers. The Delphi method is proven to be a powerful tool also when examining past events, and the authors recommend Delphi for use in studies related to other sectors of administration and fields of business.
Originality/value
This paper enables better monitoring of the changes in regulatory framework over a long period in which several changes have been made, compared to previous studies which focus on a single regulatory action.