The mobile commerce value chain: analysis and future developments

Barely before Internet-facilitated e-commerce has begun to take hold, a new wave of technology-driven commerce has started—mobile (m-) commerce. Fuelled by the increasing saturation of mobile technology, such as phones and personal digital assistants (PDAs), m-commerce promises to inject considerable change into the way certain activities are conducted. Equipped with micro-browsers and other mobile applications, the new range of mobile technologies offer the Internet ‘in your pocket’ for which the consumer possibilities are endless, including banking, booking or buying tickets, shopping and real-time news. Focusing on business-to-consumer markets, this paper examines how value is added in the stream of activities involved in providing m-commerce to the consumer. As such, it analyses the key players and technologies that form part of the m-commerce value chain, providing a foundation for future strategic analysis of the industry. Drawing on some of the key factors that may influence the take-up of m-commerce—including technological and other issues—the paper also provides predictions regarding the future of m-commerce.