Attribute Perceptions as Factors Explaining Mobile Internet Acceptance of Cellular Customers in Germany: An Empirical Study Comparing Actual and Potential Adopters with Distinct Categories of Access Appliances

To date, the majority of mobile network operator (MNO) customers have not used mobile Internet (MI) offerings. Therefore, it is important to gain a better understanding of (1) how MNO customers perceive MI attributes, (2) how these perceptions are related to MI acceptance, and (3) the extent to which these judgments differ as a function of an individual’s adoption status (actual compared to potential MI user) and the appliance category employed to access MI (handset compared to laptop). This study uses MI attributes deduced from diffusion of innovation (DOI) and information economic (IE) literature and data collected from a survey of 525 effective and 540 potential MI users in Germany. Results show that the perceived relative functional advantage and communicability of MI offers were positively correlated and their trialability was negatively correlated with MI acceptance. Perceived DOI-based attributes explained MI acceptance better for actual users. Appliance category for MI access had strong influence on DOI-based MI attribute assessments. MNO customers who use a laptop to obtain MI access perceived MI features more favorable than persons who use a handset. These findings provide insights for MNO and appliance vendors on measures that effectively promote the acceptance of MI.