IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/inm/ormsom/v25y2023i6p2002-2020.html

Mobile Payment Services, Government Involvement, and Mobile Network Operator Performance

Author

Listed:
  • Yan Dong

    (Darla Moore School of Business, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina 29208)

  • Sining Song

    (Haslam College of Business, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996)

  • Fan Zou

    (Darla Moore School of Business, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina 29208)

Abstract

Problem definition : Recent developments in mobile payment services (MPS) have shown an increasing role of mobile-government (m-government) initiatives in improving the market performance of mobile network operators (MNOs) and financial inclusion. High costs and operational challenges have discouraged MNOs from fully committing to the development of MPS, but government involvement under m-government may increase MNO user bases by providing the scale and scope necessary to incentivize MNOs. Academic/practical relevance : Extant research on mobile payment has ignored the role of governments as important stakeholders in the mobile financial ecosystem. Our research contributes to the literature by examining the role of governments as business partners in MPS launches and the effect of government involvement on MNO user bases. Methodology : Using a unique proprietary data set from the mobile network industry, we design a quasi-experiment to examine the causal effects of government involvement in MPS on MNOs’ total mobile connections. More importantly, we adopt a changes-in-changes (CIC) estimation approach to further establish nonlinear treatment effects of government involvement based on MNO size and MPS type. Results : We find that government involvement expands MNO user bases beyond MPS launches. Such effects increase with MNO size and MPS variety, favoring larger MNOs and, to a certain degree, MNOs with diverse offerings of government-involved MPS. Government involvement in MPS launches also directly benefits MNOs with microloan services. In addition, government regulations and policies to encourage financial inclusion can also expand MNO user bases. Managerial implications : Governments play a critical role in promoting technologies and financial services both as a regulator and as a business partner. To improve market performance, MNOs should take advantage of the scale and scope of government services by partnering with government agencies in launching MPS. MNOs should also embrace government policies and regulations to increase user bases.

Suggested Citation

  • Yan Dong & Sining Song & Fan Zou, 2023. "Mobile Payment Services, Government Involvement, and Mobile Network Operator Performance," Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, INFORMS, vol. 25(6), pages 2002-2020, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:inm:ormsom:v:25:y:2023:i:6:p:2002-2020
    DOI: 10.1287/msom.2021.1068
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1287/msom.2021.1068
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1287/msom.2021.1068?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Mark Egan & Ali Hortaçsu & Gregor Matvos, 2017. "Deposit Competition and Financial Fragility: Evidence from the US Banking Sector," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 107(1), pages 169-216, January.
    2. Stern, Ariel Dora, 2017. "Innovation under regulatory uncertainty: Evidence from medical technology," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 145(C), pages 181-200.
    3. Jun Li & Serguei Netessine, 2020. "Higher Market Thickness Reduces Matching Rate in Online Platforms: Evidence from a Quasiexperiment," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 66(1), pages 271-289, January.
    4. James J. Heckman & Hidehiko Ichimura & Petra E. Todd, 1997. "Matching As An Econometric Evaluation Estimator: Evidence from Evaluating a Job Training Programme," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 64(4), pages 605-654.
    5. Duygu Akkaya & Kostas Bimpikis & Hau Lee, 2021. "Government Interventions to Promote Agricultural Innovation," Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, INFORMS, vol. 23(2), pages 437-452, March.
    6. Audra Wormald & Rajshree Agarwal & Serguey Braguinsky & Sonali K. Shah, 2021. "David overshadows Goliath: Specializing in generality for internationalization in the global mobile money industry," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(8), pages 1459-1489, August.
    7. Ruihao Ke & Meng Li & Zhejia Ling & Yuan Zhang, 2019. "Social Connections Within Executive Teams and Management Forecasts," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 65(1), pages 439-457, January.
    8. Ruomeng Cui & Meng Li & Qiang Li, 2020. "Value of High-Quality Logistics: Evidence from a Clash Between SF Express and Alibaba," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 66(9), pages 3879-3902, September.
    9. John Leslie King & Vijay Gurbaxani & Kenneth L. Kraemer & F. Warren McFarlan & K. S. Raman & C. S. Yap, 1994. "Institutional Factors in Information Technology Innovation," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 5(2), pages 139-169, June.
    10. Xulia González & Jordi Jaumandreu & Consuelo Pazo, 2005. "Barriers to Innovation and Subsidy Effectiveness," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 36(4), pages 930-949, Winter.
    11. Guido W. Imbens & Jeffrey M. Wooldridge, 2009. "Recent Developments in the Econometrics of Program Evaluation," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 47(1), pages 5-86, March.
    12. Sadat Reza & Hillbun Ho & Rich Ling & Hongyan Shi, 2021. "Experience Effect in the Impact of Free Trial Promotions," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 67(3), pages 1648-1669, March.
    13. Christian Terwiesch & Marcelo Olivares & Bradley R. Staats & Vishal Gaur, 2020. "OM Forum—A Review of Empirical Operations Management over the Last Two Decades," Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, INFORMS, vol. 22(4), pages 656-668, July.
    14. Gao, Ping & Yu, Jiang & Lyytinen, Kalle, 2014. "Government in standardization in the catching-up context: Case of China's mobile system," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(2), pages 200-209.
    15. James Heckman & Hidehiko Ichimura & Jeffrey Smith & Petra Todd, 1998. "Characterizing Selection Bias Using Experimental Data," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 66(5), pages 1017-1098, September.
    16. Joshua R. Bruce & John M. de Figueiredo & Brian S. Silverman, 2019. "Public contracting for private innovation: Government capabilities, decision rights, and performance outcomes," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 40(4), pages 533-555, April.
    17. William Jack & Tavneet Suri, 2014. "Risk Sharing and Transactions Costs: Evidence from Kenya's Mobile Money Revolution," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 104(1), pages 183-223, January.
    18. Gutierrez, Eva & Singh, Sandeep, 2013. "What regulatory frameworks are more conducive to mobile banking ? empirical evidence from findex data," Policy Research Working Paper Series 6652, The World Bank.
    19. Junhong Chu & Yige Duan & Xianling Yang & Li Wang, 2021. "The Last Mile Matters: Impact of Dockless Bike Sharing on Subway Housing Price Premium," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 67(1), pages 297-316, January.
    20. Gerpott, Torsten J. & Jakopin, Nejc M., 2005. "The degree of internationalization and the financial performance of European mobile network operators," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 29(8), pages 635-661, September.
    21. Heckman, James J. & Robb, Richard Jr., 1985. "Alternative methods for evaluating the impact of interventions : An overview," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 30(1-2), pages 239-267.
    22. Rishika Rishika & Jui Ramaprasad, 2019. "The Effects of Asymmetric Social Ties, Structural Embeddedness, and Tie Strength on Online Content Contribution Behavior," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 65(7), pages 3398-3422, July.
    23. Susan Athey & Guido W. Imbens, 2006. "Identification and Inference in Nonlinear Difference-in-Differences Models," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 74(2), pages 431-497, March.
    24. Teck-Hua Ho & Noah Lim & Sadat Reza & Xiaoyu Xia, 2017. "OM Forum—Causal Inference Models in Operations Management," Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, INFORMS, vol. 19(4), pages 509-525, October.
    25. Isaac Mbiti & David N. Weil, 2013. "The Home Economics of E-Money: Velocity, Cash Management, and Discount Rates of M-Pesa Users," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 103(3), pages 369-374, May.
    26. Allen N. Berger & Sadok El Ghoul & Omrane Guedhami & Raluca A. Roman, 2017. "Internationalization and Bank Risk," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 63(7), pages 2283-2301, July.
    27. Kranker, Keith, 2016. "Effects of Medicaid disease management programs on medical expenditures: Evidence from a natural experiment in Georgia," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 52-69.
    28. Lei Kong, 2020. "Government Spending and Corporate Innovation," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 66(4), pages 1584-1604, April.
    29. Pinar Ozcan & Filipe M. Santos, 2015. "The market that never was: Turf wars and failed alliances in mobile payments," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(10), pages 1486-1512, October.
    30. Nicholas Economides & Przemyslaw Jeziorski, 2017. "Mobile Money in Tanzania," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 36(6), pages 815-837, November.
    31. Suvrat Dhanorkar, 2019. "Environmental Benefits of Internet-Enabled C2C Closed-Loop Supply Chains: A Quasi-Experimental Study of Craigslist," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 65(2), pages 660-680, February.
    32. Patrick Behr & Darren J. Kisgen & Jérôme P. Taillard, 2018. "Did Government Regulations Lead to Inflated Credit Ratings?," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 64(3), pages 1034-1054, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Dao Ha & Phuong Le & Duc Khuong Nguyen, 2025. "Financial inclusion and fintech: a state-of-the-art systematic literature review," Financial Innovation, Springer;Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, vol. 11(1), pages 1-42, December.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Christian Volpe Martincus, 2010. "Odyssey in International Markets: An Assessment of the Effectiveness of Export Promotion in Latin America and the Caribbean," IDB Publications (Books), Inter-American Development Bank, number 16458, February.
    2. Karca D. Aral & Erasmo Giambona & Luk N. Van Wassenhove, 2023. "Managerial flexibility, capacity investment, and inventory levels," Production and Operations Management, Production and Operations Management Society, vol. 32(12), pages 3890-3907, December.
    3. Sadat Reza & Hillbun Ho & Rich Ling & Hongyan Shi, 2021. "Experience Effect in the Impact of Free Trial Promotions," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 67(3), pages 1648-1669, March.
    4. Dettmann, E. & Becker, C. & Schmeißer, C., 2011. "Distance functions for matching in small samples," Computational Statistics & Data Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 55(5), pages 1942-1960, May.
    5. Volpe Martincus, Christian & Carballo, Jerónimo, 2010. "Beyond the average effects: The distributional impacts of export promotion programs in developing countries," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 92(2), pages 201-214, July.
    6. Simon Ress & Florian Spohr, 2022. "Was it worth it? The impact of the German minimum wage on union membership of employees," Economic and Industrial Democracy, Department of Economic History, Uppsala University, Sweden, vol. 43(4), pages 1699-1723, November.
    7. Czarnitzki, Dirk & Lopes-Bento, Cindy, 2013. "Value for money? New microeconometric evidence on public R&D grants in Flanders," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 42(1), pages 76-89.
    8. Christian Volpe Martincus & Jerónimo Carballo, 2010. "Entering new country and product markets: does export promotion help?," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 146(3), pages 437-467, September.
    9. Chad D. Meyerhoefer & Muzhe Yang, 2011. "The Relationship between Food Assistance and Health: A Review of the Literature and Empirical Strategies for Identifying Program Effects," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 33(3), pages 304-344.
    10. Jones A.M & Rice N, 2009. "Econometric Evaluation of Health Policies," Health, Econometrics and Data Group (HEDG) Working Papers 09/09, HEDG, c/o Department of Economics, University of York.
    11. Bijan J. Borah & Marguerite E. Burns & Nilay D. Shah, 2011. "Assessing the impact of high deductible health plans on health‐care utilization and cost: a changes‐in‐changes approach," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 20(9), pages 1025-1042, September.
    12. Karca D. Aral & Erasmo Giambona & Ye Wang, 2022. "Buyer’s Bankruptcy Risk, Sourcing Strategy, and Firm Value: Evidence from the Supplier Protection Act," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 68(11), pages 7940-7957, November.
    13. Rothe, Christoph & Firpo, Sergio, 2013. "Semiparametric Estimation and Inference Using Doubly Robust Moment Conditions," IZA Discussion Papers 7564, IZA Network @ LISER.
    14. Chabé-Ferret, Sylvain, 2015. "Analysis of the bias of Matching and Difference-in-Difference under alternative earnings and selection processes," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 185(1), pages 110-123.
    15. Ugur, Mehmet & Trushin, Esref & Solomon, Edna M., 2015. "UK and EU subsidies and private R&D investment: Is there input additionality?," Greenwich Papers in Political Economy 14082, University of Greenwich, Greenwich Political Economy Research Centre.
    16. LOPES BENTO Cindy & CZARNITZKI Dirk, 2012. "Value for money? New microeconomic evidence on public R&D grants in Flanders," LISER Working Paper Series 2012-19, Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research (LISER).
    17. Ellison, Richard B. & Ellison, Adrian B. & Greaves, Stephen P. & Sampaio, Breno, 2017. "Electronic ticketing systems as a mechanism for travel behaviour change? Evidence from Sydney’s Opal card," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 99(C), pages 80-93.
    18. James J. Heckman, 1991. "Randomization and Social Policy Evaluation Revisited," NBER Technical Working Papers 0107, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    19. Sant’Anna, Pedro H.C. & Zhao, Jun, 2020. "Doubly robust difference-in-differences estimators," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 219(1), pages 101-122.
    20. Marco Caliendo & Stefan Tübbicke, 2020. "New evidence on long-term effects of start-up subsidies: matching estimates and their robustness," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 59(4), pages 1605-1631, October.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    JEL classification:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:inm:ormsom:v:25:y:2023:i:6:p:2002-2020. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Chris Asher (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/inforea.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.