Determinants of customer acceptance for mobile data services: an empirical analysis with formative constructs

Despite all forecasts, innovative mobile data services are not yet widespread. The aim of this research is to explain what influences customer acceptance and usage of mobile data services. For this purpose we develop a structural equation model. In order to gain a maximum of insight into the reasons for acceptance or rejection of mobile data services, we operationalise our model mainly with formative constructs. The model is validated with data from Europe’s largest mobile market, Germany. We show that perceived usefulness of any b2c mobile data service highly depends on perceived enjoyment – which for instance explains the high acceptance of iPhone applications compared to others. Our results allow not only for a better understanding of the underlying customer behaviour, but also for concrete recommendations on the design of mobile data services.