Network effects and intrinsic attributes of mobile services: Mapping perceived service values on business model choices

This paper applies and further develops a research model of the relationships between business model dimensions, intrinsic and extrinsic attributes of mobile services, and their perceived end-user values (Pedersen and Methlie, 2004). The model suggests a set of hypotheses on the effects of service providers’ choice of revenue model, governance form and service strategy on direct network effects, indirect network effects and intrinsic attributes of mobile services. Here, we investigate how these relationships are reflected in the minds of mobile service provider professionals. Thus, we raise the question if business model choices made by professionals in the mobile service provider markets reflect considerations of direct and indirect network effects of mobile services. A focused survey of 54 professionals in mobile service provider companies was conducted. To reflect differences in the importance of extrinsic and intrinsic service attributes, six mobile services were selected, and professionals responsible for each of these services were sampled. The survey reveals that the service provider professionals find the six services to reflect our hypothesized differences in service attributes. Hypotheses that revenue model, governance form and service strategy, should be designed specifically to facilitate these differences in service attributes, however, were not consistently supported. The findings reveal that providers of mobile services have underdeveloped perceptions on how business models facilitate the extrinsic and intrinsic service attributes giving increased end-user values of mobile services. Implications for the mobile data services industry as well as for further research are discussed.