Present market reality, however, seems to be less optimistic, therefore, the current study explores the factors contributing to the adoption of mobile services in a context of wireless finance" (p. 206). Organization of the Study

Chapter two will consist of the literature review of published works and research studies on the subject of mobile commerce. There are many points-of-view and definitions of m-commerce and this chapter will attempt to examine the data as it relates to what is also referred to wireless e-commerce.

Chapter three through chapter five will substantiate and provide the details of the research methodology utilized for collecting the data. The collected data will be used to answer the research questions.

The author will discuss the analyses of the research data and its results in chapter three. The analyses will focus on the technological challenges, characteristics, and quality of service of mobile commerce. Financial institutions appear to be at the forefront technically than other retailers and organizations. This chapter will analyze the development of reliable infrastructures, which is necessary to administer m-commerce consumers.

Consumer acceptance, behaviors, and trustworthiness of m-commerce are also analyzed in chapter four. M-commerce is categorized by many researchers as an extension of electronic commerce, but consumers may not view m-commerce the same. This chapter will follow the Technology Acceptance Model to determine the consumer's usefulness of m-commerce, its perceived ease of use, and perceived value; in addition to examine consumers' adoption of m-commerce.

Chapter five will explore the factors that influence consumers' behavior for using m-commerce. The author will gather and analyze demographic data to include age, gender, social status/income, race/ethnicity, and household population.

Chapter six will conclude the study by compiling the data and results gathered in the previous chapters. The author's results will offer insight into implications on why or why not adopt mobile commerce. Finally, this chapter will summarize the findings and determine if the study presented limitations and may need further research.

CHAPTER II:

REVIEW of LITERATURE

Mobile commerce, also known as m-commerce, is described as a form of electronic commerce where at least part of the transaction is conducted via a mobile device, most often with a mobile telephone (Bhatti, 2007, p.2; Mallat & Tuunainen, 2008, p.24). The term m-commerce was adopted by marketers in the late 1990s, and predictions were made of rapid growth in the volume of commerce conducted through mobile devices (Clarke, 2008, p.63). Bhatti's study (2007) assumed mobile commerce applications are becoming an important area of electronic commerce generating substantial profits. Rapidly developing technology capabilities and mobile device adoptions have increasingly led to the expectations of a mobile commerce, similar in scale to the first wave of electronic commerce experienced in the late 1990s (p.2). A report from Boston Consulting Group predicted that "global m-commerce sales" would rise rapidly to $20 billion in 2001, $60 billion in 2002 and $100 billion in 2003 (Clarke, 2008, p.63).

Mention mobile commerce in North America and the common response is a roll of the eyes. it's not hard to guess why. Back in the early days of the Internet dot-com bubble, m-commerce was one of the many buzz words connected with e-commerce whose promise failed to materialize because the hype was premature. Today's landscape is much different. Several trends are helping to drive momentum for consumer purchases over mobile phones. They include the growth in mobile data services, advances in handsets and operator networks, consumer acceptance of the Internet as a purchasing and payment vehicle, and growing consumer interest in mobile banking" (Vyas, 2008, p.14).

Technology Acceptance Model: The Conceptual Framework

In the Information Systems (IS) field, the importance of technology acceptance as the precursor to the use of technology has attracted much attention (Kim, Koo & Song, 2007, p.15). The TAM model proposes that beliefs about usefulness and ease-of-use of a new system are essential elements in determining a user's attitude to using a technology (Bhatti, 2007, p.2; de Ruyter, Kleijnen & Wetzels, 2004, p.207; Kim, Koo & Song, 2007, p.15). TAM is based upon, and has been compared with, the theory of reasoned action and the theory of planned behavior. TAM has been applied to different technologies' acceptance such as voice mail, e-mail, micro-computer, Word, Excel, data systems, and information retrieval (Kim, Koo & Song, 2007, p.16). It has been argued that TAM is an appropriate theory to use in m-commerce contexts as well. It was argued that predicting users' behavior in a wireless context would be similar to that of an e-commerce context (Kim, Koo & Song, 2007, p.16).

A de Ruyter, Kleijnen & Wetzels (2004) studied perceived costs, perceived system quality and social influence had been incorporated as antecedents considering the relevance of these constructs for...

Many researchers thought was mobile services can be accessed at any time, no matter where the consumer is, in a social as well as a business context (de Ruyter, Kleijnen & Wetzels, 2004, p.207). Mobile services are important for firms and consumers because of ubiquitous, universal, and unison access to information and services, and the possibility for unique and personalized exchange of information (Bhatti, 2007, p.2-3; Clarke, 2008, p.64; Mallat & Tuunainen, 2008, p.26). Ubiquitous connectivity changes the way smartphones are used, because a network connection is always available, there is no need to store sensitive personal information or corporate databases on smartphones -- "the information may be retrieved whenever necessary (Disabato, 2008, p.9). Based on the TAM explanation that perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness determined intention to use:
H1: Perceived usefulness of m-commerce has a positive effect on the intention to use m-commerce.

H2: Perceived ease of use of m-commerce has a positive effect on the intention to use m-commerce.

Likewise, based on the TAM explanation that perceived ease of use positively influences perceived usefulness (for a wide variety of technologies), we hypothesize that:

H3: Perceived ease of use of m-commerce has a positive effect on the perceived usefulness of m-commerce.

H4: Perceived enjoyment has a positive effect on perceived ease of use.

H5: Perceived enjoyment has a positive effect on the intention to use m-commerce.

H6: Perceived usefulness of m-commerce has a positive effect on positive word-of-mouth about m-commerce.

H7: Perceived ease of use of m-commerce has a positive effect on positive word-of-mouth about m-commerce.

H8: Perceived enjoyment of m-commerce has a positive effect on positive word-of-mouth about m-commerce.

H9: Positive word-of-mouth about m-commerce has a positive effect on the intention to use m-commerce (Kim, Koo & Song, 2007, p.16-20).

Research Model (Kim, Koo & Song, 2007)

While perceived usefulness in the original TAM model strongly focuses on the extent to which a system adds to the consumer's job performance, de Ruyter, Kleijnen & Wetzels (2004) provided the current context to their research with a broader perspective (p.207). Since mobile services can be available at any time, it refers to this phenomenon as the mobile lifestyle. Perceived usefulness is defined as how well consumers believe mobile services can be integrated into their daily activities hypothesized:

H1: attitude to using mobile services has a direct, positive effect on the intention to use mobile services

H2: perceived usefulness of mobile services has a direct, positive effect on the intention to use mobile services

H3: perceived usefulness of mobile services has a direct, positive effect on the attitude to using mobile services

H4: Perceived ease of use has a direct, positive effect on the attitude to using mobile services

H5: Perceived ease of use has a direct, positive effect on the perceived usefulness of mobile services

H6: Perceived costs have a direct, negative effect on the attitude to using mobile services

H7: Perceived system quality has a direct, positive effect on the attitude to using mobile services

H8a: Social influence has a direct, positive effect on the intention to use mobile services

H8b: As social influence is greater, the relationship between attitude and intention to use mobile services will be attenuated

H9: As consumers become older, the positive relationship between perceived usefulness and attitude is strengthened the positive relationship between perceived ease of use and attitude is strengthened the negative relationship between perceived costs and attitude is strengthened the positive relationship between perceived system quality and attitude is strengthened

H10: As consumers become more experienced, the positive relationship between perceived ease of use and attitude is attenuated

H11: As consumers express higher mobile technology readiness the positive relationship between perceived usefulness and attitude is attenuated the positive relationship between perceived ease of use and attitude is attenuated the negative relationship between perceived costs and attitude is attenuated the positive relationship between perceived system quality and attitude is attenuated the positive relationship between attitude and intention to use is attenuated (de Ruyter, Kleijnen & Wetzels, 2004, p.207).

Relationships in Conceptual Model (de Ruyter, Kleijnen & Wetzels, 2004)

Prior studies have extended TAM with constructs such as perceived playfulness, perceived enjoyment and others. It is widely recognized that subjective norms and perceived behavioral control are important for understanding and predicting intentions and behavior in specific contexts. Bhatti elaborated on the rationale for the constructs to be included in his research…