The role online review on mobile commerce adoption: an inclusive growth context
| Pages | 759-778 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JABS-02-2019-0060 |
| Published date | 01 May 2020 |
| Date | 01 May 2020 |
| Author | Tanikan Pipitwanichakarn,Nittaya Wongtada |
| Subject Matter | International business,Strategy |
The role online review on mobile
commerce adoption: an inclusive
growth context
Tanikan Pipitwanichakarn and Nittaya Wongtada
Abstract
Purpose –As technology has increasingly disrupted traditionalcommerce, there is a need for inclusive
growth to ensure that no group–particularly the underprivileged –is left behind. Againstthis backdrop,
this paper aims to shed light onmobile commerce (m-commerce) adoption among streetvendors. This
study conducts an experiment to investigate the contribution of online reviews and relevant factors in
enhancingthe perceived usefulness and adoption of m-commerce.
Design/methodology/approach –This study useda 2 (perceived ease of use: high vs low) 2 (trustin
serviceprovider: high vs low) 2 (online review: positive vs negative)between-subjects design, resulting
in eight experimental groups. The level of the online review was manipulated, and the degrees of
perceivedease of use and trust were measured.
Findings –Perceived usefulness depends on online reviews when users perceive incongruent
information (e.g. high ease of use but low trust); that is, users who saw positive reviews more strongly
perceivedthe usefulness of m-commerce. On the contrary,perceived usefulness does not varybased on
onlinereviews if users perceive congruent information(e.g. high ease of use and hightrust).
Originality/value –This research advances the knowledge of m-commerce adoption by exploringthe
interactionof perceived ease of use, trust and online reviews,a combination that has not been addressed
in previousempirical studies.
Keywords Trust, Mobile commerce, Technology acceptance model, Underprivileged, Street vendors,
Online review
Paper type Research paper
1. Introduction
Mobile commerce (m-commerce) is a way of doing business that has been around for a
number of years (Alsaad et al.,2017). It is defined as the process of conducting business
operations by means of handheld devices interconnected by wireless networks (Khalifa and
Shen, 2008). It includes online purchasing, payment, money transfer and financial services.
A disruption in retailing from m-commerce technology has swept across the globe,
including the Asia Pacific region (Dewi et al.,2019). According to Research and Markets
(2018), this region has the largest share of the worldwide online transactions conducted
through m-commerce. Many Asian countries were among the top ten countries with the
highest m-commerce penetration rates, including China, South Korea, Taiwan, Malaysia
and Thailand (Retail News Asia, 2019).
Although many small businesses have made the transition from brick-and-mortar shop to
online marketplace, some underprivileged groups such as street vendors may not be ready
to participate in this new economy. Street vending is a globally prevalent phenomenon,
especially in developing countries such as South Africa, Indonesia and Thailand (Roever
and Skinner, 2016). In Bangkok, the capital of Thailand, the estimated number of street
Tanikan Pipitwanichakarn
and Nittaya Wongtada are
both based at NIDA
Business School, Bangkok,
Thailand.
Received 17 February 2019
Revised 28 September 2019
20 January 2020
31 March 2020
Accepted 8 April 2020
The authors thank to Assistant
Professor Dr Olimpia Cavosora
Racela and Associate
Professor Dr Danuvasin
Charoen for their valuable
comments.
DOI 10.1108/JABS-02-2019-0060 VOL. 14 NO. 5 2020, pp. 759-778, ©Emerald Publishing Limited, ISSN 1558-7894 jJOURNAL OF ASIA BUSINESS STUDIES jPAGE 759
vendors was approximately 380,000 persons (Yasmeen and Nirathron, 2014). Similar to
their peers in other emerging countries, street vendors in Thailand face the possibility of
being left behind as governmental economic development continues to expand (Bhowmik,
2012). Their micro brick-and-mortar businesses will experience a decline as online retailers
become more attractive to customers by offering a wide varietyof products and competitive
prices (Dahiya, 2017). Thus, there have been calls for an inclusive growth policy to allow
this sector more access to online opportunities (Ngepah, 2017;Samans et al.,2015).
Underprivileged groups should be convinced to adopt this technology to reap its economic
benefits.
A key driver in the rapid growth of onlinecommerce is the multi-sided platform (MSP). MSPs
allow, by electronic means, direct interactions between participant groups, particularly
buyers and sellers (Hagiu and Wright, 2015). Uber, eBay, Amazon, Facebook, Google and
Airbnb are some examples of successful MSPs that originated in the developed world
and have expanded worldwide. “Native platforms” have also surfaced in emerging markets
and have expanded their services to neighboring markets. For example, Lazada, which is
controlled by the Chinese Alibaba Group; Shopee, which originated in Singapore; and
Gojek, from Indonesia, operatein the Pacific Rim region. The growth of these MSPs posed a
crucial research question in terms of whether the development of digital platforms in
emerging markets would follow the dynamic paths of more developed markets (Rossotto
et al.,2018
). The possibility existed that disparities in internet access, income and digital
skills among population groups would become major determinants of different rates of
adoption in emerging nations (Erixon, 2017). Eccentric externalities of specific populations,
such as context, culture, norm andpreference, could also cause different rates of adoption.
These externalities are prominent in the business of streetvending. Although it is a subset of
retail operations, its environment is different than many others. Necessity-based vendors,
who have limited education and migrate to larger cities for a better economic future, in
particular, engage in this business because other employment options are either
unavailable or unsatisfactory. To have the best chance of selling their products, street
vendors seek to locate where their potential buyerswill congregate. Hence, they are likely to
use public space illegally, causing them to face harassment from the police and municipal
authorities, money extortion from gangsters and competition from other sellers for valuable
sites (Wongtada, 2014). They often endure poor working conditions, including an irregular
income and long hours, a lack of social security and poor health and safety conditions
(Bhowmik, 2012). Whether these vendors behave similarly to or differently from other
retailers in adopting m-commerce through MSPs is our research interest.
Thus, this study intends to investigate the adoption of m-commerce based on the MSP of a
marginal group, street vendors. The seminal framework of the technology acceptance
model (TAM) will be used in investigating this adoption among these vendors operating in
an emerging economy. The vendors’ unique context of interest is their reliance on an
informal network (e.g. family, friends and other vendors operating in nearby areas) for
consultation with or sharing of their problems and concerns (Roever and Skinner, 2016).
Their familiarity with personal opinions may affect their trust in user online reviews vis-a
`-vis
operating MSPs as they evaluate and adoptm-commerce; this is the crux of our research. If
vendors behave like consumerswho trust online reviews more than the information provided
by platform operators in adopting a new online technology, digital platforms in emerging
economies may have to adjust to accommodate the distinctive externalities of this business
segment, as has been requested by Rossottoet al. (2018).
This article is organized as follows: Section 2 reviews the TAM, trust and online reviews;
Section 3 describes the development of the study’s hypothesis; Section 4 explains the
research methodology; Section 5 provides the data analysis and findings; Section 6
discusses the research findings; and Section 7 presents the theoretical and managerial
PAGE 760 jJOURNAL OF ASIA BUSINESS STUDIES jVOL. 14 NO. 5 2020
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