Conditions Sparking Development of Mobile Commerce

A large reason for the high level of acceptance for m-commerce is the large number of mobile phone users and Internet users around the world. The Internet promoted electronic services, and m-commerce is another means of using the Internet. Customers now want to take advantage of Internet services from mobile end devices so that they can conduct business from any location in the world. The boundary between mobile telecommunications and the Internet is becoming more indistinct by the day (Brokat, 2000).

The highly lucrative industry of Internet commerce and mobile communication is a driving force in bringing many companies to develop this technology. The second catalyst is that many mobile phone users, especially in Europe and then in South East Asia, will be using smart cards, and this technology is another way to use cellular phones for business. If mobile phone operators can add functionality or convenience to these smart card applications, they will be able to create powerful new distribution channels and generate additional business (Duffey, 1997).

Much of today's wireless e-commerce technology is a result of technology being developed by many of the mobile phone makers. The Europeans led this charge, because they have some of the highest numbers of cellular phone users. This is a result of the global economic and political environment during the 1980s that promoted greater unification and collaboration, which helped the new telecommunications industries in Europe to flourish. As the need for better communication facilities grew, due to increased trade and investment flows, the solutions provided by the new technological developments become more viable (Muller & Schnoring, 1995).