What determines actual use of mobile web browsing services? A contextual study in Korea

The use of mobile Web browsing services is a worldwide phenomenon. The intent of this research is to produce a testable model of Web browsing services use that both identifies unique national market differences and yet is theoretically parsimonious enough to permit future cross-national studies. Specifically, our model examines which factors determine the use of mobile Web browsing services in South Korea. We show that content quality, hardware quality, ubiquity, cost, and relational factors are important predictors of actual use of mobile Web browsing services. However, counter to our model's predictions, network quality and security did not appear to be significant factors in Korea at this point of market maturity. Future empirical examination of the proposed model in different markets worldwide should provide multinational IT vendors with better understanding of the similarities and differences in the global smart phone business.