Understanding the determinants for the adoption of mobile market research: An empirical study in the Spanish market research industry

Abstract

The aim of this study is to investigate the determinants for the intention to adopt mobile technology as a data collection methodology in market research projects. A conceptual framework was developed using the technology-organization-environment (TOE) model to identify technological factors (perceived benefits and limitations), organizational factors (open attitude towards change, professional competence, satisfaction with traditional systems and firm size) and environmental factors (industry pressure, client pressure and participant pressure) affecting adoption. The empirical study was performed with data from 67 firms in the Spanish market research industry, which were analyzed using partial least squares (PLS). The results suggest that only organizational and environmental factors have a significant influence on adoption. Key factors include professional competence, organizational openness, satisfaction with traditional and online methodologies and pressure from industry, clients and survey participants. The findings reveal that technological characteristics are no longer a driver, as firms are starting to adopt mobile marketing research on the basis of its greater convenience for participants and as an element of strategic differentiation.