Assessment of Mobile

Value-Added Services (M-VAS)

 Outline
Research Aim & Objectives
 M-VAS Business Model & Strategies
 M-VAS Customer Value
 Research Aim

The overall aim of this research is to examine the business

potential of mobile value-added services (M-VAS) based
on the principles of customer interaction and mass
customization.
 Research Objectives

To evaluate the importance of business modeling for

emerging telecoms services.
To determine the adoption of technologies and strategies
behind M-VAS.
To identify the elements those affect customer value
during the adoption of M-VAS.
 What is Mobile VAS?

In mobile telecommunication industry, VAS is defined as

services that are:
• not part of the basic voice offer.
• allow the mobile operators to develop another stream of
revenue.

(Source: IAMAI and IMRB, 2006, p.15)

 M-VAS Categorizes

Category Characteristic Example

Entertainment designed for mass Games, Caller Ring
appeal Back Tone (CRBT),
music download.
Info characterized by the SMS Missed Call Alert
useful information (MCA), Stock Update,
Location Based
Service (LBS).
M-Commerce services involving M-banking and m-
monetary transaction payment
using the mobile phone
 The Technologies Adoption
behind M-VAS

The evolution of mobile telecommunication networks

The evolution of mobile devices
The convergence of mobile telecommunication networks and
Internet
Mobile Internet
M-VAS Business Model
(Value Chain Review)
 M-VAS Strategies

Strategy Purposes/benefits

Strategic Partnership filling the gaps in the core competence

(Paavilainen, 2002; Sadeh among the players in value chain
2002)
Customer Value based -differentiatingservices from competitors
mass customization -boosting customer loyalty
(Sigala, 2006) -inhibiting customers move to competitors

Mobile Portals -a single “plate” for various “dishes”

(Paavilainen, 2002) -improve customer loyalty
 Customer Value and Its Importance
in M-VAS

Value is described as a “trade-off” between overall benefits

gained and sacrifices made by the customer
(Olaru, Purchase and Peterson, 2008)

Recent research on M-VAS has found that customer value

significantly:
- impacts on consumers’ behavior intention and commitment
- influences on customer satisfaction, and then, on loyalty intention
(Lim, Widdows, Park, 2006)
 M-VAS Customer Value

“Get” Value Dimensions (Benefits):

- Functionality value
- Social value
- Emotional value
- Freedom of choice value
- Epistemic value (curiosity/novelty)

“Give” Value Dimensions (Sacrifices/Costs):

- Monetary/price
- Technical difficulties

(Sigala (2006) and Pura (2005))

METHODOLOGY.
 Cluster Analysis.

 It is a major technique for classifying a ‘mountain’ of

information into manageable meaningful piles. It is a
data reduction tool that creates subgroups that are more
manageable than individual datum.
 The statistical method of partitioning a sample into
homogeneous classes to produce an operational
classification
Wards Method

 This method is distinct from other methods

because it uses an analysis of variance approach
to evaluate the distances between clusters. In
general, this method is very efficient. Cluster
membership is assessed by calculating the total
sum of squared deviations from the mean of a
cluster. The criterion for fusion is that it should
produce the smallest possible increase in the
error sum of squares.
ANALYSIS.
1.
2.
3.
4.
Analysis

Sample size 40.

Results of cluster analysis.
 No of Clusters – 3.

 Cluster 1 – 11.

 Cluster 2 – 09.

 Cluster 3 – 13.
 Cluster – 1.
Valid N (listwise)
Ward Method Mean Std. Deviation Unweighted Weighted
Monthly Expenditure on VAS 1.0000 .00000 11 11.000
Monthly expenditure on talktime
2.1818 1.07872 11 11.000

Which Value Added Service You

prefer from your operator service?
4.0000 .00000 11 11.000
[SMS]

Which Value Added Service You

prefer from your operator service?
3.6364 .50452 11 11.000
[GPRS]

Which Value Added Service You

prefer from your operator service?
[3G SERVICE] 2.0909 1.13618 11 11.000

Which Value Added Service You

prefer from your operator service?
[MOBILE BANKING] 1.1818 .40452 11 11.000
 Cluster – 2.
Ward Method Mean Std. Deviation Valid N (listwise)
Monthly Expenditure on VAS
1.0769 .27735 13 13.000
Monthly expenditure on talktime
1.2308 .43853 13 13.000
Which Value Added Service You
prefer from your operator
3.5385 .87706 13 13.000
service? [SMS]

Which Value Added Service You

prefer from your operator
1.3846 .50637 13 13.000
service? [GPRS]

Which Value Added Service You

prefer from your operator
service? [3G SERVICE] 1.0000 .00000 13 13.000

Which Value Added Service You

prefer from your operator
service? [MOBILE BANKING] 1.0769 .27735 13 13.000
 Cluster – 3.
Ward Method Mean Std. Deviation Valid N (listwise)
Monthly Expenditure on VAS
1.0000 .00000 9 9.000
Monthly expenditure on talktime
1.5556 .72648 9 9.000
Which Value Added Service You
prefer from your operator
3.7778 .44096 9 9.000
service? [SMS]

Which Value Added Service You

prefer from your operator
2.6667 1.32288 9 9.000
service? [GPRS]

Which Value Added Service You

prefer from your operator
service? [3G SERVICE] 1.5556 1.01379 9 9.000

Which Value Added Service You

prefer from your operator
service? [MOBILE BANKING] 3.4444 .72648 9 9.000
THANK YOU