DETERMINING END USER BEHAVIOURS FOR

WIRELESS TELECOMMUNICATION SERVICES

A dissertation submitted by

Hari Prasad Ravirala

B.Tech (Information Technology)

For the award

of

Master of Information Technology (Research)

School of Information Systems University of Southern Queensland

Australia

2007

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Abstract With the advent of numerous wireless telecommunication services, users are moving

to 'any where, any time and any how' services. Yet the advantages of wireless

telecommunication services are not fully realised due to inherent problems including

difficulties encountered by end-users in adopting wireless networks, finding services

that are suitable to meet their needs, current limitations on user mobility, limitations

placed on terminal capabilities and system interoperability issues. Due to technical

and regulatory limitations, network providers find it difficult to provide users with

services that they demand as there are numerous challenges yet to be addressed. This

has given the impetus to find factors that determine the adoption of wireless

telecommunication services by end users. This research examined the behavioural

characteristics of the end-users for their choice of wireless telecommunication

services to address those issues with adoption of wireless services.

The study began with an initial exploration of existing literature including a review

of theories such as TAM, WIMD, TPB and UTAUT to identify challenges that

impact user behaviour and their influence on using wireless telecommunications

services. Due to the relative newness of the topic, both qualitative and quantitative

approaches involving convergent interviews and online surveys respectively were

considered suitable for the study. Eight convergent interviews followed by an online

survey with respondents having wireless usage experience have been conducted to

determine the factors that influence the end user behaviours for their choice of

wireless services. The findings revealed that mobility, system interactivity, wireless

trust environment, system interoperability and user context play a significant role in

determining the adoption of wireless services by end users.

Keywords: wireless device; wireless telecommunication services; user behaviour;

wireless network; technology acceptance theories

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Certification of Dissertation

I certify that the work contained in this dissertation is entirely my own effort, except

where otherwise acknowledged. I also certify that the work is original and has not

been previously submitted for any other award, except where otherwise

acknowledged.

_______________________________

Signature of Candidature

Date…………………………………….

ENDORSEMENT

_________________________________

Signature of the Supervisor

Date…………………………………….

_________________________________

Signature of the Associate Supervisor

Date…………………………………….

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Acknowledgements

There are so many people who contributed to my completing the Masters by

Research program and deserve many thanks. Of them definitely my supervisor

Associate Professor Rajagopal Gururajan is special. Raj is a wonderful supervisor

and truly prepared me for this career. I still remember those my early days of

research career with very little research background and his timely advices helped

me to settle comfortably. The story telling about research and experiences has

inspired me much. I can proudly say that his guidance has nurtured me to shape my

research career. I take this opportunity to truly thank for his every support to my

career.

My second supervisor, Associate Professor Jeffrey Soar, provided extremely

valuable help in all areas of the dissertation. I would like to extend my sincere

gratitude to Jeffrey for providing such timely responses to various drafts along the

way, for the useful advice during data collection and writing skills, and for having

such a wonderfully calm and friendly nature. In addition I take this opportunity to

thank my colleagues and staff including Karen Van Staden and Cassandra Bate in the

Faculty of Business for their intellectual and motivational support. In particular I

thank Professor Julie Cotter for her advice during the development of research

proposal.

I must also thank several people around the world who also assisted in improving the

quality of the thesis and research with their invaluable feedback and comments.

I wish to thank my parents (Vasudev and Vijaya Kumari), brother (Shiva) and sister

(Jhansi) for their unfailing love, support and their confidence in me in whatever

endeavours I have chosen to do.

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Table of Contents ABSTRACT.................................................................................................................II CERTIFICATION OF DISSERTATION.................................................................. III ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS....................................................................................... IV TABLE OF CONTENTS............................................................................................ V LIST OF TABLES .................................................................................................. VIII LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................... IX LIST OF APPENDICES............................................................................................. X LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS....................................................................................XI DEFINITIONS..........................................................................................................XII CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background to the research problem................................................................1 1.2 Research Methodology..................................................................................... 2

1.2.1 Exploratory research ............................................................................3 1.2.2 Descriptive research ............................................................................. 3

1.3 Motivations for the study ................................................................................. 4 1.4 Contribution ..................................................................................................... 5 1.5 Outline of thesis ............................................................................................... 6 1.6 Delimitations of scope...................................................................................... 7 1.7 Conclusion ....................................................................................................... 7 CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Introduction...................................................................................................... 8 2.2 Australian wireless service providers and wireless services............................ 8 2.3 End user acceptance of wireless telecommunication services ....................... 12

2.3.1 Wireless service characteristics.......................................................... 14 2.3.1.1 Mobility.......................................................................................... 14 2.3.1.2 System interactivity........................................................................ 15 2.3.1.3 Wireless trust environment ............................................................ 17 2.3.1.4 System interoperability .................................................................. 20 2.3.1.5 User context ................................................................................... 22

2.4 Applicability of current approaches to studying user acceptance of wireless telecommunication services ........................................................................... 26

2.5 Research model .............................................................................................. 33 2.6 Summary of research problem .......................................................................34 2.7 Conclusion ..................................................................................................... 34 CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 3.1 Introduction.................................................................................................... 35 3.2 Research approach ......................................................................................... 35 3.3 Scientific paradigms....................................................................................... 37 3.4 Research design.............................................................................................. 41

3.4.1 Exploratory research compared with descriptive research................. 41 3.4.2 Qualitative compared with quantitative approach.............................. 42

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3.4.3 Convergent interviews ....................................................................... 45 3.4.4 Justification of convergent interviews for qualitative research.......... 47 3.4.5 Convergent interview – strengths and weaknesses ............................ 47 3.4.6 Validity and reliability of the convergent interview research............ 49

3.5 Phase 2: Quantitative research methodology ................................................. 52 3.5.1 Justification of quantitative research.................................................. 52 3.5.2 Online survey ..................................................................................... 53 3.5.3 Justification of online survey ............................................................. 54 3.5.4 Online survey – strengths and weaknesses ........................................ 55

3.6 Conclusion ..................................................................................................... 56 CHAPTER FOUR: DATA COLLECTION 4.1 Introduction.................................................................................................... 58 4.2 Phase 1: Qualitative data collection ............................................................... 58

4.2.1 Participants’ selection and background information.......................... 58 4.2.2 Interview protocol ..............................................................................59 4.2.3 Interview questionnaire...................................................................... 60 4.2.4 Convergent interview process............................................................ 60 4.2.5 Pilot interview.................................................................................... 62 4.2.6 Interview, transcription and data analysis procedures ....................... 63

4.3 Phase 2: Quantitative data collection – online survey ................................... 64 4.3.1 Sampling strategy...............................................................................64 4.3.2 Sample size......................................................................................... 65 4.3.3 Operational definitions....................................................................... 65 4.3.4 Questionnaire design and administration........................................... 68

4.3.4.1 Section A: Demographic variables................................................. 70 4.3.4.2 Section B: Wireless usage experience............................................ 70 4.3.4.3 Section C: Wireless service characteristics.................................... 71

4.3.5 Questionnaire layout .......................................................................... 71 4.3.6 Pre-testing of the questionnaire.......................................................... 72 4.3.7 Questionnaire administration ............................................................. 73 4.3.8 Issues of response rates and non-response bias.................................. 74 4.3.9 Quality of design – ensuring the reliability and validity of online survey questionnaire........................................................................................... 75 4.3.10 Data interpretation and analysis ......................................................... 76

4.3.10.1 Pre-analytical process................................................................. 76 4.3.10.2 Descriptive statistical procedures............................................... 77 4.3.10.3 Exploratory factor analysis ........................................................ 77

4.4 Limitations of the mixed method approach ................................................... 78 4.5 Ethical considerations .................................................................................... 79 4.6 Conclusion ..................................................................................................... 80 CHAPTER FIVE: DATA ANALYSIS 5.1 Introduction.................................................................................................... 81 5.2 Phase 1: Qualitative data analysis .................................................................. 81

5.2.1 Profiles of respondents....................................................................... 81 5.2.2 Interpretations from the interviews .................................................... 83

5.2.2.1 Mobility.......................................................................................... 86

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5.2.2.2 System interactivity & wireless trust environment ........................ 88 5.2.2.3 System interoperability .................................................................. 95 5.2.2.4 User context - facilitating conditions ............................................. 99

5.2.3 Summary of the convergent interview findings ............................... 104 5.3 Phase 2: Quantitative data analysis .............................................................. 105

5.3.1 Data preparation............................................................................... 105 5.3.2 Sample size and response rate.......................................................... 106 5.3.3 Non-response bias ............................................................................ 107 5.3.4 Characteristics of respondents.......................................................... 108 5.3.5 Wireless usage experience ............................................................... 109 5.3.6 Wireless service characteristics........................................................ 114 5.3.7 Reliability analysis ........................................................................... 119 5.3.8 Exploratory factor analysis .............................................................. 122

5.3.8.1 Assumption testing....................................................................... 122 5.3.8.2 Factorability of the correlation matrix: ........................................ 123 5.3.8.3 Factor analysis for wireless service characteristics...................... 127 5.3.8.4 Initial factor analysis .................................................................... 127 5.3.8.5 Factor analysis.............................................................................. 129

5.4 Conclusion ................................................................................................... 132 CHAPTER SIX: SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS 6.1 Summary ...................................................................................................... 133 6.2 Conclusions about the research problem ..................................................... 135

6.2.1 Mobility............................................................................................ 135 6.2.2 System interactivity.......................................................................... 137 6.2.3 Wireless trust environment .............................................................. 139 6.2.4 System interoperability .................................................................... 141 6.2.5 User context ..................................................................................... 143

6.2.5.1 Facilitating conditions-1............................................................... 143 6.2.5.2 Facilitating conditions-2............................................................... 144

6.3 Conclusion ................................................................................................... 146 6.4 Limitations of the research........................................................................... 147 6.5 Future implications ...................................................................................... 148 REFERENCES......................................................................................................... 150

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List of Tables Table 2.1: Literature review on IS acceptance of wireless technology...................... 27 Table 3.1: Distinguishing characteristics of the three philosophical dimensions for the four key research designs ..................................................................................... 39 Table 3.2: Selection criteria for an appropriate research method .............................. 40 Table 3.3: Comparison of qualitative and quantitative approaches ........................... 43 Table 3.4: Four measuring controls for evaluating the quality of qualitative research.................................................................................................................................... 49 Table 4.1: Dimensions for survey questions based on technology acceptance theories and other IS related adoption theories........................................................................ 66 Table 4.2: Measuring items for wireless service characteristics................................ 67 Table 4.3 Wireless service characteristics in terms of five major constructs and their corresponding number of items.................................................................................. 71 Table 5.1: Convergent interview respondents’ profiles ............................................. 82 Table 5.2: Research issues and their associated characteristics................................. 84 Table 5.3: List of issues emerged in response to the question – Q1 .......................... 85 Table 5.4: Important issues extracted from convergent interviews about wireless service characteristics............................................................................................... 104 Table 5.5: Respondents’ agreements and disagreements on various issues............. 104 Table 5.6: Sample size and approximated response rate.......................................... 106 Table 5.7: Chi-square tests for non-response error (early-vs-late respondents) ...... 108 Table 5.8: Profile of respondents ............................................................................. 108 Table 5.9: Descriptive statistics on wireless usage experience................................ 109 Table 5.10: Descriptive statistics on wireless service characteristic – mobility ...... 115 Table 5.11: Descriptive statistics on wireless service characteristic – system interactivity .............................................................................................................. 115 Table 5.12: Descriptive statistics on wireless service characteristic – wireless trust environment.............................................................................................................. 116 Table 5.13: Descriptive statistics on wireless service characteristic – system interoperability ......................................................................................................... 117 Table 5.14: Descriptive statistics on wireless service characteristic – user context – facilitating conditions............................................................................................... 118 Table 5.15: Descriptive statistics on wireless service characteristic – user context – cost and reputability ................................................................................................. 119 Table 5.16: Reliability statistics for all 72 items used in the survey........................ 120 Table 5.17: Reliability statistics for all 29 items measuring wireless service characteristics........................................................................................................... 120 Table 5.18: Reliability coefficients for variables measuring wireless service characteristics........................................................................................................... 121 Table 5.19: KMO and Bartlett’s test statistics of all 25 items measuring wireless service characteristics............................................................................................... 124 Table 5.20: Correlation matrix of all items measuring wireless service characteristics (*p<.05, **p<.01)..................................................................................................... 125 Table 5.21: Rotated component matrix.................................................................... 130 Table 5.22: continued............................................................................................... 131

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List of Figures Figure 2.1: Literature review stages............................................................................. 8 Figure 2.2: Research model........................................................................................ 33 Figure 3.1: Integrated convergent interview and online survey methods: a flow diagram....................................................................................................................... 36 Figure 3.2: The convergent interview process ........................................................... 46 Figure 5.1: Type(s) of wireless services used .......................................................... 111 Figure 5.2: Type(s) of wireless devices used........................................................... 112 Figure 5.3: Wireless service provider subscribed to................................................ 113

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List of Appendices APPENDIX 1: CONVERGENT INTERVIEW PROTOCOL .............................. 163 APPENDIX 2: ONLINE SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE...................................... 171 APPENDIX 3: ETHICS CLEARANCE FORM ................................................... 177 APPENDIX 4: ONLINE SURVEY DATA ANALYSIS ...................................... 180 APPENDIX 5: CONVERGENT INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTS......................... 193

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List of Abbreviations

1G, 2G, 2.5G, 3G First Generation, Second Generation, 2.5th Generation, and Third Generation - mobile networks

CA Certification Authority

CDMA Code Division Multiple Access

EDGE Enhanced Data Rate for GSM Evolution

GPRS General Packet Radio Service

GPS Global Positioning System

GSM Global System for Mobile communications

HDSPA High Speed Downlink Packet Access

ICQ Instant Messaging Computer Program

Kbps/Mbps Kilobytes per Second/Megabytes per Second

LAN Local Area Network

MMS Multimedia Messaging Services

PC Personal Computer

PCMCIA Personal Computer Memory Card International Association

PDA Personal Digital Assistant

PKI Public-Key Infrastructure

PTT Push to Talk

RF Radio Frequency

RFID Radio Frequency Identification

SMS Short Messaging Service

TAM Technology Acceptance Model

TV Television

UMTS Universal Mobile Telecommunications System

UTAUT Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology

UWB Ultra-Wideband Bluetooth

VPN Virtual Private Network

WAP Wireless Application Protocol

W-CDMA Wideband – CDMA

WLAN Wireless Local Area Network

WSP Wireless Service Provider

WTLS Wireless Transport Layer Security

WWW World Wide Web

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Definitions

End Users: Refers to users who use telecommunication services. No distinction is

made between individual users and organisations.

Mobility : A unique function of wireless systems and means the end-user’s ability to

move from one place to another (Sharma & Nakamura 2003).

Wireless Application: Application-level software that operates on a host server

and/or on a host terminal (Ian 2003).

Wireless Communication: Data communication that does not require a wired

connection between communicating peers, typically using radio or infrared

transmissions.

Wireless Device: Electronic equipment that enables end users to access various

telecommunication services through the wireless network (Beaulieu 2001). Typical

wireless devices include laptops, mobile phones and Personal Digital Assistant

(PDAs).

Wireless Internet: The network of radio-connected devices and servers using voice,

information and other Internet services.

Wireless Network: The communication system of two or more computers or other

devices using standard protocols, without using any physical cable connection.

Wireless Service Provider (WSP): A company that offers transmission services to

users of wireless devices (handheld computers and telephones) through radio

frequency (RF) signals rather than through end-to-end wire communication.

Generally, a WSP offers either cellular telephone service, personal communication

service (PCS), or both. The term also seems applicable to satellite television and

Internet access providers (Alder 2003).

Wireless Technology: Allows information to be transmitted between devices

without use of physical connections (Ian 2003).

Wireless Telecommunication Services (or Wireless Services): A set of various

service functions offered as end-to-end services over a network to an end user’s

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terminal when requested (Furht & Ilyas 2003). Examples of wireless services are

messaging services, transmission of text, digitised voice, video streaming, navigation

services, mobile marketing, and multimedia.