Scholarship details:
Developments in mobile technologies, such as “smart” mobile phones and tablets, and the worldwide penetration of these devices has resulted in the mobile platform emerging as a key tool to engage consumers. This situation has witnessed a corresponding emergence of a range of mobile applications, including mobile marketing, mobile gaming, mobile access to social media, mobile entertainment services, and mobile payment services.
However, despite the use of such mobile services (m-services) being widespread and widely accepted in today’s society, these services are seen as an area requiring much additional investigation from a consumer perspective. For example, existing research has provided a restricted understanding of factors influencing consumer perceptions of m-payment services, and despite the popularity of mobile banking and risk being a significant factor in the decision to make use of m-services, there appears to be relatively little awareness of the privacy and risk issues surrounding the use of such technology. Moreover, despite the use of m-services being thought in general to be safer than online activity via traditional desktop or laptop computers, it is believed that approximately 650,000 malicious Android applications exist, many of which appear under the guise of banking applications.
Against this brief backdrop, and given the practical relevance and lack of empirical work, the aim of the study is to conduct an empirical investigation into consumer perceptions of risk and privacy issues associated with the use of m-services, thus contributing to the body of knowledge in this under-researched area. The study is intended to make both theoretical and managerial contributions. From a conceptual perspective, it will extend existing knowledge by developing a model that incorporates factors relevant to the appropriate mobile technology context – the empirical application of the model will augment knowledge relating to the formation of consumers’ perceptions of mobile services. From a managerial perspective, it will produce results that have implications for the marketing and development of mobile services
Contacts: Supervisors: Professor M.D. Williams (M.D.Williams@Swansea.ac.uk) and Professor Yogesh Dwivedi (Y.K.Dwivedi@swansea.ac.uk)
The scholarship covers home/EU fees, plus a stipend that matches the ESRC level (currently £13863 per year) and annual support/travel funds (£500).
Overseas applicants are welcome, but will be required to pay the difference between home and overseas fees.