The rise of mobile internet: the adoption process at the bottom of the pyramid

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this study is to provide an insight into the adoption process of mobile internet (M-internet) among bottom-of-the-pyramid (BoP) customers. Design/methodology/approach An empirical survey was used to test the proposed hypotheses. Data were collected from a total of 387 BoP customers from Bangladesh. PLS-SEM was applied to test the proposed model. Findings The findings in this study reveal that BoP customers’ life satisfaction, internet literacy, perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use significantly influence a customer’s intention to use M-internet, while these relationships are partially mediated by the attitude toward M-internet. Furthermore, price perception was found to directly influence intention to use M-internet and to have a positive moderating effect on the relationship between attitude toward M-internet and intention to use M-internet. Also, intention to use M-internet was found to have a significant influence on BoP customer’s M-internet adoption behavior. Practical implications The findings of this study help to understand what drives and impedes the M-Internet adoption behavior of BoP customers in a developing country like Bangladesh. Originality/value This is the first study that incorporated BoP customers’ life satisfaction and internet literacy to investigate the BoP customers’ adoption process of M-internet in the context of developing countries. Overall, this study contributes to the limited literature regarding the BoP customers’ M-internet adoption behavior. The results of this study will help the M-internet service providers of Bangladesh and other similar developing countries to understand the BoP customer’s adoption process regarding M-internet to create successful policies and strategies both for the service providers and policymakers.