Effects of Context Relevance and Perceived Risk on User Acceptance of Mobile Information Services

Mobile information services differ from traditional, office information systems in their focus on entertainment value, their ability to be exposed to shifting social contexts, and the increased reliance of people (especially teenagers) on mobile telephones as important parts of their lives. This paper introduces a user acceptance model that addresses each of these differences: it includes hedonic value, context relevance, and perceived risk as major drivers of user acceptance. Our empirical research was conducted entirely online with the ‘context’ operating as an experimental treatment, and the other constructs measured using an online survey instrument. The research (N = 123) confirms that a consumer’s utilitarian value and hedonic value of a mobile information service are strongly correlated. Further, utilitarian value had a significant impact on intentions to use a service, whereas hedonic value had no such impact. There was a significant negative influence of perceived risk on utilitarian value, implying that those who considered the service to be a greater risk also perceived it to be less useful. There was no significant influence of perceived risk on hedonic value. Finally, a change in context caused a significant change in utilitarian value, implying that people exposed to more relevant contexts found the service more useful than the people with less relevant contexts.