Mobile-phone users’ attitudes towards’ mobile commerce & services in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries: Case study

Abstract

As the number of mobile phone users is growing, purchasing products and services using mobile phones and other mobile devices are also increasing. The purpose of this study was to provide the status of mobile-commerce in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries in term of consumers' attitudes towards mobile commerce and mobile services provided by mobile operators. Oman, one of the GCC countries is used as the case study. The theoretical background of the study was drawn from Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). This study showed that there is a promising future for m-commerce in Oman as above 66 percents of respondents said that they are willing to buy products and services using their mobile phones. Security of mobile transactions and the cost of products and services are great concerns to the mobile phone users. This study provides a list of recommendations based on the result of the survey that would be of importance to the mobile industry stakeholders in Oman, GCC, and other countries with a similar economy, market and consumer characteristics. The outcome of the study would be of a particular interest to the private and public telecommunication organizations; especially those that intend to invest in m-commerce in the GCC area and other developing countries.