Developing a tailored strategy for mobile applications' adoption across diffusion levels: A panel data analysis

Abstract

This paper proposes that there should be contextual strategy development of applications' diffusion based on the stage of mobile applications (apps) adoption already reached in a country. This is because as apps diffusion grows, the demand and supply constraints challenging the adoption of apps will change accordingly. A total of 77 countries are categorized into three clusters, Initial, Fast-Adoption, and Maturity, grouped by their adoption rates and the speeds over four-years from 2014 to 2017. With pooled and fixed-effect panel data models, this paper examines which variables out of 22 independent variables are effective in enhancing apps adoption globally. Further, by interacting two dummy clusters, Initial and Maturity with determinant variables, the study identifies the differential policy effectiveness of each determinant factor on apps adoption. The paper concludes that the three stages of apps diffusion levels have their respective effective strategy choice sets: 11 for Initial stage, 12 for Fast-adoption stage, and 13 for Maturity stage, suggesting that countries should develop their mobile apps inclusiveness strategy tailored to their context of apps adoption.