Academic research in the phenomenon known as mobile commerce is just now coming to the forefront. However, most of this literature is coming from areas other than marketing, including information systems and management. Empirical investigations are looking at the technology behind mobility, as well as some scant consumer behavior studies. Even less is information at the firm level as to why firms should consider mobile commerce as a strategy for marketing purposes. Using the institutional theory and the relational view of the firm to establish a theoretical foundation, this study attempts to fill the gap in marketing literature with respect to the management perspective of mobile commerce. An understanding in this area will allow firms to understand what is underlying the intentions to adopt a mobile commerce marketing strategy in terms of their relationships with stakeholders, and how to use that information for mobile commerce as a strategic competitive advantage.

Data were collected from various industries around the United States through an online survey, a regular mail survey and surveys from student collection for an empirical examination of mobile commerce adoption. A sample base of 316 industry respondents was used for this study. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to provide evidence of adequate model fit, and the structural model and hypothesized relationships were tested using Structural Equation Modeling.

The significance of these findings to theory and management implications is discussed. Limitations of this study and a future research agenda are presented.