Form and function - designing successful mobile data services - Survey Data

Mobile devices, along with mobile data services (MDS), have become powerful attendants in
our daily life. Starting with simple communication services, MDS now offer a solution for
almost every demand in private and business life. The market for MDS has become very
competitive and is creating pressure on MDS providers with continuously increasing
consumer demands. Recently, design has received much attention, since it provides vast
opportunities for differentiating offerings and gaining competitive advantage. However,
there is often semantic confusion when it comes to the concrete application of design.
Based on the theoretical integration of user satisfaction and technology acceptance of
Wixom and Todd (2005) and by conceptualizing form and function as the two major components
of design, we propose a theoretical model that specifically investigates which MDS design
characteristics influence consumers’ perception and behavioral intention. We empirically
tested our model with partial least square (PLS) analysis, based on a sample of 2,295
responses from MDS users in the mobile banking context. The findings reveal that both
components of design – form and function – were positively associated with satisfaction.
The relationship between form and satisfaction was moderated by MDS consumer age and MDS
usage frequency.