• Which Retail Mobile Apps Standout and Why?

    For successful retail shopping engagement, mobile app quality matters. Retailers lag behind in app quality, but Fanatics, Domino’s and Groupon stand out. Jimmy John’s, Michaels and McDonald’s fare the worst. The best performing retail apps meet customers’ high expectations, curate passionate fans, and offer the shopper value in mobility.

  • Producer Lifetime Value for 2-sided Market Firms

    Enhance producer life time value (PLV)–lesson from 2-sided shopping app/platform Instacart’s successful growth 

  • Asymmetries in the Effects of Drivers of Mobile Device Brand Loyalty between Early and Late Adopters and across Generations of Mobile Technology

    Lam and Shankar JIM 2014

    by Shun Yin Lam and Venkatesh Shankar

    The article was published in Journal of Interactive Marketing

    Mobile marketing activities are growing at a rapid pace. The success of mobile marketing hinges on consumers’ adoption of mobile devices. However, consumers’ mobile device adoption is not well understood at the brand (e.g., Apple, Nokia, Samsung) level. We propose a conceptual framework linking mobile device brand loyalty (repurchase intention) to its drivers including perceived value, brand satisfaction, brand attachment and trust, and develop hypotheses about the moderating roles of adopter type and mobile technology generation in some of these linkages. We test these hypotheses using structural equation modeling on a unique cross-sectional dataset of attitudes toward mobile phone brands spanning two technology generations, 2.5G and 3G. The results reveal important asymmetries between adopter types and between technology generations: early adopters of mobile devices emphasize perceived value, whereas late adopters rely on brand satisfaction in developing brand loyalty; and consumers depend more on trust and less on perceived value in developing loyalty for the new generation than for the existing generation. We outline how brand managers of mobile devices should adapt their marketing strategies to different adopter
    types and technology generations.

  • Symbian: Customer Interaction through Collaboration and Competition in a Convergent Industry

    Ancarani_Shankar_JIM_2003

    by Fabio Ancarani and Venkatesh Shankar

    This article was published in Journal of Interactive Marketing, 17 (Winter 2003), 56-76.

    In a convergent industry, the boundaries between traditional industries are blurred and, as new competitors emerge, traditional rules of competition are challenged. Firms need to effectively compete and collaborate with one another simultaneously by focusing on customer needs.  In this paper, we argue that integration of customer needs and strategic alliances is a critical aspect of competing in the convergent industry. We propose a framework for analyzing competition in convergent industry, comprising five critical factors: customer intimacy, degree of competition among different players in focal markets, alliance formation, brand equity, and execution.  We apply this framework to the case of Symbian, a joint venture among Nokia, Sony-Ericsson, Motorola, Matsushita, Siemens and Psion that licenses an open operating system for third generation mobile information and communication services in hybrid mobile devices.  We derive insights into the ongoing competition between Symbian OS, the first mover in this emerging market and Microsoft’s Smartphone, the late mover.

  • The Wireless Industry’s Killer ‘B’

    Shankar_ODriscoll_Reibstein_S+B_2003

    by Venkatesh Shankar, Tony O’Driscoll, and David Reibstein

    This article was published in Strategy+Business, 31 (Summer 2003), 68-77.

    We suggest a strategic approach and offer examples of firms successfully using m-business can provide an understanding how mobile technology will impact a firm’s business model and organization. An understanding of where monies are being spent in m-business in the industry as well as in complementary and competitive industries may be valuable as mobile technology’s core value proposition of anything, anywhere, anytime is hacking at the root of the industry-segmented mental model. The future opportunity for m-business truly lies in the cross-industry context rather than within the context of any given industry. Cultivation of the capability to recognize and act upon cross-industry value networks aimed at constantly enhancing customer value may the hallmark of successful firms in the wireless world. While firms need to grab the low-hanging fruits of wireless now, they also should look at changing the ways of doing business in the future mobile environment characterized by cross-industry coordinated value bundles for customers.

  • Online and Mobile Advertising: Current Scenario, Emerging Trends, and Future Directions

    Shankar_Hollinger_MSl_2007

    by Venkatesh Shankar and Marie Hollinger

    This article was published as MSI Report 07-206.

    Online advertising expenditures are growing rapidly and are expected to reach $37 billion in the U.S. by 2011. Mobile advertising or advertising delivered through mobile devices or media is also growing substantially. Advertisers need to better understand the different forms, formats, and media associated with online and mobile advertising, how such advertising influences consumer behavior, the different pricing models for such advertising, and how to formulate a strategy for effectively allocating their marketing dollars to different online advertising forms, formats and media. In this article, we address these issues. We provide an overview of the current scenario with regard to online and mobile advertising. We discuss the emerging trends in these areas and offer our view of the future directions.

  • Mobile Marketing in the Retailing Environment: Current Insights and Future Research Avenues

    Shankar Venkatesh Hofacker Naik JIM 2010

    by Venkatesh Shankar, Alladi Venkatesh, Charles Hofacker, and Prasad Naik

    This article was published in the Journal of Interactive Marketing, 24 (2010), 111-120.

    Mobile marketing, which involves two- or multi-way communication and promotion of an offer between a firm and its customers using the mobile, a term that refers to the mobile medium, device, channel, or technology, is growing in importance in the retailing environment. It has the potential to change the paradigm of retailing from one based on consumers entering the retailing environment to retailers entering the consumer’s environment through anytime, anywhere mobile devices. We propose a conceptual framework that comprises three key entities, the consumer, the mobile, and the retailer. The framework addresses key related issues such as mobile consumer activities, mobile consumer segments, mobile adoption enablers and inhibitors, key mobile properties, key retailer mobile marketing activities and competition. We also address successful retailer mobile marketing strategies, identify the customer-related and organizational challenges on this topic, and outline future research scenarios and avenues related to these issues.

  • Mobile Marketing: A Synthesis and Prognosis

    Shankar Balasubramanian JIM 2009

    by Venkatesh Shankar and Sridhar Balasubramanian

    This article was published in the Journal of Interactive Marketing, 23 (2009), 118-129.

    Mobile marketing refers to the two- or multi-way communication and promotion of an offer between a firm and its customers using a mobile medium, device, or technology.  We present the conceptual underpinnings of mobile marketing and a synthesis of the relevant literature. We identify and discuss four key issues: drivers of mobile device/service adoption, the influence of mobile marketing on customer decision-making, formulation of a mobile marketing strategy, and mobile marketing in the global context.  We outline research directions related to these issues and conclude by delineating the managerial implications of mobile marketing insights.