1
Unlocking the promise of mobile value-added services by applying new collaborative business models
Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Volume 77, Issue 4, May 2010, Pages 678-693
Peng-Ting Chen, Joe Z. Cheng
Abstract
Due to the intense voice service competition and subscriber growth saturation, the average revenue per user (ARPU) of mobile communications service providers continues to decline, thereby severely affecting their total revenue and profitability. To counter this challenge, mobile communications service providers are now moving from “tariff competition” to “service competition.” As mobile communications enter the next-generation network (NGN) era, network bandwidth and transmission speed are greatly enhanced. The enhancement enables mobile communications service providers to provide content-rich, multimedia value-added services to create new service value, meet demands of customers, and increase ARPU. To understand how to construct mobile value-added services, this study uses survey forms to collect feedback from 35 industry and research institution experts and scholars and to present systematically the finding on the mobile value-added services strategy. The research employs the analytic network process (ANP) to analyze the strategy of mobile service providers in delivering mobile services in the NGN. The business strategy evaluation framework and evaluation result can be used as guides for players in the mobile communications industry to review, improve, and enhance their service and strategy.
2
Understanding trade-offs in the supplier selection process: The role of flexibility, delivery, and value-added services/support
International Journal of Production Economics, Volume 120, Issue 1, July 2009, Pages 30-41
Bo van der Rhee, Rohit Verma, Gerhard Plaschka
Abstract
In this study, we present, based on econometric choice modeling framework, how manufacturing managers/executives trade-off between cost, delivery, flexibility, and service features in the supplier selection process for commodity raw materials, given acceptable quality. Empirical data for this study was collected from manufacturing organizations in Europe (Germany, France, Italy, and UK) using a computer-based supplier selection discrete choice survey. Each survey instrument contained 16 supplier selection choice sets, which compared 23 attributes of the current suppliers with a “new” potential supplier. The attributes of new suppliers were varied across two to four levels using established factorial experimental design procedures. The resultant multinomial logit models show the relative impact of cost, flexibility, delivery and service features on supplier selection.