An integrative model of mobile phone appropriation

Abstract

The evolution of mobile communication devices and services has taken up a dynamic which makes any prognosis on in this field almost impossible. Whereas part of this dynamic may remain inscrutable, we believe that a much higher degree of explanation can be achieved by paying more attention to the process of appropriation. To seize this potential, we propose to combine existing research efforts in this domain. Therefore, an integrative model to analyse mobile phone appropriation will be presented.
The model is based on existing theoretical approaches belonging to the quantitative “adoption”-paradigm (namely diffusion theory, theory of planned behavior, uses-and-gratifications and social network theory) as well as the mostly qualitative research paradigm devoted to “appropriation” (innovation theory, cultural studies, frame analysis). The resulting model integrates elements from all of these approaches. It is optimized (and partially empirically tested) for the mobile telephone.