Analysis of Mobile Commerce Market in Hong Kong - Essay Example

Critical Review Aims/ Objectives/ Scope The main aim of this paper is to provide an ‘Analysis of Mobile Commerce Market in Hong Kong’. The ofthe article, as stated above, is clear enough to provide a hint to readers about the environment and setting in which the research was to be carried out. The stated scope covers the mobile commerce opportunity in Hong Kong market by providing a study of contributions made by mobile networks providers, the Hong Kong Post, and the Telecommunication Authority. It also provides a review of why the information market in Hong Kong is suitable for mobile commerce development. However, one feels that every analysis should be complemented with a set of strategic recommendations for the findings/ weaknesses identified during the analysis. As per the specified objectives of this report, the reader does not get any hint on how the situation can be improved; how can Hong Kong market exploit the benefits out of this m-commerce technology; and what could be the strategic road map for such changes. The scope of this report is limited to presenting the as-is situational analysis of the state of affairs in Hong Kong markets for mobile commerce. It seems that the research problem is to study the existing mobile commerce market in Hong Kong without in-depth analysis of the factors that can be tuned to enhance mobile commerce productivity, increase usage by customers, and adds to the popularity of this relatively new technology. The scope of the paper has been loosely defined. Research Context The research has been carried out for the Hong Kong’s mobile commerce market. However, the report does not seem to refer to any previous work or literature in this area. There is not a single source in references list that points to an earlier study conducted for Hong Kong mobile commerce market. It is hard to believe that this is the first piece of literature in this area. The authors have seemed to either ignore earlier contributions in the field, or were not able to carry out an adequate research work to find out about it. The research paper, however, provides a high level overview of Hong Kong mobile markets, including an introduction of various services provided by the six mobile operators that were in business in Hong Kong at the time of this study. Though, it does not introduce the audience to these six operators, but the paper presents a fine quality description of the products and services provided by these six mobile operators in Hong Kong; and it also provides an insight into technological layout of these services and products. This gives some indication that an effective market study and analysis have been carried out for developing this section of the paper. Methodology Unfortunately, the paper does not have much to offer in this area. Till the end of this research paper, the users remain unaware of the methodology that was carried out to conduct research and obtain the findings. There is no description of how the research was conducted and the readers are left to figure this out by themselves. Although the article is rich with facts and figures yet, most of them are not provided with adequate references to ensure that these have been taken from reliable sources. This reduces the overall reliability of the report as well. In addition, the paper does not provide any evidence that any one of the six mobile service providers have been contacted to develop the paper. It seems that everything has been gathered through secondary research and no effort was made to collect and analyse primary data. The readers are left to do the guess work to find out whether any real research has been undertaken for development of this paper. In absence of a defined methodological framework, it is difficult to establish the sanctity of the whole work. Results and Findings The results of the research have been presented in an orderly and professional manner. The authors have given due thought and care towards drafting the findings from the research that they have carried out. These findings provide a wealth of information to users, about Hong Kong mobile commerce market. In section 4 of the report, entitled ‘Analysis of M-Commerce market in Hong Kong’, some very interesting facts have been provided like WAP enabled mobiles, stock and news through mobile phones, credit card transactions and other interesting and knowledge enhancement uses of the mobile commerce technology. This provides a comprehensive insight into the mobile commerce industry and builds a foundation for developing feasibility analysis of market potential for m-commerce in Hong Kong markets. Authors have adopted an interesting technique to present findings. They have divided the findings into multiple paragraphs and for each paragraph, have discussed the opportunity first, followed by responses from mobile operators and customers towards this opportunity. Discussions have been provided in appropriate length and with desired depth and detail. All of this fits nicely within the overall composition of this section of the report. Conclusions/ Recommendations The report presents a review of Hong Kong mobile commerce markets together with areas where work has been undertaken to introduce new services and products for potential customers. It is noted, however, that the paper does not differentiate among the actions that have already been taken by mobile service providers in Hong Kong market, and the ones that are recommended by the authors in this report. There is no separate section to provide recommendations for improving the overall state of affairs. Even in the conclusion section of the paper, it is evident that the authors have made no efforts to provide any recommendation. The entire conclusion is a brief summary of the contents above it. No future grounds have been identified for the Hong Kong mobile commerce market and that causes the report to be just a compilation of facts (unconfirmed, as these are not referenced at many places in the text). It is difficult to establish the utility of such a report since it does not serve a great deal of useful purpose to audience in general, except to provide a summary of current market situation and industry trend in the Hong Kong mobile commerce market industry. Presentation A very important aspect of every research paper is its presentation – the way thoughts and research findings have been compiled to provide a value added piece of information to the intended readers. The overall presentation of the article under review was professional and neatly carried out. The entire paper was divided into sections with relative information into each one. The information in these sections is clubbed in to paragraphs thus providing an appropriate structure to the overall presentation of the report. The grammar and sentence composition has been good with adequate usage of vocabulary and correct tenses. The abstract has provided a snapshot of the contents of the report but one feels that it does not convey a focussed message. After reading the abstract, an average reader gets an incorrect impression that the report provides a market analysis with some primary research to back the findings, which is not the case. The references are cited using ‘end notes’. The in-text citation is made through numbers like [1], [2], etc. that point to the reference of the source provided at the end of the paper. The referencing has been consistent through out the report. The overall structure of the report is professional with adequate references from the text; but abstract in the beginning is not as informative as it should have been. Read More