An analysis of trusted service manager development modes by mobile operating system designers in Taiwan

• An ANP framework is developed for analyzing the developing modes of TSM.
• Five TSM development modes and the impacts of the stakeholders are discussed.
• Experts were interviewed to evaluate the performance of three TSM alternatives.
• “Cooperation mode” could be the best alternative to develop TSM in Taiwan.

A trusted service manager (TSM) mediates between service providers, mobile network operators (MNOs), and the secure element (SE) issuer. As a facilitator to accelerate the development of the Near Field Communication (NFC) application ecosystem, such as mobile payments, e-tickets, etc., the TSM and its issues have received increased attention in recent years. In this study, the TSM development modes are analyzed under the challenges of mobile operating system designers (OSD) by an analytical network process. The research framework for developing a TSM is constructed by four main criteria and twelve sub-criteria through a literature review. Based on the authors’ previous work, five possible developing modes of TSMs are set as alternatives. An analytic network process (ANP) framework is proposed, and expert questionnaires are designed. Eighteen experts in NFC-related domains, including MNO, bank, smart card, and TSM stakeholders, were interviewed, and a proper developing mode for TSM in Taiwan was obtained. All these experts are in businesses related with TSM or are familiar with the TSM ecosystem.The analytical results not only include the ranks of four main criteria and twelve sub-criteria but also reveal that experts expect “Cooperation mode” to be the best alternative for developing a TSM in Taiwan. The explanations for the ranks are discussed with the current NFC ecosystem in Taiwan. The research framework for developing a TSM in this study is also expected to be applied to different countries, as developing modes of a TSM are generally multiple-criteria decision-making issues. Developing modes of a TSM for other countries could be implemented by changing the criteria, sub-criteria and alternatives of this research structure according to a country’s own political, NFC-related business environment or development stage of the NFC industry. In conclusion, this study provides academic and managerial implications of the results showing why “Cooperation mode” could be the best alternative to develop a TSM in Taiwan. This study’s contributions are as follows. First, an ANP network of TSM development is constructed, and it can be applied to other countries with similar developing mode analysis processes. Second, a proper developing mode of a TSM in Taiwan based on the views of different experts is uncovered.