An analytical framework for an m-payment ecosystem: A merchants׳ perspective

•We propose an analytical framework for m-payment ecosystem.•Interviews and qualitative analysis are used to evaluate our propositions.•Business ecosystem configurations determine merchants׳ adoption decision.•The decision process within m-payment ecosystem is from inside-out.

In comparison to the rapid adoption and growth of mobile technologies worldwide, mobile payment services are being adopted at a slower pace than anticipated. One of the interesting characteristics of the Chinese market, for both academicians and practitioners, is that, although m-payment evolved from the convergence of payment and telecommunication industries (traditionally dominated by state-owned enterprises in China), it was private, third party payment companies that developed m-payment platforms, which gained a competitive edge over state-owned enterprises. While standardization, regulation and policy play an important role in stimulating the Chinese m-payment market, these factors alone are not sufficient to establish a sustainable two-sided market and generate a critical mass of merchants and end-users. Although merchants play a crucial role in the m-payment ecosystem, there is a lack of insight into merchant behavior, and their interaction with other actors in the m-payment ecosystem. In this study, we propose a framework for the analyses of the m-payment ecosystem. Starting from a set of propositions, we conducted in-depth interviews to analyze the multifaceted nature of the Chinese m-payment market. We identified the connection between the adoption process and the business ecosystem configurations. The proposed framework can be used as a basis for future studies of complex business ecosystems.