Introduction to the Special Issue Mobile Commerce: The Past, Present, and Future of Mobile Commerce Research

• Published in: International journal of electronic commerce 2012-07, Vol.16 (4), p.5-18
• Main Authors: Kourouthanassis, Panos E., Giaglis, George M.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Business models; Commerce; Consumer motivation; Electronic commerce; Information search and retrieval; Information storage and retrieval systems; Management information systems; mobile apps; Mobile commerce research; Mobile devices; mobile Internet; Mobiles; Smartphones; social commerce
• ISSN: 1086-4415; 1557-9301
• DOI: 10.2753/JEC1086-4415160401

Research on mobile commerce has attracted the interest of e-commerce scholars ever since mobile and portable devices became a widespread and effective means of commercial transactions and business practices. In the present editorial of this special issue of IJEC, we first revisit the past of m-commerce practice and research through an analysis of m-commerce-related publications and prevailing business models from 2000 to 2011. The analysis points to the increasingly topical and maturing status of the field, as well as to a gradual move from engineering-driven to socioeconomic-focused research. We then move to examine the field's present, by examining the submissions to this special issue and the five accepted papers that appear herein. This discussion provides a glimpse into the questions on m-commerce researchers' minds today; however, it also allows us to investigate what lies ahead in the future of m-commerce research as we move toward the more social-minded, hyperconnected world of tomorrow's social commerce (s-commerce).