Technological Innovations and Consumer Needs: An Analysis of Mobile Communications Market

This study combines insights from market diffusion and consumer research to provide an integrated framework of mobile communications market in Japan. We base our analysis on data from company interview, focus group discussion and industry reports. Our findings indicate that technology push dominates in the early introduction and consumer needs pull in the maturing stage. Three implications for the marketing area are; first, user needs for mobile communications have evolved from basic mobility and functionality to include aesthetic and experiential benefits, second, innovations of product capabilities co-evolve with user needs, and lead to increases in mobile usage and productuser attachments, and third, in a saturated market, mobile consumption is premised on the utilitarian and hedonic values as perceived by the users. As mobile phone is a universal product, analysis of a saturated market such as Japan provides a deeper understanding of the evolution of technology and consumer in other markets.