Does one standard promote faster growth? An econometric analysis of the international diffusion of wireless technology

International diffusion of wireless telecommunication and mobile e-commerce has increased since the height of the Internet economy, however, there are a number of different managerial, technological and interpretative issues that still require a more careful look by marketing science and information systems researchers. In this research, we put forward a new theoretical perspective to enable policy makers to better understand states of digital wireless phone diffusion and factors that affect their diffusion rates. We use a modified Bass model and a coupled-hazard survival model to test the effects of country environmental factors, digital and analog wireless phone industry environmental factors, and technology policy factors on the speed of diffusion. The results show that multiple standards and high prices slow down the digital wireless phone diffusion process from the introduction state to the partial diffusion state. Competition in both analog and digital wireless phone industry also shapes the growth of digital wireless phone diffusion. In addition, different practices of technology policies influence the digital wireless phone diffusion speed especially during the take-off.