Mobile Operator´s Dilemma: An Exploratory Study on the Co-diffusion of Mobile IM and Desktop IM of China Mobile

The rise of mobile Instant Messaging (IM) services has been a mixed blessing for mobile operators. Mobile operators are facing critical questions that whether or not to develop operator proprietary IM service and how to develop such kind of service. This study attempts to tackle these questions by analyzing the co-diffusion patterns of the mobile IM service and the desktop IM service of China Mobile Fetion, one of the most successful IM services of mobile operators in China. Results reveal that the mobile IM service and the desktop IM service follow different diffusion patterns and the co-diffusion effects between the mobile IM service and the desktop IM service are both complementary and substitutive. Theoretical and practical implications are also discussed.