An Institutional Perspective of Mobile Payment Adoption: The Case of Japan

Mobile payment systems have been predicted to grow at the same pace as mobile phones and internet shopping for several years now. However, their slow adoption in most countries calls into question the general justifications rooted in economic and technology-acceptance models. This paper proposes that the successful adoption of mobile payment systems depends more on satisfying institutional constraints found in country-specific environments, rather than complying with industry- and resource-based views. Following a review of institutions, institutional carriers, and their constraining effects, mobile payments are examined from the perspective of regulative, normative, and cognitive institutional carriers. Then, the case of Japan's widely used mobile payment system Mobile Suica is introduced to illustrate how a tight institutional fit can ensure wide acceptance. The findings of this research can be applied to other mobile payment systems currently offered to identify and minimize the gaps with their institutional environment, thus speeding up their adoption.