A service-value approach to mobile application valuation

Abstract

Mobile Application Software (M-Apps) is increasingly popular and by now represents the interactive trendiest software. Investigations about their valuation paradigms are so increasingly common. Even if M-Apps belong to the broad category of Intellectual Property assets, underlying business model is so innovative and different from traditional intangibles that they require new valuation paradigms. The main research question of this paper is to investigate about Service as a primary value driver of M-Apps. A Service-Value-Approach is proposed as a new appraisal method, which embodies customers’ perception of M-Apps service value. The empirical evidence fully confirms the hypothesis of the mediating role of Service Quality on application value. This study has practical implications for both scholars and professionals as it provides significant empirical evidence of the role of Service Quality into M-Apps valuation, and value co-creation between providers and users.