Will mobile video become the killer application for 3G mobile Internet? a model of media convergence acceptance Xin Xu & Will Wai Kit Ma & Eric Wing Kuen See-To # Springer Science + Business Media, LLC 2008 Abstract We propose and empirically test a model of user acceptance of digital media convergence. Integrating information system research, particularly the paradigm of task–technology fit and the platform–application dichotomy, and theories from media psychology and human–computer interaction, we theorize the fit between the content applications and the media platform as the key determinant of user evaluation and acceptance of digital media convergence. We empirically tested our theory in the context of mobile video entertainment services. Specifically, we hypothesize that both the duration of the video content (i.e., the characteristic of the content) and the attentional constraint of the mobile media platform (i.e., the character- istic of the media platform) jointly determine users’ attentional involvement (i.e., reflecting the fit) in the video content. Such involvement in turn influences users’ emotional enjoyment and satisfaction with the mobile video entertainment service. The empirical results support most of our hypotheses. Two key findings are: (1) in the case of media convergence, the attentional constraint of the target media platform significantly influences user experience during content delivery that may lead to the rejection of media convergence; and (2) the duration of the content interacts with both the attentional constraint of the media platform and the type of interruptions from the environment in determining attentional involvement and emotional enjoyment. We discuss the theoretical contributions and practical implications from our empirical findings. Keywords Digital media convergence . Media psychology . Task–technology fit . Mobile internet 1 Introduction The advent of 3G mobile Internet has created more opportunities for mobile operators to increase their revenue and profits by providing high quality, diversified and personalized services (Tilson and Lyytinen 2005). Encour- aged by the success of mobile Internet services, such as ringtone download and pictures taken by camera phones, some industry analysts and operators believe that mobile video entertainment services is one of the promising candidates for killer applications of 3G—“Watching video on cell phones could eventually easily surpass [demand for games, ringtones and wallpapers], to reach 100% of the population” (Kharif 2005). Operators have spent billions to upgrade their infrastructure and launched a lot of mobile video content, such as full-length movies, mobile TV programs and music videos (Reardon 2006). This further accelerates the pace of digital media convergence, where computers, communications, and multimedia merge together (Covell 1999). Inf Syst Front DOI 10.1007/s10796-008-9139-7 Viswanath Venkatesh, Yogesh K. Dwivedi and Michael D. Williams were the guest editors accepting the article as part of the special issue on Adoption and Use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in the Residential/Household Context (see Dwivedi et al. 2008 for editorial). X. Xu (*) Department of Management and Marketing, Faculty of Business, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China e-mail: xin.xu@polyu.edu.hk W. W. K. Ma Department of Journalism and Communication, Hong Kong Shue Yan University, Hong Kong, China e-mail: wkma@hksyu.edu E. W. K. See-To Department of Management Science, Lancaster University Management School, University of Lancaster, Lancaster, UK e-mail: e.see-to@lancaster.ac.uk