FACTORS INFLUENCING THE CONSUMERS’ ADOPTION OF MOBILE INTERNET Saleh Alwahaishi 1 , Václav Snášel 2 1 King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia 2 VSB-Technical University of Ostrava, Ostrava, Czech Republic salehw@kfupm.edu.sa, vaclav.snasel@vsb.cz ABSTRACT The Internet and mobile technology, the two most dynamic technological forces in modern information and communication technologies are converging into one ubiquitous mobile Internet service, which will change our way of both doing business and dealing with our daily routine activities. There is no doubt that the mobile Internet service is moving toward the new generation on which enables mobile users to enjoy a variety of new and upgraded multimedia mobile services. This research composes a new hybrid theoretical framework to identify the factors affecting the acceptance and use of mobile in a consumer context. The proposed model incorporates eight constructs: performance expectancy, effort expectancy, facilitating conditions, social influences, perceived value, perceived playfulness, attention focus, and behavioral intention. Individual differences—namely, age, gender, and experience—are hypothesized to moderate the effects of behavioral intention towards the use of mobile Internet. Data collected online from respondents in Saudi Arabia were tested against the research model, using the structural equation modeling approach. The proposed model was mostly supported by the empirical data. It was found that performance expectancy and perceived playfulness have the strongest significant effect on the behavioral intentions towards the use of mobile Internet. KEYWORDS Mobile Internet, Adoption, Factors, Modeling, ICT Use 1 INTRODUCTION Information and communications technology or ICT, is often used as an extended synonym for Information Technology (IT), but is a more specific term that stresses the role of unified communications and the integration of telecommunications, computers as well as necessary enterprise software, middleware, storage, and audio-visual systems, which enable users to access, store, transmit, and manipulate information. ICT is an interdisciplinary area of research driven and shaped by the fast development of computing, communication, and Internet-related technologies, which have a great impact on our societies and daily lives. Over the last few decades there has been an increase in ICT research, which has changed and shaped the way societies and organizations operate and produce their goods and services. Over the last decade the business world has changed so rapidly, that one can no longer imagine managing in a steady state. In no other domain has this observation been more relevant than in the field of ICT. It is not only the generation of new technology but also, and perhaps even to a higher extent, its diffusion throughout the economy which affects productivity growth at the macro-level.It was showed that to capture the benefits of ICT it is not necessary to dispose of an ICT producing sector [1]. Timely diffusion of new technology or, ISBN: 978-0-9891305-0-9 ©2013 SDIWC 31