**3. Methodology**

The purpose of this study is to empirically evaluate the different factors influencing merchant adoption of mobile payment systems. In order to fulfill this purpose, our research approaches a sequential quantitative and qualitative analysis based on three different stages.

In the first stage of our research (carried out in the second fortnight of May in 2015), our research analyzed different databases of related scientific publications in order to evaluate an overview of the use of mobile payment systems in the market for daily commercial activities. Through a qualitative analysis based on two focus groups were established after this initial process; one of the groups involved the managers of payment systems of five financial entities in Spain, while the other focus group incorporated managers of five different commercial establishments). Both groups were surveyed with a concise, clear questionnaire designed specifically for this research.

After the successful completion of the first stage, our study focused on the second stage which was carried out roughly around the same time. In this stage, our research assessed the situation regarding the new payment systems in 25 different commercial establishments through another qualitative analysis in order to examine the actual reliability of the questions which were designed in the first stage. After successful completion of the first and second stages, we modified the questionnaire employed in our research in order to incorporate more significant questions respecting the following variables: knowledge regarding the new payment systems, different types of mobile payments, the use of each of the different mobile payment technologies, main providers of mobile payment tools, perceived usefulness of the different mobile payment systems, drivers and barriers to the use of mobile payments, and, lastly, the intention to use of these new payment solutions.

In the final stage of our research, carried out in June and July in 2015, we performed a qualitative analysis after identifying and validating all related factors to our study in previous publications and checking every fit commercial establishment for the purpose of this research. In this third stage, we performed the personal interviews in the commercial establishments employing a questionnaire which would empirically assess other questions relevant to this research.

A total of 400 different merchants were initially identified as fit for the purpose of this research. These merchants were subsequently classified according to their business activity and their contribution to the GDP of Spain. It is worth mentioning that once we contacted all of these 400 establishments, only 151 decided to contribute to our full (qualitative and quantitative) research (37.75% of total merchants approached).

We performed a batch of semi-structured interviews with an average completion time of around 50–75 min; these interviews were then transcribed and coded for later use. After the personal interview, participants were surveyed through an additional questionnaire which aimed to further improve data collection in order to successfully achieve the purpose of the questions used during the interviews.

The different profiles of the merchants participating in our research can be found in **Table 3**. The vast majority of these companies were identified as microenterprises since they had a low number of employees (between 1 and 9). This assessment is consistent with the data gathered by the Spanish Statistical Office, which reports the presence of a high number of companies in Spain as opposed to the average figures in other countries in the European Union. The difference is the smaller size of these Spanish companies than those in other countries in the EU (i.e., 76.8% smaller in terms of the number of employees and with an average income 72.8% lower). Also, according to the same data from the Spanish Statistical Office, the most relevant sector contributing to the GDP of Spain would be the traditional sector (47.4% of the total contribution) followed by the restoration sector (25%). These findings identify the service sector as the main performer regarding Spanish GDP.

**3. Methodology**

**Drivers for the adoption of mobile payments**

Clarke [14] x

Frolick and Chen

Mallat and

Jarvenpaa and

Heim and Sinha

Ramakrishna and

**Ubiquity Personal nature**

Begonha et al. [6] x x Kreyer et al. [38] x

Dourish [19] x

[30] <sup>x</sup>

Meyer [50] x

Mallat et al. [47] x

**Total 3 3 2 3 3 3 4 1 % total 13.64 13.64 9.09 13.64 13.64 13.64 18.18 4.55**

Chang [9] x x

Naik [59] <sup>x</sup> <sup>x</sup> Chang [10] x x Tavilla [69] x x

[21] <sup>x</sup> <sup>x</sup>

118 Smartphones from an Applied Research Perspective

Tuunainen [46] <sup>x</sup> <sup>x</sup>

Sahut [62] x

**Table 2.** Drivers for the adoption of mobile payments.

Teo et al. [71] x

Lang [36] <sup>x</sup>

**Mobility Perceived security**

**Increased business operations and higher income**

**High penetration rate**

**Familiarity, convenience, and comfort**

**Compatibility**

The purpose of this study is to empirically evaluate the different factors influencing merchant adoption of mobile payment systems. In order to fulfill this purpose, our research approaches

In the first stage of our research (carried out in the second fortnight of May in 2015), our research analyzed different databases of related scientific publications in order to evaluate an overview of the use of mobile payment systems in the market for daily commercial activities. Through a qualitative analysis based on two focus groups were established after this initial

a sequential quantitative and qualitative analysis based on three different stages.


**Table 3.** Respondent companies.

Respecting the different sale channels approached by the merchants contributing to our research, it is worth noting that the traditional channel is still the channel of choice employed by the majority of the companies participating in this study, with a sizable advantage over the different alternative channels. Our research also found that the average experience of respondents with traditional payment systems was an average of roughly 12.8 years. On the other hand, their average experience with mobile payment systems was significantly lower than that, not even amounting for a full year. This finding corroborates the relevance of our research when assessing the different determinant factors that might drive the acceptance and adoption of the new payment systems.

In order to complete the main questionnaire, other questions were incorporated regarding the level of knowledge of these new payment systems, their perceived trust and utility, and also some additional questions relevant to the nature of the different providers of mobile payment services.
