Evaluating the Impact of Government Policies and Regulations on M-Commerce in India: A System Dynamics Modelling Approach

Mobile Commerce (M-Commerce) is a subset of E-Commerce, which includes all E-Commerce transactions,carried out using mobile (handheld) device(s). With significant uncertainties and complexities due to evolvingbusiness and regulatory models, growth of M-Commerce is a function of appropriate and timely policyinterventions from the government(s). M-Commerce business growth is further complicated by the involvementof several interrelated stake-holders and various regulatory agencies that are part of the M-Commerceeco-system, which comprises of mobile telecom service providers, banking/financial institutions, contentfacilitators, retailers, mobile terminal industry, and end users as the major stake-holders. To understand theM-Commerce growth facilitators in India, where M-Commerce is at its infancy, system dynamics simulationmodels are developed. The simulation models are used to analyze the impact of policy and regulatoryinterventions on the growth of M-Commerce in India. These models can help policy makers in understandingthe inter-play between various independent regulatory/policy approaches and assessing their impact in a holisticmanner on the business eco-system.