.1 INTRODUCTION
The world keeps developing new ways and technologies to help do things and achieve a timeline shorter compared to the way it previously used to be done. New technologies are developed everyday some which improve the efficiency, other might deal with the cost while others take time period into consideration.
A rapidly evolving concept is the mobile commerce which has created a platform for customers to make use of their smartphones to search for stores, glance through products and eventually making purchases in the case where the products meets the immediate need of the customer.Location-based commerce could mean a number of things depending on the perspective in which one views it. The most important thing about location-based commerce was emphasized by Sheldon saying "Location-based commerce is an evolution of mobile commerce that leverages the known location of the consumer to drive contextual engagement with mobile shopping applications relative to a known location or retail store[1]"
In real sense, there must have been some factors that influenced the mobile commerce that made the evolution so rapid that the impact is felt all over the world as of today. Research reveals that some of the factors might be the widespread and availability of mobile devices, software development that allows high rate of interaction between user and these devices, mobile device culture as it developed with the evolution, improved bandwidth, reduction of prices these device just to mention a few.
This evolution has cut across the globe as it is considered a village where everything interacts, the impact, effect and the speed at which it turns around the community or an area depends on factors that exist in those distinct areas as well.
Iraq, located in the middle-east has come under scrutiny as to the slow evolution of location-based commerce. This proposal takes a closer look at those factors influencing the implementation, their effect on the community, how they can be overcome and channel to favor rapid movement of location based commerce in the country.
1.2 BACKGROUND
Technology application keeps changing from time to time as a result of new inventions and innovations which bring about new technologies. The reality of this is that technology keeps changing every day and the platform form for which the technology are used and implemented keep changing as well.
Gone are the days that everything was done from a desktop. The advent of laptops saw another era of how technology can affect the way and approach of which things are done. Laptops are portable and could be moved around. This simplified a lot of other processes and opened up dozens of opportunity in terms of jobs and services that could be rendered.
Today, the world has moved to the stage where mobile everything would be done from a mobile phone. This is because technology has provided the platform that allows mobile phones to be used to achieve that. Authentication is also done from the mobile device which makes it secure. But then, the movement of technology from laptops to mobile phone has sprung up Mobile Commerce, subsequently given birth to Location Based Commerce which is an evolution of Mobile Commerce and furthermore has also sprung up series of Location Based Services.
The evolution would still continue and in only a matter of years, technology might shift from mobile phones to something else. For that evolution to have occurred there must have been some factors that influenced that. There is a need to look into these factors to examine what influence they must have had on the evolution.
Perhaps this might tell and give an insight of what the future holds when eventually technology also shifts from mobile phone. There is also a need to clearly examine the effect and impact these factors had and to see if they could be improved to generate more of location based commerce which has been the result in terms of service provided, job opportunity as well as the end users that eventually get to enjoy these services.
1.3 PROBLEM STATEMENT
The world has not only accepted but fully embraced wireless communication with the ability of device to communicate over long distance wirelessly. As these communications are initiated my mobile phones, there has been a great need and trend to also locate and track each mobile device that communicates with another of such device.The effect of this cannot be over emphasized as it gives a clear location of the mobile phone communicating and what they communicate actually.
The surge to determine location of mobile phones that communicate with the ability to exchange data has ignited a new range of applications which are enhanced by location information.Smith, Kealy and Williamson (2002) further explained these with clear examples saying "services such as emergency roadside assistance, early warning evacuation, E911 (safety); traffic monitoring, news updates, weather updates, store/business locators (information); fleet management, package tracking (tracking); location sensitive billing, location based commerce (commerce) can all benefit from the use of position information of the service user or a target of interest.[2]"
In Iraq, these services are available and active and have over time proven to be a stable service that connects millions over a wide distance. The problem statements are:
1. Critically examine location based commerce in Iraq
2. To determine the effect it has had on Iraq
3. Critically identify and examine factors that influence implementation of location based commerce in Iraq
4. Weigh the effects each factor has on the people that make use the location based commerce in Iraq
5. To research into how these factors can be catalyzed to affect the implementation of location based commerce
Though Iraq as a country has its own issues which have also influenced the factors that have influence and likely to influence the implementation of Location Based Commerce, a high examination of these factors is very important at this point in time.
1.4 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
The research objectives include:
1. An examination of the Iraqi community in general to see what kind of location based commerce already exists
2. Research into how Location based Commerce has been implemented in Iraq
3. Research into the various types of Location Base Service that has been generated by the presence of Location Based Commerce in Iraq
4. Take a critical examination into how factors can influence and have influenced the implementation of Location Based Commerce in Iraq
5. Determine how these factors can be catalyzed to influence the implementation of Location Based Commerce.
1.5 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
The research questions are:
1. Does Location Based Commerce exist in Iraq?
2. How has it been implemented?
3. What are the types of Location Based Service that have been generated in Iraq?
4. What are the identified factors that have influenced the implementation of Location Based Commerce in Iraq?
5. Are the influences of the factors negative or positive?
6. Can these factors be altered to make an effect on the implementation of Location Based Commerce in Iraq?
1.6. SCOPE OF STUDY
The scope would cover critical areas that would give way for information gathering as well as analysis. The scope would cover the following:
- Critical examination of Location Based Commerce
- Reverse engineering into what transformed into Location Based Commerce
- Critical examination of the services generated from Location based Commerce
- Examine, analyze and evaluate the types of connections required.
- Critically examine and analysis influencing factors and the kind of effect they pose.
- Examine location based commerce with respect to a named location
- Close examination into the environment, its characteristics, effects as well as the transformation.
- Take a leap into the future as Location based commerce that has generated location based services to see what the future hold.
1.7 SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDY
Gone is the era where E-commerce was usually done through a computer connected to a fixed line or Wi-Fi to the internet. In recent years, with the evolution of Mobile commerce which has also evolved Location Based Commerce, some Locations Based Services has also been given birth.
Smith, Kealy and Williamson (2002) were able to establish one fact in form of explanation saying "With the ability to access information using a mobile phone or a Mobile Internet enabled Personal Digital Assistant, combined with the capability to determine the position of mobile devices, a range of applications known as Location Based Services (LBS) are emerging"
Further explanation to buttress their fact says "these services provide relevant information to users based on the position of their mobile device. This information can be both spatially and non-spatially related, but must be presented in a useful way". The most impacting findings about them were that they explained Location Bases Service saying "Location Based Services exploit knowledge about where a mobile device (and its user) is located. This location knowledge is used to provide relevant, contextual information to users. A result of the convergence of information systems, (wireless) communication mechanisms and positioning technologies, LBS offer a personalized approach to data access"
It is as if everything is all wounded in one circle: Mobile Commerce has evolved over time to translate into Location Based Commerce which has also indirectly giving birth to a range of Location Based Service which is enjoyed by millions in Iraq. Therefore there is a need to critically look into the factors that has influenced these entire evolutionary stages one after the other[3].
The significance is that the immediate environment which has absolved these would benefit more from the services generated. The reality is that these services comes in form of luxury customers enjoy using those service as well as employment for many as these service needs human monitoring and supervision to make sure they work perfectly.