With the expeditious proliferation of mobile marketing in today’s technology-empowered society, the demand for ride-sourcing services, as offered by companies such as Uber, Ola or TaxiforSure, have significantly escalated among Indian consumers; they are increasingly disposed to paying a premium for these hassle-free and comfy cabs. This study seeks to investigate the intrinsic motivations, perceptions and adoption mechanisms of users with reference to the app-based cab services, on the basis of the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) in the metropolitan setting of Kolkata, India. One of the prime reasons for selecting the city of Kolkata as the sampling frame of the research undertaking, was the apparent advantage offered by these ride-sourcing services over the quintessential yellow-taxis of the city. To this end, a sample of 239 app-based cab users were surveyed about their usage trajectories, demographic profiles, perceptions about the technology, as well as their behavioral intentions to avail these app-based cab services. With the concept of the archetypal TAM in the backdrop, a new research model has been proposed with certain modifications made to the existing constructs. These components have been hypothesized in order to effectively analyze the attitudinal and behavioral dimensions of the niche segment of respondents. Based on the findings, the study shall also shed valuable light on the managerial implications for both digital marketers and consumers alike.

A plethora of innovations in the ambit of mobile Internet and smartphone technology has triggered unprecedented changes in the behavioral trajectories of Indian consumers, thus reworking archetypal business paradigms and prompting numerous debates and deliberations among corporate hotshots as well as other potential stakeholders. In fact, several policy makers have been mulling over whether these App-Based Cab Services (ABCS) are meant to complement or compete with conventional urban public transportation. By leveraging the advances in technology, these ridesharing services seek to enhance their reliability and reduce wait-times for point-to-point transportation. This intelligent application enables commuters to opportunely access taxi information using their smartphones, including the details about the cab and its driver, thereby moderating the asymmetry between passengers and drivers and ameliorating the efficacy of hailing a cab. According to Das (2015), the collective market share of Ola and TaxiForSure is believed to be pegged at a mammoth 80%, while Meru and Uber have claimed merely 12% and 4% of the organized cab-aggregation market in India.

Marketing Management, Proliferation of mobile marketing, Technology-empowered society, Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) .