Mobile Phone Service Providers Research Articles

Investigating the antecedents of customer brand engagement and consumer-based brand equity in social media

The current research is concerned with identifying and testing the role of three main predictors: consumer involvement, consumer participation, and self-expressive brand on the customer brand engagement (CBE). The customer brand engagement is treated in the current study as multidimensional constructs comprising three main aspects: cognitive processing (CP), affection (AF), and activation (AC). It was also proposed a direct influence for these three aspects of CBE on consumer-based brand equity (CBBE). Using online surveys, we gathered data from fans/followers of mobile phone service providers, via Facebook fan pages in Jordan. The data were analysed using structural equation modelling. Based on structural equation modelling analyses (SEM), it was supported that CBE aspects were largely predicted by the role of consumer involvement (INV), consumer participation (COP), and self-expressive brand (SEB). However, we find that activation impact one dimension of the CBBE dimensions, namely, brand loyalty. Further, we find that brand awareness/associations affect perceived quality but not brand loyalty. To validate the CBE scale, future studies could investigate the impact of the scale using other social media platforms for different brands. The limited amount of empirical research on CBE was the motivation behind this research. In particular, there is no study that has investigated the main predictors of CBE and its consequences over developing context by proposing and testing the association between the antecedents of CBE with the dimensions of CBE, which in turn affect the dimensions of CBBE.

Do electronic loyalty programs still drive customer choice and repeat purchase behaviour

Retaining loyal customers and changing inactive ones to be active are major challenges that service organisations currently face. One serious question to which mobile phone service providers need to find a suitable answer is how to drive loyal customers' behaviours to become involved in different electronic loyalty schemes to promote repeat buying and extend customer-supplier relationships. To answer such questions, four electronic loyalty programs have been tested, namely electronic points, prepaid card discounts, free additional credit and free additional minutes and/or messages within the mobile phone service purchase setting. A quantitative approach employing a self-administered questionnaire has been used to collect the study data. Data was collected from 478 customers who participated in one of the mobile phone loyalty programs mentioned earlier. Structural equation modelling (SEM) statistical modelling was employed to test both the study model and the developed hypotheses. Generally, the study found that e-loyalty programs drive loyal customers' choices and repeat buying. Substantial information about testing the sub-hypotheses is explained in more detail in this article.

Antecedents of customer loyalty in mobile phone service: a study from Sub-Saharan Africa

Mobile phone service has become an efficient and accessible communication medium in Sub-Saharan Africa. As market growth attracts more competition, improving customer loyalty becomes an important strategic advantage. In general, previous research has focused on customer loyalty as a single variable. This study addresses this gap in the literature by examining customer loyalty as two separate variables: behavioural and attitudinal loyalty. This study examines four antecedents of mobile phone behavioural and attitudinal loyalty in an emerging economy: reliability, assurance, value, and satisfaction. Data from 309 survey respondents in the Sub-Saharan Africa country of Ghana were analysed using PLS-SEM. The study finds strong direct relationships between reliability and value, and satisfaction and behavioural loyalty. The study contributes to the literature by finding: 1) that behavioural and attitudinal loyalty are two measurable variables; 2) that customers' value and satisfaction perceptions mediate the relationship between service provider quality and loyalty. These findings can help mobile phone service providers in building customer loyalty.

Satisfaction, trust and loyalty: investigating the mediating effects of commitment, switching costs and corporate image

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to develop an understanding of the factors influencing Indian consumers’ loyalty toward mobile phone service providers by exploring the mediating roles of commitment, corporate image and switching costs on causal relationships between customer satisfaction, trust and loyalty.Design/methodology/approachA survey of 855 Indian mobile phone users was carried out to test the hypothesized relationships using structural equation modeling. The results support most of the proposed hypotheses.FindingsThe direct linkages in the model are found to be statistically significant. Of these relationships, corporate image emerged as the strongest determinant of attitudinal loyalty. Calculative commitment and corporate image are found to be partial mediators between satisfaction and attitudinal loyalty. Calculative commitment and switching costs are each proven to be partial mediators between trust and attitudinal loyalty, while corporate image is proved to be a complete mediator.Research limitations/implicationsThe study is limited to examining the impact of relationship variables on Indian consumers’ loyalty toward mobile phone companies. Future research can examine the impact of variables such as rate plans, value-added services, billing experience and voice quality on customer loyalty.Practical implicationsThe results have implications for retaining customers in highly competitive and maturing Indian mobile telecommunications. The research provides some initial insights into corporate brand building as an important area for mobile phone companies.Originality/valueThis is one of the first studies to test the mediating role of commitment, switching costs and corporate image in the relationship between satisfaction, trust and loyalty in the Indian context.

A Study on the Service Quality Aspects of Mobile Phone Service Providers in Kerala

A Study on the Service Quality Aspects of Mobile Phone Service Providers in Kerala

Disruptive technologies and abundance in the service sector - toward a refined technology acceptance model

Mobile payment provides every mobile device user the opportunity to conduct commercial transactions without cash or cards. While mobile payment is already the dominant payment type in Asia, it is still in its infancy in Europe despite a high mobile phone penetration rate and service providers' considerable investments in the technology. Mobile payment is therefore a recent example of the puzzle of abundance—a phenomenon describing a situation in which the potential of a new disruptive technology is not tapped by the masses even though it offers substantial benefits to them. In this study, we address this puzzle by investigating the factors influencing the intention to use a disruptive technology. We draw on the example of mobile payment and develop and test a refined technology acceptance model. Results indicate that the intention to use mobile payment services is positively affected by perceived usefulness, perceived compatibility, perceived personal innovativeness, and perceived social influence, but is negatively affected by perceived risk. Both perceived costs and perceived risk mitigate the positive impact of several other characteristics. Our findings provide points of leverage to better tap the potential of mobile payment in contexts such as Europe.

Competitive Strategies Adopted by Mobile Phone Service Providers in Kenya

Competitive Strategies Adopted by Mobile Phone Service Providers in Kenya

Mobile Phone Service Providers Shift to No-Contract Plans: Implications on Customer Retention

ABSTRACTFindings indicate that, regardless of the flexibility and cost saving advantages of no-contract mobile phone service plans for customers, a majority of younger customers in the United States continue to patronize contract-based plans. Conversely, the data show that older customers tend to appreciate the flexibility and financial savings that come with buying no-contract plans. Also, the study finds that the customer's decision to finance the cost of a mobile device with the provider is independent of the customer's age. The article discusses theoretical and practical implications.

A development model of factors affecting customer loyalty to mobile service providers in Thailand

The purpose of this research is to explore the model of factors affecting customer loyalty to mobile service providers of Thailand. Consequently, this study examined and analysed the causal relation factors of service quality, brand image, customer satisfaction, and switching deterrents on their loyalty. Based on previous empirical studies, this study proposes a structural model of customer loyalty and units of analysis are selected from users of 3 major mobile phone service providers, totalling 400 people. Population sampling is mobile users from the percentage of six areas in Bangkok with multi-stage sampling. A set of questionnaires is used to collect data. An analysis of structural equation modelling using AMOS 21 program is conducted to test the ten hypotheses. This paper provides development model for mobile phone service providers to manage the important influential roles of service quality, brand image and customer satisfaction effect on customer loyalty.

The Adopting of Markov Analysis to Forecast the Operations Competitive Advantages of Mobile Phone Service Providers: The Case of Jordan

The Adopting of Markov Analysis to Forecast the Operations Competitive Advantages of Mobile Phone Service Providers: The Case of Jordan

Exploring switching factors for mobile number portability: A survey

Pakistan’s mobile phone market is one of the world’s fastest growing markets with a subscriber base of 137 million users. Competition in the country’s telecommunication industry is dominated by four players and customer demand is high. In addition, Pakistan is the first country in South Asia to have implemented Mobile Number Portability (MNP) in March 2007. MNP is a facility that allows mobile subscribers to switch between service providers without changing their existing phone numbers. Mobile phone service provider’s selection may be influenced by various factors. Therefore, this research was undertaken to explore factors affecting MNP and to determine which factors were most influential in the selection of mobile phone service providers in a developing economy like Pakistan. Moreover, the study also probed into differences in customer perceptions between pre-paid and post-paid customers. This exploratory study is based on primary data collected from 300 customers using services of different cellular companies who had experienced MNP facility. Factor analysis was carried out on obtained data and reliability of the resultant scale was verified to achieve the objectives of the study. The outcome of this research provided a concise framework of the various dimensions of customer choice. Contrary to previous researches, the result of this study indicated that infrastructural services, customer relationships, call quality and promotional packages were the most important factors affecting MNP. However, price of services was found less important factor in selection of telecommunication service providers. This study also showed that pre-paid and post-paid customers can be significantly different for many value-added services and promotional tools.

Reducing environmental hazard caused by disposed mobile phones in developing countries

The utilization of unused and retired mobile phones in South Africa and other African countries poses a significant environmental hazard. Disposing of retired mobile phones in a safe manner has become an issue of concern in South Africa because of health and environmental hazards associated with it. This study investigates the methods of disposing and recycling of old, unused and retired mobile phones and their associated environmental effect on humans and plants in Africa. A case study approach was used in this paper. Participants were selected from three cities in South Africa, targeting three government institutions and three mobile phone service providers. Semi-structured, open-ended interview questions were used to get evidence from the participants regarding how old, unused and retired mobile phones are disposed and possible effect of these on the environment. The interviews were recorded, transcribed and coded. Findings revealed that most common method of disposing of old, retired mobile phones was donating them as gifts, selling to second-hand shops or storing in homes as spare phones. Based on findings, a proposed framework was developed to guide the collection process, reducing, reusing and recycling of old and retired mobile phones in Africa. The framework will not only assist manufacturers and retailers in selecting a better option of disposing old mobile phones, but also will to improve the hazardous environmental conditions, which affect humans and plants.

Dynamic, Interactive and Visual Analysis of Population Distribution and Mobility Dynamics in an Urban Environment Using the Mobility Explorer Framework

This paper investigates the extent to which a mobile data source can be utilised to generate new information intelligence for decision-making in smart city planning processes. In this regard, the Mobility Explorer framework is introduced and applied to the City of Vienna (Austria) by using anonymised mobile phone data from a mobile phone service provider. This framework identifies five necessary elements that are needed to develop complex planning applications. As part of the investigation and experiments a new dynamic software tool, called Mobility Explorer, has been designed and developed based on the requirements of the planning department of the City of Vienna. As a result, the Mobility Explorer enables city stakeholders to interactively visualise the dynamic diurnal population distribution, mobility patterns and various other complex outputs for planning needs. Based on the experiences during the development phase, this paper discusses mobile data issues, presents the visual interface, performs various user-defined analyses, demonstrates the application’s usefulness and critically reflects on the evaluation results of the citizens’ motion exploration that reveal the great potential of mobile phone data in smart city planning but also depict its limitations. These experiences and lessons learned from the Mobility Explorer application development provide useful insights for other cities and planners who want to make informed decisions using mobile phone data in their city planning processes through dynamic visualisation of Call Data Record (CDR) data.

Explore the Buffering Effects of Perceived Hidden Inflation on Survival of Mobile Phone Service Providers in Taiwan

The purpose of this study is to examine the moderating role of perceived hidden inflation on the relationships between service quality, brand trust and brand loyalty. All data collected from the target population are analyzed through two-step structural equation modeling (SEM) and moderated multiple regression (MMR) to examine the hypotheses. 1,050 questionnaires are randomly distributed at 21 telecommunication service stores in Taiwan. Findings indicated that service quality has no direct impact on behavioral loyalty but it has a significant indirect impact on behavioral loyalty through brand trust or attitudinal loyalty. Moreover, findings identify perceived hidden inflation as the moderating role in the service quality–brand trust–brand loyalty chain. Besides the need for empirical confirmation of the hypotheses given, finally, there are several practical implications for service marketers and future research directions for scholars.

The Effective Taxonomies of Mobile Phone Service Providers’ Operations Strategy across Countries: the Case of Arab Middle East Region

The Effective Taxonomies of Mobile Phone Service Providers’ Operations Strategy across Countries: the Case of Arab Middle East Region

Preference on Mobile Phone Service Providers A Study in Coimbatore with Focus on Vodafone

The primary concern of Mobile Phone Service Providers’ (MPSP) is to retain the customers than expanding their horizon with new customers. The promotional methods adopted by the MPSPs have significant impact on the growth of their market share. So, it is important to ascertain the preference of various promotional methods adopted by the MPSPs to reach their customers.

A comparative study on the service quality of various mobile service providers

The aim of this paper is to identify the gaps between customer expectation and the actual services provided at different stages of service delivery. This shows the differences between consumer's expectations and what they tend to perceive about a product or a service. SERVQUAL which is the (service quality gap model) is a gap method in service and quality measurement, a tool and technique that can be used by Product or process Manager across all industries. Our paper intends to highlight these variable and independent factors that may create an expectation in a consumers mind in this case in terms of mobile service providers and the quality of features they make available to their consumers. This is a fast growing market as urbanization grows and more of the population indulges in the purchase of a mobile phone as it is a need more than a luxury these days. Service providers need to understand this concept and the functioning of the human expectations and develop plans and actions according to their consumers need for them to sustain in the market. Our aim through this paper is to test and discover the importance of service quality of different mobile phone service providers, what they offer and how they function, also to unfold these elements and categorize them into reliability, assurance, tangibility, empathy and responsiveness and to reach a better understanding of mobile service providers and the services they offer.

Self-Expressiveness as Consumers' Motivation to Share Online Video Advertisements in Jakarta

This study is a replication study of Self-Enhancement as a Motivation for Sharing Online Advertising by David G. Taylor, David Strutton, and Kenneth Thompson (2012). This study involves two different types of advertisement; one for low involvement product (mineral water) and one of high involvement product (mobile phone service provider). The result of this study shows that product category involvement increases consumer self-expressiveness. The regression output provides indication that there is a direct positive linear relationship between product category involvement and self-expressiveness. The findings of this study would be beneficial for managers in advertising industry especially in online advertising industry. It provides the marketing manager with helpful information to formulate online advertisement that aims to go viral by maximizing the use of digital media. It helps the marketer to better understand the consumer motives behind their decision to share advertisement. This could be useful in designing the appropriate promotion strategy.

Customer Satisfaction towards Mobile Service Provider: An Empirical Study in Pokhara, Nepal

Customer satisfaction has been identified as critical success factors in any business organization. One of the key challenges confronting the telecommunication companies is how they manage their service and amplify quality, which holds a prodigious importance to customer satisfaction. The cross sectional study was carried out to empirically measure customer satisfaction with mobile service providers in Pokhara city, Nepal with the objective to identify the most preferential and problematic attributes together with satisfaction level toward various service offered by service provider. Systematic Random sampling method was employed with the sample size of 206, where the data used for the study were obtained by using a structured survey questionnaire, which was constructed using 5 point Likert-scale. The data obtained from survey were analyzed (percentage, chi-square, correlation, ANOVA, ranking) using SPSS version 21. The survey was conducted and restricted to the subscribers using the two major GSM mobile service operators i.e. NTC and Ncell. The research was able to conclude call tariff followed by good network as most inducing factor for choosing MSP, while network congestion was the major problematic factor. The study also highlights that there exist association between demographic factors and customer satisfaction. Strong correlation was found between customer satisfaction and service providers variables except tariff of service. The study also highlights that majority of the respondent were satisfied with their service provider. The finding derived from the study will be helpful for mobile phone service providers in developing vigorous strategy for sustaining in the market by attaining competitive edge.

A study of farmer advisory services through mobile application (M-APP)

The findings of this paper are simply a glimpse into the potential role mobile phones could play in improving livestock productivity and access to lucrative markets. The study above underscores the critical role mobile phones through its applications (m-apps) can play in greater efficiency for farmers in rural setting. From the discussions and observations made, it was found that farmers were more excited about using the phone to access information on livestock production, management and marketing. Opportunities emerging from the proliferation of livestock farming based mobile applications in local language experienced in developing country like India need to be explored especially in the absence of other ICT infrastructure, like fixed phones and internet. Given the growing interest in smallholder access to information, the findings of the study recommend mobile phone service providers to plan for capacity building programmes for rural communities on the emerging innovations in mobile phone application in order to realise their usefulness in agriculture and allied fields.