The Factors That Influence Mobile Phone Users : A Study

Answer :

CHAPTER 1: PROJECT OVERVIEW

1.0 Introduction 

In this study the background of the study, problem statement, research objectives, which will consist of general objectives and specific objectives, importance of the study, literature review in detail, will be studied and analysed. The factors that influences mobile phone users is that through mobile phone customers can surf internet at anytime anywhere, this makes customers life easier. Mobile phones are easy to carry and are transportable. Customers can recharge whenever they want and can speak for unlimited hours with the unlimited packs available in the market. This chapter will also consist the literature review where the approaches to fathom users inclinations will be analysed. The technology accepted model would also be discussed in chapter 2 in literature review. Under the section of literature review, the theory of planned behaviour of the company will be explained. Price, competitive rivalry, brand image, techniques of marketing, promotional activities, advertisement will be mentioned and analysed in context of the factors that influences users of mobile phone. Theory of reasoned action will be given to justify the answers and the result of the analysis. This study will specify the questions of research which will help in examining the factors that impacts the mobile phone users. Questions will be for both customers and the mobile phone companies or the SIM service companies. Asking question to these people will give the approximate results of the research. 

1.1 Background of the Study 

The research mainly investigates the deemed study of mobile phones and its intensive services the telecommunication sector of Malaysia. A mobile service provider named as Celcom, is chosen for the destined portfolio of product development schedule of the company. Celcom is a rapidly growing ultrafast telecom company in Malaysia that is accustomed to provide originality in the cellular phone indices in the customary segments of Malaysia (Zha, Li and Yan, 2015).

 The successive leap in the advertising strategies prevalent in Malaysia appears to be the inevitable outcome of the considerable change that indulges the agencies to incorporate and endorse digital media instead of the vain trials within the traditional ones.Owing to the statistical archives, the province of Asia Pacific is expecting to experience a gross rise of 6% in the advertising expenditure. On that note, it can be addressed that the advertising principles have evolved significantly and seem to be driven chiefly by the intuitive instincts to forecast the upcoming trends of customer behavior, instead of just planning and bargaining for the purchase to retain a prospective client. The recurring outcome of a survey reports suggest that the digital value chain of advertisement is expected to enter into a phase in the upcoming days, which is supposed to beneficial for each of the pertaining, subordinates. 

This apprehension is backed by the confidence that mobile advertising is potent enough to facilitate multiple interactive media formats on the contrary of the traditional manner of unidirectional broadcast. On a comparative note, in a relevant journal, Malaysia has been designated in a higher rank as compared to Hong Kong and Malaysia in terms of credibility and proportion of trust in the digital domain of advertisement. This happens because the sophisticated media ambience of Malaysia has been able to portray customer-targeting capabilities to accomplish the precise customer segment aimed (Faqih, 2013). Most of the digital advertising pioneers in Malaysia and other segments of Asia Pacific appear possessed by the desire to enter in the automotive industry, online news, election campaigns, video game and sport sites in order to ensure the obtaining of the traction they deserve. Another contemporary studies poses the fact that Mobile internet users are more vulnerable to endorse mobile advertising due to facilities of diverse modes and formats of Mobile Advertising such as Idle Screen Advertising, Location-based advertising, sponsored advertising, banner advertising etc. 

The Mobile Number Portability has surged maximum users to choose their desirable networks in the urge of getting maximum benefits from their prescribed networks of the deemed captivity. The Competition in this field has also created a provision for the competition in cellular phone industry of Malaysia and has brought severe apprehensions in the mobile phone subsidiary of the TM touch. The Cellular Phone market of Malaysia was severely hit by the economic stewardship of Malaysia and has faced a stiff competition in the market segments of the Cellular Industry. The Economic stewardship and the mobile carriage industry has set a permanent fixation in the arbitration costs of the country (Goh, Chu and Wu, 2015).

Fig: Smartphone Penetration in Malaysia

Source: Faqih, (2013)

There are several factors indicated in this context, that affects the mobile phone users in a categorical way, which includes the perceived cost premiums in several segments of the marketing scenario of the mobile advertising norms in a predominant manner.  The Marketing segments of the mobile device aggravation states that the mobile phones are a hugely aspiring marketing tool, which supports the customers to recover from the stiffer challenges of the society in a relevant way. the Mobile advertising is an useful tool of advertising as it strongly beholds the persecutes of marketing mediums in a specific way and finds an intensive attachment in targeting the users of the deemed perspects in a mutually symbiotic way. The marketing campaigns, utilizing the terms of mobile advertising, can accumulate thousands of entities under a singular roof with lesser cost avenues and lesser usage of resources (Meeker, 2015).

1.2 Problem Statement

The most prominent issue in this regard has been anticipated to emerge from a statement made by the CEO of Maxis Malaysia, a concern with identical traits, who is supposed to nullify the mission statement of Celcom; No. 1 for 4G. It is followed by the conviction to back the proclamations with truthful events and tangible data. A survey has been conducted further just to fathom the inclinations of the customer, which possess a celestial sharing regarding the pursuit of the current study. Mainstream media has been invited to witness the credibility of the notions that Celcom is supposed to provide in their official website regarding the persistence of high speeds both in domestic and foreign quarters. The apprehensions of peer analyses appear to vindicate Celcom technically due to its proficiency on buffer-free video streaming (Gui et al. 2015).

On the other hand, a significant decline in the earning margin enables many analysts to draw asell call on the stock. This decline has been justified by the fact that the core customers have started leaning towards alternative identical concerns due to poor services of Celcom. Some of the scholarly simulations suggest in this regard that the main reason is frequent service disruptions of Celcom coupled with the incapability to answer the data business explosion (Habib et al. 2015).

According to some experts of these discipline, Celcom have lost almost one million subscribers in the prepaid segment. This is followed by an immediate response from Celcom’s side as they downsize their working strength significantly and make the layers of decision-making concise. Furthermore, it is very evident from their approach that they started to introduce a culture, which is customer-oriented simply by appointing significant changes in the trait if percolating products.

The advent of technology is vastly leaning towards the video form of advertising rather than the format litigation of the mobile phones at a larger extent. The Brand marketers have to depend largely on the reliable format of digital marketing tools and thereby, curbing the ways for mobile advertising at a large pace in several segments of society.

1.3 Research Objectives

The purpose of conducting the research is to understand the specific reliability of mobile advertising and thereof, analyzing the ways through which it affects the users in general. This section is further subdivided into General Objective and Specific objective.

1.3.1 General Objective

The General objective of this thesis is to investigate the specific usage of mobile advertising in different commercial activities and inclination of the mobile phone users to adopt the specific trends of mobile phone advertising in a relevant way.

1.3.2 Specific Objective

The Specific Objectives of the thesis are:

·         To analyze the particular contentment of the mobile phone users about the mobile advertising trends in general

·         To chalk out the interrelationship between the specificness of graphic and video content and mobile advertising

·         To understand the specific lacunas in the existing forms of mobile advertising and chalk out the solution for those

1.4 Research Questions

The research questions for the above context rely upon the given foundations:

·         Does the pessimistic approach of the consumer towards the mobile advertising is mainly due its lack in technological content?

·         What are the key factors that can accumulate a large number of users towards mobile advertising?

·         How can the content of the mobile advertising be significantly improved?

·         Does the consumer indifference is playing an important part in the declining aspect of mobile advertising?

·         What are the familiar ways through which the brand spending and the advertising purchases can be correlated in a convenient way?

1.5 Significance of the Study

The study is mainly acquainted at finding the cumulative factors of the consistently poor functionality of mobile advertising sect amongst the users and thereby, evaluating the common terms that indulges a wide prospects of mobile users towards the mobile advertising. The largest brands of mobile phones do cover a minimum litigation policy under which, a secured and harmonious mode of network apprehension is established at the deemed prospect of business propagation in a relevant way. Therefore, the study investigates the relevant patterns through which, the targeting of users can be done at the predefined rate of business process, aiding the business venture on a cumulative level. The study also investigates the performance metrics for mobile advertising that accumulates the integrated brand spending and the end-to-end solutions at a cumulative level of media and marketing in a predominant manner. In addition, it also concerns about the cost accumulation and the advertising sects of the agencies, taking an effective targeting of personalization and the behaviors of the users at a large extent of business apprehension sin a proficient manner (Gui et al. 2015).

The study also provides a comparative and in-depth analysis of several margins of advertising channels that have cultivated the integrative sector of marketing and commerce in an interlinked fashion. The reluctance or the welcoming end of the mobile users are deeply investigated in the given prospect and thereby, the specific lacunas in maintaining the ad formats at the market level is focused in this study. In addition, the different ways for attracting the customer’s attention towards a particular advertising and its content is specifically chalked out in this study, in order to analyze the importance of greater factors like content and design in an advertisement format. The whole study is mainly accustomed with the aggravation of brand values and the format limitation at the various stages of business apprehension process and thereof, studying the particular notion of the masses towards the specificness of the mobile advertising on a larger extent.  There are also terms of emotional and radical psychology attached to a particular advertising channel and thereby, the predominant factor is chalked out in this study (Habib et al. 2015).

1.6 Conclusion

It is to conclude that there are factors that influence mobile phone users and this has been found from the analysis. In this chapter the background of the study, research objectives, problem statement, and importance of the study is been discussed above. Celcom Company that has been chosen on which the investigation has been done and the outcome has listed the factors that will affect the users of mobile phone. The variables that impacts cell phone clients is that through cell phone clients can surf web at whenever anyplace, this makes customers life less demanding. Cell phones are anything but difficult to convey and are transportable. Clients can revive at whatever point they need and can speak for unlimited hours with the unlimited packs accessible in the market. 

This section will likewise comprise the writing audit where the ways to deal with comprehend customer's angle is analysed in the above project. Under the area of concluding this survey, the theory of arranged conduct of the organization is clarified in the project overview. Cost, focused contention, mark picture, systems of displaying, limited time exercises; promotion will be said and broke down in setting of the components that affects clients of cell phone. Hypothesis of contemplated activity has been given to legitimize the appropriate responses and the consequence of the examination. This examination will indicate the inquiries of research, which will help in inspecting the variables that affects the cell phone clients.

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

2.0 Introduction

In the advent of technological expertise, one of the plenty changes that literally revolutionize the arena of electronic gadgets is the increase in accessibility. This is typically considered as the inevitable aftermath of the hike in affordability that simultaneously transformed the facilities of a mobile phone from a helpful accessory to almost a basic amenity to our social identity. Furthermore, it will not be an exaggeration to admit that the recurring generation is extensively characterized by this rapid improvement in the technological domain and altogether justified by the right to exclusive information. In a psychological tone, the importance of preserving an insignificant memory, which is emphasized to be considered as an analogue of useful data and the subsequent activities across the technological market nothing but consolidates the previous apprehension. Thus, this abrupt rise in the consumption of virtual facilities also serves the moral aspect to appreciate the least possibility of a data to be considered as a significant one and acts as the governing force that sets the market trends and the inclinations of the users.

The contemporary scenarios are identical as per the anticipated ones since the revolution in technological expertise and hike in the accessibility and affordability of the respective devices immediately generates a huge demand of the devices. This is followed by a significant shift across the business units of diverse concerns since some of the major concerns that chiefly deals with apparel propagate the intention to launch mobile phones in accordance with the notion to consider the mobile phones as a basic accessory (Meeker, 2015). 

The immediate problem is crowd market that typically tends to glorify their existence in accordance with the notion of increase in demands and simultaneously functions as an agent of confusion and chaos in the perception of the potential customers. Since it is an established practice to consider accessories as a tangible extension of the individual statement, the tussles regarding the brands that are likely to be prevalent in the management level, seem to become the struggle of individual statements. According to (Goh et al. 2015), this is one of the major components that predominantly shaped the proclivities of the potential customers. This idiosyncrasy almost in a ideological level justifies the moot pursuit of the recurring study. 

Furthermore, the prudency in customer segmentation that some of the emerging unit has been able to pose simply by emphasizing some specific requirements of the potential customers has catered the expansion of technological expertise further. Brand rivalry in the domestic paradigm has been ignited further by the feedbacks conveyed in the websites of the respective brands that is nothing but the desired outcome of a collaborative conspiracy, which wills to serve the immediate virtual goods of its potential customers. Most of the pertinent literature and other archives appear resonating on the governing factors that are expected to shape the inclinations of the immediate customers.  

2.1 Approaches to fathom user’s inclinations

In a slight psychological and behavioral note, it has been extensively invented in the prevalent works that most of the scholars have attempted to fathom the inclinations of the users simply by employing analytical frameworks that might facilitate the pursuit of the psychological traits that advocates the decision of purchase. Buying Behavior is a popular coinage that intends to assess the complexities of the psychological mindset of a potential customer that nudges the respective customer to attend a specific item.  

2.1.1 Technology Acceptance Model (TAM)

Fig: Overview of TAM

Source: Cheung and Vogel, (2013)

Technology of Acceptance, the acronym of which is more pertinent in the respective domain, is an exclusive theory of information system that intends to postulate and forecast the cardinal aspects of the buying behavior of a potential customer when introduced with a new form of technological that might assist thy to continue their virtual pursuits (Cheung and Vogel, 2013). There are plenty of factors that shapes the decision of the customers to attend a particular technological item. Furthermore, it can be addressed over here that, a majority of the cardinal factors serve the recurring research suite as the independent variables. Those cardinal factors can be characterized as; 

Perceived Usefulness: This quotient intends to detect the proportion of belief that is reliable enough to make the respective customer persuade about the efficiency of a specific system as an effective and efficient mean to cater his/her overall job performance (Rauniar et al.2014). 

Perceived ease-of-use: This quotient intends to detect the proportion of belief that is reliable enough to persuade the respective customer about the requisite effort, which is comparatively less for a specific technology (Lee and Lehto, 2013).

Though there are several alternate methods that have been able to outcome equivalent results with the requisite precision, most of the scholars have emphasized to use the recurring framework due to its skill to explore the underlying encounter among the usefulness of the respective technology. Moreover, several other researches has been conducted in order to validate the apprehension of (Zha et al. 2015.) and his well-aware metric of questions. It has been found that, the respective apparatus posses a considerable reliability regarding the predictions it was supposed to propose. Despite of its wide use all across the domainof information systems, the framework has been remarkably criticized regarding the fact that the framework is prone to transmit trivial and impractical outcomes while possessing a limited capacity to explain and predict a certain purchase.    

2.1.2 Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB)

Fig: Overview of TPB

Source: Faqih, (2013)

This framework has found its origin and consequent prominence from a psychological postulate that intends to decipher the underlying encounter between behavior and belief. This is the successor of the Theory of Reasoned Action that claims to be the owner of the predictive and descriptive capabilities more than the former one. This improved, as apprehended by (Faqih, 2013), has been accomplished simply by incorporating the dimension of perceived behavioral command. 

Since the respective framework has been able to extend the dimension of self-efficacy, which has been significantly, lacking in the previous framework it is extensively considered as an requisite extension of the former framework (Bruwer, 2014). The axiom that is embedded within the framework suggests that the cardinal factors that effectively shape the behavioral intentions is nothing but a perceived dialectic analogy of the demeanor towards attitude, beliefs and other subjective protocols and a perceived version of behavioral command. The foundational components can be categorized as follows; 

Normative belief: It differs across the customers since their perception differs regarding the normative beliefs and social and other authoritative protocols that he/she is supposed to conform.

Subjective Norm: It refers to the individual introspection that every potential customer are vulnerable to posses in order to answer to the particular behavioral trends that are considerably inspired or affected by a cumulative perception and judgments.

Perceived behavioral control: It is the quotient that is the prime mover of the perception that endows the respective user with the awareness of ease while performing a particular task or holding a particular behavior. It is an established axiom that suggests that the quotient of perceived behavioral control is determined by the absolute metric of control beliefs that is accessible by default.

Control Beliefs: This particular notion intends to enhance the awareness about the presence of several factors that is intensive to an individual’s perception that might facilitate or impede the desired performance of behavior. This is one of the pivotal parameters that is directed oriented with the notion of self-efficacy (Montano and Kasprzyk, 2015).

Self-Efficacy: This is the notion that has been further proposed as an extension of its former origin where the aspect of perceived behavioral control has been introduced in order to consolidate the essence of attitude towards the subjective norms. It also found its origin in the Social Cognitive Theory that intends to admit that several governing variables associated with expectations posses the potential to shape a particular behavioral response (Doane, et al. 2014). The notion patronizes the alternate aspect of outcome expectancy by principally referring to the requisite adamancy to move to a successful execution towards the behavior, which is prime requisite to accomplish a certain desired outcome. 

The empirical notion of planned behavior associated with the several other variables is frequently proves to be important while assessing the buying demeanor of the potential customers (Hackman and Knowlden, 2014). The sense of social stigma coupled with a mock ideological clash fueled by the prevalent brand tussles among the leading retailers can be posed as the appropriate analogue of the normative beliefs and the inclinations of the customers can be discerned afterwards.   

2.1.3 Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA)

Fig: Overview of TRA

Source: Tung and Carlson, (2015)

The theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) is widely considered as one of the potent classical frameworks that are extensively employed by most of the scholars of this discipline in order to proceed towards persuasion seamlessly. Furthermore, this framework has also been employed as an indispensible notion in the discourse of theories related to communication. The major pursuit of the theory is to explore the encounter that significantly underlies between human attitudes and consecutive behaviors. The framework is supposed to forecast immediate behavior of an individual while facing an unaccustomed consequence in terms of prevalent behavioral trends and intention (Tung and Carlson, 2015).

The governing statement that taps the essence of the entire framework is the wish to perform a specific behavior that is assumed to precede the absolute behavior. This is significant in this context since the intentions to perform or retain a certain behavior have been determined by the mode of conduct that the individual is vulnerable to exhibit towards the subjective norms. The principal pursuit that appears significant in this suite is the intense intentions pave the respective individual to a deliberate hike while attempting to perform a certain behavior. The immediate outcome is a substantial increase in the likelihood of the behavior to be performed. 

It is extensively considered that the intention to retain and perform a certain behavior is a function of both the normative attitudes and the subjective norms. It appear imperative to address over here that the underlying outcomes and the subsequent impacts might differ in accordance with the disparity of situation and individual perception. This justifies the importance that these are endowed with so much importance in this paradigm of discussion.

There exist three major conditions under which the respective outcomes have been discerned and those are as follows;

The intensity of intention needs to correspond in accordance with the proportion of requisite specificity.

There needs to be a stability and persistence between the time of measurement and the performance of attitude.

There must have a threshold proportion of intensity of the intention that is prevalently supposed to wield the control belief of the individual and simultaneously encourage the propagation of verbal reactions that are supposed to shape the absolute behavior (Badgaiyan and Verma, 2014.).  

This framework is also considered regarding the current pursuit since it is supposed to endow the researcher with possible inclinations or buying behavior that a potential customer is supposed to exhibit while deciding a purchase.         

2.2 Competitive Rivalry

The subsequent era after adapting the liberal economy, the markets intensive of technological expertise prevalent in Malaysia experienced a huge turnover of revenues due to the advent of technological expertise. Evaluating the financial performances in the previous years, it can be admitted that the market has experiencing a considerable proportion of competition. The competitive rivalry that Celcom is supposed to undergo meanwhile is simply caused by the low switching cost that facilitates the swift of the customers to other identical concerns. Moreover, major moiety of the non-similar concerns has begun to enter into the hot-market of technological properties. Apart from the low switching costs, the essence that TAM wishes to tap can be employed over here in order to anticipate the buying behavior of a prospective customer. It can be admitted that, low-switching costs is not the prime mover that drives the intuition of the customer, rather better technological expertise with an ease of comprehension will allure them more (Hackman and Knowlden, 2014). 

2.3 Price

The fluctuations of prices does not bear that much of disparity in accordance with the specifications endowed with it. Moreover, by the virtue of technological bliss, the customers are free to access the feedbacks attached in the websites of the respective concerns. In this regard, the TRA framework appear appropriate to employ since the reasonability that price urges for is predominantly instructed by the embedded ability and proclivity of reasoned action. The price, in terms of switching cost, is quite low in terms of which enables the potential customers to exercise their intent with very little effort (Doane et al. 2013). The price of the mobiles does not deserve that much vehemence of discussion, mainly in the context of Malaysia, since the market strictly follows the principles of increased accessibility.

2.4 Brand Image

As it was empirically mentioned earlier, that the clash that is prevalent in the marketing paradigm can be found out to be resonating in the domestic version of ideological clashes that the users are flagrantly possessed with. This discussion intends to impart a considerable vehemence in the notion of brand image since it fuels the competitive rivalry and simultaneously encourages the acumen of Celcom to scrutinize their prevalent brand strategies (Badgaiyan and Verma, 2014). It is evident from the prevalent performance of Celcom that it mainly direct their strategic acumen influenced by the unique specifications that are relative across the potential customers. Furthermore, the notion of brand loyalty is nothing but the inundation by reasoned action since the governing quotient hereby is the reliability and the proportion of trust.

2.5 Advertisement & promotional activities 

In most of the pertinent literatures, advertisement and several other promotional activities has been emphasized to designate as non-profit dimension. It is not imperative to secure a substantial amount of annual revenue for the promotional purposes if the respective unit is robust enough to retain their customer base. Moreover, the subsequent decision of endorsing a specific product or service is governed by the postulates of technology acceptance model. On that note, it can also be suggested that the prelude of such behavior is wielded by a reason action, which is nothing, but the acumen obtained from the comparative analysis of customer review. On the other hand, the potential customers, as per the apprehensions of (Gui et al. 2015), used to ignore the provocations and other proclamations after establishing a strong faith on a certain concern and Celcom appears to run under such principles.

Conceptual Framework

Fig: Conceptual Framework

Source: (Self-generated)

2.7 Conclusion

In the light of the above study, it can be concluded that the user inclinations and buying behaviors can be assessed by conforming to certain circumspect analytical framework. Those frameworks are supposed to be governed by the pursuit of the capability to forecast the immediate response of an individual. As per the current financial performance that Celcom has been able to exhibit, it is evident that the respective management strictly relies on the notion of brand loyalty since they have monitored the fact from their cumulative insight that the potential customers are prone to ignore the gimmicks of the promotional strategies and supposed to rely on the performance-based perception consolidated by their individual acumen.