Consumer Buying Behaviour - Literature review Example

?Running Head: Literature Review on Consumer Buying Behaviour Literature Review on Consumer Buying Behaviour [Institute’s Literature Review on Consumer Buying Behaviour Consumer Choice Behaviour Consumer choice goes further than the simple fact of buying commodities; consumers use it to construct identities and associations. Consumption has to be considered within its communal background, focusing on conventional standards, practices and regulations, which shape the way by which goods are utilized by consumers to signify the self and describe social associations. Therefore, this assumption challenges the thought of an international consumer culture with homogenised consumer sectors as well as customs, by declaring that those expenditure practices are shaped by the local outlines within which they take place (Bond et al, 2004, p. 33). Youth forms one of the biggest markets around the globe for cell phones, with more than 201 million subscribers between 18 to 25 years of age. Cell phones have appeared as signs of customer revolution, turning into a necessary product and having ‘ubiquitous’ part in the expanding retail landscape. The term customer revolution has as well been extensively used to represent the increase in consumption of cell phones among youth (Munusamy et al, 2010, p. 22). Two distinct attitudes to brands that describe the selection of a mobile phone are by “attitudes towards the cell phone brand name on one hand and attitudes towards the network on the other” (Usunier & Lee, 2009, p. 372). Whereas cost and constancy of service were found to control selections between network suppliers, selections between cell phone brands were influenced by new technology aspects, for instance, ‘memory’ and ‘SMS options’, more than its size. The drift will in fact be not towards smaller cell phones but towards cell phones with enhanced potential and bigger screens. At the moment, GSM feature is bringing consumers in shops to buy latest cell phones and linked gadgets, for instance, PDAs. Studies show that there is real demand for GSM enabled phones and by the year 2013, it is anticipated that all cell phones as well as PDAs will be equipped with a more advanced version internet browsing and GSM. The diffusion has begun in UK, for example, more than 2 million phones with GSM enabled services are sold each year only in London. The diffusion pace is said to rely mainly on manufacturing costs (Perrey & Spillecke, 2011, p. 211). Cost and properties were considered as the most essential causes influencing the choice to buy modern cell phone model among the respondents as exhibited. In accordance with the survey close to 90 percent and more than 95 percent, for cost and properties respectively, believed that cost and properties had influenced their selection procedure at least relatively much. “Cost might have controlled the decision making in the sample more than it does for the whole population, as the average net income in the target groups was relatively low” (Hackley, 2010, p. 192). Company’s order or sales representative’s suggestions were considered as the least significant reasons. The selection of the operator was influenced mainly by cost and audibility: more or less 93 percent thought that price the operator asks had influenced their selection at least relatively much. Additionally, audibility was the next most significant cause: 92 percent thought that audibility had influenced their choice at least relatively much (Soder & Wiedmaier, 2006, p. 99). Other causes of considerable significance were properties, companions' selection of the operator, contract form and free calls. Sales representative and employer were the least significant influencing the selection of one's operator. Majority of the popular services used these days are ‘logos’ and ‘ringing tones’. “More than 80 percent of the respondents had ordered logos and tones for their mobile devices. These two were chased by cell phone bill inquiry - 71 percent had ordered - and call forwarding - 64 percent had used” (Wilkinson, 2005, p. 401). Merely 4 percent of the entire respondents had never utilized any of these fours. In accordance with the statistics, the use of cell phone services appears to stay on the same level in the coming 12 months. High cost of the services was the most significant cause lessening the amount of possible consumers. In accordance with the survey more than 89 percent of every group thought that high cost had influenced at least relatively much their use of cell phone services. Interestingly, failure to utilize the services or lack of knowledge regarding them had only slight impact on respondents. In addition, more or less two thirds of every group believed that reduced usability had just a slight effect on their utilization of the services. Other factors influencing the implementation of mobile services, “for instance, small screen size, slow data transfer and poor functionality had relatively low impact on the possible adoption” (Ibbott, 2007, p. 222). Factors Influencing Customer on New Technology Innovation This is perhaps the most fascinating time to study cell phone buying intentions and awareness of new services associated with mobile phone. Even though quite a lot of instances have challenged the requirement for new mobile phone services, the existing development within the cell phone industry is that people are experiencing a modification from ‘second generation’ cell phones to ‘third generation’ cell phones (Lattanzi et al, 2006, p. 103). This indicates that a cell phone will not merely be a gadget utilized for talking but a handset that lets customers a range of new different services, for instance, access to internet and multimedia messaging service (MMS). The new cell phones will be only utilized as connectors to the Internet, and the real net surfing will subsequently be carried out by means of notebook or other computer, letting customer uses sharper as well as larger displays. In other words, the most excellent aspect of the latest cell phones will be the capability to connect to the net “free from time and place constraints and thereby permitting consumers to easy and relatively cheap access to the Net via computers” (Edquist et al, 1999, p. 292). People are presently observing this shift from ‘modem connections’ to ‘wireless internet connections’ through ‘w-lan and GPRS network’. Concisely, the actual advantage of 3G mobile phones links to quicker, more cost effective and easier access to the internet, and most significantly, not restricted by some place. A latest consumer survey proves that 3G has the potential to be doing well if it is started and targeted at the correct prospective clientele with the concentration on actual customer requirements. The preliminary achievement of 3G relies on the focus of service provider’s strategies in addition to important additional services, for instance, peer-to-peer communication. While the supposedly well-liked 3G services were turned out to be inconsequential, the study recommends that Wi-Fi will be the breakthrough service (Jakobs, 1999, p. 102). An established and protected customer base is a significant factor for technology adoption in mobile phone industry. With the intention of recovering high-priced investments in innovative manufacturing technologies, firms want to be assured that there will be income in the future to pay for the investment, as a method of lessening the risk inherent in the implementation choice. Adoption of a new technology is usually very expensive for different reasons - new equipment have to be acquired and mostly the technology is a particular asset; workforce must be educated to work with the new technology (Harrison, 2004, p. 398); if function has to be minimize for equipment there will be a expenditure from drop in productivity. When demand is vague, mobile phone industry is expected to be uncertain about whether or not they can recover the expenses of implementing the new technology, or how long it may take to recuperate the expenses. Consequently, it might not be useful for them to implement even if the technology has the prospective of getting better output or product value. However, in the company of consumer loyalty, mobile phone manufacturers can more precisely foresee the demand for their product and the revenue from manufacturing, and this provides them encouragement to implement a technology if it is cost-effective for them (Robinson, 1997, p. 38). Consumer loyalty is significant both ‘directly and indirectly’ by its contact with market share. It directly has an effect on the implementation by offering service providers definite demand that is guaranteed by deals. It indirectly has an effect on the implementation by marketplace control since consumers in an extremely concentrated marketplace do not have a lot of substitute sources of supply and consequently consumers are likely to continue with the manufacturer (Stevens et al, 2006. P. 192). If a new technology is unsatisfactory during its early phase, then the subsequent pace of development is a significant determinant of implementation of the technology. This is caused by the fact that the competence gain from the new technology is bigger through its development phase than in the preliminary phase. In some instances, development in the technology incorporates the enhancements of devices to create the modernization. There are numerous examples where innovations were visualized but manufacturing capabilities were “completely unequal to make them concrete” (Rapp, 2009, p. 93). The comparatively quick flow of wireless technologies such as mobile telephony in London may be mainly attributable to their quite late growth and to physical limitations that raise the rate of physical networks. Regardless of considerable investments in technology, apprehension exists on the degree to which such costs have formed the anticipated advantages. At least, part of this apprehension is about the subject of whether any technology is acknowledged by its projected consumers. Human factors experts are paying attention to be aware of the determinants of approval and guaranteeing new designs are produced and executed to reduce resistance. This apprehension has broadened the conventional ergonomic worry with usability, or capability to utilize, to cover approval, or readiness to utilize (Yunker, 2002, p. 419). Consumer approval is the readiness within a consumer group to make use of technology for the tasks it is designed to sustain. As a result, approval philosophers are less apprehensive with unintentional uses or non-flexible use of technologies and more concerned about knowing the factors influencing the implementation of technologies as designed by consumers who have some level of selection (Sheth & Malhotra, 2011, p. 292). By creating and checking models of the factors forming consumer approval, human factors researchers try to control the procedure of design and execution in a way that will reduce the threat of resistance or negative response by consumers. The technical concern with consumer approval is somewhat new, since conventionally, makers as well as procurers of new technology could depend on authority to guarantee that technology was employed, at least in various organizational frameworks. Nonetheless, existing operational practices, as well as the big marketplace for mobile phones and related applications of technology have allowed bigger discretion between consumers, therefore, rising the need to find out the dynamics of approval (Khosrow-Pour, 2007, p. 93). Whereas the recognition of core technological variables underlying approval has offered a little insight, small number of human factors researchers has tried to connect both sets of variables unequivocally into an incorporated assumption for design and execution reasons. The most significant theoretical effort in this area however has involved ‘socio-cognitive analyses’ of the dynamics of consumer act. Models of approval have places stress on the approach of consumers, and in doing so, aim to forecast long-standing consumer approval by assessing early successful reactions to any latest technology (Phillips-Wren, 2010, p. 517). Determining consumer approval of a system is a tricky but it is the main part of human factors study. To be approved, a technology has to assure fundamental usability needs and be considered as functional by its projected consumer group. Consumer experience in addition to guidance will affect approval levels as will the way in which the technology is executed to contribute towards the mobile phone manufacturers’ objectives and operational practices. Factors Affecting Mobile Phone Change and Choice Behaviour Value is not inhered in commodities, but included by means of exchange, indicating the sacrifice that one does to acquire some other thing that will fulfil his requirements and needs. Instead of being a set value, like cost, this exchange value relies on the cultural framework, taking into account both the goods value and its social significance. Commodities represent a specific meaning that is decided by a system of cultural standards and these standards control consumers’ selection. An individual uses a particular thing because he is from a specific communal faction with its personal social standards that influence the act of utilization and this person is an element of this particular faction because he uses this particular good, acknowledging the faction’s cultural principles (Hjorth, 2008, p. 292). Therefore, consumer choice appears as a method to be included in social relationships and a type of expression, a system by which the society corresponds. Every social faction has its specific sense of taste and its affiliates grow a sense of likeness by opting for similar commodities. Thus, taste, and the selection behaviours linked to it, represents a sign of ‘social expression’, a communication structure that represents both personal expression and association. The youth phase is generally depicted as a time of identity formation on their way to maturity. Youth represent the future generation, the fresh, tomorrow’s expectation and it is frequently linked with the thought of modernity, development and a new life. Actually, the thought of youth as a clear phase of life occurs from the materialization of the modern culture and financial growth, which untied youngsters from the responsibilities of the mature people (Pihkala, 2011, p. 219). Together with the thought of youth as a unique social group, arrives the expression ‘youth culture’, which revolves around the two leading aspects of youth: self-image and group association, and which has in use one of the most important means for conveying these objectives. Current trend, music, leisure activities, hi-tech devices etc. let young individuals to form their space between childhood and the grown-up world and to give power to group associations. Goods represent a language by means of which youth correspond, claiming both independence as well as group association, which are often described as “individuals acting in terms of a shared identity” (Interpret LLC, 2009. P. 192). Cell phones are regularly described as the representation of ‘modernity and youth’ and as the essence of the international marketplace. As latest studies reveal, people between the age bracket of 18 to 25 years are attracted by the similar, purchase the identical phones and use them in a ‘consonant’ manner to talk, exchanging SMS, taking photographs with their ‘built-in-camera phones’ and calling mostly friends and relatives (Solomon, 2003, p. 92). The cell phone communications patterns show worldwide similarities. One of the causes that they present this standardization in the use of cell phones is the existence of a global youngster culture that share fashion and usage models. Cell phones not just cannot be detached from their social structure but, as they are in fact ‘worn’ by individuals, they are as well inextricably related to the consumer’s physical as well as emotional uniqueness. Actually, in a number of languages, the phrase ‘designing a cell phone’ usually links to it as an annotation of the consumer’s own body. Young people generally recognize cell phones as items by means of which they can show standing, modernity or fashion, describe gender and strengthen as well as establish associations with friends, relatives and other social groups (Schiffman & Kanuk, 2009, p. 72). One other important aspect influencing the adoption of mobile phones has been makers' views. Manufacturers make mobile phones based on their theoretical ideas of what the general cell phone consumer might value or want. The cell phone market is on a critical point in its development, but the assurances of all these hi-tech services cannot be appreciated without an having extensive approval. The future of mobile phone services is in the union of different mobile technologies. The upcoming times are expected to witness an ‘ecosystem of technologies’ from which a consumer will be able to select when deciding to connect from a cell phone. No individual cell phone technology will be the complete answer to all the needs of consumer. The function of cell phones as a representation of status is maybe the most apparent. Factors such as the trade name, size, model, characteristics, display or colour can add to a raise or decline in the social reputation of the owner. Teenagers are very apprehensive regarding how other individuals see their cell phones; having the right product or the coolest phone is observed as a way to get credit and to be appreciated by their friends, being obvious of others with inferior mobile phones. Mobiles phones represent social standing for youth; the more costly mobile phone, the cooler owner is. Youngsters use mobile phones to show that they are acceptable to be part of a particular group or to communicate their desire to fit in a particular society, representing that they have the identical taste for technology. This fashion is especially highlighted within developing nations where technology is not accessible by everyone, and the simple fact of having a cell phone has an impact on communal class dissections. The possession of a mobile phone has also to do with age group. In addition, mobile phone possession is considered as representation of maturity, depicting the end of childhood, making youth feel advanced as well as more self-sufficient as compared to other kids. One of the distinguishing characteristics of youth as a phase in life is in the capability to take care of life outside the known circle, becoming more self-sufficient and getting personal confidentiality. A personal mobile phone offers them the opportunity to stay in touch with friends. It can be said that the acquisition of the initial mobile phone signifies a rite of way from youth to maturity for sale in the market. It represents one of the initial experiences for a young person to act as a customer, providing them a significant degree of decision-making authority, a feeling of self-determination and empowerment; the aim of use is no longer a babyish plaything but a piece of equipment that puts them in the youth culture - the initial step in the direction of adult life. By its connection to modernity, a cell phone offers two essential uses in identity formation. First, it chips in to strengthen the thought of self-determination from parents and elder generations. Being ‘technology savvy’ turns into a youth trait and uses to discriminate from other elder communal groups, who are generally less acquainted with the most recent pioneering applications. Secondly, mobile phone ownership controls the public image of youth; for youth in less urbanized societies, a cell phone can facilitate them to follow appropriate modernity, a set of values that describe modernity and places them higher than others. Having the newest gadgets and staying up-to-date can mark youngsters within a group that have the same taste for technology as well as modernity, depicting a specific sense of fashion (Perrey & Spillecke, 2011, p. 120). Elders also form a major chunk of cell phone consumers. They want to have a mobile phone because they would like to stay accessible. Fears of these people are usually associated to casualty or physical impairment of oneself, spouse or friends. They might as well be concerned regarding managing their daily lives, occasionally in terms of ‘surviving economically’. The increased sense of safety created by having a cell phone appears to have an important part in acceptance of cell phones by elder people. Apart from showing one’s technical understanding, owning the befitting mobile phone can be used to show that one follows the modern fashion drift. Fashion taste seems as a way to show both group association and individual uniqueness. In terms of group association, the thought of what is stylish can place group boundaries and recognize one’s friends, deciding who is in the group and who is expelled from the group, who has the same sense of fashion and who does not. For the majority of youngsters, just the brand name of a cell phone is a ‘social statement’ by itself, for instance, Motorola is thought to be more appropriate for corporate people than for youth and Nokia is simply for the cool individuals. Of course, trend is all but static and brand name views modify with the passage of time, what is fashionable this month can be considered as old-fashioned in the coming days. For instance, these days, the ‘must-have’ mobile for youth in London is an iPhone, but in the coming days, it might be a new mobile phone turning into an icon for youth. Again, what is important is not the brand name but the need of being aware of the modern trend to continue association with the group. With the increase in cell phones and the growing availability of choices to modify their handsets, a number of users in London are starting to decorate them to go well with their attire or to fit into a particular season trend. In addition, as cell phones turn out to be common objects and are not considered as an extravagance any longer, a number of users take the customisation of their mobile phones to new levels, keen to stay prominent in the crowd. Another factor influencing the mobile phone change behaviour is the memory space for contacts in the handset is viewed many times as a way to measure the owner’s recognition. “Having a mobile phone with inadequate capacity to save contacts’ numbers can be interpreted as if the user has less confidence in being able to expand his or her social network and make new contacts” (Assael, 2003, p. 382). Furthermore, the simple ownership of a cell phone gives its owner a feeling of safety and communication, allowing him or her to get in touch with relatives and acquaintances when needed, at the time of emergency or at any time the user would like to socialise. Therefore, having a mobile phone can lead to a feeling of closeness with those who are out of the country, and make other people aware of the fact that one can be reachable at all times, reinforcing family and companionship and strengthening one’s individuality as a part of a society. The factors underlying acquisition of a cell phone were found to be maker, market situation and leading individuals. For the selection of service provider, the factors were found to be added features and brand name, cost and value. At the present time, the mobile phone market in London is among the most aggressively competed markets, and the “competition is driven by price discounts” (Perrey & Spillecke, 2011, p. 88). Even though cost was found to be a significant variable having an effect on consumer choice of handsets, audibility was basically speaking of the same significance. References Assael, H. 2003. Consumer Behavior: A Strategic Approach. South-Western College Publications Bond, A. 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