Modeling Customer Satisfaction in Cellular Phone Services
Abstract
ABSTRACTLow tariffs, wider coverage and decent quality keep Pakistani cellular phone market growth at an alarming pace. Despite highest growth rate in the region, the lucrative Pakistani market is not free from challenges. The intensified competition is depicting a pattern of customer churn while the companies are still enjoying growth. This creates serious challenges for organizations in managing their existing customer while striving for growth. The common answer to such challenges is retaining customers through satisfaction. This research aims at answering what are the factors contributing towards customer satisfaction in Pakistani mobile cellular services? A typical two-stage survey was conducted. A qualitative research was conducted in first stage to collect factors, which contribute towards the customer satisfaction of a typical Pakistani cellular phone user. It was followed with a questionnaire to gather quantitative data for further analysis using conformity factor analysis. The results confirmed a multidimensional construct of customer satisfaction in Pakistani cellular phone communication sector. The findings suggest that customer satisfaction of cellular phone users in Pakistan constitute of four factors including price, transmission quality, usage ease and service support. This is in line with the previous research exploring the issue in other countries.
References
Anderson, E. W., Fornell, C., & Lehmann, D. R. (1994). Customer satisfaction, market share, and profitability: Findings from Sweden. Journal of Marketing, 58(July): 5366.
Anonymous (2007). Pakistan telecommunication authority annual report 2006-7 retrieved 12th November 2007 from http://www.Pta.Gov.Pk/annualreports/annrep0607/chapter_4.Pdf.
Antreas, D. A., & Opoulos, A. I. (2003). Modeling customer satisfaction in telecommunication: Assessing the multiple transaction points on perceived over all performance of the provider. Production and Operation Management, 12(2): 224-245.
Aydin, S., & Özer, G. (2006). How switching costs affect subscriber loyalty in the Turkish mobile phone market: An exploratory study. Journal of Targeting, Measurement and Analysis for Marketing, 14(2): 141 - 155.
Bollen, K .A. (1989) Structure equations with latent variables. New York: John Wiley & Sons.
Bolton, R. N., & Drew, J. H. (1991). A multistage model of customers’ assessments of service quality and value. Journal of Consumer Research, 17: 375-384.
Brown, S. A., & Gulycz, M. (2001). Customer relationship management: A strategic imperative in the world of e-business: New York: Wiley.
Byrne, B. M. (2001). Structural Equation Modeling with Amos. Basic Concepts, Applications and Programming. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers.
Buttle, F. (1996). Servqual: Review, critique, research agenda. European Journal of Marketing, 30: 8-32.
Carman, J. M. (1990). Consumer perceptions of service quality: An assessment of the Servqual dimensions. 66 (1): 33-55.
Cronin, J., & Taylor, A. (1992). Measuring service quality: A re-examination and extension. Journal of Marketing, 56(July): 55-68.
Fornell, C. (1992). A national customer satisfaction barometer: The Swedish experience. Journal of Marketing, 55(January): 1-21.
Fornell, C., Johnson, M. D., Anderson, E. W., Cha, J., & Bryant, B. E. (1996). The American customer satisfaction index: Nature, purpose and findings. Journal of Marketing, 60(October): 7-18.
Goode, M., & Moutinho, L. (1996). The effects of consumer age on overall satisfaction: An application to financial services. Journal of professional service marketing, 13(2): 93-112.
Kaplan, D. (1989). Model Modification in Covariance Structure Analysis: Application of the Expected Parameter Change Statistic. Multivariate Behavioral Research, 24(July): 285 - 305.
Lee, J., & Feick, L. (2001). The impact of switching costs on the customer satisfaction-loyalty link: Mobile phone service in France. Journal of Services Marketing, 15: 35-48.
McDougall, G., & Levesque, T. (1994). A revised review of service quality dimension: An empirical investigation. Journal of professional service marketing, 11(1): 189-210.
Monroe, K. B. (1991). Pricing - making profitable decision: New York: McGraw Hill.
Oliver, R. L. (1977). Effects of expectation and disconfirmation on post exposure product evaluations. Journal of Applied Psychology, 62(April): 246-250.
Oliver, R. L. (1989). Processing of the satisfaction response in consumption: A suggested framework and research propositions. Journal of consumer satisfaction, Dissatisfaction and complaining behaviour, 2: 1-16.
Parasuraman, A., Zeithaml, V. A., & Berry, L. L. (1988). Servqual: A multiple-item scale for measuring consumer perceptions of service quality. 64(spring), 12-40.
Parasuraman, A., Ziethaml, V., & Berry, L. L. (1991). Understanding customer expectations of service. Sloan Management Review, Spring, 39-48.
Patterson, P. G., Johnson, L. W., & Spreng, R. A. (1997). Modelling the determinants of customer satisfaction for business-to-business professional services. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 25(1): 4-17.
Perry, C. (1998). Processes of a case study methodology for postgraduate research in marketing. European Journal of Marketing, 32(9/10): 785.
Sharma, N., & Ojha, S. (2004). Measuring service performance in mobile communications. The Service Industries Journal, 24(6): 109-128.
Spreng, R. A., & MacKoy, R. D. (1996). An empirical examination of a model of perceived service quality and satisfaction. Journal of Retailing, 72(2): 201-214.
Steenkamp, J. E. M., and Baumgartner, H. (1998). Assessing Measurement Invariance in Cross-National Consumer Research. Journal of Consumer Research, 25(June), 78 - 90.
Sureshchandar, G. S., Rajendran, C., & Kamalanabhan, T. J. (2001). Customer perceptions of service quality: A critique. Total Quality Management, 12(1): 111-124.
Teas, R. K. (1994). Expectations as a comparison standard in measuring service quality: An assessment of a reassessment. Journal of Marketing, January, 132-139.
Woo, S., KA, & Fock, H., K.Y. (1999). Customer satisfaction in Hong Kong mobile industry. The Service Industries Journal, 19(3): 162-174.
Zeithaml, V. A. (1988). Consumer perceptions of price, quality and value: A mean-end model and synthesis evidence. Journal of Marketing, 52(July): 2-22.
Zeithaml, V. A., Berry, L. L., & Parasuraman, A. (1996). The behavioral consequences of service quality. Journal of Marketing, April, 31-46.
