Vivitha

ROSKILDE UNIVERSITY
Department of Communication, Business and Information Technologies
Brand preference on Mobile Purchase among the Students of Roskilde University
Bachelor of business studies Project Report Supervisor: Professor Poul Dines
Submitted to Department of Communication, Business and Information Technologies
Submitted by Ramesh Rijal, Student number: 50593
May 24, 2013
Student Number: 50593
I declare that the brand preference on mobile purchase among the students of Roskilde University is my own work and that all the sources that I have used or quoted have been indicated and acknowledged by means of complete references.
Ramesh Rijal rrijal@ruc.dk
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I would like to thank for the people for their various contributions to complete this bachelor project. Rikke Krogh, Secretary to the study board, Department of business, for her help and suggestion in every step of my learning activities My supervisor, Professor, Poul Dines, for his constant advice, assistance and guidance throughout the study Supervisor Professor Safania Normann Eriksen for her valuable insights and feedback into the research in the presentation held in the University. All the students of Roskilde University who participated in the study, for their valuable contribution and the time they gave so willingly. My family and friends, for their feedback and support during this study.
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Abstract
Branding permits customers to develop association with the brand and eases the purchase decision. According Jobber.D, (2007. P.330) strong brands benefit consumers in that they provide quality certification, which can aid decision making of purchasing. The study investigates the brand preference on mobile purchase among the students of Roskilde University. On this basis , this report deals with various choice criterias ( economic , social , personal and technical ) that students can use for decision making on purchasing of branded mobile phone. With the use of a 15questions among 100 students followed by a survey, it finds that students see technical criteria (durability, reliability and performance) on making choice of purchase of branded mobile phones. The study further notifies that economic criteria (price) also become a important factor that influences the purchasing process. On analysis of personal criteria suggest that students do not prefer branded mobile for creating self image however they choose it because they believe branded mobile reduce the unexpected kinds of risk that may occurs. The report also says students do not prefer branded mobile in order to maintain social status (social criteria) while taking decision of purchase. In addition to this study shows most of the students used internet and takes recommendation
from the friends for choosing a particular brand of mobile phone no matter what the brand of mobile phone owned .Finally apple is the most preferred brand among the students of Roskilde University with highest level of satisfaction too. To sum up technical criteria and economic criteria plays a very important role to prefer brand.
Internet and friends are the main two sources from which students collect information on purchasing the mobile and apple is the most preferred brand over other in Roskilde University.
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TABLES OF CONTENTS:
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................... 1 1.1Background and Rationale of the study:........................................................................ 3 1.2 Significance of Study .................................................................................................. 4 1.3 Purpose of the study: ................................................................................................... 5 1.4 Problem Statement: ..................................................................................................... 5 CHAPTER 2- RESEARCH PLATFORM ............................................................................. 7 2.1 Research Philosophies Adopted: .................................................................................. 7 2.2 Research Approaches Adopted: ................................................................................... 8 CHAPTER 3: LITERATURE REVIEW AND CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK. ............... 10 3.1. Literature Review: .................................................................................................... 10 Summary of Literature Review........................................................................................ 13 3.2. Theoretical Framework:............................................................................................ 14 CHAPTER 4: RESEARCH METHODOLOY ..................................................................... 19 4.1. Sampling process:..................................................................................................... 19 4.2 Data collection methods and procedures: ................................................................... 20 4.3 Sources of Data: ........................................................................................................ 20 Collection of primary Data: ......................................................................................... 21 Collection of Secondary Data ...................................................................................... 21 4.4 Questionnaire design ................................................................................................. 21 4.5 Ethical Considerations: .............................................................................................. 22 4.6 Pre- testing: ............................................................................................................... 22 4.7 Technique of Data Analysis (Instruments): ................................................................ 22 4.8 Report preparation and presentation........................................................................... 22 4.9 Validity and Reliability ............................................................................................. 22 Reliability: .................................................................................................................. 23 iv
Validity: ...................................................................................................................... 24 CHAPTER -5 LIMITATION OF THE STUDY: ................................................................. 28 CHAPTER 6: PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS OF DATA.......................................... 29 6.1.Students Preference on Mobile Brand: ....................................................................... 29 6.2 Influence of Social Criteria (Social Status) on Purchase of Mobile Brand .................. 30 6.3.Influence of Personal Criteria on Purchase of Mobile Brand: ..................................... 31 1. Students prefer mobile brand for Risk Reduction: ...................................................... 31 2.Students prefer mobile brand for Self Image: ............................................................ 32 6.4. Influence of Technical Criteria on Purchase of Mobile Brand: .................................. 33 1. Students prefer mobile brand for durability: ............................................................. 33 2. Students prefer Mobile brand for Performance:........................................................ 34 3. Students prefer mobile brand for Reliability: ........................................................... 35 6.5. Influence of Economical Criteria (Price) on Purchase of Mobile Brand .................... 36 6.6 Sources used to collect the information about the preferred brand mobile: ................. 37 6.8 Cross tabulation between mobile owned and the satisfaction level and on the owned mobile ............................................................................................................................. 39 CHAPTER 7 CONCLUSION: ............................................................................................ 40 CHAPTER 8 AREAS FOR FURTHER STUDY ................................................................. 42 REFERENCE: .................................................................................................................... 43
LISTS of FIGURES:
Figure 1: Consumer decision making process Jobber D. (2007) ........................................... 14 Figure 2 Schematic diagram of the theoretical framework (own Source) ............................ 17 Figure 3: Population and Sample ......................................................................................... 19 Figure 4: Students preference on Mobile Brand ................................................................... 29 Figure 5 :Students view on Social Status for Purchasing Mobile Brand .............................. 30 Figure 6: Students prefer on risk averse criteria while purchasing mobile brand ................. 31 Figure 7: Students prefer on durability criteria while purchasing mobile brand .................... 33 Figure 8: Students prefer on performance criteria while purchasing mobile brand ............... 34 Figure 9: Students prefer on reliability criteria while purchasing mobile brand .................... 35 Figure 10:Students view on price factor while purchasing mobile ....................................... 36
LISTS of TABLES:
Table 1 Choice criteria used when evaluating alternatives. Jobber. D (2007 p.127) ............ 16 Table 2: Students' prefer on self image while purchasing mobile brand ............................... 32 Table 3: Sources used to collect the information about branded mobile phones. .................. 37 Table 4: Cross Tabulation between: Brand of mobile phone owned and sources used to collect the information about the preferred mobile brand ............................................. 38 Table 5: Cross tabulation between mobile owned and the satisfaction level and on the owned mobile ......................................................................................................................... 39
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CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION This chapter presents the introduction, research problem, significance of the study, and
structure of this research study. The introduction starts with a brief overview of brand and mobiles. It identify relevant research gap, and give an assurance that the study will filled gap by discussing the methodology. It also outlines to whom this research study would be of interest and benefit to. In order to understand the concept of branding, it is essential to know what brands are. The word brand is derived from the Old Norse word brandr which means to burn as brands were and still are the means by which livestock owners mark their animals to identify ownership (Keller, K. L. 2003) .A brand is the idea or image of a specific product or service that attracts, connects and retains consumers by identifying the name, logo, slogan, or design of the company who owns the idea or image. Branding is when that idea or image is marketed so that it is recognizable by more and more people, and identified with a certain service or product when there are many other companies offering the same service or product. Branding permits customers to develop association with the brand and eases the purchase decision. A brand will drive sales, build customer loyalty, create brand value, and most of all, it will be the catalyst for business growth, as consumers will be motivated to buy your product (Chernatony, L. de 1991). Building a strong brand is considered the best way of doing business because of the constant changes in the marketing environment (Aaker, 1996; King 1991; Lennon, 1993). Successful branding could strengthen a producers competitive position to withstand the increasing power of retails (Park and Srinivasan, 1994). According to Jobber.D, (2007), branding is the process by which companies distinguish their product offerings from the competition. Branding affects perception since it is well known that in blind product testing consumers often fail to distinguish between brands in each product category. The American Marketing Association define the branding is not about getting your target market to choose you over the competition, but it is about getting your prospects to see you as the only one that provides a solution to their problem. It further explains to succeed in branding you must understand the needs and wants of your customers and prospects. You do this by integrating your brand strategies through your company at [Student Number 50593] Ramesh Rijal Page 1
every point of public contact. Your brand resides within the hearts and minds of customers, clients, and prospects. It is the sum total of their experiences and perceptions, some of which you can influence, and some that you cannot. Strong brands are important to both companies and consumers. Companies can get benefits because strong brands add value to companies, positively affects consumers perceptions of brands , act as a barrier to competition , improve profits and provide a base for brand extensions. Consumer gain because strong brands act as a form of quality certification and create trust (Jobber. D, 2007, p.328). Branding enables the company to build brand recognition and loyalty among clients, and also to communicate its values and special approach to business in a memorable way. This establishes a benchmark of set of goals, against which the performance can be measured, and gives employees a sense of belonging to a team. (Wang,wen cheng, 2009 ) .Further according to The Freeman Ideas on Liberty (2011) an increasing number of high technology companies have undertaken brand-building initiatives under the premise that these initiatives can create an asset that generate long-term profit, e.g. Intels Intel inside campaign, which began in 1991. The study do not flow its research on branding area from the perspective of the company and other its stakeholder like financial partners, employers, suppliers etc rather it was mainly confined its research on the gain a consumer can get from branding in the process of decision making in buying the branded products (mobiles). According Jobber.D, (2007. P.330) strong brands benefit consumers in that they provide quality certification, which can aid decision making. Consumers tend to trust strong brands. Accordingly the Henley Forecasting Center consumers are increasing turning to trusted guides to manage choice. A key trusted guide is the brand name and its perceptual associations. This study seeks to analyze the brand preference preferred by the students of Roskilde University while purchasing mobile phones. It takes some literature review from previous published articles, journals and books and develops a conceptual framework then relating the identified variables from review with the theory of marketing consumer buying decision making process. The study aimed to be also useful to identify customer value, satisfaction, and retention and also to the strategic and marketing planners who are concerned with the philosophy and practice of new product development to introduce better, innovative and customized products to the consumers. [Student Number 50593] Ramesh Rijal Page 2
Choosing students on the project is based on the following reasons. 1. It is easy for the researcher to collect the data from the students because the researcher self is a student of Roskilde University. 2. The study believes University students can speak and understand English language which helps the researcher to do the research. And reduce the problem of difficulties of Danish language to the researcher because the researcher himself is learning this language. 3. The choice of brand preference is most among the time of youth age, and the most of the students are from 20 to 40 years. 4. Students themselves are involving in any type of project for their semester course so they easily understand the researcher request and are ready to cooperate in the survey than other busy personalities. 5. The study believes that students carry the mobile phones. Choosing mobile phones as the research object is based on following reasons: 1) Mobile phone is a relatively technical product; 2) Students can share their experience on the use of the product 3) Mobile phone is so the popular that the access to research data is easier to collect.
1.1 Background and Rationale of the study:

Heikki, Jeri et al (2005) found strong evidence that although mobile phones are developing at a rapid pace closer to personal digital assistants (PDAs), many consumers tend to be unaware of the properties and services the new models in the market contain. They showed that seven factors play a great role to characterize mobile phone choice: they are pricing, reliability, outside influence, brand and basic properties, design, multimedia and innovative services. According to Mei-jian, Haibo & Qoing (2012) Brand emotion of the web consumers, group effect, enterprises networking marketing methods, perceived brand identity are the four factors that influenced the choice behavior of web consumer in a different degree and way. The former two factors will affect choice behavior through the consumer preference. Whereas the second two factors affect brand choice behavior indirectly through preference. By empirical study, they concluded that the promotion have neither significantly positive [Student Number 50593] Ramesh Rijal Page 3
effects nor significant negative ones. Perceived brand identity does not directly produce effect on choice behavior through the preference, but affects it through the brand emotion of web consumers. It is because only when brand identity agrees with the brand emotion of web consumers will produce choice behavior. Khurana,S.(2011) showed in his empirical research, product price, quality and availability, and promotion are also important factors to influence the consumers in Hissar's mobile phone market. These are the factors which helps the consumers to make their purchasing decisions on the one hand and leads to higher consumer perception indirectly on the other hand. It has been found that very fewer studies conducted which focus on brand preference preferred by users while purchasing mobile especially focused among students. The study is based on the marketing theory consumer buying decision making process. So the present study attempts to fill the gap that exists in the brand awareness and brand preference among students along with the possible reasons of brand preference. The benefit of this research extends beyond professional field to academic field.
1.2 Significance of Study

Findings of the study might be useful and important among students and others academician being inputs for doing similar nature of research in academic field in future It can also become good information for those companies who has been engaging in research of branding process in order to indentify perception of the consumers for their branded product. This finding will broad enough to generate interest among a sufficiently large group of researchers because it analysis of load of facts about the various criteria of choice that determine the perceptions and preferences of brand mobile. This finding will give a data of various sources from where consumer can get information about the product in percentage form which will help the planner, to make decision regarding which source will be more effectively to promote their branded products.
[Student Number 50593] Ramesh Rijal
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1.3 Purpose of the study:

This research is intended to describe and analyze students brand preference on mobile phones purchase. The purpose of this report is to understand the personal experience of mobiles and analysis on preference of branded mobile among the student of Roskilde University. This will give a conclusion on how do students perceived brand among different criteria in order to take the decision in purchasing the branded mobile .
1.4 Problem Statement:

Strong brand names can have positive effects on consumer perceptions and preferences. Jobber .D (2007). There are very few studies which have looked can consumer use consumer buying decision making process to choose the brand name and finally purchase the brand product. What criteria do students of the Roskilde University preferred on brand while purchasing mobile phones? This study aims to address the above question by analyzing the question given below. 1. What is the status of brand preference on mobile different mobile phone? Or which brand is preferred most by Students of Roskilde University (consumer) while purchasing mobile phones? 2. What is the status and impact of the technical, economical, social and personal criteria on students to take the decision for choosing and purchasing the branded mobile product? 3. What is the current satisfaction level on the particular brand owned?
1.5 Structure of the Study:

The current study work has been divided into seven chapters: Chapter1: Introduction: It examines the background of the brand preference, its statement of problems, purpose of the study, Chapter 2: Research Platform: describe the Research philosophies, research approach and research strategies adopted by the study. The study used positivism as a research philosophy, deductive approach and quantitative strategies with survey method. [Student Number 50593] Ramesh Rijal Page 5
Chapter 3: Literature Review and Conceptual Framework: Literature Review incorporates review of theoretical and related literature regarding the study matter, publications of writer and researchers have been related on the study. This chapter also presents the concepts used in this research study, the conceptual models and how they are related. The definition of brand was given; and various aspects, dimensions and factors, variables were discussed and their relations were identified. Chapter 4: Research Methodology: This chapter explains about the research methodology used to evaluate and analyze the data. This includes research design, population and sample, nature and type of data, sources of data, data collection techniques, data analysis techniques, research variables, differential statistical and financial tools used in the study. Chapter 5: Limitation of the study: This chapter explains those factors that are not able to cover by this study. Chapter 6: Presentation and Analysis of Data: This chapter focuses on the differential techniques which the study uses in the data collection process. It includes presentation and analysis of data using different statistical tools with description of major findings. Chapter 7: Conclusion: This chapter presents the conclusion of this research study drawn from the analysis of the empirical data. The conclusion gives the result in terms of most preferred brand among students, perception of students on choice of criteria they prefer while taking decision of purchasing of branded mobile phones, sources of information as well as the level of satisfaction on the particular brand. Chapter 8: Areas for further study: This chapter covers the more research areas for further studies in future. Besides these references and index have also been at the end of the study research. Similarly, acknowledgement, table of contents, lists of figures, abbreviations, abstract have been included in the beginning of this study research
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CHAPTER 2- RESEARCH PLATFORM

This section presents the concept of research philosophy and research approach and research strategies to be used in the study. The philosophy deals about how the researcher constructs knowledge in the project. The study used positivism as a research philosophy, deduction as research approach deduction and quantitative survey as a research strategy. Positive and negative aspect of philosophy, approach and strategies were also presented.
2.1 Research Philosophies Adopted:

According to Gill and Johnson,(1997), there are mainly two main research philosophies: Positivism and phenomenology. Positivism promotes a more objective interpretation of reality, using hard data from surveys and experiments, while phenomenology (interpretivism) is concerned with methods that examine people and their social behavior. Positivism has been more commonly associated with scientific research, while phenomenology has its roots in the social science (veal, 2006). The study does not use phenomenology because it takes a great deal of time and resources for data collection which is not possible for the researcher to complete the project within a limited time frame given. Besides according to Easterby- Smith et al., 1999; Saunders et al; 2007, the methods deployed under the phenomenological philosophy range from the more unstructured qualitative techniques of focus groups and participants observation, through interviews towards the more artistic methods of content analysis, hermeneutics and literary criticism. All of these are useful techniques for developing insights into the areas in which theory is limited or does not exist. The study used positivism to do its research. The researcher act as a natural scientist, remain distanced from the object of the study. The data were collected using survey. Based on the statistical analysis of the data collected through survey, the study derived theoretical models that provide explanation of how study problem operate in a Ruc students context. According to Mary Jo Hatch,(2006) ,Positivism epistemology assumes you can discover what truly happens in organization through the categorization and scientific measurement of the behavior of people and system. Mary Jo Hatch further says that reality, and its objects can be reflected using language like a mirror without any loss of meaning or inherent bias. He [Student Number 50593] Ramesh Rijal Page 7
further added For positivist, good knowledge is generated by developing hypothesis and propositions, gathering and analyzing data, and them testing the hypothesis and propositions against the external reality represented by their data to see if they are correct. According to Denzin and LincoIn, 1994, The main weakness of positivism are: methods tend to be rather inflexible and artificial, not effective in understanding processes and not very helpful in generating theories.
2.2 Research Approaches Adopted:

Levent Altinary & Alexandros Paraskevas, (2008) states that while working on a research project, it is very essential to follow the research theory with appropriate research approach. There are mainly two kinds of research approaches deductive and inductive. Deductive approach is associated with the positivism philosophy, whereas inductive research approach is associated with interpretive. The study does not use inductive approach as it is highly associated with interpretivisim philosophy which does not required pre- determined theory to collect data and information. In this approach the researcher observes data and facts to reach at tentative hypothesis and defined a theory as per the research problem. This helps the research to give inductive arguments (Mertens, 2008). The research on band preference on mobiles phones purchase is based on the establish theory of consumer behaviour- consumer decision making process- so the study is related with the deduction research approach. According to Spangler, (1996:101) deduction is the human process of going from one thing to another .i.e, of moving from the known to the unknown. The main reason to use deduction approach on the current study was the deductive approach is based on the general idea to reach at the specific situation and it is linked with the positivism paradigm. 2.3 Quantitative Research and Qualitative Research: Martyn. Denscombe, (2012) writes there are many kinds of analysis the social researcher can use in order to describe, explain or interpret the data. In practice, the options tend to gravitate around the notions of quantitative and qualitative research. Qualitative research aims to [Student Number 50593] Ramesh Rijal Page 8
develop an understanding of the context in which behaviours and phenomena take place. It concentred mainly on emotions and experiences and is designed to be searching in nature, thus encouraging informants to introduce concepts of importance from their perspective , rather than adhering to areas that have been pre-determined by the researcher. Common data collection methods used in qualitative research are focus groups, triads, dyads, in-depth interviews, uninterrupted observation, bulletin boards, and ethnographic
participation/observation. The study does not use qualitative research because the report is based on empirical analysis. Quantitative research is conclusive in its purpose as it tries to quantify the problem and understand how prevalent it is by looking for projectable results to a larger population. In this techniques the researcher collect data through surveys, audits, points of purchase (purchase transactions), and click-streams. The study has used quantitative approach on the study since because quantitative research aims to determine how one thing (variable) affects another in a population, by quantifying the relationships between variables (the things we measure). To quantify the relationship between variables under study, the researcher used statistical methods. 2.4 Research Strategies: As a research strategy, the researcher selected survey strategy to collect the information. According to Levent Altinary & Alexandros Paraskevas, (2008), the researcher selects a sample of respondents from a population and administers a standardized questionnaire to them in server research. The questionnaire, or survey, can be a written document that is completed by the person being surveyed, an online questionnaire, a face-to-face interview, or a telephone interview. The study has used a written document in the form of questionnaire which is to be filled by the respondents. The study took both descriptive and analytical survey. Descriptive survey was used to gather information what factors attract to them to consume the branded product. Similarly analytic survey was used to identify the relationship between brand and purchasing behaviors, and band preference etc.
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CHAPTER3: LITERATURE REVIEW AND CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK. This chapter presents the issues and factors, ideas and opinions, and results of the research that others have undertaken in the study area. The conceptual framework that best describes the theory with the relevant variables identified and discusses how they are related.
3.1. Literature Review:

Heikki, Jeri et al (2005) research on factors affecting consumer choice of mobile phones: two studies from Finland found strong evidence that although mobile phones are developing at a rapid pace closer to personal digital assistants (PDAs), many consumers tend to be unaware of the properties and services the new models in the market contain. They showed that seven factors play a great role to characterize mobile phone choice: they are pricing, reliability, outside influence, brand and basic properties, design, multimedia and innovative services. The factor, innovative services explained most of the variability of the variables indicating, together with other statistical analyses conducted, that especially men tend to value new services in choosing between mobile phones and intending to change their current mobile phone to newer model. They argued that those demographic factors have an influence on the evaluations of different attributes related to mobile phone choice which was verified showing specifically gender and occupation are significant variables affecting choice. They argued that price of the mobile phone plays an important role in the choice especially among lower income consumers. This got strong support among focus groups as well as in the survey. Finally they showed consumer value familiar brands while choosing between different mobile phones models through their focus group study. Innovative services, size of the phone and the income of the consumers tend to play a great role on the choice the mobile phone models. They have suggested to do more empirical research is need to conform that consumers value personal time planning properties in the choice of new mobile phone models. Heikki, Jeri et al (2005) further explained the most notable implication for mobile phone manufacturers, resellers and other value chain members is that advertising of new mobile phone models should go beyond highlighting properties to highlighting what users can do with all the new technical features.
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Mobile phone advertising has long been based on eliciting properties and abbreviations (e.g., GPRS, EDGE, and Bluetooth) that are fully understood only by technology savvy consumers. Therefore, more attention should be paid to educative advertising and marketing. The importance of the reseller becomes constantly more important as we are entering the smart phone erameaning that phones have so many properties and features that users need both hands-on instructions and better post purchase service than before. The researchers finally concluded that many factors, such as legislation and international differences in culture for instance, definitely have an impact on results. Mei-jian, Haibo & Qoing ,(2012) showed brand emotion of the web consumers, group effect, enterprises networking marketing methods, perceived brand identity are the four factors that influenced the choice behavior of web consumer in a different degree and way. The former two factors will affect choice behavior through the consumer preference. Whereas the second two factors affect brand choice behavior indirectly through preference. By empirical study, they concluded that the promotion have neither significantly positive effects nor significant negative ones. Perceived brand identity does not directly produce effect on choice behavior through the preference, but affects it through the brand emotion of web consumers. It is because only when brand identity agrees with the brand emotion of web consumers will produce choice behavior. They further explained that when consumer chooses mobile products, they are influenced by individual consumer psychology and the group, and group effect more. They found that this coincides with the traditional Chinese culture characteristics. Group effect brings some Chinese unique face psychological, conformity psychological, and admiration to the authority and showing off themselves. Contemporary Chinese market IPHONE4 and fashion IPHONE4S can fully explain what a big business opportunity which is brought by these psychologies. Adhering to China several thousand years of history and traditional culture, traditional Chinese national consumption values embodies the common features of Chinese consumer culture: for example there is a saying "Propriety suggests reciprocity, pay attention to face", which shows Chinese view of value group. Chinese consumers are affected by group effect a lot, and it is easy to keep conformity. Some people even do not care the quality as long as the face can "get by", leading to fake wine cases in China. [Student Number 50593] Ramesh Rijal Page 11
Alamro and Rowley (2011) suggested that consumer attributes, brand image and band awareness are the antecedents of brand preference. Brand preference is the extent to which the customer favors the designated service provided by his or her present company, in comparison to the designated service provided by other companies in his or her consideration set (Alamro and Rowley, 2011). Soomro et al. (2011) argued that different factors such as brand prestige, physical characteristics of the brand, users experience with the brand, price, premiums, packaging , habits, guarantees , recommendation by family, friends and experts, advertising and display novelty, special characteristics of the manufacturer can influences consumers brand choice. Zhou.N & Shanturkovska. G,( 2011) on their research on Chinese Consumer Behavior in the Mobile Phone market Nokia Case described that the successful strategies of Nokia to become a brand mobile are working with the locals, maintaining customer satisfaction, offering diverse product portfolio, establishing strong brand image, prioritizing people first, localizing research and development centers, expanding broad distribution channels, and implementing low pricing high quality strategy in the unique Chinese market. These successful strategies seemed to work well and attracted many customers. The Chinese consumer has proved to be very diverse and often unpredictable. They showed that the needs to be approached thoughtfully and individually. One interesting part of the research was found to be concluded that any well established brand cannot be successful on the Chinese market if culture and explicit values are being neglected. Zhou.N & Shanturkovska. G, (2011) further argued that another major reason that Chinese consumer choose Nokia brand is due to some unique cultural characteristics. According to them Collectivist culture do what others do/ follow the crowd is one of the distinctive characteristics of Chinese culture. If you walk into a mobile phone selling shop in China, it is common to find out that most consumers tend to ask the question do many people choose this phone?, if the answer is yes, then the consumer most likely will purchase that phone. Plus the strong brand effect of Nokia with great word of mouth, there is no reason that not to have one. They further noted that The face culture also makes Chinese consumers choose Nokia phones. It is easy to get into a situation that people ask you why not have a Nokia phone since everyone has it or has had it. It is likely to make someone loosing face if he or she does not own one. [Student Number 50593] Ramesh Rijal Page 12
Wang, Wen Cheng, et.al ( 2009) described the advantages of creating a high degree of brand recognition from his study Consuming Research on Brand Recognition on Mobile Phones Purchase in Beijing According to them : Firstly, brand recognition enjoys the advantage of the consumers when they go shopping. For example, some people want to eat hamburgers meal; McDonald's hamburgers may be the preferred option. The second benefit is that in any case it will affect consumer choice. For example, when customers lack of motives of choosing brands, they will choose goods according to the brand recognition. In addition, when consumers are unable to distinguish between the different brands when they have to be engaged in the purchase, brand recognition is often the major driving force for purchase decisions. It is an interesting fact. Sometimes customers want to know which brands are the best quality, but because of their lack of knowledge or experience, they often cannot make judgments, such as high precision technology products. In most cases, they would simply vote for those brands they are most familiar with. Finally, we must recognize that brand recognition is a prerequisite for the formation of brand image. Enhance brand recognition for the quality of a brand; it is conducive to the enhancement of the brand image.
Summary of Literature Review

The literature provided a broad, comprehensive, systematic review of scholarly published documents and personal communication for the study. The publication on brand awareness, brand perception and preference, consumer buying behaviors such as articles, reports, books , Newspaper, Pamphlets, Boucher, publication study, report and news were included in the literature review, which referred in the study. Based on the literature review discussed above, the study found certain criteria or a factor which leads consumers to develop their concepts to the branded mobile products. The researcher integrate those variable with the concept of branding that comes in consumer mind on making decision to buy the product. Therefore, the study used consumer buying decision [Student Number 50593] Ramesh Rijal Page 13
making process model given by the Jobber (2007) to do research which was discussed on the theoretical framework given below.
3.2. Theoretical Framework:

The research study attempts to analyze the brand preference on mobiles phones purchase among the students of Roskide University. In order to do the research, the study has taken the consumer buying decision making process model from principle and practices of marketing by David Jobber (2007). Its stated that there there are many factors incorporated in the consumer decision-making making process
Figure 1: : Consumer decision making process Jobber D. (2007) (2007 Need recognition: Accordingly to Jobber D. (2007 p. 119) the need recognition is essentially functional ctional and recognition may take place over a period of time. The study use mobile is the basic need students need to run the daily activities. Information search: the information search began with the identification of alternatives ways of gathering information about the product consumer intend to purchase (Jobber.D.2007.p 120) .The The study collect information how the consumer (students) were involved to search the information internally or externally. Internally consumers can collect [Student Number 50593] Ramesh Rijal Page 14
the information of the mobile based on their previous experience on usage and the externally they collect the information from several sources like; friends, colleagues, neighbors, several published medias and so on. Evaluation of alternatives: Consumers evaluate or assess the various alternatives, using the information they have at hand to come to a decision (Jobber.D.2007.p 120). The study analyzed how the various criteria they preferred to select the alternatives mobile. The various criteria are the factors that influences consumer to take the decision. The factors are the economic criteria (price of mobiles), technical criteria, social criteria and personal criteria. Here the study was mainly concentrated which factors influences the consumer to choose the mobile brand for purchase. Purchase decision: Consumers buy the product they have chosen. The study analyzed which brand has been chosen by the consumers. Post-purchase behavior: consumers use the product and evaluate their satisfaction levels with it. They study was concentrated to analyze whether the consumers were satisfied with the existing brand or not. The study assumed that needs may be initiated by psychological needs .After need identification was sufficiently strong the second stage in the consumer decision making process began. Information search involved the identification of alternative ways of need fulfillment. According to Jobber.D (2007.p 120), the search may be internal or external. Internal search involve a review of relevant information from memory. This review would involve reference to personal experiences. The external search began if a satisfactory
solution is not found. The external search involves personal sources like family member, friends, neighbors, work. Colleagues and commercial source such as advertisements and salespeople. The information search build up awareness set that is the array of the brand that may be the consumer thinking for meeting their needs. The awareness set of brands passes through a screening filter to produce an evoked set: those brands that the consumers seriously consider before making a purchase. The evoked set is the shortlists of brands for carefully evaluation. The screening process may use different choice criteria from those used when making the final choice or purchase.
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Variable: The variable of primary interest in this study was the dependent variable brand preference of students in purchasing. The types of criteria are the independent variable of the study. Types of criteria Types of Criteria Technical Reliability Durability Performance Style/look Comfort Delivery Convenience Table 1 Choice criteria used when evaluating alternatives. Jobber. D (2007 p.127) According to Jobber (2006, p.126) Choice criteria are the various attributes (and benefits) a consumer uses when evaluating product or services. They provide the grounds for deciding to purchase one brand or another. Different members of the buying center may use different choice criteria. The criteria of self image may be the factor for the child when choosing brand product, whereas a parent may use price. The same criteria may be used differently. A child may want most expensive video game while the parents may want less expensive alternatives. Choice criteria can change over time due to change in income through the family life cycle. As disposable income rises, so price may no longer be the key criterion but is replaced by considerations of status or social belongings. Technical criteria are related to the performance of the product or services. Economic criteria concern the cost aspect of the purchase and include price, running costs and residuals values. Social criteria concern the impact that purchase makes on the persons perceived relationship with others people and the influence of social norms on the person. The purchase of a BMW car may be due to status considerations as much as any technical advantages over its rivals. Personal criteria concern how the product or services relates to the individuals psychologically. Self image is our personal view of ourselves. Some people might view [Student Number 50593] Ramesh Rijal Page 16 Economical Price Value of money Running costs Residual value Life cycle cost Social Status Social belonging Convention Fashion Personal Self image Risk reduction Ethics Emotions
themselves as cool and successful, and buy fashion items which reflect that perception of themselves. Risk reduction can affect choice decisions since some people are risk averse and prefer to choose safe brand. Jobber .D.(2007, p.127) The study used reliability, durability, performance as a technical characteristics and price as a economic criteria and status as a social criteria and finally used self image and risk reduction as personal criteria for the research purpose. Schematic diagram of the theoretical framework:
Reliability
Technical criteria
Durability Performance
Brand preference on mobiles purchase
Personal criteria
Self image Risk reduction
Economic criteria
price
Social criteria
Status
Figure 2: A conceptual model for Brand Mobile Purchase (Own Source)
3.3 Justification of the Theoretical framework: The theoretical framework is the foundation on which the entire research is based. It is a logically developed, described, and elaborated network of associations among variables that have been identified through such processes as interviews, observations, and literature survey. These variables are deemed relevant to the problem situations. (Sekaran 1992, p.73). The study identified some variable under study shown in figure 2 from the literature review, and then integrates these variables on one of the components of the consumer decision making process (choice criteria used when evaluating alternatives). These variables are used [Student Number 50593] Ramesh Rijal Page 17
in order to design question in survey and conclusion of the report based on the variable defined above. The current study does not include all variables that have been identified under literature review. The analysis of all variable under discussed in the literature review will be in the second part of this report.
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CHAPTER 4: RESEARCH METHODOLOY

This chapter presents the methods used in collecting data, such as questionnaire and analyzing data. Validity and reliability are processes that were implemented in gathering and analyzing of data.
4.1. Sampling process:

While conducting ng the project work, it is almost always impossible to study the entire population that researcher are interested in. As a result, researchers use sample as a way to gather data. The sampling is the process by which researchers select a representative part of the population that can be studied for their topic so that they will be able to draw conclusion regarding the entire population. For the report the survey urvey population refers to all the students studying in Roskilde University and the sample refers to those students, who are selected to take par part in the research and the sample size were 125 students of Roskilde University.
Figure 3: : Population and Sample There are two approaches to the selection of the samples. Non Probability sampling and Probability ty sampling. In probability sampling each sample in the population has equal chances of being selected, , Probability sampling can be done by four ways: random sampling, systematic random, cluster and stratified. In non no Probability sampling each sample in the population do not have equal chances of being selected. The non probability sampling can be
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done by various techniques which are convenience sampling, judgmental sampling, quota sampling, snowball sampling and self- selection sampling. For the current project work, probability sampling was quite difficult to achieve as the selection of the sample is do not based on the principle of randomization or chance. Like random sampling (each person has an equal chance of being selected), systematic sampling (every nth case is included), cluster sampling (with in the population) and stratified sampling (sample based on subgroup in the population) The sample technique employed in this research was a non probability sample method given that questionnaire was distributed randomly, which gives a fair representation of the study population. Among various non probability techniques, the researcher selected convenience sampling technique to study the project because the data was collected like as stopping people on a street corner as they pass by. The data was collected in several location like in the University Canteen, University Library, University Train Station ( Treknor), Class room and International office. Respondents were selected based on their convenient
accessibility.
4.2 Data collection methods and procedures:

According to Levent Altinary & Alexandros Paraskevas, (2008), there are various techniques for collecting qualitative data such as telephone interviews, observations, Questionnaires. Among them the study use survey or structured questionnaires to obtain specific information such as ways of information search to obtain information , perceptions, attitudes , factors and behavior regarding mobile phones. The data was collected by means of 15 questionnaires among students of Roskilde University. Researcher himself participated in the data
collection approaching personally in different locations such as lecture rooms, libraries and cafeterias, travelling in train.
4.3 Sources of Data:

Both primary and secondary data were chosen to collect the data that were used in analyzing the research study. Given the nature of the research topic, it is most suitable to employ both primary and secondary data collection method. Primary data were obtained through
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questionnaires given to respondents while the secondary data were gathered through journals, articles, internet and other published materials Collection of primary Data: Structured questionnaires were distributed to Roskilde University students. The questionnaires are filled in front of researcher himself. The researcher took permission from the students and requested to fill the form by explaining the purpose of the survey. The respondents were ready to fill the form if there were somewhat free from their class schedule. The sample from 100 students was collected between 15th March to 26th march, 2013. Collection of Secondary Data Secondary data consist of data retrieved from University database, such as articles, journals, literatures in addition to books barrowed from University library or retrieve from Google Books and Google Scholar. These materials would facilitate this research study. In addition they would be critically interpreted with caution in order to avoid creating a false impression with the originators observation or view.
4.4 Questionnaire design

In order to design the questionnaire, conceptual framework of the study was used. Then concepts were translated to questionnaire. Each of the questions in the questionnaire was designed based on the research tool used in the conceptual framework which is based on the consumer decision making process models .The design of the questionnaire encompass all the concepts employed in this research such as brand information that are relevant and pertains to the research study. The questionnaire is designed to be brief, simple, and clear, covering the relevant aspects of the models used. According to Fisher (2007, p.192) it is recommended to Keep the questionnaire as short as possible and give it a logical and sequential structure so that the respondent can easily see what the questionnaire is about and can follow its themes as they develop .
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4.5 Ethical Considerations:

The permission for the study will be obtained from respondent. Purpose of the study will be explained to the participant and make assure for the confidentiality and privacy of the information given by them.
4.6 Pre- testing:

The pretesting of the project conducted on a sample of 25 students in prerequisites of 30 ECTS in batch 2013 February session. Survey in terms of Minor modifications were made as it
was discovered that some of the questions were wordy and therefore had to be simplified, and also that the questionnaire was lengthy. Lastly certain questions had to be rearranged and those questions considered to be ambiguous were removed from the later versions of the questionnaire.
4.7 Technique of Data Analysis (Instruments):

The researcher checked and organized the collected data daily for the completeness and accuracy. The coding and categorization was done before entry. As according to Malhotra,
(1996:25), data preparation includes the editing, coding, transcription and verification of data in order to remove errors that may have occurred during the data collection process The data
collected through interview (structured questions ) entered in excel form. The data from the
questionnaire was transferred for examination using two computer programs, viz. Microsoft Excel and SPSS.. The data subjected to suitable statistical analysis using descriptive Statistics
like frequency proportion mean and standard deviation and inferential analysis too.
4.8 Report preparation and presentation

The entire project must then be documented in a written report which addresses the specific research questions identified, describes the approach, the research design, data collection; data analysis procedures adopted and present the results and the major findings. The research process closes with recommendations.
4.9 Validity and Reliability

Strauss and Corbin (1990) argue that it is important to evaluate the adequacy of the research process in order to judge the quality of the outcome of the research process. The research [Student Number 50593] Ramesh Rijal Page 22
process of a project can be evaluated against two research quality criteria: reliability and validity. Reliability: Reliability can be defined as the degree to which the data collection methods will yield consistent finding, whether similar observation could be made or conclusions reached by others researchers and whether there is transparency in terms of how much sense was made of the raw data. In other words, how well does it measure, and can the result of a study can be reproduced under a similar methodology? (Saunders et al .,2007) To ensure reliability of this research project, structured questionnaires was designed in order to collect the data from the respondents. Each respondent has given the same questionnaires to fill at different time and different location of the university. All respondents have given the answers of all questions in a proper way in a consistency without missing the questions. So the study has high reliability in terms of data collection process. All data was considered to be reliable because the answers collected from the respondent carried the truth as they shared their felling based on their experience on using the mobile brand. The questionnaires were made in English language. 20 minute presentation was conducted to the students in the presence of Lecturer at 2.15 PM about the purpose, problem and research approach, philosophies and strategies on the 14th march, 2013. 25 copies of the questionnaire were printed out and distributed to supplementary course students in 44.2.3 room at department of CBIT, Roskilde University on the same date in order to pre- test the questionnaire. While students were answering the questionnaire, they were closely observed and a close discussion was conducted to ensure that all questions were clearly understood and were easy to answer. Students were asked to point out any difficulty that they encountered while answering the questionnaire with feed back to improve on the questionnaire too. The response and result of the pre testing indicate no error in the questionnaires. The survey was conducted from 15th march to 26th march 2013 by the researcher himself in different students and different location of the University. Accordingly to Saunders et al., 2007, the reliability of the survey or interview is low if a question in questionnaire or interview guide can be misinterpreted by informants and consequently answered in different ways. In order to avoid this problem and keep the data [Student Number 50593] Ramesh Rijal Page 23
reliable, the researcher himself present in the data collection process and make cleared the purpose of questionnaire (if identified by respondents ) so that no any mis-interpation of the result could be evident. In addition more priorities were given to reliability of the materials collected for the research project. According to Fisher (2007, p, 92), the assessment of the quality of the collected materials were based on the references, precisions of the writing, provenance, and the research evidence. The conceptual theory, research methodologies used in this research were based on the published books by renowned press and authors in the world. Materials collected from the Journals, papers were also reliable as they have been published by the international press too. In addition the statistical reliability is relevant in connection with the research project which was maintained by using the most popular software tools like Excel and SPSS tools. Validity: Saunders et al.,2007 defined validity as the extent to which the data collection methods accurately measures what is intended to measure , and the extent to which the research findings are really about what they profess to be about. In order words, do the results say what they are supposed to say? and how truthful are these results? The study has checked the validity of the project by asking series of questions, starting with the research question, and seeing whether the study can actually answer it with the data collection techniques the study had chosen. Section provides the readers with the
measurement of the data collection process implemented regarding the quality of research. It outlines the evaluation of the quality of both the primary and secondary data use in this research study. To ensure the validity of this study, each question in the questionnaire was designed to represent one of the concepts which were used in the conceptual framework of this research study, as seen in table 1, below: The matrix is incorporated in the report as a way to show the validity of the work which is based on the criteria established by a theory called consumer buying decision making process. Table 1: matrix [Student Number 50593] Ramesh Rijal Page 24
Aims To show the problem is relevant? Basic ideas to entry the problem To show the proportion of band users
Questions Do you have mobile phone
The purpose of the question used This question is used to determine if the respondent should go through the survey or not.
Which brand of mobile phone do you own?
This question is used to know which kinds of mobile brand the respondents is using or have used.
To show the various choice criteria a consumer uses when evaluating the brand alternatives
Do you agree or disagree with the following statements. please circle the option that best describe your preference for choosing brand on 5 Likert scale.(where 1 represent the strongly agree and 5 strongly disagree)
These questions are used to identify the consumer perception regarding for the choice of band mobile on purchasing.
To show the impact that purchase makes on the personals perceived relationships with other people.
I prefer brand because of my status
This question is used to identify how importance is the social criteria for the respondent while purchasing branded mobile phone.
To show the purchase I prefer brand because of the durability is for the durability of the product.
This question is used to identify how importance is the Technical criteria, durability for the respondent while purchasing branded mobile phone.
To show the purchase is for the performance of the product.
I prefer brand because of good performance
This question is used to identify how importance is the technical criteria, performance, for the respondent while purchasing branded mobile phone.
To show the purchase I prefer brand because of high is for the reliability of reliability the product.
This question is used to identify how importance is the technical criteria, reliability, for the respondent while purchasing
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branded mobile phone. To show the purchase I prefer brand to put myself image is for the self image of the person in the This question is used to identify how importance is the personal criteria self image for the respondent while purchasing branded mobile phone. To show the purchase I prefer brand for risk reduction is for risk averse This question is used to identify how importance is the personal criteria risk reduction for the respondent while purchasing branded mobile phone. To show what factors Rate the following factors (1: very consumer prefer to be important, 2- somewhat important, 3: in the mobile phones neither important nor important 4, less important, 5: not important) which influence to choose to purchase the mobile phone. You can assign same rating to more than one option Price Camera Screen size looks Durability Social Media Application Key pads/ touch screen To show how the consumers collect information about the mobile products? How/ where do you get information when you want to buy new brand mobile phone? This question is used to analyze which sources students use in order to know the details information about the mobile brand they want to purchase. To measure level the Will your next mobile phone be the of same brand as your current mobile These questions are designed to identity on which factors students are giving on more priorities in order to purchase mobile phones.
society.
consumer
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satisfaction
phone?
The project ensures validity by staying purpose of the study while interpreting the questionnaires. According to Fisher (2007, p.295) construct validity refers particularly to research that uses questionnaires or inventories to assess whether a person or an organization exhibits a particular characteristic. Further Polit DF Beck CT (2012) says that construct validity refers to the validity of inferences that observations or measurement tools actually represent or measure the construct being investigated. Thus construct validity refers to the ability of a measurement tool (e.g., a survey, test, etc) to actually measure the psychological concept being studied. In other words, it tries to analyze does it properly measure what it's supposed to measure? For this perspective the study used construct validity approach into account to make sure that the questionnaire measures what it is intended to do. Fisher (2007, p294) suggested that in order to achieve the construct validity, the concept and terms use to analyze and describe this research project should fairly represents the research materials. Each of the questions in the questionnaire represents the core concepts of the theory under which research study is based on.
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CHAPTER -5 LIMITATION OF THE STUDY: Consumer test and preference keep on changing day by day so the findings from the survey may not be applicable in all cases. Surveys should thus be undertaken periodically in order to gauge changing consumer mobile phone usage patterns and perceptions over time. The current study is the first step of the researcher. This study wills follow next round of study too. So in this study the following are the limitation. 1. One of the flaw in this work might be that the research covers only Roskilde University student brand preference while mobile purchase mobiles phones which represents small portion of university students in the entire University of Denmark, so the findings of this research might not be the reflection of student brand preference for the whole Denmark given the scope of this research study. 2. The various criteria defined for the survey was based on the literature review integrating with the theory of marketing. It is in the sense the researcher want to drive the project according to the criteria the researcher have chosen in his will. So there seem to be some bias on the project. This can be reduced to some extent from the opinion the respondent during the questionnaires session also. 3. The study of branding was only confined to a small theory of marketing. Many component of branding were not included
.
4. Only 15 structured questions for the survey were designed which is based on the criteria established by theory of marketing. They were written in English Language. So this might be the possible bias of the study because the survey were collected in the Danish University and the answers given by the same respondents might be different if it were collected in Danish Language. Open end question might be useful to conduct the survey, which was not used in this study. 5. The analysis was only limited on the descriptive test only. Test of null and alternative hypothesis can be done based on the literature review. Only integrating the literature review with the theory was done. 6. The sample size 100 students chosen from the entire population of the University were not based on the statistical method of determining the sample size from the known population. 8. The study can be further analyzed in terms of different dimension like brand preference among nationality, gender wise, income wise as well as various factor they choose on mobile phones which is not included in the current study though the sample has been collected from students because of page time of 40 to 50 page. [Student Number 50593] Ramesh Rijal Page 28
CHAPTER 6: PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS OF DATA

This chapter focused presentation and analysis of data using different statistical tools and major findings.
6.1. Students Preference on Mobile Brand: The consumers (students) are asked to write the mobile phone they preferred or used by question what brand of mobile phone do you own? The main purpose of this question is to identity which brand of mobile phones do students are using most in Roskilde University? The result obtained from the survey was:
Apple
Figure 4: Students preference on Mobile Brand
The majority of students owned Apple Phone (56 %), followed by Samsung (14%), and Nokia (13%). The last next two mobile brands Sony Ericson and HTC have only 9 % and 7 % coverage respectively in the survey.
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6.2 Influence of Social Criteria (Social Status) on Purchase of Mobile Brand: The
influence of social criteria on purchase of mobile brand has been analyzed stating the question to the respondent (students) I prefer brand because of the social status .The purpose of the question is used to identify do the student prefer band mobile to maintain social status in front of friends and society where they lives. The response has been collected with a 5 type likert type scale starting 1 to 5 from strongly agree to strongly disagree respectively. The data analysis through the SPPSS tools taken from the survey was shown in figure 5.
Figure 5 : Students view on Social Status for Purchasing Mobile Brand The bar diagram shows statistics of respondents in five likert scale measuring from strongly agree to strongly disagree for maintaining social status with the purchase of mobile brand.. It can be clearly seen that 39.4 % of the respondents strongly disagree and 20.20 % disagree that they see that they will gain status while purchasing branded mobile phones.. A total of 27.3 % of the respondent indicated that they neither agree nor disagree with the statement while 9.1 % and 4.0 % of the respondents respectively agree and strongly agree with statement.
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6.3. Influence of Personal sonal Criteria on Purchase of Mobile Brand:

The personal criteria concern how the branded mobile relates to the individuals students psychologically. The study use self image and risk reduction as the personal criteria in the survey in the form of 5 point t Likert scale from strongly agree strongly agree to strongly disagree. Self image is their personal view of themselves. . Risk reduction can affect choice decisions since some people are risk averse and prefer to choose safe brand. Jobber (2006, p.127) 1. Students prefer mobile brand for Risk Reduction: The main purpose of this question is to identify whether students use branded mobile for to reduce risk. The data obtained from the survey using SPSS tools is as follows.
Figure 6: Students prefer on risk averse criteria while purchasing mobile brand
The data from the pie diagrams shows that 21.78 % respondents strongly agree with the fact that they choose branded mobile because they want to reduce any kinds of risk that they might face from the non quality mobile. 18.81 % also goes with the statement being agreed. A total of 36.63 % of the respondents neither believe they reduce risk nor they reduce risk while purchasing branded mobile phones while 9.90 % and 8.91 % of the respondents come [Student Number 50593] Ramesh Rijal Page 31
on strongly disagree and disagree respectively for they will not believe that purchasing branded mobile will reduce the risk. 3.96 % of the respondent do not respond the statement. 2. Students prefer mobile brand for Self Image: This statement analyzed the students psychology regarding the branded mobile. The main purpose of this question is to identify how students view themselves having branded mobile product in which the consumer ( students) were asked to maintain at what extent they are agreed with the statement in 5 point Likert Scale ranging from strongly agree to strongly disagree in the same question .The obtained results are given in the table 1. Mobile Brand for Self Image Cumulative Frequency Percent Valid Strongly Agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Disagree Total Missing System Total 99 1 100 99 1 100 100 4 18 28 22 27 4 18 28 22 27 Valid Percent 4 18.2 28.3 22.2 27.3 Percent 4 22.2 50.5 72.7 100
Table 2: Students' prefer on self image while purchasing mobile brand This table shows that 99 respondent ( out of 100) fill this question in which 28.3 percent the users are neutral with the statement that they prefer branded mobile to gain their self image. The most important figure on this statement is 27.3 % and 22. 2 % users respectively make on strongly disagree and disagree on the statement. Only 4 % strongly agree with statement and 18.2 % respondents agree that they believe having branded mobile create self image to them also.
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6.4. .4. Influence of Technical Criteria on Purchase of Mobile Brand:

The study used technical echnical criteria in order to identify to what extend does students see technical requirement t to choose the branded mobile product they want to purchase .Durability , performance nce and Reliability were the three technical criteria chosen for the survey. 1. Students prefer mobile brand for durability: This statement analyzed the students preference on durable criteria while taking decision regarding of purchase the branded mobile in 5 point Likert Scale ranging from strongly agree to strongly disagree. The obtained results are given in the figure 8.
Neutral
Strongly Agree
Agree
Figure 7: : Students prefer on durability criteria while purchasing mobile brand
The data from the he pie diagrams shows that 35 % respondents agree with the fact that they choose branded ded mobile because they want the product which they buy must be for long without failing. Which is closely followed by strongly agreed 28 % of respondent. A total of 23% 3% of the respondent become neutral on durability on purchasing of branded mobile phones [Student Number 50593] Ramesh Rijal Page 33
while 9.0 % and 5 % of the respondents come on strongly disagree and disagree respectively for they will not believe that purchasing branded mobile do not mean the durability durability. 2. Students prefer Mobile brand for Performance: This is the technical criteria on which the study wants to measure how consumers view on performance (standard of accuracy, quality, speed etc.) of the branded mobile on making decision regarding to purchase.
Strongly agree 43 %
Agree 34 % Figure 8: : Students prefer on performance criteria while purchasing mobile brand
The result on the pie chart calculated from SPSS shows that the highest percentage (43%) of respondent strongly agree with the statement that student prefer branded mobile for the performance which is closely followed fol by the 34 % of response being agree with the statement. Only 11 % and 4 % of the response goes for strongly disagree and disagree while 11% response comes on neutral.
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3. Students prefer mobile brand for Reliability: The study used reliability as the third technical criteria in order to examine to what extent students see the reliability factor to choose the branded mobile by taking the response on statement I prefer the branded mobile for reliability in 5 point Likert scale.
Figure 9: Students prefer on reliability criteria while purchasing mobile brand
The bar diagram illustrate students prefer reliability when making decision on purchase of branded mobile in 5 point Likert scale measuring from strongly agree to strongly disagree. It can be noticed that 42.42% of the respondents agree and 26.26% strongly agree that they will look reliability while purchasing branded mobile phones. 17.17 % of the respondent indicated that they neither agree nor disagree with the statement while 7.07% and 7.07 % of the respondents respectively disagree and strongly disagree with statement.
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6.5. .5. Influence of Economical Criteria (Price) on Purchase of Mobile Brand

Economic criteria relate to price. The study tried to analyze how important is the price played a role for making decision of choice of branded mobile product for students. Student were asked to mention at what extent they are given important to price and 5-Point Point Likert Scale was also used ranging from very very Important Important to Not important in same question. The obtained results are given in figure 11.
Very Important 39%
Important 32 %
Figure 10: : Students view on price factor while purchasing mobile
The pie chart indicates that 32 % and 39 % of the respondent (students) see price is the very important and important factor respectively that can affect their choice of making purchase decision. 23 % of the respondents become neutral with the price factor and 4% do not see the price is important for them. 2 % do not respondent the question.
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6.6 Sources used to collect the information about the preferred brand mobile:
In order to identify the sources used by students in collecting the information about the branded mobile phone, the study used multiple response questions How/ where do you get information when you want to buy new brand mobile phone? Students were requested to make the tick on range of options from which they had to make their selection. The options were advertising media, internet, recommendation by neighbors, recommendation by friends and recommendation from family. Table 3 shows the responses for each of the sources calculated from SPSS tools in which a total of 224 responses were collected in a survey of 100 students. The main sources for choosing a particular brand of mobile phone seems to be as a result of internet (83%), followed by recommendation from friends (75%). Family and advertising media contribute equally 13 % for collecting information whereas neighbor have very low involvement on sharing information about mobile and which is only 4 % in total percentage Table 3: Sources used to collect the information about branded mobile phones. Responses of Students N Sources of information Information from Friends Information from Family Information from Neighbors Information from Advertising Media Information from Internet Total 224 100.0% 224.0% 83 37.1% 83.0% 31 13.8% 31.0% 4 1.8% 4.0% 31 13.8% 31.0% 75 Percent 33.5% Percent of Cases 75.0%
The relation between the branded mobile owned and the sources used to collect information about the mobile were as shown in the table below in cross tabulation form which described which sources were used most and least by respondents in buying process.
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6.7 Cross Tabulation between: Brand of mobile phone owned and sources used to collect the information about the preferred mobile brand
This shows information from internet and recommendation from the friends were two main sources for choosing a particular brand of mobile phone no matter what the brand of mobile phone owned.
Sources Used to Collect Information about the Branded Mobile Phones
Information Information Information Information from Friends from Family from Neighbors from Advertising Media Mobile Brand Users Sony Ericson Apple htc Others Total 43 6 1 75 15 4 0 31 2 0 0 4 20 3 1 31 5 3 0 1 Nokia Samsung 12 8 6 3 1 1 2 4
Information from Internet
Total
11 11 9
13 14 9
45 6 1 83
56 7 1 100
Table 4: Cross Tabulation between: Brand of mobile phone owned and sources used to collect the information about the preferred mobile brand
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6.8 Cross tabulation between mobile owned and the satisfaction level and on the owned mobile
Satisfaction level on current Mobile Yes Mobile Brand Users Nokia Samsung Sony Ericson Apple htc Others Total 51 5 0 75 1 2 0 17 56 7 1 100 6 9 4 No 7 4 3 Total 13 14 9
Table 5: Cross tabulation between mobile owned and the satisfaction level and on the owned mobile Apple was cited as the most preferred brand of mobile phone and was found to be the first choice of many of the respondents with higher level of satisfaction. Out of 56 apple user in a survey of 100 students 51 students were satisfied with the apple brand. Samsung being reported as the second most cited brand (14responese out of 100), in which 9 were satisfied and Nokia following (13 responses out of 100) where 6 people makes their satisfaction level. Sony Ericson came fourth with 9 responses and htc came fifth with 7 responses with almost 50 % satisfaction level.
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CHAPTER 7 CONCLUSION:
This chapter presents the conclusion of this research study drawn from the analysis of the empirical data. This research study explores brand preference on mobile purchase among the students of Roskilde University having analyzed the empirical data obtained from the survey of 100 students. This investigation was based on the conceptual framework established by the theory consumer buying decision making process with related literature review provided several clear conclusions. The following were the conclusions. Firstly Apple has a strong brand preference over brand. According to Aaker (1991, p. 46) is that strongest brands, the ones with extremely high quality, will have a large number of committed (loyal) customer. The scores obtained from the empirical data supports the above statement. The students of Roskilde University prefer apple brand as their first choice scoring more than fifty percent in total survey (56 %). The Samsung and Nokia have only 14 % and 13% coverage among the students respectively while other mobile brands have very less coverage. Secondly the study shows most of the students used internet (83 %) and takes recommendation
from the friends (75%) for choosing a particular brand of mobile phone no matter what the brand of mobile phone owned. This further says students also used family and advertising media to collect information about branded mobile however it is less than half (31 %) than the previous two sources. However the information students take from their neighbors in order to make purchase decision is very poor only 4 % in totality. Thirdly the study investigates the main reason to prefer the brand of any company with the criteria established by the conceptual framework. These are The technical criteria were used to identify to what extend does students see technical
requirement to choose the branded mobile product when they want to purchase? The result shows that students prefer branded mobile for durability, performance and reliability responding positive response with a total of strongly agree and agree percentage 63%. 77 % & 68.68 % respectively. This suggests that students use technical criteria while making
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decision about the purchase of branded mobile product. Accordingly Jobber.D (2007, p.127 ) Technical criteria are related to the performance of the product or services. Jobber.D (2007, p.127 ) states that social criteria concern the impact that purchase makes on the persons perceived relationship with others people and the influence of social norms on the person. The purchase of a BMW car may be due to status considerations as much as any technical advantages over its rivals. The result from the data 59.6 % shows that students do not prefer branded mobile in order to maintain social status while taking decision regarding purchasing. Statistically 39.4 %, 20.2 % and 27.3 % of the response of students respectively strongly disagree, disagree and remain neutral that they will have any social status having branded mobile phones. Analysis of personal criteria suggest that students do not prefer branded mobile for creating self image however they choose it because they believe branded mobile reduce the unexpected kinds of risk that may occurs.
Finally economic criteria suggest that the price is one of the crucial factors that may have greater influences for the students to think to make decision regarding the purchase. Lastly the study measures the level of satisfaction of the brand user on their particular owned brand. The result shows apple users are highly satisfied than other mobile brand users.
As stated earlier in the research purpose, the purpose of the research is to analyze the student preference on mobile purchase among the students of Roskilde University. The study analysis which criteria are used by students most for making decision of purchase of mobile phones based on the theoretical concept established by the theory .Hence it can be said that the purpose of this research study is fulfilled. In conclusion, Technical criteria and Economic Criteria plays a very important role to prefer brand and internet and friends are the main two sources from where they get information about the branded mobile phones .
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CHAPTER 8 AREAS FOR FURTHER STUDY

The following possibilities for future research emerge from this study: 1. The findings of this study are based entirely upon the research conducted among the students of Roskilde University and hence may not be representation of whole preference of students of Denmark. This survey should be carried out on a wider scale taking sample from the different University students. In future work the
researcher encourages the replication of this study in involving the students of different university taking the open end question too. 2. Each of the variables covered in the literature review should be analyzed in greater depth creating hypothesis and try to find the significant difference from those research areas included on the literature review and in the context of Denmark. 3. Additional research can be carried out in branding concepts like brand loyalty, brand awareness, brand equity, in terms of Danish Consumer Market Perception. 4. Consumer need identification process can also be viewed as it is the first step in consumer buying decision making process.
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REFERENCE:
Chernatony, L. de (1991) Formulation Brand Strategy, European Management Journal 9(2), 194-200 Denzil, N.K and Lincoln,Y.(1994).Handbook of Qualitative Research, London:Sage Publication Easterby- Smith, M, Thorpe,R; and Lowe,A (1999). Management Research: An introduction. London: Sage Publications. Gill, J . and Johnson, P . (1997). Research Methods for Managers, 2ndedn . London: Paul Chapman Publishing. Heikki, Jari et.al (2005): Factors Affecting Consumer Choice of Mobile Phones: Two Studies from Finland: Journal of Euro marketing, Vol. 14(3) 2005 Jobber .D (2007): Principles and Practice of Marketing, McGraw-Hill Education, Berkshire Keller,K.L.(2003) Strategic Brand Management , New Jersery: Pearson Khurana,S.(2011).Buying Behavior and Brand awareness in GSM Mobile handset Sector: Am empirical Study. Journal of Applied Management & Computer Science- ISSN No. (09760458), Volume 4-2011 Levent Altinary & Alexandros Paraskevas,(2008).Planning Research in Hospality and Tourism: Elsevier Marry Jo Hatch,( 2006) Organization theory: modern, symbolic and postmodern perspectives .New York :Oxford University Press Inc. Mei-jian, Haibo&Qoing ( 2012) : Canadian Subject Form: Consumer behavior: international Journal of Business Research, 2012 Polit DF Beck CT (2012). Nursing Research: Generating and Assessing Evidence for Nursing Practice,( 9th ed). Philadelphia, USA: Wolters Klower Health, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. [Student Number 50593] Ramesh Rijal Page 43
Spangler, M.M (1986). Logic: An Aristotelian Approach. Lanham, MD: University Press of America Strauss, A.L and Corbin, J . (1990).The Basic of Quality Research: Grounded Theory Procedures and Techniques. Newburry Park, CA:Sage Publication Wang, Wen Cheng, et.al (2009). Consuming Research on Brand Recognition on Mobile Phones .Journal of International Management Studies, Volume 4, Number 2, August, 2009 Internet Sources: http://www.alleydog.com/glossary/definition.php?term=Construct%20Validity#ixzz2PlEGO 9m5 http://marketing.about.com/cs/brandmktg/a/whatisbranding.htm http://www.brickmarketing.com/define-branding.htm http://www.mymagneticblog.com/the-importance-of-branding/
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Index: Questionnaires
Dear friends, I am the student of CBIT, Roskilde University and I am doing my project work of 15 ECTS on
Brand Preference on Mobile Purchase among the students of Roskilde University.

Please help me by taking a few minute of your time to answer my question about your personal experience with your mobile phone. All information will be treated as strictly confidential. I would like to thank for your anticipated cooperation. Please answer the following questions;
Section A: Personal Information
1.Gender 3 Age:
Male below 20years
Female
2.Nationality 25-30years above 30years
20-25 years
4. Income Level (per month) Less than 10,000 10,00O 2O, 000 20,00O 30,000 above30, 000
Section B: About mobile phones 5) Do you have mobile phone? 1. please answer the following 6) What brand of mobile phone do you own? 1. Nokia 5. HTC 2. Samsung 6. LG 3. Sony Ericson 4.Apple Yes 2. No. If yes
7.others specify
Questions 7 to 12 are designed to investigate the factors for preferring the brand. These questions have a 5 point Likert- scale ranging from strongly disagrees to strongly agree. Please circle the option that best describe your preference for choosing brand
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SD: Strongly disagrees neutral Strongly agree
D: Disagree, N: A: agree SA:
SD 5
7 8 9 10 11 12 I prefer brand because of my status I prefer brand because of the durability I prefer brand because of good performance I prefer brand because of high reliability I prefer brand to put myself image I prefer brand for risk reduction
D 4
N 3
A 2
SA 1
13) Rate the following factors (1: very important, 2- Important, 3: Neutral 4, less important, 5: not important) which influence to choose to purchase the mobile phone. You can assign same rating to more than one option. 1 A. Price B. Camera C. Screen Size. D. Style/Looks E. Social Media application F. Key pad/touch screen 14) How/ where do you get information when you want to buy new brand mobile phone? 1. Friends 4. Advertising media 2.family 5. Internet 3.Neighbors 6. All of above 2 3 4 5
15) Will your next mobile phone be the same brand as your current mobile phone? Yes No If no
reason to change . [Student Number 50593] Ramesh Rijal Page 46

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ROSKILDE UNIVERSITY

Department of Communication, Business and Information Technologies

Brand preference on Mobile Purchase among the Students of Roskilde University

Bachelor of business studies Project Report Supervisor: Professor Poul Dines

Submitted to Department of Communication, Business and Information Technologies

Submitted by Ramesh Rijal, Student number: 50593

May 24, 2013

Student Number: 50593

Ramesh Rijal rrijal@ruc.dk

1.1 Background and Rationale of the study:

1.2 Significance of Study

[Student Number 50593] Ramesh Rijal

1.3 Purpose of the study:

1.4 Problem Statement:

1.5 Structure of the Study:

[Student Number 50593] Ramesh Rijal

CHAPTER 2- RESEARCH PLATFORM

2.1 Research Philosophies Adopted:

2.2 Research Approaches Adopted:

[Student Number 50593] Ramesh Rijal

3.1. Literature Review:

[Student Number 50593] Ramesh Rijal

Summary of Literature Review

3.2. Theoretical Framework:

[Student Number 50593] Ramesh Rijal

Brand preference on mobiles purchase

Self image Risk reduction

Figure 2: A conceptual model for Brand Mobile Purchase (Own Source)

[Student Number 50593] Ramesh Rijal

CHAPTER 4: RESEARCH METHODOLOY

4.1. Sampling process:

[Student Number 50593] Ramesh Rijal

4.2 Data collection methods and procedures:

4.3 Sources of Data:

[Student Number 50593] Ramesh Rijal

4.4 Questionnaire design

[Student Number 50593] Ramesh Rijal

4.5 Ethical Considerations:

4.6 Pre- testing:

4.7 Technique of Data Analysis (Instruments):

4.8 Report preparation and presentation

4.9 Validity and Reliability

Questions Do you have mobile phone

Which brand of mobile phone do you own?

I prefer brand because of my status

To show the purchase is for the performance of the product.

I prefer brand because of good performance

[Student Number 50593] Ramesh Rijal

[Student Number 50593] Ramesh Rijal

[Student Number 50593] Ramesh Rijal

CHAPTER 6: PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS OF DATA

Figure 4: Students preference on Mobile Brand

[Student Number 50593] Ramesh Rijal

[Student Number 50593] Ramesh Rijal

6.3. Influence of Personal sonal Criteria on Purchase of Mobile Brand:

[Student Number 50593] Ramesh Rijal

6.4. .4. Influence of Technical Criteria on Purchase of Mobile Brand:

[Student Number 50593] Ramesh Rijal

Figure 9: Students prefer on reliability criteria while purchasing mobile brand

[Student Number 50593] Ramesh Rijal

6.5. .5. Influence of Economical Criteria (Price) on Purchase of Mobile Brand

Very Important 39%