Chapter I

Introduction

1.1 Context information

Brand loyalty is the company’s major goal that it sets for a branded product. It has
now become consumer’s priority in making a purchase towards particular brand. It is
a process, a program, or a group of programs geared toward keeping a client happy
so he or she will provide more business. The intense competition in terms of product
similarity and increasing number of competing brands had led the marketers to
consider and study the factors that influence in consumer’s brand choice decisions
and behavior [ CITATION Das121 \l 1033 ] . Brand loyalty can be achieved in some cases
by offering a quality product with a firm guarantee. Brand loyalty is also achieved
through free offers, coupons, low interest rates on financing, high value trade-ins,
extended warranties, rebates, and other rewards and incentive programs. The success
of a company relies largely on its capabilities to attract customer toward its brand.
According to many professionals and practitioners, brand loyalty is very important
aspect of a company’s intangible and strategic assets and marketing strategy.
Similarly, with the increasing of ubiquity of mobile phone ownership, mobile phones
are no longer perceived as a luxury item or a status symbol but rather a necessity in
people’s daily life [ CITATION Wal07 \l 1033 ].

Brand loyal customers reduce the marketing costs of the company as the costs of
attracting a new customer have been found to be six times higher than costs of
retaining an old one[ CITATION Mwa15 \l 1033 ]. Brand loyalty reflects how likely a
customer will be to switch to another brand, especially when that brand makes
changes in price and product features. Companies selling brand with high rate of loyal
consumers have a competitive advantage over other companies. Branding as an
important factor allows an organization to create meaning and value for their standard
product and firms desire that customers become loyal to their brand. Brand loyalty
does exist because of consumers start to realize that the brand offers the right product
features, images, conditions, quality, and at the right price[ CITATION Gri10 \l 1033 ].

New information and communication technologies continue to penetrate countries in

all regions of the world, as more and more people are getting connected. Cell phone
greatly assists people in communication anytime and anywhere in the world. Mobile
phone brand choice is a crucial area of study nowadays. Customer choice occurs in a
situation where a customer influenced by a variety of fore behavior and post behavior
factors which need to be taken into consideration. For this reason, a need for a model
representing brand loyalty is essential[ CITATION Naw10 \l 1033 ]. The mobile phone
sector is rich of research. However, there have been few studies with published results
that targeted the effect of mobile phone contract bundle of benefits on consumer
choice. Investigating why and how mobile phone service providers design their
offerings or understanding how customers choose the best set of benefits in one
mobile contract purchase in details is an added value for this paper. Brand as a whole
can be termed as a trademark that conveys a promise[ CITATION Phi98 \l 1033 ].

In today’s fiercely competitive world, it is very important for the marketers to

discover and figure out the aspects that are essential to deal with the competitors,
changing customer tastes and preferences. Since, the success of mobile phone is not
only because of technological characteristics but it is also related to many social
dynamics and external cues such as price, brand and warranties[ CITATION Ahs11 \l
1033 ]. As youth market is one of the most appealing and attractive market where
marketers believe to earn a huge return on their investment by targeting this age
group. But the consumers are very much aware of the brand choice resulting to the
challenges for the marketers. Today, innovation has become one of the fundamental
ways to differentiate a firm’s product from that of the competitors. It allows the
company to constantly improve and update its product to meet the varying needs and
demands of the customers. Since the eye catching display of stylish and uniquely
designed mobile phones has a great appeal to young consumers.

Mobile phones remain an indispensable communication device among youngsters and

marketers have identified the young customers as the most promising segment for
mobile phones. In this respect, it is very pressing to gain specific insights into the
underlying factors impacting on the selection of mobile phones among young
customers. Similarly, with the increasing of ubiquity of mobile phone ownership,
mobile phones are no longer perceived as a luxury item or a status symbol but rather a
necessity in people’s daily life. Thus, brand loyalty is a key for survival and success
of mobile industry in the present world. Customers are putting a greater emphasis on
perceived brand and mobile features while selecting mobile phones. Therefore, a deep
understanding of factors influencing mobile phones selection is highly recommended
for the mobile industrial firms to increase the brand loyalty among customers as well
as customize their business strategies. It has been identified that the mobile phone
market is one of the fastest-growing service segments in
telecommunications[ CITATION Kim04 \l 1033 ].

The success of mobile phone is not only because of technological characteristics but it
is also related to many social dynamics and external cues such as price, brand and
warranties. Branding as an important factor allows an organization to create meaning
and value for their standard product and firms desire that customers become loyal to
their brand. This study is important while it discusses the mobile service provider
itself in addition to what they offer from mobile services. That is because it is not
enough to study the service purchase object(s) and all its interrelated items while the
mobile phone suppliers themselves are essential to be evaluated and studied. To create
brand loyalty, companies should use their relationship with consumers to assist them
to obtain new habits of purchase and reinforce these habits by reminding them of the
value of their purchase, while, persuading them to continue purchasing their products
in the future (Tepeci, 1999).

1.2 Statement of problem

The growth and competition of the smart phone industry has lead to developing a
better understanding of what drives students loyalty to smart phone brands has
become an important issue for academics and practitioners. Companies that invest in
user experience will yield great results and potentially occupy the strongest position
and will be the most difficult to challenge in terms of capturing market share.
Previous studies have been failed to provide a comprehensive theoretical framework
justification, and explain the customer choice from behavior perspective. Student’s
choice occurs in a situation where a customer influenced by a variety of pre-behavior,
and post behavior factors which need to be taken into consideration. Thus, there is a
need to apply a theoretical framework that gives a full understanding of students’
choice.

Repurchase action is not sufficient evidence of brand loyalty since the purchasing
practice should be intentional (Tepeci, 1999). In order to be considered as brand
loyalist, consumer should have the intention to buy the same product or services at all
the time. In addition, brand loyalist would also include some degree of commitment
toward the quality of a brand that is a function of both positive attitudes and repetitive
purchase. To our best understanding, very few researchers have investigated the
impact of price, brand image and phone specification on the brand loyalty on smart
phone among the students. The study tries to answer the following questions:

1. Is there any significant mean difference on perception of price across male and
female students of People’s Campus?
2. Is there any significant mean difference on perception of brand image across
male and female students of People’s Campus?
3. Does the significant mean difference exist on perception of phone
specification across male and female students of People’s Campus?
4. Is there any significant mean difference on the perception of brand loyalty on
smart phones across male and female students of People’s Campus?
5. What is the relationship between price and brand loyalty on smart phone
among students of People’s Campus?
6. How does brand image associate with brand loyalty on smart phone among
students of People’s Campus?
7. Is there any relationship between phone specification and brand loyalty on
smart phone among students of People’s Campus?
8. What is the impact of price on brand loyalty on smart phone among students
of People’s Campus?
9. Is there any impact of brand image on brand loyalty on smart phone among
students?
10. In what way does phone specification affect on brand loyalty on smart phone
among students of People’s Campus?

1.3 Purpose of the study

The main purpose of this study is to determine the determinants of brand loyalty on
smart phones among the students of People’s Campus. The increasing number of
telecommunication networks and huge number of their subscribers has made smart
phones an important medium for communication. Switching smart phone brands and
updating one with latest technology in mobile brands has been in the increasing trends
as well. Mobile brand preference could be related with various other factors like age,
gender, and price of the phone, family monthly income, mobile usage purpose, brand
attributes and many more. Through, this research we learn about the mobile brand
preference of students of People’s Campus and help to increase the sales of various
mobile brands. The basic purpose of this study is to analyze the factors (price, brand
image and phone specification) affecting brand loyalty on smart phones among
students of People’s Campus. . The specific objectives of this study are as follows:

1. To examine the mean difference on the perception of price across male and
female students of People’s Campus.
2. To explore the mean difference on the perception of brand image across male
and female students of People’s Campus.
3. To analyze the mean difference on the perception of phone specification
across male and female students of People’s Campus.
4. To identify the mean difference on the perception of brand loyalty on smart
phones across male and female students of People’s Campus.
5. To examine the relationship between price and brand loyalty on smart phone
across male and female students of People’s Campus.
6. To analyze the association between brand image and brand loyalty on smart
phones across male and female students of People’s Campus.
7. To explore the relationship between phone specification and brand loyalty on
smart phone of People’s Campus.
8. To examine the impact of price on brand loyalty on smart phones of People’s
Campus.
9. To examine the role of brand image on brand loyalty on smart phones of
People’s Campus.
10. To analyze the effect of phone specification brand loyalty on smart phones of
People’s Campus.

1.4 Significance of the study

This study is done to understand the factors affecting brand loyalty on smart phones
among students of People’s Campus. Most of the brand loyalty theories explain the
role of brand image and phone specification in becoming brand loyal. Price is the only
factor that people takes into consideration while buying smart phones. But when it
comes to buying their emotional inclinations, ingrained thought patterns and
psychological biases, color and so on. So, the importance of the study is to understand
the factors affecting while choosing a brand for smart phones. This research will be
helpful to understand the quantitative factors which effect brand loyalty. The major
significances are:

1. The study helps to explain the factor which student focuses while buying
smart phones.
2. This study can be helpful to mobile phone companies to use effective branding
strategies while launching new smart phones.
3. The findings can be useful for similar research work in future.

1.5 Organization of study

The study has been divided into three chapters. The introduction chapter one deals
with context information, statement of the problem, purpose of the study, significance
of the study, organization of the study, literature survey, related theories, review of
empirical studies, theoretical framework, hypothesis of the study, research
methodology, research design, population and sample of the study, nature and sources
of data, definition of the variables and method of analysis. The chapter two deal with
the data presentation and analysis by using appropriate mathematical and statistical
tools. Finally, chapter three deals with major findings, discussion, conclusion and
action implication.

1.6 Literature survey

Literature survey presents the theoretical concepts related to this study. Without
literature survey complete research would not have been possible. This will enable us
to develop new ideas which will later serve as a ground for comparing findings and
finally concluding the aim of this study. The purpose of a literature survey is to help
explain how the question to be investigated fits into the larger picture and why we
have approached the topic the way we have. This theory explains that the brand
loyalty could be understood from different approaches. This approach seeks to find
how people become brand loyal to different brand products whether emotionally and
psychologically. So conducting the literature survey helps to know what has been
written, identifies areas of controversy, raises questions and identifies areas which
need further research.

1.6.1 Related theories

Brand is a name, term, sign, symbol or design intended to identify a sellers’ goods or
services and to differentiate them from competitors[ CITATION Lau \l 1033 ]. Brand
loyalty defines the consumers are willingness to pay high prices to a definite brand in
the same manufactured goods action and direct people around him to purchase that
product. The improved sales and the capability to charge premium prices are the
effect of brand loyalty. In other words, brand loyalty can be considered as the extent
to which a consumer makes repeated purchases. Many factors influence brand loyalty
and it is a complex process. There are numerous theories related to brand loyalty,
some of which have been explained below:

1.6.1.1 Behavioral brand loyalty theory

This type of brand loyalty has only the behavioral tendency dimension. The
behavioral brand loyalty has no evaluative or emotive components and it represents
the simple R-R relationship presumed in the contiguity conditioning. In terms of
Osgood's analysis of the learning theory (1956), it represents the evocative or the
predictive integration. The strength of behavioral brand loyalty is, therefore, directly a
function of the repetitive occurrence of purchase or consumption behavior. The
consumer establishes a systematic biased response or habit simply due to frequency of
encounters. It is, therefore, analogous to what has called learning without
involvement. Finally, most of the stochastic learning models are operational measures
of behavioral brand loyalty [ CITATION Bus95 \l 1033 ].

From the marketing viewpoint, it is relatively easy to generate behavioral brand

loyalty by primarily ensuring that the time and place stimuli are made conducive to
repetitive occurrence of purchase behavior, for example, making sure that the brand is
available at all times, is easy to reach on the shelf, or that the display is strategically
placed. In this respect, behavioral brand loyalty is analogous to the "inertia" or
"marketer's strategies" classifications suggested by Engel, Blackwell and Kollat
(1973). However, we also believe that once the behavioral brand loyalty is strongly
manifested by the consumer, it is very difficult to change the systematic bias away
from the brand.

1.6.1.2 Evaluative brand loyalty theory

This type of brand loyalty is based on one dimension only. It is lacking in both the
emotive and the behavioral tendencies. It refers to the individual's positively biased
evaluation of a brand strictly based on the perceived utility function of that brand.
There are a number of situations in which this type of brand loyalty exists. First, it is
appropriate in all situations where the consumer is neither the buyer nor the user of
the product but at the same time possesses the cognitive evaluative knowledge about
the brand. For example, the husband has positive evaluative bias toward a brand
which his wife is both the buyer and the consumer such as lipstick or pantyhose.
Second, there are several situations in the broader context of consumer behavior in
which the consumer is expected to have evaluative biases for or against choice
alternatives but is never likely to manifest choice behavior. For example, evaluative
tendencies toward religions, subcultures, political parties, and the like.

It refers to the positively biased evaluation of the brand on a set of criteria which are
relevant to define the brand's utility to the consumer. For example, we may positively
evaluate Lincoln Continental as a brand of automobile on durability, performance,
prestige, and the like. It is not our intention in this paper to operationally define how
this evaluative tendency is generated in the consumer. However, we can safely state
that the evaluative tendency includes the instrumental, utilitarian attitudes suggested
by (Katz, 1960) as well as the perceived instrumentality component of the [ CITATION
Ros56 \l 1033 ] model. Of course, it comes closest i0n measurement to the model of
attitude structure proposed in [ CITATION How67 \l 1033 ] .The evaluative tendency
dimension of brand loyalty is also learned by the consumer either from prior
experiences with the brand or from non experiential or informational sources.

1.6.1.3 Emotive brand loyalty theory

This type of brand loyalty consists of the emotive dimensions only. There seems to be
a number of areas of consumer behavior in which the individual has strong emotive
tendencies toward a brand without any experience or evaluation. The value-expressive
or ego-defensive attitudes will be part of the emotive brand loyalty (Katz, 1960). We
believe that most of the stereotypes among nonusers of a product or service fall into
this category. For example, a strong emotive brand loyalty towards a brand of beer on
the part of a nondrinker or toward a brand of cigarette on the part of a nonsmoker is
probably based on the stereotype or imagery of the brand. Similarly, one member of
the family may like a brand without any cognitive evaluation or experience simply
because some other member in the family likes it. The only sources of learning for
this type of brand loyalty are information or generalization.

Thus, the emotive theory on brand loyalty mainly emphasize on the affective (like-
dislike), fear, respect or compliance tendency which is systematically manifested
more in favor of a brand than other brands in the market place. From the perspective
of emotive theory we can say that the emotive tendencies are learned by the consumer
either from prior experiences with the brand or from non experiential or informational
services. The examples of emotive tendencies include the strong emotional
stereotypes or brand imageries which researchers talk about as commonly prevalent
among consumers. Thus, the emotive theory is based on the emotional behavior of the
consumers i.e. his emotional factor like fear, loyalty, honesty and compliance
determines his/her decision on product buying behavior.

1.6.2 Review of empirical studies

In the review of empirical studies, consumer brand loyalty has been measured using
price factor, phone specification, brand image, usefulness, long battery backup, etc
concerned with smart phones. Brand loyalty is important as it builds in the
consumer’s mind the idea that their product has the required quality and thus become
the base for future purchase behavior. In addition, the loyal customer guide
themselves by quotes like, “I feel a bond with this brand”. “I am willing to pay the
higher price for this brand”, I will recommend this brand to others,” So that from the
company’s point of view, one brand loyal customer is more beneficial than the ten
other brand switchers customers.

Table 1.1

Review of major literature

Study Major findings

Concluded that brand image is more important for customers for selecting the
AhmeD(20
smart phones. Similarly, customers prefer the mobile phone with more
2013
specification or featues and price factor affects the buying habit of the customers.
Juwa
Concluded that branding has a positive effect on brand loyalty. Similarly, mobile
heer(
phone specification and price has a direct impact on brand loyalty.
2013)
Khan Found that the brand choice is driven by number of factors like price, quality,
(2013 brand image, recommendations etc. However in the light of findings of the study,
) the brand choice of youth appears to be largely influence by the quality.
Negi Concluded that long battery backup has ositive impact on brand loyalty. However.
(2013 It has ben found that factors influence more is the long battery backup among
) twenty to twenty five years of age.
Observed that brand image plays positive role on brand loyalty. Similarly phone
Sata
features, price and social influence have direct influence over brand loyalty.
(2013
However product durability seems to have no any impact on brand preferability
)
and loyalty.
Customers switch to other brands if other products offer more product
Soomro
specification. Thus, it can be concluded that product specification is one of the
(2013)
major determinants of brand loyalty along with price and brand image.
Observed that suitable price has a positive influence on mobile phone choice.
Alshu
Similarly having more features or specifications positively influenced the
rideh(
customer. It has been observed that strong brand image has also high chances of
2015)
being chosen by the customer.
Found that customer satisfaction and brand experience are significant and
Singh
determining brand loyalty. Other independent variables ie; perceived brand quality,
(2016
brand image and social media marketing do not have significant influence to
)
determine brand loyalty.

Shehzad Ahmed (2013) conducted the study aimed at determining the factors that
influence cell phone brand loyalty of Swedish generation Y .The study was conducted
at Malardalens University in Sweden. The study showed that most of Swedish
Generation Y has demonstrated to be loyal to their cell brand. The quality of brand
and satisfaction level play very important role. In the study, independent variables
include brand image, brand quality, brand experience, customer satisfaction, and
switching cost. Brand imagery deals with the extrinsic of the products, including the
way that brand attempts to meet customer’s psychological or social needs. Brand
image influence the orientation and behavioral character of customers toward
brand, product and company. Brand quality has an influence on customer loyalty and
benefits companies as it improves customer retention role. It greatly influences
customer’s perception about a brand. Similarly, brand experience helps to
understand customer’s behavior regarding their brand. The satisfied customer is
expected to continue purchasing the same brand. So, customer satisfaction was the
major factor influencing brand loyalty.However, switiching cost factor seems to have
negligible role in influencing consumer behavior. Moreover, companies and
marketing managers can benefit from this potentially larger group of consumers by
studying their behavior and formulating policies which can appeal Generation Y
consumers.

A questionnaire based survey was conducted among Generation Y. This

questionnaire was distributed online by using MDH email online database. The
online survey form was sent by email to 369 Generation Y students studying at MDH
but only 45 respondents filled online Survey form. A majority of survey forms 362
were distributed manually. A total of 407 responses were collected (both manual
and online, 362 and 45).Out of total 407 responses, 27 respondents which didn’t
match with criterion of the research were ignored. So, data obtained from 380
respondents was used for this study. Primary data collection was carried out in order
to answer the research questions. Secondary data was used only for the literature
review and theoretical framework. The secondary data helped to get an insight into
the field of study. Sample population method was used in which responses from 380
respondents were used keeping in mind error margin. The intended target group for
this study was people born between (1977-1995) classified as Generation Y. A non
probability sampling method for survey questionnaire was used due to time and
resources limitation. Survey questionnaire was distributed both by online medium
like emails (369 emails to MDH students). For this study, a descriptive quantitative
method was applied. Quantitative process involves number and is statistical in
nature. The results give an indication of consumer behavior of Generation Y,
regarding cell brand loyalty.

Similarly, Thanika Devi Juwaheer (2013) conducted the study aimed at determining
the factors determining brand loyalty on smart phones among youngsters. The study
was done at Mauritius in smart phone sectors. Questionnaire was the research
methodology used in this study. Questionnaires related to a list of 33 attributes were
pilot tested with 15 young customers in order to test the research methodology. The
participants of this study were two hundred fifty (250) youngsters between the age of
15-29. The study used simple random sampling methods to select the youngsters. A
descriptive-correlational method of investigation utilizing a multivariate analysis was
used to determine the factors affecting brand loyalty on smart phones among
youngsters. Pearson’s Chi-Square Test was used to determine the relationship
between two variables.

This study evaluated the smart phones on the basis of mobile phone specifications,
price, lifestyle and brand image, considered as the important factor brand loyalty. The
study found out that mobile phone specifications determine brand loyalty, as phone
specifications increases brand loyalty also increases .The study also suggested that as
the price of smart phones goes up the brand loyalty of customer goes down as they
switch to another brand. This could be because customers want more phone
specifications at affordable price. The study findings found out that there is indirect
relationship between brand image and brand loyalty in present context as there are
numerous smart phones industry competing with each other. This study observed that
the lifestyles of youngsters’ mainly social influence determine the brand loyalty.
Likewise, Khan (2013) conducted the study aimed at determining the factors that
affected the brand loyalty on smart phones among students in Peshawar, Pakistan. The
study revealed that although smart phone choice is based on personal feelings,
opinion and tastes, there are also some other general factors which appears to have an
influence on choice.In the study, the brand choice of students shows dependency upon
many independent variables namely, price, quality, features, family and friends
recommendations, brand image, user-friendliness, after sales services etc. As the price
play a vital role in consumer’s purchase decision. It can act as a dominant and in fact,
the most important factor affecting the decision making and purchase process. For
students, price can be a key factor of attraction. The product’s price may vary based
on economic conditions and perceptions of the consumers. Similarly, the product
quality frames the product’s ability to carry out its functions. Consumer survey often
shows that quality is one of the most important decision factor for the consumers.The
aesthetic appeal of aproduct, which also symbolizes packaging and the product
quality, is the main differentiating feature of the successful brands. The mobile phone
features are basically the set of competencies, services and applications that are
offered to the users. These can be Bluetooth, camera, video recorder, memory card
reader and so on and they vary from brand to brand. Different mobile features namely
physical features, functionality, technical characteristics were compared as a multi-
criteria approach for decision making.

A self-administered questionnaire was designed and used in the study as a data

collection tool to assess the factors which influence students brand choice of smart
phones. The responses were measured on a five point Likert scale with values ranging
from “strongly disagree” to “strongly agree”. Some other questions were also
included to determine the frequencies of preferred brand and features in smart phones.
Inorder to evaluate the factors affecting students brand choice, the questionnaire
survey was conducted, during the month of May-August 2012, among the students of
private universities of Peshawar. The respondents were targeted on the basis of
convenience through non probability sampling. A total of 110 respondents were
distributed, 76 were received back, out of which 70 were while the rest were
discarded due to incomplete response. The collected data is analyzed on the ANOVA,
Correlation and regression analyses by using the statistical package for social
sciences, descriptive statistics and the pie chart is also used to analyze the response.
Likewise, Negi(2013) conducted the study aimed at determining the factor influence
brand preference for mobile phones. This study has been conducted by researcher in
Dehradun city as the suitable area due to the people of belongs to various levels. The
data has been collected by the researcher through interview schedule from the youth
of mobile phone users during the period may 2013. The researcher has adopted the
convenient sampling and it was much careful to ensure that the sample represents the
whole area of the study. A sample of 30 youth has been selected for the study by
using accidental sampling method. The data were collected to elicit information on
demographic and psychographic aspect of the respondent. The demographic variables
included age, gender and education. This is based on collection of primary data
through interview schedule from 30 respondent of mobile users in Dehradun city. In
this study the factor influencing brand preference for mobile phones were described
with the help of percentage analyses were made. To keep the study balances 50%
males and 50% females were selected to fill the schedule. 63% of the respondents
were pursuing under-graduation, while 37% were pursuing post-graduation.

Mobile phones constitute a consistent proportion of market share in India. However, it

has been found out that factor which influence more is the long battery backup among
20-25 years of age only 24% consider mobile as a status symbol they don’t care about
battery backupfor them the appearance is more important. Around 37% students under
the age of 20 years consider good audio quality the most important factor while
purchasing a particular brand of mobile phone. Brand preference, mobile advertising,
branding are the independent variables that directly affected the brand preference on
mobile phones. Newspaper and magazines are full of advertisements. Other means of
advertising, such as radio, television, the cinema and billboards, and the internet, etc
have also amply contributed to the growth of brand preference. The students give
important to longer battery backup and an equal percentage cities price of the phone
as the factor influencing their purchase behavior. Advertising does shapes the brand
preference in long run.

Similarly, Sata (2013) conducted the research with the idea of determining factors
affecting consumer buying behavior of mobile phone devices. She had conducted the
research in School of Management and Accounting Hawassa University, Ethiopia. In
order to accomplish the objectives of the study, a sample of 246 consumers were
taken by using simple random sampling technique. Both primary and secondary data
were explored. Moreover, six important factors i.e. price, social group, product
features, brand name, durability and after sales services were selected and analyzed
through the use of correlation and multiple regressions analysis. From the analysis, it
was clear that consumer’s value price followed by mobile phone features as the most
important variable amongst all and it also acted as a motivational force that influences
them to go for a mobile phone purchase decision. The study suggested that the mobile
phone sellers should consider the above mentioned factors to equate the opportunity.

Moreover, Sata explains price is the monetary cost for a customer to buy products or
services. Price is determined by various factors including, willingness of the buyer to
pay and accept markups, the legal environment, intensity of competition, etc. Due to
the importance of cost and service charges, customers are most likely to commit to a
company that provides cheaper service. Also Sata clarifies that product specification
affects buying decision and it involves various aspects of product and brand attributes
such as color themes, visible name labels, and mobile phone with variety of models,
packaging for safety, degree of awareness on safety issues, look and design of the
phone. She defines brand as a name, term, sign, symbol, or design, or a combination
of these that identifies the maker or seller of a product or service. She adds that brand
image is considered to be a vital factor for creating, building and maintaining
relationships. She defines durability is the product usable life. The more durable
product are more wanted by consumers. The findings of research revealed that
majority of the consumers own Nokia mobile phones and most of Nokia mobile
phone users have a plan to shift to other brands such as Samsung, Apple and
BlackBerry. The six independent variables combined significantly influence the
consumers buying decision of mobile phone devices. The leading factor is price
followed by product features and durability.

Similarly, Soomru & Farhan (2013) from the KASB Institute of technology conducted
the study which aimed to determine the various factors affecting the brand loyalty in
Pakistan for Apple Iphone. The participants of this study were 100 college students
collective of both BBA and MBA stream from 20-30 age group. The study used
random sampling method to select the respondents and used a descriptive correlation
method of investigation design which describes the relationship between dependent
and independent variables; it also tells the prediction between the different variables
that how they behave with each other. Consumer satisfaction, service and trust are the
independent variables have been selected and analyzed to determine their relationship
with brand loyalty. Pearson- Product-Moment Coefficient of Correlation and
Hypothesis have been performed using SPSS tool to determine their relationships.
The research focused on the capability of the Iphone and what it has to offer to the
customers that makes it different and better than its competitors. As, technology for
hand phones has been developing endlessly with new features offered as time passed.
Apple's new range of products, especially the iPhone shows such vast improvement.
Since, customers switch to other brand very easily if other company offers much
better product than yours. To build customer loyalty do not only mean to make
customer buy your product again and again but attach customer emotionally so they
never switch to another brands. This research study shows that customer satisfaction,
trust and service have a high impact on customer loyalty and perceived value have no
impact on it.
With the aim of examining the main factors that affects mobile phone brand choice
from a behavioral perspective, through analyzing a set of pre-behavioral and post
behavior factors from a Jordanian customer’s perspective, the study was conducted in
Jordan Universities , by Muhammad Alshurideh & Abdallah Bataineh(2015). The
participants of the study were the students of three Jordanian Universities. The study
identified that customer choice occurs in a situation where a customer influenced by a
variety of pre-behavior and post behavior factors. This study has identified various
factors that affect the brand loyalty on mobile phone especially among the students.
These factors include physical setting, sales person’s explanation and friend’s opinion
, customer learning history, switching cost, time and effort spent and after sales
services.

A survey-questionnaire approach was used in this study. In order to analyze

the collected data, the Multinomial Logistic regression has been used. All hypotheses
were tested and Beta coefficient was measured to see which independent variables
influence most of the dependent variable. . In order to accomplish the objectives of
the study, a sample of 300 consumers were taken by using simple random sampling
technique. This study concluded that there is statistically significant effect of the
factors, which were mentioned above, on mobile brand choice. The main factors
contributing to an explanation of mobile brand choice behavior are sales person
explanation and friend opinions and recommendations. However, the study
participants opinion indicated that the physical behavior setting was found to have a
positive influence on mobile brand choice.

1.7 Theoretical Framework

The conceptual model tested in this paper contains constructs that have demonstrated
theoretical support, based on a number of research done in this area in different
countries, particularly brand loyalty on end-user perspective. Theoretical framework
has provided the organization of study. Theoretical framework has helped us in
determining what things we will measure and what statistical relationship we look for
and has also guided us in the interpretations of the results with the relationship of
variables. The model examines the factors that would possibly affect the brand
loyalty.

The schematic diagram of the theoretical framework above is used to show the
relationship between the dependent and independent variables. Essentially, the
theoretical framework shown above is the foundation on which the entire research is
based upon. Brand loyalty is the dependent variable in this research. The dependent
variable is analyzed inorder to find out the answer or solutions to the problems i.e.
what are the factors affecting brand loyalty? In this situation, the study variables i.e.
price, brand image, hone specifications and quality of the product are believed to have
some influences toward the brand loyalty (dependent variable) either in positive or
negative way.

1.8 Hypotheses of the Study

A hypothesis is a statement or proposition that can be tested by referring to a
collection of empirical studies. Hypotheses are usually stated in a form that predicts
either the differences or associations between two variables under study.
Development of a hypothesis involving casual ordering where possible and
measureable would be useful in guiding the analysis strategy. Often such hypothesis
can be made if the meaning of an item is carefully analyzed within a chronological
context. A null hypothesis predicts there is no differences between the tested groups
in relation to some variable, or that there is no relationship between two variables.
Null hypothesis in this research is noted as H0. The following hypotheses are derived
from the relationships found from the previous literatures.
H01: There is no significant mean difference between price and brand loyalty of the

smart phone across male and female students of People’s Campus.

H02: There is no significant mean difference between phone specification and brand

loyalty of the smart phone across male and female students of People’s

Campus.

H03: There is no significant mean difference between brand image and brand loyalty

of the smart phone across male and female students of People’s Campus.

H04: There is no significant mean difference on the perception of brand loyalty on

smart phone across male and female students of People’s Campus.

H05: There is no significant negative relationship between price and brand loyalty of

smart phones in People’s Campus.

H06: There is no significant negative relationship between phone specification and

brand loyalty of smart phones in People’s Campus.

H07: There is no significant negative relationship between brand image and brand

loyalty of smart phones in People’s Campus.

H08: There is no significant negative impact of the price on the brand loyalty of smart

phones in People’s Campus.

H09: There is no significant negative impact of the phone specification on the brand

loyalty of smart phones in People’s Campus.

H010: There is no significant negative impact of the brand image on the brand loyalty

of smart phones in People’s Campus.