Article

An Empirical Analysis of Use Motives: Management and Labour Studies

39(1) 19–30
Implications for Segmenting Mobile © 2014 XLRI Jamshedpur, School of
Business Management
Phone Consumers in Bangladesh & Human Resources
SAGE Publications
Los Angeles, London,
New Delhi, Singapore,
Washington DC
DOI: 10.1177/0258042X14535163
http://mls.sagepub.com
Saadia Shabnam
Nazrul Islam

Abstract
The tremendous increase of the use of mobile phones in Bangladesh by the young users has expanded
the cellular phones market that has also attracted the attention of the foreign investors. This article
attempts to investigate underlying sets of consumer motives for using cellular phones in Bangladesh.
A primary survey was conducted among 157 young Bangladeshi mobile phone users aged from 20 to
30 years reside in Dhaka city. Structured questionnaire was used to interview the respondents. Factor
analysis was conducted to identify the factors for using cellular phones in Bangladeshi young mobile phone
users. Results show that there are five important factors that are considered by the Bangladeshi young
mobile phone users. The factors are concerned with value added services, social connectivity, connection
with the family, obtaining information on foreign education and facing emergency situation. This study also
identified five different patterns of possible segmentation of cellular phone users that is, conscious, connective,
communicative, continental and contingent and constitute the basis for strategic positioning.

Keywords
Mobile phone, users’ motives, consumer choices, segmentation

Introduction
In recent years, the adoption of mobile phones has been exceptionally rapid in many parts of the world. The
use of cellular phones has also been tremendously increased in Bangladesh that has attracted foreign direct
investment in this sector. This accelerated diffusion of cellular phones has attracted large companies of the
world. This has also created a large market in Bangladesh which has drawn special attention to the academics
and researchers.
In recent years, economic growth of Bangladesh is remarkable. Macroeconomic environment has
improved with sustained and prudent fiscal and monetary policies and structural and sector reforms. In
the past decade, poverty shrank by 9 per cent in Bangladesh due to large part to sustained economic
growth in the country, that is, at around 5 per cent. Real per capita GDP rose 36 per cent, or US$ 1,800

Downloaded from mls.sagepub.com at PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIV on May 11, 2016

20 Saadia Shabnam and Nazrul Islam

Table 1. Key Economic Indicators: People’s Republic of Bangladesh

Populationa 147,365,352 (July 2006 est.)

GDP (ppp)b US $ 304.3 billion (2005 est.)
GDP real growth ratec 5.7% (2005 est.)
GDP (ppp) per capitad US$ 2,100 (2005 est.)
Literacye 43.1%
Telephone (phone lines in use)f 831,000 (2004)
Mobile phonesg 2,781,600 (2004)
Source: CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) Factbook, 2004 (Retrieved: 2010).
Notes: a This entry gives an estimate from the US Bureau of the Census based on statistics from population censuses, vital
statistics registration systems, or sample surveys pertaining to the recent past and on assumptions about future trends.
b
This entry gives the gross domestic product (GDP) or value of all final goods and services produced within a nation in
a given year. GDP dollar estimates in the Factbook are derived from purchasing power parity (PPP) calculations.
c
This entry gives GDP growth on an annual basis adjusted for inflation and expressed as a per cent.
d
This entry shows GDP on a purchasing power parity basis divided by population as of 1 July for the same year.
e
This entry includes a definition of literacy and Census Bureau percentages for the total population, males and females.
There are no universal definitions and standards of literacy. Unless otherwise specified, all rates are based on the most
common definition—the ability to read and write at a specified age.
f
This entry gives the total number of main telephone lines in use.
g
This entry gives the total number of mobile cellular telephones in use.

purchasing power parity. GDP growth in 2003 was 5.3 per cent, due to steady growth in agriculture
(25 per cent of GDP) and industry sectors with stronger domestic and external demand (Table 1).
A recovery in exports and robust growth in overseas workers’ remittances have improved the current
account of the balance of payments. Conservative financial policies have augmented foreign exchange
reserves to nearly US$ 2.5 billion by end—June 2003 in Bangladesh.
Increased foreign direct investment (FDI) has increasingly supported infrastructure, energy and
export-oriented Manufacturing sectors. From a trickle in the 1980s, inflows rose by US$ 400 million in
1997–1998 and now exceeded US$ 1 billion because of an anticipated boom in the gas sector that
never has happened.
In Bangladesh, (Table 2) there are about 1.05 million fixed telephone lines (public switched telephone
network) and 21.7 million telephones, or just over 3 million total phone connections. In rural areas,

Table 2. Users of Mobile/PSTN from January 2003 to January 2007 in Bangladesh

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

Mobile Subscribers 1,140,394 1,907,769 4,150,787 9,269,095 21,771,668
Public Switched Telephone Network 682,000 716,000 831,000 871,000 1,047,717
(PSTN) Subscribers
Total Subscribers 1,822,394 2,623,769 4,981,787 10,140,095 22,819,385
Rate of Increase of Total Subscribers (%) – 43.97 89.87 103.54 125.04
Rate of Increase of Mobile Users (%) – 67.29 117.57 123.31 134.88
Rate of Increase of PSTN Users (%) – 4.99 16.06 4.81 20.29
Tele Density (%) 1.45 2.5 3.81 7.77 16.85
Source: BTRC, 2011.

Management and Labour Studies, 39, 1 (2014): 19–30

Downloaded from mls.sagepub.com at PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIV on May 11, 2016

An Empirical Analysis of Use Motives 21

Table 3. The Number of Fixed Phone and Cell Phone Subscribers during 2002–2010

Year Grameen Robi (AKTel) BanglaLink City Cell Teletalk Airel (Warid) Fixed Line Total
2003 471,371 80,368 69,700 41,109 0 0 564,800 1,227,348
2004 774,881 161,265 112,900 91,348 0 0 682,000 1,822,394
2005 1,140,531 401,680 186,500 179,058 0 0 716,721 2,624,490
2006 2,388,158 1,096,620 369,500 296,509 0 0 831,280 4,982,067
2007 5,540,000 2,072,328 1,026,100 439,389 191,278 0 108,1450 10,359,267
2008 8,467,000 2,505,664 2,313,900 686,494 235,255 0 110,8990 15,317,303
2009 13,970,000 5,050,000 6,040,000 1,300,000 890,000 470,000 – 27,720,000
Source: Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC), 2008.

phone penetration is estimated at approximately three phones per 1,000. Public Call Offices (PCO),
kiosks set up by private individuals, are the most widespread form of telephone access for most customers
in Bangladesh. Table 3 presents a detailed comparison of fixed phone lines and mobile connections to
make the present picture more vivid.
Bangladesh telecom in the context of neighbouring countries is shown in Table 4.
Currently, there are six mobile operators in Bangladesh. They are Grameenphone—Joint venture
(62 per cent) with a Norwegian company Telenor Grameenphone); Banglalink—Joint venture with
Orascom originated from Egypt (Banglalink); Aktel repositioned as Robi—Joint venture between
Telecom Malaysia Berhad TM and A. K Khan & company limited (Aktel); Waried Telecom—An
investment of Dubai and Abu Dhabi Group the UAE earlier, then overtaken by Airtel in late of 2010;
TeleTalk—Public limited company but 100 per cent share have been owned by the government of
Bangladesh. (Teletalk) and Citycell—Joint venture with SingTel Asia pacific investment Pte limited.
(Citycell). Table 5 reflects the current competition of the marketers it is indicated by number of
subscribers for the mobile phone operators.
Consumer demand in Bangladesh makes the mobile market one of the fastest growing markets in
the world. During first six months of 2007, Bangladesh recorded 7.7 million (1.3 million/month) sub-
scribers. At this pace, the expected mobile subscribers by the end of 2007 were 35 million and a market
penetration of around 25 per cent, signifying year-on-year growth of up to 70 per cent. The following
figure can give an overview of the potential market of Bangladesh in near future (Telecom Insight, 2007).

Table 4. Bangladesh Telecom in the Context of Neighbouring Countries (India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal,
Malaysia, China and Thailand)

Bangladesh is unique in many ways:

• Bangladesh is the only country (other than China) without a formal regulatory body for telecom.
• Bangladesh will also soon become the only country to have no competition in basic telephony.
• Privatization (partial or full) of government operators has been completed or underway in all the
countries (including China) except Bangladesh.
• In Malaysia, China and Thailand, competition is most intense, and IP telephone legal, and these are also
the countries with the highest tele-densities.
Source: IIFC (Infrastructure Investment Facilitation Center), (2005).

Management and Labour Studies, 39, 1 (2014): 19–30

Downloaded from mls.sagepub.com at PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIV on May 11, 2016

22 Saadia Shabnam and Nazrul Islam

Table 5. Bangladesh Mobile Operator’s Market Share (Subscribers in Millions)

Operators July 2008 Aug 2008 Sep 2008 Oct 2008 Nov 2008 Dec 2008
Grameen Phone Ltd (GP) 20.84 20.84 20.82 20.79 20.83 20.99
TMIB (Aktel) 7.98 8.14 7.63 7.64 7.90 8.20
Orascom Telecom Bangladesh 9.90 10.17 10.14 10.17 10.21 10.33
Limited (Banglalink)
PBTL (Citycell) 1.67 1.68 1.74 1.77 1.79 1.81
Teletalk Bangladesh Ltd. (Teletalk) 0.93 0.89 0.9 0.87 0.92 0.98
Warid Telecom International 3.48 3.68 3.86 2.25 2.31 2.33
L.L.C (Warid)
Total 44.8 45.4 45.09 43.49 43.96 44.64
Source: Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC), 2009.

Mobile phone operators are now major contenders in the corporate scene of today’s Bangladesh by
establishing themselves as largest taxpayers (Malakar et al., 2007). Today Grameen Phone and Aktel
have overtaken British American Tobacco and very soon CitycCell and Banglalink will be in the top ten
taxpayer list (BizBD Report, 2005).

Figure 1. BMI (Business Monitor International Forecast (2007))

Source: Telecom Insight (2011).

Management and Labour Studies, 39, 1 (2014): 19–30

Downloaded from mls.sagepub.com at PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIV on May 11, 2016

An Empirical Analysis of Use Motives 23

The cellular phone—commonly ‘mobile phone’ or ‘cell phone’ or ‘hand phone’—is a long-range,
portable electronic device used for mobile connectivity (Ulyseas, 2008). In addition to the standard
voice function of a telephone, current mobile phones can support many additional services such as, SMS
for text messaging, e-mail, packet switching for access to the internet and MMS for sending and receiving
photos and videos (Wikipeadia). Most current mobile phones connect to a cellular network of base
stations (cell sites), which is in turn interconnected to the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN).
Cellular telephone is also defined as a type of short-wave analogue or digital telecommunication in
which a subscriber has a wireless connection from a mobile telephone to a relatively nearby transmitter.
The transmitter’s span of coverage is called a cell. Generally cellular phone service is available in urban
areas. As cellular phone users’ moves from one cell or area of coverage to another, the telephone is
effectively passed on to the local cell transmitter. A cellular phone is not to be confused with a cordless
telephone (which is simply a phone with a very short wireless connection to a local phone outlet).
A newer service similar to cellular telephone is personal communication services.
A number of academic articles have dealt with mobile phone usage and grasped the consumer decision
making process. A survey on Finnish young people aged 16–20 years, it was found that mobile phone
choice and usage is consistent with respondents’ general consumption styles (Wilska, 2003). The research
also showed that addictive use was common among females and was related to trendy and impulsive
consumption styles. Instead, males were found to have more technology enthusiasm and trend-
consciousness. These attributes were then linked to impulsive consumption. This study concluded that
genders are becoming more alike in mobile phone choice.
It has been noted that many choices have both utilitarian and hedonic features, and thus it can also be
proposed that the choice between mobile phones has both utilitarian (e.g., communication, time planning)
and hedonic (e.g., games, camera) features (Batra and Ahtola, 1990). In general, a common distinction
to be made is that while the utilitarian goods usually are primary instrumental and functional, hedonic
goods provide fun, pleasure and excitement (Islam and Habib, 2008). The younger the consumer the
more the hedonistic features consumers tend to value in mobile phones (Wilska, 2003). Another study
described young consumers as pragmatic, knowledgeable, socially and environmentally aware and open
to new experiences (Cant and Shen, 2006). A study on the relationship between human values and
consumer purchases, Allen (2001) found a significant association between human values (e.g., hedonistic,
achievement, self-direction, conformity, security etc.) product preference and tangible attribute impor-
tance with how consumers perceive the product (i.e., tangible attributes) and how they evaluate the
product (i.e., symbolic meaning, tangible/intangible attribute importance). Human values influence the
importance of the product’s tangible attributes those are already important to consumers.
Mobile telephony has a bearing upon children’s changing mobility both in terms of facilitating their
requirement of accessories to be connected when they are outside the home and offering parents some
peace of mind when children are out in unsupervised spaces (Haddon, 2000). People still make ‘family
time’ happen, they make time for friends and for themselves. But they sometimes observe that it is
becoming more difficult to do so. The point is that while in specific ways the mobile phone may contribute
to our temporal flexibility, when taking a wider view the mobile is only part and parcel of a whole range
of technological and non-technological forces allowing us to alter our experiences of time (Haddon,
2000). These justify our first hypothesis.
Another study by Samuel et al. (2007) focuses on how people use mobiles to substitute for travel, to
start and open businesses and to keep in touch with friends and family. Love (2005) highlights how
the mobile phone is used by adolescents to create a dynamic and tight social network that allows the

Management and Labour Studies, 39, 1 (2014): 19–30

Downloaded from mls.sagepub.com at PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIV on May 11, 2016

24 Saadia Shabnam and Nazrul Islam

members to have what he calls an ‘anytime-anywhere-for whatever reason’ relationship with other
members of the group as he was reviewing in writing on cell phone’s impact on society. This could be
the basis for our 3rd, 11th, 12th and 13th hypotheses.
Another study on the Italian mobile market that was conducted over a national sample of 1,067
individuals used three sets of variables: consumer/user lifestyles, use motivations and product/service
attributes. Among these three sets of variables, use motivations that included in the integrated use factor
are strongly attached to sophisticated needs for efficient communication and time organization, concern
consumers’ needs, while attributes are the characteristics of the product/service that influence consumers’
choices among the different models and brands in the market.(Mazzoni et al., 2007). Product attributes
that influence the rate of use of the product form the basis of sixth, seventh & fourteenth hypotheses.
From the perspective of education and literacy, it is well accepted that literacy needs to be pluralized,
as many media occur not only on paper, but also on screens of various kinds. Literacy involves both
individual skills and social practices, and for adolescents, literate activities occur in schools and outside.
This role will become increasingly important as the features of mobile phones increase (Beaton and
Wajcman, 2004). These form the basis for our fifth and ninth hypotheses.
In another study, Aoki and Downes (2003) identifies that people use telecommunication devices in a
variety of contexts. While they originated as business tools, cell phones have evolved from their original
purpose and are now used largely as personal communication devices that is, as for the people to whom
subjects most often talk using cell phones, 41.0 per cent said ‘friends and relatives’, 32.4 per cent
‘boyfriends or girlfriends’, 32.1 per cent ‘immediate family members’, and 6.8 per cent ‘co-workers or
classmates’. This justifies our second hypothesis.

Objectives of the Study

The main objective of this study is to identify and analyze users’ motives of cellular phones in Bangladesh.
The following specific objectives were identified, namely:

1. To identify group of users having similar preferences of mobile phone use in Bangladesh;
2. To identify the factors concerned with the use of mobile phones by the young users in Bangladesh
and
3. To provide suggestions to the policy makers in telecom sector of Bangladesh to adjust their
policy with the users’ motives.

Methodology
This is an exploratory research study to understand the young users’ reasons to use mobile phones. The
data of this study were collected from young Bangladeshi mobile phone users aged from 20 to 30 years
living in Dhaka city of Bangladesh. The survey was conducted in March-April, 2008 with the help of
MBA students of East west University of Bangladesh. The sample respondents were selected based on
convenience sampling method. A total of 157 users were interviewed of which 47 per cent were female
and 53 per cent were male. All the interviewees were the students of the leading private universities such as

Management and Labour Studies, 39, 1 (2014): 19–30

Downloaded from mls.sagepub.com at PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIV on May 11, 2016

An Empirical Analysis of Use Motives 25

Table 6. Variables Related to the Use of Mobile Phone in Bangladesh

Variable Name
1 Use of mobile phone to maintain constant communication with family members
2 Use of mobile phone to maintain constant communication with spouse/colleagues/fiancé
3 Use of mobile phone to maintain social status
4 Use of mobile phone for business purpose
5 Use of mobile phone for academic purpose
6 Use of mobile phone for value added services
7 Use of mobile phone for internet facility
8 Use of mobile phone to collect information regarding job
9 Use of mobile phone to collect information regarding foreign education
10 Use of mobile phone to use it in emergency situation
11 Use of mobile phone to feel connected
12 Use of mobile phone to be socially connected
13 Use of mobile phone to increase social contact
14 Use of mobile phone to remind programme

North South University, East West University, Independent University, American International University
and BRAC University located in Dhaka city. All of the respondents had at least one mobile phone in use at
the time of the survey.
Structured questionnaire was developed and used for this study (Malhotra, 2005). Questions inquiring
the acquisition of a mobile phone and choice of the operator were implemented with 14 different statements.
Respondents rated the questions on a five-point Likert scale. The development of the variables was based
on two sources such as literature review and informal discussion with the experts. The variables used in the
questionnaire are shown in Table 6.
The data were coded and entered for statistical analysis. First, we have prepared a demographic
profile of the respondents by applying frequency distribution. Later, the data obtained for the study were
analyzed by using ‘Factor Analysis’ for identification of the ‘key factors’ for using mobile phones by the
young users in Bangladesh. Factor analysis was conducted to minimize the number of variables whilst
simultaneously maximizing the amount of information in the analysis. Factor analysis was used to reduce
the 14 criteria in questionnaire into a smaller set of linear composites that preserved most of the
information of the original data set (The University of Texas at Austin, 1995).

Results and Discussions

This section will discuss two major aspects of the report such as, the use of mobile phones by the young
users and the results of factor analysis.

Use of Mobile Phones by Young Users

Some generalized data on the respondents were collected from the survey. We grouped two sets of data
into separate columns featuring two sets of characteristics—one is for general demographic information

Management and Labour Studies, 39, 1 (2014): 19–30

Downloaded from mls.sagepub.com at PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIV on May 11, 2016

26 Saadia Shabnam and Nazrul Islam

of the respondents and another is for information related to mobile phone use. Table 7 shows some
demographic features of the respondents like age, gender composition, occupation, education, household
income and personal income as well as factors like User Characteristics, mobile expenses, call per day,
talk time, bills, influence over purchase of connection and type of connection.

Table 7. Use of Mobile Phones by Young Respondents in Bangladesh

Demographic Characteristics Percentage Counts Use Characteristics Percentage Counts

Age: Mobile expenses:
20–22 years 25.5 40 Myself 46.5 73
22–25 years 52.2 82 Parent 53.5 84
25–27 years 12.7 20 Relative 00.0 00
27–30 years 9.6 15 Others 00.0 00
Gender: Call per day:
Male 84.1 132 < 5 times 59.2 93
Female 15.9 25 5–10 times 18.5 29
10–15 times 11.5 18
>15 times 10.8 17
Occupation: Talk time:
Business 8.9 14 < 15 seconds 00.0 00
Housewife 0.6 01 15–30 seconds 31.2 49
Service 14.0 22 30–60 seconds 34.4 54
Student 76.4 120 1–5 minutes 22.3 35
> 5 minutes 12.1 19
Education: Bill:
Below SSC 00.0 00 < 50 BD TK 8.3 13
SSC 00.0 00 50–100 BD TK 45.9 72
HSC 26.8 42 100–300 BD TK 24.8 39
Hons 59.2 93 300–600 BD TK 10.2 16
Masters 14 22 600–900 BD TK 9.6 15
Above Masters 00.0 00 900–1200 BD TK 1.3 02
Household income: Influence over purchase
<5,000 BD TK 00.0 00 of connection:
5,000–10,000 BD TK 00.0 00 Family member 24.2 38
10,000–15,000 BD TK 17.8 28 Friends 22.3 35
15,000–20,000 BD TK 22.9 36 Colleague 0.6 01
20,000 + BD TK 59.2 93 Myself 51.0 80
Celebrity 1.9 03
Personal income: Type of connection:
<5,000 BD TK 65.6 103 Post-paid 22.3 35
5,000–10,000 BD TK 19.1 30 Pre-paid 77.7 122
10,000–15,000 BD TK 11.5 18
15,000–20,000 BD TK 0.6 1
20,000 + BD TK 3.2 5
Source: Authors’ Survey.

Management and Labour Studies, 39, 1 (2014): 19–30

Downloaded from mls.sagepub.com at PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIV on May 11, 2016

An Empirical Analysis of Use Motives 27

The Results of Factor Analysis

Tables for total variance, factor loadings and communalities show the application of principal component
analysis of the data. The communalities values show that inter-variable relationships of the variables
in the data set. Communalities for each variable VI to VII, is 1.0 as unities were inserted in the diagonal
of the correlation matrix (Table 8). The eigenvalues for the factors are as expected, in decreasing order
of magnitude as we go from Factor 1 to Factor 5. The eigenvalue indicates the total variance attributed
to that factor. Table 9 shows the variances in mobile phone uses due to five factors. Factor 1 accounts
for a variance of 2.92, which is 20.86 percent of the total variance, factor 2 accounts for a variance
of 2.73, which is 19.53 percent of the total variance, factor 3 accounts for a variance of 1.60, which is
11.47 percent of the total variance, factor 4 accounts for a variance of 1.45, which is 10.41 percent of
the total variance,factor 5 accounts for a variance of 1.23, which is 8.81 percent of the total variance. The
total variance accounted for by all 5 factors is 71 per cent.
A factor analysis of 14 variables (Table 6) suggests that five factors (for more detail presentation of
factor analysis method) were chosen in terms of eigenvalue of larger than 1.0. The identified factors
represent 71 per cent of total variance of the variables. Table 9 shows that Factor 1 accounts for a
variance of 2.921, which is (2.921/14) or 20.865 per cent, almost 21 per cent of the total variance.
Likewise the second factor accounts for 19.530 per cent of the total variance, and the first two factors

Table 8. Communalities of the Variables

Extraction
Communication with family members 0.736
Communication with spouse/colleagues/fiancé 0.500
Maintaining social status 0.626
Use for business purpose 0.912
Use for academic purpose 0.826
Use of value added services 0.913
Internet facilities 0.636
Information regarding job 0.753
Information for foreign education 0.746
Emergency use of mobile phone 0.578
Feeling connected with mobile phones 0.632
Remaining socially connected 0.787
Increase social contacts 0.765
Mobile phone as a programme reminder 0.543

Table 9. Factors Related to the Use of Mobile Phones by Young Users in Bangladesh

Factors Total Percentage of Variance Cumulative Percentage

Business & value added services 2.921 20.865 20.865
Social connectivity 2.734 19.530 40.395
Keeping contacts with the family 1.607 11.476 51.871
Obtaining information for foreign education 1.459 10.418 62.290
Use in emergency situation 1.234 8.811 71.101

Management and Labour Studies, 39, 1 (2014): 19–30

Downloaded from mls.sagepub.com at PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIV on May 11, 2016

28 Saadia Shabnam and Nazrul Islam

Table 10. Factor Loadings of Variables

F1 F2 F3 F4 F5
Variables
Use for business purpose 0.949
Use of value added services 0.947
Use for academic purpose 0.748
Increase social contacts 0.863
Remaining socially connected 0.863
Feeling connected with mobile phones 0.685
Internet facilities 0.474
Communication with family members 0.846
Maintaining social status 0.535
Information for foreign education 0.758
Mobile phone as a programme reminder 0.654
Information regarding job 0.604
Emergency use of mobile phone 0.738
Communication with spouse/colleagues/fiancé 0.610
Note: Extraction Method: Principal Component Analysis. Rotation Method: Varimax with Kaiser Normalization. Rotation
converged in 10 iterations.

combined account for 40.395 per cent of the total variance. Here we have identified five factors those
were accounted for 71 per cent of variance. Several considerations are involved in determining the
number of factors that should be used in the analysis.
Table 10 shows that the first factor can be called business uses and value added services as the highest
loadings relate to first three variables pertaining to use of mobiles for business purposes, use for value
added services and for academic purpose. The second factor exhibits largely loadings for four variables
relating to having social connectivity. Increase social contacts and desire to be socially connected had the
highest loadings for the second factor. The third factor is defined by two items relating to address the
need for keeping contacts with family. The fourth factor is called information acquisition for foreign
education represented by three variables addressing users’ need for information. Fifth factor addressed
occasion of uses in two categories—in emergency situation and occasional user of phones to communicate
with friends, colleagues and fiancé.
In this approach the number of factors extracted is determined so that the cumulative percentage of
variance extracted by the factors reaches a satisfactory level. The factors extracted should account for at
least 60 per cent of the variance (Malhotra, 2005). From the cumulative percentage of variance accounted
for, the first five factors accounted for 71 per cent. Thus, five factors appear to be reasonable in this
situation. The factors are Business and value added services, Social connectivity, keeping contacts with the
family, obtaining information on foreign education and use in emergency situation.

Conclusion and Recommendations

This exploratory study was conducted to increase our current understanding on the use behavior of the
mobile phone consumers among young Bangladeshi market and identify some definitive factors to

Management and Labour Studies, 39, 1 (2014): 19–30

Downloaded from mls.sagepub.com at PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIV on May 11, 2016

An Empirical Analysis of Use Motives 29

represent the choice behavior. The study attempted to cast light on the much unexamined area of mobile
phone use situation. The main results achieved from the study indicate the following. Firstly, the
demographic profile of young mobile phone users has identified their average age group ranges from 20 to
25 years. Second, the situations (factors) to use mobile phones were for business purposes and to avail
value added services, to maintain social connectivity, to keep contacts with family members, to obtain
information for foreign education, to use phones for emergency.
Although the results of the study are tentative, the findings contribute to the existing though
scarce literature on consumer behavior in mobile phone markets. For managers, the results can create
new avenues for segmenting the consumer market for mobile phone based on use purposes that we
termed as 5Cs of purposes, that is, for the first group of users who value the mobile phone because it
facilitate business communication and the second group to whom value added services are important we
can name them as conscious about what they are receiving. Accordingly, the second proposed segment
might be named as connective as they value the social connectivity more and they feel socially connected
when they the mobile phone with them. Communicative user segment want to have constant
communication with their family. Continentals are planning for their foreign study and thus use the
mobile phone as one of the means for obtaining information regarding that. A group of users think that
the mobile connectivity will make them more efficient in contingency management was termed as
contingent.
However, consumer use motives for a mobile phone are not well-known in theory, that is, no commonly
accepted knowledge of the factors influencing consumers’ decision making exists. Therefore, the results
obtained have some limitations and should be considered tentative.

Further Research Scope

There are some directions for further research could be achieved from this study. A broader perspective to
include other socio-economic factors that seem to influence the use of a mobile phone and more rigorous study
on those is needed in order to get a better understanding of consumer motives. The analysis was limited to
identify the factors only but the subsequent analysis through the regression model can add some more and wide
directions for decision makers.

References
Allen, P.M. (2001). A complex systems approach to learning, adaptive networks. International Journal of Innovation
Management, 5(2), 149–180.
Aoki, K., & Downes, E.J. (2003). An analysis of young people’s use of and attitudes toward cell phones. Telematics
and Informatics, 20(2003) 349–364. Retrieved from http:// www.computerScienceWeb.com
Batra, R., & Ahtola, O.T. (1990). Measuring the hedonic and utilitarian sources of consumer attitudes. Marketing
Letters, 2(2), 159–170.
Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) (2008). Facts about the consumers, mobile phone
subscribers in Bangladesh. Retrieved on 22 January 2009 from http://www.btrc.gov.bd/content/mobile-phone-
subscribers-bangladesh
—— (2009). Facts about the consumers, mobile phone subscribers in Bangladesh. Retrieved on 22 January 2009
from: http://www.btrc.gov.bd/newsandevents/mobile_phone_subscribers.php

Management and Labour Studies, 39, 1 (2014): 19–30

Downloaded from mls.sagepub.com at PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIV on May 11, 2016

30 Saadia Shabnam and Nazrul Islam

Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) (2011). Facts about the consumers, mobile phone
subscribers in Bangladesh. Retrieved on 22 January 2009 from http://www.btrc.gov.bd/content/mobile-phone-
subscribers-bangladesh
Beaton, J., & Wajcman, J. (2004). The impact of the mobile telephone in Australia social science research
oportunities. A discussion paper of AMTA (Australian Mobile Telecommunicatiion Association) & Academy of
Social Sciences in Australia, the Australian Mobile Telecommunications Conference, September, 2004.
BizBD Report (2005). Mobile phones: Quenching the thirst for communication. Business Bangladesh, April, 2(7), 38–46.
Cant M.A., & Shen F. (2006). Endogenous timing in competitive interactions among relatives. Proceedings of the
Royal Society B, 273, 171–178.
Factbook, CIA. (2004). US department of State, Network Dynamics Associates. USTDA South Asia Communications
Infrastructure Conference New Delhi, India—April 21–23, 2004. Retrieved from www.ndaventures.com
(accessed on 18th September, 2008).
Haddon, L. (2000). The social consequences of mobile telephony: Framing questions, Paper presented at the seminar
‘Sosiale Konsekvenser av Mobiltelefoni’, organised by Telenor, 16th June, 2000, Oslo.
IIFC (Infrastructure Investment Facilitation Center). (2005). Bangladesh telecommunications market and its
development. Retrieved from www.iifc.net (accessed on 18th September, 2008).
Islam, N., & Habib, W. (2008). The relationship between psychological contract of telecom executives and the
working environment: A case of Citycell and Teletalk in Bangladesh. Paper presented in 10th South Asian
Management Forum, Change and Continuity: Management Prospects and Challenges, Association of
Management Development Institutions in South Asia (AMDISA), April 9th to 10th, 2009, Royal Institute of
Management, Thimphu, Bhutan. ISBN: 978-99936-626-1-7.
Love, S. (October–December 2005). Review on “the mobile connection: The cell phone’s impact on society”.
International Journal of Technology and Human Interaction, 1(4), 101–104.
Malakar, B., Khan, M.H., Ahmed, S., Chaudhury, S.I.N.A. (2007). Factors affecting clients’ buying behavior towards
mobile phone operators. Dhaka University Journal of Marketing, 13(10), 71–78.
Malhotra, N.K. (2005). Marketing research: An applied orientation (2nd ed.). Prentice-Hall.
Mazzoni, Clelia C., Castaldi, L., & Addeo, F. (2007). Consumer behavior in the Italian mobile telecommunication
market. Telecommunications Policy, 31(2007), 632–647.
Samuel, J., Shah N., & Hadingham, W. (2007). Mobile communications in South Africa, Tanzania and Egypt: Results
from community and business surveys. Moving the debate forward. The Vodafone Policy Paper Series #3,
2005 [cited August 17 2007]. Retrived from http://www.vodafone.com/etc/medialib/attachments/cr_downloads.
Par.78351.File.tmp/GPP_SIM_pa per_3.pdf
Telecom Insight. (2011). The BMI Index n.d, Business Monitor International (Image), Retrieved January, 2011
from: http://www.telecomsinsight.com/
The University of Texas at Austin. (1995). Factor analysis using SAS PROC FATOR. Stable URL: www.utexas.edu/
cc/docs/stat 53.html (Retrieved on May, 2008).
Ulyseas, M. (2008). Of cigarettes and cellphones. The Bali Times. Retrieved on 2008-02-24.
Wilska, T-A. (2003). Mobile phone use as part of young people’s consumption styles. Journal of Consumer Policy,
26(4), 441–463.

Saadia Shabnam, Assistant Professor, Department of Business Administration, East West University, 43,
Mohakhali, Dhaka, Bangladesh. E-mail: saadiashabnam79@yahoo.com

Nazrul Islam, Professor & Dean, Faculty of Business Administration, Eastern University, Dhanmondi,
Dhaka, Bangladesh. E-mail: nazrulku@gmail.com

Management and Labour Studies, 39, 1 (2014): 19–30

Downloaded from mls.sagepub.com at PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIV on May 11, 2016