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Posted by Anonymous on 10/9/2011 at 5:16 AM ET 25 Points
hello,

I am currently undergraduate student studying Marketing and I am looking for some ideas linked to smartphones industry related to something:
The dependency on the ‘Smartphone’ and the subsequent impact on students’ purchasing behaviour

If you have any interesting ideas feel free to let me know.
Your help would be much appreciated

Kayla
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RESPONSES

  • Posted on 10/9/2011 at 9:18 AM Moderator
    You need to begin the research project with a clear articulation of the objective and the expected use of results. If you start with the end in mind, the questions will become almost obvious. Otherwise you're wandering aimlessly and none of the questions will lead to anything useful.
  • Posted on 10/9/2011 at 11:03 AM Author
    Hi mgoodman,

    thanks a lot for your feedback.
    so what would you recommend?

    I had something simmilar to this in mind but apparently it needs more "ironing" to do. My proffesor does not like the word "dependancy"
    Kassop (2003) believes that education and the possibilities for learning are being transformed by these products.
    Nowadays, many university students own a 'Smartphone'. Not unlike other users in the population, I believe these students spend an excessive amount of time on the products - so much so that a dependency has developed. With regards to information, little seems to be learned through other more conventional methods, such as books or conversation. This study aims to investigate these theories, exploring the many effects on behaviour; and also the causes that lead them to purchase the phones in the first place. The factors of marketing, perceived convenience, social needs, and peer influences will be examined; as well as the potential impact for consumer behaviour in the future.
  • Posted on 10/9/2011 at 1:28 PM Moderator
    The problem with the question you're asking is that it's very difficult to separate the effects of other media, social connections, overall market share and brand awareness factors from the independent variable (i.e., smart phone dependency). So you'd need a very large base of respondents to be able to tease out those other factors and draw real conclusions that are meaningful and useful in the real world.

    You might look at one or two specific high-volume categories -- like soft drinks or snack chips, for example -- and look at brand shares among those with/without smart phones, and among those who are "dependent" and those who are just casual users. That would begin to get at the issue you're trying to address.

    FWIW, my guess is that it's still not a mature enough technology for the "dependency" factor to have influenced most unrelated categories. But it will be interesting to learn what your research uncovers. Not an easy research project.
  • Posted on 10/10/2011 at 3:53 AM Author
    OK,

    that sounds quite complex.
    What would you recommend I shall do?

    would you happen to have any idea that I could somehow simplify it? Perhaps look somewhere else? I think I am really struggling here ...
  • Posted on 10/12/2011 at 10:15 AM Accepted
    Hi Kayla,

    I think you have a good chance of producing meaningful research if you can explore the literature on e-commerce vis-a-vis the impact on "friction" in the purchase process. During the early years of the internet, consumers were reluctant to share their credit card information for fear of fraud and identity theft. Once that hurdle was overcome, e-commerce became an accepted practice and people began purchasing things they would not have previously considered. These purchases were incremental to the status quo economy for two reasons: 1) consumers were exposed to products they would not previously have seen, and 2) the purchase process altered consumer perception of the product value.

    Smartphones and particularly the infrastructure created by Apple in the form of the iTunes store have had a similar impact on a generation of consumers. This new way to buy has reduced the friction (the economic term is transaction costs) on a whole set of electronic products. I'm not sure consumers are necessarily "dependent" on Smartphones or the products they purchase through them, but there are certainly hundreds of companies, musicians, and software/App developers who are completely dependent on the new Smartphone economy.

    Good luck
  • Posted on 10/12/2011 at 6:36 PM Author
    Hi Philip,

    Thank you a lot for your respond.

    I am thinking of going ahead with your proposal I am only concerned with identifying what will my argument be and what will I try to prove by such research. Apart from that I am ready to go ahead.

    Thanks a lot. Much appreciated. Kayla
  • Posted on 10/12/2011 at 6:37 PM Author
    Hi Philip,

    Thank you a lot for your respond.

    I am thinking of going ahead with your proposal I am only concerned with identifying what will my argument be and what will I try to prove by such research. Apart from that I am ready to go ahead.

    Thanks a lot. Much appreciated. Kayla
  • Posted on 10/13/2011 at 9:53 PM Author
    thank all of you for your contribution.

    Kayla
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