customer's satisafaction-indian cellular services

Driver of Customer Satisfaction from the Indian Cellular Service Provider

PROJECT REPORT ON CASE STUDY ON DRIVERS OF CUSTOMER SATISFACTION FROM THE INDIA CELLULAR

SERVICE PROVIDER

Under the esteemed guidance of Dr. Sadia Samar Ali

(Approved by AICTE, Govt. of India)(Equivalent to MBA)

ACADEMIC SESSION

2008-2010

Submitted to: Submitted By :-

Dr. Sadia Samar Ali Vineet Kumar Sarawagi

INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES

LAL QUAN, PB NO-57,

GHAZIABAD-201009

UTTAR PRADESH-INDIA

The Analysts 1


DRIVERS OF CUSTOMER SATISFACTION FROM THE INDIA CELLULAR SERVICE PROVIDER

The Analysts 2


ACKNOWLEDGMENT

Any assignment puts to litmus test of an individual knowledge credibility or experience

and thus sole efforts of an individual are not sufficient to accomplish the desire successful

completion of a project involve interest and effort of many people and so this becomes

obligatory on the part to record our thanks to those who helped us out in the successful

completion of our project.

Life is a process of accumulating and discharging debts, not all of those can be measured.

We cannot hope to discharge them with simple words of thanks but we can certainly

acknowledge them.

At this level of understanding it is often difficult to comprehend and assimilate a wide

spectrum of knowledge without proper guidance and advice. Hence, we would like to take

this opportunity to express our Heartfelt Gratitude to Respected Dr. Sadia Samar Ali,

PGDM, IMS, Ghaziabad , for his round the clock Enthusiastic Support, Noble Guidance

and Encouragement, which made this project successful. We are extremely thankful to him

for making this project worthful.

The Analysts.

The Analysts 3


TO WHOM SO EVER IT MAY CONCERN

This is to certify that the project titled “DRIVERS OF CUSTOMER SATISFACTION FROM THE INDIA CELLULAR SERVICE PROVIDER” is the bonafide work of all the members of the group ‘Analysts’.

Further Certified, that to the best of my knowledge, the work reported herein does not form part of any other report or dissertation.

We wish them good luck and success in their future endeavors.

Dr.. Sadia Samar Ali

IMS, Ghaziabad

The Analysts 4


DECLARATION

We, Analysts the students of PGDBM, Institute of Management Studies ,Ghaziabad. Hereby declare that the project on “DRIVERS OF CUSTOMER SATISFACTION FROM THE INDIA CELLULAR SERVICE PROVIDER” has been done under the guidance of Dr. Sadia Samar Ali,IMS Ghaziabad.

We also declare that the present project report is based on the Annual Report 2007-08, of the company and the work done is our original project. The content of this project has not been submitted to any university or institute either for any purpose.

Further, we assign the right to the institute, to use the information and contents of this project to develop cases, case lets, case leads, papers for publication and or for use in Teaching.

DATE:- ANALYSTS PGDM

Institute of Management Studies

The Analysts 5


TABLE OF CONTENT

01. Abstract………………………………………………….…..…01

02. Introduction………………………………………………….02

03. Need and Objectives………………………………………03

04. Indian Cellular Profile……………………………………04

05. Description of the survey data and Methods…...05

06. Basic Format of the Research Study………………06

07. Literature Review…………………………………….07-12

08. Research Methodology……………………………..13-21

09. Conclusion…………………………………………..……….22

10. Limitations and Future Results……………………..23

11. References…………………………………………………...24

12. Annexure……………………………………………….25-30

13. Glossary of the Terms…………………………………..31

The Analysts 6


LIST OF EXHIBITS

01. Age group to which the respondent belong ……………………..14

02. Educational Qualification of the respondents………………………15

03. Cellular usage of the respondents…………………………………..16

04. Sex distribution of the respondents…………………………………17

05. Average monthly expense on Mobile of the respondents…………..18

LIST OF TABLES

01. Customer Service Variables…………………………….10

02. Age of respondent……………………………………………………………...13

03. Educational Qualification of the respondents…………………...14

04. Cellular usage of the respondents…………………………...…..15

05. Sex of the respondents…………………………………………...16

06. Average monthly expense on Mobile of the respondents……….18

07. Factor Analysis………………………………………………19-20

The Analysts 7


ABSTRACT

The conditions for doing business are changing rapidly. In last few years the mobile telecom market has witnessed a substantial growth and rapid changes globally as well as domestically. Customer satisfaction is a critical issue in the success of any business system, hence; one of the key challenges of this market is how they satisfy and retain their customers and also manage service quality, which holds a significant importance to customer satisfaction and their perceived performance. In order for companies to survive and grow, they must find new ways of thinking, which has led to doing marketing researches, especially those related to customer satisfaction.

This Project tries to find a model which can best describe the customer satisfaction formation in mobile telecom sector and will apply and evaluate it in the Indian market of this area. It will also study the dimensions of service quality on the perceived performance of the customers in the market.

For doing so, a survey has been performed on customers of the Indian cellular service provider, questionnaires were distributed among them and the results analyzed based upon the proposed research questions and hypotheses, and finally the conclusions and implications were made.

The Analysts 8


INTRODUCTION

Telecommunications companies also talk of their customers being their most important assets, just like companies in other business domains. But rarely is this reflected in a company's strategy and operations. The customers of telecom services, like cellular services, are moving ahead with times and have started buying cellular services just like daily household items such as toothpaste. Therefore, it is necessary in today's business scenario to understand the fact that the idea of customers being a company's most important assets is not just a management theory, but it is a very crucial economic fact. In the current business scenario, the use of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is quite common and critical and customer retention is the primary goal in firms that practice CRM. In the light of the importance of customer relationship and customer retention, it is very crucial for the companies in any business domain to know what actually drives the customer satisfaction. As the cellular industry in India is one of the fastest growing sectors, it is important and interesting to explore the drivers of customer satisfaction in this industry.

The study will contribute to the managerial decisions to be made by the cellular companies of India, when they have to decide on the factors (with respect to service quality and service features) that actually affect the satisfaction of customers and on the major areas they have to focus on to get more number of satisfied customers. This becomes important in the Indian scenario, as the churn rate of cellular users in India is 6 percent, which is one of the highest in the world.

Telecommunications companies also talk of their customers being their most important assets, just like companies in other business domains. But rarely is this reflected in a company's strategy and operations. The customers of telecom services, like cellular services, are moving ahead with times and have started buying cellular services just like daily household items such as toothpaste. Therefore, it is necessary in today's business scenario to understand the fact that the idea of customers being a company's most important assets is not just a management theory, but it is a very crucial economic fact. In the current business scenario, the use of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is quite common and critical and customer retention is the primary goal in firms that practice CRM. In the light of the importance of customer relationship and customer retention, it is very crucial for the companies in any business domain to know what actually drives the customer satisfaction. As the cellular industry in India is one of the fastest growing sectors, it is important and interesting to explore the drivers of customer satisfaction in this industry.

The Analysts 9


03.NEED AND OBJECTIVES

Research has been done over the years, in different services sector to find out the drivers of customer satisfaction with respect to service quality. However, very few studies have taken into consideration the service features. Also, hardly there is any study that has been done on the cellular service industry, which has considered both service quality and features together as drivers of customer satisfaction. As such, there is a need for conducting such a study in the Indian scenario. Therefore, this study explores the variables of service quality and service features with regard to Indian cellular services, and the two-fold objective of this study is to find out the underlying constructs of these variables from the cellular users' perspective, in the light of the users' experience in using the services of a cellular company, and then study the impact of these underlying factors on customer satisfaction.

The study will contribute to the managerial decisions to be made by the cellular companies of India, when they have to decide on the factors (with respect to service quality and service features) that actually affect the satisfaction of customers and on the major areas they have to focus on to get more number of satisfied customers. This becomes important in the Indian scenario, as the churn rate of cellular users in India is 6 percent, which is one of the highest in the world.

The Analysts 10


04.INDIAN CELLULAR INDUSTRY

The cellular industry all over the world has been witnessing high growth rates in subscriber base in recent years. For the developing countries (like India), in particular, cellular services are becoming a very significant proportion of the overall telecom infrastructure, which can be proved easily as we look at the tele density of India19.86 percent or 225.21 million as on June, 2007 (landline40.08 million and cellular185.13 million). In fact, India is one of the fastest growing wireless markets in the world, and the government had set a target of 250 million subscribers and 22 percent tele density in India by the end of 2007 with a focused development plan.

Indian telecom sector had witnessed a very slow growth during the last century it was the era of landline connections under the monopoly of the department of telecommunications, Government of India. It started picking up only after 1995 when the first competitive regime was opened with the participation of private operators in the field of cellular mobile telephony. It witnessed a tremendous growth (50 percent) in the year 2006. During 2006, India exceeded 100 million GSM mobile subscribers target and became the fifth nation to have achieved this benchmark after China, Japan, the US, and Russia. Continuous reduction in tariffs and improved affordability of handsets and services have also contributed to the rapid growth in the number of mobile subscribers. However, the reduction in tariffs has brought down the Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) of the cellular operators; as reported by different sources (TRAI, Voice and Data, other market research agencies) making the control of churn and holding on to the satisfied customers very important.

At present, the Indian cellular industry is dominated by some major players. The market shares of these major players at the end of the financial year 2006-07 are: Bharti Airtel (23.7 percent), BSNL (17.8 percent), Reliance (17.7 percent), Hutch (16.8 percent), Idea (8.9 percent), Tata Teleservices (7.3 percent) and the remaining 7.8 percent is shared by six other players, namely, Aircel, MTNL, Spice, BPL, HFCL, and Shyam (as reported in Voice and Data, July 2007). In terms of the presence in number of circles, Bharti and Reliance are present in 23 circles, followed by BSNL in 21 circles, Tata Tele in 20 circles, Hutch in 22 circles, and Idea in 11 circles.

The Analysts 11


05.DESCRIPTION OF THE SURVEY DATA AND METHODS

The questionnaires were prepared with 25 service-related variables, which determine the customer satisfaction towards Indian cellular service provider. All the variables were to be marked in a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 representing "strongly disagree" and 5 "strongly agree". Besides, demographic data on age, sex, educational background, cellular usage time and monthly expenses were also gathered. The data were collected by means of questionnaires within IMS, Ghaziabad. The target mainly consists of the students of the PGDM first year. The questionnaires were distributed to the 100 students and 93 responses were received. The data consisted of 93 questionnaires, of which 61 were from male students and 32 from female students.

To analyze the data collected, SPSS 15.0 for windows was used. The data on 25 services related variables was reduced through factor analysis. We found that the eight factors are playing very important role in the customer satisfaction from the Indian cellular service provider. Almost all the respondents gave importance to the Network qualities.

The Analysts 12


06.BASIC FORMAT OF THE RESEARCH STUDY

This study follows the same format as in a study done by Levesque and McDougall (1996) in the context of retail banking services. The study explores the determinants of customer satisfaction in retail banking by considering several variables related to service quality, service features, and customer satisfaction and future intentions. A factor analysis was conducted on the service quality and service features variables followed by a regression analysis conducted with these factors (relational performance, core performance, and features) as independent variables and customer satisfaction, recommendation and willingness to switch as dependent variables. R2 for customer satisfaction model was 0.71 with all the factors affecting satisfaction significantly; R2 for recommendation model was 0.57 again with all the factors affecting recommendation significantly although relational performance was affected more; R2 for switching model was 0.29 with only core performance factor affecting the willingness to switch significantly. A similar procedure will be followed in this study for the Indian cellular services.

The Analysts 13


07.LITERATURE REVIEW

Customer Satisfaction Studies in Telecommunication Services Johnson and Sirikit (2002) have conducted a study on both landline and mobile users of Thai telecommunication industry using the service quality dimensions of reliability, responsiveness, assurance, empathy, and tangibles with a seven-point scale of "strongly agree (7)" to "strongly disagree (1)" to find out the perceptions and expectations of service quality, showed no significant difference among the different companies. To the customers, tangibles are the most important aspect, but no link was found between service quality ratings and behavioral intentions of customers. Wang and Lo (2002) have used Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) to find out the effect of five service quality variables as done by Johnson and Sirikit (2002) and an additional variable network quality on the overall service quality, customer value and customer satisfaction and the effect of customer value and satisfaction on behavioral intentions in China's mobile industry. Most of the relations were found significant by Wang and Lo (2002). Lai et al. (2007) have tested the SERVQUAL model (Parasuraman et al., 1988) in China's mobile communication industry using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis to find that SERVQUAL instrument is a valid and valuable tool to measure service quality, but service convenience is an important additional dimension of service quality in China's mobile communications setting.

Danaher and Gallagher (1997) have conducted a study on Telecom New Zealand's International Directory Services where the factors of friendly and competent were found to affect the overall service quality more than other parameters (factors) of clear voice or time taken to respond by an operator with the help of regression analysis (R2 - 0.52). Athanassopoulos and Iliakopoulos' (2003) study on residential customers of a European telecommunication company yielded the result of customer perceived performance (satisfaction, recommendation to others, relationship, and value for money combined) being affected by product performance satisfaction, directory enquiries, branch network, billing, and corporate image in case of no faults; similarly for customers with fault repair incidents, branch network is not affecting customer perceived performance. Aydin and Ozer (2005) have studied the effects of service quality, perceived value, customer expectations, and complaint handling on customer satisfaction with the use of Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), with the results showing that service quality, customer expectations and complaint handling are affecting customer satisfaction, with the effect of quality being the strongest. A study on Korean mobile telecommunication services (Kim et al., 2004) has analyzed the effect of different service features and switching barrier on customer satisfaction and loyalty using SEM. The results indicated that customer satisfaction is affected by call quality; value added services, and customer support, with both customer satisfaction and switching barrier affecting customer loyalty. So, all these

The Analysts 14


studies have looked at different facets of service quality or service features affecting customer satisfaction, but not both together.

Customer Satisfaction Studies in Other Services

As cellular service is basically a service and not a product, it is also necessary to explore the studies done in other service sectors regarding the relation of service quality and features with customer satisfaction, as these studies will help in extracting the different variables regarding service quality, service features, and customer satisfaction. Cronin et al. (2000) have considered several service industries such as sports, entertainment, healthcare, long distance carriers, and fast food to explore the effect of service quality on customer satisfaction and behavioral intentions using SEM. They concluded that sacrifice and service quality affect service value, and service value and service quality affect satisfaction, while behavioral intentions are affected by service quality, service value and satisfaction. Fornell (1992) has considered around 30 different industries in Sweden to conclude that customer satisfaction is a function of pre-purchase expectations and post-purchase perceived performance, while loyalty is a function of customer satisfaction, switching barriers, and complaints. Caruana (2002) conducted a study of retail banking customers in Malta to study the effect of service quality on satisfaction and loyalty to conclude that service quality affects customer satisfaction which in turn affects customer loyalty. Krepapa et al. (2003) have concluded in their study on corporate banking customers that it is the customers' perception of company's market orientation and the gap between customers' perception of company's market orientation and service provider's perception of company's market orientation which affect customer satisfaction.

Host and Andersen (2004) used a sample of mortgage credit companies in Denmark to study the effect of service quality variables and price variable on customer satisfaction; the study indicated assurance, reliability, and price affect customer satisfaction, which in turn affects loyalty and willingness to recommend. Ndubisi and Wah (2005) used factor and discriminant analysis on the bank customers in Malaysia to find that the five key dimensions of competence, communication, conflict handling, trust, and relationship quality, discriminate between customers in terms of perceived relationship quality and customer satisfaction, and overall bank-customer relationship quality discriminates between satisfied and non-satisfied customers. Andaleeb (1998) studied the customer satisfaction among hospital customers in Pennsylvania using the regression analysis (R 2 - 0.63) and concluded that satisfaction is a function of communication, cost, facilities, competence, and demeanor. McDougall and Levesque (2000) studied four services of dentist, auto service (oil change and lubrication), restaurant, and hairstylist in Canada to conclude that core service quality (the promise) and perceived value were the most important drivers of customer satisfaction with relational service quality (the delivery) as a significant but less important driver, and a direct link exists between customer satisfaction and future intentions of loyalty and switching.

Sureshchandar et al. (2002) have conducted a study on the customers of 43 Indian banks to

The Analysts 15


conclude that from the customers' point of view there is a difference between the constructs of service quality and customer satisfaction measured on core service, human element of service delivery, tangibles, non-human element of service delivery and social responsibility, although there is a high relationship (correlation) between service quality and customer satisfaction. Gilbert et al.'s (2004) study on a cross-cultural comparison of service satisfaction of five fast food establishments in four English-speaking countries of Jamaica, the US, Scotland, and the Wales yielded two empirically derived, cross-cultural fast-food customer satisfaction dimensions: satisfaction with the personal service and satisfaction with the service setting. Olorunniwo and Hsu (2006) again worked on retail banking customers to find that responsiveness, tangibility, reliability, knowledge, and accessibility are the dimensions contributing significantly to service quality and satisfaction. Sharma et al. (1999) studied three years' data of a Fortune 500 firm to develop a framework for monitoring customer satisfaction and found that the factors affecting customer satisfaction were installation, sales team leader, product, delivery, hardware maintenance, software and technical support, business solution development, education, cost of ownership and invoice. All these studies indicate that service quality variables were mainly considered in previous researches to explore the drivers of customer satisfaction and very few studies have looked at service features.

Operational Variables

Customer Satisfaction

There are lots of benefits of customer satisfaction it heightens customer loyalty and prevents customer churn, lowers customers' price sensitivity, reduces the costs of failed marketing and of new customer creation, and reduces operating costs due to increase in customer number (Fornell, 1992). In general, customer is satisfied or dissatisfied from the experience of their product or service usage and this experience becomes the measure of satisfaction in the minds of the customers. For the purpose of this study, the variables considered for measuring customer satisfaction are divided into three parts satisfaction from usage (three variables overall customer satisfaction, closeness to expectations, and rightness of decision in choosing the particular service provider), repeat buying intention (one variable) and recommendation of service to others (one variable). Table 1 depicts customer satisfaction variables.

The Analysts 16


Service Quality and Service Features

Previous studies have looked at different service quality and service feature variables in different service industries, which have been considered for this study and are described in detail as:

Service Quality

The cellular company provides service reliably, consistently and dependably (Cronin et al., 2000; and Caruana, 2002).

The cellular company is trustworthy and its employees are believable and honest (Cronin et al., 2000; and Caruana, 2002).

The company fulfills its promises (Caruana, 2002; Sureshchandar et al., 2002; and Host and Andersen, 2004).

Employees are efficient and competent (knowledgeable and skillful) (Cronin et al., 2000; Sureshchandar et al., 2002; and Host and Andersen, 2004).

Employees are easily approachable (Danaher and Gallagher, 1997; and Cronin et al., 2000).

Employees are courteous, polite, and respectful (Danaher and Gallagher, 1997;

The Analysts 17


Cronin et al., 2000; Caruana, 2002; and Host and Andersen, 2004). Employees listen to customers and are willing to help (Cronin et al., 2000; Caruana,

2002; and Host and Andersen, 2004). Employees are pleasant, friendly, and caring (Danaher and Gallagher, 1997; and

Caruana, 2002). The company makes efforts to understand the specific needs of customers (Caruana,

2002; Sureshchandar et al., 2002; and Host and Andersen, 2004). The company provides individual and personal attention to the customers (Caruana,

2002; Johnson and Sirikit, 2002; and Sureshchandar et al., 2002). The company performs any service right the first time (Caruana, 2002;

Sureshchandar et al., 2002; and Host and Andersen, 2004). All the records are maintained accurately by the cellular company (Johnson and

Sirikit, 2002; Wang and Lo, 2002; and Lai et al., 2007) The company provides accurate and timely information (Ndubisi and Wah, 2005). The company is prompt in providing services (low waiting time and quick response)

(Danaher and Gallagher, 1997; Sureshchandar et al., 2002; Host and Andersen, 2004; and Olorunniwo and Hsu, 2006).

When there are problems, the service provider is sympathetic and reassuring (Johnson and Sirikit, 2002; Gilbert et al., 2004; and Lai et al., 2007).

Complaint resolution or fault repair is fast (Sharma et al., 1999; and Athanassopoulos and Iliakopoulos, 2003).

Employees in the offices are neat and clean (Cronin et al., 2000; Caruana, 2002; and Host and Andersen, 2004).

Physical facilities of offices are visually appealing (Caruana, 2002; Johnson and Sirikit, 2002; and Host and Andersen, 2004).

Service Features

It is easy and convenient to take up a new cellular connection as well as get recharges and top-ups (Athanassopoulos and Iliakopoulos, 2003; Olorunniwo and Hsu, 2006; and Lai et al., 2007).

The network is up-to-date and there is just low congestion problem (even in peak traffic hours) (Johnson and Sirikit, 2002; Athanassopoulos and Iliakopoulos, 2003; and Olorunniwo and Hsu, 2006).

The call quality (voice clarity) is good and call drops are minimal (Athanassopoulos and Iliakopoulos, 2003; and Kim et al., 2004).

The coverage area of the company is wide (Kim et al., 2004; and Aydin and Ozer, 2005).

The company has sufficient presence in different geographical areas through own offices or dealers and franchises (Sureshchandar et al., 2002; and Aydin and Ozer, 2005).

The operating hours are convenient for the customers (Johnson and Sirikit, 2002; Wang and Lo, 2002; and Athanassopoulos and Iliakopoulos, 2003).

The services provided by the company are competitive (Athanassopoulos and

The Analysts 18


Iliakopoulos, 2003). The pricing of the services are reasonable and competitive (Gilbert et al., 2004; and

Host and Andersen, 2004). There is enough variety of pricing plans available (Sharma et al., 1999; Kim et al.,

2004). The range and variety of value added services (SMS, ring tones, etc.) provided are

comprehensive and competitive (Kim et al., 2004; and Aydin and Ozer, 2005). The billing is accurate and easy to understand (Levesque and McDougall, 1996; and

Sharma et al., 1999). The cellular company has reputation and good image (Aydin and Ozer, 2005). The company is innovative and forward looking (Athanassopoulos and

Iliakopoulos, 2003; and Aydin and Ozer, 2005). The advertisements and promotional campaigns of the company are effective

(Aydin and Ozer, 2005; and Ndubisi and Wah, 2005).

The Analysts 19


08.RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

The study was exploratory in nature. Total population were Indian cellular user of Institute of Management Studies, Ghaziabad. Sample size was 93 customers. Individual respondent was the sampling unit. Since study includes the primary data so self designed questionnaire was used for collecting response of the customer.

Tools Used For Data Analysis

1. Reliability (using KMO and Bartlett's Test of Sphericity) was applied to check the reliability of the questionnaires.

2. Factor Analysis was used to find out the underlying factor.

Results and Discussions:

Reliability Test:

Reliability test was carried out using SPSS and the reliability test measure is given below:

KMO and Bartlett's Test of Sphericity NO. of Items .692 25

The acquired number is bigger than 0.6 (0.692). So the data can be used for the further analysis.

Demographic:

Table:2 Age of respondent:

AGE RESPONDENTS(in %)

18-20 1.08

20-22 45.16

22-24 43.01

24-26 6.45

> 26 4.3

The above table shows that the maximum number of respondents belong to the age group of 20-22 year i.e 45.16 %. Minimum number of respondents is from age group of 18-20 years i.e 1.08 %.

The Analysts 20


EXHIBIT:1 Age group to which the respondent belong

Table:3 Qualification of the respondents

:

The above table shows that the maximum nuber of repondents are Engineer and the minimum number belongs to the respondent who has completed his Arts Graduate degree.

The Analysts

QUALIFICATION NO. OF RESPONDENTS

Engineer 39.78

Science Graduate 25.81

Commerce Graduate 23.66

Arts Graduate 3.23

Others 7.53

21


EXHIBIT: 2 Educational Qualification of the respondents

Table: 4 Cellular Usage Time:

CELLUAR USAGE TIME NO. OF RESPONDENTS ( in %)

< 6 months 9.68

6-12 months 6.45

1-3 years 20.43

3-5 years 29.03

> 5 years 34.41

EXHIBIT: 3 Cellular usage of the respondents

The Analysts 22


Maximum number of repondent belongs to the Cellular Usage Time group of >5 years (34.41%) followed by the Cellular Usage Time group of respondent belonging to 3-5 years (29.03%).

Table: 5 Sex of the respondents

SEX NO OF RESPONDENTS ( in %)

Male 64.59

Female 34.41

EXHIBIT: 4 Sex distribution of the respondents

The Analysts 23


Out of total 93 respondents 64.59% were male and 34.41 % are female respondent.

Table: 6 Average Monthly Expenses(in Rs):

AVERAGE MONTHLY EXPENSES (IN RS.)

NO.OF RESPONDENTS (in%)

> 200 6.45

200-400 22.58

400-600 23.66

600-800 17.20

>800 30.11

The Analysts 24


EXHIBIT: 5 Average monthly expense on Mobile of the respondents

Maximum number of repondent belongs to the Average Monthly Expenses (in Rs.) group of Rs. > 800 (30.11%) followed by the Average Monthly Expenses (in Rs.) group of respondent belonging to Rs. 400 - 600 (23.66%).

Factor Analysis:

The Analysts 25


Since there were many factors therefore principle component factor analysis with varimax rotation and Kiser normalization was applied. The factor analysis results in 7 factors for adoptation of E- Banking and the factors were named according to common nature of statements. The detail about the factor included the factor number, factor name , their Eigen value and their Item loading is given in Table below:

Table: 7 Factor Analysis

Factor No.

Factor Name

Eigen Value

Items Items Loading

Total % of Variance

1 Network quality and image

6.350 25.401 Good network coverage

.891

Network quality is good.

.826

Call quality is good. .777

Reputation and Image .596

2 Retailers and offers

2.122 8.486 The employees are approachable?

.749

The employees are courteous?

.705

The employees are helpful?

.647

Promotional offers .562

3 Value Added Services

1.867 7.467 Verity of plans .765

Value added services .759

Easy billing facility .514

4 Service Satisfaction

1598 6.394 The promise fulfilling? .743

The services is reliable and consistent?

.699

The service is trustworthy? .614

5 Problem 1.409 5.634 The employees are .761

The Analysts 26


Rectifications competent?

Convenience - taking services

.654

Fast Fault Repair .543

6 Competitive 1.315 5.261 The specific needs are considered?

.685

Competitive services are good.

.650

Competitive prices .601

7 Self Belongingness

1.249 4.995 The personal attention is given?

.815

The employees are friendly?

.518

8. Accessibility of Information

1.093 4.371 Accurate information is provided?

.828

Prompt services are given? .432

Factor Discussion:

1. Network quality and image: This factor has emerged as a most important determinant of research with a total variance of 25.401. Major element of this factor include Good network coverage(.891), Network quality is good (.) etc. During our research we find that good network coverage does affect the CUSTOMER SATISFACTION at large extent.

2. Retailers and offers: This factor has emerged as the second most important determinant of research with a total variance of 8.486. Major element of this factor include The employees are approachable (.749), The employees are courteous (.705) etc. The study shows that retailers and offer affect the customer satisfaction at large extent.

3. Value added Services: This factor emerged as the important determinants of research with a variance of 7.467. Major elements consisting this factor include Verity of plans (.765), Value added services (.759) etc. This study shows that Value added Services play a significant role in Customer Satisfaction.

The Analysts 27


4. Service Satisfaction: This factor has emerged as the effective determinants of research with a variance of 6.394. The elements consisting this factor include The promise fulfilling (.743) and The services is reliable (.699). This study reveals that Service satisfaction plays a significant role in Customer Satisfaction.

5. Problem Rectifications: This factor has emerged as a relevant factor of research with a total variance of 5.634. Major elements of this factor includes The employees are competent (.761), Convenience taking services (.654) etc. This study reveals that Problem Rectifications plays a significant role in Customer Satisfaction.

6. Competitive: This factor has also emerged as the effective factor of research with a total variance of 5.261. The elements consists in this factor are the specific needs, Good competitive services (.650).

7. Self Belongingness: This factor has also emerged as an important finding of research with a total variance of 4.995. Element of this factor is the personal attention given (.815). Employees behavior also affects the Customer Satisfaction a lot.

8. Accessibility of Information: This factor has also emerged as an important finding of research with a total variance of 4.371. Element of this factor is the accurate information being provided (.828). Prompt Services given also affects the Customer Satisfaction a lot.

09.CONCLUSION

The Analysts 28


This study, aimed at exploring the drivers of customer satisfaction from the Indian cellular service provider. Customer satisfaction from all points of view, i.e., satisfaction from usage of the service, recommending the service to others, and repeats buying intention. On the whole, the network quality and image, retailers and offer, value added services and services satisfaction are driving all facets of customer satisfaction more than problem rectification, competitiveness, self belongingness and accessibility of information.

When it comes to satisfaction from usage of the services, all the eight factors are impacting satisfaction with ‘Network quality and image’ being the most important driver of satisfaction followed by ‘Retailers and offers’ and ‘accessibility of information’ being the least important factor.

10.LIMITATIONS AND FUTURE RESEARCH

The Analysts 29


The results obtained by this study pertain to only those respondents chosen through convenience sampling i.e IMS, Lal Quan, Ghaziabad and since the profile of the sample is not a replica of actual market share of different cellular service provider in India, this study should be seen as giving a direction for future research, and generalization from this study to a wider population of cellular industry should be done with some caution. However, this research work can be extended by collecting additional samples. Also, in order to measure customer satisfaction, overall satisfaction and behavioral intentions have been considered. Service loyalty as an after-effect of satisfaction could be added as an additional variable for further research.

Another direction provided by the research is related to the gap between customer perception and expectation as a driver of satisfaction. Also, the viewpoints of cellular companies can be explored. There are other factors influencing customer satisfaction apart from factors suggested in this study, such as the demographic characteristics of customers and the usage pattern of mobile telecommunication services. Future studies could examine some of these factors. Further, to identify the proper factors influencing customer satisfaction, in a methodical manner, cellular services can be compared with other types of communications services as well as with other service industries.

11.REFERENCES

1. Ganguli Shirshendu(June,2008), “Drivers of Customer Satisfaction in the Indian Cellular Services Market”, Management Research, Vol. 22, Nos.6,pp 22-39.

The Analysts 30


2. Kapoor V. K., “Fundamentals of Mathematical Statistics”, Edition 8 th, Sultan Chand & Sons.

3. Zikmund William G., “Business Research Method’s”, Edition 7th, Thomson South-Western.

4.Karjaluoto Heikki (2007), “An investigation of consumer behaviour in mobile phone markets in Finland ”, 32nd EMAC conference, Track: New Technologies and E-Marketing.

5. Aghamiri Seyed Ali (2007), “Assessing and Analyzing Satisfaction Level of Domestic Gas Consumers in Tehran”, A Case Study in Great Tehran Gas Company, Tarbiat Modares University Faculty of Engineering.

6. Chun Liu (2006), “Key Factors Affecting Cell Phones purchase decisions by young Chinese Consumers”, Pennsylvania State University,USA

7. Iddris Faisal (November,2006), “Mobile Advertising in B2C Marketing”, Master Thesis, Lulea University of Technology.

12.ANNEXURE

APPENDIX A - QUESTIONNAIRE

Hello. I am the student from INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES, GHAZIABAD. I am currently conducting a study on “DRIVERS OF CUSTOMER SATISFACTION FROM THE INDIAN CELLULAR SERVICE PROVIDER ”. I would like

The Analysts 31


to assure you that there are no rights or wrong answers and I am only interested in

your opinion. I assure you that your opinion will not be disclosed.Section- A

(Please tick (√ ) the appropriate box)

1) Name………………………………………………………2) Please specify the age group to which you belong?

a) 18-20 b) 20-22 c) 22-24 d) 24-26 e) >26

3) Educational Background

a) Engineer b) Science graduate c) Commerce graduate d) Arts graduate e) Others.

4) Please specify the cellular usage time to which you belong?

a) < 6 months b) 6-12 months c) 1- 3 years d) 3-5 years e) > 5 years

5) Please specify the average monthly expense (in Rs.) to which you belong?

a) > 200 b) 200 - 400 c) 400 - 600 d) 600 - 800 e) > 800

6) Sex:

a) Male b) Female

Section- B

(Please tick (√ ) the appropriate box)

SDA - Strongly Disagree, D – Disagree, N – Neutral, A – Agree, SA – Strongly Agree

Sl. No.o

Variables SDA D N A SA

1 The services is reliable and consitent?

2 The service is trustworthy?

3 The promise fulfilling?

4 The employees are competent?

5 The employees are approachable?

6 The employees are courteous?

The Analysts 32


7 The employees are helpful?

8 The employees are friendly?

9 The specific needs are considered?

10 The personal attention is given?

11 Accurate information is provided?

12 Prompt services are given?

13 Fast fault repair

14 Convenience - taking services

15 Network quality is good.

16 Call quality is good.

17 Good network coverage

18 24 x 7 Customer service

19 Competitive services are good.

20 Competitive prices

21 Verity of plans

22 Value added services

23 Easy billing facility

24 Reputation and Image

25 Promotional offers

APPENDIX B - COMMUNALITIES

The Analysts 33

Driver of Customer Satisfaction from the Indian Cellular Service ProviderCommunalities

1.000 .654

1.000 .696

1.000 .636

1.000 .669

1.000 .670

1.000 .626

1.000 .664

1.000 .696

1.000 .695

1.000 .772

1.000 .761

1.000 .674

1.000 .624

1.000 .604

1.000 .731

1.000 .788

1.000 .830

1.000 .590

1.000 .613

1.000 .700

1.000 .777

1.000 .720

1.000 .593

1.000 .561

1.000 .656

Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4

Q5

Q6

Q7

Q8

Q9

Q10

Q11

Q12

Q13

Q14

Q15

Q16

Q17

Q18

Q19

Q20

Q21

Q22

Q23

Q24

Q25

Initial Extraction

Extraction Method: Principal Component Analysis.

APPENDIX C – TOTAL VARIANCE EXPLAINED

The Analysts 34

Driver of Customer Satisfaction from the Indian Cellular Service ProviderTotal Variance Explained

6.350 25.401 25.401 6.350 25.401 25.401 3.359 13.435 13.435

2.122 8.486 33.888 2.122 8.486 33.888 2.470 9.879 23.314

1.867 7.467 41.354 1.867 7.467 41.354 2.122 8.489 31.802

1.598 6.394 47.748 1.598 6.394 47.748 2.110 8.442 40.244

1.409 5.634 53.383 1.409 5.634 53.383 1.911 7.645 47.890

1.315 5.261 58.643 1.315 5.261 58.643 1.868 7.472 55.362

1.249 4.995 63.638 1.249 4.995 63.638 1.692 6.768 62.130

1.093 4.371 68.009 1.093 4.371 68.009 1.470 5.879 68.009

.873 3.492 71.501

.817 3.267 74.768

.789 3.158 77.926

.778 3.113 81.038

.618 2.473 83.512

.572 2.289 85.800

.559 2.237 88.037

.487 1.946 89.984

.443 1.772 91.756

.393 1.573 93.329

.358 1.433 94.762

.313 1.253 96.015

.300 1.200 97.215

.229 .915 98.130

.203 .812 98.942

.168 .672 99.614

.097 .386 100.000

Component1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

Total % of Variance Cumulative % Total % of Variance Cumulative % Total % of Variance Cumulative %

Initial Eigenvalues Extraction Sums of Squared Loadings Rotation Sums of Squared Loadings

Extraction Method: Principal Component Analysis.

APPENDIX D-

The Analysts 35


KMO and Bartlett's Test

.692

900.787

300

.000

Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin Measure of SamplingAdequacy.

Approx. Chi-Square

df

Sig.

Bartlett's Test ofSphericity

APPENDIX E – ROTATED COMPONENT MATRIX

The Analysts 36


Rotated Component Matrixa

.891

.826

.777

.596

.749

.705

.647

.562

.765

.759

.514 .401

.743

.699

.614

.761

.654

.543

.685

.650

.447 .601

.815

.421 .518

.828

.432

Q17

Q15

Q16

Q24

Q5

Q6

Q7

Q25

Q21

Q22

Q23

Q3

Q1

Q2

Q4

Q14

Q13

Q9

Q19

Q20

Q10

Q8

Q11

Q12

Q18

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Component

Extraction Method: Principal Component Analysis. Rotation Method: Varimax with Kaiser Normalization.

Rotation converged in 20 iterations.a.

13.GLOSSARY OF THE TERMS

Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) measure of Sampling adequacy-It should be more than 0.600 to make the research work.The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin measure of sampling adequacy is an index for comparing the magnitudes of the observed correlation coefficients to the

The Analysts 37


magnitudes of the partial correlation coefficients (refer to SPSS User's Guide). Large values for the KMO measure indicate that a factor analysis of the variables is a good idea. For the example, notice that the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin measure of sampling adequacy is greater than 0.90.

Bartlett's Test of sphericity:-Another indicator of the strength of the relationship among variables is Bartlett's test of sphericity. Bartlett's test of sphericity is used to test the null hypothesis that the variables in the population correlation matrix are uncorrelated. The observed significance level is .0000. It is small enough to reject the hypothesis. It is concluded that the strength of the relationship among variables is strong. It is a good idea to proceed a factor analysis for the data.

Chi. Square-The square of a standard normal variate is known as a Chi. Square variate with 1 degree of freedom(df).

Thus if X N(,2),then Z=(X-)/N(0,1)

And Z2={(X-)/}2 , is the chi. Square variate with 1d.f.

df(degree of freedom)-It should me more than 300for a research work. The number of independent variates which make up the statistics (e.g. 2) is known as degree of freedom (d.f) and is denoted by .

Rotated Component Matrix- A rotation matrix is a real square matrix whose transpose is its inverse and whose determinant is +1 (i.e. it is a real special orthogonal matrix).

QT = Q − 1

Det Q = + 1

The matrix is so-called because it geometrically corresponds to a linear map that sends vectors to a corresponding vector rotated about the origin by a fixed angle.

Factor Analysis:-Factor analysis explores the inter-relationships among variables to discover if those variables can be grouped into a smaller set of underlying factors. The main applications of factor analytic techniques are: (1) to reduce the number of variables (2) to detect structure in the relationships between variables, that is to classify variables.Therefore, factor analysis is applied as a data reduction or structure detection method (the term factor analysis was first introduced by Thurstone, 1931).

SPSS:- The software used for doing the factor analysis.

The Analysts 38

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Real_number

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linear_map

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_orthogonal_matrix

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Real_number

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Determinant

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invertible_matrix

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transpose

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Square_matrix


KMO and Bartlett's Test

Eigen Value-Eigen values represent the amount of variance in the data that is explained by the factor with which it is associated.

The Analysts 39

customer's satisafaction-indian cellular services

Documents