1. University
of
Minho
School
of
Economics
and
Management
Customer-­‐brand
rela0onship
in
mobile
communica0ons
Masters
thesis
in
Marke,ng
and
Strategic
Management
Author:
Brigita
Jurisic
Supervisor:
Prof.
Dr.
António
Joaquim
Araújo
de
Azevedo
November
16th
2009

2. Agenda
1. Industry
outline
and
research
purpose
2. Theore,cal
background
3. Methodology
4. Results
and
interpreta,on
5. Conclusions
and
managerial
implica,ons
6. Limita,ons
and
implica,ons
for
further
research
Marke,ng
and
Strategic
Management
Brigita
Jurisic
November
16th
2009

3. 1.
1
Facts
on
mobile
communica0ons
industry
-­‐ Introduced
in
early
80ies
(in
Portugal
in
’89)
-­‐ Europe:
10%
growth
over
the
last
years
Total
revenues
of
174
billion
EUR
in
2007
-­‐ Technologically
driven
–
rapid
changes
requiring
heavy
investments
-­‐ Convergence
with
informa,on,
media
and
entertainment
industry
–
increasing
compe,,veness
-­‐ Portugal:
134%
of
SIM
penetra,on
rate
(GSMA,
2008)
Marke,ng
and
Strategic
Management
Brigita
Jurisic
November
16th
2009

4. 1.2
Research
purpose
To
answer
the
ques,ons
of:
-­‐ How
older
Genera,on
Y
relates
to
the
brand
of
their
mobile
communica,on
operator?
-­‐ Are
there
any
differences
between
men
and
women
in
customer-­‐brand
rela,onship?
-­‐ What
happens
with
customer-­‐brand
rela,onship
when
customer
is
using
more
than
one
service
provider?
-­‐ What
are
the
differences
between
Op,mus,
TMN
and
Vodafone
users?
-­‐ Is
Veloutsou
and
Mou,nho’
s
(2008)
extended
model
of
brand
rela,onship
strength
applicable
to
service
sector?
Marke,ng
and
Strategic
Management
Brigita
Jurisic
November
16th
2009

5. 2.
Theore0cal
background
2.
2
The
research
model
BRAND
ATTITUDE
BRAND
REPUTATION
CUSTOMER-BRAND
SELF-BRAND RELATIONSHIP BRAND LOYALTY
CONGRUENCE STRENGTH
BRAND
TRIBALISM
BRAND
SATISFACTION
Marke,ng
and
Strategic
Management
Brigita
Jurisic
November
16th
2009

6. 2.
Theore0cal
background
2.
3.
1
BRAND
ATTITUDE
Defined
as
consumer’s
overall
evalua,on
of
the
brand
(Keller,
1993).
Agtudes
form
a
basis
for
consumer
behavior
and
have
a
value-­‐
expressive
func,on
by
allowing
individuals
to
express
their
self-­‐
concept
through
their
agtudes.
Marke,ng
and
Strategic
Management
Brigita
Jurisic
November
16th
2009

7. 2.
Theore0cal
background
2.
3.
2
BRAND
REPUTATION
Defined
as
accumulated
agtude
(experience
based
or
not)
towards
the
company
(Andreassen
and
Lindestad,
1997).
Influences
the
expecta,ons
people
have
on
the
brand’s
ac,on
in
the
future.
Brand
reputa,on
signals
trust
towards
the
brand
amongst
those
individuals
who
are
inexpert
with
the
product
category
to
infer
which
brand
is
trustworthy
or
not
(Lai
et
al.,
2008).
Marke,ng
and
Strategic
Management
Brigita
Jurisic
November
16th
2009

8. 2.
Theore0cal
background
2.
3.
3
SELF-­‐BRAND
CONGRUENCE
Concept
residing
from
Sirgy’s
self-­‐congruity
theory
(1982)
sta,ng
that
consumer’s
behavior
is
partly
determined
by
the
congruence
resul,ng
from
psychological
comparison
involving
the
product-­‐user
image
and
the
consumer’s
self-­‐concept.
“The
match
between
brand
essence
(personality,
iden7ty,
origin,
promise,
etc.)
and
the
consumer’s
self-­‐concept,
is
the
first
step
in
to
the
genera7on
of
brand
equity
and
a
customer-­‐
brand
rela7onship,
towards
the
“lovemark”
concept
introduced
by
Beckmann
(2002).”
Azevedo
and
Farhangmehr
(2003,
p.
3)
Marke,ng
and
Strategic
Management
Brigita
Jurisic
November
16th
2009

9. 2.
Theore0cal
background
2.
3.
4
BRAND
TRIBALISM
The
word
“tribe”
in
marke,ng
literature
stands
for
network
of
heterogeneous
people,
in
terms
of
gender,
age,
and
income,
who
have
a
link
because
of
a
shared
passion
or
emo,on.
The
members
of
a
tribe
are
not
just
consumers
but
also
advocates
of
a
brand
through
sharing
strong
emo,onal
links,
a
common
sub-­‐culture
and
a
vision
of
life
(Cova
and
Cova,
2002).
Tribes
differ
from
psychographic
segments
in
their
short
life
span
and
diversity,
diverging
from
reference
groups
because
they
do
not
focus
on
the
norma,ve
influences
of
the
group
nor
do
individual
group
members
focus
on
each
other
(Veloutsou
and
Mou,nho,
2008).
Marke,ng
and
Strategic
Management
Brigita
Jurisic
November
16th
2009

10. 2.
Theore0cal
background
2.
3.
5
BRAND
SATISFACTION
AMA
(2009)
defines
consumer
sa,sfac,on
as:
1.
(consumer
behavior
defini,on)
The
degree
to
which
a
consumer's
expecta,ons
are
fulfilled
or
surpassed
by
a
product.
2.
(consumer
behavior
defini,on)
The
post-­‐purchase
evalua,on
of
a
consumer
ac,on
by
the
ul,mate
consumer
or
the
decision
maker.
The
beliefs,
agtudes,
and
future
purchase
paoerns;
word-­‐of-­‐mouth
communica,on;
and
legal
and
informal
complaints
have
been
related
to
the
post-­‐purchase
sa,sfac,on/
dissa,sfac,on
process.
Marke,ng
and
Strategic
Management
Brigita
Jurisic
November
16th
2009

11. 2.
Theore0cal
background
2.
3.
6
CUSTOMER-­‐BRAND
RELATIONSHIP
STRENGTH
Consumer-­‐brand
rela,onship
is
defined
in
terms
of
three
key
dimensions:
-­‐ interdependence,
-­‐ interac,on
over
,me
and
-­‐ bond
(instrumental,
affec,ve
or
both)
(Fournier,
1994).
Rela,onship
between
a
customer
and
a
brand
emerges
through
consumer’s
interac,ons
with
messages
related
to
the
brand
(Grönroos,
2007).
Consumer
relevant
rela,onships
reveal
purposive
constructs
employed
in
making
sense
of
one’s
daily
life.
Marke,ng
and
Strategic
Management
Brigita
Jurisic
November
16th
2009

12. 2.
Theore0cal
background
1.
3.
7
BRAND
LOYALTY
AMA
(2009)
defines
brand
loyalty
in
two
ways:
“(sales
promo7on
defini7on)
The
situa7on
in
which
a
consumer
generally
buys
the
same
manufacturer-­‐originated
product
or
service
repeatedly
over
7me
rather
than
buying
from
mul7ple
suppliers
within
the
category.”
Marke,ng
and
Strategic
Management
Brigita
Jurisic
November
16th
2009

13. 3.
Methodology
3.
1
RESEARCH
INSTRUMENTS
QUALITATIVE:
-­‐
Focus
group
with
8
university
students
as
par,cipants
in
order
to
gain
insight
into
the
mobile
communica,ons
usage
paoerns
as
well
as
on
the
percep,ons
and
opinions
on
mobile
operator’s
brands.
QUANTITATIVE:
-­‐
Online
self-­‐administered
survey
using
Qualtrics
Internet-­‐based
sotware.
The
par,cipants
of
the
survey
were
invited
to
par,cipate
through
social
networks
of
Facebook
and
Hi5,
as
well
as
mail
lists
of
University
of
Minho
and
University
Lusíada.
Marke,ng
and
Strategic
Management
Brigita
Jurisic
November
16th
2009

14. 3.
Methodology
3.
2
ONLINE
SURVEY
SAMPLE
Convenience
sample
of
606
individuals
-­‐
Gender:
233
male,
373
female
-­‐
Age:
M
(SD)=
22,47
(2,73)
-­‐
Level
of
educa,on:
26,7%
-­‐
,ll
12th
grade
61,7%
-­‐
Bachelor
10,7%
-­‐
Masters
or
Doctoral
-­‐ Operator:
62,9%
Vodafone
users,
49,5%
TMN
users
and
22,9%
Op,mus
users
-­‐ 32,4%
of
the
sample
use
more
than
one
operator
at
,me
Marke,ng
and
Strategic
Management
Brigita
Jurisic
November
16th
2009

15. 3.
Methodology
3.
3
ROPER
CONSUMER
STYLES
Trendsetters and
oriented to leisure time
and innovation
Exalted consumption
style with focus on
lifestyle and ambience
Marke,ng
and
Strategic
Management
Brigita
Jurisic
November
16th
2009

16. 4.
Results
and
interpreta0on
4.1
Differences
between
men
and
women
Variable
M(SD)
men
M
(SD)
women
Sig.
Brand
loyalty
4,07
(0,76)
4,23
(0,71)
M<F
*
MMS
2,78
(1,49)
3,04
(1,42)
M<F*
Music
1,42
(0,87)
1,78
(1,10)
M<F*
Images
1,26
(0,59)
1,42
(0,84)
M<F*
Internet
WiFi
2,88
(1,29)
2,34
(1,20)
F<M*
Internet
on
phone
2,86
(1,29)
2,37
(1,19)
F<M*
Mobile
TV
1,94
(1,03)
1,72
(0,94)
F<M*
-Women are more often than men engaged in positive word-of-
mouth and willing to recommend
Marke,ng
and
Strategic
Management
Brigita
Jurisic
November
16th
2009

17. 4.
Results
and
interpreta0on
4.2
Differences
between
single
and
mul,ple
operator
users
Variable
M(SD)
single
M
(SD)
mul0ple
Sig.
Brand
tribalism
3,21
(0,60)
3,32
(0,62)
S<M
*
There are more women amongst multiple operator users.
Possible reasons:
-Women are more interested in communication then men.
-Women use more than 1 operator in order to be contacted
also from the friends that are not using their main operator.
Marke,ng
and
Strategic
Management
Brigita
Jurisic
November
16th
2009

18. 4.
Results
and
interpreta0on
4.3
Differences
between
Op,mus,
TMN
and
Vodafone
users
8
7
6
5
Op,mus
4
TMN
3
Vodafone
2
1
Self-­‐brand
Agtude
tribalism
sa,sfac,on
rela,onship
reputa,on
Loyalty
Long-­‐term
congruity
Brand
Brand
brand
Brand
Brand
Marke,ng
and
Strategic
Management
Brigita
Jurisic
November
16th
2009

19. 4.
Results
and
interpreta0on
4.3
Differences
between
Op,mus,
TMN
and
Vodafone
users
5
4
3
Op,mus
2
TMN
Vodafone
1
0
MMS
Music
Games
Mobile
Videocall
TV
Optimus transmits innovation, creativity, dynamics and modernity.
TMN has a diffuse brand image, being associated on one side to poor
quality, abuse and on the other to family, trust and security.
Vodafone stands for service quality, internationalism and modernity.
Marke,ng
and
Strategic
Management
Brigita
Jurisic
November
16th
2009

20. 4.
Results
and
interpreta0on
4.4
The
research
model
BRAND H6
ATTITUDE β=,049
BRAND H5
REPUTATION β=,131
CUSTOMER-BRAND H9 BRAND
SELF-BRAND H7 RELATIONSHIP LOYALTY
CONGRUENCE β=,102 STRENGTH
BRAND H4
TRIBALISM β=,475
BRAND H8
SATISFACTION β=,098
Marke,ng
and
Strategic
Management
Brigita
Jurisic
November
16th
2009

21. 5.
Conclusions
and
managerial
implica0ons
-­‐ Company’s
func,on
is
to
act
as
a
support
of
rela,onships
customers
have
between
each
other.
-­‐ Need
to
focus
on
customer-­‐to-­‐customer
rela,onships,
rituals
and
affec,ve
loyalty,
especially
with
women.
-­‐ Corporate
brand
management,
CRM
and
service
bundling
as
tools
of
reaching
higher
wallet
share.
-­‐ Marketers
need
to
create
brands
consumers
will
want
to
interact
with.
Marke,ng
and
Strategic
Management
Brigita
Jurisic
November
16th
2009

22. 6.
Limita0ons
and
implica0ons
for
further
research
- Limited
generalizability
of
the
findings
to
the
whole
Portuguese
popula,on
and
other
countries.
-­‐
Non-­‐probabilis,c
sampling
method.
Sugges,ons
for
further
research:
1.
Comparison
between
the
genera,ons
in
mobile
services
usage.
2.
Agtudes
towards
addi,onal
services
adop,on.
3.
More
detailed
qualita,ve
research
on
mo,va,on
to
use
more
than
one
mobile
communica,on
operator.
Marke,ng
and
Strategic
Management
Brigita
Jurisic
November
16th
2009

23. Thank
you
for
your
aoen,on!
Any
ques,ons?