What do broadband consumers want? Design and execution of a questionnaire on demand for bundled services on the Portuguese telecomunications market

The report addresses the question of what are the preferences of broadband consumers on the Portuguese telecommunication market. A triple play bundle is being investigated. The discrete choice analysis, adopted in the study, base on 110 responses, mainly from NOVA students. The data for the analysis was collected via manually designed on-line survey. The results show that the price attribute is relatively the most important one while the television attribute is being overlooked in the decision making process. Main effects examined in the research are robust. In addition, "extras" components are being tested in terms of users' preferences

Factors Driving Subscribers Mobile Network Service and Provider Choice: An Exploratory Study from Ghana

This study examines the key factors influencing mobile network service and provider choice among 415 subscribers in Ghana. To meet the objectives of this research, an administered questionnaire of a descriptive manner was developed based on thorough review of literature and elicitation interviews. Exploratory data analysis was performed using statistical softwares and the results of the analysis was established on the aims of this research. Factors such as family and friends, network signal strength, low voice and internet rate, moderate cost of services, nationwide coverage, clear and uncongested network, consistent and dependable mobile network were essential to respondents choice in selecting one service provider over other alternatives. Interestingly, the company’s brand/participation in charity was among the least considered factors. Respondents chose fast data connectivity and rollover of data bundles as the most crucial factor to consider when switching to a new mobile network provider. Authors recommend that the mobile network providers should invest significantly in technological innovations that provide clear and uncongested network, enhanced coverage, faster data services and have lower call and data charges. Understanding the factors affecting subscribers to choose one service provider over the other can be very beneficial for mobile network service providers to learn more about their subscribers to attain and retain them and potentially contribute to the firm’s financial success. Keywords: mobile network service, mobile network service provider, subscriber’s choice, Ghana DOI: 10.7176/JMCR/66-04 Publication date:March 31st 202

Leveraging Market Research Techniques in IS: A Review and Framework of Conjoint Analysis Studies in the IS Discipline

With cloud and mobile computing, information systems (IS) have evolved towards mass-market services. While IS success requires user involvement, the IS discipline lacks methods that allow organizations to integrate the “voice of the customer” into mass-market services with individual and dispersed users. Conjoint analysis (CA), from marketing research, provides insights into user preferences and measures user trade-offs for multiple product features simultaneously. While CA has gained popularity in the IS domain, existing studies have mostly been one-time efforts, which has resulted in little knowledge accumulation about CA’s applications in IS. We argue that CA could have a significant impact on IS research (and practice) if this method was further developed and adopted for IS application areas. From reviewing 70 CA studies published between 1999 and 2019 in the IS discipline, we found that CA supports in initially conceptualizing, iteratively designing, and evaluating IS and their business models. We critically assess the methodological choices along the CA procedure to provide recommendations and guidance on “how” to leverage CA techniques in future IS research. We then synthesize our findings into a framework for conjoint analysis studies in IS that outlines “where” researchers and practitioners can apply CA along the IS lifecycle

Bundling as a strategy for a commodity service brand introduction. The impact of bundle partner image on quality and risk perception and the role of complementarity

Increasing the quality perception and reducing the perceived risk of purchase improves the chances of success for new service introductions. This research investigated whether, for a new service brand introduction into the German residential electricity market, bundling with a stronger service brand enhances the perceived quality and reduces the perceived risk more than bundling with a weaker brand. In the goods category, it has been scientifically shown prior to this research that bundling with a stronger brand achieves this effect if the products are complementary. An academic knowledge gap in this area existed because this enhancement effect was yet to be evaluated empirically for services. This research applied price bundling to a new electricity service brand introduction via a survey experiment with potential customers rating electricity bundle offers. The research design was a 2*2 (brand image of bundle partner; complementarity) factorial design with analysis of variance (ANOVA) to test the research hypotheses. The results narrow the knowledge gap and contribute to professional practice by establishing that bundling with a stronger brand enhances the perceived quality and reduces the perceived risk also for services. The research furthermore demonstrated that complementarity is, independent of the bundle partner brand image, a factor to improve quality perception and to reduce the perceived risk of a new service brand

Investigating individual preferences for new mobility services: the case of “mobility as a service” products

In just a few years, the Mobility as a Service (MaaS) concept has gone from an idea discussed by very few, to being a prominent topic in any transportation related debate. However, within this time, there have only been few rigorous studies that explore the various aspects of MaaS. This thesis aims to contribute to existing knowledge by providing empirical evidence on individual preferences for MaaS plans and their components. In doing so, first desk-research is conducted to summarise existing MaaS schemes and outline the MaaS ecosystem. Next, MaaS surveys that are able to capture individual preferences for MaaS products are designed and specific challenges in the design process identified. The MaaS surveys, including MaaS plan stated preference experiments, are applied in two case study areas of London and Greater Manchester. Using the novel data collected, individual preferences for MaaS plans are examined using two distinct studies: (1) a mixed methods research conducted in London, which expands the survey by adding a qualitative (in-depth interview) element to examine user preferences for MaaS plans and the ways individuals choose between them; and (2) a latent class choice model based on data collected from Manchester to examine whether there is heterogeneity in preferences. Finally, implications for industry and policy stakeholders are discussed as well as interventions that can best support the widespread adoption of MaaS. The results of this thesis show there is interest in the concept of MaaS among potential users as many see value in a single app that integrates different transport modes into a single service. In general, individuals are hesitant in purchasing pre-payed MaaS plans and would be more comfortable with a pay-as-you-go product option. While many people are reluctant towards MaaS plans, the results indicate that heterogeneity exists in preferences towards them and there are different user groups based on socio-demographic characteristics and current mobility habits. Smaller, less expensive plans including modes such as public transport and bike sharing can be used to target students or middle-income people with have high overall mode usage. Larger, more expensive plans that include modes such as taxi and car sharing in addition to public transport, will be attritive to individuals who are likely younger, male, well-educated, have higher income and already use many transport modes. Older population groups, individuals with low income and those that do not use any transport modes or are uni-modal are least likely to adopt MaaS plans. The thesis also provides insights into individuals’ preferences towards transport modes within MaaS plans. The analysis showed that respondents classify modes within MaaS plans into three categories: ‘essential’ modes that are pivotal to the individual and which they most likely already frequently use; ‘considered’ modes are those that they would be willing to include but may not yet use; and ‘excluded’ modes are those that they definitely do not want in their plans and would eliminate any plan that included these. Public transport consistently proved to be an essential mode, while taxi, car sharing and bike sharing could be ‘essential’, ‘considered’ or ‘excluded’ depending on the characteristics of the individual. The main contributions of this thesis are the novel data collected in two case study cities about individuals’ preferences for MaaS plans and the findings gained through the analysis providing insights into possible target audiences and product designs for MaaS plans