Pricing of mobile phone attributes at the retail level in a developing country: Hedonic analysis

This study has been undertaken to determine the effect of mobile phone attributes on their retail market prices. A log-linear hedonic price model was fitted to a total of 348 handsets, for which data were collected about various attributes from different websites, while the price data were obtained from mobile phone retailers in two major cities of Pakistan from November 2016 to February 2017. Results indicate that brand, battery capacity, weight, operating system, RAM, memory size and display size have a significant positive effect on mobile phone prices. Given the significant premium associated with various characteristics, manufacturers need to formulate strategies to emphasize the battery capacity of 2000-3000?mAH, RAM of more than 1GB, screen size of more than 5 inches, memory size of more than 8GB, back camera of over 15MP, 4G network mode, front camera and FM radio.     

Determinants of mobile phone ownership in Nigeria

Mobile phones are recognized as a primary platform for mitigating the digital divide and increasing economic growth, and the same appears to be true for Nigeria, the largest economy in Africa. Since 2012, mobile phone penetration has shown nearly linear growth, reaching 83% in 2016. However, this statistic falls to only 46% after correcting for ownership of multiple SIM cards and sharing of mobile phones among multiple users. The determinants of mobile phone ownership in Nigeria are poorly understood, which hinders research that could inform policies capable of increasing mobile phone penetration and eliminating the digital divide. To begin to fill this research gap, we have analyzed socio-economic factors related to mobile phone ownership in the country. We used a logit model and the latest national-level Datafirst ICT dataset (2012) about mobile phone adoption from 1552 individuals. The sample was stratified, clustered, and probability-weighted to make it representative of the situation at the national level. The results suggest that factors such as geographic location and income may not strongly influence mobile phone ownership, in contrast to what was previously thought. Instead, the strongest factors appeared to be education level, informal work, social engagement, type of electricity supply and employment status. Our analysis suggests that to increase mobile phone ownership and close the digital divide, policy makers should target younger adults, provide training in digital literacy specifically for mobile phone use, invest in electricity supply infrastructure, and develop content and applications in non-English languages. These findings may contribute to understanding mobile phone distribution in Nigeria as well as inform implementation of the country's ICT Roadmap 2017–2020 and Vision 2020.     

Reducing the level of switching costs in mobile communications: The case of Mobile Number Portability

Switching costs are one of the most important economic forces that affect market competition in mobile communications. Both theoretical and empirical studies have shown that switching costs reduce market competition leading to higher prices, lower product and service quality, and lower customer welfare. Given their negative consequences, national regulatory authorities have designed policies aimed at reducing switching costs and fostering competition. One of the most important of these, in the mobile communications industry, is mobile number portability (MNP). The aim of this paper is to investigate the effect of MNP on switching costs in mobile phone services. First, a hierarchical Bayes model is proposed to measure switching costs at the customer level and to investigate the impact of MNP on them. Second, this study examines the drivers of MNP adoption by customers using a binary logit specification. The results reveal that this regulatory policy has significantly reduced the cost of switching and that MNP adoption partially depends on customer-related variables.     

Estimating switching costs involved in changing mobile phone carriers in Japan: Evaluation of lock-in factors related to Japan’s SIM card locks

This paper employs a web-based conjoint-type questionnaire to examine empirically user preference for a hypothetical Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) unlock situation in Japan’s mobile phone market. This paper also analyzes carriers’ other marketing strategies to lock in consumers. The empirical analysis in this study reveals the following: over 80% of survey respondents evaluate a highly compatible platform with the SIM unlocked. Approximately 70% of consumers find that the value of discounts on initial payments exceeds the discounts on one-year monthly payments. In addition, conditions set by continuing agreements for mobile carriers and mobile handsets reduce consumer benefit by 35% at the median in the case of SIM unlocking with compatible platforms.     

Explaining geospatial variation in mobile phone ownership among rural women of Bangladesh: A multi-level and multidimensional approach

Despite significant progress in Information and communication technologies (ICTs), rural dwellers of Bangladesh are still less fortunate when it comes to availing the improved ICT facilities compared to their urban counterparts, and this digital divide is more evident in the case of women. Mobile phone ownership (MPO) can play a key role in bridging this digital divide and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals of “End poverty in all its forms everywhere”, “Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls”, and “Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages”. Administrative district-level infrastructural and societal readiness to women's MPO in rural settings of Bangladesh may also influence the geospatial variation in their MPO status, which is still unexplained. In the context of rural Bangladesh, household heads substantially exert influence over women's decision-making process. However, the role of household heads' age and education on women's MPO is mostly unexplored. As in developing countries, women's MPO does not ensure its usage, investigating the possibilities of women's MPO on its usage has immense importance. Therefore, this study aims to revisit the correlates of rural women's MPO in Bangladesh and explain the administrative district-level geospatial variation in their MPO by controlling the effect of individual and household-level sociodemographic correlates of MPO. Further, this study attempts to investigate the possibilities of MPO on the extent of its usage. This study used the latest nationally representative cross-sectional data from Bangladesh Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey 2019. This study reveals that the district-level readiness was a potential source of geospatial variation in the prevalence of rural women's MPO in Bangladesh. The lowest level of readiness was noticed in north-western Bangladesh. Comparatively elderly women with better education and media exposure had a considerably higher chance of MPO. Elderly household heads, especially male and less educated heads, hindered the MPO of women. This study identified MPO as a key determinant of its extent of usage. Moreover, to increase the MPO by a faster pace, strategies should target less empowered women, particularly those who lived in districts of lower readiness.     

Network effects in mobile telecommunications markets: A comparative analysis of consumers' preferences in five Latin American countries

It has been shown that the presence of demand-side externalities can induce the market to benefit the largest firms in terms of market share, usually named as network effect by the theoretical literature. On the one hand, macro-level approach in the empirical literature of network effects commonly use the assumption that a network's overall size matters more to consumers' decisions (global network effects). On the other hand, micro-level studies have suggested that social networks are more relevant to consumers' choices than the overall network size (local network effects). Based on microdata from five Latin American countries, we compare the choice of a particular operator over choosing the largest operator by individual consumers. Our research shows that country-level network size is one among a set factors that determine consumers' choices of mobile operators, once individual and operators' country presence heterogeneity are considered. We find that consumers' local network decisions are important for the choice of operator in the majority of cases considered, and that this result is conditional on the chosen operator's market share. Furthermore, network characteristics and consumer preferences, such as coverage, tariffs, and network importance also affect the choice of mobile network for the Latin American context.     

The determinants of mobile game success in South Korea

The global gaming industry, especially the mobile game market, has grown rapidly in recent years. One of the important characteristics of mobile games is that their lifetime is remarkably short compared with those of PC or console games, and downloads of most games peak during the early period of the service. Acquiring as many users as possible immediately after the launch and retaining these users therefore becomes very important for the successful performance of mobile games. This study aims to identify the determinants of mobile game success during different periods after the launch by comparing the first week's performance with the first 4 weeks' performance using a multiple regression analysis with mobile game application downloads from Google Play and estimated sales revenue as performance indicators. The predictors were classified on the basis of the pre- and postlaunch phases, and developer/publisher and third-party factors. A key finding is that for both revenue and downloads, TV advertising and the number of online videos have strong impacts on both the first week and 4 weeks' performance. In addition, preregistration during the prelaunch stage is effective for increasing both revenue and downloads in a relatively short time. Online videos uploaded by the users during the postlaunch phase may help to maintain long-term revenue. Although awareness of IP and name value of publishers are significant for short-term downloads, the effect diminishes after a month, which might imply that there could be an opportunity for small- and medium-sized companies to invest in media and obtain mobile platform advantages in the long run.     

Determinants of mobile broadband use in developing economies: Evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa

Broadband is seen as a vector of economic growth and social development. In the developing world, mobile technologies are widely adopted and mobile broadband is progressively rolled-out with high expectations on its impact on the countries’ development. We highlight what the determinants of mobile broadband use are in four Sub-Saharan countries. Using micro-level data coming from household surveys over 5 years, from 2013 to 2017, we show that SIM card ownership and being part of an online social community has a strong positive impact on mobile broadband use. We also highlight a positive correlation between digital inclusion and financial inclusion as mobile money users and bank account users are found to be more inclined to use mobile broadband. However, beyond apparent similarities, mobile broadband is used in different ways according to countries specificities. For instance, among the non-mobile owners in Nigeria, the unemployed are the most likely to use mobile broadband, most probably for job search practices, while it is rather used by students for information gathering in other countries. Finally we show that those excluded from mobile broadband use are the eldest, those with the lowest level of education, and women.     

Food scare crises and developing countries: The impact of avian influenza on vertical price transmission in the Egyptian poultry sector

A bivariate smooth transition vector error correction model is applied to monthly poultry price data to analyze the effects that avian influenza has had on price transmission along the Egyptian poultry marketing chain. In order to reflect consumer awareness of the crisis, an avian influenza food scare information index is developed and used within the model as a transition variable. Our results suggest that price adjustments to deviations from the market equilibrium parity depend on the magnitude of the avian influenza crisis. Further these adjustments are found to have very different implications for market equilibrium: during the crisis retailers use their market power to increase marketing margins. In contrast, wholesaler margins are found to decline. Results also suggest that food safety information indices contribute to understanding the economic effects of food scare crises in developing countries.     

Critical factors for the expansion of broadband in developing countries: The case of Peru

Many studies have been made on the diffusion and development of broadband, however there are few published studies on the critical factors for advancing broadband services in developing countries. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to understand and identify the critical success factors for the development of broadband services in a developing country context, using the case of Peru. In this regard, this study uses data collected from interviews with Peruvian telecommunications professionals, policy makers and regional telecommunication experts, which is supplemented by official reports and statistical data to determine the critical success factors for broadband in this country. The four factors derived are; (i) expand the availability of infrastructure, (ii) define a national broadband policy that aligns the interests of stakeholders, (iii) develop effective competition in the broadband market, and (iv) stimulate the demand for broadband services. Through a MACTOR analysis the authors found that the objectives of sharing infrastructure, the further deployment of infrastructure and the development of competition in the market for broadband services are those that generate the most divergence between actors. Additionally, the MACTOR analysis determined that no disagreement existed for the objectives related to demand stimulation. Thus, four proposals are offered for the development of Peruvian broadband. The results are relevant for academics and policy makers interested broadband development in developing countries and for rural areas of developed countries.