Chapter - 3 Literature Review3.1 Indian Telecom Sector Study 3.2 Brands and Image 3.2.1 Benefits of Strong Brand Image 3.2.2 Benefits to the Customer 3.2.3 Factors Influencing Brand Image 3.3 Brand Image and Company Performance 3.4 Consumer Perception QoS Study 3.4.1 Service Concept 3.4.2 Customer Expectation and Perception towards Service 3.4.3 Basics of Mobile Services 3.4.4 Cellular Mobile Services 3.4.4.1 First Generation: 1G 3.4.4.2 Second Generation: 2G 3.4.4.3 Third generation: 3G 3.4.4.4 GSM & CDMA technology 3.4.5 Service Quality Concept & Quality Parameters 3.4.5.1 Service Quality 3.4.5.2 Measuring the Service Quality 3.4.5.3 Factors & Parameters affecting the quality of Cellular Mobile Services 3.4.6 Service Quality & Customer Satisfaction 3.4.7 Quality Metrics 3.5 Brand Image & Service Quality 3.6 Perceived Service Quality 3.7 Company Performance Study 3.7.1 ARPU & Market Share (Subscribers) 3.7.1.1 ARPU 3.7.1.2 Subscription Rates in Different Regions 3.7.1.3 Stage of the Subscription 3.8 References 97 3.1 Indian Telecom Sector Study Telecommunications has been recognized the world-over as an important tool for socio-economic development for a nation. It is one of the prime support services needed for rapid growth and modernization of various sectors of the economy. It has become especially important in recent years because of enormous growth of information technology and its significant potential for the impact on the rest of the economy. The Telecom Sector, which has the multiplier effect on the economy, has a vital role to play in economy by way of contributing to the increased efficiency. The available studies suggest that income of business entities and households increases by the use of telecom services. National Telecom Policy (1999) the introduction of the New Telecom Policy in 1999, Indian telecom industry has witnessed exponential growth, especially in the wireless segment. The industry has evolved as a basic infrastructure on the similar lines of electricity, roads, water etc. The overall tele-density has increased from 4.3 in March 2002 to 78.1 in February 2012, wherein the rural areas registered an increase from 1.2 in March 2002 to 38.5 in February 2012, according to a report titled ‘Telecom Sector in India: A Decadal Profile’ prepared by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). Also, the share of telecommunication services (excluding postal and miscellaneous services), as a per cent of the total gross domestic product (GDP), has increased from 0.96 in 200001 to 3.78 in 2009 -10. The Government has given estimates that every 10 per cent increase in access of broadband connectivity boosts the GDP by 1.38 per cent. International comparisons (among 222 countries) in the same report show that India has the second largest number of telephone subscribers in the world accounting for 12 per cent of the world’s total telephone subscribers. Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited (VSNL) 16th Annual Report (2002) India like many other countries has adopted a gradual approach to telecom sector reform through selective privatization and managed competition in different segments of the telecom sector. India introduced private competition in value-added services in 1992 followed by opening up of cellular and basic services for local area to competition. Competition 9 8 was also introduced in National Long Distance (NLD) and International Long Distance (ILD) at the start of the current decade. World Telecommunication Development Report (2002) explains that network expression in India was accompanied by an increase in productivity of telecom staff measured in terms of ratio of number of main lines in operation to total no. of staff. Indian Telecommunication Statistics (2002) in its study showed the long run trend in supply and demand of Direct Exchange Lines (DEL). Potential demand for telecom services is much more than its supply. In eventful decade of sector reforms, there has been significant growth in supply of DEL. Economic Survey, Government of India (2002-2003) has mentioned two very important goals of telecom sector as delivering low-cost telephony to the largest number of individuals and delivering low cost high speed computer networking to the largest number of firms. Adam Braff, Passmore and Simpson (2003) state that telecom service providers even in United States face a sea of troubles. The outlook for US wireless carriers is challenging. They can no longer grow by acquiring new customers; in fact, their new customers are likely to be migrated from other carriers. Indeed, churning may account for as much as 80% of new customers in 2005. Dutt and Sundaram (2004) studied that in order to boost communication for business, new modes of communication are now being introduced in various cities of the country. Cellular Mobile Phones, Radio Paging, E-mail, Voicemail, Video, Text and Video-Conferencing now operational in many cities, are a boon to business and industry. Value- added hi-tech services, access to Internet and Introduction of Integrated Service Digital Network are being introduced in various places in the country. A study by Jeanette Carless on and Salvador Arias (2004) wireless substitution is producing significant traffic migration from wire line to wireless and helping to fuel fierce price competition, resulting in margin squeezes for both wire line voice tariffs 9 9 booming knowledge sector and growing urbanization have contributed towards tremendous growth of this sector.5 billion mobile phone users in the world today. So. rising income levels. In overview in Indian infrastructure Report (2005) explains India’s rapidly expanding telecom sector is continuing to witness stiff competition. It is also the world’s 12th biggest market with a large pie of $ 6. T. The instrument that will tie these things together and deliver the mobile rd revolution to the masses will be 3 Generation (3G) services. Rajan Bharti Mittal (2005) explains the paradigm shift in the way people communicate. India today has the sixth largest telecom network in the world up from 14th in 1995.4 billion. more than three times the number of PCOs. national long distance and international long distance have seen tremendous growth in year 2005 and this growth trend promises to continue electronics and home appliances businesses each of which are expected to be $ 2. Various socio-demographic factors . Convergence of services is a major new emerging area. There are over 1.high GDP growth. The telecom revolution is propelling the growth of India as an economic powerhouse while bridging the developed and the developing economics. The Indian consumer is extremely price sensitive. and second largest among the emerging economies.in organization for Economic Co-operation and Development Countries have fallen by an average of three percent per year between 1999 and 2003.5 bn in revenues by that year. Keeping this in view. the focus of telecom policy is vision of world class telecommunication services at reasonable rates. Various telecom services-basic. ASEAN India Synergy Sectors (2005) point out that high quality of telecommunication infrastructure is the pillar of growth for information technology (IT) and IT enabled services. Ramachandran (2005) analyzed performance of Indian Telecom Industry which is based on volumes rather than margins. V. Provision of telecom services in rural areas would be another thrust area to attain the goal of accelerated economic development and social change. driving forces for manufacturing of handsets by giants in India include-sheer size of 10 . internet. mobile. This has resulted in lower tariffs and better quality of services. 0 . rapid profitability. 6400 crores that industry grossed in 2002-2003. along with better deals for mobile phone users like the previously mentioned full talk time Rs. Moreover.6 million subscribers at the end of March 2003 to 26. based on Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM) standard require less investment as compared to fixed lines. 10 recharge card. Besides this. Compared to Rs. Between 2003 and 2004. its frantic growth rates and above all the fact that its conforms in global standards. It indicates that the market is on ascent.India market. cell phones. And yet that 100% growth rate notwithstanding. According Economic Times (2005) Indian mobile phone market is set to surge ahead since urban India has a teledensity of 30 whereas rural India has a teledensity of 1. Marketing Whitebook (2005) explains with support of detailed data that bigger players are close to 20% of the market each. Besides this. it is Reliance Infocom and Tata Teleservices are dominating the scene whereas Airtel is lead in GSM operators. it is suitable to people’s way of life-rural. 8308 crores. with more than 85000 villages yet is to come under tele-connectivity. urban. the total subscriber base of the private GSM operators doubled. and sub-urban subscribers. a wireless infrastructure has more mobility. that is an increase of 30%. usage of prepaid cards is the extent of 90% simplifies management of customer base.74. Illustrating the lead achieved by Gujarat. In CDMA market. total industry revenue for 2003-04 was around Rs. will go a long way in not only retaining customers but also acquiring the vast market of lowered customers who are extremely sticky about value for money and have extremely low loyalties and almost non-existent switching costs. 10 1 . According to Business and Economy (2005) the catalyst for Indian mobile operators in the future will undoubtedly be increased marketing and advertisement expenditure. sharing of usage.1 million by the end of March 2004. It rose from 12. Marine and Blanchard (2005) identifies the reasons for the unexpected boom in mobile networks. According to them. Serious discussion on 4G has started . Indian infrastructure capital expenditure on cellular equipment will be between 10 to 20% of the investment that will be made by international operators by 2015.V. while the 3G services are yet to fully come up. 10 2 . increasing private participation and deregulating service provisions. He analyses that there is an increasing role for telecom in e-governance in India. Virat Bahri (2006) explains the viewpoint of Sam Pitroda the Chairman of Worldtel that identifies opportunities for investments in telecommunications. Glynn (1992). conforming to global standards and fiscal incentives for telecom manufacturing among others. Mutoh (1994) emphasized that technological changes in the telecom and computers have radically changed the business scenario. the new demands of business have spurred many telecom based technological innovations.. In order to exploit these innovations for competing in global markets.WLAN hot spot have made inroads along with 3G to offer an alternative form of mobile access. Indian handset segment could be between US $ 13 billion and US $ 15 billion by 2016. it is stated that 30% of the new mobile subscribers added by the operators worldwide will come from India by 2009. In turn. The 10% of the third generation (3G) subscribers will be from India by 2011. technology can be leveraged to take India’s development to next level. Narinder K Chhiber ( 2008) the mobile telecommunication technology is evolving rapidly in the world as more people demand mobile services with longer bandwidth and new innovative services like connectivity anywhere. anytime for feature like T. Uehara (1990). business community has been putting pressures on governments to revise the policy. King (1990). Multimedia. Interoperability and seamless connectivity with all types of protocols and standards. Several countries across the world have responded by restructuring the state controlled telecom provider. According to him.According to a paper released by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (2005). The other proposals included setting up of hardware manufacturing cluster parks. regulation and structure of the telecom sector.It offers a great opportunity for equipment vendors to make India a manufacturing hub. E Pedersen and Methlie (2002) studied the technology aspect and explained a comparative view. India indigenization program in the switching segment carried out by C-DOT was successful in the introduction of rural exchanges designed especially for Indian conditions characterized by dust. This convergence of technologies has led to the acceleration of the innovation process. In Broadband policy. Prithipal Singh (2004) with the convergence of technologies. topography and remoteness. Thus. Broadband is growing market and offers immense possibilities for investment. The most recently initiatives aims at convergence of voice and data received from multiple sources both web based and real time video streams in mobile handsets and calling cards have virtual presence possible almost everywhere overcoming the barriers of distance. which is constantly bringing forward new products and services. the DOT generally lagged behind in its level of technology. India has envisaged 10 3 . a comparison of the slow adoption of WAP services in Europe with the successful adoption of comparable I-mode services in Japan and technologically simple SMS based services in Scandinavian suggest that aggregate and technology based models are insufficient to explain the mobile service. technological models of the supply side need to be supplemented with the views and impact of perceptions from the demand side of the mobile commerce end user. is disappearing. World Telecommunication Development Report (2002) technologies of mobile telecommunications and internet are going to set the contours of further technological progress in the current decade. According to them. this innovation process has also given rise to major changes in industry and the institutional structure. Besides expanding the market potential. Broadband is likely to take a lead in the development of Indian Telecom Sector. According to Economic Commission for Europe (2000) this transition of the telecommunication area is mainly technology driven. The borderline between computers and electronics. data services are expected to grow exponentially in the years to come.Business Today (1992) pointed out that due to lack of technical and financial resources especially foreign exchange. on the other. heat and humidity. on the one hand. and telecommunications. Wellenius (1995) recognize that developing countries feel the important role a responsive. (1995). Melody (1994) points out various concerns for the telecom sector covering competition as important one. regulation and operation which require changes in legislation . India has stepped into new millennium by having 100% electronic switching system. business oriented. Donaldson(1994). P. Therefore. the government. Jain and Chhokar (1993) points out the limitations of capital and manpower as key constraints. investors and subscribes could expect only marginal benefits from the reform process.for example restructuring the Japanese Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Public Corporation and Kokusai Denshin Dewwa was preceded by appropriate changes in legal framework. Saran (2004) the telecom technology in India has transformed from manual and electro-mechanical systems to the digital systems. Competition is considered more important factor than ownership in introducing efficiency. The technological changes have made way for new services and economics in the provision of telecom services.a target of 40 million Internet subscribers and 20 million broadband subscribers by 2010. Jain. Motto (1990) researched the need of separate policy. MTNL Report (1991) explains that international bodies had supplemented government resources and funded expansion and technology up gradation programmes. and 10 4 . Melody (1990) points out that the Indian Government had not addressed the basic requirement necessary for reform and there was no pre-planned sequence of structural changes which are basic determinants of reform.S. Jussawala (1992). The Athreya Committee report may be viewed as an initiation of a process of examining organizational options. Management incentives which would allow these organizations to increase profitability and the structural mechanisms which would allow then to raise capital from markets had been sketchily outlined. 2006) takes out various case studies like Vodafone. privatization and de-monopolization initiatives. requirement of huge capital. Bickert (1992) another narrow yet relevant viewpoint is to consider CRM only as customer retention in which a variety of after marketing tactics is used for customer bonding or staying in touch after the sale is made. to study the rising interest of foreigners for investment in Indian telecom industry. The most dramatic reduction in tariff has been from very high Rs. Telekopm Malaysia. saturated telecom markets of other countries. There are various initiatives taken by government in lien of liberalization. M. high tech industry and better quality services are some of the reasons which are boosting competition amongst various telecom service providers. Besides lowering of prices. 2 per minute. stiff competition. Maxis. rising teledensity. conducive FDI limits in telecom sector. Various reasons of stemming growth can be rising subscriber base. N. increased efficiency. Kushan Mitra (2005) analyses various factors contributing to competition to Indian Telecom Industry.technologically advanced telecom sector plays in the growth of the economy. Shanthi (2005) throws light on the factors that contributed to the growth of telecom sectors. rising handset requirements. 16 per minute to Rs. changing regulatory environment. The trend is expected to continue in the segment as prices are falling as a result of competition in the segments. Arindham Mukherjee (March. The beneficiaries of the competition are the consumers who are given a wide variety of services. Tatatele etc. Many developing countries accept the limitations of a monolith state monopoly in responding to the twin challenges of spurring internal growth and competing in global economy. greater innovation. Shyamal Ghosh (2003) mentions that the most significant development since 1999 has been the progressive reduction in tariffs which has been facilitated by competition through multi operator environment. 10 5 . high growth curve on telecom. he proposed relationship marketing as “attracting. This is achieved by a mutual exchange and fulfillment of promises”. Berry (1995) in somewhat broader terms also has a strategic viewpoint about CRM. and Oh (1987) have characterized such cooperative relationships as being interdependent and long-term oriented rather than being concerned with short-term discrete transactions. Schurr. “Marketing oriented toward strong lasting relationships with individual accounts”. Gronroos and Gummesson take a broader perspective and advocate that customer relationships ought to be the focus and dominant paradigm of marketing. and/or other marketing actors. For Gronroos (1990) states: “Marketing is to establish. so that the objectives of the parties involved are met. The core theme of all CRM and relationship marketing perspectives is its focus on cooperative and collaborative relationship between the firm and its customers. Gummesson (1987) and Levitt (1981) although each of them is espousing the value of interactions in marketing and its consequent impact on customer relationships. at a profit. maintain and enhance relationships with customers and other partners.Vavra (1992) a more popular approach with recent application of information technology is to focus on individual or one-to-one relationship with customers that integrate database knowledge with a long-term customer retention and growth strategy Jackson (1985) applies the individual account concept in industrial markets to suggest CRM to mean. Gronroos (1990). Dwyer. maintaining. The long-term orientation is 10 6 . Developing closer relationship with these customers and turning them into loyal ones are equally important aspects of marketing. He stresses that attracting new customers should be viewed only as an intermediate step in the marketing process. and – in multi-service organizations – enhancing customer relationships”. McKenna (1991) professes a more strategic view by putting the customer first and shifting the role of marketing from manipulating the customer (telling and selling) to genuine customer involvement (communicating and sharing the knowledge). Thus. according to data released by TRAI. the value of mobile banking transactions increased five-fold to Rs 1140. The statistics reveal that data traffic generated by 3G services has increased by 78 per cent while that of 2G services has increased by 47 per cent during the period. 3G users consume four times more data than 2G users. while the capital employed grew to Rs 337683 crore (US$ 61. While 2G users in India are consuming three-fourth of the total mobile data traffic on average. it could even lead to “outsourcing of some customers” so that a company better utilize its resources on those customers it can serve better and create mutual value. However. In some cases. Furthermore. Nokia Siemens Networks expects the country’s mobile data consumption to double by June 2013. Considering such a tremendous growth. Another important facet of CRM is “Customer selectivity”.often emphasized because it is believed that marketing actors will not engage in opportunistic behavior if they have a long-term orientation and that such relationships will be anchored on mutual gains and cooperation (Ganesan. indicating a tremendous growth in investment in the telecom sector. Another report by CAG has revealed that telecom users in rural India have increased at a faster pace as against urban users. 1994). Owing to ‘banking-on-the-go’ initiatives taken by banks such as SBI and ICICI.2 billion) from Rs 198011 crore (US$ 36 billion) in the same period.88 billion) in 2010-11. The telecom subscriber base stood at 944. Moreover. mobile data traffic in India has increased by 54 per cent between December 2011 and June 2012.6 crore (US$ 10 7 . according to a report by Nokia Siemens Networks. As several research studies have shown not al customers are equally profitable for an individual company (Storbacka. The company therefore must be selective in tailors its program and marketing efforts by segmenting and selecting appropriate customers for individual marketing programs. the capital investment in the sector increased from Rs 240711 crore (US$ 43.63 billion) in 2006-07 to Rs 479278 crore (US$ 86. 2000). the objective of a company is not to really prune its customer base but to identify appropriate programs and methods that would be profitable and create value for the firm and the customer.81 million in July 2012. 3 per cent of the handsets sold and about a quarter of the handset revenues in the country.55.5 million.8 million subscribers followed by Vodafone with 154. due to which the volume of transactions also rose significantly (from 0.552 users to have 98.8 million subscribers.71.1 per cent and Indian brand Micromax at third position with 5. Tata Teleservices has a total number of 77.6 users and State-run Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) added 4. in terms of sales (unit shipments) during the January-March 2012 quarter. while 3G handsets accounted for less than 10 per cent of it.912 subscribers to have 117.75 million subscribers.8 per cent of the pie. telecom operators and cellphone business segments. Bharti Airtel made the lead in the month of July 2012 with 188.75 million) between January and May 2012 as against the same period a year ago. The technology collects and integrates subscriber insights based 10 8 .206. according to the latest data released by Cybermedia Research India. Service providers like Airtel have promoted mobiles as medium for bill payments and fund transfers in a big way. China-based telecom equipment maker Huawei has planned to invest US$ 150 million in its research and development (R&D) centre in Bengaluru. Multi-SIM handsets captured two-thirds of the total sales. followed by Samsung with 14. In terms of subscriber base. while Uninor has 44.9 million. Finnish handset maker Nokia maintained its leadership position with 23 per cent of the handset market share. The new facility will acknowledge Huawei’s enterprise. Idea Cellular added 4. mobile phone sales increased 9. Smartphones accounted for 5. has bagged two deals with African telecom companies Warid Uganda and Warid Congo B wherein the firm will provide its campaign management solution to the latter.5 crore mobile transactions in January-Many 2012). Thiruvananthapuram-based provider of real-time closed-loop mobile marketing solutions Flytxt.5 crore in January-May 2011 to 1. With regards to the handsets market.1 per cent (crossing the 50-million-mark) in January-March 2012 quarter as against the same quarter in 2011. with the focus on mobile broadband. The Government of India is focusing on improving rural tele-density and broadband connectivity. the telecom sector regulator. also called as Long-Term Evolution Time-Division Duplex (LTE TDD). smartphone launches by companies such as Nokia. TRAI has created nine parameters benchmarks including service activation clause (that the service would be activated within three hours with a 95 per cent success rate). 10 9 . effective expansion of the networks with efficient utilization of scarce spectrum and ensuring equal sharing of highly capital intensive infrastructure.on service consumption trends and helps cellular service providers to customize service offerings. intends to create standards to ensure quality of service for mobile phone companies which deliver mobile data services to the users. According to the draft regulations issued. Analysts predict that TD-LTE subscribers in India would reach 5 million in 2013. Further. Time-Division long-Term evolution (TD-LTE) market in India is at a nascent stage and expected to pick up in the next couple of years. Considering the fact that roll out of 3G and 4G high-speed data access services across the country will lead to quantum jump in the number of mobile internet users. drop rate (or the network's inability to upload or download. is a 4G mobile telecommunication technology which was developed in China. the authority is seeking comments from stakeholders in the sector. Telecom service providers would be required to collect and maintain compliance records of each of the nine parameters and submit them to TRAI within 60 days of notification of these new rules. should be below 2 per cent) etc. TRAI. TD-LTE. Samsung and Apple will spur significant surge in data consumption. The appearance of the emails or the letterhead. For example there is the company representative. Once the relationship between a supplier and customer gets deeper. The speed. What they do not know they may assume or expect without any objective evidence. Some of the other touch points will also influence the relationship. including the chance to demonstrate the company's performance on substantial issues such as the product quality. The company benefits from the halo of the representative. after sales service and so on. The strength of the Perrier brand pulled it through after a disastrous 11 0 . a company with a poor image will be castigated for any default and there will be no exoneration. These evaluations come together to form the brand's image. think well of the supplier because he projects a positive image and this is extended to his company. A company with an excellent reputation can suffer an occasional slippage in one area or another and the customer will be forgiving.2 Brands and image The values which make up a brand exist because they are perceived. A positive image is one which will continue to work for a company. courtesy and friendliness of the switchboard will have an impact. But these perceptions are to the buyer. reliability of deliveries. without any further knowledge. in simple terms they will hold an opinion. then many other opportunities will arise in which the image can be affected. literature and promotions will influence the image. The first thing to accept about image is that it is a perception and need not necessarily be fact. Let's assume that he or she is smart and drives a new car and always makes a good impression.3. In contrast. He calls on companies who. Companies have touch points with their market which create these perceptions. even when things start to go wrong. just as real as those based on harder evidence and almost certainly will influence the purchasing decision. Buyers cannot know in a factual sense all there is to know about a company. They are also evaluated positively or negatively by customers and potential customers. All other points of contact with the customer will produce a reaction of some sort or another in the buyer. They cannot know every nook and cranny of the products they are buying. A company will be chosen as a supplier if it is at least acceptable on all the essentials (price. The juggling of the pros and cons are distilled into just one decision . There will be some things about the politician we dislike but these seem to be outweighed by the virtues. The composition of a cleaning fluid may be a mystery to a buyer but it is bought because it smells powerful.one box. The guts of a machine may make it reliable but it is the appearance of the outer casing. Image is something which can be taken in the round. What else have they got to go on? They cannot be all knowledgeable. It can even have a negative image in some areas as long as they are not ones critical to the decision. quality) and seen positively for most of the nice to have (innovative. This overall image is the pooling of the all the perceptions and feelings which people hold on a company. They cannot be qualified. delivery. When we enter the ballot box to place our cross against a politician. shops and homes. blaming the driving skills of the Swedish journalists rather than the design of the car's suspension. Cadbury were slow to admit to and recall products that were infected with salmonella and this undoubtedly cost them heavily in lost sales. it is the overall package we vote for. it looks thick and powerful.image . Mercedes were more defensive when it’s new A class failed the "moose test". perceptions . one cross. and on the pack it says that it is used for cleaning components in the aerospace industry where specifications are known to be amongst the highest.contamination of the product by benzene required the complete recall of all its stock of bottles in warehouses. nor expected to know all about the guts of a machine they are considering buying. So it is with brands. the ergonomics of the design and the favorable (or otherwise) comments from service engineers which guide buying judgments. Buyers act on perceptions as if they were facts. easy to do business with). 11 1 . good warranty. Companies with excellent products which are reasonably priced may get away with long delivery dates.are translated into a purchase decision. They may even make a feature of their waiting lists by suggesting that they are an indicator of their popularity. Here are nine specific benefits which a company will obtain from a strong brand image. on core values . The achievement of a positive image. However. when the problems have long been solved. 3· Competitive brands will be rejected. Far from being determined by purchasing experience. There will be less pressure to sell at low prices or offer discounts.1 Benefits of Strong Brand Image High levels of brand awareness and a positive image increase the probability of a product being chosen and decrease the vulnerability to competitive forces.Images are therefore based on less than complete knowledge but still shape action in relation to a supplier even if in only a negative way. 3. image may decide whether a supplier is used at all. A strong brand will act as a barrier to people switching to competitors products. a very dangerous ploy is to try to alter a company's image without materially improving the underlying defects.2. 1· Premium prices can be obtained. In the 70s and 80s Alfa Romeo cars offered heart throbbing design and sparkling performance tinged with a variable reputation for reliability. A brand is a defense which is permanently erected. A brand which people think is good will be asked for specifically. many motorists consider reliability to be a weakness of Alfa cars.the really important issues and any other values which differentiate it should be of the highest priority to any company. 2· The product will be demanded. 11 2 . It is often not understood that potential customers who have never had any dealings with a supplier may hold a strong image of that company. Twenty years later. A company may not be used as a supplier because of a negative (and in an objective sense. erroneous) image. A brand with a positive image will command larger margins and be less susceptible to competitive forces. People will search out a brand they really want. discounts and cost-reduction programmes.1· Communications will be more readily accepted. no doubt. A company with a good brand name will obtain a higher premium for the goodwill. if and when it is sold. Customers will find no reason to buy other than on strongly functional factors which. A positive image will give customers enhanced satisfaction when they use the product. there are serious penalties for those who do not. The alternative is to rely on price cutting. Not only are there considerable benefits for industrial companies in building strong brands. 5· Licensing opportunities can be opened up. They will feel more confident about buying it. A brand which people ask for can more easily be sold into wholesalers and distributors who are extremely responsive to what their customers want. 6· The company will be worth more when it is sold. they can find to profusion in any number of suppliers. Positive feelings about a product will result in people being able to accept new claims on its performance and they will warm them up so that they can be more easily persuaded to buy more. A brand which is well known and well regarded becomes a platform for adding new products as some aspects of the positive imagery will cross over and help in the launch of new products. A strong brand may support joint venture deals or allow the brand to be licensed for use in new applications or in other countries. 4· The product will be pulled through the distribution network. 3· Customer satisfaction will be improved. 2· The brand can be built on. 11 3 . considerable attention has been paid to factors that possibly influence brand images. 2004). 3· A strong brand makes customers feel more satisfied with their purchase. Fischer et al.2 Benefits to the Customer We should not close this chapter with the impression that the gains from strong branding are all on the part of the supplier and at the expense of the customer. The quality perceptions translate to a feel good factor' which makes customers happier than if the product had come from an unknown supplier.2. the delivery.2.3. 2· A strong brand makes customers feel confident in their choice. 1991. 2005). Making industrial buying decisions is complicated by the need to weigh up all the details of a product's performance. These associations can be further divided into those concerning the functional attributes of a brand and those concerning the symbolic attributes of a brand (Burmann and Meffert. Due to the importance of brand images for the behavior of various target groups. 3.. the guarantee etc.3 Factors Influencing Brand Image One of the fundamental tenets of marketing is that brand images are an important determinant of buying behavior (Aaker. A brand with a strong image is a synthesis to the buyer of everything that a supplier stands for and offers. People shop at Marks & Spencer often without comparing products from elsewhere because they trust the brand. Strong industrial branding gives customers the same comforts. These influencing factors can be divided into three 11 4 . The customer too obtains benefits. There are three important reasons why customers benefit from products and services with strong brands: 1· A strong brand is a summary of all the values associated with it. its price. The construct of brand image can be understood as the associations external target groups have in their minds about brands. and Meffert. Helman. 1996). and manage strong brands. the motives and experiences of those who perceive the brand (Fopp. for example industry image (Blinda. dealers may have some incentive to join and remain in the channel system.groups: (1) determinants that originate directly from the internal brand identity and can thus be directly influenced by brand management (Burmann. 2001). so when a manufacturer provides many support programs. communication and cooperation will promote sales distribution effectiveness. and de Chernatony. Managers at all level in the channel have a wealth of information. popularize. and (3) external factors. bringing firms higher market share. a long term profitable belief system in the channel can be established by assessing dealers' need and align objectives. de Chernatony. and Segal-Horn (1999). higher profits. According to Kahn et al. and Segal-Horn (2003) have been focusing on how to build. Keller (1993). 2005). Aaker (1996). Marketers must carefully consider characteristics of middleman's marketing behavior in order to avoid the risk of linking incapable distributors (Luk. that is determinants that affect the brand image from outside and which cannot be directly influenced by brand management. 11 5 . 2003 . or share value. (2) personal / individual determinants. for example. This diffusion of information technology into channels is having a profound effect on how managers look at the problem of managing channels and the resultant channel relations (Mentzer. Academic researchers observed that manufacturers can establish a strong brand image and rule the dealers' perception by offering a number of extra benefits. 1993). Boundary personnel (salespeople) had a significant positive effect on relative dealer satisfaction with the relationship. 1998). 1997). It has been claimed that manufacturer support programs are related positively. by motivating them to attain the agreed -upon goals and provide appropriate support. create. Buyers respond to branding by purchasing the same products or brands or by showing preference toward a particular brand. 1975 . Williams and Mofitt. Dowling. This link is a key factor in effective communication (Gassenheimer. (2004). If we move toward further studies to advance our understanding on this phenomenon and to identify the gaps between mobile operator and dealer relationship. Drury. 1993. Drury. 1995). Park. Thus it is important to discover brand image concepts in this study. At the same time.3 Brand Image and Company Performance Research on brand equity and brand image management (e. Roth. brand image in consumer's mind reflects a series association of the corporation it belongs to. 1995) suggests that marketers should develop brand image strategies before focusing on tactical marketing mix issues. However. 1990. but also is reflected by a consumer's perception of the producing company reputation. In general. Therefore. Brand image has been acknowledged as an important area of research. However. For many years. 1993. and market structures. a brand image not only implies an actual brand meaning. it is constituted by a series of pictures and ideas in people's minds that sum up their knowledge of a brand (Levy. Therefore. Thus. 1963. which means that corporate reputation can influence the performance of a branded product.g. when the name of a brand is mentioned. 1978). Milber. Aaker and Keller. 1986. the image of a brand is mainly determined by corporate reputation. 1957). Roth. Brand image is defined as perceptions about a brand as reflected by the brand's associations held in the consumer's memory (Herzog. 1992. this study will investigate instances where brand image strategy and performance are moderated by corporate reputation. imply certain expectations of the customers (Gensch.3. 1995). Keller. As stated above. many researchers have investigated on strategic-performance relationship. probably justify some additional problems over brand image strategy (Park. which is set up in the beginning. and Maclnnis. Park. Newman. This is because companies can increase their market share and growth rates by establishing a strong brand image in the minds of their customers (Roth. Jaworski. Park. corporate cultures. the first idea that comes to the consumer's mind is the corporate image associated with it. 1978). In this way. The literature on strategic-performance dates back to the beginning of the 1970s. and managed over time. 1991. 11 6 . significant differences between consumers. a good brand image can increase brand loyalty. that. marketing and advertising managers and researchers have wrestled with the issue of brand image strategy applications. and Lawson. 1986. taken together. and MacInnis. Jaworski. As such. it is apparent that there is insufficient research in this area of study. In most previous studies. the success of brand image strategies is contingent on their 'fit' with local market conditions. and can be used to compare similar firms across the same industry or in order to compare industries or sectors in aggregation. performance has usually been seen as a direct and objective phenomenon (Matsuno and Mentzer. this study attempts to bridge this gap by bringing branding issues into the strategic-performance literature. Roberts and Dowling. 1996). Therefore. Similarly. Consequently. Smith and Wright. As stated by Roth (1995). Roberts and Dowling. Financial performance is usually used as a general measure of a firm's overall financial health over a given period of time. Herbig and Milewicz (1993) defined it as the totality of a firm's consistent attributes over a period of time. 'success'. 1993). and 'significance' (Amir and Lev. Corporate reputation has been tested as an influential factor of a company's financial performance (Dunbar and Schwalbach. 2002) that can be assessed by simply measuring the outcome of a company's revenue and sales volume. 2004. very little is known regarding the relationship that brings these concepts together. Wartick (1992) argued that corporate reputation is the summation of a single stockholder's impression of corporate performance. As mentioned previously. Non-financial performances are those such as 'value'. 2000. 2002). and Maclnnis (1986) propose brand image as a strategic device for helping the brand concept to be implemented by means of an exercise in brand management. It can be divided into two parts: financial and non-financial. 11 7 . It is a representation of corporate history and serves as a means of conveying strategic information about the quality of a firm's products or services in comparison with those of its competitors (Yoon et al.Jaworski.. there is evidence that similarly constructed aggregated measures of reputation speak most directly of a firm's reputation as an investment. The review of existing literature indicates that these disciplines have been addressed as distinct areas in the study and are independent of one another. 2000. Service is some thing.4. The booming revolution in Information Technology sector has pushed the India's telecom market significantly.4 Consumer Perception QoS Study Twenty first century has spread a technological revolutionary wave in India. Mobility has become an integral part of customer's life. Since past few years consumers prefer wireless mode of telephone services to wire line services. Armstrong. Saunders and Wong) "Services are economic activities that create value and provide benefits for customers at specific times and places as a result of bringing about a desired change in or on behalf of the recipient of the service. 3." (Kotler." (Christopher Lovelock) 11 8 . India has shown tremendous growth in past few years in terms of cellular services. As per the survey report conducted by Voice & Data by the end of Feb 2008 the mobile subscribers number has reached to 246. as they are intangible activities.3. which can be experienced but cannot be touched or seen. which is only 40 mn in numbers. and it has now become an essential commodity in today's busy life.6 mn compared to wire line services.1 Service Concept Service is a patch up activity to fulfill some one's need in the market. Some of basic definitions of service as defined by Management Gurus are: "A service is any activity or benefit that one party can offer to another which is essentially intangible and does not result in the ownership of anything. With upcoming wireless communication technologies people are becoming more & more mobile addict. Services offered by service providers cannot be seen & touched. Cell phones have become the necessity in today's competitive environment to meet the emerging global economy. Invention of Cell phones is a major improvement over the telecommunications technology of the past. Communication through telephonic media while roaming is referred as mobile or cell phone service(s). Education. Health & hospitality Services. Mobile services are nothing but Radio-communications services between ships. or hand-held terminal stations for use while in motion or between such stations and fixed points on land. aircraft.4. Service user can specify about that particular service satisfaction only after availing it for some period of time.2 Customer Expectation and Perception towards Service As per the gap model given by Persuraman & Zeithaml there exists a gap between the customer perception & customer expectation. which needs to be reduced. This gap is called as the customer gap. Cell phones. Bhattachargee) The basic difference between service & product is that services are intangible but products are tangible and are required to follow some standardized procedures. either alone or as part of a tangible product through some form of exchange. Transportation." (C. with the intention of satisfying the needs. 3. Some of the common service areas are: Retailing. If any difference exists between the expected service and actually received service then that difference is called as a gap. 3. BPO and many more. This basically gives what is expected & what is actually received.3 Basics of Mobile Services Mobile means something in motion. When it combines with services then it indicates that availing of the delivered service when in motion. Customer expectations are the standards against which the perceived services are checked in order to assess the quality of a service. wants and desires of the consumers. Customer Expectation represents the actual expected service & Customer Perception reveals the actual received service. 11 9 ."Services are the production of essentially intangible benefits and experience.4. road vehicles. launched in 1971. Base Station is a transmitting/ receiving unit responsible for controlling the transmission of a small geographical area called as a cell.4 Cellular Mobile Services Cellular mobile phone is a wireless telecommunication device comes with inbuilt mobility feature. Mobile communication technology allows mobile users to avail the roaming facility. Ring and W. Cellular Mobile service means availing the telecommunication services(s) any time and any where even if the user is not stationary but roaming somewhere. & then these waves travel through network to base station. 3.4. These cells are responsible for transmitting and receiving the radio frequency signal. The first fully automatic mobile phone system. According to some specific communication characteristics the entire transmission range is divided into small areas. which are called as cells. from where it goes to respective destination. One of the first truly successful public commercial mobile phone networks was the ARP (Autoradiopuhelin.Cellular service is a global radio-based service providing two-way communications by dividing the serving area into a regular pattern of sub-areas called as cells.TDMA (Time Division Multiple Access) CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) 12 0 . proposed hexagonal cells for mobile phones. being slightly above previous proprietary and limited coverage networks. Different Mobile generations are: st 1 generation . In December 1947.Analog system 2 nd generation . which is converted into sound waves. Sender & receiver transmit their voice. Cell phones / mobile phones are simple hand-held phones with built-in antennas 5. called MTA (Mobile Telephone system A). Each has a base station having a low-power transmitter and receiver. Douglas H. or Car Radio Phone in English) network in Finland. ARP is viewed as a zero generation (0G) cellular network. Rae Young both Bell Labs engineers. was developed by Ericsson and was commercially released in Sweden in 1956. 4. This generation introduced new communication feature by sending text messages through phone.4. based on cellular networks with multiple base stations. but focuses on communication 12 1 . It was standardized in the International Mobile Telecommunications .3rd generation .GSM 1800 MHz (Global System for Mobile Communications) 4th generation . It also introduced some new additional features like ring tone downloading and game downloading. 3. Norway and Sweden.2000 (IMT-2000) standardization processing. Finland. The first machinegenerated SMS message was sent in the UK in 1991.4. This was the first mobile phone technology that allowed international use of the mobile phone or so-called "roaming". This process did not standardize on a technology. This generation phones were working on analog system.UMTs 1900 MHz (Universal Mobile Telephone System) 3.1 First Generation: 1G The first commercial cellular telecom was launched by NTT (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone) in Tokyo Japan in 1979. and service automatically "handover" between two cells when a phone moved from one cell to the other. These base stations are located relatively close to each other.3 Third generation: 3G The third generation mobile phone system (commonly known as 3G) was launched with the inclusion of standardization process. In 1981 the NMT (Nordic Mobile Telephone System) system was launched in Denmark.4. This service was named as SMS (Short Message Service).4. 3. 'Second Generation' (2G) mobile phone system was introduced. The first person-to-person SMS text message was sent in Finland in 1993. The introduction of "cellular" phones.2 Second Generation: 2G In the 1990s. started from 1980s.4. The first handheld mobile phone in the US market was the Motorola DynaTAC 8000X. called as 2. GSM . FDMA & TDMA technologies are based on fixed assignment like frequency and time duration. This generation mobile phones include some of the features of 3G. Between 2G & 3G an intermediate system was developed. GSM was primarily used to support the transmission to users in roaming environment.Code Division Multiple Access SDMA.Time Division Multiple Access CDMA .the Group Special Mobile was founded in 1982 to support the digital transmissions & now popularly known as Global System for Mobile Communications. But CDMA is based on different codes to separate different users in code space & so this technology allows multiple users to access the network through the shared medium without any interference. Based on WCDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access) technology the third generation phone was launched.requirements.4.Space Division Multiple Access FDMA . For performing the transmission among the mobile users. Multiple access means simultaneous transmission or access from many sources to one.Frequency Division Multiple Access TDMA . Multiple access transmission can be achieved through: SDMA . 12 2 .4. GSM is today's most successful digital telecommunication system. 3. not all and so does not fulfill the promised high data rates or full range of multimedia services.5G system.4 GSM & CDMA technology Digital cellular networks are the need of wireless extensions to establish the connection across the globe. it uses the concept of multiple accesses. 4. which needs to be experienced before assessing it. Zeithaml & Berry the service quality is defined as: Service Quality = Perception .3.1 Service Quality Quality is a key requirement in every field. In most generalized way the Quality term can be defined as "The inclusion of all specified features and characteristics as defined for product or service and its ability to satisfy the given needs as per the requirement of user while using it." [ISO 9000] Customer wants to avail different services offered to them by service providers. There are certain Service Quality parameters as defined by the professional bodies in order to measure the service quality of corresponding service sector. But customer expectation depends upon the customer perception. As per Parasuraman. In terms of Industrial growth quality plays an important role & so should be understood and defined properly.Expectation 12 3 ." "A predictable degree of uniformity & dependability to low cost and suited to the market" (By Dr.5 Service Quality Concept & Quality Parameters Service is an intangible thing.4. 3. But the basic concept remains same i. "Meeting to the Need of Customer"." (Philips Crosby) "Quality is a degree to which a set of inherent characteristics fulfills the requirements. which may differ from person to person. Delivered service will become as the Quality Service if it meets the customer expectations. Edward Deming) "Quality is conformance to requirements. Different management Guru's in different ways defines quality.5.e. Any thing can be measured by measuring their respective service attributes & factors. the entire Quality Management Process can be improved because metrics may help to identify the strong & weak attributes. Similarly a working corporate professional perception could be different from a businessperson or from a housemaid. If the customer experience the same service as they expect then this difference will be zero and we can say that the service quality is very good. it is possible to get the quality status of respective product or process. A number of large companies have introduced the quality metrics for improving the quality management processes. 3. which may result in change in service quality as well. Quality measurement is concerned with the observed value for some service attributes & then by comparing these values against standards. Customer has certain expectation about the service.5. That is why the perception should be taken into consideration by service providers to meet the customer requirements.4. 12 4 . Any thing can be measured by evaluating the related factors & respective attributes. Occupation. Attribute needs to be measured to get the quality. Higher the difference of above equation lower will be the service quality. The perception of younger generation of service quality could be different from the older one. Global competition & Technological changes.Service quality is nothing but the difference between the service expectation & service actually received by the customer. Considering various related attributes we can monitor the Service quality. Various such factors could be like: Age. The customer perception is influenced by various factors. gender. In general by collecting metrics on several attributes and defects. By improving the weak area(s) companies can improve the quality.2 Measuring the Service Quality Measuring could be done qualitatively or quantitatively. Activation time. data transmission. process or related documentation. Number of complaints. Service providers give cellular services like customer care. As defined in ITU-T (International Telecommunication Union) Recommendation E. multimedia service.A metric is a type of measurement. Mean Time to Repair (MTTR).4.3 Factors & Parameters affecting the quality of Cellular Mobile Services Mobility. efficiency. Connectivity. 12 5 . Specific to cellular mobile services the Quality Metrics includes following factors & attributes. The use of systematic service measurement and careful monitoring of metric definitely can improve the overall service quality. Quality Metrics is designed against such parameters. which affects the service quality. various service providers who provide cellular services are assessed with respect to the process metrics parameters. They measure the quality of service given by them to customer in terms of service parameters. faults repairing.800 the Quality of mobile phones can be measured in terms of Quality of Service (QoS) performance parameters and Network Performance parameters. Billing Credibility The technical savvy public now demands for high quality of product as well as service. Voice Quality. And perceptions are always referred against expectations. Messages Services. portability. call drops. Billing service. The Mobile service quality is measured through cellular service parameters & factors. fare information. usability. gender. which relates to a system. to their customer. billing service etc. Various general service parameters are like: reliability.5. Portability. customer-care. Service Quality Measurement requires the measuring of respective service quality attributes and factors. age. Expectations are dynamic & changes over time. 3. QoS parameter depends upon user perception. which are mentioned above. In terms of cellular mobile services. if the quality of service provided by the service provider is good then this leads to the higher customer satisfaction. As defined by Parasuraman. 12 6 . it is necessary that the service provider with respect to the customer expectation as well as the customer perception should understand the service quality parameters." Customer satisfaction is related with the type of service quality. The customer expectation with reference to various service quality parameters differs from person to person.3.4. or the product or service itself. This will help in getting the better service quality and hence higher level of customer satisfaction. VOC "Voice of Customer" is one of the ways for understanding the customers need & so measuring the service quality. Meeting customer needs requires that those needs be understood.6 Service Quality & Customer Satisfaction Service Quality and customer satisfaction are two closely related terms. provides a pleasurable level of consumption-related fulfillment. The "voice of the customer" is the term used to describe the stated and unstated customer needs or requirements. For measuring the service quality. as meeting customer needs. Quality is defined. Zeithaml & Berry the service quality depends upon customer perception & customer expectation. It is a judgment that a product or service feature. Such change in perception can affect the customer satisfaction. Service quality can be assessed in two ways: 1) Is it meeting standard? & 2) Is it satisfying the customer? As defined by Oliver "Satisfaction is the consumer's fulfillment response. By comparing these values against standards. Quality Metrics are basically defined for improving the quality management processes. Customer Complaints & Customer Satisfaction Metrics. And so quality metrics can be classified as: Mean Time to Failure. 12 7 .4. But as per the basic definition the service quality is associated with the customer satisfaction. Mean Time to Repair. Metrics can be defined by collecting the observed values of Quality of Service attributes. Service Quality Metrics of mobile services can be designed by observing the experienced service on mobile service parameters. it is possible to get the quality status of any process. Metrics can be classified in two broad categories: the product metrics & the process Metrics.7 Quality Metrics Quality measurement is concerned with calculating some value for related service quality attributes.3. 5 Brand Image & Service Quality In recent years. Companies can plan corporate brand image before implementing marketing communications. Smith (2004) suggested that in service industry "brand management requires brand managers to take a holistic view of the brand that transcends the marketing and service function and makes it a rallying cry for the firm". Keller (1993) clarifies the concept. Forgacs (2003) argued that hotel industry is heavily used branding strategies because of their success. brand management and branding have established its importance strategically for different companies (Post. Kapferer. 2008). revealing both association and image represented perceptions of either objective or subjective reality (Aaker. advertising techniques etc. Service quality defined by Gronroos (1984) as "the result of an evaluation process. word-of-mouth communication. Lewis. customers have very few cues while buying services while an established brand performed as crucial role in form of risk reducer and purveyor which makes the decision making process more easier (Davis. Brand has also been described as "the impressions received by consumers resulting in a distinctive position in their mind's eye based on perceived emotional and functional benefits" (Shoemaker. Brand image management is 12 8 . 2007). 2007). Kayaman & Arasli. in other words. 1991). 2008. Yesawich. Consumers perceive the same service quality in different ways. which helps consumer compare his expectations with his perception of the service received. Brand image is a set of associations with the brand. and shape brand image through various marketing strategies.3. Keller. 2008. (2006) claimed that during the decision making process." Javalgi et al. he places the perceived service and the expected service opposite one another. This difference in perception is most likely influenced by corporate image. defining it as "perceptions about a brand as reflected by the brand association held in memory".. That's why Bailey and Ball (2006) suggested that "brand management can be improved through more effective brand differentiation strategies" like their service quality. 2007. Hultman. Gray & Smeltzer. Gronroos (1984) emphasized the extreme importance of brand image for service firms because when the customers use service. 2004). Opoku. 1994. 1998. (2003) treated the concept of brand image the reasoned or emotional perceptions of the customers which they associate with a particular brand. Keller. and Spyropoulou (2007) maintained the notion that even branding is itself is entirely the process of creating and building a brand image. & Uysal. "the overall or global opinion customers have of a firm or organization" depicts threat customers show high tendency of patronizing the firm if they develop high perceptions of its image. More or less same were the findings of Dobni and Zinkhan (1990) who claimed that because of the confusing variety of work on defining the concept of brand image. Dukerich. de Chernatony & Dall'Olmo Riley. On the other hand. 1996. The definition by Kurtz and Clow (1998). His findings depicted that the customers formulate image as they see the components of the firm and develop their perceptions. Therefore. Ekinci.significant in deciding whether or not the employee is connected with the organization by influencing the strength of an individual's identification. & Harquail. Chernatony. 12 9 . 1999). To exemplify its multidimensionality. 2006) and there are examples in which literature significantly relates it to customers' self-concepts (Belk. Solomon. 'creating a brand image means' an effort that "engages the hearts and minds of customers". Aaker. Some scholars viewed brand image to be "directly related to the product category within which the brand is marketed" (Martinez. A very interesting study of Pitt. And according to them. Abratt. at first it may result to ambiguity in selecting the best scale for its measurement. brand image has also been taken as an element of brand personality (Hosany. brand image is one of the key components that enable hotel companies to gain a superior advantage among others. 1985). they see the firm and its resources by their judgment of the interaction between them and their service providers. and the evolving trend of brand image is noted in strategic importance (Dutton. 1988. Marti'nez and de Chernatony (2004) found out that there was no agreeable consensus in literature for the empirical measurement of brand image and the basic reason for this is the multi-dimensionality of the concept. 13 0 . Ostrowski et al. (1993) argued. Many researchers (e.Service serves as the most salient phenomenon that customers can experience and perceive. Aydin and Ozer (2005) found that perceived service quality directly determines the perception of brand image. Hence. Keller (1993) studied brand image as a perception. Gummesson and Gronroos. Kim and Kim (2005) observed that "brand image and service quality perceptions share too many features".g. 1988) reported brand image to be the key factor in the evaluation of overall service quality. "positive experience over time (following several good experiences) will ultimately lead to positive image". Nguyen and LeBlanc (1998) explained that overall brand image of the company is formed by the combined perceptions of service quality as a result of frequent service experiences. of an organization which serves as a filter to influence the perceptions related to operational aspects of the organization. held in consumer memory. Similarly. quality of firm's service mainly builds up the image of that particular brand. In his study of airline service. Parasuraman et al. perceptions of service quality is a basic element. the five quality dimensions (5Qs) model is an instrument that insures a reasonable level of reliability. 1994).. Snoj et al. validity and significance. There are five dimensions which are tangible. 1975). 1991). The communication method between the service provider and the receiver of a service is affected by the environment in a specific location where they work together and operate (Ford et al. Donabedian. Lim and Tang (2000) stated that when customers decide to choose a hospital. 1988)... 1998. (1988) supported that SERVQUAL scale can provide an instrument for evaluating service quality. 2004. 1985. reliability. Zineldin (2000) expanded 13 1 . The perception of patients about health care quality is important to health care provider's success. because it will affect patients' satisfaction and profitability of hospital (Koska. (2004) defined perceived service quality as how well the client's measurement of the overall of the service. responsiveness. It acts as the mental comparison between price and quality that is offered by service providers. Zineldin (2006) stated that SERVQUAL quality is a classification system concept. 1966. Zineldin.3. and empathy. Thus. perceived service quality of communication can show a patient's level of overall satisfaction or overall service quality (Ganesan. Williams and Calnan. Robicheaux and ElAnsary. Moreover.6 Perceived Service Quality According to many researchers declared perceived service quality model. Zeithaml et al. SERVQUAL scale can be applied to fit the characteristics or the requirements of a specific investigation of a particular organization. 1990. it has appeared that when customers measure service quality. assurance. they will compare their perceptions with real performance from the service provider with what they believe to be the expectations of service performance in their experience (Parasuraman et al. infrastructure. process. 2000. interaction and atmosphere. 132 . Zineldin. Robicheaux and EL-ansary. 1975). 1998.. The atmosphere in a particular environment where the service provider and receiver co-operate and operate will affect the interaction procedure between both of them (Ford et al.SERVQUAL models into a framework of five quality dimensions: quality of object. Zineldin (2006) supported that the environment or atmosphere can influence the perceived service quality by developing or making it worse. ARPU is the average revenue a company generates from a user and gives an indication of the areas driving revenue growth. the mobile termination rate is also included under the total revenue which is not a part of the 13 3 .3. Companies generally tie up their business models in a move to increase their ARPU and on the other hand change them if it reports a lower ARPU. 3. But in some cases the number of subscribers at the beginning of the period is considered while in some the number of subscribers at the end of the period or the average of the two is considered. Total revenue is the amount received by the operator which may not be wholly retained.1 ARPU and Market Share (Subscribers) Average revenue per user (ARPU) and number of new subscribers are the most commonly used performance metric for telecommunication firms. The tool should be used cautiously for following aspects.7. Recently companies have raised their concerns on declining ARPU in many regions. First. Some companies quote the figures yearly. telecom companies have relied on these metrics to judge their performance and track the position of their competitors. For example. the time period of the calculation varies form company to company. ideally those subscribers should be taken into account who contributes to the revenue during that period. The anomalies arise while measuring total revenue and number of subscribers to calculate ARPU.1 ARPU ARPU is simply calculated as total revenue divided by the total number of subscribers over a certain period of time. quarterly.7. Operators are increasingly concentrating on data services and other value added services (which are considered to be high revenue earning than voice traffic) in order to increase their ARPU. As for the number of subscribers. half yearly or on a monthly basis which can be a source of discrepancy when comparing the results over a certain period of time.7 Company Performance Study 3. Over the years.1. Strategies for market entry and decision to launch new products and services are heavily reliant on ARPU. revenue of the firm. It may also include the revenues generated from sources other than subscribers such as advertising etc. which tends to overestimate the ARPU figure and give wrong signals for growth synergies. 3.7.1.2 Subscription Rates in Different Regions ARPU depends on the penetration level of particular region. In a country where the penetration level is low, ARPU is a good measure since at this stage one connection generally equates to one subscriber and it is easy to identify the revenue earning areas. At this stage even subscriber base gives a good indication about the market share. But as the penetration rate grows the number of 'actual' subscribers may fall behind the number of connections as individuals use more than one connection. This implies that the telecom expenditure of one subscriber is divided among two connections leading to a downward bias in the estimation of performance and unidentified areas of growth. In addition to this, relative penetration rate in rural and urban areas will have an impact on the level of ARPU especially in countries like India literacy rate is low among the rural population. For example, if a company is adding new subscribers mostly in rural areas, potential to generate revenues through data oriented services like mobile or internet will be low due to low literacy rates in these areas. Therefore, in developing countries like India, ARPU will give a better picture of future revenue potential when segmented between rural and urban. 3.7.1.3 Stage of the Subscription A commonly held view is that a decreasing ARPU is associated with a declining profit which actually may not be the case. As penetration rate grows, more and more low-end subscribers i.e., pre-paid subscribers come into existence that are regarded as non-revenue earners. But they may generate higher profits since no additional costs like billing and collection costs, handsets subsidies have to be incurred as compared to the post-paid subscribers. On the other hand, increased data services are thought to be high revenue earning which may incur higher costs (like upgrading the network), putting pressure on the profitability. 13 4 Companies in an effort to bring down the churn rate often give out incentives to high-end customers in order to retain them and on the other hand leave out the inactive prepaid accounts who do not contribute much to the revenue. As a result of this, ARPU may show an increase not because of the additional revenues generated by the high end customers but only because the total number of subscribers has gone down. This may give wrong signals to the growth strategies adopted by the operators. Also the high costs of incentive plans are not taken into account which may have a negative impact on the profits. When penetration level reaches the saturation level, companies tend to add customers who are highly price sensitive and tend to shift to other service providers for very small decreases in price. Thus ARPU may not be good performance metric when the market is driven by price wars and is inherently characterized by low ARPU. 13 5 3.8 References 1· “Indian Telecommunication Statistics 2002”, Ministry of Communications, Government of India. 2· Aaker, D. (1996). Measuring brand equity across products and markets. California Management Review, 38(3), 102-119. 3· Aaker, D. A. (1991) 'Managing Brand Equity: Capitalizing on the Value of a Brand Name', New York, Free Press. 4· Aaker, D.A. (1996). Building Strong Brands, The Free Press, New York, NY. ASHE Higher Education Report, 2005, 31(2), 27-37. 5· Aaker, D.A., (1991). Managing Brand Equity. Free Press, New York, NY, 19-32. 6· Aaker, David A. and Kevin Lane Keller (1990) Consumer Evaluations of brand extensions, Journal of Marketing, 54 (January), pp. 24-41. 7· Amir, Eli and Lev, Baruch (1996) Value-relevance of nonfinancial information: The wireless communications industry. 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