Global Journal of Management and Business Research, E: Marketing, Volume 22 Issue 2

54 Global Journal of Management and Business Research Volume XXII Issue II Version I Year 2022 ( )E © 2022 Global Journals Factors Affecting Brand Preference for Purchasing Mobile Phones-Evidence from Bangladesh emerged in the Asia-Pacific region between other brands like Micromax, Nexian, and I-Mobile, which captured Nokia's market share. In the region, Android- powered smartphones have also become more popular. Although Nokia introduced the Lumia Smartphone, it was not enough to cover the huge loss in revenue from Symbian-based smartphones over the next few months. Recently, in this region, the top 10 manufacturers were Samsung (20.6%), Nokia (9.5%), Apple Inc. (8.4%), LG (4.2%), Huawei (3.6%), TCL Communication (3.5%), Xiaomi (3.5%), Lenovo (3.3%), ZTE (3.0%) and Micromax (2.2%) (Kaur, 2015). According to some research in the early nineties, companies paid enormous attention to analyzing and assessing the factors responsible for affecting consumers' choices associated with purchasing any brand (R. Donnelly et al., 2021). It was also evident that there were several factors that pressurize consumers to prefer any particular brand (Odia & Adekunle, 2020). When it comes to consumer behavior, we can define it in various ways. Consumers' activities during possessing, consuming, and disposing of any product are known as “consumer behavior,” and mostly, consumer behavior is affected by various environmental and individual causes (Blackwell et al., 2006). (Chowdhury & Rahman, 2013) identified the relationship between demographic variables and brand preference. They elucidated some attributes that impact consumer choice and the reasons behind young consumers’ giving special importance to some particular factors in the Chittagong metropolitan city. Because of their quick switching attitude, young respondents place less emphasis on attributes such as durability, price, others' advice, and opinion. Consumer preference can be analyzed through the classical five- step (need–information search–evaluation of alternatives–purchase–post-purchase evaluation) problem-solving paradigm or by inspecting the succession from a product class to brand selection (Dorsch et al., 2000). Some independent factors affect consumers' choice of mobile service providers. So, literature regarding various factors affecting these independent factors was reviewed. Two studies by Karjaluoto and his team (H. Karjaluoto et al., 2005) investigated factors affecting mobile phone consumer choice through focus group interviews of graduate students. They identified seven factors: price, multimedia, design, brand and basic properties, innovative services, outside influence, and reliability. Again, they investigated whether the factors of call quality, brand image, handset, income level, and subscription duration affected subscriber choices in Korea. a) Price Price can significantly impact consumers' purchasing decisions as this is a factor on which consumers rely on their judgment about any product (M. Tanveer et al., 2021). So, the price should be analyzed and set to encourage a purchase. It was suggested by (Ittaqullah, 2020) that consumers are aware of price differences. Additionally, these variances have an impact on how customers see the company's goods and services, their sense of assurance, and how frequently they purchase. b) Quality Product quality means the degree to which a product performs according to customers' desire for its performance and is undoubtedly an essential factor in deciding on a product (M. Tanveer et al., 2021). It indicates the evaluation of actual performance and anticipated performance made by customers based on their perception (Carpenter et al., 2006). c) Unique Characteristics People prefer smartphones with newer features, and their decision depends on these innovative features (Petersen et al., 2015). (Barak & Gould, 1985) detected that consumers of the younger generation prefer stylish goods more than older people. Young consumers are more interested in new features, and they seek information. They become more confident, are powered by information, and are transferred into opinion leaders, leading to brand switching (Szmigin & Carrigan, 2001). (Macmuda & Hidayatb, 2012) detected four crucial factors: price, size, and shape, new technology features, and brand name. They also analyzed the impact of these factors on consumers' buying behavior. They found that customers value new technology features as the most critical factor in purchasing decisions. d) Usability (Mack and Sharples, 2009) argued that ease of use is an essential determinant, and features, aesthetics, and cost are other factors that have determined the choice of mobile phone brand. Besides, Chandra & Kumar (2012) found price, quality, and style functions as the most influential factors. e) Brand image (Sata, 2013) studied in Ethiopia, specifically Hawassa town, and found that the first and most important factor is the brand quality and user- friendliness of the mobile phone. Similarly, (Das, 2012) administered the survey method on factors affecting purchasing behavior of young customers towards mobile handsets in coastal districts of Odisha, India. The study showed that a handset of a reputed brand, smart look, advanced features, and user-friendliness influence young consumers' choices. f) Promotional Activities (Zephania, 2020). studied a variety of marketing strategies used by marketers to get customers' attention and recognition and to identify the role these strategies