Review of Literature

Article Name:
TELECOMMUNICATIONS INFRASTRUCTURE AND ECONOMIC GROWTH: EVIDENCE FROM DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

Author: SRIDHAR, Kala Seetharam SRIDHAR, Varadharajan Published Date Volume 7-2 2007 References:
Alleman, J., Hunt, C., Michaels, D.,Mueller, M., Rappaport, P., & Taylor, L. [2002]. Telecommunications and economic development: Empirical Evidence from South Africa. Technical report. International Telecommunication Society, Sydney. Chatterjee, S., Thachenkary, C.S., & Katz, J.L. [1998]. Modeling the Economic Impacts of Broadband Residential Services. Computer Networks & ISDN Systems 30(14): 1295-1310. Cronin, F.J., Parker, E.B., Colleran, E.K., & Gold, M.A. [1993a.] Telecommunications infrastructure investment and economic development. Telecommunications Policy (August): 415430.
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Abstract
In this study, we investigate empirically the relationship between telephone penetration and economic growth, using data for developing countries. Using 3SLS, we estimate a system of equations that endogenizes economic growth and telecom penetration. We find that the traditional economic factors explain demand for mainline and mobile phones, even in developing countries. We find positive impacts of mobile and landline phones on national output, when we control for the effects of capital and labor. We discuss the associated policy implications related to improvement of telecom penetration in developing countries. JEL Classification: O47, O57, L96, H54 Keywords: Telecommunication, Economic growth, Reverse causality, Developing countries, Telephones.

2. Review of Literature
The literature on the subject investigates the feasibility of telecommunication as one of the determinants of the economic growth. Most infrastructure investments including telecommunications can favorably influence the economy in several ways. First, it reduces the cost of production and increases revenues for reinvestment by firms. Productivity increases made possible with the use of telephones increase the productivity of all industries. There is some recent literature that shows that the Internet has changed the markets by allowing more efficient search. Similar to other infrastructure investments, investing in telecommunication will increase the demand for the goods and services used in their production and increase total national output. Such investments can increase employment through both direct and indirect effects (Alleman et. al. (2002)).When compared with other traditional infrastructure, however, there are grounds to expect that the effect of telecommunication services on growth will be somewhat more pronounced. Telecommunications is a little different because of the existence of network externalities, a phenomenon that increases the value of a service with increase in the number of users. Kim et al. (1997), demonstrates this phenomenon in their analysis of online service competition.

Article Name: Mobile Number Portability- Apocalypse or Conquest

Authors:
Dr Girish Bhimani Dean, Faculty of Science, Member of Syndicate, Saurashtra University Rajkot MS. Rushina Singhi Lecturer, Amity Business School, I floor, F-I Block, Amity University, Sector-125, Noida, Uttar Pradesh. M. 09999665534 e-mail rushina.singhi@yahoo.co.in

Mr. Abhishek Gauri Student-MBA Amity Business School, Sector-125, Noida, Uttar Pradesh.

References:
Aggarwal Vir Bala, and Professor, Kumar Anil, A Study of Mobile Usage Behaviour of Students of Himachal Pradesh University Bhatt, Andre, A Study of Mobile Phone Usage Among the Post Graduate Students, 2008 Debnath, Roma Mitra, Benchmarking telecommunication service in India, 2008 Kumar, Kaliyamoorthy, Influence of Demographic Variables on Marketing Strategies in the Competitive Scenario, 2007

Abstract
In recent years, the adoption of mobile phones has been exceptionally rapid in many parts of the world, and especially in India where cellular phones are nowadays almost as common as wrist watches. Being the only industry that remained shielded from the aftermath of the Global Economic Slowdown of 2008-09, the telecom industry is all set to enter the next level of competition. With the new 3-G spectrum allocation, second round of 2-G spectrum allocation and Mobile Number Portability the telecom service providers are all geared up for the turbulent times. The billion dollar question here is that are the telecom players actually ready to face the music, have they actually understood the needs of the consumer, who with the passage of time has not only matured as a technology centric consumer but have also become prudent with the spending on telecom services. The main aim of the paper is to analyze the need and usage behavior of the consumers and to deduce conclusions regarding the questions as, what is the most preferred telecom company, what is the reason for the switching of customer loyalty from one telecom operator to another, etc.

2. Literature Review

2.1 Mobile Phone Usage

Aggarwal Vir Bala, and Professor, Kumar Anil, from the Department of Mass Communication, HPU, Shimla, has studied on the mobile usage behaviour of students of Himachal Pradesh University. The study indicates that mobile phone has converted the whole world in to a global village. Their study reveals that among the different mobile service providers, the government is a better and preferred service provider. Jha (2008), in his study analyzed that it is the youth which is the real growth driver of the telecom industry in India. Considering this fact, the paper is an attempt to give a snapshot of how frequently young people use their mobile phones for several embodied functions of the cell phones. Data was collected from a sample of 208 mobile phone owners, aged between 20 and 29. The study sheds light on how gender, monthly voucher amount and years of owning mobile phones influence the usage pattern of this device. Findings of the study would be helpful for the telecom service providers and handset manufacturers to formulate a marketing strategy for different market segments. Bhatt (2008), in his study titled A Study of Mobile Phone Usage Among the Post Graduate Students analyzed that it is important for mobile carriers, service providers, content developers, equipment manufacturers, as well as for parents and young people alike that the key characteristics of mobile technology is well understood so that the risks associated with its potentially damaging or disruptive aspects can be mitigated. This paper has tried to compare the usage difference by gender with respect to the difference manufacturing and service provider companies.

2.2 Customer Satisfaction and Customer Loyalty

Debnath (2008) this study explains that the prime focus of the service providers is to create a loyal customer base by benchmarking their performances and retaining existing customers in order to benefit from their loyalty. With the commencement of the economic liberalization in 1991, and with a view to expand and improve telecom infrastructure through the participation of the private sector, the Government of India permitted foreign companies holding 51 percent equity stake in joint ventures to manufacture telecom equipment in India. The Indian Government has announced a new policy, which allows private firms to provide basic telephone services. There had been a monopoly of the state-owned department of telecommunications. However, several companies are expected to benefit from the policy change.

Article Name: An Empirical Investigation of Factors Determining the Consumers Choice of Mobile Service Providers
Authors:

Vikas GAUTAM
Icfai University vgautam78@gmail.com

Mukund KUMAR
Icfai University kmukund41@gmail.com References: Alvarez, B. A., Casielles, R. V. (2005). Consumer evaluations of sales promotion : The effect on brand choice, European Journal of Marketing, Vol. 39, No. 1/2, 54-70. Amin, Muslim, and Isa, Zaidi, (2008). An examination of the relationship between service quality perception and customer satisfaction: A SEM approach towards Malaysian Islamic banking, International Journal of Islamic and Middle Eastern Finance and Management, Vol. 1, No. 3, 191-209. Crosby, Lawrence A., Evans. Kenneth R., Cowles, Deborah, (1990). Relationship quality in services selling: An interpersonal influence perspective, Journal of Marketing, Vol. 54, No. 3, 68-81. Abstract After the implementation of government policies on globalization and liberalization, the consumers have become more critical about the selection of service providers. Consumers are now very much aware of the alternatives available in relation to services and the provider organizations. Expectations of consumers are rising and the provider organizations should be aware of these expectations. The objective of the present study is to examine the factors responsible for helping the consumers to choose mobile telecommunication service provider among the competitors in the market. The primary statistical techniques used in the study are Exploratory Factor Analysis, and Structural Equation Modeling. The data was collected with the help of structured questionnaire consisting of different questions related to demographics, service quality, product quality and availability, promotion and price in order to study perceptions of consumers. In order to examine these above mentioned variables and to derive meaningful conclusions, use of structural equation modelling was imperative. AMOS (Analysis of Moment Structure) version 16.0 was employed in the research to test the underlying hypotheses of the study. Results showed that the paths are significantly related to the casual processes. Price was found to be the most important factor followed by product quality and availability, service quality, and promotion in determining perceptions of customers towards mobile telecommunication services. It is expected that the findings of the study may provide meaningful insights to the service providers and contribute in improving their strategies and marketing operations. Keywords: Consumer Perception, Exploratory Factor Analysis, Structural Equation

Modeling, Service Quality.

Review of Literature:
Parasuraman, A, Valarie A. Zeithaml, and Leonard L. Berry (1988) propounded the SERVQUAL scale using the qualitative research based on service quality data on a number of services in their article SERVQUAL: A Multiple-Item Scale for Measuring Customer Perceptions of Service Quality. This study was revolutionary as it didnt depend on the earlier dimension of goods quality in the manufacturing sector. The initial study based on the focus groups yielded 10 dimensions of service quality that included tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, competence, courtesy, credibility, security, access, communication, and understanding the customer. A 22 item scale, called SERVQUAL which would measure the service quality based on five dimensions, viz. tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, assurance and empathy was derived based on a further empirical study. The authors defined service quality as the degree of discrepancy between customers normative expectations for the service and their perceptions of the service performance. Gronroos, Christian (1988) in an article discussed how service quality was Perceived by the customers. In the article, the main characteristics of services like intangibility, heterogeneity, inseparability etc. were discussed first. A conceptual model of service quality was later given in the article. The model stated that the perception of service quality by the customers is good when the experienced quality by the customers meets the quality that was expected by them before the service was delivered. Expected quality was given as a function of factors like market communication, image, word-ofmouth, and customer needs while experienced quality is influenced by the image formed in the mind of the customers regarding the quality of service delivered to them which is in turn influenced by technical quality and functional quality. Finally, the author gave the six criteria of good perceived service quality as: professionalism, attitudes and behaviour, accessibility and flexibility, reliability and trustworthiness, recovery, and reputation and credibility. The author concluded the paper by stating that these six criteria of good perceived service quality were based upon good empirical and conceptual research and so could be useful as managerial principles.