EFFECTS OF QUAlITY AND PRODUCT DESIGN ON CONSUMER BUYING BEHAVIOR

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Acknowledgement

I would take this opportunity to thank my research supervisor, family and friends for their support and guidance without which this research would not have been possible.

Declaration

I, [type your full first names and surname here], declare that the contents of this dissertation/thesis represent my own unaided work, and that the dissertation/thesis has not previously been submitted for academic examination towards any qualification. Furthermore, it represents my own opinions and not necessarily those of the University.

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Abstract

As the world has networked and high speed broadband is in reach for many, mobile phones have become more personal and in many cases pocket sized computer substitutes. This has lead to a steep increase in time spent with mobile phones, extracting its many features beside calling especially with today's more common smartphones. As smartphones are capable of performing almost the same tasks as traditional computers, there has arisen new possibilities from a commercial point of view to deploy various technological, communicational and marketing prospects. This thesis has been done for and in cooperation with Nokia. Parties involved were Consumer Futures team, focusing in future consumer trends and Nokia.Mobi, a team working on Mobile portal development. Between these teams was a personal connection which eventually drove me to choose this topic for my thesis. Nokia, the team responsible for developing a mobile internet portal, realized there was a need for consumer behaviour information for its own projects. They had their own perceptions what consumers want, but additional professional information, as it was available, was needed. The problem was fragmentation of information sources and quality. They couldn't process and gather all the essential material what was available for their own purpose. This was reason of lack of time, knowledge and resources. This problem was then a possibility for straight forward cooperation between the two teams, and I was granted an opportunity to join consumer futures team for six months. The thesis scope is focusing on helping Nokia.Mobi to realize and use full potential of available information and resources what Consumer Futures can offer. One main theme discussed and analyzed in the thesis is the relationship between future consumer behaviour, mobile marketing and mobile usage. And the second is how to deliver the consumer trends to Nokia.Mobi. The thesis begins with an introduction of the background and research problem, and continues with company facts and figures. The parties involved in thesis are represented next and theoretical part digs deeper to concepts of trend and forecasting, service marketing model, consumer behaviour and web 2.0. Following are my views of possible future consumer trends and how to use them in mobile themed implications. The plan of consumer trends delivery is in the last part of the thesis where I have made a plan for cooperation with these two teams.

Chapter 1: Introduction

Background

This thesis points out consumer trends with smartphone mobile usage and mobile marketing in mind, and how those trends can be delivered for the use of Mobile in ...