A number of studies have been done in the field of cellular
services in different countries, to measure the customer
satisfaction in terms of service quality or service features,
i.e., how different constructs of service quality or service
features drive customer satisfaction. Hardly any research
exists that attempts to take into account the difference
between satisfied and unsatisfied customers, with respect
to service quality or service feature related variables.
The importance of such a study is immense, as in the fast
growing cellular services market in India, it becomes crucial
to know what separates the satisfied customers from the
unsatisfied ones. After exploring the variables of service
quality and features from the previous body of literature,
this study attempts to find out the underpinnings, using
factor analysis, of these service variables for Indian cellular
users. Then, the same variables or factors are used as discriminating
variables for satisfied and unsatisfied customers. Also,
in a second analysis, demographic variables like age, education,
etc., and cellular usage variables like usage time, type
of connection, etc., have been used as discriminating variables
for satisfied and unsatisfied customers.
In today's complex business environment, it has become
very crucial for companies to attain high customer satisfaction
for long-term sustainable growth. Just like companies of
other business domains, telecommunications also consider
their customers as the most important asset. However, the
most critical issue is whether this customer orientation
is reflected in their strategies. The customers of dynamic
telecom services like cellular telephony have moved ahead
and started buying cellular services like daily household
items such as soaps, oils, etc. So, it has become necessary
in today's business to understand the fact that, customers
being a company's most important asset, is not just a theory
but also an economic fact. Therefore, in the current business
scenario, the research on customer satisfaction in the business
domain of cellular services is quite important and critical
for the understanding of customer psychology, in order to
retain them. In the light of the importance of customer
satisfaction and retention, it is very crucial for any company
to learn what actually differentiates the satisfied customers
from the unsatisfied ones. Cellular industry in India is
one of the fastest growing sectors, and hence, it is important
and interesting to explore the underpinnings of customer
satisfaction in this industry, especially with respect to
service quality, service features, demographics and cellular
usage related variables of the users.
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