MBA & MM Theses

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    Evaluate the impact of recent regulation changes on mobile consumers in South Africa
    (2012-10-04) Khan, Yusuf
    In recent years, the cellular industry has seen a massive growth in terms of providing cell phone services to people in different parts of the world including South Africa. This technology has made the world a smaller place to live in and has allowed people to communicate with anyone anywhere in the world for both joyous moments and emergencies. At the same time, there are claims that cellular towers in very close proximity to residential areas affect people negatively by causing ailments such as headaches and even cancer. The impact of regulation changes for the cellular industry in South Africa has caused much debate recently. This debate has been around the high interconnection charges that operators charge subscribers for calls to other networks. Mobile Virtual Network Operators are thriving mainly because of these high interconnection fees, their bulk buying power as well as one-sided regulations that are favourable to them. The objective of this research report is to evaluate the impact of recent regulation changes on South African cell phone consumers. The research is based mainly on four regulations in different areas of the cellular industry. These are the reduction in interconnection fees, the deregulation of infrastructure based on Telkom’s monopoly in the market, the spectrum allocation for new market players and the enforcement of service level agreements by ICASA based on licensing conditions. Twenty in-depth Interviews were conducted with various cell phone users from the various South African cell phone companies in order to obtain data for the research. This included seven different individuals who are using cell phone services from more than one service providers. Interview data was content analysed to see how the change in regulations has impacted cell phone users in South Africa and how the industry can improve the affordability of cell phone services in South Africa. Researcher’s key findings are that reforms in South African telecommunication sectors have been slow leading to poor competition in South African Cellular industry. Thus ICASA failed to improve the cell phone affordability for cell phone users in South Africa in the past. However, in recent past ICASA has taken right steps in right direction to improve the overall cell phone consumer experience in South Africa by opening up frequency spectrum for new market players, allowing all cell phone operators and Neotel to rollout transmission network, enforcing reduction in interconnection fees between the cell phone operators and fixed line operators as well as implementing service level agreement with cell phone operators’ on behalf of cell phone consumers.
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    Perceptions of service quality, customer satisfaction and customer loyalty in mobile telephony in South Africa
    (2011-11-14) Munsamy, Theesen
    The South African mobile telephony sector is reaching saturation and churn rates are extremely high. The market is becoming more competitive with the advent of fixed mobile convergence, disruptive technologies and deregulation of the sector. Faced with all these challenges operators need to identify ways to keep customers loyal while ensuring that subscribers continue to increase their spending. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the crucial factors that lead to customer loyalty in the South African mobile telephony sector, namely service quality and customer satisfaction. Furthermore the antecedents, mediating and consequent relationships of customer loyalty, service quality and customer satisfaction was also examined. Data was obtained from 168 mobile phone users from the three MNO’s (mobile network operators) using a survey compiled from existing literature. The survey was confined to the Gauteng province. The data was analysed using structural equation modelling in order to test the relationships between the constructs. The findings support the proposed hypotheses and are consistent with other literary studies. Pricing, value added services and customer support services are the most significant service quality dimensions influencing customer satisfaction. Customer satisfaction has a direct positive impact on customer loyalty. Customer satisfaction was found to be the mediator between service quality and customer loyalty
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    Perceptions of Mobile Advertising in South Africa
    (2011-05-31) Nash, Brett
    It has been suggested that the mobile phone is the fastest growing and potentially the most addictive advertising medium ever developed. The danger of mismanaging this mobile medium however risks alienating consumers, damaging the reputations of major brands and depriving mobile operators of a lucrative revenue stream. The main purpose of this study is to investigate the perception of mobile advertising in South Africa by evaluating the factors that influence a consumer’s willingness to accept the mobile phone as a means of receiving promotional content. The data analysed in this study was collected by means of a questionnaire that was administered to a stratified random sample of 500 South African contract (post paid) mobile subscribers. The questionnaire contained various questions and statements that represented those constructs suggested by the literature as impacting upon consumer perceptions and willingness to accept the mobile advertising medium. A seven point scale was used for the purposes of this study to derive ordinal level data for the purposes of analysis. The data was subjected to multivariate and descriptive statistical procedures. The results of the analysis were used to answer the research questions, derive the various recommendations as well as to develop topics for further research. The main findings of the research showed that South African consumers generally hold a negative attitude towards mobile advertising and little intention of adopting the mobile medium in the future. Even though marketers and service providers would like to exploit he medium, consumers in South Africa do not perceive the value. It was found that there are three consumer acceptance dimensions, each made up of specific constituent factors, which have a direct bearing on the perception of mobile advertising amongst South African consumers. These are defined as the Derived Value realised by consumers when participating in a mobile advertising campaign, the key role Consumer ii Trust plays in the relationship between the consumer and the stakeholders within the advertising value chain, and the risks and sacrifices that fuel the Perceived Threat associated with inclusion or participation in mobile advertising campaigns. It is suggested, however, that if managed successfully these consumer acceptance dimensions could help improve the prospects for mobile advertisers in South Africa. The research paper concludes with a number of recommendations and strategies tailored to help support the future success of the medium at various points along the mobile advertising value chain.