BRM Report MBA I Parag Saikat Pragya

8/12/2019 BRM Report MBA I Parag Saikat Pragya

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KIIT School of Management, Bhubaneswar Page 1

Business Research Methodology Project Report

on

"Viability study of Refurbished mobiles "

yParag Parmar - 13202027

Saikat Kumar Das- 13202038

Pragya Panda- 13202030


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DECLARATION

We , Parag Parmar , Saikat Kumar Das & Pragya Panda, hereby declare thatthis project report entitled " Viability study of Refurbished mobiles " is an

original piece of work.

This report has the requisite standard for the fulfilment of the survey done on

the mobile phones. To best of our knowledge and belief no part of this report

has been reproduced from any other report and the contents are based on the

original research.

Signed:

1.

2.

3.


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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

We would like to sincerely acknowledge the contribution of all thosepeople who have, directly or indirectly, been instrumental in helping us

complete this project. Also, we thank our institute ,KIIT School of

Management for the support that we got during this project. We take

this opportunity to thank them and all the well-wishers for their

relentless encouragement and whole-hearted support.

We would also like to extend our special thanks to our faculty guide,

Prof. Dr. R. N. Subudhi & Dr. Sasmita Mishra, KSOM Bhubaneswar for

their constant cooperation & guidance at every step. Their teachings in

the field of questionnaire design, research structuring and analysis

have helped us by leaps and bounds.

Last but not the least, we thank our parents for being our pillars of

support constantly through the tiring times. Their motivation has

constantly boosted our endeavours to work harder and achieve more

each time.

Parag Parmar - 13202027

Saikat Kumar Das- 13202038

Pragya Panda- 13202030


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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Sl. no. Particulars Page no.

1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 5

2 INTRODUCTION 6-8

3 RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY 8

4 LITERATURE REVIEW 9-12

5 PROJECT OBJECTIVES 13

6 RESEARCH DESIGN & METHODOLOGY 4

7 PROJECT FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS 15-23

8 CONCLUSION 24

9 RECOMMENDATIONS 25

10 LIMITATIONS 26

11 REFERENCES 27

12 ANNEXURE 28-30


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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This project proposes to study the viability for refurbished mobile phones in

Bhubaneswar. A refurbished mobile phone is a second hand mobile phone which is

repaired, faults are replaced & the handset is made as good as new, with probable

warranty & service features. In the recent trends in the technology market we have

observed an increasing trend of mobile phone users in the smartphones segment. This

gives us an opportunity to go ahead for a new business idea where refurbished phones

can be offered to customers at a very less and accommodative price so that they can go

for even high end smartphones within their budget.

The study is based on Primary data collected via structured questionnaire. With the helpof the primary data we shall analyze the findings and present the recommendations to on

how to include these findings in the product launch strategy. Through the questionnaire

we have looked forward to having an idea about what the customers know and think

about refurbished phones, what is their behavioural attitude towards smart phones in

general, is there a gender based effect on their perception and what attributes are

important to them while making a purchasing decision for any phone, be it first hand or

second hand.

We have included the background of the project and defined the problem. Further on, the

research methodology tools used and the findings have been reviewed by using

quantitative techniques.


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INTRODUCTION

Refurbishmentis the distribution of products (usually electronics) that have beenpreviously returned to a manufacturer or vendor for various different reasons.

Refurbished products are normally tested for functionality and defects before they are

sold, and thus are the approximate equivalent ofcertified pre-owned cars.

The main difference between "refurbished" and "used" products is that refurbished

products have been tested and verified to function properly, and are thus free of defects,

while "used" products may or may not be defective. Refurbished products may be unused

customer returns that are essentially "new" items, or they may be defective products that

were returned under warranty, and resold by the manufacturer after repairing the defects

and ensuring proper function.

Other types of products that may be sold as "refurbished" include:

Items used in field tests, sales displays or demonstrations. Items returned for reasons other than defect and tested by the manufacturer. Items returned to the manufacturer because the box or item was damaged in

shipping.

Previously leased units that are turned in and resold after the lease ends . Used electronics that have been turned in to an electronic recycling program. Used items that have been donated to a charity or non-profit organization.

What Is a Refurbished Mobile phone?

A refurbished cell phone is a pre-owned phone that has been returned either because the

buyer changed their mind during the first 30 days after purchase, or because it had somesort of defect. These phones are brought back to as-new condition and are fully tested

before being sold as a refurbishedphone. You will find these phones on most carriers

websites and at eBay and Amazon.

FACTORY-REFURBISHED CELLPHONES

Factory-refurbished cell phones have been refurbished by the original manufacturer, such

as Sony or Nokia. They may have been returned with defects like scratches, cracked

screens or problem buttons. The company replaces any broken or damaged components
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Certified_Pre-Ownedhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Certified_Pre-Owned


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and restores them in compliance with their production standards. Older models are often

completely restructured with a new microprocessor and new casing. They will be sold

with warranties and sometimes even include accessories and user manuals.

STANDARD OR VENDOR-REFURBISHED PHONES

Cell phones are sometimes refurbished by someone other than the manufacturer.Although they will try and restore them to the original condition, they may not be to full

manufacturer's specifications or inspected by certified inspectors. Because of this, it is

better to purchase a factory-refurbished phone.

PROS OF A REFURBISHED CELLPHONE

The major advantage of buying a refurbished cell phone is the cost savings over buying

the same model new. You can buy a top-of-the-line refurbished phone for the same or

less as an everyday phone bought new. Another advantage of a refurbished phone is it isenvironmentally friendly. It is a form of recycling that reduces the number of cell phones

going into landfills.

CONS OF A REFURBISHED CELLPHONE

Warranties on refurbished phones are generally not as long as for new phones. New

phones often have a one-year warranty, while a refurbished one may have 90 days. It is

important to test your phone fully when you get it and check that everything works, such

as the camera, and the sound is at a suitable level. Some refurbished phones are locked toa particular network, which means you will not be able to switch carriers easily.

Need for refurbished phones

Increasingly, the newer phones in the market are coming at really very high prices Some

are even more expensive than a laptop. These mobile phones are aspirational products for

most customers, some of whom do have the purchasing power to buy these phones at a

60%-70% price level. Hence there exists a market potential for such phones in many of

the India's cities.

The IT boom has also enabled most people to become more tech-savy and in cities where

lots of IT companies have their presence, sale of technology items are the highest.

For a start-up company who want to enter this market it is a good opportunity as no

known or registered players exist in this market till now. Also, this is a totally

unorganized sector and entering into this would mean having a first mover advantage as

well.


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Also, customers have very less options of disposing off their phones, which a refurbished

phone seller can give them by taking phones through buy-backs or even recycle donation

to charity.

We have used this research platform to get some exploratory knowledge of this market

and ascertain further course of direction in this regard.

RESEARCH DESIGN

Type of Research:Exploratory

Research Instrument/Tool:Structured Questionnaire

Sampling Method:Non-Probability convenience sampling

Sample Size:50

Sample unit:Students of KIIT University who were chosen based on mutual

convenience.

The research also helped in understanding what factors influence customers, especially

the young buyers, while purchasing a phone and how much value they think a

refurbished phone can give them. There are certain apprehension about the mobiles being

second hand and this research will help us bring them to the fore. This research also

helped in finding out who prefers refurbished mobile phones as a value offering.

Scales used:Nominal, Ordinal, Ratio and Likert.

Tools used: Questionnaire, SPSS and MS Excel.


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Literature Review

Consumers are individuals and households that buy the firms product for

personal consumption (Kotler, 2004). It often used to describe two different

kinds of consuming entities: the personal consumers and the organizational

consumers (Krishna, 2010). The activities these consumers undertake whenobtaining, consuming, and disposing of products and a service is known as

consumer behaviour. Consumer behaviour involves studying how people buy,

what they buy, when they buy and why they buy. When a consumer wanted to

make the purchase decision, they will pass through the process through

recognition, search information, evaluation, purchase, feedback (Blackwell,

Miniard, and Engel, 2006). At last, the consumer will choose a product or

brand to consume from various choices in the market. However, these factorsaffecting the buying behaviour of consumers vary due to diverse

environmental and individual determinants.

Consumer buying behaviour is influenced by two major factors. These factors

are individual and environmental. The major categories of individual factors

affecting consumer behaviour are demographics, consumer Knowledge,

perception, learning, motivation, personality, beliefs, attitudes and life styles.

The second category of factors is environmental factors. Environmental

factors represent those items outside of the individual that affect individual

consumers decision making process. These factors include culture, social

class, reference group, family and household. The above mentioned factors

are the major determinants behind the decision of consumers to opt a given

good or service Blackwell, Miniard, and Engel, 2006).

Ref: Journal of Marketing and Consumer Research - An Open Access

International Journal Vol.2 2013

Saif (2012) analyzed the factors affecting consumers choice of mobile phone

selection in Pakistan. The results indicated that consumers value new

technology features as the most important variable amongst all and it also acts


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as a motivational force that influences them to go for a new handset purchase

decision.

Subramanyam and Venkateswarlu (2012) conducted a study on factors

influencing buyer behaviour of mobile phone buyers in Kadapa district in

India. The researchers studied the various types of marketing strategiesadopted by market to acquire the attention and cognition of both existing and

potential customers, and to study what role these marketing strategies play in

consumer buying process. According to the results, income, advertising and

level of education in a family are the determining factors of owning a mobile

phone set. Malasi (2012) examined the influence of product attributes on

mobile phone preference among undergraduate university students in Kenya.

The study indicated that varying the product attributes has an influence onthe undergraduate students preferences on mobile phones. Various aspects of

product and brand attributes were considered such as color themes, visible

name labels, and mobile phone with variety of models, packaging for safety,

degree of awareness on safety issues, look and design of the phone.

Based on previous research studies and literatures reviewed (i.e. price, social

factors, durability, brand name, product features and after sales services)

thought to influence the dependent variable (i.e. decision to by) are identified

Various kinds of rating scales have been developed tomeasure attitudes

directly (i.e. the person knows their attitude is being studied). The most

widely used is the Likert Scale.

Likert (1932) developed the principle of measuring attitudes by asking people

to respond to a series of statements about a topic, in terms of the extent towhich they agree with them, and so tapping into the cognitive and affective

components of attitudes.

Likert-type or frequency scales use fixed choice response formats and are

designed to measure attitudes or opinions (Bowling 1997, Burns & Grove

1997). These ordinal scales measure levels of agreement/disagreement.

A Likert-type scale assumes that the strength/intensity of experience is linear,

i.e. on a continuum from strongly agree to strongly disagree, and makes the
http://www.simplypsychology.org/attitude-measurement.htmlhttp://www.simplypsychology.org/attitude-measurement.html


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assumption that attitudes can be measured. Respondents may be offered a

choice of five to seven or even nine pre-coded responses with the neutral

point being neither agree nor disagree.

In its final form, the Likert Scale is a five (or seven) point scale which is used

to allow the individual to express how much they agree or disagree with a

particular statement.

For example:

I believe that ecological questions are the most important issues facing human

beings today.

Strongly agree / agree / dont know / disagree / strongly disagree

Each of the five (or seven) responses would have a numerical value which

would be used to measure the attitude under investigation.

Likert Scale Examples

Agreement Frequency

Strongly Agree Agree Undecided Disagree Strongly Disagree

Very Frequently Frequently Occasionally Rarely Never

Importance Likelihood

Very Important Important Moderately Important Of Little Importance Unimportant

Almost Always True Usually True Occasionally True Usually Not True Almost Never True


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How can you analyse data from a Likert Scale?

Summarise using a median or a mode (not a mean); the mode is probably the

most suitable for easy interpretation.

Display the distribution of observations in a bar chart (it cant be a

histogram, because the data is not continuous).

Critical Evaluation

Likert Scales have the advantage that they do not expect a simple yes / no

answer from the respondent, but rather allow for degrees of opinion, and even

no opinion at all. Therefore quantitative data is obtained, which means that

the data can be analyzed with relative ease.

However, like all surveys, the validity of Likert Scale attitude measurementcan be compromised due the social desirability. This means that individuals

may lie to put themselves in a positive light. For example, if a likert scale was

measuring discrimination, who would admit to being racist?

Exploratory Research: It helps investigators gain some initial insights and

may pave the way for further research. Since the type of project in question isin a very niche and unchartered area, this research would be an exploratory

research to pave way for further conclusive research.


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RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

To find out latent demand for refurbished mobile handsets.To find out the factors that affect this demand.To find out the traits customers look for as value addition in mobile

phones.

Establishing a viable opportunity for a launch into this new market.Finding marketable attributes that will ignite the customers latent

demand.


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RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY

Need for study:

There exists an unchartered market for refurbished mobiles in India in generaland Bhubaneswar in specific. We are trying to conduct an exploratory

research on this topic to establish some viability or some findings that can

help us bring these factors to the fore and enable us to go for further

conclusive studies.

Research Design:

We have used primary data as a source of research. Findings have been madebased on qualitative and quantitative data with the use of the various scales.

The kind of sampling was non-random convinience sampling.

Population:

As the population of Bhubaneswar is very large, so small portion limited to

the KIIT University has been taken for the research. Sample size is of 50respondents.

Research Instrument:

Contacting the respondent personally and studying the response. The

questionnaire was filled out, related to usages of particular branded soaps.

Further the data was coded and analysed using IBM SPSS and MS Excel.


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PROJECT FINDINGS AND ANALYISIS

After obtaining the Primary data we came through with the following project findings.

1.

INTERPRETATION:

Hence we found that 86% of sample has never bought a secondhand mobile phone. Very

few people we came across had actually bought a second hand mobile before.

14%

86%

Yes

No


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2. Do you know about refurbished mobile phones?

INTERPRETATION:

From our sample we can see that 28% of sample know about refurbished more phones.

Hence, creating more awareness amongst the people should be a target for this industry.

14

36


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Question 3: Which brand of mobile phone are you using right now?

INTERPRETATION: From our survey we can say that most people are using Samsung (36%)

& Nokia (32%) mobile phones. Hence, these are two easily available

brands in the market for consideration as input products.


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Question 4:How much would you like to spend on your next mobile purchase?

INTERPRETATION:

From our sample we see that most number of people are buying expensive smart phones

which gives refurbished mobiles a good scope in the market to provide a cheaper

alternative.


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Q5. Perception Mapping- who buys second hand phone?

Interpretation: We observe that people feel most number of people buying refurbished

phones are the ones who have a low budget. The target customers with latent demand

would be those aspiring a higher value product at low prices.

Customer demanding

features at low price

Customer having low

budget

Both low budget &

features at low price

Out side perceptionareaCant Say

32%

16%

52%

10%


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Question 6: Would you buy a phone with higher features, refurbished (renovated)

set if it were available to you for almost 60% of its price?

INTERPRETATION: From our survey we can find that most of the people didnt show

interest in purchasing refurbished mobile phones, but we still had 28% respondents

showing interest, & 32% saying they might go for such phones.


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Question 7: Which type of mobile phones would you prefer as a customer?

INTERPRETATION:

From the above analysis, we can see that Android phones got highest ranking (1.7) So, as

a refurbished mobile seller we should should target customers with more of refurbished

Android phones & we can also look at phones with iOS & windows platform as a good

market chunk.

3.2

2.7

1.7

3.11

4.48

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

4

4.5

5

Windows

Mobile

iOS Mobiles Android Phones Blackberry Symbian/Others

Mean Ranking

Mean Ranking


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Question 11: Giving a warranty on second hand/refurbished mobile phones makes it

a more secure purchase ?

INTERPRETATION:

From our sample we can see that most of people somewhat agree that if a warranty is

given on refurbished phone then it make a more secure purchase.

Hence, a refurbished phone should definitely have a warranty.


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Gender wise consent distribution for refurbished mobiles

INTERPRETATION:

Most number of men say that they wouldnt go for refurbished mobiles but the woman

population was mostly divided in their opinion & are undecided. Yet, we see a patter

where women have kept their options open for a product which will give them a value for

money. Many maybe's mean that they can be shifted to a buyer if given the right mix of

products.

8

13

8

29

6

7

8

21

0 10 20 30 40 50 60

Yes

No

Maybe

Total

Yes No Maybe Total

Males 8 13 8 29

Females 6 7 8 21


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CONCLUSION

People are somewhat open to the idea of refurbished phones, if providedalong with good service.

As a refurbished phone seller we should concentrate mostly on Androidand iOS Smart phones which are most preferred by the customers.

People like to sell off their old phones which is a good for our business. Major population is in the switcher zone, hence latent demand does

exist.

Mid to upper-middle level smart phones are the most demanded by thecustomers.

Women, as potential customers, show more promise than males, whichindicates they are looking for value for money.

From our findings we came to know that the insights are not yetconclusive.

Further study needs to be done on the customer base to derive the latentdemand.


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RECOMMENDATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS

We can see that there lies a lot of scope for further research, which is why descriptive and

further conclusive research should be done.

Refurbished mobiles have shown good promise where people are going to be benefitted

largely, especially those with higher aspirational products but low budget. Hence, here

lies a great opportunity to make this into a great market with good customer demand.

We suggest that the company interested in launching such kind of product should

definitely go for further conclusive research without prejudice but this is going in the

favour of the company as of now.


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LIMITATIONS

The respondents were generally of the age group of 20-25. Time Geographical restrictions Unavailability of secondary data. Uncharted territory in mobile industry.


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REFERENCES

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/smart_phoneshttp://www.pewinternet.org/fact-sheets/mobile-technology-fact-sheet/http://www.gsma.com/publicpolicy/wpcontent/uploads/2012/03/environmobilelifecycles.pdf

Syed A. Ahson,Mohammad Ilyas,Smart phones : Intl. EngineeringConsortium & Co.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/http://www.google.co.in/search?tbo=p&tbm=bks&q=inauthor:%22Syed+A.+Ahson%22http://www.google.co.in/search?tbo=p&tbm=bks&q=inauthor:%22Syed+A.+Ahson%22http://www.google.co.in/search?tbo=p&tbm=bks&q=inauthor:%22Mohammad+Ilyas%22http://www.google.co.in/search?tbo=p&tbm=bks&q=inauthor:%22Mohammad+Ilyas%22http://www.google.co.in/search?tbo=p&tbm=bks&q=inauthor:%22Mohammad+Ilyas%22http://www.google.co.in/search?tbo=p&tbm=bks&q=inauthor:%22Syed+A.+Ahson%22http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/


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ANNEXURES

Research Questionnaire*Respondent Name: ________________________________ *Age: ______

*Gender: Male Female Phone No. : ______________________

*Email id: _____________________________________________________

Prepared for academic research purpose under the area of Business Research

Methodologies. All personal details will remain confidential and will be used

only for academic purpose at the KIIT School of Management, Bhubaneswar.

1. Have you ever bought a second hand mobile phone?A. Yes B. No

2. Do you know about refurbished mobile phone?

A. Yes B. No

3. Which brand of mobile phone are you using right now?

A. Nokia B. Samsung C. Sony D. Micromax

E. Others (Please Specify) ____________________________

4. How much would you like to spend on your next mobile purchase?

A. up to Rs 5000 B. Rs 5001-10000 C. Rs 10001-15000 D. Rs

15001- 20000 E. Above Rs 20000

5. Which customers buy second hand mobiles?

A. Customer demanding features at low prices

B. Customer having low budget


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C. Both options A. and B.

D. Can't Say.

6. Would you buy a phone with higher features, refurbished (renovated)

set if it were available to you for almost 60% of its price?

A. Yes B. No C. Maybe

7. Do you think refurbished phones compromise on quality and features to

maintain low price?

A. Yes B. No C. Maybe

8. Which type of mobile phones would you prefer as a customer? (Please

indicate your preference in the order of 1-5 where 1 being the highest

preference and 5 being the lowest.)

A. Windows Mobile __________

B. iOS Mobiles __________

C. Android phones __________

D. Blackberry OS Mobiles __________

E. Symbian/Other Multimedia mobiles __________

9. If you get a warranty on second hand/refurbished phones, would you

consider it at par with a new mobile phone?

A. Yes, there would be no difference then.

B. No, second hand and first hand phones can never be the same

C. Maybe, just warranty doesn't make them at par.

10. Which of these is your favourite feature in mobiles?

A. Camera B. Games C. Internet and browsing apps D. Messaging

Apps


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11. In the options available below, rank them as per your highest

preference being 1 and lowest being 5.

How would you dispose off your mobile phone?

A. Sell it off. _______

B. Give it to a relative/family member. _______C. Do nothing and keep it idle. _______

D. Throw in mobile recycle bins. (Eco friendly) ________

E. Donate it to charity. _______

12. Giving a warranty on second hand/refurbished mobile

phones ..makes it a more secure purchase?A. Strongly Agree. B. Somewhat Agree. C. Maybe

D. Somewhat Don't Agree. E. Strongly Don't Agree

13. What would your annual household income be?

Ans. A. upto 2 lakhs B. 2 lakhs to 4 lakhs. C. 4 lakhs to 6 lakhs. D. Above 6

lakhs.

14. These are some statements about the features of mobiles. Rate the

following statements on a scale of 1-5, where 1 being the least

important/least agreed with and 5 being the most important/most agreed

with to you.

A mobile has to have a long lasting battery life. _____________

A mobile should have the best service. _____________

A mobile should have a good (long) warranty period. _____________

A mobile should have fast processing of data. _____________

The price of the mobile is important to a customer while buying. _____________

A mobile should have a high pixel camera and powerful flash. _____________

Thank you for your time.

Documents

BRM Report MBA I Parag Saikat Pragya