۱- Introduction

۲- Literature review

۳- Research methodology

۴- Findings

۵- Discussions

۶- Implications

۷- Limitations and directions of future studies

References

Abstract

Although scholars describe consumer behaviour as a process of acquisition, consumption, and disposition, limited research is done on disposition decisions, especially in the context of emerging economies. This paper looks into the early work of Jacoby et al. (1977) and the recent seminal work of Cruz-Cardenaz and Arevalo-Chavez (2017) to determine the relationships between external influences and various disposition decisions on smartphones. In particular, it investigates the effect of brand, price, usefulness, compatibility, product attachment and social influence on three types of disposition decisions. A quantitative approach using a self-administered survey was appropriated. The questionnaire was distributed at the universities in Malaysia, and was subsequently collected from those sites with an acceptable response rate. Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was utilized to perform path modeling analysis. The results show that usefulness, product attachment, and compatibility have positive effects on students’ decisions to keep their smartphones. While low product attachment and social influence affect them to dispose their smartphones temporarily, the depreciation of value causes them to discard smartphones permanently. Remarkably, brand and price have no significant impact on disposition decisions, indicating that the function of the smartphone, rather than the device itself, matters more in disposition decisions. The study thus provides more insights into consumer behaviour and its implications on sustainable consumption.

Introduction

Communication is ubiquitous in all walks of life. Evidently, smartphone has emerged as one of today’s most widely used products. Smartphones provide communication services by carrying out several functions of computers and telephones (Thaichon et al., 2016). Consumers are changing from ordinary traditional mobile phones to smartphones not only in developed countries but also developing ones (Wong, 2011). According to the Ministry of Communication (2011) and Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission (2014), Malaysia, with 144% mobile penetration, outpaces Indonesia, Thailand, and even the United States. Observers expect this figure to further increase in the coming years, suggesting the high adoption and usage of smartphones in developing economies. University students are the largest contributors to increasing smartphone sales (Jacob and Issac, 2008). With this technology, they surf the internet, check their email, and connect with peers on the go (Thaichon et al., 2016). In addition, Holley and Dobson (2008) acknowledge that the ever-increasing demands and changing technology dynamics in university environments mean a likely increase in blended learning methods. McKenzie et al. (2013) point out that blended learning models offer a number of benefits: by integrating technology with traditional face-to-face pedagogical methods, universities can meet economic challenges whilst managing student demands for increased flexibility. Hence, smartphones have a particularly big impact on students and institutions of higher learning (Jacob and Issac, 2008; The New Media Consortium, 2011), and it is no surprise that every student owns at least one device. As electronic device usage has proliferated in recent years, consumers are also disposing of more electronic devices (including smartphones) than ever before (World Bank, 2004). Since 1980, consumers have discarded nearly 800 million cell phones (Susu, 2017).