Consumer Value Perception of Smartphones : A Comparative Study of Swedish and Japanese Millennials

Abstract: Background: With the emergence of smartphones being a novel and increasingly relevant occurrence, and both the Swedish and Japanese markets being highly prominent in smartphone usage and technological adoption, there exists an avenue of research that compares these two markets. This research examines the consumer value perception of smartphones in millennials, the first digital natives, comparatively between the two markets. Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to explore the consumer value perception in Swedish and Japanese millennials, to possibly identify any differences between them. This is done in order to create a greater understanding on possible differences in how consumers in these markets perceive value and motivate purchases, which can aid marketing practitioners in creating sufficient value propositions and marketing strategies for these markets. The possible findings of this research can possibly improve upon existing theories and concepts and serve as a foundation for further research. Method: This exploratory research was conducted qualitatively using the data collected from semi-structured interviews with 16 millennials, 8 from Sweden and 8 from Japan, paired with abductive reasoning as well as a thematic analysis approach. Conclusion: The results show that there are a number of differences between consumers in these two markets. Using the Perceived Value Model (Boksberger & Melsen, 2013), as well as the smartphone value perception categories (Andrews et al., 2012), four global themes were identified: Derived Value of Smartphones, Product Quality Assessment, Affects of Satisfaction and Motivation for New Purchases and their underlying categories. Through analysis, the authors identified differences in what value the consumers of both markets derive from smartphones, how the participants view price as a quality indicator, how they derive satisfaction and develop brand loyalty from their purchases as well as what values motivate new purchases.