The importance of aesthetics on customers' intentions to purchase smartphones

Abstract

This thesis examines how an aesthetic appreciation of a smartphone influences perceived value and purchase intention. A review of the aesthetics, perceived value and purchase intention literature helped in shaping two key issues: 1. What are the physical attributes of aesthetics? 2. How does aesthetics influence purchase intention? To investigate these questions and drawing on the available literature, a model is developed that helps explain how aesthetic appreciation of an object formed from different dimensions of value perceived by viewing a smartphone with these aesthetic properties, influences customers' purchase intention. The research design used mixed methods led mainly by a quantitative approach. The first research phase was exploratory, involving a focus group with respondents from different age groups in Australia. Analysis of the transcribed data was used to refine the theoretical framework of this thesis. In the second stage, a survey methodology was employed. Initially, a pilot study was undertaken with 65 respondents from different age groups who were volunteer UWS students and /or employees. Results from the pilot study were used to revise and rephrase measurement items. Following the pilot study, the main study was undertaken by recruiting an online panel of 415 respondents in Australia. Data were analysed and hypotheses were tested using partial least squares structural equation modelling techniques (PLS-SEM). The findings of this research address the central research questions. Firstly, shape, colour, design and touch were found as the four different criteria of aesthetic measurement of a smartphone. The findings for the second research question showed that while aesthetics can have a direct link with purchase intention, it cannot be a strong determinant of purchase intention. In addition, for a growing array of fairly standardised technology products such as smartphones, functional value is no longer the only determinant of purchase intention. Customers no longer rely on functional attributes of a smartphone as a criterion that influences their purchase intention. However, the use of social value as a mediator in the link between aesthetics and purchase intention could lead to purchase intention. Aesthetics could explain more than 60% of the variance in purchase intention. Findings from this study showed that approval from a person's social network of an aesthetically pleasing object increases the likelihood of purchase intention. Following social value, emotional value was found as the second determinant of purchase intention and a mediator that increases the possibility of intention to purchase an aesthetically pleasing object. The primary contribution arising from this study is the development and testing of a multidimensional concept of aesthetics, which is then used to verify two alternate paths by which aesthetics can influence consumer purchase intention. This finding strengthens the argument that, for a growing array of relatively standardised technology products such as smartphones and tablets, aesthetics has become an important criterion by which consumers evaluate and differentiate between product and service offerings to make purchasing decisions (Jordan, Thomas & McClelland 1996; Kalins 2003; Postrel 2003). The study concludes that aesthetics can impact purchase intention directly, but the effect is stronger when mediated by different dimensions of value customers may perceive by viewing an aesthetically pleasing object. Only a handful of studies (e.g., Swilley 2012; Cox & Cox 2002; Stich 2004; Lam & Mukherjee 2005) have viewed aesthetics as a construct and there is a paucity of research about how aesthetics can influence different components of perceived value and purchase intention for a product with mainly utilitarian attributes. An online panel was used to collect data for this study. This involved the identification and explanation of all steps to ensure the quality of the data gathered. Accordingly, the other contributions of this study are the guidelines for future researchers who might be interested in using an online web-based survey for data collection. The guidelines provide a framework for assuring the validity and reliability of the responses. THESIS RESTRICTED TO ABSTRACT ONLY UNTIL 25/02/2020

Date of Award	2015
Original language	English