European Journal of Business and Management www.iiste.org ISSN 2222-1905 (Paper) ISSN 2222-2839 (Online) DOI: 10.7176/EJBM Vol.11, No.2, 2019 92 Factors Influencing Purchase Intention of Cellular Phones Among the University Students in Bangladesh Md. Rakibul Hafiz Khan Rakib Lecturer, Department of Marketing, Begum Rokeya University, Rangpur-5404, Bangladesh. Abstract Uses of cellular phone among the university students are increasing in Bangladesh. To capture this growing market segment and meeting their diverse demand, it is important for the manufacturers and marketers of cellular phone to know about the factors that these young truly judge. This study is undertaken to find out the factors that affect young Bangladeshi university students’ intention to purchase cellular phone. Through using a structured questionnaire, completed responses of 350 respondents were collected by applying convenience sampling technique. To test the reliability of the collected data, Cronbach’s alpha was measured. Besides this, Regression and ANOVA is used to explain the relationship between the factors affecting university students’ cell phone purchase intention and test the proposed hypotheses. Statistical package for the social sciences (SPSS) version 21.0 was used to perform the statistical tests. This study found significant influence of cell phone price, cell phone feature, brand name and social influence on university students’ cellular phone purchase intention. Findings of the study will help the cellular phone manufacturers and marketers to design their youth centric marketing strategies. Moreover, managerial implications along with the directions for future research have also been discussed. Keywords: Cellular Phone, Purchase Intention, Product Price, Product Features, Brand Name, Social Influence, Ease of Use, Promotion of the Brand. DOI: 10.7176/EJBM/11-2-10 1. Introduction As we are now living in an age of digitalization, the application of sophisticated technological devices in our daily life is rising rapidly. The size and shape of these devices are also changing quickly to match the changing taste and needs of customers (Rahim, Safin, Kheng, Abas & Ali, 2016). The people of different social classes, ages and income levels are very much accustomed with a wide range of technological devices and accessories. The introduction and development of mobile phones in our everyday life is one of the indications of these technological changes (Adekunle & Ejechi, 2018). The invention of mobile phones has changed the basic purpose of communication from reaching and exchanging views with other to a new way of interaction and assistance. Mobile phones have become part and parcel of our daily life (Smura, Kivi & Toyli, 2009; Sata, 2013). This is the device by which we can now express our thoughts and views, get our works done, assist others in their way of life and share our joys and hurts with others. Mobile phones are now considered as an inseparable part of our personal communication context (Karjaluoto et al., 2005). Among the diverse modes of communication, mobile phone is one of the most reliable and efficient vehicles to reach wide range of persons within a very short time (Uddin, Lopa & Oheduzzaman, 2014). This device had one of the quickest household adoption rates of any other technological devices in the modern history (Comer & Wikle, 2008). The mobile phone is an electronic communication device that the users use for companionship and telesociability (Kopomaa, 2000). It is not only a device that links an individual with social networks (Oksman, 2010) but also a mechanism to get connected, a plaything to fun, a means for entertainment, a device for surfing the web, a reliever to tedious life and device to keep the people busy (Uddin, Xu & Azim, 2015). Martin Cooper invented mobile phone and made the very first cellular call from Manhattan on April 3, 1973 (Cooper, 2001). Mobile phone technology is still evolving (Lin, Chao and Tang, 2017) and this technological advancements then lead mobile phone a journey from 0G (mobile radio telephone) to first generation’s 1G (analog signal) to second generation’s 2G (digital signal) to third generation’s 3G (digital signal and data) and very recent to fourth generation’s 4G (high speed audio and video streaming) technology (Bhalla & Bhalla, 2010). Li, Gani, Salleh & Zakaria (2009) predicted the bunch usages of fifth generation’s 5G (World Wide Wireless Web), sixth generations 6G (cellular system), and seventh generation’s 7G (space roaming system) mobile technology by 2020, 2030, and 2040 correspondingly. The first mobile phone handset was launched in Bangladesh in early nineties (Uddin et al., 2014) and Nokia pioneered the journey leading from the front. Currently many mobile phone brands such as Samsung, Symphony, Walton, Nokia, Sony, HTC, Apple, Huawei, Motorola, Panasonic, LG, Micromax, Vivo, Oppo, Xiaomi etc. are available in Bangladesh from where the consumers usually choose their preferred mobile phone. At the end of November, 2018, the total number of subscribers of different mobile phone operators has reached 157.048 million in Bangladesh (BTRC, 2018). Although there are various types of cellular phones or mobile phones like smartphone, camera phone, mp3/music phone, and basic phone that are available in the global market