Abstract:
Smartphone is an enabling technology that is bringing people together in
today’s world, via provision of essential communication services. The Smartphone
market in Pakistan as well as around the world is growing rapidly. Pakistan has
become the fifth largest Asian mobile phone market. It is therefore important to
understand the reasons behind the exponential growth in mobile phones market in
Pakistan. We focus on smart phones, as they are the upcoming standard in cellular
technology and communication. This research is focused on evaluating the factors that
affect the acceptance of Smartphone among its users.
We use Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) to explore the said
phenomenon. We have adopted a survey-based methodology for understanding
Smartphone adoption. The survey was conducted on the target population composed
of undergraduate, postgraduate students and academic faculty members from a large
university in Pakistan.
Results show the existence of diverse factors that play a positive and
significant role for Smartphone acceptance amongst Pakistani consumers. Analysis
supported the importance of multimedia capabilities and effective application base for
a Smartphone. Similarly, Social Norms plays a significant role for using a
Smartphone. Pivotal socio-technical factors that contribute in Smartphone adoption
include After Sales Service, Applications, Multimedia, Social Norms and Technical
Barriers.
