Antecedents of consumers’ intentions to upgrade their mobile phones

The fourth generation (4G) mobile phone will soon be launched. Marketers need to know which factors determine whether customers choose to upgrade their mobile phones, as this will affect the diffusion of third generation (3G), 4G, and Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access phones. This study integrates pre- and post-adoption theories, upgrading, and value-based theory to examine plans to upgrade to a newer model mobile phone among second generation (2G) and 3G mobile phone users. The empirical results show that the technology acceptance model fails to explain consumers’ intentions to upgrade in sequence. Although customers perceived next-generation mobile phones as being easier to use and more useful than their current model phones, this did not directly influence them to upgrade. When users were satisfied with their current model, they were not willing to upgrade to a newer generation model. Moreover, value assessments affect users’ plans to upgrade to next-generation mobile phones.