An Assessment of Pricing Strategies and Consumer Behaviour (Loyalty) in the Telecommunication Sector: A Case Study of the Norwegian Telecommunication Sector

Abstract

The Norwegian telecommunication industry is influenced by various competitive techniques each company installs for customer retention one of them being pricing techniques. This study evaluates the relationship between pricing techniques and customer loyalty in the industry. The research question being answered is, “what is the impact of pricing on consumer loyalty?”. The research question is further supported by 2 other additional research questions including “How does customer loyalty influence pricing?” and “What challenges affect product pricing?” The study employs a primary research collecting qualitative data on what the current customers perceive of the current prices and test their likelihood to change a product vendor if prices changed drastically. The data was collected from 75 respondents with more than 80% response rate. This sample population was sufficient to meet the objective of the study, which was to evaluate the presence, or lack thereof, of pricing strategies and consumer loyalty among the Norwegian telecommunication service providers. The data collection phase employed interviews while analysis was conducted using thematic and repertory grid analysis techniques. The study found an inverse correlation between pricing and customer loyalty in the Norwegian telecommunication industry. Currently, there is no conclusive literature on the relationship between pricing and customer loyalty in the Norwegian telecommunication market. These findings will contribute to the insufficient literature on the same topic in the Norwegian industry. The findings can also be adopted or act as a reference to futuristic researches on a similar topic. Further studies would be recommended for factors influencing product preference apart from pricing.