Research Article | Open Access | Published Online: 18 December 2020
Suresh Khanal
DME Journal of Management, Vol.1, Issue 1, 2020, Page 107-125
The focal objective of the study is to investigate various factors that most significantly affect the laptop buying decision of students. Self-administered questionnaire was distributed among the students pursuing Master’s degree at Lumbini Banijya Campus (LBC). The data analysis were carried out by using descriptive statistics like mean, median, mode, standard deviation and coefficient of variation and by using statistical tool like analysis of variance (ANOVA). As shown by the results, product features and brand were seen as the most significant factor affecting the students’ purchasing choice of laptops and price was seen to be the least significant one. While analyzing the association of various product related factors and demographic variables it is found that relationship of gender with price was statistically significant but the relationship of gender with brand, product features and promotion was not statistically significant. Similarly, the relationship of age group with the product related factors was not statistically significant. Likewise, the relationship of family income with price, brand and product features was statistically significant but the relationship of family income with promotion was not statistically significant. Since, the study has pointed out the factors that are considered as highly important by the responders the manufacturers can produce laptops focusing on such factors and local distributors can import laptops focusing on such factors in order to attract students.
Key words: RAM, SPSS, ANNOVA, Consumer Behavior
According to Kotler “consumer behavior is the study of how people buy, what they buy, when they buy and why they buy” (Kotler, 1994). Consumer buying behavior comprises varieties of factors that ultimately influence the buying decisions of the customers. Customers are the critical component for the accomplishment of any organization since they create the income for organization by purchasing, utilizing and influencing others to buy organization products and services. A company defines certain market segments for its product and services. Students are one of the segments involved in buying or using company’s product and services. The company should be aware of attributes that should be focused in order to attract this segment called students. With the advancement in information system technology different varieties of electronic gadgets are flowing in the market. Among those sophisticated technological products markets the laptop market is highly wide, variegated and fastest moving one. Laptops were created during the 1970s and were subjected to mass release during 1980s. It became the perfect substitute for stable desktop computers. Recently its popularity is highly increasing among the students of universities and colleges, since they essentially need laptops to carry out activities related to their studies. They use laptops to take notes, share notes, communicate, watch films, create software, work with group projects etc. In the growing market of laptops, customers are confronting huge variety of products. Increasing innovation on the market of laptops has made people crazy about such products. So, the market for laptop is enlarging each year with increasing innovations. Due to the availability of excessive varieties of laptops on the market, students as well as other customers depend on different factors related to that product that ultimately guide the purchase decision. Customers also seek continuous innovation. Because of the continuous demand from the customer side, which influences innovation process combined with marketer’s capability to alter want into reality, customers are having ultimate access to new products in the market. So, marketers have keen interest in knowing what actual factors influence the buying decision of dominant group i.e. students. There are various factors like price, brand name, quality, features, promotion that motivate students to buy a laptop but it is not necessary that the same factors motivate all other students or consumers. This often poses a challenge to the marketer or manufacturing company. So due to the continuously changing preferences and needs of the students, companies are facing problem in identifying the factors they should focus on. Therefore, the focal objective of the study is to investigate various aspects that most significantly affecting the buying behavior of students. The previous research dealt with different variables and attributes affecting the buying behaviors of laptops. Researchers mainly focused on the narrow set of variables which either focused on the product characteristics or focused on the internal factors of the customers like personality, physical needs etc. but it would have been better if the researchers had separated some broad headings for variables and listed the sub variables under the main heading. This research will overcome such limitation by separating the broad variables like price, brand name, promotional activities and product features. Under these variables there will be related possible sub variables. Finally, this this type of research has not been previously conducted in any colleges in Nepal due to which the information on different factors that influenced the laptop buying behavior of students in Nepal has remained undisclosed.
The focal objective of the study is to investigate the various aspects that most significantly affect the laptop buying behavior of students. Similarly, other related objectives are mentioned as follows:
To analyze the association of product related factors and family income.
According to Rahim et. al., “Factors influencing purchasing intention of smart phone among university students.” (Rahim, Safin, Kheng, Abas, & Ali, 2016). The purpose of the study was to determine the noteworthy effect of product attribute, brand, social influence and product sacrifice on the demand for smart phones among Malaysian university students. Data were collected using questionnaire survey with sample size of 367. The major finding of the study inferred that product attribute, brand and social influence have significant relationship with purchase intention of students. The study recommended that the manufacturers should understand the facets influencing university students’ buying intention as they represented the most probable future users of smartphone. The strength of the study is that the range of data collected was broad with large sample size. The limitation is that the sample was collected from a single university which may hamper the generality of the result. In a research article published by Afrin Khan et al. titled “Impact of the influential factors on laptop buying decision: A study on the students of Bangladesh.” (Afrin, Khan, & Islam, 2015). The objectives of the study were, to detect the factors which influence the student’s buying behavior while buying laptop and to detect the relationship between those factors and buying behavior. Data were collected through questionnaire survey with a sample of 100 through convenience sampling technique. The major finding of the study was that the physical attribute like color, portability, brand image, cost attracts customers more than other reasons behind selecting a laptop. So, the researchers concluded that due to neck-to-neck competition between the firms operating in laptop industry, it has become crucial for them to offer superior physical attribute, standard product and after sale service to attract and maintain market shares. The researchers have used small sample size have not been able to provide major recommendation but instead of sample size being small the research was conducted among different educational institutions by properly including all relevant variables. According to Pandiya Kumar & Chakraborty “Factors influencing laptop buying behavior a study on students UG/PG in computer science department of Assam university.” (Pandiya, Kumar, & Chakraborty, 2015). The objectives of the study were, to identify laptop attributes capable of influencing the buying behavior of the students of computer science in their capacity of customers of laptops and to know the degree of influence each of these laptop’s attribute is capable of putting on behavior of buying of the students of computer science in their capacity of customers of laptops. Data were collected with the help of structured questionnaires with the sample size of 33 students. The study had several findings. First, the attribute that highly influenced highest percentage of samples were hard disk, operating system, price. Second, the attribute which influenced poorly to highest percentage of sample customers was offers and discounts. There was no major recommendation in the study. The main drawback of the study is that the sample size is very small and is drawn only from science department of Assam university. However, the study has focused on 22 attributes as factors influencing the buying decision of laptops. So, the results have helped to identify most important attributes that business house should focus on. Dhal published a research article with the title “A study of consumer buying behavior and perception towards laptops in Orissa.” (Dhal, 2015). The objective of the research was to study the customer attitude and perception while purchasing a laptop. Data were collected through well-structured questionnaire circulated to different district with a sample size of 40 responders. The key finding of the research study showed that the customers were interested on service and feature like DVD drive, design, embedded technology, warranty were most important dimension to purchase laptop. There was no recommendation provided by the research. The strength of the study is that the samples drawn were representative because the state was divided into no of clusters according to districts and from each district randomly customers were selected for the study. However, the limitation is that the study failed to provide recommendation and also failed to highlight the importance given to different factors. Akbar Tanzila & Nazish published a research article with the title “Buying behavior of smartphone among university students in Pakistan.” (Tanzila, Akbar, & Nazish, 2015) The objective of the paper was to examine the effect of price, brand, product attribute and social influence on the purchasing behavior of the smart phone among the university students of Pakistan. Data were collected using online questionnaires with a sample size of 208. The major finding of the study showed that there were four factors that were influencing the buying behaviors of the consumers namely, product attribute, brand, pricing of the product and social influence. There was no recommendation in the study. The main limitation of the study is that the authors have not been able to provide major recommendation. The strength of the study is that the range of data collected is broad with large sample size and authors have mentioned the use of proper statistical tools. S. Tripathi published a research article with the title “A study on students buying behavior towards laptops.” (Tripathi S., 2013). The objectives of the study were, to examine the preference of students while buying laptops, to examine the perception of students towards laptops and to examine the buying behavior pattern of university students while buying laptops. Data were collected using online questionnaires with a sample size of 100 through convenience sampling. The major findings of the study were that the student’s buying behavior is influenced by internal factors like physical need, motivation and personality as well as external factors like culture, social class, family and reference groups. The authors have come up with some major recommendations. First, distributors or retailers should consider reference group influence by focusing on friends and family in their promotion strategies and personal selling strategy. Second, distributers or retailers need to offer the relevant price information for example retail cost, discount or payment alternatives about their products. The main limitation of the study is that the result was generated from small size of sample which may influence the generality of the sample, however proper valid questionnaires covering sufficient variables were prepared to carry out the study. Sata, in his research article, titled, observed, “Factors affecting consumer buying behavior of mobile phone devices.” (Sata, 2013). The key objective of the paper was to examine the factors affecting the decision related to buying mobile phone devices in Hawassa town. Data were collected through questionnaire survey with sample of 246 using simple random sampling technique. The major finding of the study showed that the consumers value product price followed by product attribute as the most significant variable amongst all and at same time acted as a motivational force that influence the buying behavior decision. The research paper recommended that the mobile sellers should consider the above mentioned findings to utilize the opportunity. The strength of the study is that the size of sample is large and the researcher has mentioned the use of proper statistical tools. Nasir et.al published a research article with the title “Factors influencing consumers’ laptop purchases” (Nasir, Yoruker, & Gunes, 2006) There were two major objectives of research. Firstly, it focuses to determine the factors affecting consumers’ laptop buying behavior. Secondly, it was planned to examine whether there were any differences among consumer groups of Computer Corporation with respect to the importance given to the factors affecting consumers’ laptop buying behavior. The data were collected through online questionnaires, with a sample size of 327. As found out by the study there were seven key factors which influenced consumer laptop buying behavior. Those factors were, core technical factors, after sales services, cost, payment alternatives, peripheral specialty, physical display, value added features and connectivity and mobility. The research paper recommended companies to invest in technology through Research & Development and innovating at utmost level. The strength of this research paper is that the range of data collected is broad with large sample size but as a limitation the research did not mention use of appropriate statistical tools.
In relation with the existing research papers and reviewed literature the conceptual framework for research will consist of dependent and independent variables. The conceptual framework for the research study is presented below.
Independent Variables Dependent Variable
Dependent Variable:
Dependent variable is one that is affected by the set of independent variables. In this
the dependent variable is the student’s buying decision of laptops.
Independent variable:
Independent variable is one that is independent and causes adjustment in the dependent variable. The independent variable can be manipulated by the researcher to see adjustment in the dependent variable. The dependent variables included under this research are as follows:
This section mentions the hypotheses that are to be tested for their statistical significance.
The alternative hypotheses under the association of product related factors and gender are listed as follows:
H1: The relationship between price and gender is statistically significant.
H2: The relationship between promotion and gender statistically significant.
H3: The relationship between brand and gender is statistically significant.
H4: The relationship between product features and gender is statistically significant.
Similarly, the alternative hypotheses under the association of product related factors and age are listed as follows:
H1: The relationship between price and age is statistically significant.
H2: The relationship between promotion and age is statistically significant.
H3: The relationship between brand and age is statistically significant.
H4: The relationship between product features and age is statistically significant.
Likewise, the alternative hypotheses under the association of product related factors and family income are listed as follows:
H1: The relationship between price and family income is statistically significant.
H2: The relationship between promotion and family income is statistically significant.
H3: The relationship between brand and family income is statistically significant.
H4: The relationship between product features and family income is statistically significant.
The nature of research conducted is descriptive aiming to identify the major factor affecting the student’s buying decision of laptops as well as cross sectional as it is conducted at a certain point of time. The type of study is qualitative as the researcher was physically present during the research in different aspects like data collection, processing and analysis. The data were collected through primary sources and secondary sources. Self- administered questionnaire were used for the purpose of primary data collection. Secondary sources like articles were used for the purpose of literature review. Different types of questions related to factors influencing student’s purchase decision of laptops were prepared. The types of questions prepared were dichotomous question, single response question and likert scale question. The questions were prepared on the basis of author’s theoretical knowledge and taking references from an article. (Tripathi S., 2013) Five point likert scale has been used while preparing the likert scale questions. This scale consists of various statements that manifest either a favorable or an unfavorable attitude towards the attribute under consideration. Under this scale, respondents indicate their attitudes by checking how strongly they agree or disagree with the statements given in the questionnaire. Respondents choose one of the five levels of agreement, where 1 indicates strong disagreement, 3 indicates neutrality and 5 indicates strong agreement. The population for the survey was the students pursuing master’s degree at Lumbini Banijya Campus (LBC) located at Butwal city, Nepal. The size of sample was determined through the Slovin’s formula written as:
n= N/(1+Ne^2)
Where,
N is the population size which is 701 students in our case
e is the probability of committing sampling error which is set as 6%
n is the sample size
Entering these values in the formula, the sample size was determined to be approximately 200. The non-probability sampling technique namely, snow ball sampling method was applied to gather data from the samples. The assemble data were arranged using SPSS and MS Excel software. The data analysis procedure mainly used different descriptive statistics like mean, median, mode, standard deviation and coefficient of variation. The results were interpreted and presented through tables.
Reliability test
The reliability statistic was analyzed with the help of Cronbach’s Alpha. The value of Cronbach’s Alpha based on standardized item is .713 for 16 items. This means that the data is reliable about 71% and error is 29%. Thus, the data is reliable at good level.
| Cronbach’s Alpha | Cronbach’s Alpha Based on Standardized items | No. of Items |
| 0.704 | 0.713 | 16 |
This section deals with the findings that has been drawn from the data collected from the responders that are properly processed and analyzed according to the objectives of the research study. The results obtained by the systematic arrangement of the data are presented in tables below.
| Frequency | Percent | |
| Gender | ||
| Male | 114 | 57 |
| Female | 86 | 43 |
| Age | ||
| 18-19 | 59 | 29.5 |
| 20-21 | 82 | 41 |
| 22-23 | 59 | 29.5 |
| Family Income | ||
| Less than 20,000 | 13 | 6.5 |
| 20,000-40000 | 48 | 24 |
| 40,000-60,000 | 55 | 27.5 |
| 60,000 and above | 84 | 42 |
| Do you own a laptop now | ||
| Yes | 180 | 90 |
| No | 20 | 10 |
The above table shows that out of 200 responders, 114 (57%) were male. The table also exhibits that out of 200 responders 59 (29.5%) were under the age group of 18-19, 82 (41%) responders were under the age group of 20-21 and 59 (29.5%) responders were under the age group of 22-23. Similarly, out of 200 responders, 13(6.5%) had family income less than 20,000, 48(24%) responders had family income of 20,000-40,000, 55 (27.5%) responders had family income of 40,000-60,000 and 84 (42%) responders had family income 60,000 and above. Likewise, out of 200 responders, 180 (90%) owned a laptop and 20 (10%) responders did not own a laptop. The different questions under likert scale are as follows where section A represent price related factors, section B represent promotional factors, section C represent brand related factors and section D represent product features.
AQ1- Price of core product i.e. Laptop is more important than price of other accessories like mouse, headphone, speaker etc.
AQ2- Price of additional accessories like mouse, headphone, and speaker is important while purchasing a laptop.
BQ1- Advertisement of the laptops forces consumers to view it once before making a final buying decision.
BQ2- Consumers consider those companies which do advertisements.
BQ3- Price discounts on the marked price are important to make buying decision.
CQ1- The popular brand name is considered while making a buying decision.
CQ2- Popular brand name of laptop represents better quality.
CQ3- Popular brand will be chosen when all the other brands have similar features.
DQ1- RAM (Random Access Memory) is considered as significant attribute while buying a laptop.
DQ2- Operating system is considered as significant attribute while buying a laptop.
DQ3- Hard disk is considered as significant attribute while buying a laptop.
DQ4- Battery life is considered as significant attribute while buying a laptop.
DQ5- Warranty is considered as significant attribute while buying a laptop.
DQ6- Size & Weight is considered as significant attribute while buying a laptop.
DQ7- Product Outlook is considered as significant attribute while buying a laptop.
DQ8- Sound Quality is considered as significant attribute while buying a laptop.
| Statement | 1N (%) | 2N (%) | 3N(%) | 4N(%) | 5N(%) |
| AQ1 | 3(1.5) | 11(5.5) | 32(16) | 82(41) | 72(36) |
| AQ2 | 4(2) | 59(29.5) | 67(33.5) | 67(33.5) | 3(1.5) |
| BQ1 | 0 | 13(6.5) | 29(14.5) | 109(54.5) | 49(24.5) |
| BQ2 | 2(1) | 7(3.5) | 51(25.5) | 95(47.5) | 45(22.5) |
| BQ3 | 0 | 9(4.5) | 40(20) | 96(48) | 55(27.5) |
| CQ1 | 0 | 5(2.5) | 10(5) | 104(52) | 81(40.5) |
| CQ2 | 1(0.5) | 35(17.5) | 34(17) | 114(57) | 16(8) |
| CQ3 | 0 | 17(8.5) | 29(14.5) | 85(42.5) | 69(34.5) |
| DQ1 | 1(0.5) | 4(2) | 30(15) | 90(45) | 75(37.5) |
| DQ2 | 0 | 7(3.5) | 41(20.5) | 95(47.5) | 57(28.5) |
| DQ3 | 0 | 3(1.5) | 34(17) | 92(46) | 71(35.5) |
| DQ4 | 0 | 4(2) | 14(7) | 71(35.5) | 111(55.5) |
| DQ5 | 0 | 8(4) | 31(15.5) | 90(45) | 71(35.5) |
| DQ6 | 0 | 17(8.5) | 58(29) | 93(46.5) | 32(16) |
| DQ7 | 1(0.5) | 13(6.5) | 44(22) | 113(56.5) | 29(14.5) |
| DQ8 | 0 | 10(5) | 41(20.5) | 97(48.5) | 52(26) |
The above table shows the frequency of the responses in likert scale. Under price related factors the first statement was “Price of core product i.e. Laptop is more important than price of other accessories like mouse, headphone, speaker etc.” The highest frequency for this statement is 82 which mean that 41% of the responders agreed with the statement. Similarly, the next statement was “Price of additional accessories like mouse, headphone, and speaker is important while purchasing a laptop.” The highest frequency for this statement is 67, which means that 33.5% of the responders remained neutral and 33.5% of the responders agreed with the second statement. Under promotional factors the first statement was “Advertisement of the laptops forces consumers to view it once before making a final buying decision.” The highest frequency for this statement is 109, which means that 54.5% of the responders agreed with the statement. Similarly, the next statement was “Consumers consider those companies which do advertisements.” The highest frequency for this statement is 95, which means that 47.5% of the responders agreed with the statement. Likewise the next statement was “Price discounts on the marked price are important to make buying decision.” The highest frequency for this statement is 96, which means that 48% of the responders agreed with the statement. Under brand related factors, the first statement was “The popular brand name is considered while making a buying decision.” The highest frequency for this statement is 104, which means that 52% of the responders agreed with the statement. Likewise, the next statement was “Popular brand name of laptop represents better quality.” The highest frequency for this statement is 114, which means that 57% of the responders agreed with the statement. Similarly, the next statement was “Popular brand will be chosen when all the other brands have similar features.” The highest frequency for this statement is 85, which means that 42.5% of the responders agreed with the statement. Under product features the first statement was “RAM is considered as important feature while buying a laptop.” With the highest frequency of 90, 45% of the responders agreed with the statement. Likewise, the next statement was “Operating system is considered as important feature while buying a laptop.” With the highest frequency of 95, 47.5% of the responders agreed with the statement. Similarly, the next statement was “Hard disk is considered as important feature while buying a laptop.” With the highest frequency of 92, 46% of the responders agreed with the statement. The next statement was “Battery life is considered as important feature while buying a laptop.” With the highest frequency of 111, 55.5% of the responders strongly agreed with the statement. Similarly, the next statement was “Warranty is considered as important feature while buying a laptop.” With the highest frequency of 90, 45% of the responders agreed with the statement. The next statement was “Size & Weight is considered as important feature while buying a laptop.” With the highest frequency of 93, 46.5% of the responders agreed with the statement. Likewise, the next statement was “Product Outlook is considered as important feature while buying a laptop.” With the highest frequency of 113, 56.5% of the responders agreed with the statement. The last statement was “Sound Quality is considered as important feature while buying a laptop.” With the highest frequency of 97, 48.5% of the responders agreed with the statement.
| Statement | Mean | Std. Deviation | C.V |
| AQ1 | 4.05 | 0.94 | 23.14% |
| AQ2 | 3.03 | 0.879 | 29.00% |
| BQ1 | 3.97 | 0.808 | 20.35% |
| BQ2 | 3.87 | 0.835 | 21.58% |
| BQ3 | 3.99 | 0.811 | 20.33% |
| CQ1 | 4.31 | 0.681 | 15.80% |
| CQ2 | 3.55 | 0.89 | 25.07% |
| CQ3 | 4.03 | 0.913 | 22.66% |
| DQ1 | 4.17 | 0.79 | 18.94% |
| DQ2 | 4.01 | 0.796 | 19.85% |
| DQ3 | 4.16 | 0.751 | 18.05% |
| DQ4 | 4.45 | 0.714 | 16.04% |
| DQ5 | 4.12 | 0.812 | 19.71% |
| DQ6 | 3.7 | 0.839 | 22.68% |
| DQ7 | 3.78 | 0.79 | 20.90% |
| DQ8 | 3.96 | 0.816 | 20.60% |
The above table shows the mean, standard deviation and C.V for the statements of the likert scale. Further, from the above table it is observed that under the price related factors, the first statement “Price of core product i.e. Laptop is more important than price of other accessories like mouse, headphone, speaker etc.” has the highest mean 4.050 which indicates that most of the responders considered cost of laptop as significant factor affecting their buying behavior. However, there is 23.14% variation in the responders’ response. Similarly, under the promotional factors the third statement “Price discounts on the marked price are important to make a buying decision.” has the highest mean 3.99 which indicates that most of the responders considered price discount on the marked price as the crucial factor influencing their buying behavior. However, there is 20.33% variation in the responders’ response. Under the brand related factors it is seen that the first statement “The popular brand name is considered while making a buying decision.” has the highest mean 4.31 which indicates that most of the responders considered the popular brand name as the crucial factor affecting their buying behavior. However, there is 15.8% variation in the responders’ response. Similarly, under the product features it is seen that the statement “Battery life is considered as important feature while buying a laptop.” has the highest mean 4.45 which indicates that most of the responders considered battery life as the vital feature for making buying decision. However, there is 16.04% variation in the responders’ response. Other features like RAM, operating system, hard disk were also considered as the important features for making a purchase decision as they also have relatively higher mean.
| Factors | Mean | Std. Deviation | C.V | Rank |
| Price | 3.5375 | 0.56918 | 16.09% | 4 |
| Promotion | 3.9417 | 0.52883 | 13.42% | 3 |
| Brand | 3.96 | 0.60017 | 15.16% | 2 |
| Product Features | 4.0419 | 0.46489 | 11.50% | 1 |
Analyzing the above table it is seen that product features is the most crucial factor that affects the students’ buying behavior as it has the highest mean of 4.0419. The second most crucial factor affecting the buying behavior is brand since it has the mean value of 3.96. Similarly, it is observed that the third most crucial factor affecting the students’ buying behavior is Promotion with the mean value of 3.9417. Finally, it is seen that price is considered as the least important factor influencing the students’ buying decision of laptops since it has the lowest mean of 3.5375.
| Factors | Gender | N | Mean | Std. Deviation | F | Sig. |
| Price | Male | 114 | 3.4649 | 0.56333 | 4.385 | 0.038 |
| Female | 86 | 3.6337 | 0.56581 | |||
| Promotion | Male | 114 | 3.9444 | 0.52642 | 0.007 | 0.932 |
| Female | 86 | 3.938 | 0.53507 | |||
| Brand | Male | 114 | 3.9181 | 0.66749 | 1.292 | 0.257 |
| Female | 86 | 4.0155 | 0.49549 | |||
| ProductFeatures | Male | 114 | 4.0033 | 0.45738 | 1.834 | 0.177 |
| Female | 86 | 4.093 | 0.47247 |
While analyzing impact of various product related factors on gender, it is found that females are more influenced by the factor price than males while making a buying decision. This difference is statistically significant at 95% level of confidence. It is also seen that, males are slightly more influenced by the factor promotion than females while making a buying decision. However, this difference is statistically insignificant at 95% level of confidence. Furthermore, it is found that, females are more influenced by the factor brand than males. However this difference is statistically insignificant at 95% level of confidence. Similarly, female are more influenced by the factor product features than male but this difference is statistically insignificant at 95% level of confidence.
| Factors | Age | N | Mean | Std. Deviation | F | Sig. |
| 18-19 | 59 | 3.477 | 0.52869 | |||
| Price | 20-21 | 82 | 3.598 | 0.56894 | 0.85 | 0.43 |
| 22-23 | 59 | 3.517 | 0.6086 | |||
| 18-19 | 59 | 3.848 | 0.47675 | |||
| Promotion | 20-21 | 82 | 3.919 | 0.59158 | 2.74 | 0.07 |
| 22-23 | 59 | 4.068 | 0.46642 | |||
| 18-19 | 59 | 3.898 | 0.61667 | |||
| Brand | 20-21 | 82 | 4.008 | 0.61748 | 0.58 | 0.56 |
| 22-23 | 59 | 3.955 | 0.56208 | |||
| 18-19 | 59 | 3.936 | 0.45032 | |||
| Product Features | 20-21 | 82 | 4.069 | 0.50619 | 2.32 | 0.1 |
| 22-23 | 59 | 4.11 | 0.40477 |
While analyzing impact of various factors on age group, results showed that responders of 20-21 age groups are more influenced by factor price than the responders of other age groups. However, this difference is statistically insignificant at 95% level of confidence. It is also seen that, responders of 22-23 age group are more influenced by factor promotion than the responders of other age groups. However, this difference is statistically insignificant at 95% level of confidence. Furthermore, it is seen that, responders of 20-21 age group are more influenced by factor brand than the responders of other age groups. However this difference is statistically insignificant at 95%level of confidence. Similarly, responders of 22-23 age groups are more influenced by factor product future than the responders of other age groups. However this difference is statistically insignificant at 95% level of confidence.
| Factors | Family Income | N | Mean | Std. Deviation | F | Sig. |
| Less than 20,000 | 13 | 3.1923 | 0.43486 | |||
| Price | 20,000-40000 | 48 | 3.7083 | 0.51399 | 3.902 | 0.01 |
| 40,000-60,000 | 55 | 3.5909 | 0.61682 | |||
| 60,000 and above | 84 | 3.4583 | 0.55541 | |||
| Less than 20,000 | 13 | 3.8718 | 0.53642 | |||
| Promotion | 20,000-40000 | 48 | 3.9444 | 0.40873 | 1.34 | 0.94 |
| 40,000-60,000 | 55 | 3.9697 | 0.52616 | |||
| 60,000 and above | 84 | 3.9325 | 0.59399 | |||
| Less than 20,000 | 13 | 3.5128 | 0.93902 | |||
| Brand | 20,000-40000 | 48 | 3.9097 | 0.4946 | 3.076 | 0.029 |
| 40,000-60,000 | 55 | 4.0061 | 0.56834 | |||
| 60,000 and above | 84 | 4.0278 | 0.59044 | |||
| Less than 20,000 | 13 | 3.6731 | 0.54376 | |||
| Product Features | 20,000-40000 | 48 | 3.9714 | 0.41115 | 4.012 | 0.008 |
| 40,000-60,000 | 55 | 4.1023 | 0.45203 | |||
| 60,000 and above | 84 | 4.0997 | 0.4656 |
While analyzing effects of various factors on buying behavior of responders with certain family income level, results showed that responders with family income level of 20,000-40,000 are more influenced by factor price than the responders with other family income levels. This difference is statistically significant at 95% level of confidence. It is also seen that, responders with family income level of 40,000-60,000 are more influenced by factor promotion than the responders with other family income levels. However this difference is statistically insignificant at 95% level of confidence. Furthermore, it is seen that, responders with family income level of 60,000 and above are more influenced by factor brand than the responders with other family income levels. . This difference is statistically significant at 95% level of confidence. Similarly, responders with family income level of 40,000-60,000 are more influenced by factor product features than the responders with other family income levels. . This difference is statistically significant at 95% level of confidence.
Concluding the research, from the mean value analysis of independent variables, product features was found to be the most crucial factor influencing the students’ buying behavior. Brand was the second most crucial factor influencing the buying behavior and price was considered as the least crucial factor influencing the purchasing decision of laptops. Further, analyzing the relationship between product related factors and gender it was found that female were more influenced by price, brand and product features while males were more influenced by promotion. Such relationship of gender with price was statistically significant but the relationship of gender with brand, product features and promotion was statistically insignificant. Similarly, analyzing the relationship between products related factors and age, it was found that the responders belonging to age group 20-21 were more influenced by price and brand while responders belonging to age group 22-23 were more influenced by promotion and product features. However, the difference was statistically insignificant. Likewise, analyzing the relationship between product related factors and family income, it was found that responders with family income level of 20,000-40,000 were influenced by the factor price while responders with family income of 40,000- 60,000 were more influenced by promotion and product features and responders with family income of 60,000 and above were more influenced by the factor brand. Such relationship of family income with price, brand and product features was statistically significant but the relationship of family income with promotion was statistically insignificant. The results obtained from this study would be useful to the international laptop manufacturers and the local distributors. The study has pointed out the factors that are considered as highly important by the responders. Since, the product feature was found to be the most important factor influencing the buying decision of laptops, the manufacturers could focus on the product features specially battery life, RAM, hard disk to make improvements in order to attract students. Further, as the brand was found to be the second most crucial factor influencing the buying behavior, the concerned companies could focus on defining, differentiating and positioning the brand to create value among the customers. The results achieved from the study will also help the local distributors as they can import laptops on the basis of factors considered as important by the students in order to attract them. Information in this research may be helpful academically for conducting future research.
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Author’s Information:
Suresh Khanal: Research Scholar, Lumbini Banijya Campus, Butwal Nepal, sureshkhanal332@gmail.com
