Contribution of Product and Provider Quality to Cell Phone Industry Quality

Summary: As the quality management research gradually matures, researchers need to move to the contingent effects of the contexts. This article examines cell phone product quality, including cell phone device quality and software quality; cell phone provider quality, consisting of network quality and customer support in-store, voice, and online quality; and overall quality. This research incorporates the complex interrelationships of the conceptual framework and tests each under the cell phone industry environment. A survey of cell phone users was conducted to perform factor analysis and partial least squares structural equation modeling. The results show that organizations will benefit from customizing their quality management practices built on both product and provider service factors. This research contributes to the literature by showing that organizations may customize their quality efforts on both product and provider (service) factors. It offers a more innate understanding of the different quality systems employed by an organization and the effect each has on overall quality. The article also presents a discussion about the insights for industry practitioners and the directions for future research.