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Age differences in mobile service perceptions: Comparison of Generation Y and

baby boomers

Article  in  Journal of Services Marketing · October 2008

DOI: 10.1108/08876040810909695

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Archana Kumar Heejin Lim

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Age differences in mobile service perceptions:
comparison of Generation Y and baby boomers
Archana Kumar and Heejin Lim
Department of Retail, Tourism and Hospitality Management, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee, USA

Abstract
Purpose – This study aims to investigate the effects of age on mobile service quality perceptions and its impact on perceived value, satisfaction and
loyalty between two significant mobile service user segments – Generation Y and baby boomers.
Design/methodology/approach – A multiple group structural equation modeling approach is utilized to assess the proposed model.
Findings – The results identify the mobile service quality attributes that are important to Generation Y-ers and baby boomers. The study also finds
significant differences between the two groups in terms of the effect of perceived economic and emotional value on satisfaction.
Research limitations/implications – A limitation lies in the measurement of service quality. Another limitation is different methods of data collection
between two age groups. Future research is recommended to examine differences between other generations, between different ethnic groups, and
other demographic variables.
Practical implications – This study strongly suggest the effect of age on mobile service perceptions and loyalty decisions. It is suggested that
marketers appeal to the emotional value for Gen Y-ers while placing an emphasis on economic value for baby boomers.
Originality/value – The proposed role of gender in loyalty decisions provides insights to marketers on how to promote their services for diverse
consumer segments.

Keywords Baby boomer generation, Customer loyalty, Customer satisfaction, Customer services quality, Mobile communications systems

Paper type Research paper

An executive summary for managers and executive
readers can be found at the end of this article.
This study investigates the differences in the perceptions of
mobile service quality and their effects on perceived value,
satisfaction and loyalty decisions, with respect to two different
customer age groups. In the current US market, mobile
services tend to be predominantly used for voice calls (Shim
and Shim, 2003). A recent survey shows that the US mobile
market witnessed the highest growth rate in 2005 with more
than 207 million subscribers and an exponential increase of
wireless minutes since 2000 (Cellular Telecommunications
and Internet Association, 2006). When compared to some
Asian and European countries (e.g. Japan, Korea, Finland,
Norway), however, consumer usage of mobile services in the
USA has been increasing at a slower pace (Ling, 2004;
Mahatanankoon et al., 2005).
In order to attract new subscribers as well as retain current
customers, mobile service carriers need to understand the
driving force behind consumers’ perceived value, satisfaction
and loyalty in the use of mobile services. Age has been of
significant interest to social psychologists as well as marketers
in the past (Morris and Venkatesh, 2000). In recent years, a
significant amount of research has been conducted on
comparing the level of technology adoption between
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/0887-6045.htm
younger and older age consumers, especially in the case of
internet adoption (e.g. Dholakia and Uusitalo, 2002; Donthu
and Garcia, 1999). There are only few notable empirical
studies focusing on understanding the effects of age on mobile
service loyalty intention. This study aims to bridge this gap in
the literature by understanding the role that age plays on
loyalty intention in the context of mobile services.
In particular, this study compares Generation Y (Gen Y)
and baby boomers in terms of their mobile service perceptions
and loyalty intentions. Gen Y represents the younger group of
consumers while baby boomers represent the older group of
mobile service consumers. This study proposes that the
differences in these two consumer groups’ lifestyles and
technology diffusion can cause significant differences in their
satisfaction and loyalty decisions. Assuming that the usage
patterns of these two groups are distinct, the findings from
this study are expected to assist mobile service providers in
developing effective marketing strategies tuned to the specific
needs of these two consumer segments.
A conceptual model of consumer loyalty
intention
Consumer perceptions of service quality, value and
satisfaction have been extensively studied as antecedents of
loyalty intention (e.g. Cronin et al., 2000). Previous studies
proposed quality and value as antecedents of customer
satisfaction, and in turn, satisfaction as a mediator between
quality and/or value and customer retention (e.g. McDougall
and Levesque, 2000; Olsen, 2002; Parasuraman and Grewal,

Journal of Services Marketing

22/7 (2008) 568– 577 Received: June 2006
q Emerald Group Publishing Limited [ISSN 0887-6045] Revised: October 2006
[DOI 10.1108/08876040810909695] Accepted: December 2006

568
 Age differences in mobile service perceptions
Archana Kumar and Heejin Lim
2000). In this section, we provide a brief summary of an
overall model that conceptualizes the following constructs:
.
service quality;
.
perceived value (i.e. economic, emotional);
.
satisfaction; and
.
loyalty intention.
The hierarchical relationship among these constructs are
supported by the expectancy-value theory of cognition
(perceived quality)-affect (satisfaction)-behavior (Olsen,
2002). A conceptual model for this study is presented in
Figure 1.
Overall service quality
Quality is defined as the overall excellence or superiority that
consumers perceive from a product/service (Zeithaml, 1988).
Service quality in the use of mobile services can be perceived
through both technical (e.g. pricing plans, network quality
and data services) and functional attributes (e.g. billing
system and customer service quality) of mobile services.
Overall perceptions of service quality are formed by a
consumer’s evaluation of multiple quality dimensions
(Grönroos, 1984). In general, researchers agree that positive
perceptions of service quality enhance consumers’ perceived
value and the level of satisfaction. In other words, a
consumer’s initial appraisal of service quality can arouse
positive emotion, which results in behavioral responses
(Bagozzi, 1992). Table I presents quality attributes of
mobile services that are measured in this study to examine
consumer perception of service quality.
Perceived value
Previous studies examined perceived value in terms of
monetary tradeoffs only (McDougall and Levesque, 2000)
– what you get for what you pay. However, consumers appear
to assess perceived value not only by monetary tradeoffs but
also by other psychological benefits (e.g. enjoyment and fun)
(Sweeney and Soutar, 2001). Similarly, previous studies
emphasized both intrinsic and extrinsic motivations as
predictors of behavioral intentions (e.g. Davis et al., 1989).
While extrinsic motivation is goal oriented, intrinsic
motivation pertains to the pleasure and inherent satisfaction
driven by service experience (Venkatesh et al., 2000).
Therefore, this study measures the effects of both perceived
economic and emotional value on consumers’ satisfaction.
Satisfaction and loyalty
Satisfaction has been widely studied as a mediator between
perceived value and loyalty (Andreassen and Lindestad, 1998;
Cronin et al., 2000). Customer satisfaction is an important
factor for a long-term relationship between a firm and a
customer (Anderson and Srinivasan, 2003). Loyalty refers to
a consumer’s commitment to repurchase a preferred product
or service consistently in the future (Oliver, 1980). Research
has shown that the consumer’s positive affect toward a service
provider is likely to motivate the consumer to stay with the
provider and also recommend the service to others (Zeithaml
Figure 1 Conceptual framework
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Journal of Services Marketing
Volume 22 · Number 7 · 2008 · 568 –577
Table I Identification of consumers’ perceived quality of mobile
services
Dimensions Examples
Network quality Frequency of dropped calls
Voice quality
Coverage
Data services Sending/receiving SMS (short message service)
Sending/receiving MMS (multimedia message
service)
Receiving calendar/reminder services
Receiving sports information
Listening to music from the internet
Playing online games
Providing location/map/directions services
Receiving weather reports
Receiving traffic information
Receiving and reading news
Reporting emergencies based on location
Transmitting emergencies information (e.g. roadside
assistance)
Billing service Provision of accurate billing
Ease of understanding and resolving billing issues
Resolving billing issues quickly
Customer service Ability of fixing a problem
Courtesy of customer service representative
Provision of consistent advice/instructions from a call
center
Accurate representation of service and terms
Source: Lim et al. (2006)
et al., 1996). Therefore, this study measures the direct effect
of satisfaction on consumers’ loyalty decisions.
Age differences
Age is a widely used demographic variable to characterize the
adoption of technologies between two or more consumer
groups (Morris and Venkatesh, 2000). This study explores the
differences in mobile service usage between two particular
generations of consumers – Gen Y and baby boomers. These
two generations are prominent users of mobile services and
certain differences exist in their mobile service usage behavior
because of their inherent motivational needs (Pedersen and
Ling, 2003). A comparison of the satisfaction and loyalty
determinants of mobile services between these two groups is
expected to offer insights to mobile service providers about
effectively targeting their services.
Gen Y
Gen Y consumers were born between 1980 and 1994, with
the youngest being 12 years old and the oldest being 26 years
old as of 2006. Gen Y-ers are an important consumer segment
as they represent a group of nearly 70 million people in the
USA with a significant spending power. Gen Y-ers typically
spend about $187 billion annually or $260 per person, per
month – in every industry, including wireless communication
(Cortes, 2004). In addition to this, Gen Y is important for
 Age differences in mobile service perceptions
Archana Kumar and Heejin Lim
marketers because of the impact that they have on their
families’ purchase decisions (Renn and Arnold, 2003).
Gen Y-ers are often early adopters of new technologies and
are extensive users of the internet. As with the internet, Gen
Y-ers are substantial users of mobile services. In terms of
mobile service usage, a recent study reports that more than 50
percent of US consumers in the age group of 15-24 own a
mobile phone and these users outnumber all other users in
terms of minutes used, number of calls placed, messages sent/
received and wireless data transmitted/received (Wilson,
2003). Short message services (SMS) are also on the rise
among Gen Y. A recent study indicates that majority of Gen
Y-ers communicate via SMS with an average of 126 messages
sent per month (Perez and Gen, 2006).
Mobile phones are often a medium of self-expression and
individuality for the younger generation (Ling, 2001; Taylor
and Harper, 2001). For example, Gen Y-ers personalize their
phones by downloading unique ring tones, screensavers and
message tones. Also, Gen Y-ers use mobile phones as an
important means to maintain peer relations. As Gen Y-ers
appear to be in the main stream of data service users in the
USA, and as mobile data services are a main source of income
for mobile carriers, Gen Y-ers are an important target market
for mobile carriers.
Baby boomers
Baby boomers are those born between the years 1946 and
1964, with the youngest being 42 years old and the oldest
being 60 years old as of 2006. There are more than 78 million
baby boomers in the USA who have the highest disposable
income on average (Paul, 2003). They represent a group that
has a tremendous spending power with their annual spending
accounting for roughly $2 trillion in the year 2003 (Paul,
2003). Despite different lifestyles and spending habits from
Gen Y-ers, baby boomers are also an important consumer
group for mobile carriers.
Conventional wisdom suggests that as a person gets older,
the more averse they become to new technologies. However,
baby boomers appear to be experienced users of modern
technologies as they have witnessed technological changes
during their lifetime. Baby boomers are more open to new
media and technologies than previous generations. They have
greater access to the internet than the overall adult population
and their internet usage patterns are almost similar to that of
the younger generation (Community Banker, 2000). Though
baby boomers are technologically advanced and may be
comfortable using mobile phones, their intentions to use
mobile services are vastly different from Gen Y-ers. Baby
boomers typically use mobile phones for making voice calls,
but sparsely use data services such as SMS, mobile e-mails,
and data downloads.
In spite of the potential of baby boomers, mobile marketers
have not tapped this consumer segment to the maximum
extent (Quigley, 2000). Given that baby boomers are a
principal economic power in the current market, mobile
service providers need to pay attention to this consumer
group and understand their mobile service perceptions.
Hypotheses development
Uses and gratification theory suggests that individuals utilize
certain media based upon their “needs” or “motivations”
(DeBaillon and Rockwell, 2005). Studies based on this theory
show that consumers use media for both entertainment and
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Journal of Services Marketing
Volume 22 · Number 7 · 2008 · 568 –577
utility (Flanagan and Metzger, 2001). Recently, this theory
has been applied to study the gratification of new forms of
communication such as chat services, text messaging and
mobile phones (Pedersen et al., 2003). The study conducted
by Nysveen et al. (2005) on mobile services considered both
non-utilitarian and utilitarian motivations of individuals when
using mobile services. The non-utilitarian motivations to use
mobile services, provided by value-added services, include
factors such as enjoyment, entertainment, fashion, status and
sociability. The utilitarian motivations to use mobile services,
provided by core services, include factors such as perceived
usefulness, perceived quality and cost of mobile services
(Nysveen et al., 2005).
This study proposes that differences in mobile service usage
between Gen Y and baby boomers may be caused by
motivational differences. Considering technical service quality
(i.e. data services and network quality), baby boomers use
mobile phones and services mainly for communicating with
family members, making emergency calls, and for business.
Utilization of mobile data services appears to be limited
among baby boomers. On the other hand, Gen Y-ers are
heavy users of value added mobile data services such as text
messaging, online gaming, and downloading music. To quote
an example, a recent survey (Pew Internet, 2006) states that
more than 69 percent of Gen Y sent text messages while only
13 percent of baby boomers did the same. Thus, we
hypothesize that data services (e.g. SMS, ringtones, music
downloads) will have a greater effect on perceived value for
Gen Y-ers than for baby boomers.
H1a. Data services will have a greater effect on perceived
economic value for Gen Y than for baby boomers.
H1b. Data services will have a greater effect on perceived
emotional value for Gen Y than for baby boomers.
Though network quality is a part of technical service quality,
it is considered to be a core attribute of mobile services (Lee
et al., 2001). Network quality is one of the most basic services
offered by a mobile service provider and is important for both
voice calls and data services. Hence, in this study, we assume
that network quality will have an equal effect on perceived
value for both the groups.
Functional service quality pertains to how service is
delivered to consumers (Grönroos, 1984). In the mobile
services context, functional service quality represents
customer service quality and billing system. These are core
attributes that provide functional benefit to the customer
(Babin et al., 2005). In the context of mobile services,
research has established that core services are important for
“economic users” (i.e. those who do not pay additional
charges for mobile services, typically baby boomers) whereas
value added services are important for “mobile lovers” (i.e.
those who use pay additional charges for mobile services,
typically Gen Y) (Kahlert, 2000; Lee et al., 2001). As baby
boomers use mobile phones for a more functional and
utilitarian purposes, we propose that the core attributes of
mobile services will have a greater impact on perceived value
for baby boomers than for Gen Y. Thus:
H2a. Functional service quality (billing system) will have a
greater effect on perceived economic value for baby
boomers than for Gen Y.
H2b. Functional service quality (billing system) will have a
greater effect on perceived emotional value for baby
boomers than for Gen Y.
 Age differences in mobile service perceptions
Archana Kumar and Heejin Lim
H2c. Functional service quality (customer service quality)
will have a greater effect on perceived economic value
for baby boomers than for Gen Y.
H2d. Functional service quality (customer service quality)
will have a greater effect on perceived emotional value
for baby boomers than for Gen Y.
Previous studies found that young consumers use mobile
services more for emotional benefit and social communication
than for an instrumental purpose (Ito and Okabe, 2005). In
addition, research has shown that the younger generation
tends to be emotionally attached to their mobile phones.
Young consumers also hold a symbolic and affective
attachment toward mobile phones and services and consider
it a status symbol (Pagani, 2004). Thus, it is logical to assume
that Gen Y will hold a greater emotional value toward their
mobile phones and services than baby boomers. On the other
hand, baby boomers perceive a utilitarian benefit from mobile
services. Baby boomers are also inherently price-conscious
compared to any other generation (Moschis et al., 2000).
Thus, perceived economic value will have a greater effect on
baby boomers than for Gen Y-ers. Thus:
H3. Perceived emotional value will have a greater effect on
satisfaction for Gen Y than for baby boomers.
H4. Perceived economical value will have a greater effect on
satisfaction for baby boomers than for Gen Y.
Methods
Sample and data collection
Data were collected from two age groups – Gen Y and baby
boomers. In this study, we focus on a particular sub-group of
Gen Y consumers – college students. College students are a
sub-group of all 18-24 year olds, and are a part of Generation
Y (Wolburg and Pokrywczynski, 2001). College students are
an important consumer segment because of their high
spending power and the increasing number of college
students among the total US population (Bernstein, 1999).
Studies conducted in other countries such as the UK (Grinter
and Eldridge, 2001), Sweden (Weilenmann and Larsson,
2002) and Japan (Matsuda, 2000) show increased adoption of
mobile services and m-commerce applications by college
students. College students in the USA appear to be heavy
users of mobile data services and outnumber all other age
groups in mobile content consumption (Emarketer, 2005;
Totten et al., 2005). As college students by themselves are an
important segment of mobile users, this study can be applied
to college students in particular and Gen Y in general.
For both groups, respondents were limited to those who use
mobile services for a personal purpose. The data for college
students (n ¼ 159) were collected from a convenience sample
at a large Southern university in the USA. The data for the
baby boomer group (n ¼ 139) were collected using a web-
based survey. For the baby boomer data, we contacted an
online marketing research firm that maintains a large list of
mobile service subscribers. The firm distributed an invitation
email containing a link to the survey website to their panel
members whose profiles matched our research interest. A
click-through rate was 81 percent with no duplicated IP
addresses. The findings of this study for the baby boomer
group were drawn from a probabilistic sample whereas that of
Gen Y was drawn from a convenience sampling.
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Journal of Services Marketing
Volume 22 · Number 7 · 2008 · 568 –577
Measures
The questionnaire requested information regarding
respondents’ mobile service usage (i.e. subscribed carriers,
monthly expenditure on mobile service), perceived quality of
mobile service, perceived value, the level of satisfaction, and
loyalty. It also asked the respondents to provide demographic
information including age, gender, household income, and
education. The questions pertaining to these factors were
common to both sets of samples which enable us to compare
college students’ mobile service attitude with baby boomers.
Items for technical service quality was designed to capture
consumers’ perception related to network quality and data
services. Items to measure functional quality of mobile
services included questions related to billing systems and
consumer service quality. Measures of mobile service quality
were exploratory, based on the literature and industry reports
from marketing research firms (see Table I).
Perceived value includes both monetary and non-monetary
benefits that consumers perceive in a service setting. In this
study, we consider perceived value to include economic and
emotional value. All items measuring these two values were
adopted from Sweeney and Soutar (2001). The original work
includes four items for each value dimension (i.e. economic
and emotional value) with reliabilities of 0.80 and 0.94,
respectively.
Satisfaction involves both evaluative and emotional
response to a service encounter (Oliver, 1980) and
represents both perceived service quality and overall
affective components (Zins, 2001). Five items for
satisfaction were adapted from Anderson and Srinivasan
(2003) with a reliability of 0.89.
Consumer loyalty is multi-faceted involving cognitive,
affective, and action loyalty (Oliver, 1980). In this study,
ten items to measure consumer loyalty were adapted from
various works in order to reflect the various facets of loyalty
(e.g. Anderson and Srinivasan, 2003; Yang and Peterson,
2004).
Results
Factor analysis
Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) with Varimax rotation was
conducted on the data to identify dimensions of mobile
service quality and perceived value. A total of four factors
were obtained for mobile service quality (i.e. billing, network
quality, data services and customer service quality) and two
factors for perceived value (i.e. economic value and emotional
value). Factor loadings of each item were greater than the
minimum loading criterion of 0.40 (Nunnally and Bernstein,
1994).
Based on the results of EFA, the dimensionality of mobile
service attributes was reconfirmed by confirmatory factor
analysis (CFA) using AMOS 5.0. Items with low reliabilities
(R2 , 0:60) were excluded in further analyses. Reliabilities
and average variance extracted (AVE) of each construct were
calculated and were found to exceed the minimum criteria of
0.70 and 0.50, respectively (Nunnally and Bernstein, 1994).
All items obtained from the CFA were included in the
structural equation modeling (SEM) procedure. Table II
shows the factor loadings, Cronbach’s a, reliability and AVE
for the technical and functional service quality constructs
obtained from factor analyses. Table III shows the factor
loadings, Cronbach’s a, reliability and AVE for the perceived
 Age differences in mobile service perceptions Journal of Services Marketing
Archana Kumar and Heejin Lim Volume 22 · Number 7 · 2008 · 568 –577

Table II Validity and reliability for mobile service quality dimensions

Factor loadings a
Dimension/items Baby boomer Gen Y Baby boomer Gen Y
Billing service (CR 5 0:85, baby boomer; 0.82, Gen Y) (AVE 5 0:66, baby boomer; 0.61, Gen Y)
Provides accurate billing 0.83 0.66 0.85 0.82
Makes it easy to understand and resolve billing issues 0.85 0.92
Resolves billing issues quickly 0.84 0.87
Network quality (CR 5 0:74, baby boomer; 0.66, Gen Y) (AVE 5 0:59, baby boomer; 0.49, Gen Y)
Provides high voice quality 0.71 0.76 0.73 0.76
Has better coverage 0.86 0.86
Customer service quality (CR 5 0:81, baby boomer; 0.84, Gen Y) (AVE 5 0:62, baby boomer; 0.57, Gen Y)
Repeatedly fails to fix a problem 0.85 0.85 0.82 0.79
Customer service representative is rude 0.76 0.90
Call-center personnel is not able to help with problems 0.80 0.84
Service agents provide inconsistent advice 0.67 0.73
Data services (CR 5 0:96, baby boomer; 0.90, Gen Y) (AVE 5 0:75, baby boomer; 0.55, Gen Y)
Sending/receiving MMS 0.87 0.68 0.96 0.87
Receiving sports information 0.90 0.63
Listening to music from the internet 0.87 0.65
Downloading ring tones 0.78 0.70
Providing location/map/direction services 0.85 0.81
Receiving weather reports 0.93 0.91
Receiving and reading news 0.88 0.91
Receiving traffic information 0.92 0.88
Notes: CR, construct reliability; AVE, average variance extracted

Table III Validity and reliability for perceived value, satisfaction and loyalty dimensions
Factor loadings a
Dimension/items Baby boomer Gen Y Baby boomer Gen Y
Economic value (CR 5 0:94, baby boomer; 0.94, Gen Y), (AVE 5 0:76, baby boomer; 0.73, Gen Y)
Offers good value for money 0.90 0.86 0.94 0.91
Provides good service for the price 0.92 0.83
Is reasonably priced 0.91 0.81
Is economical 0.87 0.81
Emotional value (CR 5 0:89, baby boomer; 0.95, Gen Y) (AVE 5 0:61, baby boomer; 0.79, Gen Y)
Feel relaxed about using the service 0.88 0.88 0.91 0.89
Gives me pleasure to use the service 0.91 0.87
Makes me want to use the service 0.74 0.84
Makes me feel good about using the service 0.83 0.87
Satisfaction (CR 5 0:95, baby boomer; 0.91, Gen Y) (AVE 5 0:87, baby boomer; 0.77, Gen Y)
Satisfied with the decision to use this mobile service 0.95 0.86 0.96 0.91
Feel badly regarding the decision to choose this mobile service provider 0.93 0.87
Did the right thing by using mobile service from this provider 0.95 0.90
Loyalty (CR 5 0:88, baby boomer; 0.83, Gen Y) (AVE 5 0:60, baby boomer; 0.56, Gen Y)
Try to use this carrier whenever I need to have mobile service 0.73 0.65 0.92 0.89
I like using mobile service from this carrier 0.83 0.83
I say positive things about the carrier to others 0.98 0.84
I would recommend this carrier to those who seek my advice about such matters 0.95 0.87
I would encourage friends and relatives to use this carrier 0.72 0.66
Notes: CR, construct reliability; AVE, average variance extracted

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 Age differences in mobile service perceptions Journal of Services Marketing
Archana Kumar and Heejin Lim Volume 22 · Number 7 · 2008 · 568 –577

value, satisfaction and loyalty constructs. Discriminant Table V Unstandardized coefficients for the research model for baby
validity for all the constructs was greater than shared boomer and Gen Y groups
variances between the variables (Nunnally and Bernstein,
1994). Estimates
Baby boomer Gen Y
Data analysis Paths (n 5 139) (n 5 159)
A three-step analytical procedure was performed in order to Billing service ! economic value 0.33 * * 0.32 * *
test the research model proposed in this study (Laroche et al.,
Billing service ! emotional value 0.29 * 0.21 * *
2005). The first step was to establish separate baseline models
Network quality ! economic value 0.23 * 0.32 * *
for Gen Y and baby boomers. Since the baseline models fitted
Network quality ! emotional value 0.46 * * 0.44 * *
well for both groups, additional levels of constraints were
Customer service quality ! economic value 2 0.10NS 0.06NS
introduced: one for the measurement part and the other for
the structural part. To test for metric equivalence, multiple- Customer service quality ! emotional value 0.04NS 0.24 * *
group analysis using AMOS 5.0 was employed (Byrne, 2004). Data services ! economic value 0.11NS 2 0.08NS
This technique simultaneously tests the items from both Data services ! emotional value 0.09NS 2 0.07NS
samples in one confirmatory factor model. Economic value ! satisfaction 0.50 * * 0.03NS
Emotional value ! satisfaction 0.53 * * 0.84 * *
Baseline models Satisfaction ! loyalty 0.81 * * 0.87 * *
Gen Y and baby boomer data sets were used as starting points
NS
to create and analyze two baseline models. The results Notes: *Significant at p , 0:05; * *significant at p , 0:01; not
presented in Table IV indicate a good fit to the data as the significant at p , 0:05
CFI and DELTA2 estimates exceeded the cutoff value 0.95.
The x2 statistics were significant, but this may have occurred
due to its sensitivity to sample size (Byrne, 2004). The positively related to both economic and emotional value for
significant paths were re-confirmed across both the groups by both groups. However, the multiple group analysis did not
employing the multi-group SEM model. show a significant difference between billing system and
perceived economic, emotional value for the two groups.
Measurement model Thus, H2a and H2b were not supported. H2c and H2d stated
In order to assess the metric equivalency of the constructs in that customer service quality will have a greater impact on
the two groups, a measurement model was fitted. A more baby boomers than for Gen Y. Customer service quality had
stringent test of the proposed model would hold the elements an insignificant relationship with perceived economic and
of the measurement model equal across the two groups. The emotional value for baby boomers while customer service
results of the measurement model indicated a good fit quality had a positive effect on perceived emotional value
indicating that the items comprising technical and functional alone for Gen Y-ers. Thus, H2c and H2d were not supported.
service quality, perceived value, satisfaction and loyalty are However, as the effect of customer service quality on
statistically the same for both Gen Y and baby boomer groups perceived emotional value was significant for Gen Y and
Structural models insignificant for baby boomers, we conclude that differences
As the final level of analysis, additional constraints were added exist between these two groups in terms of customer service
to test the equality of the structural parameters. In this last quality.
test of invariance, all the structural relationships were as The multiple group analysis suggest that the regression
obtained in the baseline models. The results indicate a good coefficients were significantly different for both the groups
fit (x2 =df ¼ 1464:58=862; CFI ¼ 0:93, RMSEA ¼ 0:049). (p , 0:05) for the path between emotional value and
The results in Table V provide the unstandardized coefficients satisfaction. That is, perceived emotional value has a greater
for the research model across Gen Y and baby boomer groups. effect on Gen Y-ers than for baby boomers. Thus, H3 is
It was assumed that network quality will have an equal supported. As perceived economic value had a significant
effect on perceived value for both groups. Our results show positive effect on satisfaction for baby boomers and not for
that network quality has a significantly positive effect on Gen Y, we conclude that the effect of perceived economic
perceived economic and emotional value for both groups, value on satisfaction is greater for baby boomers. Thus, H4 is
validating our assumption. H1a and H1b stated data services supported. A positive relationship between satisfaction and
to have a greater effect on perceived economic and emotional loyalty and was observed for both groups.
value for Gen Y. However, data services showed no significant
relationship toward perceived value for both groups. Hence,
this path between the two groups was not compared, thereby Discussion and implications
rejecting H1a and H1b. The findings of this study provide valuable insights to mobile
H2a and H2b stated that billing system will have a greater service providers regarding the difference in service
impact on baby boomers than for Gen Y. Billing system was perceptions between Gen Y and baby boomers. The results
show that network quality is an important core attribute of
Table IV Result of baseline models for baby boomer and Gen Y groups mobile services for both Gen Y and baby boomers. The rise in
competition and an increase in calling volume imply that
Group x2/df p-value CFI RMSEA DELTA2 carriers should offer superior network quality to attract new
Baby boomer 712.19/498 1.43 0.95 0.056 0.96 customers and retain their existing customers. Thus, mobile
Gen Y 636.07/463 1.37 0.95 0.049 0.95 service providers need to monitor their efforts to improve the
quality and reliability of their network.

573
 Age differences in mobile service perceptions
Archana Kumar and Heejin Lim
The effect of data services on perceived value provides
interesting results. Given that Gen Y are the main user group
of mobile data services (e.g. text messaging services, music
downloads), perceived quality of data services were expected
to have a greater impact on perceived value for Gen Y-ers than
for baby boomers. Contrary to our expectations, however,
data services were not a significant contributor to both
economic and emotional value for Gen Y. A possible reason
for this finding can be attributed to measures of data services
in this study. During CFA, certain items of data services that
are popular with Gen Y (e.g. SMS, online calendar, online
gaming) were discarded. The elimination of these popular
data services could have resulted in the construct “data
services” having a non-significant effect on perceived value for
Gen Y.
Functional service quality appears to be important for both
Gen Y and baby boomers. Billing services were significantly
related to perceived economic and emotional value for both
groups. Mobile service providers may design billing
statements in such a way that it provides accurate and clear
information about fees and charges. Currently, data services
are collectively billed in statements with no demarcation in
service nature. Billing services can be improved by
differentiating between types of data services and billing in
such a manner that connects to the user in a clear manner –
for example, a fixed charge for one music download, one click
of web browsing, one minute of streaming video, one ring
tone or a prefixed size of an e-mail transfer, to name a few.
Customer service quality was related only to perceived
emotional value for Gen Y. This result could have been
obtained as it is possible that the sample used in this study
may not have experienced problems with their service and
hence not contacted their mobile service provider to obtain
customer assistance. This could have limited their ability to
evaluate their mobile service provider’s customer service
quality. However, a possible avenue to improve perceived
emotional value is by offering a more understanding and
flexible customer service program.
The result of invariance testing confirms that the
relationship between emotional value and satisfaction is
stronger for Gen Y than baby boomers. This finding suggests
that marketers need to consider young consumers’ emotional
responses in their marketing efforts. For example,
advertisements and promotions aimed at giving the young
user a mobile service with increased features such as faster
music downloads, the ability to instant message, and internet
friendly devices would interest the youth psyche.
Collaborating mobile phones and services with leading
youth-centric brands, offering customizable exteriors to
match clothing styles and colors, providing discounts to
members of youth groups are possible avenues to increase
Gen Y-ers’ emotional value.
Another interesting observation in this study is the
insignificant relationship between economic value and
satisfaction for Gen Y. This implies that Gen Y-ers’
economic value does not have as much impact on
satisfaction toward their mobile service and service
providers. As hypothesized, economic value had a significant
relationship toward satisfaction in the case of baby boomers.
This could correlate with the established common knowledge
that baby boomers are known to expect value for money.
Thus, mobile service providers may place emphasis on their
pricing plans when targeting baby boomers. Service providers
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Journal of Services Marketing
Volume 22 · Number 7 · 2008 · 568 –577
might consider marketing data services at a lower cost to baby
boomers, to increase their experimenting with data services.
In order to encourage baby boomers to try the new data
services, service providers can offer a trial period with no
obligations attached.
In general, our results indicate that various attributes of
mobile services contribute to consumers’ perceived economic
and emotional value, which leads to satisfaction and loyalty.
Also, age of the user has an apparent effect on mobile service
perceptions and loyalty decisions. This study portrays the
importance of mobile service quality on perceived value for
both Gen Y and baby boomers. As emotional value has a
greater effect on satisfaction for Gen Y and economic value
has a greater effect on satisfaction for baby boomers, mobile
service providers need to forego their “one-service-fits-all”
attitude and focus on developing strategies based on the age
of their consumers. Also, our findings provide mobile service
carriers with insights into their advertising strategy. According
to these findings, mobile service providers are recommended
to appeal to the emotional value for Gen Y-ers. For baby
boomers, emphasis can be placed on economic value that can
be obtained from their services.
Limitations
This study aims at measuring the differences in perceptions of
service between college students and older age group
consumers. The measures of service quality for mobile data
services were measured on a five-point semantic differential
scale ranging from poor (1) to excellent (5). This scale,
however, did not specifically present respondents with a
neutral or “don’t know” option. This may have been a
limitation when respondents were not aware of certain
services provided by their service providers.
Another limitation lies on the different methods of data
collection for the two groups. The data from baby boomers
were collected by a web-based survey whereas the data for
Gen Y was collected by a pen-and-paper survey. Significant
differences, in certain cases, have been found in the answers
that respondents give to different survey modes (Dillman,
2000). The usage of mixed-mode survey technique in this
study may have skewed the results. This can be avoided in the
future by incorporating a single survey technique for both the
groups.
Also, this study examines only age differences in mobile
service loyalty decisions. Future researchers may consider the
evaluation of perceptional differences between other
generations such as Generation X and Generation Y, and
between different ethnic groups such as African Americans
and Hispanics. Other demographic variables such as gender,
income and education can be used as a demarcation variable
in understanding loyalty toward mobile service providers.
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About the authors
Archana Kumar is a PhD Candidate at the University of
Tennessee in the Department of Retail, Hospitality and
Tourism Management. Her research interests are consumer
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behavior, apparel shopping behavior, online shopping
intentions and mobile commerce. Her research has been
presented at the Academy of Marketing Science’s Annual
Conference, the Korean Academy of Marketing Science’s
Annual Conference and the American Collegiate Retailing
Association Annual Conference. She is a member of The
Academy of Marketing Science and the International Textile
and Apparel Association. Archana Kumar is the
corresponding author and can be contacted at:
akumar@utk.edu
Heejin Lim is Assistant Professor at the University of
Tennessee in the Department of Retail, Hospitality, and
Tourism Management. Her research focuses on consumer
behavior and retail strategies in the contexts of e-commerce
and m-commerce. She has conducted research on e-store
image, consumer attitude and purchase intention on the
Internet, and consumer loyalty in the mobile services context.
Her publications have appeared in Psychology & Marketing,
Journal of Services Marketing, Journal of Consumer Marketing
and Journal of Food Distribution Research.
Executive summary and implications for
managers and executives
This summary has been provided to allow managers and executives
a rapid appreciation of the content of the article. Those with a
particular interest in the topic covered may then read the article in
toto to take advantage of the more comprehensive description of the
research undertaken and its results to get the full benefit of the
material present.
When the proud owner of a new, top-of-the-range mobile
phone boasts about its internet capabilities, camera, video,
texting facilities, satellite navigation, games, and amazing
choice of wacky ringtones, the somewhat older, less
impressionable listener might unkindly ask: “And does it
make calls, too?”.
It’s easy to be cynical about youngsters’ love affair with the
mobile phone, when its primary purpose of being a phone
seems in danger of being overshadowed by its value as status
symbol and “must have” fashion accessory.
Younger people tend to be emotionally attached to their
mobile phones – some of them give the appearance of being
physically attached, too, as they spend an enormous amount
of time with them pressed firmly against their ear. Attached or
not, the relationship will be easily severed when a new and
better model hits the market. How many parents acquire a
new mobile phone simply because their offspring have passed
them on – discarded in favor of the latest model?
As with many other products and services, young people are
a prime target market for the mobile phone industry. A recent
study reports that more than 50 percent of US consumers in
the 15-24 age group own a mobile phone and these users
outnumber all other users in terms of minutes used, number
of calls, messages sent and received, and wireless data
transmitted and received.
While such phones are not just a communication device,
but also a medium of self-expression and individuality among
younger people, marketers also need to know the perceptions
and requirements of older people. With that need in mind,
Archana Kumar and Heejin Lim investigate the differences in
the perceptions of mobile service quality and their effects on
perceived value, satisfaction and loyalty decisions with respect
 Age differences in mobile service perceptions
Archana Kumar and Heejin Lim
to two different customer age groups – the so-called
Generation Y (those born between 1980 and 1994) and the
“baby boomers” (those born between 1946 and 1964).
Though baby boomers are technologically advanced and
may be comfortable using mobile phones, their intentions to
use mobile services are vastly different from Generation Y-ers.
Baby boomers typically use mobile phones for making voice
calls, but rarely use data services such as SMS, mobile
e-mails, and data downloads. In spite of the potential of baby
boomers, mobile marketers have not tapped this segment
fully. As a principal economic power, their mobile service
perceptions need to be better understood and catered for.
Given that Generation Y are the main user group of mobile
data services (e.g. text messaging services, music downloads),
the authors felt that perceived quality of data services were
expected to have a greater impact on perceived value for
Generation Y-ers than for baby boomers. Contrary to those
expectations, however, data services were not a significant
contributor to both economic and emotional value for
Generation Y.
Functional service quality is important for both Generation
Y and baby boomers. Billing services were significantly related
to perceived economic and emotional value for both groups.
Mobile service providers may design statements in such a way
that they provide clearer information about fees and charges.
Customer service quality was related only to perceived
emotional value for Generation Y, but this may have been
because the study sample had not yet had need for customer
assistance. A possible avenue to improve perceived emotional
value is by offering a more understanding and flexible
customer service program.
To purchase reprints of this article please e-mail: reprints@emeraldinsight.com
Or visit our web site for further details: www.emeraldinsight.com/reprints
577
Journal of Services Marketing
Volume 22 · Number 7 · 2008 · 568 –577
The finding that the relationship between emotional value
and satisfaction is stronger for Generation Y than baby
boomers suggests that marketers need to consider young
consumers’ emotional responses in their marketing efforts.
For example, advertisements and promotions aimed at giving
the young user a mobile service with increased features such
as faster music downloads, the ability to instant message, and
internet-friendly devices would interest the youth psyche.
Collaboration between mobile phones and services and
leading youth-centric brands, offering customizable exteriors
to match clothing styles and colors, providing discounts to
members of youth groups are possible avenues to increase
Generation Y-ers’ emotional value.
Unlike Generation Y-ers, for baby boomers economic value
had a significant relationship toward satisfaction, fitting a
generally held view that baby boomers expect value for
money. Consequently, mobile service providers may place
emphasis on their pricing plans when targeting baby boomers.
Service providers might consider marketing data services at a
lower cost to baby boomers, to increase their experimenting
with data services. In order to encourage baby boomers to try
the new data services, service providers can offer a trial period
with no obligations attached.
As emotional value has a greater effect on satisfaction for
Generation Y and economic value has a greater effect on
satisfaction for baby boomers, mobile service providers need
to forgo a “one-service-fits-all” attitude and focus on
developing strategies based on their customers’ ages.
(A précis of the article “Age differences in mobile service
perceptions: comparison of Generation Y and baby boomers”.
Supplied by Marketing Consultants for Emerald.)
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.

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