Impact of social status on choice of communication mode between short-message-service (SMS) and mobile calls

• Main Authors: Gan, Chia Huey, Ng, Hui Chee, Tan, Kenny Meng Hwee
• Other Authors: Rieck, Olaf
• Format: Final Year Project
• Published: 2008
• Subjects: DRNTU::Business::Marketing::Consumer behavior
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/10418
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

This study build on the knowledge explored in past research, three theories developed in past research were used to explain the communication behavior of people. The three theories used are (1) Media Richness Theory (MRT), (2) Social Influence Theory (SIT) and (3) Use and Gratification Theory (UGT). MRT explains that the higher the need for a richer medium, the higher the possibility of using mobile calls. SIT is used because it explains that a person choice of communication is significantly affected by the norm in his/her social group. Finally, UGT reasoned that the possibility of using a certain mode of communication is dependent on the objectives of the task.