A Study On The Decision Making Styles For Purchase Of Laptops

A Study on the Decision Making
Styles for Purchase of Laptops
Saibal Kumar Saha
1
Abstract
In this era or technology there are numerous brands of laptops available in the market.
Companies adopt different strategies to attract customers. This study aims to understand the
decision making styles for purchase of laptops from the viewpoint of the buyers. In this
study the different parameters associated with the decision making styles for purchase of
laptops have been identified. Whether the parameters like technology, price, brand name,
aesthetic looks, customer service etc affect the buying decision of the people or is it
something else which drives a customer to make a purchase decision. In order to study the
factors, it is important to know the different brands of laptops available in the market. A
study on the purchasing behavior of the people was necessary to understand whether people
give importance to quality, price, brand image, brand loyalty or something else.
To understand the different parameters and the factors which influence the decision
mak-ing styles, a secondary research has been done. Through this different laptop
brands in the market have been studied. Next, to understand the amalgamation of these
parameters with the different brands a questionnaire had been developed. This was used
to find out how consumers purchased their laptops? What was their approach for
purchasing the product? And what were the influencing factors?
With the help of secondary data the decision making style for purchase of laptops could
be studied and a model has been developed to target the customers and increase the sale
of laptops.
Keywords: Laptop, Decision making styles, Purchase, Laptop brands, Computer
1. Introduction
With the development of technology world has shrunk and has come within the reach of every indi-
vidual, confined into a small box called laptop. Every activity that one had to do physically can now
be done virtually with the help of internet; like booking tickets, banking, watching movie, doing office
job etc. The confinement of technology into a single machine called laptop has empowered every
individual to get connected with people across the globe, look for information and search for
information within a fraction of second, purchase things and perform numerous other activities.
1
Assistant Professor, Jyotirmoy School of Business, Email: saibal115@gmail.com.
CBS Journal of Management Practices, Vol. 1 (2014), 29-46

30 Saibal Kumar Saha
Laptops are no longer an item of luxury; it has become a necessity. Although all the machines are
similar, yet people spend a lot of time before purchasing one. They look for information,
compare different brands, go to the shop and spend a great deal of time before making a
purchase. What do they think? What makes them choose a product which is more costly than the
other though it looks same? This study has been chosen to throw some light into these queries.
2. Objectives
The broad objective is to understand the decision making styles for purchase of laptops. To
understand the broad objective, the following sub-objectives have been designed.
i To study the laptop market in India.
ii To find out the different parameters associated with the decision making styles for purchase
of laptops.
iii To understand the influencing factors associated with the buying decision.
iv To study the purchasing behavior of people.
3. Methodology
To achieve the broad objective both primary and secondary research has been carried out.
3.1 Secondary research:
The secondary research has been carried out in the following distinct phases:
i To study the market of laptops in India.
ii To find the parameters associated with the decision making styles for purchase of laptops.
iii To find the different laptop brands available in the market.
iv To study the different decision making models.
3.2 Primary research:
A primary survey was carried out by interviewing people aged 18 and above to test the reliability
of the different variables obtained in the secondary survey. For obtaining the aforesaid data,
question-naires had been developed and administered through an interview.
3.2.1 Process:
 A questionnaire was developed. 

 The questionnaire was verified by conducting a pilot survey. 

 Online replica of the questionnaire was formed. 

 Online questionnaire was floated and personal interviews were conducted. 

 After conducting the survey the data was codified and analyzed. 

A Study on the Decision Making Styles for Purchase of Laptops 31
3.3 Target Segment:
 People who have purchased laptop within the last 3 years. 

 The respondents must be 18 years or more. 
3.4 Sample Size:
The sample size for the primary survey was: 74
3.5 Tools used:
 SPSS : was used for doing all the analysis 

 MS-Excel: was used for doing the analysis and preparation of charts and graphs 

 Googledocs: was used for designing the online questionnaire and capturing of the re-
spondents feedback. 
4. Findings from secondary research
4.1 The Indian Market Scenario
Laptop sales in India are at an all-time high, due to the recent growth of a new breed of
technology conscious IT users (Mukherjee and Sundararajan 2012). There has been a drastic shift
in working environments coupled with a lifestyle which is always ‘on the move’. Besides the
work-related mar-ket, various other segments are capitalizing on these handy portable computers.
A large number of households and students are using these portable PCs for entertainment and
study purposes respectively.
Notebooks have made this country of a billion plus population sit up and take notice? One of the
reasons could be the steady drop in pricing for a laptop compared to desktop computers whose
prices still remain expensive. Prices are being slashed by multinational players along with local
manufacturers. Another reason for this surge in the desktop–laptop market is the growth of new
professions, which involves a lot of creativity and design needed for anytime-anywhere access.
Convenience and flexibility could be other reasons why laptops are selling out fast in the Indian
market (International Refereed Research Journal, 2012). With the government focusing on IT in-
frastructure and bringing in technologies like WAN, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and others, there was an
urgent need to fill the gap between technology and people using it. This was a role which was un-
fulfilled by desktop computers. Home computers are slowly become passé with laptops flooding
the market. The drive in the Indian market over the use of laptops can finally be compared to
global sales of laptops.
Overall scenario has given thumbs up to laptops and they are certainly not going out of
popularity for many more years to come. It has become a basic necessity of every office & home.

4.2 Growth Drivers
 The Laptop market is growing at a fast rate because of change in work life of
consumers. As the need for “anytime anywhere” access to information is increasing, the
sales of Laptops are also increasing. 

 Other factors that are responsible for the hike in sales figure are reduction in prices and
affordability. Laptops are now sold at approximately half the price at which they were sold
two years ago. Laptops prices are now almost at par with the desktop computer prices. 

 The third most important factor is duty free import of Laptops as a personal baggage
that has helped a lot in increasing the penetration level of the product among the
consumer population. Awareness about laptops has also increased over the years. 
4.3 Major Players
The major players in the laptop category
are: Hewlett Packard (HP)
1. Lenovo
2. Dell
3. Acer
4. HCL
5. Others
4.4 Laptop market share in India
29%
32%
3%
10%
14%
12%
HP
Lenovo
Dell
Acer
HCL
Others
Source: Gartner (November 2013)
Fig (i): Laptop market share in India

4.5 Parameters
Table (i): Parameters
Technical aspects Services Brand Others
Type of processor Service provided Brand of notebook
Promotional
schemes
Speed of the proces- Knowledge of the
Brand of processor
Interesting features
sor salespersons present in the laptop
Motherboard
Number of service
Brand of operating system Price
stations in the city
RAM
Duration of the warranty Innovativeness associated
Looks
period with a brand
Hard disk capacity
Reputation of after sales Trustworthiness of a
support brand
No of External Ports
Type of Graphics
Card
Type of Sound Card
Battery Life
Wireless Network
Screen Size
Version Of Operating
System
Softwares
5. Consumer decision making process
When a person wants to purchase anything he goes through several phases. The first phase is in-
formation gathering In this the consumer learns about competing brands and their features (Philip
Kotler, 2009). The individual consumer will come to know only a subset of these brands called the
awareness set. Some brands will meet initial buying criteria of the customer called the considera-tion
set. As the consumer gathers more information, only a few will remain as strong contenders called the
choice set. Then the consumer makes a final choice from this set. A company must strate-gize to get
its brand into the prospect‘s awareness set, consideration set, and choice set.

6. Findings from primary research
The survey was conducted on a sample size of 74. The breakup of the different parameters is as follows:
6.1 Gender
Male
Female
28.38%
71.62%
Fig (ii): Distribution of gender in the sample.
28.38% of the respondents were female and 71.62% of the respondents were male.
6.2 Laptop
Fig (iii): Distribution of laptop in the sample.

In the survey conducted 36.49% of the respondents use Acer, 32.43% use HP, 16.22% use Dell,
4.1% use Lenovo, 1.35% use Sony and 9.46% use other.
6.3 Reference used for making the purchase decision
Fig (iv): Distribution of references used in the sample.
From the graph it is seen that 20.3% of the respondents took the help of Internet/Magazines,
5.4% took the help of Salesperson, 39.2% took the help of Friends/Colleagues, 4.1% took the
help of Advertisements, 9.5% took the help of Family and 21.6 % took the help of other mediums
before making the purchase decision for laptop.
6.4 Background
Fig (v): Distribution of background of the respondents in the sample.
In the survey 56.76% of the respondents were from technical background while 43.24% of the
respondents were from non technical background.

7. Crosstabulations
7.1 Gender vs Laptop
Gender * Laptop Crosstabulation
% within Gender
Laptop
Total
Acer HP Dell Lenovo Sony Other
Gender Male 35.8% 28.3% 17.0% 5.7% 1.9% 11.3% 100.0%
Female 38.1% 42.9% 14.3% 4.8% 100.0%
Total 36.5% 32.4% 16.2% 4.1% 1.4% 9.5% 100.0%
Table (ii): Gender * Laptop Crosstabulation
Fig (vi): Graph of gender vs laptop.
After performing a crosstabulation with Gender and Laptop it was found that Acer, HP and Dell
are mostly used by both Male and Female users. Hp is the most favorite brand for Female.

7.2 Gender vs Reference
Gender * Reference Crosstabulation
% within Gender
Reference
Total
Internet / Sales Friend / Advertise-
Other Family
Magazines person Colleague ments
Male 26.4% 7.5% 35.8% 3.8% 20.8% 5.7% 100.0%
Gender
Female 4.8% 47.6% 4.8% 23.8% 19.0% 100.0%
Total 20.3% 5.4% 39.2% 4.1% 21.6% 9.5% 100.0%
Table (iii): Gender * Reference Crosstabulation
Fig (vii): Graph of gender vs reference.
After performing a crosstabulation with Gender and Reference it was found that Males mostly
rely on Internet/Magazines and Friends/Colleagues before making the decision for purchase of
laptop while Females rely mostly on the opinion of Friend/Colleague before making the decision
for pur-chase of laptop.

7.3 Background vs Reference
Background * Reference Crosstabulation
% within Background
Internet /
Reference
Total
Sales Friend / Advertise
Magazines Other Family
person Colleague ments
Technical 23.8% 4.8% 40.5% 2.4% 21.4% 7.1% 100.0%
Background Non Tech-
15.6% 6.3% 37.5% 6.3% 21.9% 12.5% 100.0%
nical
Total 4.1%
20.3% 5.4% 39.2% 21.6% 9.5% 100.0%
Table (iv): Background * Reference Crosstabulation
Fig (viii): Graph of background vs reference.
After performing a crosstabulation with Background and Reference it was found that both people
from technical and non technical background took reference from Friend/Colleague before pur-
chasing a laptop.

7.4 Reference vs Laptop
Reference * Laptop Crosstabulation
% within Reference
Acer
Laptop
Total
HP Dell Lenovo Sony Other
Internet /
13.3% 40.0% 20.0% 13.3% 13.3% 100.0%
Magazines
Salesperson 25.0% 75.0% 100.0%
Reference
Friend /
34.5% 31.0% 20.7% 3.4% 3.4% 6.9% 100.0%
Colleague
Advertisements 66.7% 33.3% 100.0%
Other 75.0% 6.3% 18.8% 100.0%
Family 85.7% 14.3% 100.0%
Total 36.5% 32.4% 16.2% 4.1% 1.4% 9.5% 100.0%
Table (v): Reference * laptop Crosstabulation
Reference
Fig (ix): Graph of reference vs laptop.
After performing a crosstabulation with Laptop and Reference it was found that people purchased
Acer mainly by referring to Friend/Colleague and other (School/College). From the graph it can
be seen that HP is widely referred by all the references viz Internet/Magazines, Salespeople,
Friend/ Colleague and Family. People who purchased Dell mainly referred to Internet/Magazine
and Friend/Colleague.

7.5 Background vs Laptop
Background * Laptop Crosstabulation
% within Background
Acer
Laptop
Total
HP Dell Lenovo Sony Other
Technical 28.6% 35.7% 19.0% 4.8% 2.4% 9.5% 100.0%
Background
Non Tech-
46.9% 28.1% 12.5% 3.1% 9.4% 100.0%
nical
Total 36.5% 32.4% 16.2% 4.1% 1.4% 9.5% 100.0%
Table (vi): Background * laptop Crosstabulation
Background
Fig (x): Graph of background vs laptop.
After performing a crosstabulation with Background vs Laptop it is seen that people with
Technical Background mostly prefer HP along with Acer and Dell. The trend is similar even for
the people with Non Technical Background.

8. Factor Analysis
With the data obtained from the primary research, Factor Analysis was done with the data of the
pa-rameters: Processor, Motherboard, RAM, Hard Disk, Number of External Ports, Type of
Graphics card, Battery Life, Screen size, Services offered, Number of Service Stations,
Promotional Schemes, Looks, Price, Brand, Operating System and Softwares Loaded. The
Rotated Component Matrix of the Factor Analysis is as follows:
Rotated Component Matrix
a
Component
1 2 3 4
Processor .569
Motherboard .775
RAM .649
Hard Disk .536
Number of External Ports .682
Type of Graphics card .777
Battery Life .500
Screen size
Services Offered .850
Number of Service Stations .853
Promotional Schemes .690
Looks .582
Price .768
Brand .691
Operating System .800
Softwares Loaded .792
Extraction Method : Principal Component Analysis.
Rotation Method : Varimax with Kaiser
Normalization. a. Rotation converged in 6 iterations.
Table (vii): Rotated Component Matrix

Four different factors were obtained from the result of the Factor Analysis. The above table
shows the factor loadings for the different parameters for each factor where the factor loading is
greater than 0.5. Hence, the parameters for each factor are as follows:
Factors
1 2 3 4
(Hardware) (Services) (Price) (Softwares)
Parameters
Processor Services Offered Price Looks
Motherboard Number of Service Brand Operating System
Number of External Ports Stations RAM Softwares Loaded
Battery Life Promotional Schemes Hard Disk
Type of Graphics card
Table (viii): Factors
The first factor consists of Processor, Motherboard, Number of External Ports, Battery Life and
Type of Graphics card. All these are hardwares of the laptop. Hence, this factor has been named
HARDWARE.
The second factor consists of Services Offered, Number of Service Stations and Promotional
Schemes. All these are services offered by different companies. Hence, this factor is termed as
SERVICES.
The third factor consists of Price, Brand, RAM and Hard Disk. A laptop with higher capacity of
RAM and Hard Disk will cost high and bigger the brand the higher is the price. Hence, this factor
has been named as PRICE.
The fourth factor consists of Looks, Operating System and Softwares Loaded. All these are soft
features. This factor has been named as SOFTWARES.
9. Cluster Analysis
After obtaining the factors from the factor analysis, cluster analysis was performed with the vari-
ables, Hardware, Software, Price, Services, Gender, Background and Laptop.
After performing the Hierarchical Clustering the following result was obtained:
Fig (xi): Dendogram

From the Dendogram it is seen that at distance 10 three clusters can be formed. Hence, with cluster
number as three K-Means clustering was done on the data. The results of which are as follows:
Number of Cases in each
Cluster
1 22.000
Cluster 2 9.000
3 42.000
Valid 73.000
Missing 1.000
Table (ix): Number of cases in each cluster
Cluster 1 consists of 30.14% of the cases, cluster 2 consists of 12.33% of the cases and cluster 3
consists of 57.53% of the cases.
Final Cluster Centers
Cluster
1 2 3
Gender 1 1 1
Laptop 1 6 2
Reference 5 3 2
Background 2 1 1
REGR factor score
1 for analysis 1 -.33127 -.21047 .21862
(Hardware)
REGR factor score
2 for analysis 1 .00977 -.02755 .00078
(Services)
REGR factor score
3 for analysis 1 -.35934 .50350 .08033
(Price)
REGR factor score
4 for analysis 1 .07490 .34025
(Softwares)
Table (x): Final cluster centres

From the final cluster centers it can be seen that:
Cluster 1: The people of this cluster mostly refer to Others (School/Colleges etc) while
purchasing the laptop. These people use the laptop Acer. Their background is Non Technical.
These people give more importance to services and softwares loaded in the laptop.
Cluster 2: The people of this cluster mostly refer to Friends/Colleagues while purchasing the
lap-top. These people use different types of laptops. Their background is Technical. These people
give more importance to price and softwares loaded in the laptop.
Cluster 3: The people of this cluster mostly refer to Salesperson while purchasing the laptop.
These people mostly use HP laptop. Their background is Technical. These people give more
importance to price and hardware of the laptop.
The distribution of the different parameters based on the clusters 1, 2 and 3 are as follows:
Fig (xii): Clusters vs Gender
Fig (xiii): Clusters vs Reference

Fig (xiv): Clusters vs Background
10. Model
The results obtained from this research can be used to develop different advertisement and target
mediums for different types of customers.
CLUSTER 1
CLUSTER 2
CLUSTER 3
 Softwares and Operating Systems
should be highlighted 

 Promotion should be done in schools
and Colleges 

 These people are mainly School and
College goers 

 Price should be highlighted 

 Softwares and Operating Systems
should be highlighted 

 These people seek the help from
Friends and Colleagues 

 Attractive advertisements will make
the product talked about. Thus
openion leaders will give their
judgement to the help seekers 

 Price should be highlighted 

 Hardwares should be highlighted 

 This cluster is for the people who
purchase laptops for high end use 

 Salespersons should be well trained
for making the sale 

References
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th
Edition,
Dorling Kindersley (India) Pvt Ltd, Pearson Education Of South Asia.
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South Asian Perspective, 13
th
Edition, Delhi, Pearson Prentice Hall.
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th
Edition, Wiley India.
5. Leon G. Schiffman, Leslie Lazar Kanuk, 2009. Consumer Behaviour, 9
th
Edition, Pearson Education
Of South Asia.
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7. Soni R, Lohani R, and Sagar M. (2010). “Factors affecting consumer purchase decision of laptops”,
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