Abstract:

Even though industry players and academia pay a lot of attention on the smartphone and tablet PC industry, few studies examine the influence of conspicuous consumption, cultural capital and social capital on purchase and use of smartphones and table PCs. Hence, this study incorporates these concepts with consumers’ perceived knowledge of the latest smartphone and tablet PCs trends to examine which factors drive consumers to buy these electronic consumer products. Data analysis showed that perceived knowledge of the latest trends of smartphones and tablet PCs positively influences consumers to possess smartphones and tablet PCs respectively. Consumers with high level of social status and fashion consciousness (a form of conspicuous consumption) are more likely to possess the newest models of smartphones and tablet PCs respectively. Managerial implications are discussed.