The modern technology metamorphoses within seconds. Every day, there are numerous breakthroughs made on different aspects of the technology. The most significant motivation for the advancement is for companies to remain competitive in the market. As such, the companies aim at meeting the needs of consumers or simplifying the human labour with the help of technology. The overwhelmingly increased number of inventions in technology finds most consumers unaware. Hence, the latter embrace the inventions as a breakthrough. With time, even better inventions are established forcing the consumers to upgrade and keep up with the trend.
Mobile phones are the most dynamic example of technology today (Takahashi 2007, p.30). Within fifteen years, mobile phones have evolved from the buttoned antennae gadgets through the touch-screen phones to the modern multipurpose gadgets. The traditional phones were used primarily for calling and messaging. In the contemporary society, the mobile phone performs a variety of functionalities such as file sharing, web connectivity, and controlling other devices which incorporates the use of Internet of Things (IoT) (Kalayci 2015 p.160). Today, mobile phones also integrate the use of artificial intelligence with features such as voice recognition and giving directions (Holgersson 2018, p.300). The advancements knocked out some of the previously renowned manufactures of mobile phones such as Nokia and Blackberry.
Buyer Behaviour Theory
In order to keep up with the market competition, companies must embrace the buyer behaviour theory. The theory is a study of human behaviour and psychology linking them to economics and its application in the business world (Kalayci 2015 p.160). The theory surveys the impact of emotions while purchasing goods, the attitude of the customer before and after purchasing goods, the influence of a group of buyers versus a single buyer, and the uses of object utilities (Kalayci 2015 p.160). Understanding of these factors aligns companies to adapt to the needs of consumers.
Clients exhibit behaviour based on creating and receiving a specific outcome (Mishima 2016, p.127). Therefore, customers portray behaviours that favour them rather than the sellers. In this case, a particular action by a customer leads to a particular result. Before the latter is achieved, customers retain the ability to alter their course of actions, and in some cases the change of their mind on the items on sale. To respond to the customer behaviour, companies must adapt to having specific positive anticipated results of their interactions with customers. According to Mishima (2016 p.134), the companies, through their marketers, should ensure a concise period between the customer’s intentions and the final result. That way, the clients have limited time to reconsider purchasing the company’s products or questioning the consequence of the purchase.
Dana contradicts Mishima in the buyer behaviour theory. According to Dana, there are specific steps taken by a customer in purchasing the goods. (2012, p.470) First, clients absorb information on the said product from different sources such as the internet, testimonials from other customers, television advertisements, and newspapers. The same is supported by Lim (2014 p.35) who claims that the customers then process the information and draw expectations based on experiences. The next stage involves decision-making where customers choose to purchase the product after envisioning themselves after-purchase. It is more of a thoughtful insight than an assert decision hence for companies to deal with this behaviour, it is necessary to provide adequate data on the product to the consumers. (Mishima 2012, p.469). It helps in ensuring that the consumer’s desire to purchase the product does not fade. It is also obligatory to know how the consumers desire to look in the products to meet their expectations.
Jeong has a different opinion on the buyer theory. According to him, the desire to purchase products is based on a motivation-need scale whereby consumers only purchase goods if the goods fulfil priorities such as safety, survival, esteem, self-actualization, and love (2015, p.79). Companies that intend to draw the highest number of clients need to tailor their goods to suit these needs, as well as enhance the urgency for the acquisition. Most consumers rest in the assurance that more expensive products are safer to use, are durable, and convenient. When the consumers acquire the products, it boosts their self-esteem, and they experience a feeling of actualization (Mishima 2016, p.130).
In Welfens’ opinion (2016, p.112), the average customer is a victim of impulse buying. It is an intuition with no connection to decision-making hence it is controlled by external stimuli. Impulse buying is categorized into four. According to Welfens, Purely impulse purchases involve customers picking stuff at random, reminded impulse involves, for instance, purchasing an extra phone-battery when buying a phone, indicated impulse involves selecting warranties on electronic devices, while planned impulse is when customers do not have an idea of the exact brand of the goods they intend to purchase. With impulse purchase, companies have expansive chances of getting to sell the products (Jang 2010, p.18). The companies should produce physically appealing goods regarding colour and design. Moreover, the positioning of the goods should be in a way that grips the attention of the customers from afar.
It is evident that for companies to remain competitive in the market, the companies have to adapt to the needs of the consumers by first learning the consumer’s behaviours. The same is true for mobile phone providers. Companies that manufacture mobile phones need to learn to keep up with technology as well as human wants. The number of human beings who discard their gadgets in favour of the new technology has increased gradually over the past years. This has necessitated the recycling of the mobile phones to minimize wastage of resources as well as protect the environment from pollution.
Steps Taken in the Recycling of Mobile Phones
The most significant reason why mobile phone manufacturers recycle their products is to gain competitive leverage over their competitors (Ylä-Mella 2015, p.375). However, according to Takahashi (2007, p.54), most manufacturers recycle the phones to align with their business policy models, reduce the cost of manufacture of new phones, and prevent pollution to the surrounding since phones have radioactive emissions.
Online Advertisement
In the modern world, most people spend a considerable amount of time online. (Rahmani 2014, p.28). Mobile phone recyclers have taken this as a platform to reach out to as many individuals as possible. In the websites, the companies guarantee data sanitization such that confidential information will not be leaked to third-parties (Sabbaghi 2018, p.110). The companies also collect the phone’s details and provide a report indicating the serial number of each of the components, the IMEI of the phone, the customer asset number, and a certification of data erasure. These details are meant to attract clients to feel that their safety is guaranteed during the process. Some of the companies purchase the phones to be recycled hence clients earn.
Currently, in the UK, there are many companies that provide mobile phone recycling services and their websites can be found online. (Baxter 2016, p.97). The companies include Computer Disposals Limited (CDL) which has leverage over other companies since it provides comprehensive recycling services. The company is a non-profit organization aimed at ensuring the environment is safe for human habitation. Consequently, the company receives the highest number of clients in the region.
Creating Environmental Awareness
The primary reason for the recycling of phones is to prevent environmental degradation. The phone industry has addressed the issue by ensuring that the consequences of disposing of phones are readily available to the world. Mobile phones are made of plastic and precious metal such as gold, copper, and titanium. When these metals are released to the bare ground, they reduce the fertility of the soil and contaminate drinking water. Therefore, food production decreases causing the governments to fund the agriculture industry in a bid to ensure food security. Similarly, when these metals are not recycled, it calls for mining of other metals to manufacture even better phones (Baxter 2016, p.100). The process of excavation is not only expensive but also risky to the miners. Additionally, mining leaves the land bare and prone to natural calamities such as floods and future famine.
Making such information available to the public has encouraged individuals to recycle their phones rather than dispose of them. As a result, the sourcing of the material needed to manufacture phones has become cheaper hence increasing the production of new phones in the market.
Introduction of Free Recycling Companies
In the United Kingdom, Information Communication Technology Collect (ICTC) is a company that offers free recycling services to individuals with electronic waste. The company has been in existence since 1996 hence it enjoys uncontested power in providing the best qualities of recycling. After its inception, the UK government mandated it to discard electronic waste in the country. The government also funded the company hence it has a relatively high number of clients. This is the competitive advantage of the company over its competitors. However, the company does not pay its clients after recycling and re-selling their products. It enjoys billions of profit every year after selling the recycled materials (Dana 2012, p.471). The government, therefore, earns more revenue which is used for development projects to improve the lives of the citizens. Most of the clients in this company are people of goodwill who indirectly support the works of the government. With the current evolutionary mobile industry, the revenue for
Introduction of Electronic Recycling
Initially, the process of recycling phones was manually initiated and conducted. The process involved disassembling of the components of the phone and then shredding the phones separately from the battery. The battery was smelted on a furnace and the liquid metal used to manufacture new cells. However, the modern method of mobile phone recycling in Europe is regulated by the Waste Electric and Electronic Equipment (WEEE). In its policies, the WEEE requires that before a phone is recycled, necessary check-ups are run to confirm that the phone cannot be reused. According to annual reports by the company, approximately 98 percent of phones that are taken in for recycling are reusable (Lim 2014, p.36). The reusable phones are sold to phone manufacturers who disassemble and reassemble them to form new mobile phones. The remaining two percent of non-reusable phones are exposed to heat of over 1100oC. The phones are smelted under the high temperatures. The molten liquid then undergoes fractional distillation where the different components distil of at different temperatures (Rahmani 2014, p.22). The elements are collected separately and packaged for selling to mobile phone manufacturers.
One of the most famous companies in the UK that adopt the electronic recycling is Cleantech. The use of the electronic system attracts more clients since the process is fast hence the clients receive faster payments (Jeong 2015, p.79).
Auctioning of Mobile Phones
Although the strategy is not common in the UK, Auction BDI is one of the native recycling companies that adopt the plan. In this case, the clients state the amount they expect to be paid for the mobile phones. The customers’ desired prices are weighed against a common scale depending on the level of damage on the gadgets. The auction is open to many clients until the company depletes the funds set aside for a single auctioneering day. Auctions are held weekly hence customers have the option of trying another time if their gadgets are not picked with their desired prices, or if the company’s funds are depleted before the customers were served in the initial auctions. Therefore, Auction BDI has the leverage of a large customer base, a factor which is not guaranteed for the other companies. The company also has significant customer retention rate since the power of decision is vested on the customers. This factor makes it competitive in the mobile phone recycling industry.
What Still Needs to be done to Improve Recycling of Mobile Phones
Creating More Awareness
The concept of recycling is still unclear to most consumers. Most customers expect to get value from recycling the products. However, the campaigns should aim at pointing to the customers that safeguarding the environment is the core purpose of the process. For effective communication to the customers, a precise, straightforward, and emotional talk is necessary, rather than a rational talk which leaves the customers sceptical about the process of recycling.
The Building of more partnerships
The process of creating awareness requires funding and moral support (Hoppe 2015, p.30). For it to cover expansive grounds, the concept of a partnership must come into the picture. The government sponsors the most effective partnership. These partnerships are also vital since they ensure that the rules governing the coalitions are processed faster without delay. Other cooperations can be done with environmental NGOs, mobile phone retailers, universities, and telecom operators. Such alliances have the advantage of reaching out to a wider area of individuals since they are closer to the public than the government. For instance, partnerships with universities help achieve both facilities for research and audience in the students who are also potential clients to the recycling industry (Welfens 2016, p.110). The college students can also be mobilized to create awareness amongst their peers.
Making use of consumer insight
For most people, old phones serve as backup plan in case their current phone is lost or malfunctions. For others, old phones are donated, sold, or traded for new phones. Although this may point the fact that consumers lack insight, it also points to the fact that the industries for mobile phone recycling few. Suppose the industries were many, most people would opt to have their mobile phones recycled especially to protect the environment as well as earn a commission from the noble act. It is, therefore, imperative to establish more firms to recycle phones urgently since the technology of mobile phones is growing at a fast rate hence the frequent need to acquire better phones and dispose of the outdated ones (Haines 1970 p.1403).
Conclusion
Mobile phones are evolving at a swift rate, and the society should keep up with the advancements to avert the anticipated environmental implications such as global warming, soil pollution, and water pollution. The currently available strategies to enhance recycling of phones should be expounded and expanded since the need to dispose of phones grows gradually. The public should also be sensitized and made aware of the implications of failing to recycle their mobile phones.
References
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