PRESTIGE OR PREFERENCE? GENERATION Z’S PURCHASE DECISION BEHAVIOR TOWARD IPHONE AND SAMSUNG SMARTPHONES

Authors

  • Ira Merliana Universitas Dian Nuswantoro, Indonesia
  • Febrianur Ibnu Fitroh Sukono Putra Universitas Dian Nuswantoro, Indonesia
  • Pradana Jati Kusuma Universitas Dian Nuswantoro, Indonesia
  • Linda Ayu Oktoriza Universitas Dian Nuswantoro, Indonesia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.29303/distribusi.v14i1.690

Keywords:

Customer Perceived Value, Brand Preference, Purchase Decision, Smartphone, Generation Z

Abstract

The development of digital technology has made smartphones a primary necessity for Generation Z, especially in the premium segment such as iPhone and Samsung. This study aims to analyze the influence of functional, emotional, social, and epistemic values on brand preference and purchase decisions, with brand preference as a mediating variable. The study employs a quantitative approach using an explanatory survey design involving 124 Generation Z students from the Faculty of Economics and Business at Dian Nuswantoro University. Data were collected through a five-point Likert scale questionnaire and analyzed using SEM-PLS with SmartPLS 4. The results show that functional and epistemic values have a significant effect on Brand Preference and Purchase Decision, while emotional and social values do not have a significant effect. Brand Preference was found to have a significant effect on Purchase Decision and mediated the effect of functional and epistemic values on Purchase Decision. These findings indicate that Gen Z considers rational and novelty aspects more than emotional and social status aspects when purchasing premium smartphones.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Afroz, S., Sajib, A. S., & Ahmed, F. (2025). Exploring Smartphone Use Among Secondary School Students in a Rural School in Bangladesh : A Cross-Sectional Pilot Study. Public Health Challenges, 4-9. https://doi.org/10.1002/puh2.70158

Amanda, T. A., & Marsasi, E. G. (2023). Exploration of Perceived Behavioral Control and Intention to Purchase to Increase Actual Behavior. Image : Jurnal Riset Manajemen, 12(1), 14–30.

Aqmala, D., Panjaitan, R., & Putra, F. I. F. S. (2025). Leveraging pro-growth interaction capability to improve firm performance: The impact of dynamic markets. Economic Studies (Ikonomicheski Izsledvania), 34(7), 98-115.

Badan Pusat Statistik. (2025). Statistik Telekomunikasi Indonesia 2024 / Telecommunication Statistics in Indonesia 2024 (Issue 06300.25007). Badan Pusat Statistik (BPS). https://www.bps.go.id/id/publication/2025/08/29/beaa2be400eda6ce6c636ef8/telecommunication-statistics-in-indonesia-2024

Cakici, A. C., & Tekeli, S. (2025). The mediating effect of consumers ’ price level perception and emotions towards supermarkets. European Journal of Management and Business Economics, 31(1), 57–76. https://doi.org/10.1108/EJMBE-12-2020-0344

Cao, N., Isa, N., & Perumal, S. (2025). Perceived Value, Consumer Engagement, and Purchase Intention in Virtual Influencer Marketing : The Role of Source Credibility and Generational Cohort. Theoretical and Applied Electronic Commerce Research, 20(2), https://doi.org/10.3390/jtaer20020150

Croitoru, G., Capatina, A., Valentina, N., & Codignola, F. (2024). A cross-cultural analysis of perceived value and customer loyalty in restaurants. European Research on Management and Business Economics, 30(3), 2-16. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iedeen.2024.100265

Femina, E. P., & Santhi, P. (2024). Effects of perceived value dimensions on customer brand loyalty towards luxury cars. Rajagiri Management Journal, 18(4), 274–286. https://doi.org/10.1108/ramj-01-2024-0006

Fransisca, V., Adeline, M., Ramadhan, K., & Sciences, P. (2023). Implementation theory of planned behavior on the purchase decision online and offline. Journal of Engineering, Social and Health, 2(10), 1119-1132.

Ghorbanzadeh, D. (2025). Emotional brand attachment and brand love : the emotional bridges in the process of transition from satisfaction to loyalty. European Journal of Management and Business Economics, 15(1) 2444-8834. https://doi.org/10.1108/RAMJ-05-2020-0024

Globalstats, S. (2025). Mobile & Device Vendor Market Share Indonesia. StatCounter. https://gs.statcounter.com/vendor-market-share/mobile-device/indonesia

Hair, J. F., Risher, J. J., & Ringle, C. M. (2019). When to use and how to report the results of PLS-SEM. European Journal of Management and Business Economics, 2–24. https://doi.org/10.1108/EBR-11-2018-0203

Heng, A., Tan, T., & Leo, K. C. (2025). Safety of LLM-based AI chatbots for young consumers in purchase decisions. European Journal of Management and Business Economics, 5. https://doi.org/10.1108/YC-10-2024-2277

Ishak, M. (2025). Gen z dalam dunia pendidikan. Jurnal Multidisiplin Ilmu Akademik 2(1), 328-338. https://doi.org/10.61722/jmia.v2i1.3351

Jacoby, J., Johar, G. V, & Morrin, M. (1998). Consumer behavior : a quadrennium philosophy of science. 5(1), 87-96. https://doi.org/10.1086/208719

Juanim, J., Alghifari, E. S., & Setia, B. I. (2024). Exploring advertising stimulus , hedonic motives , and impulse buying behavior in Indonesia ’ s digital context : demographics implications. Cogent Business & Management, 11(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2024.2428779

Kumar, R., & Eastman, J. K. (2025). The components of perceived quality and their in fl uence on online re-purchase intention. European Journal of Management and Business Economics. 42(1), 38–55. https://doi.org/10.1108/JCM-04-2024-6798

Li, X., Dai, J., Zhu, X., Li, J., He, J., Huang, Y., Liu, X., & Shen, Q. (2023). Mechanism of attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control influence the green development behavior of construction enterprises. Humanities & social sciences communications. 10(266), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-023-01724-9

Li, Y. (2025). Customers ’ self-image congruity and brand preference : a moderated mediation model of self-brand connection and self-motivation. European Journal of Management and Business Economics. 31(5). https://doi.org/10.1108/JPBM-07-2020-2998

Mircea, G., & Kostopoulos, G. (2025). Shaping consumer behaviour in a digital landscape : the impact of technology readiness on the purchase of sustainable IoT products. European Journal of Management and Business Economics 42(6), 13-15. https://doi.org/10.1108/IMR-10-2024-0427

Mkedder, N., Das, M., Bakır, M., Lachachi, A., & Aldhabyani, Y. (2026). Buying local: how functional values, social identity and gender shape consumer preferences in developed and emerging markets. International Journal of Emerging Markets, 1–25. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJOEM-05-2024-0873

Putra, F. I. F. S., Budiantoro, R. A., Luxfiati, B. A., & Widawati, M. W. (2020). Consumer satisfaction behavior whom purchase Chinese smartphone in Soloraya. Jurnal Aplikasi Manajemen, 18(3), 588-596.

Rahman, A. H. S. (2021). Customer-Perceived Value on Samsung and Apple Smartphone: A Comparative Study on Japanese and Bangladesh University Students. Journal of International Business and Management, 4(7), 1–20. https://doi.org/10.37227/jibm-2021-05-886

Rajendran, V. (2024). Exploring Augmented Reality's Influence on Consumer Purchase Intentions of Generation Z. Frontiers in Health Informatics. 13(3), 11086. https://healthinformaticsjournal.com/index.php/IJMI/article/download/1052/973/1779

Religia, Y., Ramawati, Y., Said, J. (2025). Connecting Green Consumption Value to Green Word-of- Mouth : Insights into SMEs ’ Eco - Friendly Product Purchasing Dynamics. Jurnal Manajemen Bisnis, 16(1) 73-88. https://doi.org/10.18196/mb.v16i1.24611

Schultz, C. D., & Kaiser, S. (2025). The impact of online brand roasting on brand attitude and brand preference: moderating effects of other brand versus consumer targets. European Journal of Management and Business Economics, 13(3), 587–605. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41270-025-00383-w

Seinauskiene, B., Salciuviene, L., Dovaliene, A., Gadeikiene, A., Banyte, J., & Lukauskas, M. (2025). The role of emotional intelligence and perceived value: predicting consumer online purchase and rental of second-hand clothing. Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management, 29(6), 1002–1025.

Sewak, S., Jr., T. C. H., & Miyazaki, A. D. (2025). The impact of online brand roasting on brand attitude and brand preference : moderating effects of other brand versus consumer targets. European Journal of Management and Business Economics. 34(7), 948–962. https://doi.org/10.1108/JPBM-01-2025-5722

Tajik, O., Golzar, J., & Noor, S. (2024). Purposive Sampling. International Journal of Education and Language Studies. 2(2), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.22034/ijels.2025.490681.1029

Wang, X., Peng, M., Li, Y., Tian, H., Ren, M., Ma, T., & Xu, J. (2025). Influences of Product Environmental Information on Consumers ’ Purchase Choices : Product Categories Perspective. Sustainability (MDPI) 17(15), 6863. https://doi.org/10.3390/ su17156863

Wells, J., & Tan, C. S. L. (2024). Examining the influence of functional value, social value and emotional value on purchase intention for tires in Japan. Journal of asia business studies 18(3), 593–608. https://doi.org/10.1108/JABS-01-2023-0007

Yáñez-Araque, B., Martinez-Ruiz, M. P., & Blazquez-Resino, J. J. (2025). The influence of brand equity on smartphone purchase intention: when gender makes a difference. EuroMed Journal of Business, 1–22.

Yang, C. Z., Rahman, S. A., Al-ainati, S., Alharbi, A., Haque, R., Isa, M., Sofian, M., Fauzee, O., & Devasia, S. N. (2025). Generation Z ’ s Smartphone Purchase Intentions and Behaviors : A Study Amongst Malaysian Higher Education Students. Journal of Posthumanism 5(4), 45–70.

Downloads

Published

2026-03-30

How to Cite

Merliana, I., Putra, F. I. F. S., Kusuma, P. J., & Oktoriza, L. A. (2026). PRESTIGE OR PREFERENCE? GENERATION Z’S PURCHASE DECISION BEHAVIOR TOWARD IPHONE AND SAMSUNG SMARTPHONES. Distribusi - Journal of Management and Business, 14(1), 119–136. https://doi.org/10.29303/distribusi.v14i1.690