Degree
Master of Business Administration
Faculty / School
Faculty of Business Administration (FBA)
Advisor
Dr. Nasir A. Afghan, Assistant Professor, Department of Management
Committee Member 1
Dr. Nasir Afghan, Assistant Professor, Department of Management, Institute of Business Administration (IBA), Karachi
Project Type
MBA Research Project
Keywords
https://ir.iba.edu.pk/do/search/?q=Careem&start=0&context=8598587&facet=">Careem, Ride sharing industry, Customer car types, Ride hailing, Integrated marketing communication plan, Mobility, Sustainability, Affordability
Abstract / Summary
The subject of this MBA project is Careem Pakistan, based in Karachi as a part of the global ride-sharing app. The ride sharing industry in Pakistan is fairly new concept by global standards, local public transport issues have made them popular among the white collar class, however the popularity doesn’t necessarily translate into financial success.
We were approached by Careem marketing team to explore the issue of customer perceptions of high costs associated with the app in general. The perception of expensiveness as associated to Careem was assumed to be done so, in comparison with rival application, Uber. Hence the task given to us was to explore the veracity as well as the reasons for this perception, assuming that the data would help in recommending ways to deal with this issue going forward.
For the purpose of this report, a secondary data analysis based on a Chinese research paper was done to explore relevant constructs and research model. This model was used to guide one aspect of our primary research which consisted of 2 survey questionnaires (1 for Careem and 1 for Uber). Further primary research was done to collect qualitative data, with 2 in-depth focus groups of Careem and Uber users. Thematic analysis techniques were used to gather valuable insights from this data. For the sake of further clarity, we conducted several in-depth interviews of Careem and Uber drivers, and applied thematic analysis to help us get balanced insights from both sides of the app interface. Since our report is related to pricing models, we conducted a long-term comparative price measurement experiment of both the apps to independently study prices in real time.
After this in-depth combination of primary and secondary data collection, we used SPSS data analysis to draw statistical inferences from the survey data. These inferences were then combined with qualitative data to create a comprehensive understanding of how customers truly perceive the brand. As part of the comparative study, we discovered several important points of differences that Careem may use to their advantage against Uber.
The recommendations part of the report is a long-term and short-term strategy for Careem to follow at their discretion. This includes improvements to the app and towards employee initiatives as part of the long-term strategies, furthermore, a creative brief has been drawn up on behalf of Careem to execute a communication campaign which carries important differentiating values which may help Careem in changing the customer perceptions in their favor.
Recommended Citation
Abbasi, E., Siddiqui, F. J., Nasir, F., Baig, H., Tariq, N., & Waseem, S. (2020). Price perception of careem in relation to competitor and corrective action (Unpublished graduate research project). Institute of Business Administration, Pakistan. Retrieved from https://ir.iba.edu.pk/research-projects-mba/4
