Measuring the satisfaction and loyalty of Chinese smartphone users: A simple symbol-based decision-making method

User satisfaction and loyalty are very important in the mobile communications market, because mobile is frequently updated. Understanding and knowing well the level of customer satisfaction and loyalty needs a scientic assessment method. This paper intends to establish such a method for measuring the satisfaction and loyalty of Chinese smartphone users. First, combining the group decision-making and TOPSIS (technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution) technique, a theoretical framework of evaluation was established. Second, the questionnaire survey was conducted by respondents, who were allowed to express their own opinions by using some simple symbols or leaving some measurement questions unanswered. Then, the information on the symbols and the nonresponses in questionnaires were fused into intuitionistic fuzzy information. Third, the preference orders of user satisfaction and loyalty were identied by using the TOPSIS technique and a projection measure. Finally, an experimental comparison was performed, the theoretical and practical implications of the current model were discussed, and the important limitations were recognized. In the end of this study, future research directions are suggested.