A social model based on customers’ profiles for analyzing the churning process in the mobile market of data plans

Marcos Postigo-Boix and José L. Melús-Moreno

Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, 2018, vol. 496, issue C, 571-592

Abstract: Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) present wireless services of the same kind in identical zones, clients select the service taking into account any element they consider relevant. Churning hits on the design of the network and the method to assign prices by MNOs, and of course their earnings. Therefore, MNOs try to reduce churn detecting potential churners before they leave the service. Our approach to churn prediction considers each customer individually. Previous research shows that members of the social circle of a subscriber may influence churn. Thus, many scenarios that describe social relations, and in which churning processes could be expected, set an emerging challenge with practical implications. This paper uses the Agent-Based Modeling (ABM) technique to model customers. The model’s parameters include demographic and psychographic features as well as usage profiles according to their social behavior considering their customers’ profiles. Our model modifies and extends an existing real social network generator algorithm that considers customer’s profiles and homophily considerations to create connections. We show that using our approach, groups of customers with greater tendency to churn due to the influence of their social networks can be identified better.

Keywords: Social network; Homophily; Customer’s profile; Churn; Customer model; Agent-Based model (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:phsmap:v:496:y:2018:i:c:p:571-592

DOI: 10.1016/j.physa.2017.12.121

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