ABSTRACT
This study focused on the impact of social influence on usage and marketing-related aspects of smartphone adoption. The author was also interested in determining whether gender had a moderating role in these relationships. The framework of the survey is founded on the extension of the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT2) and widened by the inclusion of new variables – brand awareness and symbolic brand image. Young smartphone owners (i.e., 394 respondents aged between 16 and 35) answered questions regarding the formulation of attitude toward actual use. For collecting opinions, the author applied the nonprobability sampling technique. The results illustrated that social influence had a strong effect on symbolic brand image. Moreover, social influence had significant relationships with hedonic motivation and habit.

Key words: Smartphone market, Moderation, Azerbaijan, Social Influence, Smartphone use.

JEL codes: O33; O53; L96