Market segmentation is a multicriterion problem. This dissertation addresses the multicriterion nature of market segmentation with a new unified segmentation model that is derived from multiobjective conceptual framework. The unified model elegantly solves the intrinsic antagonistic problem of market segmentation by generating a set of Pareto optimal solutions that represents different tradeoffs among multiple conflicting objectives. This dissertation develops an innovative implementation named Multicriterion Market Segmentation using Evolutionary Algorithm (MMSEA). Based on multiobjective evolutionary algorithms, MMSEA overcomes many limitations and disadvantages of existing methods by optimizing multiple objectives simultaneously, searching for globally optimal solutions and generating a set of Pareto optimal solutions. It also suggests the interesting solutions based on the geometric characteristics of Pareto front. The method was applied to customer value and benefit segmentation for the cell phone service market (a descriptive segmentation model) and customer response segmentation for a national retailer (two predictive segmentation models). The empirical evaluation shows that the proposed unified market segmentation model and solution techniques provide the decision makers with many insights and enhanced flexibility that are missing in existing market segmentation methods.

The central concern in the thesis is the relationship between the 'concept of ideology' and the philosophies, motivations and lived experience of Youth Training Scheme (YTS) trainees and trainers. This incorporates both the application, effects and impact of official ideologies, expressed in youth policy initiatives and ideologies of the wider society. This in turn is related to the cultural and societal reproduction of young people as gendered and class specific workers in a segmented labour market. The empirical data were collected over a 20 month period at two off-the-job training establishments in the city of Surfton in the South West region of Britain and consisted of questionnaires participant observations and interviews. The first part of the thesis critically reviews the social science literature relating to the new vocationalism, the YTS, labour market segmentation and the concept of ideology. This establishes a series of theoretical concerns which are then tested against empirical data. The thesis demonstrates how formalised official ideologies are mediated through the YTS curriculum and affect the philosophies of both the trainers who implement this curriculum and the trainees who receive this curriculum. The thesis illustrates that YTS participants may support, reinterpret or subvert the official philosophies of the YTS by actually bringing meaning into their lived experiences via ideologies associated with their historical, positional, family class and gendered backgrounds. The thesis will show that the trainees learn not so much technical knowledge, but how to acquire the ideological and practical cultural meanings of a series of workers for a segmented labour market, with greater or lesser collusion from their trainers. The thesis contributes to existing knowledge both at the level of data generation and by illustrating a series of complex, refined and subtle ideological mechanisms which contribute further to our understanding of the microsociology of inequality.

This paper describes the use of corporate decision and strategy simulations as a decision-support instrument under varying market conditions in the tourism industry. It goes on to illustrate this use of simulations with an experiment which investigates how successful different market segmentation approaches are in destination management. The experiment assumes a competitive environment and various cycle-length conditions with regard to budget and strategic planning. Computer simulations prove to be a useful management tool, allowing customized experiments which provide insight into the functioning of the market and therefore represent an interesting tool for managerial decision support. The main drawback is the initial setup of a customized computer simulation, which is time-consuming and involves defining parameters with great care in order to represent the actual market environment and to avoid excessive complexity in testing cause-effect-relationships. (author's abstract) / Series: Report Series SFB "Adaptive Information Systems and Modelling in Economics and Management Science"

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Toronto, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 48-51).

Thesis (doctoral)--Universität Zürich.

Part of the author's dissertation at Ohio State University. / "September 1993." Includes bibliographical references.

The Chinese car market has, through the last decade evolved into the major market in the world. Its car market from has become the world’s largest market from 2009 until today. With the emerging market that is China, the demand for cars is supposed to grow even more in the next decade.The thesis starts by studying the theories of consumer market segmentation with a hybrid and dynamic aspect. A quantitative investigation was conducted with the help of a survey. The survey was sent out to car consumers and potential car consumers who are residing in China. From this study the authors were able to anticipate possible preferential profiles.

The business of market research has been expanding since the local enterprises make more and more efforts trying to understand consumers¡¦ needs with the assistances from market research firms offering new research methods and know-how supports. Given the overwhelming popularity of Internet and the fast-growing population of Internet users, online survey has become a popular research method that both academic and research communities widely employed with great potential opporutnities in the coming future. Since established in 1997, Focus Survey Research has been expanding its business scope with election research as its core business, and successfully covered its business to polls and market research since 2004. In order to provide clients with more comprehensive research services, FSR set up its online panel database since 2008 and started its strategy alliance with Easy Travel in 2011 launching E-Survey with a online panel database of 300,000 members, and started its online surevey business. This thesis would like to provide related industries or other new buiness units a reference by deep diving on different development stages of FSR, and evaluate how FSR could use its competitiveness to expand its online survey business and further define its marketing strategy planning. The thesis concludes that the three objectives of the online survey development strategy of FSR as follows: 1) Deploys more comprehensive research techniques to meet the clients¡¦ needs, and provide the clients with value-added services, which can help to expand the business scope of FSR accordingly; 2) Strategy alliances with partners from advertising, marketing, media buying and PR field to better increase the awareness of FSR among the market research industry; 3) FSR¡¦s expertise and experiences of conventional research can help to make up for the weakness of the online survey sampling. The combination of online survey with the expertise from offline survey could develop a better online study platform which could even provide clients with better deliverables. The thesis also aims to provide guidelines for FSR¡¦s online survey further strategy development. Given the marketing strategy of ¡§customized services¡¨, the further online business will cover either research studies among its panel database on social issues / consumer trends or customer satisfaction study among the name list provided by clients. Based on the two major business segments, FSR would be suggested to be positioned as ¡§a proactive and aggressive online survey information provider with good cost performance¡¨. Based on its business function, FSR is recommended to be positioned as ¡§clients¡¦ in-house research consultant and partner, which can provide consultations on research projects, handle research requests and assist coordinations.¡¨

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Thesis (PhD) - Institute for Social Research, Swinburne University of Technology, 2005. / Thesis submitted in fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, Institute for Social Research, Swinburne University of Technology, 2005. Typescript. Bibliography: p. 188-207.