No description available.

Although electronic commerce has seen considerable growth in recent years, usage figures suggest that U.K consumers are still hesitant to make the switch to onJine shopping. This study initially reviewed the literatures on trust, Internet security, consumer purchasing behaviour and electronic commerce, and then combined the literature review findings with initial results obtained from a pilot study, and a model identifying the factors that affect consumers' perceived trustworthiness of web sites when making purchasing decisions on the Internet was created. The model was then tested by means of a consumer perception survey that used a novel quantitative survey instrument to investigate current consumer perceptions of e-commerce, from the perspective of both Internet and Non Internet users, and determined the main barrier to business to consumer (B2C) electronic commerce as identified by the potential consumers themselves. These quantitative findings were then used to further develop the model of trust, encompassing all the potential factors that the research identified could impact on a consumer's perceived level of trust in a web site, thus ultimately affecting their decision to purchase. This model was then tested through further qualitative research that incorporated observational studies to test consumer reactions to an onJine shopping scenario, using a special selection of web sites that should have (based on the model) a positive or negative influence on consumers' trust. Although the research design was qualitative in nature, a triangulation approach was adopted to ensure that the information generated was highly relevant and directly applicable to the creation of a model of trust. The model was revised, with the final version named the Model of Factors Affecting Consumer Trust Online (M.O.F.A.C.T.O). The implications of the model and recommendations for further research are discussed.

While the use of extension strategies have been discussed to a great extent, there is a lack of empirical evidence into the affect extensions have upon core brand personality. The primary objective of this research is to address the apparent gap in the literature by empirically investigating the impact that extensions have on core brand personality. This study also seeks to examine the impact of extension fit upon consumer evaluations extensions. After reviewing the literature, a conceptual framework linking to a set of hypotheses was developed, highlighting the impact of fit upon consumer evaluations of (a) brand personality and (b) the extension. A before-after (with control) experimental design was chosen to test the research hypotheses. This type of design was selected due to the high level of control it possessed. Mail questionnaires were produced on the basis of the literature review (Chapter 2) and conceptual framework (Chapter 3). The research instrument was pretested and then presented to a sample of executive MBA students. A response of 102 matched cases was achieved. Previously established scales were used in order to collect the data (e.g. Aaker's 1997 scale was utilised to measure brand personality). Recognised measure development procedures were then employed in order to verify the reliability and validity of the measures. Finally, the hypotheses were tested via t- tests, ANCOVA and multiple regression analyses. The main findings suggest that whilst fit does significantly affect extension evaluations, it has little impact on brand personality. Specifically, there is no difference in brand personality evaluations due to good and poor levels of fit. However, higher levels of fit are associated with more favourable extension evaluations.

Positioned in the deliberations related to service marketing, the conceptualisation of service quality, current service quality measurements, and the importance of the evolving construct of customer experience, this thesis develops and validates a measurement for customer experience quality (EXQ) in the context of repeat purchases of mortgage buyers in the United Kingdom. The thesis explores the relationship between the customer experience quality and the important marketing outcomes of customer satisfaction, repeat purchasing behaviour, loyalty and word-of- mouth intentions. The methodology follows Churchill’s (1979) scale development paradigm approach to scale development and is also informed by the more recent publication of Walsh and Beatty (2007). This involves creating the EXQ scale from the following sequence of research activities: (a) employing a review of the literature on service marketing, service quality, service quality measurements, and customer experience research; (b) generating an initial item pool from qualitative research; (c) purifying and validating the EXQ scale through exploratory factor analysis (EFA), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and structural equation modelling (SEM). The EXQ scale explains 63 per cent of all variances in customer satisfaction, more than 86 per cent of loyalty, and more than 94 per cent of word-of-mouth intentions. This is evidence of the high explanatory power of the EXQ scale for important marketing outcomes. This thesis represents both the first empirically derived conceptualisation of customer experience and the first validated measure of customer experience quality. It reports the findings collected from three independent samples of repeat mortgage buyers from a United Kingdom bank.

No description available.

Currently change in cities is accelerating intricately and diversely because of technological advances, information floods, increased openness, and the rising standard of living. While city development depended on the activation of urban marketing, a city of importance and recognition is highlighted as one brand. To increase city brand value, it has become necessary to study the brand equity held by cities and to develop a strategy based on a new approach. The main purpose of this thesis is to investigate how a city brand can be developed and through which kind of method. Therefore, the phenomenon of a city was investigated and analysed based on semiotics underpinning the communication of all phenomenon. The purpose of this research was to suggest a new perspective for city branding strategy and to develop a conceptual model for a city branding strategy that is an improvement on the strategies being used by industry and in academia. The proposed perspective is based on semiotics which is the analysis of the interaction between general objects and cultural phenomena. The conceptual model takes elements constituting a city and identifies the core categories comprising branding. From this, it is clear that sustainable city branding is possible, as city assets are developed and brand value is formed. The conceptual model of the city branding process has been positively evaluated through three case studies and five in-depth interviews with experts. The proposed model provides the basis for a city research plan and a tool for the management of the city branding process. The conceptual model offers several advantages as shown below:1. A holistic view of city branding strategy development; 2. A new perspective of city interpretation through semiotics; 3. An understanding of the interaction between city users (residents and visitors) and city with a cognition process and associated image; 4. A clarification of the roles of all component elements within the city branding strategy; 5. An integration of the component elements and core categories for city branding; 6. A new approach to city branding strategy through the conceptual model. Therefore, this research presents a robust theoretical basis for developing a new city branding strategy through the conceptual model.

This thesis examines changing value frameworks in the early 21st Century music industry, and the key characteristics of successful new music industry business models. Traditional music industry business models were built upon a linear value chain in which the record label had control over most if not all of the value adding and creating processes, in particular manufacture, reproduction, distribution and promotion. Artists without a contract with a record label faced significant challenges in generating sufficient funds to support investment in these capital intensive and expensive processes, in order to get their music distributed to a commercial audience. New technologies introduced at the end of the 20th Century and in the first decade of the 21st Century changed the environment within which record labels conducted the business of music, making it harder for them to capture value from their ownership of copyright. These technologies reduced the capital costs of creating, manufacturing, reproducing and distributing music and thus significantly lowered the barriers to entry of the music industry for individual and own-label artists. In parallel, new technologies gave simple and free access to music for a large audience of digitally connected consumers. This combination of factors resulted in a turbulent environment within which record labels and artists have experimented with new ways to derive value from this changing landscape. This dissertation proposes a new music industry value framework and proves the various linkages and relationships throughout the framework. Music industry business models are decomposed using Osterwalder’s business model ontology, in which is embedded the new value framework. This analysis reveals key characteristics of successful music industry business models. The dissertation concludes with recommendations for the application of these characteristics for the benefit of consumers, artists and record labels in the early 21st Century music industry.

No description available.

This research reviews the important usability dimensions that influence satisfaction with hotel Web sites and the online post-booking behaviour (loyalty) of customers. The study is based on the five usability satisfaction factors (the flexibility of the travel organisation, the information quantity and quality, the ease of information search, the ease of making reservations and the payment facilities) developed by De Marsico & Levialdi (2004) and the four loyalty phases (cognition, affection, conation and action loyalty) developed by Oliver (1997). Data are obtained from a quota sample of British customers who frequently book hotel rooms for leisure breaks from hotel Web sites. In a descending order, the analysis reveals that the ease of making reservations, the information quantity and quality, the ease of information search and the flexibility of the travel organisation are the most important factors influencing customer satisfaction with hotel Web sites. The results also show that the payment facilities factor does not contribute to usability satisfaction. Therefore, a restricted model (with the four usability factors) is used to assess the research hypotheses. The assessment of the research hypotheses reveals that usability satisfaction positively influences the online postbooking behaviour (repeat use and psychological commitment) of customers.

Today marketers of delicatessen products are confronted with rapidly changing markets driven by a permanently mutating business environment. The increasing delicatessen appetite of consumers is triggered by rising tourism and life- style changes leading to more differentiated consumer behaviour patterns. A market analysis on the German retail market revealed that concentration trends favouring multiples and discounters will continue and create the equivalent of a competitive battlefield. In this wave, the selfservice format reached a market share over 50% in recent years and is competing with the deli format on equal terms. On a European level, the EU Council is echoing the rising consumer trend in delicatessen consumption by policy regulations protecting delicatessen products on the basis of their place of origin or traditional methods of production. This implies that products like delicatessen reflecting local cultural heritage might contribute to the macro political strategy of the 'Europe of the Regions'. Effects on consumer behaviour are noticeable and call for innovative conceptualisations to integrate both, macro and micro environmental aspects and to differentiate consumers' perception of delicatessen products. The aim of this PhD thesis is to investigate and model the factors that affect consumers' perception of delicatessen products focusing on explaining the role of culture related factors in this context. The factors influencing consumers' perception towards delicatessen are a necessary pre-condition to derive effective marketing activities for this product group on an operational as well as strategic level and, hence, contribute to marketing knowledge and practice. Research applied in this study was centred on triangulation by conducting both, qualitative and quantitative research. The research was designed in three stages. In the first stage, a preliminary delicatessen perception model compromising a first set of potentially influencing factors was established based on a synthesis of a wide-ranging literature review. In the second stage, the initial conceptualisation of consumers' perception towards delicatessen has been validated and further developed by newly emerging perspectives by the means of qualitative research. As a research technique in-depth expert interviews have been conducted. In the third stage, a quantitative consumer survey on the German market place verified and further amended the initial model previously derived by literature review and qualitative research. The findings show that culture related factors have significant effects on consumers' perception towards delicatessen products, mediated by product and marketing factors. Furthermore, consumers' perceptions are related to the respective purchase situation, such as deli counter and self- service, and to consumers' favourite shopping places.. Beyond this new contribution to knowledge innovative marketing approaches are suggested to practitioners seeking to effectively address delicatessen consumers by adequate marketing activities.