Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 40-07, Section: A, page: 4204. / Thesis (D.B.A.)--The Florida State University, 1979.

Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 38-04, Section: A, page: 2316. / Thesis (D.B.A.)--The Florida State University, 1976.

Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 39-03, Section: A, page: 1798. / Thesis (D.B.A.)--The Florida State University, 1978.

The issue addressed by this research was the question as to what constitutes the most appropriate level of consumer motivation at which to target marketing activities, such as marketing mix strategies. Most recently, benefit segmentation has been recommended as the best approach for marketing. Underlying the fact that benefit segmentation "works", i.e., that it seems to provide marketers with access to consumers' motivational systems, however, is the recognition that benefit-seeking represents a "superficial level" of consumer motivation. The question arises whether there is a more basic level of motivation underlying the benefits sought by consumers and, if so, how important it might be to understanding, predicting, and possibly influencing consumer behavior. / Both qualitative and quantitative research techniques were used to explore the travel motivations and behaviors of three separate samples of leisure travelers. The research objectives of this study were: (1) to determine whether a more fundamental level of consumer motivation underlies the benefits sought by leisure travelers, and (2) to determine if an understanding and operationalization of this deeper level of consumer motivation might be meaningful from a marketing perspective, specifically in terms of market segmentation. / Results suggested that benefit-seeking in a leisure travel context does indeed seem to represent a more superficial level of consumer motivation and that a functional approach (i.e., Katz (1960)) appears to tap a limited set of more basic needs related to leisure travel motivation. Both the benefit-seeking and the functional approach were operationalized and evaluated against other traditional forms of tourism market segmentation. Under certain circumstances and for certain marketing objectives, it appears that a functional segmentation mode may be superior to benefit segmentation. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 52-03, Section: A, page: 1002. / Major Professor: J. Dennis White. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1991.

Older consumers in the United States are increasingly being recognized as one of the fastest growing and important market segments. While much is known about the size and income level of older consumers, very little is known about the overall attitudes of these consumers toward the marketplace and how they compare with younger consumers. Using consumer alienation as a way to gain insight into such attitudes, the researcher explores the use of chronological age as a variable which moderates the relationship between consumer alienation life satisfaction, support for government intervention, and attitudes toward specific marketplace factors. The relationships are examined using moderated regression analysis. The findings provide empirical insights on the use of both chronological and cognitive age, marketplace factors which are associated with consumer alienation, and on consumers over age 75. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 52-03, Section: A, page: 1003. / Major Professor: Melvin T. Stith. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1991.

Lost sales due to out-of-stock conditions is a growing problem for both retailers and manufacturers. In the consumer packaged goods area, the average brand has been estimated to have a 7% stock-out rate. Given the proliferation of new brands, and declining shelf space availability, this 7% represents both short- and long-term threats to retailers and manufacturers. Prior research has treated stock-outs as a one time, short-term occurrence. Long-term effects which may be attributed to stock-outs have been neglected. / The current study uses weekly store-level behavioral market data (scanner data) to determine short- and long-term relationships between stock-outs and brand share for a frequently purchased consumer package good. Findings from the study provided partial support for previous experimental studies. Contrary to what was hypothesized, however, large share brands appear to be at greater risk from stock-outs than their smaller share counterparts. Short-term effects of stock-outs on brand share appears negligible, and, may even serve to increase short-term brand share. Long-term effects on brand share, on the other hand, appear to be directly linked to stock-outs. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 52-03, Section: A, page: 1004. / Major Professor: Richard W. Mizerski. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1991.

<p> Microbusinesses are a specific type of small business that employ 9 or fewer people, including the owner. Microbusinesses are a major factor in the national, regional, and local economies. Microbusiness operators face the issues of limited time, money, and marketing expertise when conducting daily operations. The purpose of the qualitative descriptive case study was to describe the amount of time and money that microbusiness owners perceived to spend on marketing. Time and money along with the perception of marketing expertise were then related to the microbusiness sales performance. In this study, the respondents perceived that they did not spend enough time on marketing because of daily challenges of running the business, but the amount of time spent on marketing did not appear to be associated with sales performance. Microbusiness operators perceived that they spent an adequate amount of money on marketing to achieve their sales performance goals. In this study there appeared to be no association between the money spent on marketing and sales performance. The microbusiness operators perceived their marketing expertise to be adequate and higher levels of marketing expertise did appear to have a positive association with sales performance. Improving the marketing budgeting process, improving measurement of return-on-investment on the marketing spend, improving digital marketing skills, and utilizing time-efficient marketing tools were key themes to increase marketing effectiveness. The microbusiness marketing tools of personal selling, digital marketing, relationship marketing, word of mouth, networking, and branding were found to provide opportunities to improve sales performance by leveraging limited time, money, and marketing expertise. The results of this study provide direction for microbusiness operators on profitable time, money, and marketing expertise strategies to improve microbusiness sales performance.</p><p>

<p> Organizational brands can be powerful, and it is risky to rebrand and potentially alienate stakeholders with a change (Abramovich, 2014). Yet, despite its high failure rate and cost, rebranding has become commonplace (Zhao, Calantone, &amp; Voorhees, 2018). Research on the topic of organizational rebranding is considered to be in an early stage and so far, researchers have largely ignored the employee perspective of rebranding initiatives (Chad, 2016). In this qualitative case study, the employees&rsquo; views of a rebranding initiative were explored, including their perspectives on how to engage them to strengthen buy-in and alignment with the new brand. Interviews&mdash;supported by multiple sources&mdash;were the primary form of data collection. Individual and group interviews were conducted with selected employees of a nonprofit private university in California that recently engaged in the process of rebranding. The data were triangulated and reported in comparative tables and in narrative form. The findings from this study reinforce prior rebranding research by Miller, Merrilees, and Yakimova (2014) about enablers and barriers and also contribute to the literature by adding employees&rsquo; perspectives and by proposing two new barriers to successful organizational rebrands. A better understanding of employee viewpoints will help organizations to build better rebrands with their stakeholders, including customers, organization leaders, organizers of these initiatives and, of course, with employees.</p><p>

<p> The focus of this qualitative descriptive single case study was exploring and developing an understanding of how to leverage the service-dominant (S-D) logic framework theory and service ecosystem concept to assist small family farm owners from the crops category in Connecticut to attain a sustainable future. Participants answered 10 questions about their experiences and perceptions of the service ecosystem concept and the innovative strategies they have implemented into their business plans. Data were collected through in-depth, face-to-face interviews, unstructured observation, social media analysis, and document collection to achieve data triangulation. MAXQDA software was used to assist with coding and analysis. Two research questions guided this study. The first was as follows: How can the development of a service ecosystem influence the ability of small family-owned farms in Connecticut to advance and achieve a sustainable future? The second was the following: What strategic methods are designed in the farms&rsquo; business model for innovation and sustainability? The findings indicated that a service ecosystem was present at the metatheoretical and micro aggregation levels. The value of this research study is the contributions to the literature in the first investigation that describes the relationship between the S-D logic framework and service ecosystem concept where the farmers of small family farms have efficiently developed, implemented, and managed a service ecosystem to advance sustainability. Recommendations for future research include: (a) a study of cooperative marketing (farmers markets) in a structural equation modeling analysis with the imperfect competition theory and the phenomenon of small farmers and (b) a study on an expanded service ecosystem with multiple actors, where the phenomenon of small and mid-sized farms are extended to the midrange theoretical and meso aggregation levels from the S-D logic landscape.</p><p>

<p> Online customer reviews (OCRs) have become an important part of the customer&rsquo;s shopping experience. The purpose of this qualitative exploratory single-case study was to investigate and better understand, how customers&rsquo; perceptions and experiences shared on OCRs or other social media outlets affected business revenue generation and profitability. The OCR phenomenon was explored from the consumer&rsquo;s perspective. The healthcare industry, private-practice sector was used as a case subject. However, business operations, not the field of medicine, was the focus of this study. Due to the general business focus of this study, the findings were applicable to other industries or sectors. The specific problem was that little research had been conducted to explore the influence of OCRs on customers&rsquo; perceptions and experiences, and the effects of those factors on the ability of small business owners to generate revenue and increase profitability. The theory of planned behavior (TPB) underpinned this study and provided the conceptual framework needed to understand better consumers&rsquo; attitudes, perceptions, behavior, and intentions. The research addressed a gap in knowledge and endeavored to provide small business owners with direct insight into the OCR phenomenon. Two research questions guided the study. First, how do OCRs influence consumer perceptions, experiences, and decision-making; and second, how do consumers&rsquo; perceptions and experiences influence how small business owners generate revenue and increase profitability. Data collection consisted of 11 in-depth interviews, 11 questionnaire respondents, 150 OCR ratings and comments, documentation, and archival records. An analysis of the data revealed 5 trends consumers considered: <i>experiences, perceptions, relationships, trust factors</i>, and <i>selection determinants </i>. The findings of this study confirmed that OCRs did have either a conscious or subliminal influence on consumers&rsquo; perceptions and experiences; thus, affecting how companies increase profitability.</p><p>