Doctor of Philosophy / Food Science Institute / Edgar Chambers, IV / Three independent panels evaluated a total of 22 scents. Two panels were highly trained in sensory analysis techniques and performed descriptive analysis of the fragrances. In the third panel, 318 untrained respondents completed demographic questionnaires, personality tests, and surveys on fragrance attitudes and behaviors. They also evaluated the 22 scents: their perceptions of the fragrances’ sensory qualities and hedonic value were recorded, as well as the images and personalities they associated with these particular fragrances. Some methodological issues were tested, emphasizing the need for standardized procedures and consistency in fragrance evaluation. The use of consistent methodology in the preparation of fragrance samples is critical to accurately assess fragrance sensory properties. Additionally, consistent use of validated questionnaires constitutes an important strength for the fragrance industry: to better understand consumers, develop marketing strategies, and improve customers’ guidance and education. The interplay of individual differences with fragrance perception, whether from an attitudinal, sensorial, hedonic, or associative standpoint, appears complex. From a perceptual standpoint, sensory profiles generated by trained panels were representative of consumers’ perceptions, yet trained panelists discriminated better among fragrances and provided more detailed and actionable profiles. From an attitudinal and behavioral standpoint, demographic and psychological differences explained independent aspects of motivations and attitudes toward fragrances, but were not sufficient to fully account for the variability in attitudinal and behavioral patterns. Lastly, in terms of fragrance perception and image and personality associations, the combination of both intrinsic sensory characteristics and fragrance hedonic value was necessary to understand patterns of image and personality traits associated with fragrances. Interestingly, most findings were consistent even when individual differences in liking patterns for fragrances were taken into account. However, some specific dimensions, such as mood associations were preferred by clusters of respondents and depended upon individual differences. Although more research is needed to better understand the interrelationships among individual differences and all aspects of fragrance perception in real-life settings, this research provided valuable insights into these phenomena – insights that have direct implications, including understanding consumer perceptual processes, assessing potential influences of fragrances on social interactions, and providing strategic planning for marketing and advertising of personal fragrances.

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<p>This dissertation focuses on managerial decision making, and specifically explores conditions wherein managers may increase their propensity to escalate commitment towards a failing project. Escalation researchers (e.g. Schmidt and Calantone, 2002) have listed four classes of factors that may impact a manager's propensity to escalate commitment towards a failing project, and have called for research into how exactly these factors impact escalation. In this dissertation, we explore two such factors. The first factor relates to the characteristics of the decision process used by firms to evaluate the project. Here, for example, researchers have looked at whether the manager was also involved in making decisions about the project in a prior period, and Boulding, Morgan and Staelin (1997) have shown that such manager's positive beliefs about the project (formed in a prior period) make a manager more likely to escalate commitment. The second factor relates to project characteristics. Here, for example, researchers have looked at whether or not the project relates to a product that is perceived as new, and Schmidt and Calantone (2002) have shown that managers are more likely to escalate commitment towards a failing project relating to a new product. </p><p>The first dissertation essay uses three experiments to examine how a hitherto unexplored characteristic of the decision process might lead to increasing escalation of commitment. Specifically, building off research into the illusion of control, we examine whether the opportunity to use managerial skill during the decision process makes a manager more willing to escalate commitment towards a failing project. We find that whenever managers act on cues that cause them to think they can use their managerial skill to control some outside factor (even though in reality they cannot), managers overestimate their ability to "control the odds" related to this outside factor. Such beliefs feed forward and lead managers to make suboptimal decisions about the overall project.</p><p>The second dissertation essay looks at how project characteristics might make a manager more (or less) likely to escalate commitment towards a failing project. We explore this issue in the hitherto unexplored real options setting. Real options have emerged as an important part of marketing strategy, and have been used to structure new product alliances, value customers etc. We run a controlled experiment and we examine whether differences in option-structure (which is a project characteristic) impact the propensity to make suboptimal option-exercise decisions. We find that managers are more likely to make suboptimal option-exercise decisions in the case of put options (vis. call options), and - as predicted by the endowment effect literature - this increased propensity to make a suboptimal decision is mediated by/ explained by the psychological ownership construct.</p> / Dissertation

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Hotel, Restaurant, Institution Management and Dietetics / Ki-Joon Back / Elizabeth B. Barrett / This study attempted to develop a multi-item scale that measures restaurant customers' emotional experiences and has desirable reliability and validity, and to examine the relationships among consumption emotions, customer satisfaction, switching barriers, and revisit intention in the full-service restaurant industry. In the process of developing a consumption emotion measurement scale, this study followed Churchill's (1979) paradigm during the early stage and confirmatory factor analytic approach suggested by Gerbing and Anderson (1988) and Anderson and Gerbing's (1988) in the later stage. The scale development process began with a specification of domain of construct, generation of 40 items, and data collection. The collected data were subjected to item refinement (i.e., outlier detection, descriptive and reliability analysis, and exploratory factor analysis). Four underlying dimensions of consumption emotions with 32 refined items were identified from the data. A new sample of data was collected for additional testing (i.e., reliability and validity). A confirmatory factor analysis using the new data indicated that the finalized measure using categorical dimension approach was unidimensional, reliable, and valid. The results of structural equation modeling supported the criterion validity indicating that the finalized measure behaves as expected in relation to additional construct. In study two, a theoretical framework for understanding the relationships among consumption emotions, customer satisfaction, switching barriers, and revisit intention was proposed and tested. A series of modeling comparisons provided a best fit model. A measurement model estimated on the basis of Anderson and Gerbing's (1988) approach tested validity of measures. The results of structural equation modeling using the data from a web-based survey addressed the effect of consumption emotions on satisfaction and revisit intention. The partial/full mediating impact of satisfaction was verified following Baron and Kenny’s (1986) suggested process. The switching barriers, two positive (i.e., preference and relational investment) and two negative (i.e., switching costs and lack of alternatives), that restaurant customers are likely to perceive were identified through the qualitative approach, using the guidelines suggested by Maxwell (2005). The quantitative approach validated the scale applicability. The moderating role of switching barriers in forming revisit intention was verified by testing for metric invariances. Grouping was done by using K-means cluster analysis. Measurement invariance tests supported full metric/partial metric invariances. Structural invariance tests and invariance tests for a hypothesized path provided the evidence of moderating effect of switching barriers. Finally, theoretical and managerial implications of the findings were discussed.

Master of Agribusiness / Department of Agricultural Economics / Vincent R. Amanor-Boadu / For more than a decade, the consumption of peanuts as food has been stagnant. This situation has been attributed to several factors. This study seeks to identify and understand some of the factors that have hindered growth in this industry and attempts to present recommendations that will be useful in transforming the peanut industry from stability to growth. We determined that in addition to peanut prices, consumers' income and young children's share of the total population, substitute snack foods such as potatoes chips and popcorn influenced peanut consumption. We also discovered that consumer perception about peanut's fat content and the increasing concern about peanut allergies affected their consumption behavior. The research used data drawn from US Census Bureau, Department of Labor Statistics, National Agricultural Statistics Services, and various industry publications. We suggest that changing the consumption trend lines in the peanut industry can be achieved through effective innovation and focused marketing of the product's health and convenience benefits.

A key to a business's success is reaching the target market. This ensures that consumers are exposed to the retailer's offerings and by turn, inspired to purchase. In turn, the business can reach its goal of a profitable organization. The purpose of this paper was to determine the most effective fashion advertising appeals for reaching target markets. To address these issues, this thesis consisted of two studies. The purpose of the first study was to determine the advice given to fashion entrepreneurs regarding effective target market practices. The purpose of the second study was to determine effective advertising strategies fashion entrepreneurs may employ for effectively reaching target markets. Data was collected to test the effectiveness of the advice from Study 1, degrees of brand awareness, attitudes towards advertising, willingness to follow trends, purchase intention, purchase behavior, and shopping involvement. The Theory of Reasoned Action was employed as the theoretical framework of the study. The framework was utilized to predict that attitudes towards targeted advertising and pressure to follow fashion trends would positively relate to intent to purchase which, in turn, would positively relate to purchase behavior. The results of this paper concluded the TRA model provided a proper framework to predict purchase behavior from targeted advertising employed by fashion entrepreneurs.

Small apparel retailers face extreme competition with larger retailers. Large retailers have the upper hand in resources to stay updated with various trends, specifically social media. Social media has lowered the barriers to enter the retail industry. However, once these small retailers enter, half of them fail because they don't attract and retain customers. Small-medium enterprises (SMEs) greatly impact the economy, so it is important to study various facets of their business to increase performance. The purpose of this study is to investigate customer's development of social capital (i.e. affiliation, responsiveness, shared values, norm of reciprocity) in small apparel retailer's Instagram page that ultimately lead to purchase intentions for the retailer. Perceived benefits (i.e. perceived usefulness, perceived enjoyment) are also investigated in relation to purchase intentions. More specifically, social bonding, brand identification and trust are examined as mediating variables between the perceived level of social capital, perceived benefits and purchase intentions. Over a 3-month period, 200 responses were collected from students at a southern university. The findings reveal that younger customers develop a relationship with retailers on Instagram and it transfers to behavioral outcomes towards the retailer. The theoretical contribution of this study draws from the lack of literature for small apparel retailer and social capital built in Instagram, leading to purchase intentions. Managers can implement the findings into their social media marketing strategies to improve business performance. Lastly, this study has methodological limitations that creates opportunity for future studies.

The goal of this study was to investigate visual sources of nutrition information relied upon by young adults, specifically college-aged students between 18-30, as this is an under-represented population within current academic literature. A sample of more than 700 18- to 30-year-old college students were surveyed regarding their use of nutrition-driven information, with specific questions regarding the participants' awareness and use of the Food and Drug Administration's standardized nutrition facts labels, as well as the use of smartphone applications for tracking one's food and beverage consumption on a regular basis. Using structural equation modeling, a statistically significant theoretical model was developed with regards to individuals finding greater long-term satisfaction in their dieting efforts if they tracked their consumption on a regular basis, with even greater significance being found through the aid of smartphone applications for recording consumption. An analysis of the content of three online diet and exercise-driven brands was also conducted to determine the currently optimal social media platform for nutrition information exchange, and to identify the type of diet-driven information that generates the greatest amount of engagement within an online network. Of the social media platforms analyzed, Instagram proved to be the most optimal for nutrition information-exchange, and that humorous and relevant content shared by dieting brands generated the greatest engagement within their online networks. These studies confirmed that formal visual sources of information, specifically the FDA's nutrition fact labels, are not regularly acknowledged nor implemented within this population, but rather informal visual sources of information, such as content shared across social media channels and the use of smartphone applications, are heavily relied upon when dieting within the young adult population. These research implications are relevant and timely to academics, health professionals, and governmental entities, as they support the need for greater educational endeavors towards increasing the public's nutrition and food literacies, as well as provide an improved strategy for individuals who are dieting through a model for increased satisfaction in one's dieting efforts.

Slogans can be attributed as a way in which to communicate a brand's message to its key consumer. An effectively established brand amongst targeted consumers can in turn generate profitability and ever further promote the brand. The purpose of this paper was to investigate the effectiveness of advertisements that employ vague or precise cosmetic product brand slogans among both male and female consumers. Ultimately, the end goal of marketing is to make a sale. Additionally, the purpose of this study was to determine whether or not the length of a slogan is an influential factor on the participant's motivation to purchase a cosmetic or skincare product. Data was collected through the use of survey in an online social media format, in order to test the effectiveness of different lengths of slogans for slogan recall, brand recall, brand awareness and purchase intention. Prior research and hypotheses were used to predict the concept that shorter more concise or precise slogans in this study would heighten the levels of all measured variables in the study, slogan recall, brand recall, brand awareness and purchase intention. The results of this paper conclude overall vague slogans have the potential to reach higher levels of slogan recall ability , brand recall and the intent to purchase, on the contrary shorter more precise slogans affect brand awareness at a greater level than the lengthier slogans.

This study explored the lived experience of Gen Z adults in a liminal life-stage crisis where the symbolic meaning of health, identity and brands are in transition. Sixteen ethnographic in-home interviews with college students were conducted and analyzed using Geertz's interpretive and Turner's symbolic anthropology. A hermeneutic textual analysis was used to interpret three types of phenomenological data: text, pictures and collages. An "incubation" step was key in the creative interpretation process where the leap from data to abstract themes was made. Environmental circumstances like money, time, resources and social networks change the quality of health, but the fundamental health explanatory system of a young person is a reflection of their family of origin experiences. Women associate health with mental health-independence and empowerment. Men define health as physical health-food and cooking. Skills such as cooking and shopping as well as the consumption of water, cannabis and other complementary products impact health and identity. Three health worldview themes emerged: health as negotiating identity; creating home; and taking responsibility. Implications for branding and public information campaigns to change the health beliefs and practices of young adults are offered. This thesis closes with a reflection on the "research study," the dominant symbol in the practice of research as a way to analyze the fluid role of consumer anthropology in a capitalist system.