Submitted by Adriana Alves Rodrigues (aalves@espm.br) on 2017-11-22T12:41:30Z No. of bitstreams: 1 ANA PAULA TEIXEIRA BALDINI.pdf: 3710864 bytes, checksum: 138420c4029a61f1d93cdc63b5865011 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Adriana Alves Rodrigues (aalves@espm.br) on 2017-11-22T12:42:00Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 ANA PAULA TEIXEIRA BALDINI.pdf: 3710864 bytes, checksum: 138420c4029a61f1d93cdc63b5865011 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Ana Cristina Ropero (ana@espm.br) on 2017-11-22T13:00:44Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 ANA PAULA TEIXEIRA BALDINI.pdf: 3710864 bytes, checksum: 138420c4029a61f1d93cdc63b5865011 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-11-22T13:00:53Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 ANA PAULA TEIXEIRA BALDINI.pdf: 3710864 bytes, checksum: 138420c4029a61f1d93cdc63b5865011 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-03-22 / Evaluate buying process from consumer behavior perspective is key to develop effective marketing strategies. Its importance grows as the involvement increases and decision process is perceived as riskier and more complex, especially in the search for information. In this scenario, this dissertation presents an involvement measurement for a specific category purchase: light commercial vehicles. The target is to present also the decision style that the consumer adopts in the buying process, through a scale that captures cognitive and emotional factors, known as Consumer Styles Inventory or CSI. It is also evaluated the importance of recommendations sources as they play an important role in this context, impacting not only the style adopted, but also the final choice. Therefore, it is presented four consumer clusters, according to the styles adopted. It was highlighted involvement and importance of recommendations source in the buying process for the four groups. These goals were achieved through a survey collected from 311 Brazilian buyers of light commercial vehicles. The results confirm the relationship between the constructs decision styles and involvement, as well identifies the most important recommendation sources on the buying process, according to the four clusters. Management implications are also presented based not only on the analysis and results from the survey but also in the experience of field interviews. Based on analysis and results, it is recommended improvements on the scale due low internal consistency of four CSI factors. Besides that, opportunities related to further exploratory studies and transversal analysis are presented as relevant for the light commercial vehicle buying process. / Avaliar o processo de compra sob a perspectiva do comportamento do consumidor é fundamental para traçar estratégias de marketing efetivas. A importância dessa compreensão cresce na medida em que aumenta o envolvimento na compra, ou seja, a decisão é percebida como mais arriscada e o processo, mais complexo, principalmente no tocante à busca de informações. Nesse sentido, essa dissertação apresenta o mensuramento do envolvimento em uma compra de categoria específica: veículos comerciais leves. Busca-se explicitar o estilo que o mesmo adota nesse processo de decisão, por meio de uma escala que captura fatores cognitivos e emocionais, conhecida como Consumer Styles Inventory, ou CSI. Sabe-se que as fontes de recomendações têm papel importante nesse processo, impactando não somente o estilo adotado, mas também a escolha final. Assim, adicionalmente associou-se os estilos do consumidor, ao envolvimento e às fontes de recomendações importantes no processo de compra. Esses objetivos foram atingidos por meio de pesquisa quantitativa com uma amostra de 311 respondentes brasileiros consumidores de veículos comerciais leves, que gerou quatro grupos distintos de consumidores. Os resultados confirmaram o relacionamento entre os construtos estilos decisórios e envolvimento, bem como identificaram as fontes de informação mais importantes no processo de compra, apresentando-os de maneira segmentada. A aplicabilidade gerencial da dissertação é discorrida, a partir da pesquisa quantitativa, bem como a partir da experiência de entrevistas presenciais. Baseando-se nas análises e resultados, sugerem-se melhorias da escala para a categoria de produto, devido a baixa consistência interna de quatro fatores do CSI. Além disso, oportunidades relacionadas a estudos exploratórios e transversais são apresentados como relevantes para o contexto de compra de veículos comerciais leves.

Millennials, or Generation Y, represent one of today’s most prominent age cohorts: with their increasingly stronger purchasing power and importance in the global economic landscape, it is no wonder that marketers are striving to find new ways to appeal to the taste of this peculiar generation of consumers. Among the various modern research fields in business, one in particular is offering incredibly interesting insights to both scholars and professional marketers: the concept of nostalgia proneness in consumer behavior. While several studies examine the dynamics of this phenomenon, none of them so far examined the impact of nostalgia proneness in shopping behavior, especially examining the dynamics on a sample of Generation Y consumers. This study was conducted in order to explore the dynamics of nostalgia proneness, linking the constructs to both desire for uniqueness and shopping behavior, using the framework provided by the Consumer Styles Inventory (Sproles & Sproles, 1990). After a theoretical review on the matter, several hypotheses and a conceptual model were developed to serve as the core framework of the quantitative analysis. The data, obtained from a convenience sample of 222 respondents, were subsequently examined using several statistical techniques (ANOVA, correlation and factor analysis), with the intent to test the hypotheses and shed light on the research questions. The outcome was then presented and interpreted using both the theoretical background and other complementary relevant literature. The results showed a positive relationship between nostalgia proneness and desire for uniqueness, with both variables being further connected to several shopping traits of the Generation Y consumer. The cluster and factor analysis eventually showed patterns that could be interpreted using the theory of hedonic and utilitarian shopping motivations.

The foundation for this study is based on prior research (Sproles & Sproles, 1990) that determined that learning styles are significantly related to consumer decision-making styles. Decision making involves a process of cognitive learning. Since the study was published, other studies have investigated these consumer decision-making styles. However, no additional studies have further investigated the relationship between learning styles and consumer decision-making styles for college students, especially first-year, first semester college students. Numerous studies have documented that students enter college as consumers but may lack basic knowledge and skills to make consumer decisions and avoid potential debt. The focus of the current study was to determine whether a relationship exists between beginning college students' self-reported mind styles, consumer decision-making styles, and shopping habits. To investigate this relationship, a purposive sample was targeted consisting of first-year, first semester college students. Three instruments were administered: the Gregorc Style Delineator, the Consumer Styles Inventory, and a Demographic Survey. A Chi-Square Test of Independence showed that there is a significant relationship between gender and self-reported shopping habits. Females tend to self-report purchases of clothing more frequently than males. Males tend to self-report purchases of food away from home and gas/auto expenses more frequently than females. No significant relationship was found between students' perception of family income and self-reported shopping habits, suggesting that these students purchase consumer goods frequently regardless of their perceived family income. A Chi-Square Test of Independence also revealed a significant relationship between gender and self-reported, dominant, Gregorc mind styles. Females were more likely than males to self-report their dominant mind styles as Abstract Random. Males were more likely than females to self-report their dominant mind style as Concrete Random. Although the current study's results did not support multiple consumer decision-making styles from previous studies using the Consumer Styles Inventory, an exploratory factor analysis revealed one, overall consumer decision-making style, Recreational/Hedonistic. A Mann-Whitney Rank Sum Test showed that there is a significant relationship between gender and the Recreational/Hedonistic consumer decision-making style. Females tend to be more recreational shoppers than males. A summary, discussion of the results, and recommendations for further research, practice, policy, and families are proposed. / Ph. D.