Thesis--PlanB (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Stout, 2003. / Field problem. Includes bibliographical references.

The thesis establishes the main economic and structural changes in the food industries between the wars and assesses the part played by convenience foods in that process. It first reviews and presents data from the Census of Production 1907-1948, to show growth rates and the main structural changes. These include an increase in concentration, the emergence of new trades based on product and process innovations, tbe creation of brands and the entry of multinationals into UK food markets. Associated changes in food consumption and food distribution are also reviewed. The body of the thesis examines the impact of convenience foods on the food industry. An account of 'convenience' and a taxonomy of convenience foods is presented (which is critical of the AFS view) based on Census of Production data. It is shown that convenience foods expanded their share of food industry output and had many of the characteristics of the 'new industries' which were an important feature of British industrial development in the period. The central issue, which occupies the remainder of the thesis, is how these foods were produced and marketed and the forms of competitive behaviour which explain the penetration of the new foods through markets. A model of competition developed by M. E. Porter is used as a framework for the exploration of these questions. He adopts the analytical concepts of new entrants, substitutes, the power of suppliers and buyers and competitive rivalry between incumbent firms in markets. These concepts are examined and illustrated with empirical data drawn from company archives relating to the marketing operations of firms such as Kellogg's, Rowntree's and Horlick's. A detailed account of high speed canning illustrates the economic development of the industry over two decades. The thesis concludes that convenience foods had a significant impact on the food manufacturing industries between the ware.

No description available.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1971. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliography.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1982. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 232-238).

Thesis--University of Wisconsin--Madison,1968. / Vita. Typescript. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 66-68).

Thesis--University of Wisconsin-Madison. / Vita. Photocopy of typescript. Ann Arbor, Mich. : University Microfilms International, 1980. -- 21 cm. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. "References" : leaves 66-68.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1961. / Typescript. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves [319]-[320]).

Thesis (M.Sc.)(Consumer Science)--Universiteit van Pretoria, 2006. / Includes summaries in English and Afrikaans. Includes bibliographical references. Available on the Internet via the World Wide Web.

The initial motive for undertaking this research, was a desire to better understand those factors which were said to affect the diffusion of ethnic foods. In attempting to develop the general methodology for this study, the author revisited seminal studies on diffusion of innovations, word-of-mouth, opinion leadership, and innovator/early adopter influence. During this process, the author discovered Feick and Price's (1987), emergent 'Market Maven' theory. Said to be distinctly different from opinion leaders and early adopters, market mavens were not only believed to have a higher awareness of general marketplace information, but also more source credibility than other word- of-mouth influencers. Employing a replication study approach, a telephone survey of 400 households in urban, suburban and rural north Bedfordshire was undertaken. The author found that the market maven construct was not a purely US phenomenon, but was also present in the UK. Developing further Feick and Price's (1987) preliminary investigations, this study confirmed that (in common with related opinion leadership studies), it had not been possible to identify market mavens using demographic/socio-economic variables. Whilst classifying market mavens remained problematic, the author was nonetheless able to confirm Feick and Price's (1987) earlier findings, that market mavens had an inherently increased propensity for general marketplace information gathering. As this behaviour was considered by the author to be unique to market mavens, the construct was employed to test those factors, said to affect ethnic food diffusion, with interesting, if largely inconclusive results. The author concluded, that the potential of the market maven construct in the diffusion of innovations process was significant, particularly as a conduit for internal word-of-mouth information in the business-to-business/industrial marketing context. In that situation, market mavens' heightened awareness of, and active search for, general marketplace information, would make them ideal targets for the type of marketing communication message that innovators and opinion leaders alike, reputedly ignore.