While there have been numerous studies directed at addressing the female Generation Y cohort’s fashion consumption patterns, there is a dearth of published research focused on male consumer fashion conscious behaviour, especially not that of the African Generation Y (hereafter referred to as black Generation Y) males. There are global indications that contemporary males are engaging in fashion apparel shopping more frequently than ever before. Moreover, unlike past generations, today’s male consumers have become increasingly fashion aware and fashion conscious, taking care of their looks and developing their own fashion style. Born between 1986 and 2005, in 2013, black Generation Y individuals made up approximately 83 percent of South Africa’s total Generation Y cohort and 38 percent of the country’s 52 981 991 population. In 2013, black Generation Y males accounted for an estimated 42 percent of the South African population. As a consequence of its size, the black Generation Y male market segment represents a potentially lucrative and attractive market for apparel retailers and fashion marketers. Marketers are particularly interested in those individuals pursuing tertiary qualifications given that a higher education ultimately acts as a predictor of their higher future spending potential and an indication of their social standing and influence within a society. The aim of this study was to determine the causal relationships between black Generation Y male students’ need for uniqueness, fashion awareness, fashion consciousness and fashion conscious behaviour in order to model the determinants of black Generation Y male students fashion conscious behaviour. A self-administered questionnaire was administered on a single cross-sectional sample of 400 black Generation Y male students at three university campuses in the Gauteng province in 2013 – one from a comprehensive university, one from a university of technology and one from a traditional university. From the administered questionnaires, 213 were completed and returned as usable. The collected data was analysed by means of exploratory factor analysis, reliability and validity analysis, descriptive statistics and correlation analysis. In addition, structural equation modelling (SEM) was applied to test a proposed model derived from the literature. According to the results of the SEM analysis, black Generation Y males’ fashion awareness has a significant positive influence on their fashion consciousness, and their fashion consciousness has a significant positive influence on their fashion conscious behaviour. In terms of the dimensions of the need for uniqueness, unpopular choice has a significant positive influence on black Generation Y male students’ fashion awareness, whilst creative choice has a significant positive influence on their fashion consciousness, and avoidance of similarity has a direct significant positive influence on their fashion conscious behaviour. Furthermore, the findings suggest that their fashion consciousness is reliant on their fashion awareness, which in turn influences their fashion conscious behaviour. Findings from this study will aid marketers’ in better understanding black Generation Y male students’ fashion conscious behaviour. Furthermore, the recommendations provided suggest marketing strategy guidelines tailored at effectively targeting this market segment. / PhD (Marketing Management)--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2015

The co-branding strategies are gaining attention from research due to the special difficulties of implementing a collaborative strategy. Hence, this paper evaluates the effect of the co-branding strategy between a luxury brand and a high-street retailer on the luxury consumers’ brand equity of the luxury brand post-co-branding. Additionally, this study aims to find differences between the generation Y and X cohorts in terms of brand equity impact from co-branding. This effect was evaluated from three brand equity dimensions: perceived quality, brand image and brand loyalty. To conduct this research the data was collected at the department store Harvey Nichols in London where luxury fashion brands are sold. Later the data was analyzed with a regression, analysis and t-test. The consumers showed differences in terms of their attitude towards the co-branding strategies between a luxury fashion brand and a high-street retailer. In addition, this research found that all the brand equity dimensions suffer a direct influence from the attitude towards co-branding for all the consumers in the study. Direct influence means that the co-branding strategies may cause positive or negative spillover effects. Moreover, the results conclude that there is only a difference in the brand equity dimension of brand loyalty between the generation cohorts Y and X.

The following report details research and analysis in order to assess the background market and market-based feasibility of the development of efficiency apartment units in the central Austin Area. It explores the potential and opportunities of reducing the size of apartments and promoting efficiency apartment unit development as a strategy to improve housing affordability for the Generation Y (Gen Y) population while taking advantage of urban redevelopment investments near Austin’s main TODs. The body of this study will discuss: (1) Generation Y and its impact on Austin’s housing market; (2) concepts and facts related to housing affordability; (3) strategies used by the city of Austin to promote infill development and existing transit oriented development sites; and (4) an overview of key housing development strategies and the real estate development process, including market analysis and absorption forecast under current housing market conditions. The study evaluates the implications of a significant demand for less expensive and smaller alternative housing products for a growing population group near downtown Austin. This report may contributes to the policy discussion about different approaches to housing affordability and offers an assessment guide for new housing development opportunities for a diverse range of city residents. / text

Purpose - The purpose of this study is to investigate behavioral factors influencing investment intentions.   Design/methodology/approach – A descriptive quantitative study was conducted utilizing an online questionnaire with a total of 121 respondents.   Findings - The results of the study indicated that Subjective Norm, Perceived Behavioral Control, and Perceived Consumer Effectiveness are positively related to Intention to Invest. Attitude and Perceived Risk did not reach statistical significance and no conclusions could therefore be drawn regarding the concepts.   Research limitations/implications - The greatest limitation of the study is that it measures intention and not actual behavior which could be of more value, both from a theoretical and managerial perspective. The implication of the study is that it contributes to the Socially Responsible Investment literature from the intentional perspective and that it considers Generation Y, two aspects that have previously been neglected. The study further provides companies operating in SRI industry with a framework to use when acquiring customers within Generation Y.   Originality/value - As recent Socially Responsible Investment research has focused almost exclusively on financial performance this study offers value in that it instead explains behavioral factors influencing the Intention to Invest. It further focuses on Generation Y which is the upcoming generation when it comes to investing that has to a large extent been neglected in the SRI literature.

The purpose of this study was to investigate how generation Y in RGB (fictional name) describes different leadership preferences and to further evaluate whether RGB´s recruitment strategy aligns with those preferences. A targeted selection of organization was made followed by a targeted selection of participants which resulted in eight respondents (n=8). A qualitative approach designed as a case study was conducted. The study included both unstructured and semi-structured interviews. A pilot study was carried out to get a wider view and understanding of the complexity of the organization. A complementary interview was also performed since the organization showed an interest in comparing their recruitment strategy with the participants´ descriptions of leadership preferences. The distribution of the sample was six women and two men with varying occupational roles but with two things in common, social work and the exercise of public authority. The Pilot study, main data collection and the complementary interview was analyzed using elements from both thematic- and pragmatic analysis. The result of the study showed that the overall recruitment strategy in wide terms aligned with the leadership preferences presented by generation Y. Social competence, self-awareness and presence were central aspects which were mentioned by both participants, recruitment officer and HR-consultant.

D. Tech. (Marketing, Department of Marketing and Sport Management, Faculty of Management Sciences) Vaal University of Technology / The concept of green marketing has gained prominence in academia in recent years with concomitant implications for marketing strategy. The considerable attention accorded to green marketing is accentuated by concerns about global climate change and its threat to the sustainability of livelihoods. As the debate on green marketing continues to unfold, there are important issues yet to be addressed, one of which relates to the antecedents of green consumer buyer behaviour and selection attributes of green products. In view of the growing importance of green consumer buyer behaviour in contemporary markets, the purpose of the present study was to examine empirically the antecedents of green consumer buyer behaviour and the selection attributes of Generation Y consumers. The Generation Y cohort was considered as the ideal target population for the present study owing to its size, bespeaking a profitable market segment with the potential to provide a “snap-shot” of future pro-environmental behavioural intentions. The theories of Reasoned Action and Consumption Values provided the theoretical lens through which to examine and delineate the antecedents of green consumer buyer behaviour and the selection attributes of Generation Y consumers in the context of a developing country such as South Africa. The present study adopted a sequential mixed-methods methodology that commenced with a qualitative study and was followed by a quantitative study. For the qualitative study, data were collected from a purposively selected Generation Y student sample comprising sixteen participants. The principle of technical saturation was employed to ascertain the adequacy of the sample size. The credibility and trustworthiness of the qualitative study were achieved through pretesting of the interview guide, bracketing, prolonged ngagement with participants, member checks, peer de-briefing, an audit trail of the interviewing process and researcher reflexivity. The analysis of the qualitative data was conducted through the use of content and thematic analyses. The qualitative study identified environmental attitude, environmental concern, social influence, environmental responsibility, government influence, selection attributes and green purchase intention as the main determinants of green purchase behaviour. The qualitative study also revealed that the demand for green products is thwarted by marketing-related barriers such as high prices, misleading green marketing messages and unavailability of products. In line with the methodology of the study, the determinants of green purchase behaviour that emerged from the qualitative study were further examined through a quantitative study. The data for the quantitative study were generated from a conveniently selected Generation Y student sample of 386 respondents, using a structured selfadministered questionnaire. The historical evidence method and the pre-conditions of multivariate data analysis (confirmatory factor analysis) guided the determination of the sample size for the quantitative study. The statistical data analysis procedures utilised for the quantitative study were descriptive statistics, reliability and validity analysis, correlation analysis, confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling. Prior to questionnaire administration, a pilot study was conducted to improve the accuracy of the survey instrument. The collected quantitative data were analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) 22.0 and Analysis of Moment Structures (AMOS) 22.0. The preliminary data analysis involved the process of coding and checking the distribution of scores. The results of the normality test revealed that the data were not normally distributed. Thus, non-parametric statistics were employed for correlation analysis and for testing gender difference in green consumer buyer behaviour. The Mann-Whitney U Test and the Kruskal-Wallis Test revealed that Generation Y female consumers are more apt to engage in pro-environmental behaviours than their male counterpartsIn order to verify the reliability of the measurement items, Cronbach’s alpha coefficient, the item-to-total values and composite reliability were computed. In addition, the validity of the survey instrument was enhanced through content, convergent, discriminant and predictive validities. The reliability and validity measures employed in the present study attested that the survey instrument utilised in the quantitative study was both reliable and valid. The results of correlation analysis indicated that environmental concern, environmental attitude, environmental responsibility, government influence, social influence and selection attributes have a positive association with green purchase intention. The correlation analysis also revealed a weak association between green purchase intention and actual purchase behaviour. Prior to testing the hypothesised relationships, the fitness of the measurement and structural models was assessed. The model fit indices that included the chi-square value over degree of freedom ( 2/df), Goodness-of-Fit Index (GFI), Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA), Comparative Fit Index (CFI), Incremental Fit Index (IFI) andTucker-Lewis Index (TLI) yielded satisfactory results that are consistent with acceptable thresholds, demonstrating that the measurement and structural model fitted well with the data. The posited relationships were tested using structural equation modelling. The hypotheses testing results revealed that green purchase intention was significantly and positively influenced by environmental attitude, environmental concern, social influence, environmental responsibility and selection attributes, but not by government influence. The results also showed that the relationship between green purchase intention and actual purchase behaviour was moderated by selection attributes. The findings of the study imply that marketers need to formulate and implement green marketing strategies that enhance environmental attitudes and concerns, initiate programmes that foster environmental responsibility, understand the selection attributes of Generation Y consumers and utilise social networks to stimulate pro-environmental behaviours. The results also suggest that the South African government needs to re-invigorate its environmental initiatives to foster green purchase intention and the purchase of green products. Finally, the study also provided evidence that suggests an insignificant relationship between green purchase intention and actual purchase behaviour. This result suggests an urgent need by marketers to understand the underlying factors causing the gap between green purchase intention and actual purchase behaviour. To effectively promote green consumer buyer behaviour, marketers need to understand the determinants of green purchase intention and craft effective strategies to translate green purchase intentions into actual purchasing behaviour. The findings of the present study provide avenues for further study in a discipline that is increasingly gaining theoretical and practical prominence. Future research efforts should consider the use of an integrated research model that encompasses more variables, utilising a broader sample frame and employing a longitudinal study in order to enhance the generalisability of the research findings. Overall, the study offers valuable insights for stimulating green purchase behaviour among the potentially profitable Generation Y cohort and equips marketers with green marketing strategies to position green products competitively in the marketplace.

Topic of this diploma thesis is organizational behavior of various generations with focus on the youngest generation which is present in the workplace. This generation is called Generation Y. The goal is to prove or overcome presumption that Generation Y is very different from previous generations, has different values, working and life style and that organizations will have to put a lot of effort to be able to manage this generation effectively. Thesis include description of graduate strategy which is implemented at Hewlett-Packard. In the end is overall recommendation for companies how effectively lead Generation Y and specific recommendation for Hewlett-Packard, related to current company strategy.

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, University of the Witwatersrand, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Management in Entrepreneurship and New Venture Creation, 2016 / This study was to identify the extent of Generation Y entrepreneurs’ social media usage in terms of weak-tie alliance maintenance and creation and also alliance creation. A sample group of entrepreneurs in the Johannesburg were chosen by using social media as a channel. By using the researcher’s social capital and also the different characteristics that are unique to these SNSs (social network sites), such as Twitter advertising, a sample group was created. A digital survey was distributed to the selected entrepreneurs by using an online platform. By using hypothesis testing and a multiple regression model, it was identified that entrepreneurs tend to favour maintaining weak-ties over creating weak-ties using SNSs, and alliance creation on SNSs does not seem too common, but it was highlighted that when entrepreneurs do create alliances, they tend to favour weakties that they have created on SNSs. The overall picture is that entrepreneurs have an inclination not to use SNSs to create weak-ties and alliances, this could come down to a number of factors such as trust and education, and there could also perhaps be no SNS that supports alliance creation to the extent that entrepreneurs need. / XL2018

A dissertation submitted in full fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of the Master of Commerce, School of Economic and Business Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, December 2016 / The increasing level of consumer engagement with smartphones and tablets or ipods, and the proliferation of mobile applications in recent years have seen a rapid growth in branded apps. Marketers are creating branded mobile apps as a brand communication channel to attract new customers and potentially increase brand loyalty among current customers. Previous research has measured initial adoption or intention to adopt branded apps rather than continuance adoption. In South Africa, few studies have explored adoption of branded apps among generation Y consumers. To fill this gap, this research aims to determine the effectiveness of branded mobile apps in driving brand loyalty among generation Y consumers. To achieve this goal, the research uses Expectation Confirmation Theory (ECT) to explore the factors influencing satisfaction, continuance adoption of branded apps and brand loyalty. Using a quantitative research approach, a total of 406 valid self-administered questionnaires were collected by survey method, and structural equation modelling was employed in the data analysis. The results indicate that confirmation of expectations–functional value, social value and satisfaction significantly influence brand loyalty. When consumers confirmed expectations of branded apps, it directly led to positive perceptions of value and satisfaction. Consumer satisfaction was a significant driver of behavioural loyalty. Results also suggested that consumer confirmation of expectations and perceptions of value impacted on continuance intention indirectly through satisfaction. Perceived functional value was found to be an important direct booster of consumer’s decisions and behaviour to continue using branded apps, while social value was found to be an inhibitor of continuance intention. The relationship between continuance intention and brand loyalty was insignificant. Continuance intention was simply an intermediate response following satisfaction with prior usage. This study therefore confirmed and extended the (ECT), that satisfaction with a product or service was a prerequisite for establishing continuance intention and brand loyalty among consumers. / XL2018

Thesis (Ph.D. (Marketing))--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, School of Economic & Business Sciences, 2017 / Keywords: brand equity, Samsung mobile phones, Generation Y, brand awareness, brand image, perceived quality, brand loyalty, brand satisfaction, brand love and consumption values. Samsung is the leading brand in the mobile phone industry, and is dominant over fierce competitors, such as Apple, Nokia, Huawei and Blackberry. This is evident from the 2016 global market share figures, where Samsung occupies the top position with 21.6%. The Samsung brand is also dominant in South Africa, having captured 46% of the market share. Consumers are also willing to pay a price premium for Samsung mobile phones. For example, as at June 2017, the Samsung S8 smartphone retailed for up to R14,799, with consumers still willing to pay this price. While from an organisation’s perspective the success of Samsung in the mobile phone industry is accredited to the global establishment of production bases, overhaul of quality standards, paradigm shift in management philosophies and substantial investment in marketing and product design, there is a need to understand what drives Samsung’s brand equity from consumers’ perspective. The understanding of Samsung’s brand equity is even more important among Generation Y, due to the fact that they constitute 25% of South Africa’s population, have a high purchasing power for luxury and technological products, and 95% of them own a mobile phone in South Africa. They use their phones to communicate with family and friends, listen to music and watch YouTube videos. For the measurement of brand equity, so that marketers are informed of the performance of their marketing and brand strategies, researchers recommend the examination of its sources. Models devised by Aaker (1996) and Keller (1998) provide various sources of brand equity, but how and which of these sources best influence brand equity has not been determined. Esch, Langner, Schmitt and Geus (2006) recommend that in order to measure brand equity holistically, sources of brand equity, including brand awareness, brand image, perceived quality, brand associations and brand loyalty should be measured in conjunction with other important brand relationship factors such as brand trust, brand satisfaction and brand attachment or love. This is particularly so, because consumers who have a strong relationship with a brand are likely to demonstrate positive attitude towards it. Despite this view, most researchers who have adopted the Aaker (1996) and Keller (1998) models to measure CBBE have not considered the explanatory roles of the brand relationship variables. iv Another important factor ignored in the measurement of sources CBBE are the various values (such as functional, monetary, emotional, customisation, and relational), as proposed by Chuah, Marimuthu and Ramayah (2014), consumers enjoy from the consumption of a brand. Recognising the importance of uncovering the value inferences that consumers hold of a brand, Keller (2003) suggests three types of values or benefits (functional, experiential, and symbolic benefits) consumers may enjoy from a brand. The monetary value, according to other authors, can also be important. How these values lead to brand equity, if at all, were, however, not further explored. This study therefore integrated the Aaker and Keller’s brand equity models, Esch et al. and Chuah et al. brand relationship and consumer value models, respectively, to propose an integrated conceptual model with eighteen hypotheses to measure the sources of Samsung’s mobile phones brand equity among Generation Y. Quantitative methodologies were used to collect data from 651 undergraduate and postgraduate students studying at the University of Johannesburg and University of the Witwatersrand to empirically test the proposed model. The hypothesised relationships in the model were empirically tested using structural equation modeling. The results revealed that out of the eighteen hypotheses tested, twelve were accepted. Specifically, brand awareness, brand image, perceived quality, monetary value and functional value had a positive effect on brand satisfaction. Brand satisfaction positively drives brand love. Consumers who expressed love for the Samsung mobile phone brand were found to be loyal. Brand loyalty, which was found to have a positive impact on brand equity, was influenced positively by monetary value. In addition to brand loyalty, brand equity was influenced positively by perceived quality, monetary value and symbolic value. Overall, 56% of Samsung mobile phone brand equity was explained by brand awareness, brand image, perceived quality, monetary value, functional value, symbolic value, brand satisfaction, brand love and brand loyalty. While it will be important for future studies to identify other factors, which may increase the explanatory power of Samsung’s brand equity among Generation Y in South Africa, this study’s theoretical contribution suggests an integrated conceptual model to holistically measure customer-based brand equity not only in the telecommunication sector, but for other products and sectors. Practically, Samsung and other marketers responsible for managing competing v brands such as iPhone, Nokia, Huawei can use these findings to develop relevant marketing strategies that resonate with this large and lucrative Generation Y market segment. / GR2018