Purpose – The purpose of this study is to investigate the relative efficacies of intrinsic and extrinsic cues as drivers of customer loyalty to financial institutions between male and female bank customers. Design/methodology/approach – A large-scale survey of 872 customers of a national bank serves as the study setting. Findings – Results showed that extrinsic cues were the more effective correlates of customer loyalty and that gender does not moderate the relationships between image cues and customer loyalty. Research limitations/implications – The cross-sectional nature of the current study does not allow causal inferences. Therefore, future studies should adopt longitudinal designs. Practical implications – Results suggest that, although transmitting a favorable image through extrinsic cues is critical, nevertheless, intrinsic cues (interactions among customers and bank personnel) should not be ignored. To reinforce this not only among current customers but also among potential customers, banks should use advertisements featuring favorable testimonials. Originality/value – Empirical research in the banking services literature pertaining to the efficacies of intrinsic and extrinsic cues in forming customer loyalty is scarce. This study fills in the void. Also, in determining if the relationships between image and customer loyalty vary by gender, the authors not only looked at male versus female differences on the basis of average construct scores but also examined the structural relationships among the constructs.

By exploring determinants of perceived wine quality and seeking possibilities to overcome Chinese wines’ negative COO effect, this paper aims to give insights to current research field about perceived quality and Country of Origin (COO) effect. Adopting an abductive approach, the researchers conducted qualitative semi-structured interviews separately with 11 respondents in different age, nationality and occupation. The results show that consumer perception on wine quality is influenced by four extrinsic cues (Country of Manufacturing, price, credible endorsements, brand) and four intrinsic cues (package, taste, aroma, wine legs). Hence, this paper conclude that it is possible for Chinse wine to improve its overall consumer perception by improving competence in other determinants of perceived wine quality.

The research was undertaken to quantify the power of selected extrinsic (price and country of origin) and intrinsic cues (acid in chardonnay and fat in brie) on consumer evaluations of both experienced and expected product quality, and further, to measure the respective influences of objective knowledge, subjective knowledge and self-confidence on these quality assessments. The study also seeks to determine if a survey conducted measuring expectations of quality would yield comparable results with quality assessments based on actual product experience. The study was comprised of sensory experiments using full profile conjoint analysis experimental design to measure quality perception, followed by a survey where only product description profiles were provided. The analysis from both stages show findings that are remarkably similar in most respects. Results of the sensory experiment for chardonnay show both extrinsic cues tested to be more important than acid levels, while results for the survey show price maintained the strongest influence, with comparable expectations regarding the importance of country of origin and acid. For brie (both stages) consumer opinions were consistent; with price found the most influential; and while country of origin was considered relatively important, fat levels were more influential for both groups. Whilst for chardonnay (both stages) respondents held consistent beliefs regarding each acid level tested, for brie respondents experiencing the highest level of fat held an opposite view to respondents assessing quality based on their expected liking for this type of product. The influence of knowledge (objective and subjective) and self-confidence was found to be sporadic and weak, likely due to respondents’ general lack of objective knowledge in both stages of the survey. In the case of self-confidence, results are surprising given that respondents in both studies exhibited reasonably healthy degrees of self-confidence. The research provides important information to marketers seeking to exploit the most attractive aspects of their products and platform for a number of subsequent studies. / Thesis(PhD)-- School of Commerce, 2007

M. Tech. (Department of Fashion, Faculty of Human Sciences), Vaal University of Technology. / The focus of this dissertation is to examine the relationship between footwear cues, perceived quality and consumer satisfaction amongst Generation Y at River Square mall in Vereeniging. This research considers the effects of these cues as important arrays of quality indicators that consumers utilise in their evaluation process when selecting products. This knowledge is important to managers in the footwear industry. The lack of these considerations may lead to the manufacturing of fashion footwear that may not meet the consumers expectation regarding quality of the product and hence their satisfaction or possibly dissatisfaction. Footwear is alleged to be indispensable for the development of fashion apparel. Thus, the study sought to investigate underlying variables that influence footwear for the purpose of identifying ways in which the fashion industry can improve performance and presentation of footwear. A conceptual model was developed, drawing from cue utilization theory (CU) and utility theory (UT). Generation Y consumers at River Square mall in Vereeniging formed the sample of the study. A survey was conducted and research data was collected from 550 consumers. Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) was used to analyse the data via Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) 22 and Analysis of Moment Structures (AMOS) 22. The findings indicate that footwear cues have a strong influence on perceived quality and perceived quality has a strong influence on satisfaction amongst Generation Y consumers. This indicates that Generation Y consumers perceive quality of footwear through extrinsic and intrinsic cues hence their satisfaction. Consequently fashion footwear business should regard effective cues when trading footwear.

In the context of the world's increasing environmental challenges and the rise of green consumerism, promoting sustainable consumer behavior is more important than ever. This study aims at extending the understanding of consumers' purchase  intention of  environmentally friendly cosmetic products. With a theoretical starting point in theories of green promotion and the theory of planned behavior, a total of ten hypotheses and sub-hypotheses were formulated to answer the research question how green promotional cues can be used to affect consumers' beliefs and increase purchase intention. Central concepts in the study’s constructed conceptual framework are intrinsic cues which represent concrete characteristics of a product such as ingredients and formula, and extrinsic cues which are attributes not present within the product itself such as packaging and brand. A quantitative approach using an online survey in an experimental vignette designed questionnaire generated responses from a sample of 325 participants in three treatment groups, and the data was subsequently examined through statistical analysis. The study’s main findings show that intrinsic cues have a stronger influence on purchase intention than extrinsic cues but that extrinsic cues seem to have a stronger influence on consumers’ subjective beliefs. The study provides implications on how cosmetic companies can use the insights generated by the study when developing promotional strategies for green cosmetics.

La schizophrénie est caractérisée par un ensemble de symptômes positifs et négatifs ainsi que par des déficits cognitifs dont les éléments les plus handicapants sont les troubles mnésiques. La métamémoire, qui est la connaissance sur la mémoire, est un champ d’investigation prometteur pour la compréhension et la remédiation de ce trouble. La métamémoire est composée d’un processus évaluatif et d’un processus de régulation du comportement qui sont en interaction. Les études précédentes ont montré que l’évaluation serait préservée dans la schizophrénie alors que la régulation serait déficitaire. Cependant, les relations entre ces processus n’ont pas été examinées alors qu’elles pourraient permettre decompenser le déficit mnésique. Les objectifs de ce travail étaient donc d’une part, d’observer ces relations entre évaluation et régulation dans la schizophrénie, ainsi que les ressources cognitives liées à ces processus. D’autre part, afin d’étendre les connaissances fondamentales sur la métamémoire, nous souhaitions observer l’utilisation de différents types de matériels etde stratégies d’apprentissage chez des participants sains. Les deux premières expériences ont permis de montrer que les patients schizophrènes étaient capables d’utiliser l’évaluation de leur apprentissage pour adapter leur stratégie de mémorisation et que leurs déficits en mémoire étaient liés à d’autres fonctions cognitives. Les cinq expériences suivantes ont confirmé que les participants sains ne prenaient pas en compte de la même manière les caractéristiques intrinsèques et extrinsèques du matériel dans leurs jugements et leurs stratégies. Ces données sont discutées et indiquent que davantage de recherches sur la métamémoire dans la schizophrénie seraient d’un grand intérêt pour la prise en charge des troubles mnésiques de ces patients. / Schizophrenia is characterized by a range of positive and negative symptoms and bycognitive deficits including the most disabling one, memory. Metamemory, which is knowledge about memory is of particular interest for the understanding and remediation of this trouble. It involves a monitoring and a control process, which would be in interaction.Previous studies have shown that monitoring is spared whereas control is impaired. However,these relations between these processes have not been examined whereas they could compensate for memory deficit. The aims of this work were to observe these relations between monitoring and control in schizophrenia and cognitive resources linked to these processes on the one hand. On the other hand, we wished to observe the use of different kinds of materials and learning strategies in healthy participants to get better fundamental knowledge about metamemory. Two experiments showed that patients were able to use monitoring to adapt their learning strategy and also that their memory deficits were linked too ther cognitive functions. Five following experiments confirmed that healthy participants do not use intrinsic and extrinsic characteristics of the materials in the same way when makin gjudgments and using strategies. These data are discussed and point out that more research about metamemory in schizophrenia is of interest for the remediation of memory deficits inschizophrenia patients.