<p>In recent years, measuring customer satisfaction has become one of the key concerns of market research studies. One of the basic features of leading companies is their success in fulfilling their customers’ demands. For that reason, companies attempt to find out what essential factors dominate their customers’ purchasing habits.</p> <p>Millennium Research Group (MRG) - a global authority on medical tech- nology market intelligence - uses a web-based survey tool to collect informa- tion about customers’ level of satisfaction. One of their surveys is designed to gather information about the practitioner’s level of satisfaction on different brands of dental implants. The Dental Implants dataset obtained from the survey tool has thirty-four attributes, and practitioners were asked to rank or specify their level of satisfaction by assigning a score to each attribute.</p> <p>The basic question asked by the company was whether the attributes were useful to make customer behavior predictions. The aim of this study is to assess the reliability and accuracy of these measures and to build a model for future predictions, then, determine the attributes that are most influential</p> <p>in the practitioners’ purchasing decisions. Classification and regression trees (CART) and Partial least squares regression (PLSR) are the two statistical approaches used in this study to build a prediction model for the Dental Implants dataset.</p> <p>The prediction models generated, using both of the techniques, have rel- atively small prediction powers; which may be perceived as an indication of deficiency in the dataset. However, getting a small prediction power is gener- ally expected in market research studies. The research then attempts to find ways to improve the power of these models to get more accurate results. The model generated by CART analysis tends to have better prediction power and is more suitable for future predictions. Although PLSR provides extremely small prediction power, it helps finding out the most important attributes that influence the practitioners’ purchasing decisions. Improvements in pre- diction are sought by restricting the cases in the data to subsets that show better alignment between predictors and customer purchasing behaviour.</p> / Master of Science (MSc)

No / Sampling in the international environment needs to satisfy the same requirements as sampling in the domestic environment, but there are additional issues to consider, such as the need to balance within-country representativeness with cross-national comparability. However, most international marketing research studies fail to provide theoretical justification for their choice of sampling approach. This is because research design theory and sampling theory have not been well integrated in the context of international research. This paper seeks to fill the gap by developing a framework for determining a sampling approach in international studies. The framework is based on an assessment of the way in which sampling affects the validity of research results, and shows how different research objectives impact upon (a) the desired sampling method and (b) the desired sample characteristics. The aim is to provide researchers with operational guidance in choosing a sampling approach that is theoretically appropriate to their particular research aims.

Die DGOF veröffentlicht hier digitale Kompendien zu aktuellen Themen der Online-Forschung mit Fachbeiträgen von Experten und Expertinnen aus der Branche.

<p>Given today’s industry dynamics, new service development is becoming increasingly important to the competitiveness, growth, and survival of organizations. Unfortunately, new service development has proven to be a complex and difficult task. Numerous reasons are stated in the literature such as the difficulty of understanding and anticipating latent customer needs and insufficient market research techniques. To facilitate proactive learning about the customer, recent findings stress customer involvement in the development process and observations of customers in real action.</p><p>The overall objective of the dissertation is to contribute to an increased knowledge of customer involvement, i.e., the role of customers as contributors and co-creators in new service development. The thesis draws on theory from market and learning orientation in conjunction with a service-centered model, and provides an extensive review of literature on customer involvement in innovation. In five separate studies, this doctor’s thesis addresses the customer’s role in innovation activities in various industries (e.g., Staffing Services, Airline Services, and Mobile Telecommunication services).</p><p>In this thesis it is argued that interaction is not only the focal point of services, but also the essence of customer involvement. A special emphasis is put on supporting techniques as these are the means by which customer information and knowledge are created. In addition, results are provided showing that customer involvement in innovation pays off. Companies that engage in collaborative innovation with customers can expect improved customer satisfaction, customer loyalty, and profit margin.</p>

The thesis approaches market research with a focus on the online method. It details the online survey method and highlights its advantages and disadvantages.In the thesis an online concept test is applied for a Latvian cosmetic MÁDARA which runs in Germany and Czech Republic. The survey results are analyzed thus giving the concept with the greatest potential. It interprets the perception of cosmetic MÁDARA and interests of women in its purchase in both countries. Finally the market in which inters in buying cosmetic is higher is chosen.

This master thesis examines inception of the new web portal focused on shopping and its entry into Czech internet market. First part introduces methods of market situation analysis that are applied in second part of this master thesis. Thesis also includes analysis of Czech internet market from the perspective of on-line shopping and identifies potential customer segments for this new internet portal. Next part defines business objective of new internet portal and its marketing strategy. Results of this master thesis where applied during preparation phase of internet project CoKoupit.cz and will also be further applied during company start-up.

Es stellt einen bedeutsamen Marktvorteil für ein Unternehmen dar, abschätzen zu können, welche Produktidee auf dem Markt erfolgreich sein könnte und welche scheitern wird. Auf Basis psychologischer Erkenntnisse aus verschiedenen Forschungsfeldern kann die Marktforschung für Innovationen bereits in frühen Entwicklungsstadien wichtige Hinweise auf das Erfolgspotential eines neuen Produktes geben. Diese Arbeit beleuchtet zwei Aspekte der psychologischen Marktforschung für Innovationen genauer: Wie groß sind Bewertungsunterschiede zwischen Personen, die sich in gewissen Personeneigenschaften unterscheiden und welchen Einfluss hat die Präsentation einer Innovation auf die anschließende Bewertung? Zwei Studien wurden durchgeführt, um diese Fragen zu adressieren. Die Ergebnisse zeigen kaum Einfluss der Personeneigenschaften auf die Innovationsbewertung. Bezüglich der unterschiedlichen Präsentationsart ergeben sich keine signifikanten Unterschiede zwischen Bild- und Videopräsentationen. Wird die Innovation jedoch real erlebt, wird sie signifikant passender, besser bedienbar und begeisternder wahrgenommen. Die Implikationen für weitere Forschung und für die Praxis der Marktforschung werden diskutiert. / Early knowledge on what may and what may not be market success in the future is a key success factor for any company. Taking into account findings from different fields of psychology, market research in early development stages can provide important insights on the potential of a new product. Two aspects of psychological market research for innovations are studied in depth: To what extent do people with different personal attributes differ in their evaluation of an innovation? What are the effects of different presentation formats like pictures and videos when an innovation is evaluated? Two studies are conducted to attend to these questions. The results show little evidence that personal attributes influence the innovation evaluation. With regard to presentation format, only small evaluation differences are found between picture and video presentations. However, when the product is actually experienced, it is perceived to be more compatible, easier to use, and more exciting. Options for further research and practical implications are discussed.

The aim of this work is to analyse and evaluate consumer and purchasing behaviour on the market for running equipment. Subsequently, to process the recommendations for business entities operating on this market. This work focuses on the quantitative research. On the basis of this research the analysis of consumer behaviour of runners is carried out. The analysis describes consumers' preferences in buying running equipment and describes differences between customers. The result of the analysis are the recommendations for businesses on the market for running equipment. One of the recommendation is the acquisition of the footscan, the testing track etc.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-25T16:44:28Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Vasiliki Evangelou Calliyeris.pdf: 1496420 bytes, checksum: a342b524a305e962cb1286f267c52268 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-05-23 / This work has as objective analyze comparatively the respondents profile and the results obtained by two different data collection approaches: by internet (online) and face to face at home (offline). The criteria selected for this comparison were the response return rate for both methods, the answers quality obtained on the attributes evaluation questions and the results on habits and attitudes of the selected samples. The first two chosen criteria refer to a topic very discussed in the academy that is the relationship between the respondent and the electronic data collection method, on which is believed to be uncontrolled, causing low access rate and also compromising the quality of data collected. The last criteria selected refers to another theme approached by academics which is the respondents profile that both data collection methods reach, which is believed to be distinctive and in consequence, provides differences in consumption behavior of the approached targets. To reach the proposed objectives, initially some in depth exploratory interviews were conducted with executives of research institutes acting in Brazil, aiming to understand their point of view regarding the capability of the online research method. Subsequently a quantitative study was conducted through two data collection methods, electronic by internet and face to face at home, with two different samples, which results were compared. The hypotheses were confirmed once there were differences in answers return rates, bias on attributes evaluation caused by one of the targets and also differences in both social-demographic profiles that reflected in discriminant consumption habits and attitudes. This work is justified in a way that it presents a current and controversial subject in the academy and in the business world, which focus is debate the replace of the traditional date collection methods by the contemporary one by internet, or even its complementarity, in a moment that the virtual network is increasing its penetration in the relationship company-consumer / O presente trabalho tem por objetivo analisar comparativamente o perfil dos respondentes e os resultados advindos de duas abordagens distintas de coleta de dados: via internet (online) e via presencial face a face domiciliar (offline). Os critérios selecionados para essa comparação foram o índice de retorno das respostas de ambos os métodos, a qualidade das respostas obtidas nas baterias de avaliação de atributos e os resultados de comportamento e atitudes das amostras selecionadas. Os dois primeiros critérios escolhidos referem-se a um tema muito discutido na academia que é a relação do respondente com o método de coleta eletrônico, sobre a qual acredita-se não haver controle, o que pode ocasionar um baixo índice de adesão e também comprometer a qualidade dos dados coletados. O último critério selecionado refere-se a outro tema muito debatido que é o perfil de respondente que ambos os métodos de coleta alcançam, que acredita-se ser distinto e, em consequência, reproduz diferenças de comportamento de consumo e de atitudes entre os dois públicos abordados. Para se alcançar os objetivos propostos, em primeiro lugar foram realizadas entrevistas em profundidade exploratórias com executivos de institutos de pesquisa atuantes no Brasil, com o intuito de se entender seus pontos de vista em relação à aplicabilidade do método de coleta online. Posteriormente, conduziu-se um estudo quantitativo por meio de dois métodos de coleta, eletrônico via internet e presencial face a face, com duas amostras distintas, cujos resultados foram comparados. As hipóteses levantadas foram confirmadas, uma vez que houve divergência entre os índices de retorno das respostas obtidas, viés no preenchimento das baterias de atributos por um dos públicos, e também diferenças no perfil sociodemográfico das amostras abordadas, que refletem padrões de consumo e de comportamento distintos entre ambas. Este trabalho justifica-se na medida em que apresenta um tema atual e controverso no ambiente acadêmico e corporativo, cujo foco é debater a substituição dos métodos de coleta tradicionais pelo método contemporâneo via internet, ou sua complementaridade, em um momento no qual a rede virtual de comunicação ganha cada vez mais espaço na relação empresa-cliente

The aim of this study is to describe adoption barriers emerging on the cosmetics for men market through market research and consumer behaviour exploration. The relationship men have with the cosmetics is not easy to understand, so the purpose of this study is to explore on what is based their relationship to cosmetics market - why some are ready to use cosmetics while other reject. Regarding market of cosmetics for men, there are the barriers that prevent in adoption of cosmetics. The thesis would reveal what influence the social decision making, and would go deeper into what influence men; and what the relationships with products, brands, services, and environment they have. The conclusion will be the interpretation of the adoption barriers on cosmetics for men market.