M. Com. (Business Management) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

M.Com. (Business Management) / The sector of the economy in which service providers compete, has undergone much change during tho last two decades. Successful service providers followed specific tactics to ensure that the needs of clients were satisfied. Customer satisfaction became more important as competition increased. Although the internal audit department of ABSA has never had to face competition, this situation is rapidly changing. External audit firms are attempting to expand their businesses by providing the internal and the external audit functions to a company. ABSA's internal audit department is not only faced with the increase in competition but is also under pressure to improve its level of service to clients who no longer receive its service free of charge.

Includes list of Supplementary refereed publications relating to thesis; and of Refereed conference papers, as appendix 1 / Includes bibliograhical references (p. 316-343) / xix, 381 p. : ill. ; 30 cm. / Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library. / Focusses particularly on the purchase of wine and the factors that influence consumer choice and the values that drive the decision process across different consumption occasions. The effectiveness of occasion as part of the theoretical model of means-end chain analysis is investigated, as well as the feasibility of occasion in the Olsen and Thach (2001) conceptual framework of consumer behavior relating to wine. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, School of Agriculture and Wine, Discipline of Wine and Horticulture, 2003

Includes list of Supplementary refereed publications relating to thesis; and of Refereed conference papers, as appendix 1 Includes bibliograhical references (p. 316-343) Focusses particularly on the purchase of wine and the factors that influence consumer choice and the values that drive the decision process across different consumption occasions. The effectiveness of occasion as part of the theoretical model of means-end chain analysis is investigated, as well as the feasibility of occasion in the Olsen and Thach (2001) conceptual framework of consumer behavior relating to wine.

The brand architecture of an organisation has become increasingly important to global management and marketing professionals, as it deals with structures and designs of brands which are constantly influenced by a changing environment. The market realities and changes brands face continuously impact the reputation of the brand, which is critical to sustain competitive advantage. The primary purpose of the study was to investigate the impact brand reputation has on brand architecture strategies, and an automotive company was chosen as the focus of the research. This research aims to help managers, marketers and brand owners make informative decisions regarding the brand architecture of a company. A quantitative content analysis methodology was used along with a webpage keyword counting application (WebWords). The application was used based on the principles outlined by Corporate Brand and Reputation Analysis (COBRA), which uses a four step progressive filtering process in filtering traditional and consumer generated media. The results from WebWords were then aligned to the brand architecture strategies from the brand relationship spectrum (BRS) to gain insight as to which of the strategies from the BRS were most vulnerable to reputational damage. The study found that the branded house and sub-brand strategies were most vulnerable to reputational damage based on the number reputational hits received. The connection between the master brand and the sub-brands could cause both brands to be affected should any reputational issues arise.