D.Litt. et Phil. (Anthropology) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

The purpose of the study was to develop an optimum market-positioning model for the special interest tourism market to support arts festivals in South Africa (SA). Three subareas were deemed essential for the model, namely determining which attributes contribute to the success of three arts festival scenarios, comparing the different arts festival packages as a tourism attraction and then combining these subareas to develop a model enabling future researchers and marketers to present a successful arts festival in South Africa. The three main arts festivals in South Africa, at Potchefstroom, Grahamstown and Oudtshoorn, were studied. Screening questions followed by judgmental and quota sampling were used to select only like-minded respondents from festival attendees on a scenario basis. In personal interviews the data were collected and then analysed using conjoint analysis and game theory. Conjoint analysis was used in a linear regression model with individual ratings for each product. The average of the r-squares in this study was 0,83, indicating a good fit between data and model developed. Then these results were used in the game theory, comparing the three arts festival scenarios to identify the most successful tourism attraction. A different combination of attributes gave each of the three festival scenarios an optimum market position in its own niche market. The study contributes to the existing body of positioning knowledge, specifically in the festivals and events domain. It also adds value as this model can be applied to other festivals in South Africa and also to other business sectors. / Transport Economy, Logistics & Tourism / D. Com. (Tourism Management)

Arivia.kom was formed out of a merger of the information technology (IT) departments of Eskom, Transnet and Denel. The aim was to address skilled staff losses and to achieve economies of scale. Agreements were drafted ensuring arivia.kom business patronage for a period of five years. Arivia.kom's commencement was accompanied by problems, affecting its customers to the extent that they indicated dissatisfaction with performance. This study established the extent of those problems, and the reasons for their occurrence. A market analysis was conducted with specific focus on customer and competitor analysis. An investigation was conducted into the quality of service, overall customer impression of the organisation since its inception, as well as performance against competitors. The major findings indicated that performance problems were not isolated incidents but consistent across the organisation. These problems stemmed from poor organisational design, poorly evolved organisational culture, unclear positioning and poor competitor and customer intelligence capability. / Business Management / M. Comm. (Business Management)

Profiling the customers of the e-commerce company Kalahari.net. The purpose of the study was to profile the customers of the e-commerce company, Kalahari.net which sells books, music CDs, DVDs, videos, computer software and hardware amongst others. The literature study includes a discussion of marketing management and e-commerce in South Africa. Customer profiling is discussed to indicate the need and importance of knowing the customer. The quantitative research was done amongst the customers of Kalahari.net by means of an online questionnaire in 2003. The findings concluded that the customers browse the Internet between one and five hours per week. The customers are aged between 21 and 25, mostly female, predominantly English-speaking, married, two to three people per household, have a monthly household income of more than R18 000, are well-educated and are residing predominantly in Gauteng. The study was concluded with the limitations experienced by the researcher and a short discussion of the general usability of the study. / The purpose of the study was to profile the customers of the e-commerce company, Kalahari.net which sells books, music CDs, DVDs, videos, computer software and hardware amongst others. The literature study includes a discussion of marketing management and e-commerce in South Africa. Customer profiling is discussed to indicate the need and importance of knowing the customer. The quantitative research was done amongst the customers of Kalahari.net by means of an online questionnaire in 2003. The findings concluded that the customers browse the Internet between one and five hours per week. The customers are aged between 21 and 25, mostly female, predominantly English-speaking, married, two to three people per household, have a monthly household income of more than R18 000, are well-educated and are residing predominantly in Gauteng. The study was concluded with the limitations experienced by the researcher and a short discussion of the general usability of the study. / Business Management / M. Comm. (Business Management)

This study is a qualitative evaluation of generated and nongenerated publicity using Unisa as a case study over a period of six months. The qualitative data were quantified through the use of content analysis. The study takes as its point of departure the importance of an integrated marketing communication approach. It indicates how an integrated marketing communication approach can secure that an organisation's publicity efforts contribute effectively to its marketing objectives. In addition, it indicates that an organisation can also deal with nongenerated, negative publicity much more effectively within such an approach. This study establishes that because Unisa did not adopt an integrated marketing communication approach, it had a detrimental effect on its efforts to generate publicity as well as on its efforts to deal with negative publicity. These findings are discussed in terms of specific criteria for generated and nongenerated publicity within an integrated marketing communication approach. / Communication Science / M. A. (Communication)

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between market orientation and business performance mediated by marketing resources and moderated by contextual factors. The study also examined the extent to which the conceptual model was a good fit to the sample data. A quantitative approach was used to test if there was a significant relationship between market orientation, marketing resources, and business performance. For the purpose, a cross-sectional survey was carried out to obtain data pertaining to market orientation, marketing resources, contextual factors and business performance. The unit of analysis of the study was banks consisting of 3 public and 15 private banks. A sample size of 507 consisting of 492 branch managers and 15 top level marketing managers was used in the survey. With a response rate of 87.97%, 446 questionnaires were collected of which 377 were used for data analysis. A SEM was used to test the extent to which the theoretical model fits the sample data. Mediation analysis was used to test the indirect effect of market orientation on business performance and hierarchical regression analysis was used to test whether the relationship was moderated by market dynamism, competitive intensity, and government regulation. Finally, an independent t – test was used to examine the statistical variations between public and private banks in terms of market orientation, marketing resources, and business performance. The confirmatory factor analysis revealed that the modified model was fit with the observed data in terms of chi-square and the individual indices. The total effect of market orientation on business performance was moderate with a 0.36 regression coefficient. The indirect effect was high with a 0.91 regression coefficient where complete and inconsistent mediation was found due to suppression effect. The moderation analysis revealed that the interaction effect of market dynamism, competitive intensity, and government regulation was not statistically significant. Finally the result showed that there was a statistically meaningful difference between public and private banks in terms of market orientation, marketing resources, and business performance. Banks in Ethiopia shall strive to segment the market, differentiate their services, and build a strong brand with clear identity. Banks in Ethiopia shall also build on their marketing resources to enhance their business performance. / Business Management / D.B.L.

Dissertation submitted in compliance with requirements for the Master Degree in Technology: Marketing, Durban University of Technology, 2010. / Hip-Hop culture has created a lot of interest and controversy around the world. Most people have used and engaged in debates without having a clear understanding of it. Although there are numerous articles to be found on Hip-Hop culture, very little research has been done on this particular topic. The confusion that surrounds Hip-Hop culture highlights the need for marketers to conduct more research on this particular area. This particular study was conducted within the South African marketplace, in four Durban areas using a quantitative research method. The sample for the study was supposed to consist of 400 hundred respondents, but only 350 respondents were selected using a convenience sampling. Respondents were required to complete a six paged questionnaire with the interviewer's assistance. The main objective of the research was to identify and analyze the marketing implications of Hip-Hop culture in the greater Durban area. The results revealed that 60% of the respondents are strongly committed to Hip-Hop culture and they are brand fanatics. Therefore, this seeks to say, that marketers need concentrate on promoting Hip-Hop products and services. And is the high time to know the Hip-Hop culture's needs and wants. / Lesotho Government (National Man-Power) ; Pebble Bed Modular Reactors ; National Research Foundation

Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Technology: Marketing, Durban University of Technology, 2014. / Consumer behaviour towards marketing communication has a cultural undertone. The forces of globalisation have made it imperative for marketing practitioners to further integrate culturally sensitive variations in marketing strategies. While cultural values are changing due to global trends, culturally sensitive consumer behaviour has attracted more complexities due to media learning. Therefore, the journey to creating a sustainable competitive advantage in a multicultural market such as South Africa entails the realisation of the growing individualistic tendencies of consumers’ cultural dispositions toward marketing communication. The study aimed at investigating the influence of cultural diversity on the perceptions of Africans and Indians in Durban toward marketing communication. The study investigated respondents’ cultural values in terms of the individualism-collectivism (IC) constructs based on marketing communication-specific cultural values (MCSCV). A quantitative study was conducted to attain the objectives of the study, with the use of a self-administrated questionnaire. African and Indian respondents were recruited using judgmental sampling at the main shopping malls in Umlazi and Chatsworth, respectively. The sample selection was based on the representation of respondents’ population in Durban. The study covered a sample size of 283 Africans and 92 Indians. The SPSS software was used to analyse data. The findings of the study reveal that both races showed more individualistic rather than collectivistic tendencies toward marketing communication. The choice of media of Africans and Indians is significantly influenced by their racial identities. Overall, the findings suggest that it is erroneous to direct stereotypic marketing strategies at culturally homogeneous/diverse groups. The study recommends that a thorough study of prevailing cultural cues in ethnic segments should precede the development of marketing communication strategies.

The role of brand has evolved to take on a broader application as a post-modern management concept and has attracted increasing attention in the 21st century as a key component for the development of competitive advantage. Far removed from its origins as an identity device, branding now transcends the pure marketing interpretation and is increasingly seen as a catalyst for corporate strategy and a tool for holistic reputation management and business performance. This thesis evaluates the extent to which brand is being adopted as a mechanism to align with corporate strategy, internal culture and supporting behaviours and external delivery or organisational performance: in essence, the concept of a brand-driven organisation that deploys brand as a core capability in pursuit of competitive advantage. This evaluation takes into account defined South African perspectives and examples in a case research approach. It seeks to evaluate how the brand alignment methodology can advance current theory and be applied as a management practice. The research argues that brand extends beyond the marketing function or the end-point of organisational systems and delivery. Rather, it suggests that brand becomes integrated as one of the primary elements of corporate strategy and seeks to embrace strategic organisational intent, internal culture and external manifestation of the business vision and results. The organisational architecture model is adapted to suit this research and offer a brand alignment framework that facilitates the effective and efficient implementation and realisation of strategic intent. This links brand alignment to resource-based theory and posits that it is considered as a core capability within the firm, enabling the attainment of competitive advantage. iv This thesis concludes that brand is not confined to an aspect of marketing, but should be deployed holistically in the organisation as a core capability and opportunity for competitive advantage. The research demonstrates an emerging body of thought and advances theory and practice in this area of business, both academically and in a professional management context, offering possibilities for continued further research in this field of management. / Business Management / D.B. L.

Online marketing communication provides some of the cutting edge tools that can be used by guest houses to communicate their product and service offerings. The purpose of this study was to determine which online marketing communication tools can be used, and are in fact currently used by guest houses in Pretoria East. The results obtained from this study can assist guest house owner/managers in Pretoria East with decision-making on the communication of off-line and online marketing communication tools to be included in their marketing strategy. Primary data was collected by means of a survey with guest house owners/managers in Pretoria East. Specific corpographic details of guest houses in Pretoria East were identified. Furthermore, the most frequently used off-line and online marketing communication tools were identified, as well as the number of guest houses that have websites and the content of these websites. The findings suggest that guest houses in Pretoria East have to invest more time and money in implementing certain online marketing communication tools, such as social networking and use of Search Engine Optimisation (SEO). By implementing online marketing communication tools like these, guest houses in Pretoria East could enhance customers‟ awareness of a guest house. This study verified the importance of electronic tools such as the Internet and Web as an integral part of an organisation‟s marketing strategy, specifically for small businesses in the service sector, such as guest houses. / Business Management / M. Com. (Business Management)