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There is a popular lay-belief that consumers always strive to repair their negative mood. However, one can think of contrary instances where people seek out melancholic music when they feel sad, or choose to remain miserable when something frustrates them. My dissertation proposes that people vary considerably in the degree to which they need to feel better when they experience negative feelings. Specifically, my dissertation advances current understanding of why certain individuals do not engage in mood repair. It also allows us to decipher when people would form judgments and decisions in a mood-congruent versus mood-incongruent manner, thereby accounting for the lack of robustness of mood repair effects. To this end, I advance a construct called the "Need to Feel Better" (NFB), and propose four distinct facets of NFB that individuals differ on: 1) behavioral tendency to repair bad moods, 2) aversion to negative feelings, 3) pleasure derived from negative feelings, and 4) tendency to reflect on negative feelings. I also propose a scale that measures this construct and the four facets it encompasses. My dissertation shows that NFB is associated with stronger preference for common mood repair activities such as leisure shopping and exercise. It is also associated with certain demographics (e.g., age and gender), personality traits (e.g., extraversion and agreeableness), and self-regulation constructs (e.g., promotion-focus). NFB also predicts people's tendency to engage in mood repair when they experience negative moods and their attitudes towards mood lifting appeals. From a managerial standpoint, this work provides insights for the marketing of "feel-good" products (e.g., aromatherapy and vacation packages) and the use of mood repair appeals (e.g., Volkswagen's "Get Happy" Super Bowl commercial and the "Look Good Feel Better" campaign for women with cancer by the cosmetics industry).

Historically, consumer perceptions towards dairy products have been measured using a rational cognitive approach. However, recent consumer insights suggest that emotions play a dominant role in consumer decision making. The South African dairy industry therefore identified a need to determine emotive reactions to educational messages in addition to the reasons underpinning dairy consumption. Using a mixed method research approach, reactions from 81 South African dairy consumers were obtained, using three different, but interrelated measuring instruments. Descriptive statistics, hierarchical ladder maps and correlation analyses were used to examine emotive and cognitive consumer reaction to a number of generic dairy messages and products. The findings indicate that certain communication messages appear to have a stronger impact on consumers due to specific emotions that these messages elicit. Personal values underpinning dairy consumption decisions were also identified within the context of emotive reactions to the selected dairy products. / Business Management / M. Com. (Business Management)

Este trabalho aborda a estretégia de retenção de clientes por meio da prática do marketing de relacionamento no contexto do varejo e serviços de uma concessionária de veículos. Mais especificamente, a Passion Automóveis Ltda., concessionária da marca Peugeot, para as cidades de Bento Gonçalves/RS e Caxias do Sul/RS. O modelo teórico proposto por Sirdeshmukh, Singh e Sabol (2002) e suas respectivas hipóteses é utilizado para verificar o entendimento das práticas e comportamentos confiáveis percebidos nos prestadores de serviços e que constroem ou exaurem a confiança do consumidor e os mecanismos para converter a confiança do consumidor em termos de valor e lealdade em trocas relacionais. Para tanto, utilizou-se de uma amostra estratificada da população de pesquisa que totalizou 235 respondentes, e os dados foram coletados através de três formas de pesquisas: (i) entrevista por telefone assistida por computador; (ii) survey por correspondência; e (iii) survey eletrônica. O modelo utilizado (i) apresenta uma conceituação multidimensional para a construção de confiança; (ii) incorpora duas facetas distintas de confiança do consumidor, ou seja, os funcionários da linha de frente e as políticas e práticas gerenciais; e (iii) especifica o valor como um mediador entre a confiança e a lealdade nos relacionamentos. Os dados foram avaliados através da análise de estatística multivariada de dados, utilizando a técnica de Modelagem de Equações Estruturais, e os resultados apóiam uma visão tri-dimensional das avaliações da confiança ao longo da competência operacional, da benevolência operacional e da orientação para solução de problemas. Além disso, foi encontrado evidências de contingente relações assimétricas entre as dimensões de confiabilidade na confiança dos consumidores. Para as políticas e práticas gerenciais, benevolentes práticas demonstraram um efeito de "negatividade" dominante (isto é, uma unidade de desempenho negativa tem um efeito mais forte do que uma unidade de desempenho positivo), para o pessoal de linha de frente, comportamentos orientados para solução de problemas do consumidor demonstraram um efeito de "positividade" dominante. O valor teve suporte estatístico para mediar parcialmente às facetas da confiança e a lealdade do consumidor. A faceta da confiança no pessoa de linha de frente teve um papel crítico em relação à faceta da confiança nas políticas e práticas gerenciais na lealdade do consumidor, evidenciando a confiança como unidimensional como antecedente da lealdade. / Submitted by Marcelo Teixeira (mvteixeira@ucs.br) on 2014-06-03T17:39:03Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacao Lasier Gorziza de Souza.pdf: 3156048 bytes, checksum: 396c12085f2317907ff40f8a7b582f2d (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-03T17:39:03Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacao Lasier Gorziza de Souza.pdf: 3156048 bytes, checksum: 396c12085f2317907ff40f8a7b582f2d (MD5) / This work discusses the strategy of customer retention through the practice of relationship marketing in the context of retail services at the car dealership. More specifically, the Passion Automóveis Ltda., Peugeot concessionaire for the cities of Bento Gonçalves/RS and Caxias do Sul/RS. The proposed framework by Sirdeshmukh, Singh and Sabol (2002) and their assumptions are used to check the understanding of practices and behaviors perceived to reliable service and that build or deplete consumer trust and the mechanisms to convert trust consumer in terms of value and loyalty in relational exchanges. To this end, we used a stratified sample of the population reserach which totaled 235 respondents, and data were collected from three types of searches: (i) telephone interview, computer-assisted, (ii) a survey by mail, and (iii) electronic survey. The model used (i) uses a multidimensional conceptualization for the trustworthiness construct; (ii) incorporates two distinct facets of consumer trust, namely, frontline employees and management policies and practices; and (iii) specifies value as a key mediator of the trust-loyalty relationship. The data were evaluated by analysis of multivariate data, using the technique of Structural Equation Modeling, and the results support a tripartide view of trustworthiness evaluations along operational competence, operational benevolence, and problem-solving orientation dimensions. Moreover, these works find evidence of contingent asymmetric relationship between trustworthiness dimension and consumer trust. For management policies and practices, benevolent behaviors demonstrate a dominant "negativity" effect (i.e., a unit negative performance has a stronger effect than a unit positive performance), for front-line employees, behavior oriented for problem-solving consumer demonstrated an effect of "positive" ruling. The value have statistical support to partially mediate the facets of trust in on consumer loyalty. The aspect of confidence in the personal front line played a critical role in relation to the aspect of trust policies and management practices in loyalty, showing the trust as one-dimensional as an antecedent of loyalty.

Este trabalho aborda a estretégia de retenção de clientes por meio da prática do marketing de relacionamento no contexto do varejo e serviços de uma concessionária de veículos. Mais especificamente, a Passion Automóveis Ltda., concessionária da marca Peugeot, para as cidades de Bento Gonçalves/RS e Caxias do Sul/RS. O modelo teórico proposto por Sirdeshmukh, Singh e Sabol (2002) e suas respectivas hipóteses é utilizado para verificar o entendimento das práticas e comportamentos confiáveis percebidos nos prestadores de serviços e que constroem ou exaurem a confiança do consumidor e os mecanismos para converter a confiança do consumidor em termos de valor e lealdade em trocas relacionais. Para tanto, utilizou-se de uma amostra estratificada da população de pesquisa que totalizou 235 respondentes, e os dados foram coletados através de três formas de pesquisas: (i) entrevista por telefone assistida por computador; (ii) survey por correspondência; e (iii) survey eletrônica. O modelo utilizado (i) apresenta uma conceituação multidimensional para a construção de confiança; (ii) incorpora duas facetas distintas de confiança do consumidor, ou seja, os funcionários da linha de frente e as políticas e práticas gerenciais; e (iii) especifica o valor como um mediador entre a confiança e a lealdade nos relacionamentos. Os dados foram avaliados através da análise de estatística multivariada de dados, utilizando a técnica de Modelagem de Equações Estruturais, e os resultados apóiam uma visão tri-dimensional das avaliações da confiança ao longo da competência operacional, da benevolência operacional e da orientação para solução de problemas. Além disso, foi encontrado evidências de contingente relações assimétricas entre as dimensões de confiabilidade na confiança dos consumidores. Para as políticas e práticas gerenciais, benevolentes práticas demonstraram um efeito de "negatividade" dominante (isto é, uma unidade de desempenho negativa tem um efeito mais forte do que uma unidade de desempenho positivo), para o pessoal de linha de frente, comportamentos orientados para solução de problemas do consumidor demonstraram um efeito de "positividade" dominante. O valor teve suporte estatístico para mediar parcialmente às facetas da confiança e a lealdade do consumidor. A faceta da confiança no pessoa de linha de frente teve um papel crítico em relação à faceta da confiança nas políticas e práticas gerenciais na lealdade do consumidor, evidenciando a confiança como unidimensional como antecedente da lealdade. / This work discusses the strategy of customer retention through the practice of relationship marketing in the context of retail services at the car dealership. More specifically, the Passion Automóveis Ltda., Peugeot concessionaire for the cities of Bento Gonçalves/RS and Caxias do Sul/RS. The proposed framework by Sirdeshmukh, Singh and Sabol (2002) and their assumptions are used to check the understanding of practices and behaviors perceived to reliable service and that build or deplete consumer trust and the mechanisms to convert trust consumer in terms of value and loyalty in relational exchanges. To this end, we used a stratified sample of the population reserach which totaled 235 respondents, and data were collected from three types of searches: (i) telephone interview, computer-assisted, (ii) a survey by mail, and (iii) electronic survey. The model used (i) uses a multidimensional conceptualization for the trustworthiness construct; (ii) incorporates two distinct facets of consumer trust, namely, frontline employees and management policies and practices; and (iii) specifies value as a key mediator of the trust-loyalty relationship. The data were evaluated by analysis of multivariate data, using the technique of Structural Equation Modeling, and the results support a tripartide view of trustworthiness evaluations along operational competence, operational benevolence, and problem-solving orientation dimensions. Moreover, these works find evidence of contingent asymmetric relationship between trustworthiness dimension and consumer trust. For management policies and practices, benevolent behaviors demonstrate a dominant "negativity" effect (i.e., a unit negative performance has a stronger effect than a unit positive performance), for front-line employees, behavior oriented for problem-solving consumer demonstrated an effect of "positive" ruling. The value have statistical support to partially mediate the facets of trust in on consumer loyalty. The aspect of confidence in the personal front line played a critical role in relation to the aspect of trust policies and management practices in loyalty, showing the trust as one-dimensional as an antecedent of loyalty.

Historically, consumer perceptions towards dairy products have been measured using a rational cognitive approach. However, recent consumer insights suggest that emotions play a dominant role in consumer decision making. The South African dairy industry therefore identified a need to determine emotive reactions to educational messages in addition to the reasons underpinning dairy consumption. Using a mixed method research approach, reactions from 81 South African dairy consumers were obtained, using three different, but interrelated measuring instruments. Descriptive statistics, hierarchical ladder maps and correlation analyses were used to examine emotive and cognitive consumer reaction to a number of generic dairy messages and products. The findings indicate that certain communication messages appear to have a stronger impact on consumers due to specific emotions that these messages elicit. Personal values underpinning dairy consumption decisions were also identified within the context of emotive reactions to the selected dairy products. / Business Management / M. Com. (Business Management)