The purpose of this research was to investigate the country of origin effect on consumers’ perception regarding consumer products from India. Indian consumer products are not well known in Europe and other Western countries. Therefore this research is focusing on the expectations consumers have about a certain product from a certain country and not on the experience. In order to understand those expectations, four interviews were conducted on potential Western European consumers. Those interviews were analysed using a framework which consists of a combination between a country of origin effect model and the brand equity model. The combination of the two models helped to understand the expectations which Western consumers can have regarding foreign products, in the case of this study, consumer products from India. It can be seen that three country of origin mechanisms were existent but not very strongly developed. As an example the cognitive country of origin mechanism had almost no direct influence on the brand awareness, as the interviewees were not able to recall or recognize any Indian brand logo which was shown during the interview. This means that the consumers interviewed in this paper are not extremely negatively nor positively influenced by the country of origin effect of India.

Researchers, companies and managers have for a long time accepted word-of-mouth as being a crucial marketing activity, since it is extremely effective in shaping consumers’ attitudes and behaviour. Nowadays, the Internet has become a major part of many peoples’ daily lives, and social networking sites attract millions of individuals from all around the world. Because of this, word-of-mouth has shifted to the digitalized world and a new term has been developed, namely electronic word-of-mouth. Electronic word-of-mouth has been recognized to generate the same benefits to companies as word-of-mouth. Due to the growth of the Internet and social networking sites, electronic word-of-mouth has the power to reach more people and is therefore perceived as more influential. This makes electronic word-of-mouth along with social networking sites, two concepts to acknowledge. Thus, for companies to make the most out of them, they need to gain the necessary knowledge.  The purpose of this research is to analyse how consumers are affected by electronic word-of-mouth through social networking sites.   In the specific area, a research gap was noticed, namely, how electronic word-of-mouth through social networking sites affects consumers’ product perceptions and purchase intentions. Based on this gap, six hypotheses and a research model were conducted. The empirical data was collected via questionnaire, where the majority of the respondents were within the target group, which was students, aged 18-24.   It was revealed through the results, that electronic word-of-mouth through social networking sites has a direct positive effect on both consumers’ product perceptions and purchase intentions. In addition, age and gender were found to have a moderating effect on the relation between electronic word-of-mouth through social networking sites and product perceptions, as well as purchase intentions. Finally, it is argued that managers should take electronic word-of-mouth through social networking sites into consideration, and adopt it in their marketing tactics.

Diploma thesis aims to show the possibilities of using the method of colour-word associations in marketing. For this purpose, the first chapter deals with the psychology of consumer. The second chapter is following by an overview of marketing tools. The third chapter focuses on standard methods of marketing research, supplemented by field of neuromarketing. The colour-word association method is characterized in detail in the forth chapter, where the general directions of its possible using are defined. Examples of using the method of colour-word associations in marketing research are presented in the fifth chapter. The practically usable outputs for the needs of marketers are introduced by some real researches undertaken by Zamestnanci.com Ltd.

Actualmente, se puede evidenciar que el sector de tiendas de conveniencia tiene un crecimiento exponencial a nivel mundial y local, ya que son establecimientos que se encuentran muy cerca de los consumidores, los cuales ofrecen beneficios adicionales que permiten la elección de los clientes. Por ello , en este trabajo abordaremos las ventas promocionales como factor de decisión de compra del consumidor, a partir de ello se identificará los beneficios que trae las ventas promociones analizando cual de esos beneficios impacta más al consumidor. Las variables presentadas en el trabajo fueron empleadas para identificar la relación e importancia que tienen los beneficios en la percepción y decisión de compra del consumidor. En primer lugar se hará una breve introducción sobre cómo está el mercado de tiendas de conveniencia a nivel internacional y local, haciendo énfasis en su expansión, servicios y estrategias usadas para el aumento de sus ventas. En segundo lugar, se sustentará la investigación, asimismo se presentará la matriz de consistencia con los respectivos sustentos de las variables. En tercer lugar, la metodología con la cual se realizará la investigación. Por último la Guía POP para recopilar la información. / Nowadays, it is seen that the convenience store sector is growing at a global and local level, since they are establishments that are very close to consumers, which offer additional benefits that allow customers to choose. For this reason, in this work we will address promotional sales as a factor in the consumer's purchase decision, from which the benefits that sales promotions bring will be identified by analyzing which of these benefits impacts the consumer the most. The variables presented in the work were used to identify the relationship and importance that benefits have in the perception and purchase decision of the consumer. First, a brief introduction will be made on how the market for convenience stores is at an international and local level, emphasizing its expansion, services and strategies used to increase its sales. Second, the research will be supported, and the consistency matrix will be presented with the respective support of the variables. Third, the methodology with which the research will be carried out. Finally the POP Guide to collect the information. / Trabajo de investigación