Includes bibliography. / Psychographic measures were widely employed in market segmentation studies in the seventies. Psychographics were said to offer marketers quantitative research that resulted in rich descriptive profiles of target segments. The present use of psychographics in segmentation studies has however become a controversial issue among marketing theorists. The literature reveals that no explicit theory has guided the development of psychographics. As a result it has been abused by researchers. There is no one universally accepted definition of psychographics and researchers tend to operationalize psychographics to fit their own research purposes. Psychographics has consequently attracted criticism in the literature. Critics argue that psychographic measures are useless and expensive. Moreover, it is felt that psychographic segmentation studies often produce results that are questioned on the grounds of reliability and validity. On the other hand, supporters of psychographic research feel that psychographic measures can be of value in segmentation studies. It is the author's intention in this thesis to address the conflicting opinions surrounding the potential usefulness of including psychographic variables in a market segmentation analysis.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oregon, 2005. / Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 179-187). Also available for download via the World Wide Web; free to University of Oregon users.

Master of Science / Food Science Institute / Delores Chambers / Psychographic Questionnaires: A Comparative Review of Structures and Scales In recent years there has been a growing trend toward integrating psychographic profiles into sensory studies with the aim of more holistically explaining consumer segmentation and preferences. With this shift in approach have come questions on the nature of psychographic scales and the theoretical implications of their structure. Given the plethora of existing psychographic scales in common practice, the purpose of this review is to give a concise overview in the breadth of structures, with the aim of helping sensory researchers identify the most appropriate scale for their needs. The review begins with a critical comparison of the three most common scale classes: Likert, Semantic Differential, and Behavioral Frequency, and their relative advantages and disadvantages. Following that, a review of psychographic questionnaire design highlights differences from sensory practices, drawing attention to sources of response bias in specific design typologies which may reduce data quality in a product design.

Personality research has long been an area of interest in the study of consumer behavior. Currently, common practice is to segment prospective audiences by demographic variables (age, gender, and race) instead of psychographics (values, attitudes, personality). In this research, the author investigates the relationship between personality type (introversion/extraversion) and message recall. Using 122 undergraduate and graduate students, recall was examined across two forms of stimulus (incongruent and congruent messages). Results indicated that while there is no relationship between personality type and message recall, there is a relationship between the frequency of advertising messaging and recall. Results are discussed individually by messaging frequency and personality type with further suggestions for future research. / text

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / In recent years, the South African online shopping industry has experienced remarkable growth which has attracted multi-national online stores to operate in the South African market thus creating competitive pressure for domestic online stores. Consequently, this presence of competition from well-resourced and recognisable online store brands it is critical that domestic online stores adopt measures to protect their competitive positions and to pursue competitive advantage. An adoption of a customer-centred approach focused on increasing customer satisfaction is one strategy for online stores to consider. This study had as its primary objective to develop a theoretical model of psychographic influences on customer satisfaction with electronic service quality. The associated objectives were to develop a theoretical model to (i) assess online shopping customers’ perceptions of electronic service quality, (ii) illustrate the effect of electronic service quality on customer satisfaction, (iii) measure the effect of customer satisfaction on customer behavioural intentions, and (iv) determine how customers’ perceptions of electronic service quality differ across different customer psychographic profiles. A quantitative descriptive cross sectional study was conducted to address the research objectives. Data was collected through a questionnaire from a sample of 344 South African online store customers. Statistical descriptive and inferential analyses were performed including mean values, structural equation modelling and analysis of variance. The findings included that, i) customers have negative perceptions of electronic service quality in South African online stores, ii) the constructs of electronic service quality, efficiency and contact, have a significant positive effect on customer satisfaction, iii) customer satisfaction has a significant positive effect on customer behavioural intentions, and iv) a significant difference in the perceptions of electronic service quality was found to exist among customers with different psychological profiles. Based on the study findings it is recommended that South African online stores should improve electronic service quality and apply market segmentation on the basis of customer psychological profiles in order to gain competitive advantage.

Esta tese trata de uma das formas de Segmentação de Mercado mais recentes no campo do consumidor individual: a Segmentação por Estilos de Vida (ou Segmentação Psicográfica). Seu objetivo principal foi o de verificar sua aplicação, enquanto capaz de separar grupos com comportamentos mercadológicos distintos. Para tanto, como primeiro passo, foi feito um levantamento bibliográfico do conceito buscando entendê-lo, desde sua origem, nos campos da psicologia e da sociologia, até a sua aplicação no estudo do Comportamento do Consumidor e da Segmentação de Mercado. Visando testar sua efetividade, o passo seguinte foi elaborar e executar uma pesquisa de campo com uma população homogênea sobre a qual dispúnhamos informações de comportamento real. A partir de um questionário elaborado especificamente para essa finalidade, um piloto foi realizado junto a uma população demograficamente homogênea: 2.200 chefes de família do Estado de São Paulo. Segmentos foram separados a partir das informações psicográficas levantadas e estes comparados com informações de comportamento real disponibilizadas por um Bureau de Crédito (Serasa Experian). Os resultados indicam o potencial de uso das informações psicográficas (Estilos de Vida) para a segmentação de mercado, complementando o uso das informações demográficas, uma vez que foram verificados comportamentos diferenciados entre os segmentos encontrados. / This doctoral thesis is about one of the most recent ways of market segmentation for final consumers: Lifestyle Segmentation (or Psychographic Segmentation). Its main objective was to verify its utility, while it is able to separate groups with different market behaviors. To reach that, as a first step, it was made a bibliographic survey, searching understand the concept, since its origins, at psychology and sociology fields, to its application at Consumer Behavior and Market Segmentation Studies. In order to test its utility, the next step was to elaborate and execute a research fieldwork in a population homogeneous demographically, about what, we could reach real behavior information. Using a questionnaire specifically elaborated to this end, a pilot was realized in a population homogeneous demographically: 2.200 male heads of families, that resides at São Paulo State. Segments were separated using psychographic information and compared with real behavioral information, served by a Credit Bureau (Serasa Expérian). The results indicates the potential use of the psychographic (lifestyle) information at the market segmenting, complementing the use of the demographic information, once it was verified different real behavior between the found segments.

Esta tese trata de uma das formas de Segmentação de Mercado mais recentes no campo do consumidor individual: a Segmentação por Estilos de Vida (ou Segmentação Psicográfica). Seu objetivo principal foi o de verificar sua aplicação, enquanto capaz de separar grupos com comportamentos mercadológicos distintos. Para tanto, como primeiro passo, foi feito um levantamento bibliográfico do conceito buscando entendê-lo, desde sua origem, nos campos da psicologia e da sociologia, até a sua aplicação no estudo do Comportamento do Consumidor e da Segmentação de Mercado. Visando testar sua efetividade, o passo seguinte foi elaborar e executar uma pesquisa de campo com uma população homogênea sobre a qual dispúnhamos informações de comportamento real. A partir de um questionário elaborado especificamente para essa finalidade, um piloto foi realizado junto a uma população demograficamente homogênea: 2.200 chefes de família do Estado de São Paulo. Segmentos foram separados a partir das informações psicográficas levantadas e estes comparados com informações de comportamento real disponibilizadas por um Bureau de Crédito (Serasa Experian). Os resultados indicam o potencial de uso das informações psicográficas (Estilos de Vida) para a segmentação de mercado, complementando o uso das informações demográficas, uma vez que foram verificados comportamentos diferenciados entre os segmentos encontrados. / This doctoral thesis is about one of the most recent ways of market segmentation for final consumers: Lifestyle Segmentation (or Psychographic Segmentation). Its main objective was to verify its utility, while it is able to separate groups with different market behaviors. To reach that, as a first step, it was made a bibliographic survey, searching understand the concept, since its origins, at psychology and sociology fields, to its application at Consumer Behavior and Market Segmentation Studies. In order to test its utility, the next step was to elaborate and execute a research fieldwork in a population homogeneous demographically, about what, we could reach real behavior information. Using a questionnaire specifically elaborated to this end, a pilot was realized in a population homogeneous demographically: 2.200 male heads of families, that resides at São Paulo State. Segments were separated using psychographic information and compared with real behavioral information, served by a Credit Bureau (Serasa Expérian). The results indicates the potential use of the psychographic (lifestyle) information at the market segmenting, complementing the use of the demographic information, once it was verified different real behavior between the found segments.

Several researchers have attempted to understand the tourism expenditure patterns from the traveler's perspective (Cai, Hong, and Morrision, 1995; Dardis, et al., 1981; Prais and Houthakker,1971; Sheldon and Mak , 1987; Jang, et al.,2003). However, an examination of the previous studies indicates that only limited understanding of the traveler's expenditure patterns has been provided either because of only anecdotal evidence in the studies, or because of their failure to examine the impacts of the factors affecting expenditure patterns. This study examined the effects of socio-demographic, travel-related, and psychographic variables on travel expenditures. The expenditure patterns included lodging, meals and restaurants, attractions and festivals, entertainment, shopping, transportation, and total expenditures. From a theoretical perspective, this study contributes to the body of literature in relation to travel expenditure by examining the variables under each of the three constructs identified in predicting travel expenditures. The results of the study provide a more comprehensive and holistic picture in the search of travel expenditures based on multiple independent variables. This study found that travel-related variables (i.e. number of adult(s) and length of stay) were the most influential variables affecting tourism expenditures per person per day. From a practical standpoint, this study sheds light by providing information about how the traveler's characteristic effects travel expenditure patterns and destination marketers may use this information to better segment their target market, allocate their marketing dollars more effectively, and tailor their products to compete for tourist's dollars. Since consumer dollars and tourism organizations' marketing budgets are limited, this study may provide information which will help tourism marketers to develop better strategic marketing tools to satisfy and fulfill those tourists' needs and understand certain reasons behind their spending patterns.

In the last five years, the world has experienced unexpected tragic events and natural disasters. However, international tourism is expected to grow continually and tourists are therefore becoming more concerned with safety and security during their international travel. This dissertation investigated individuals' risk perception of vacationing at two scenario international destinations, Australia and Japan. While ten dimensions of perceived risk in international leisure travel were identified in the literature and one additional dimension of "Communication Risk" was proposed for this study, only seven dimensions were found in this study: "Health Risk," "Value Risk," "Psychological Risk," "Social Risk," "Terrorism Risk," "Equipment Risk," and "Communication Risk." The other four dimensions — "Financial Risk," "Time Risk," "Satisfaction Risk," and "Political Instability Risk" — were either merged into other dimensions or did not appear as an independent dimension in this study. The "Communication Risk" which was proposed in this study was found to be a valid dimension of perceived risk in vacationing at international destinations. The relationships of perceived risk to other factors were also examined. Individuals' characteristics of novelty seeking were negatively related to their risk perception, as were individuals' proficiency of the destination's native language. Those who have experience visiting the destination tended to perceive less risk in vacationing at the destination; the more familiarity/expertise with the destination, the less risk was perceived. When an individual perceived a higher level of risk towards a destination, s/he was less likely to vacation at the destination. Individuals were more likely to choose a packaged tour than independent travel when they had a higher level of risk perception towards vacationing at a particular international destination. / Ph. D.

This study aims at understanding the decision to buy "Made in Mozambique" products, which is important for developing marketing strategy and promoting national products. To explore the factors influencing consumers' buying decisions, means-end theory and its associated methodology provide a useful framework for understanding why people buy "Made in Mozambique" rice by characterising the relationships between the attributes, consequences associated with those attributes, and the values those consequences help reinforce. Methodology: a total of 20 consumers were interviewed. It is important to mention that only rice was used in this study. The laddering interviewing technique was then used to link these chains of meanings. Analyses and interpretation of the resulting data provide an effective complement for studying consumer purchasing motives and suggest recommendations for managerial practice and future research efforts. Summary of the study findings include: (i) Attributes: Quality, cost, national; (ii) Consequences: healthy, well-being, affordable, trust, contribution, and fulfillment; and (iii) Values: Feeling happy, longevity and self-esteem.The theoretical component of this research covers the definition and discussion of Means-end theory and consumer decision-making. / Industrial Psychology / M.A. (Industrial & Organisational Psychology)