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Thesis (M.A.)--Michigan State University. Dept. of Advertising, Public Relations, and Retailing, 2008. / "Committee members: Dr. Keith Adler, Dr. Constantinos Coursaris, and Dr. Mira Lee"--Acknowledgments. Title from PDF t.p. (viewed on Aug. 6, 2009) Includes bibliographical references (p. 58-61). Also issued in print.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--UCLA, 2008. / Vita. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Carleton University, 1992. / Also available in electronic format on the Internet.

Thesis, PlanA (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Stout, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2005. / Title from first page of PDF file. Document formatted into pages; contains xiii, 137 p.; also includes graphics (some col.). Includes bibliographical references (p. 133-137). Available online via OhioLINK's ETD Center

Charles H. Fine, David H. Bridge. / "November 1984." / Bibliography: p. 49-50.

National Dairy Equipment (Pty) Ltd (NDE) is a privately owned stockist and distributor of stainless steel products and is a respected player in the South African stainless steel industry. NDE operates from within all four major cities in South Africa namely, Johannesburg, Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, and Durban. The organisation, with its wide range of corrosion resistant products, serves industries such as the architecture and construction, automotive, catering, and food and beverage industry. With the stainless steel industry growing in terms of the number of competitors, NDE performs a number of functions in order to achieve customer satisfaction. The general purpose of the study was to indentify the attributes that would act as drivers of customer satisfaction at NDE. Five attributes were identified namely, Service quality, Trust and commitment, Product quality, Commercial aspects and Reliability. The results of this study could assist managers at NDE in improving service delivery to customers. The literature study provided an overview of overall customer satisfaction and possible measurement models for customer satisfaction. Measurement models included, SERVQUAL, SERVPERF, the Two-factor theory, the Kano model and the Three-factor model. The latter proved to be of particular importance to the study as the model was used to classify the identified drivers into basic, performance and excitement factors. Furthermore, a literature review was provided based on each of the identified potential drivers of customer satisfaction. The empirical data needed to complete the study was collected by means of a survey, using a self-administered questionnaire. The questionnaire was distributed by sales representatives at NDE. A total of 320 useable questionnaires were received. The study revealed the following: each of the five proposed attributes had a positive relationship with overall customer satisfaction,thus all five attributes were confirmed as drivers of customer satisfaction at NDE. Commercial aspects and Reliability were classified as basic satisfiers. Trust and commitment was classified as a performance satisfier, and Service quality was identified as the only excitement satisfier. Product quality did not receive any classification. All importance mean scores were higher than the corresponding satisfaction mean scores. This study contributed to the existing body of literature and is seemingly the first of its kind in the South African stainless steel industry. The study is also the first to attempt the measurement of overall customer satisfaction levels at NDE. The methodology used in the current study can be applied to stainless steel industries internationally, in order to verify whether the confirmed drivers would also act as drivers of satisfaction in a similar industry elsewhere in the world.

The objectives of this study are to develop an understanding of the quality related issues and gaps relevant to apparel merchandising within the South African context, with a specific focus on Fabric Objective Measurement, a relatively new technology and one which could fruitfully be applied in South Africa, but which appears to have been largely neglected to date. Fabric Objective Measurement (FOM) represents a new generation of instrumentally measured parameters which provide a more complete picture of fabric quality, tailorability and clothing performance. The two main FOM systems, FAST and Kawabata, are discussed under FOM in terms of their applications, control charts and their worldwide utilisation. A literature review has been done on the global clothing sector as well as South African clothing industry. The research involved a questionnaire survey of, and interviews with major clothing and retail companies in South Africa with a specific focus on the gap in the South African clothing industry in terms of FOM and other quality related issues. The data and information so captured are presented graphically, statistically analyzed and interpreted, to arrive at the main conclusions and recommendations. Trubok, Newcastle, the only company in South Africa utilizing FOM, was visited in order to obtain hands on experience with the FAST system as operated in a mill. Two different fabrics were tested and the control charts obtained were interpreted. According to the analysis of the questionnaires and interviews, various conclusions could be drawn. When benchmarking a product, quality emerged as the first criterion, 100 percent retailers and manufacturers agreed to this. Most respondents stated that their fabric and garment testing is mostly done in-house while other respondents stated that their fabric and garment testing is mostly done by their respective suppliers. The most commonly used outside laboratories are SGS and ITS. Merchandising and quality complement each other and with proper quality assessment the merchandising workflow becomes smooth, easy and timely delivery of products. All of the respondents (100 percent) supported this fact. Retailers and manufacturers agreed that quality and merchandising are related to each other and hence helping those in achieving product benchmarking (statistically significant at 95 percent confidence level). Retailers and manufacturers conduct fabric and garment tests on a regular/routine basis and mostly use knitted and woven fabrics in garment making. In addition to the above, the worldwide manufacturers and suppliers of the FAST and Kawabata systems were approached to obtain data and information about the number of such systems sold worldwide and their fields of application. This information was considered important in promoting FOM in South Africa. Only one manufacturer is presently using FAST for quality control purposes. Of the manufacturers and retailers covered, most of them were either unfamiliar or totally unaware of FOM and its application. This indicates that there is considerable scope for introducing this highly advanced technology into the textile and clothing manufacturing and retail pipeline in South Africa. Most of the manufacturers and retailers (50 percent) intend to introduce certain new tests in future. The tests that they are planning to introduce in future may include FAST, which is fairly simple, reliable and productive, as well as enhancing the quality of the garment. If used, FOM can improve the quality and competitiveness on the international level which is currently lacking in the South African clothing sector.

The differential effects of clothing interest and knowledge on the utilization of price and intrinsic attributes on product evaluation and behavioral intentions were investigated. The impact of clothing interest and knowledge, price, and intrinsic attributes on attitude toward advertisements and perceptions of relevance, typicality, and fashionability were examined. Causal relationships among constructs were verified through path analysis. A conceptual model was developed and tested. To test the proposed model and additional propositions, a survey was conducted with manipulated variables. Data were collected in Clothing and Textiles departments of three universities and Communications and Marketing departments in one university. Respondents evaluated a pair of dress slacks inclusive of manipulated price and intrinsic attributes. A total of 417 questionnaires were subjected to statistical analysis. The items used to measure the theoretical constructs were thoroughly tested to assure the reliability of the measures and manipulation checks were conducted. The data were analyzed by multiple regression to test the significance of the proposed relationships. To test the differences between the high and low clothing interest and knowledge conditions, subjects were divided into two groups based on median scores on clothing interest and clothing knowledge scales. Then the data were subjected to analysis of variance and Duncan's Multiple Range Test. The results indicate that taken together, price, intrinsic attributes, clothing interest and knowledge significantly help to predict perceptions of quality, monetary sacrifice, perceptions of benefits, perceptions of value, willingness to buy, search intention, and attitude toward advertisements. Intrinsic attributes were significant in predicting the perceptions of quality, benefits, monetary sacrifice, value, and subjects' willingness to buy, search intention, attitude toward advertisements, and perceptions of typicality. Clothing interest was significant in predicting perceptions of monetary sacrifice, perceptions of benefits, perceptions of value, and willingness to buy. The proposed effect of clothing knowledge was significant in predicting subjects' perceptions of quality and intentions to search. The model specifying the causal relationships among the proposed variables was analyzed by Path Analysis. The results indicated that the relationships were significant and thus the proposed model was supported. / Ph. D.