This study's primary aim is to explain Urban Adult Chinese Consumers' preference between foreign and Chinese products. It examines how Country of Origin (COO), Consumer Ethnocentrism (CE) and Consumer Animosity (CA) influence Urban Adult Chinese Consumers' product preference and willingness to buy. The existing knowledge is divided on this issue. By reviewing the relevant literature, it is clear that there are two completely different approaches of investigating the impact of COO on Chinese consumers. The researcher of this current study classified the two opposing methods as 'the simplistic approach' and 'the cautious approach'. Studies follow 'the simplistic approach' firmly believe Chinese consumers overwhelmingly evaluate foreign products positively and they have a strong preference for foreign products. Research follows 'the cautious approach' argues that Chinese consumers' complexity and internal differences cannot be ignored, some of them prefer Chinese products and they cannot be simply considered as in favour of foreign products. Past studies all concluded that Chinese consumers hold low to moderate level of CE beliefs. However, two investigations concluded Chinese consumers harbour strong animosity towards the Japanese. This study follows the philosophical understanding of pragmatism. The research questions are the most important factors that determine the research strategy and quantitative and qualitative methods can complement each other to address the research problem. This study employs a concurrent embedded mixed methods research strategy that consists of a street survey and semi-structured interviews. Due to the distribution pattern of the quantitative data, this study used non-parametric analysis methods including: Chi-Square Test for Independence, Spearman's Rank Order Correlations, Mann-Whitney U test and Kruskal-Wallis Test. The qualitative section of the investigation focuses on four issues: how Urban Adult Chinese Consumers (UACC) determine whether a product is foreign or Chinese, sources and background of animosity, the impact of domestic alternatives and areas for Chinese products to improve. This study discovered that UACC's preference between foreign and Chinese products remain divided. They cannot be simply considered overwhelmingly in favour of foreign products or prefer Chinese products. For those UACC have a preference for foreign products, quality and design are the main two reasons. Desire to support China's domestic industry and patriotism are the main driving forces behind some UACC's preference of Chinese products. UACC holds low to moderate level of CE beliefs, which suggests they are worldminded consumers that capable of evaluate foreign products based on merits, without strong negative bias. UACC have strong animosity towards the Japanese, but antagonistic sentiments towards the Americans and French are relatively low. There are complex sources of animosity and this study identified a wide range of factors that contributed to UACC's strong animosity towards the Japanese. The main area of original contribution of this study concentrates on Consumer Animosity. It discovered a wide range of sources of animosity towards the Japanese and constructed an enhanced animosity model.

This study aims to examine the effects of animosity on consumers’ willingness to buy hybrid products (i.e. products that involve affiliations of two or more countries - such as branded in Japan but made in China). While consumers’ reluctance to purchase foreign products from countries that they have animosity towards is clearly evident in the current literature, little is known about consumers’ attitudes towards hybrid products. As such, the study introduces this new construct (i.e. willingness to buy hybrid products) to the animosity model to determine if animositic consumers would be more receptive or willing to accept hybrid products where the animositic tendencies towards foreign countries in question can be negated by the products’ domestic affiliations. To conduct this investigation, the study is undertaken in China where the Chinese consumers’ animosity towards the Japanese was examined. The data with a usable sample size of 435 were collected in the Chinese city of Nanjing. The findings of the study revealed that the high level of animosity present against the Japanese resulted in the Chinese consumers’ unwillingness to buy Japanese products. More importantly, results showed that the Chinese consumers are not any more receptive to hybrid products as such domestic affiliations have not diluted the animosity. Consistent with the literature, the study has also validated that consumer animosity to be a higher-order construct indicated by war and economic animosity. Under the conditions of extreme animosity, consumer ethnocentrism does not take a significant role in influencing other constructs in the animosity model.

The number of people shopping on the Internet has grown rapidly in recent years and it has been suggested that the growth rate of Internet transactions now exceeds that of traditional retailing. Despite the significant growth in the use of the Internet for business transactions, there is evidence to suggest that many customers abandon web sites without completing their transactions. It is clearly important to understand why people buy from the Internet and also the way consumers examine websites. There had been limited research undertaken to investigate the relationships between the various antecedents and the willingness to buy in the Internet environment, especially within a single study. The main trust of this research is to examine the antecedents that influence the willingness to buy from the Internet and also how these antecedents influence one another. The antecedents included in this research were brand image (Dodds, Monroe & Grewal, 1991), perceived risk (Sweeney & Soutar, 2001), trust (Lynch & Beck, 2001), affect (Lynch & Beck, 2001), convenience (Szymanski & Hise, 2000), relative price (Sweeney, Soutar & Johnson, 1999), site reputation (Baker, Grewal & Parasuraman, 1994) and web design (Szymanski & Hise, 2000). Some of the antecedents were found to be unsuitable and they were dropped from the study. The empirical results from the final model suggest that perceived value is positively influenced by affect and brand image. Both brand image and affect also positively influence the trust of the website. Willingness to buy from the website is influenced by perceived value and trust of the website.

As the Chinese luxury market has become one of the biggest in the world, this thesis seeks to investigate the relationship between the luxury perception of Chinese consumers and their willingness to buy under the price reduction. Drawing from Wiedmann’s concepts of luxury values, we propose a framework to measure the luxury value perception of Chinese consumers through the functional, individual, and social dimensions.   We conduct a quantitative research and collect 315 valid questionnaires from Chinese luxury consumers. In questionnaires, we ask them to rate the perception of luxury goods and their willingness to buy when the price is reduced by 20% and 40% respectively. We perform multiple linear regression with SPSS. The results show the value perception in the individual dimension has positive impact on the willingness to buy, and the more price is reduced, the more impact it will have, whereas, the value perception in the functional dimension is not significantly related to the willingness to buy under both price reductions. The value perception in the social dimension is positively related to the willingness to buy when the price is reduced by 20%, but there is no significant relationship when the price is further reduced by 40%.

CSR och transparens blir alltmer vanliga verktyg för företag för att kunna belysa konsumenter om deras ansvarstagande och hållbara arbete. För att dessa aktiviteter ska nå konsumenterna krävs en kommunikation från företaget. Som konsument kan det vara svårt att uppfatta informationen och tolka den som företaget önskar. Den här studien undersöker hur konsumenter uppfattar H&Ms marknadskommunikation gällande CSR och transparens och hur kommunikationen påverkar konsumentens köpbenägenhet av gröna modeprodukter på H&M. I studien genomfördes sju semistrukturerade intervjuer med kvinnliga studenter i åldrarna 21-26. I intervjuerna förklarar informanterna sina åsikter gällande företagsmarknadskommunikation av dessa områden och hur de uppfattat H&Ms sådan. Efter genomförd tematisk analys av det empiriska datamaterialet har det kunnat fastställas att konsumenterna haft svårigheter att uppfatta H&Ms marknadskommunikation angående dess hållbarhetsarbete. Den information som nått ut har därmed mottagits med bristande trovärdighet. Detta visade sig vara oberoende av respondentens kunskapsnivå eller grad av engagemang inom hållbarhetsfrågor. / CSR and transparency are becoming two common tools for companies to highlight consumers about the company’s responsibility and sustainable work. In order for these activities to reach the consumers, a communication from the company is required. As a consumer, it may be difficult to perceive and interpret the information in a way that the company desires. This study investigates how consumers consider H&M’s marketing communication regarding these topics and how this communication affects consumers’ willingness to buy green fashion products at H&M. In the study, seven semistructured interviews were conducted with female students in the ages between 21-26. In the interviews the informants explained their opinions on the company’s marketing communication of these subjects and how they perceived H&M’s communication. After a succeeded the matic analysis of the empirical data material it has been found that the consumers had difficulty understanding H&M’s marketing communication regarding its sustainable work. The information obtained has thus been received with insufficient credibility. This is stated as not related to the level of knowledge the respondents possessed or their commitment in sustainability.

Approximately 50% of girls and young women are not satisfied with their bodies. A huge reason for this is the thin body ideal dominating today’s social media. Lingerie and swimwear companies like Victoria’s Secret, Hunkemöller and Triangl uses the thin body ideal in their social media marketing but do not get any consequences for it. Today’s generation Z have been affected a lot from this kind of marketing. The purpose of the study was to understand how it is possible that young women from generation Z are willing to buy products from the lingerie and swimwear industry, when most of the time these companies’ social media marketing have an unrealistic image of the perfect body. In order to fulfill the purpose, a qualitative strategy was conducted through the use of three different focus groups. In these interviews, fifteen young women discussed the Instagram pictures of Victoria’s Secret, Hunkemöller and Triangl. The conclusions of the study show how companies are using the thin body image in their marketing to influence young women from generation Z into wanting to buy their products. When companies use the stereotyped woman in their marketing, consumers would either want to resemble the models that are perceived as the female stereotype or be socially accepted by being thin. However, consumers could also want to be perceived in a certain way, that is the way of the stereotyped woman on social media. Therefore, the product is attractive for the consumers even though this situation can be understood as unethical.

The diploma thesis is focused on smartphones and user product reviews. The purpose of the diploma thesis is to establish a link between user product reviews and their willingness to buy the product. The thesis is divided into two parts. The theoretical part deals with consumer behavior, brands, willingness to buy a product and user product reviews. In the practical part there is a research demonstrated. The research is applied on a target group of czech consumers in the age from 16 to 24. In the last part of the thesis there is an evaluation and some recommendations. These recommendations can help to realize the key aspects which influence the customers willingness to buy the product.

Titel: Förpackningens betydelse - En kvantitativ studie om en förpacknings påverkan på konsumenters köpvilja beroende på färg och form Nivå: Examensarbete på Grundnivå (kandidatexamen) i huvudområdet företagsekonomi. Författare: Lovisa Kallsen Lannerbäck & Fana Hakobian Handledare: Patrik Sörqvist Datum: 2021 - maj Syfte: Syftet med studien är att undersöka hur kombinationen av designelementen färg och form kan påverka konsumenters köpvilja. Metod: Studien antar ett positivistiskt synsätt och en deduktiv ansats. Studien har vidare en kvantitativ strategi och en kvasiexperimentell design. Data har samlats in genom en enkät och har analyserats i statistikprogrammet SPSS.  Resultat & slutsats: Resultatet har visat att det finns en statistisk säkerställd interaktion mellan färg, form och köpvilja. Resultatet har även påvisat att könsidentitet har en effekt på orsakssambandet men inte ålder. Examensarbetets bidrag: Studien har bidragit till det empiriska material som finns gällande preferenser för färg och form, hur färger och former av en förpackning interagerar med varandra samt hur de påverkar konsumenters köpvilja Förslag till fortsatt forskning: Forskning om preferensskillnader mellan olika åldrar, främst för form. Genomföra en liknande studie som inkluderar frågor som tar reda på vilka känslor/tankar respondenterna får från olika stimuli. Eventuellt genomföra en liknande studie men med utökade variabler eller andra variabler helt och hållet. Nyckelord: Förpackning, förpackningsdesign,  konsumentbeteende, köpvilja / Title: The importance of packaging -  a quantitative study of the impact of a package on consumers' willingness to buy depending on colour and shape Level: Student thesis, final assignment for Bachelor Degree in Business Administration. Authors: Lovisa Kallsen Lannerbäck & Fana Hakobian Supervisor: Patrik Sörqvist Date: 2021- May Aim: The purpose of the study is to investigate how the combination of the design elements shape and color can affect consumers' willingness to buy. Method: The study assumes a positivistic research philosophy and a deductive approach. The study also has a quantitative strategy and a quasi-experimental design. Data has been collected through a survey and has been analyzed in the statistical program SPSS. Result & conclusions: The results have shown that there is a statistically significant interaction between color, shape and willingness to buy. The results have also shown that gender identity has an effect on the causal relationship, but age does not.  Contribution of the thesis: The study has contributed to the empirical material that exists regarding preferences for color and shape, how colors and shapes of a package interact with each other and how they affect consumers' willingness to buy.  Suggestions for future research: More research on preference differences between different ages, mainly for shape. Conducting a similar study that includes questions that are intended to find out what feelings/thoughts the respondents have when they are presented with the different designs. Possibly conduct a similar study to this one but with expanded variables or different variables altogether. Key words: Packaging, packaging design, consumer behavior, willingness to buy

The main goal of this diploma thesis is to prove whether there is a relationship between the willingness to buy and the user product reviews. Sectional questions are related to e.g. the willingness to pay more for the product with a better review, to a satisfactory number of stars in a rating or to what is crucial for customers when choosing a product. The readers are introduced to basic concepts related to the topic (such as the purchase behavior of customers and its influences, the willingness to buy, the customer satisfaction or the user product reviews) before the analysis. The interviewing method was chosen for primary data collection. Due to a quantitative nature of the research, the research questions were specified firstly. These questions were evaluated using descriptive statistics and tools of statistic reasoning.

Made available in DSpace on 2009-11-18T19:01:15Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Licia-Rios.pdf: 436670 bytes, checksum: c571e18c2289fd9b46b9f90f3f105395 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2006 / Este estudo objetivou verificar a percepção do consumidor sobre a relação entre as variáveis independentes: uso de dados secundários não autorizados, percepção de invasão de privacidade, percepção de proteção de privacidade, percepção de confidencialidade, percepção de autenticação, percepção de erro, comportamento intencional de uso e a variável dependente propensão à compra on line. Realizou-se um levantamento com aplicação de questionários em uma amostra de 451 usuários de Internet, alunos de graduação e de pós-graduação das Instituições de Ensino Superior de São Luís, Maranhão. A análise estatística englobou Análise Descritiva e Regressão Múltipla. Concluiu-se que apenas uma variável, comportamento intencional de uso, está correlacionada à variável dependente. Algumas limitações, implicações e sugestões de pesquisa futura foram analisadas neste estudo. / The goal of this essay was verify consumer perception about the relationship among independents variables: unauthorized data use perception, privacy invasion perception, protection privacy perception, confidentiality perception, intentional use behavior, error, authenticity perception, and the dependent variable willingness to buy on line. A Survey was used in 451 undergraduate and postgraduate students, Internet user‘s in Universities in São Luís, Maranhão. Statistics Analyses used was Descriptive and Multiple Regression. In conclusion, only one variable, intentional use behavior was correlated to the dependent variable. Some limitations, implications and suggestions to future research were analyzed in this study.