Consumidor é o agente econômico que faz girar toda e qualquer atividade na sociedade, seja um bem, serviço ou qualquer forma de produção que se possa gerar. Assim, de sua vontade dependem a manutenção, o sucesso ou o fracasso de qualquer uma dessas citadas atividades. Quanto mais os esforços de marketing das empresas estiverem concentrados desde o início no consumidor final que se deseja atingir, maiores serão as chances de que o produto ou serviço seja bem aceito por ele e assim se obtenha sucesso no empreendimento. No entanto, para que se atinja esse objetivo de atender ao consumidor final, é preciso que se saiba quem é esse consumidor final, quais são seus gostos, suas preferências, quais atributos deseja encontrar nos produtos que consome e em quais proporções. E isso só se consegue estudando-o, realizando pesquisas que aliem o estudo científico à realidade empírica, indo até ele e questionando-o a respeito desses assuntos com sólidas bases acadêmicas. O que este trabalho pretendeu foi exatamente realizar um estudo nesse sentido, ou seja, com uma base teórica (a teoria do Comportamento do Consumidor), chegou-se até o consumidor final de carne suína com uma pesquisa estruturada que envolvia questões sobre estilo de vida, atitudes e valores em relação aos produtos e à produção de suínos, além de ocasiões, frequência, locais e maneiras de compra e de consumo de carne suína e produtos feitos à base de carne suína. Esta pesquisa utilizou dados do projeto europeu Q-PorkChains, do qual a pesquisadora do presente estudo e seus orientadores fizeram parte. Utilizaram-se nesta tese dados de apenas um dos cinco módulos do projeto, o módulo que se refere ao Consumo, e apenas a pesquisa aplicada no Brasil. Por tratar-se de um grande questionário que envolvia uma quantidade bastante diversa de assuntos, a tese não incluiu análises de todas as partes do questionário. Estudos posteriores pretendem cobrir as áreas que ainda não foram analisadas, além de se realizarem comparações entre os resultados encontrados na amostra brasileira e aqueles dos países europeus pesquisados e também da China, outro país participante da pesquisa. Foram feitas várias análises estatísticas, porém nem todos os construtos integrantes da pesquisa inicial puderam ser validados na amostra brasileira. A hipótese de que as atitudes dos consumidores brasileiros de carne suína em relação ao meio ambiente e à natureza, à produção industrial de alimentos, ao progresso tecnológico e ao etnocentrismo seriam influenciadas pelos conceitos do FRL e PVQ, que tanto essas atitudes quanto os próprios conceitos influenciariam a maneira como o consumidor vê a produção de suínos, e que, tudo isto somado, seriam gerados os comportamentos de consumo do consumidor final de carne suína no Brasil não se confirmou, uma vez que foi encontrada pouca relação entre os construtos pesquisados e o consumo. Ainda assim, além da importância de se ter a replicação de um estudo europeu no Brasil, esta tese tem como principais contribuições a verificação de uma série de informações que funciona como indicadores de tendências de compra e consumo de carne suína e produtos derivados, e a utilização de escalas ainda pouco utilizadas no Brasil no setor de agronegócios, como o Food Related Lifestyle (FRL) e o Pictorial Values Questionnaire (PVQ). / Consumer is the economic agent that makes all and every activity in human society run, be it a good, a service or any other form of production that can be generated. In this sense, the success or failure of any of those cited activities depends on his needs and wants. The more the companies\' marketing efforts are concentrated from the beginning on the final consumer, the bigger will be the chances that the good or service is well accepted by this consumer and that it becomes a success. But in order to achieve that objective, it is necessary to know who is the final consumer, which are his tastes, his preferences, which are the attributes he wants to find in the products he consumes and in which proportions. And this can only be achieved by studies that join together scientific knowledge and empirical reality, going directly to the final consumer to ask him about those issues with solid academic basis. This thesis intended to make a study that, based on a theoretical basis (the theory of Consumer Behavior), reached the pork consumer with a structured research that included questions about lifestyle, values and attitudes towards pork products and swine production, and also questions about occasions, frequencies, places and ways of purchase of pork and pork products. This research used data from a comprehensive European project called Q-PorkChains, in which the researcher of this thesis and her advisors made part. This study used data from only one of the five modules of the project, the one that refers to Consumption, and only data from Brazil. Being a big questionnaire that involved a very diverse number of issues, not all parts of the questionnaire were analyzed in this thesis. Further studies should cover the non analyzed areas, and also make comparisons between the results found in the Brazilian sample and the ones found in the European countries and in China, the other country that made part of the research. Many statistical analyses were made but not all of the constructs that made part of the initial study could be validated in the Brazilian sample. The hypothesis that the attitudes of Brazilian pork consumers towards the environment and nature, industrial production of food, technological progress and ethnocentrism were influenced by the constructs of FRL and PVQ, that such attitudes and the concepts both influenced the way the consumer views swine production, and that everything together generated the behavior of the pork consumer in Brazil was not confirmed. In fact, little relation was found between the researched constructs and consumption. Even though, besides the importance of replicating in Brazil an European study, this thesis has as main contributions the verification of a series of information that serve as indicators of tendencies of purchase and consumption of pork and pork products, and the use of scales that have been little used in Brazil in the agribusiness sector, such as the Food Related Lifestyle (FRL) and the Pictorial Values Questionnaire (PVQ).

The purpose of this study was to investigate preferred shopping behaviors of golfers in the state of Tennessee. While much research has been done on retail shopping behavior in general, little exists regarding shopping behavior in sport retail, and more specifically golf retail. While golfer behavior has been researched in other areas such as tourism, it has not been fully researched in the sport or retail literature. Since this segment of consumer spends millions of dollars per year, this study was conducted to fill the gap in the literature regarding this unique consumer. An online survey was distributed among a state-wide professional golf organization regarding preferred shopping and golf course attributes. Results showed a significant relationship between some variables, including brands/designers offered. This research will be helpful to golf retailers, golf merchandisers, golf marketers and managers, who sell, buy or deal with golf apparel and/or related merchandise to better tailor marketing and promotional activities and ultimately increase revenue. This paper is unique and applicable in the fact that golf has not been fully researched in the marketing or retail area.

Cause-related marketing is an emerging area within the marketing discipline, originating in the United States in the 1980s. This thesis defines the term cause-related marketing as a marketing strategy whereby the firm makes a contribution, financial or otherwise, to a nonprofit organisation(s) contingent upon the customer engaging in a revenue providing exchange that satisfies business and individual objectives. This strategy may include additional elements such as sponsorship, sales promotion, co-branding and employee involvement. -- In examining the literature relating to cause-related marketing, a need for further research was identified for a number of reasons. First, there is considerable investment and growth in this strategy both in Australia and overseas. Second, academic and practitioner research have indicated strong consumer support for the concept of cause-related marketing, yet there has been limited evidence to date regarding the effectiveness of this strategy, especially in comparison to other marketing strategies. Finally, in an increasingly challenging business environment, marketing practitioners are seeking to explore new strategies and the efficacy of traditional forms of marketing communications is subject to debate. As such, this thesis explored the following research questions: What is the impact of cause-related marketing on the consumer's response in terms of attitude to the strategy, attitude toward the brand and purchase intention? Do consumers respond more positively toward cause-related marketing than toward sponsorship or sales promotion? To address these questions, an experimental research design incorporating self-administered questionnaires was used. The major finding of this research is that consumers may have a more favourable attitude to cause-related marketing than to either sponsorship or sales promotion, however the brand must be perceived to have a natural association or fit with the cause. Further, cause-related marketing has the ability to engender a more favourable change in attitude to the brand than does sales promotion. This change in attitude is affected by the consumer's attitude to the strategy itself. This study did not, however, demonstrate that exposure to cause-related marketing, sponsorship or sales promotion had a significant effect on purchase intention. Finally, neither gender nor personal values have been shown to influence the above outcomes. The findings of this research have a number of practical implications for the effective use of cause-related marketing.

This dissertation examines revisitation behaviour in the context of non-transactional websites. A holistic framework based on theories from repeat purchase behaviour and satisfaction was developed and tested. This study is among the first to consider revisitation as analogous to repeat purchase behaviour. The premise of the model is that revisitation is determined through an evaluation of prior visits and that the elements influencing revisitation included satisfaction, involvement (site, product category and medium) and social influences. Five non-transactional websites were examined with the selection based on the website typology developed in this thesis - a typology that will benefit website research as it provides a consistent and generic framework. Data were collected using a crosssectional web-based online survey via the homepage of the websites. Since satisfaction is considered to be a central factor in traditional repeat purchase behaviour and in website use, the antecedents of satisfaction were also examined. Overall the findings support the importance of content quality as a factor in satisfaction and even though website users are increasingly more proficient, ease of use is still an influential factor as is the attitude to the brand that the site supports. It was found that the users??? motives for using the site affected the relationship between the quality of the perceived benefits and satisfaction. If the motivation to use the site was for information, then the impact of information quality on satisfaction was weaker than the impact of entertainment quality on satisfaction. Alternatively, if the motivation was for entertainment, then once again the impact of information quality on satisfaction was weaker than that of entertainment quality. Initial model testing showed that the only factor to influence revisitation behaviour was enduring site involvement. Cognizant of the dangers of ???data driven theory???, the relationship of the elements was reassessed. The resultant model shows that product category involvement directly influences enduring site involvement and that enduring site involvement is a central construct operating as a direct and a mediating influence between each of satisfaction, social influence, medium involvement and website revisitation.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2007. / The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file. Title from title screen of research.pdf file (viewed on December 6, 2007) Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M. Phil.)--University of Hong Kong, 2007. / Title proper from title frame. Also available in printed format.

<p>ABSTRACT</p><p>The new century has provoked the liberalization of the world economy and market globalization. International marketing has opened the borders for all countries, which can compete with the same competitive tools, increasing the rivalry among them. This</p><p>thesis deals with the wine sector and the changes that this sector has suffered in previous years, due to the entrance of new producer countries and the recession that has been produced by European wines, called “Old World” producers.</p><p>In this study we will make an analysis of the Swedish wine market, describing how the different players act; from consumers to the special system of alcohol distribution that is controlled by the government, all the way to the producers and kinds of wine that</p><p>compose the market.</p><p>Among the different wine producers we will make a thorough study of the Spanish case, given that we come from Spain, where the wine industry has a special relevance. Furthermore, Spain is one of the most important wine exporters to Sweden, but in the last years it has suffered a small decrease in its market share.</p><p>So apart from studying the current situation of the wine sector in Sweden and how consumers perceive the wine of “Old World” countries, such as France, Italy and Spain and “New World” countries, such as Australia, Chile and South Africa, our main objective is to make some strategic recommendations in order to improve the situation</p><p>for Spanish wine.</p><p>The study will focus on a quantitative research through a self completion questionnaire, measuring the main features of wine (quality, price, nationality, etc.) and also on different theories that compose the marketing and strategic fields.</p>

<p><strong> ABSTRACT</strong></p><p>The recent years mark the appearance of many Eco-label schemes in the attempt ofhelping consumer to recognize the products with less harm to the environment, forexample: Euro flower, Nordic swan, Blue Angle, Krav. These labels belong to the thirdparties, which get supports from government with object of achieving sustainabledevelopment. However there is still lacking a clear understanding about theeffectiveness of Eco-label in consumer consumption activities due to the lack ofresearch working on that field. We take this challenge as an opportunity to do the studyof investigating about the role of Eco-label in the process of leading consumers topurchase Eco-products. The research focuses on Swedish university students‘ choice onecological food.</p><p>A number of Swedish students in Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden are selected as thegroup of respondents for this study. In order to understand the effectiveness of Eco-labelin students‘ food products choice, four key factors are taken into account to invest igate:students‘ awareness on Eco-label, students‘ knowledge on Eco-label & ecological food,students‘ environment motivation, and the availability of ecological food & Eco-labelinformation. The demographic characters including gender and education backgroundsare known as the influence factors among these four factors.</p><p>The results proved the effectiveness of Eco-label as the guiding instrument for students‘product choice towards ecological food. It provided the evidence that three of these fourfactors above (accept the only one external factors: availability) can encourage students‘attention to Eco-label. In additional, student‘s attention to Eco-label can actually leadtheir purchase behavior on ecological food. With findings and recommendations, thestudy is expected to contribute to the field of ecological consumer behavior marketingresearch. However, the representative of the results is risky because of the limitedcontext and sample of the study.</p>

Background and problem: During the last decade people have become increasingly aware of their health which has led to the establishment of a new market: Over-the-counter test. These tests enable a consumer to individually monitor and examine their health. A decease where such a test could have a large impact is breast cancer. The Breast self-examination pad AWARE has provided women with an opportunity to prevent the course of the decease to reach beyond treatable. This product is shortly made available to the majority of Swedish women. At present there has been no research conducted in Sweden regarding what women think about such a product. Purpose: The purpose of this research thesis is to identify which factors to emphasize in the advertising of AWARE Frame of reference: In this section theories regarding consumer behavior are presented. The chapter in concluded by the creation of a model which aids the fulfillment of the purpose. Method: In order to accomplish the fulfillment the purpose a quantitative method has been utilized. The data collection constitutes of a market research in the Jönköping region where 354 female respondents were included. Conclusion: The result presents to which degree the specific factors are important to enhance in the advertising of AWARE. The authors reached the conclusion that the Psychological factor is of highest importance.

ABSTRACT The recent years mark the appearance of many Eco-label schemes in the attempt ofhelping consumer to recognize the products with less harm to the environment, forexample: Euro flower, Nordic swan, Blue Angle, Krav. These labels belong to the thirdparties, which get supports from government with object of achieving sustainabledevelopment. However there is still lacking a clear understanding about theeffectiveness of Eco-label in consumer consumption activities due to the lack ofresearch working on that field. We take this challenge as an opportunity to do the studyof investigating about the role of Eco-label in the process of leading consumers topurchase Eco-products. The research focuses on Swedish university students‘ choice onecological food. A number of Swedish students in Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden are selected as thegroup of respondents for this study. In order to understand the effectiveness of Eco-labelin students‘ food products choice, four key factors are taken into account to invest igate:students‘ awareness on Eco-label, students‘ knowledge on Eco-label &amp; ecological food,students‘ environment motivation, and the availability of ecological food &amp; Eco-labelinformation. The demographic characters including gender and education backgroundsare known as the influence factors among these four factors. The results proved the effectiveness of Eco-label as the guiding instrument for students‘product choice towards ecological food. It provided the evidence that three of these fourfactors above (accept the only one external factors: availability) can encourage students‘attention to Eco-label. In additional, student‘s attention to Eco-label can actually leadtheir purchase behavior on ecological food. With findings and recommendations, thestudy is expected to contribute to the field of ecological consumer behavior marketingresearch. However, the representative of the results is risky because of the limitedcontext and sample of the study.