Mode of access: World Wide Web. / Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 159-185). / Electronic reproduction. / Also available by subscription via World Wide Web / xii, 185 leaves, bound ill. 29 cm

Private label brands have been examined in the literature for more than forty years (Narasimhan and Wilcox, 1998). Due to the rapid growth of private-label market share, researchers have looked into different influential factors in attempting to find out the reasons behind the success of these store products. As consumers reflect the demand side of fast-moving goods, their perceptions critically affect decisions on brand selection, and therefore the performance of the brands.Although the topic of private labels has long been studied, the volume of private-label research is less than that of national-brand studies. Findings from the extant studies of private labels have provided valuable consumer insights for marketing scholars and practitioners to better develop branding theory and strategies. However, issues still exist in the literature, in particular, concerning category-level influences of consumer factors such as perceived risk and attitude. Risk perception and attitude are important explanatory constructs for consumer proneness towards buying private labels. Moreover, category-level differences are stated as the most critical source that can explain the variations in the performance of private labels (Batra and Sinha, 2000; Dhar and Hoch, 1997).This research replicates Batra and Sinha's (2000) study which examined the categorylevel effects of different determinants of perceived risk on consumer preferences for buying private labels. The purpose of this research is to re-examine their hypotheses and to investigate other attitude determinants which Batra and Sinha did not study. In addition, this study also investigates the impact of demographics on the purchase of private labels.A mall-intercept survey was conducted to test the hypotheses. The results indicate that perceived risk and attitude determinants such as quality variability, price consciousness, price-quality association and brand loyalty influence significantly consumers' propensities to buy private labels. Furthermore, these private-label propensities vary across product categories due to category-level variations in perceptions and attitudes. Consumers are more likely to buy private labels in categories where they perceive lower quality variability across brands, where they have higher price consciousness, where they believe weaker price-quality association, and where they have less brand loyalty. Moreover, education and income are also identified as significant indicators of private label buyers.Findings from this study suggest that category-level analysis of consumer factors could more effectively answer the question why private label success varies across different categories. A better way for national-brand manufacturers and retailers to compete against each other is the product quality improvement. Manufacturers should try to keep the quality level of national brands as far above that of private labels as possible, whereas retailers should attempt to reduce the quality gap for their private label brands.

Thesis (Master)--İzmir Institute of Technology, İzmir, 2006 / Keywords:Semiotics, logo, brand emotion, apple computers, IBM. Includes bibliographical references (leaves. 111-122).

Thesis (M.S.)--Auburn University, 2008. / Abstract. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 75-79).

Thesis (M.B.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 1995. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (DTech (Marketing))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 180-203). Also available online.

Thesis (M.S.)--Florida State University, 2005. / Advisor: Susan S. Fiorito, Florida State University, College of Human Sciences, Dept. of Textiles and Consumer Sciences. Title and description from dissertation home page (viewed Jan. 27, 2006). Document formatted into pages; contains viii, 73 pages. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.A.)--Oregon State University, 2006. / Printout. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 100-107). Also available via the World Wide Web.

Assignment (MEcon)--University of Stellenbosch, 2001. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The field study reported here examined the importance of branding in the low cost retail industry. Two low cost retailers were identified, who sell boys grey school trousers. The one retailer sells the trousers with a brand name, while the other doesn't sell the grey school trousers with a brand name. Sales volumes of both retailers were drawn for a certain period and questionnaires were developed and sent to the different shops to be completed by the customers to determine how important brands were to them. The results of the research indicated that the retailer selling grey school trousers with a brand name sold more units than the retailer selling the grey school trousers without a brand name. Furthermore, the customers indicated that they would buy grey school trousers with a brand name rather than buying grey school trousers without a brand name, / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die navorsing wat hier gerapporteer word, ondersoek die belangrikheid van handelsmerke in die lae-koste kleinhandel industrie. Twee lae-koste kleinhandelaars is geidentifiseer wat grys skool langbroeke vir seuns verkoop. Die een kleinhandelaar verkoop die grys skoollangbroek met 'n handelsnaam, terwyl die ander kleinhandelaar nie die broek met 'n handelsnaam verkoop nie. Verkoopsvolume data vir 'n sekere periode is van beide kleinhandelaars getrek en vraelyste is ontwikkel en na die winkels gestuur. Die klient moes die vraelys voltooi om te bepaal hoe belangrik handelsmerke vir die klient is. Die resultate van die studie het daarop gedui dat die kleinhandelaar wat die grys skool langbroek met die handelsmerk verkoop, meer eenhede verkoop het as die kleinhandelaar wat die grys skool langbroek sonder handelsmerk verkoop. Verder het die klient aangedui dat die grys skool langbroek met 'n handelsnaam eerder gekoop sal word as 'n grys skoollangbroek sonder handelsmerk.

In essence, aspects of sports marketing can be viewed as a special case of marketing a brand. The brand-related marketing activities of rugby teams should therefore first focus on building awareness of the rugby team's brand. Branding is a new phenomenon in rugby, a sport that has recently become professional and commercialised in South Africa. Despite the importance of brands and consumer perceptions of brands, rugby unions in South Africa have not used a consistent definition or measurement technique to assess spectators' perceptions of rugby brands. If some understanding of spectators' perceptions of brands could be developed, rugby unions in South Africa might be able to determine the brand equity of their sports teams. The determination of brand equity defines what an organisation may be willing to invest in a brand, based on some type of expected return. Brand equity is a set of variables linked to a brand's name and symbol that adds to or subtracts from the value provided by a product or service to a organisation and/or that organisation's customers and can be grouped into four categories, namely brand awareness, brand associations, brand loyalty and perceived quality. By ascertaining spectators' awareness, the associations they make regarding the brands, as well as brand loyalty and perceived quality of the respective brands of the provincial, regional and national rugby teams of South Africa, the brand equity of these teams could be determined. The aim of this study was, therefore, to determine spectators' awareness of, their associations with, their loyalty to and their perceived quality of the respective brands of the provincial, regional and national rugby teams of South Africa so that the brand equity of these teams could be established. In this study it was found that the Stormers' brand had the highest brand awareness, but that the Springbok brand had the highest brand equity. / Business Management / D.COM (Business Management)