The sharing economy is an evolving economic model that is based on collaboration and sharing access to goods with other people. A leading example of this are car-sharing services, which allow people who are strangers to each other to access a car in return of a fee. Although these services are widely spreading across the globe, there is still a short understanding of the customer motives and barriers to engage in these services. The purpose of this thesis was to explore the factors that affect customer participation in carsharing services including motives and barriers. The study was designed to test and modify an adapted conceptual framework through conducting an abductive qualitative study in the form of semi-structured in-depth interviews with a total of 18 interviewees. The empirical findings of the study suggest that there is a total of 14 relevant factors affecting consumer participation in sharing services: 3 factors were related to consumption trends, 7 factors were identified as motives and 4 as barriers. Among all of these factors, economic motivations were recognized to be the most critical factor for customers. The results of this study are highly relevant to companies which operate car-sharing services when considering customer needs and demands.

Nowadays, consumers are being exposed to a large selection of food alternatives with an aim of helping with health matters. For that reason, the consumption of healthy food has been increasing among people, but at the same time, the consumption of unhealthy food has expanded. Due to the advanced technology, there is more information available about health, which makes the consumers’ knowledge about diseases caused by their way of living to grow. Simultaneously, there has been studies proving that consumers’ choices do not often resemble their attitudes.  Since consuming healthy food is more popular nowadays, this study had the aim of examining if consumers will choose a grocery store based on different attributes. The study is based on several theories that are the starting point for the study’s research questions which are; Does the selection of healthy food affect consumers’ choice of a grocery store? Does nudging of healthy food affect consumers’ choice of a grocery store? The theories that are used in this study are nudge theory, libertarian paternalism theory, behavioral economics, theory of reasoned action, theory of planned behavior, social marketing theory, choice architecture, cognitive architecture and status quo.  The data was collected through a questionnaire, where different questions had the aim to measure what affects consumers when choosing a grocery store. In total, the study gathered a sample of 136 responses whereas 8 of them were removed from the study as outliers. The outcome of this study is based on two independent variables; healthy food and nudging and one dependent variable; choice of grocery store. These variables are composite variables created from a range of other variables. The composite variable healthy food is created from variables checklist, avoidance of unhealthy/unnecessary food, people’s affection, healthy thinking, food habits, attitude of healthy eating, past purchasing behavior, intention and behavior, same groceries and new groceries. The composite variable nudging is created from variables product placement, memory, product placement affection on consumers’ purchasing behavior and visible healthy food. The dependent variable choice of grocery stores was created from the variables; number of healthy food alternatives, price of healthy food, marketing of healthy food and place of grocery store.  This study was analyzed in the data program STATA where a multiple linear regression was used to test the hypotheses. According to the result from the regression analysis, there is a significant level between healthy food and consumers' choice of grocery stores. In addition to that, the study shows that there is a significant level between nudging and consumers' choice of grocery stores. Thus, the null hypothesis of this study was rejected.

Consumers had either positive or negative interpretations based on multiple factors. However, the factors we were able to spot were the following: 1. Content 2. Timing 3. Relevancy 4. The metaphors used and its simplicity. 5. Cultural values 6. The message of the ad and its validity. These 6 factors formed discussions in regards to the participant's interpretation of the ads and, in return, ended up with themes that we, as researchers, could identify as either positive or negative interpretations of the ads. Thus, through the observation of the connection between the overarching themes mentioned in 4.5, figure 8 was created to visualise the connection. For social media networks like Tiktok, people are more interested in marketing campaigns that are direct and informative. Further, consumers are attracted to colourful ads with humour, as it eases up the ad for the consumer and makes the ad feel less pushy. Consumers also preferred skippable ads over non-skippable ads as it gave them the chance to decide if the ad was in their interest or not.

This aim of this study was to establish if individual characteristics have an impact on the adoption of cellphone banking amongst low-income (Mzansi) consumers. The second component of the study then set out to assess the impact that cellphone banking adoption has on the financial behaviour of these consumers. This data was obtained using the data mining technique. Data from one of the local banks was extracted and analysed. In addition to using descriptive statistics, the ANOVA was used. The ANOVA is an inferential statistical method. It establishes whether there is a relationship with the defined variable and the adoption of cellphone banking. Race, age, income, gender, number of bank products and channel of registration where the variables that were analysed. With the exception of age, no other variable had an impact on adoption for both Mzansi customers as well as the entire base. The subsequent post adoption behaviour analysis that was conducted identified some key behaviour changes. Consumers who adopted cellphone banking significantly increased (>300%) their demand of prepaid products. Secondly, the demand for cash amongst adopters was lower than the demand from non-adopters which could signal a shift towards cashless solutions. And finally, the cellphone banking adopters were found to perform more transactions prior to adoption when compared to non adopters thereby demonstrating a higher need for a mobile banking solution. Copyright / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

Background  In the past, consumers would go to physical stores to gather information and end their shopping there, with physical stores being one of the few sources of product information. Today, with the coming of the digital age, there are gradually more and more channels to gather information. The development of e-commerce, social media, and entertainment type of Internet has diversified the ways of consumption, thus triggering a change in retail channels. By integrating multiple channels and enhancing the consumer's sense of consumer experience, the retail industry is gradually moving toward omnichannel. Consumers tend to combine information from physical stores with information from multiple data sources to search, compare and buy, which gives rise to omnichannel shopping behaviour.  To provide consumers with a smoother shopping experience, omnichannel improves the functional limitations of cross-channel in multi-channel retail, allowing consumers to choose the channel and method they prefer and are accustomed to. This process breaks down the constraints of time and space and provides consumers with a more comfortable shopping experience. Therefore, this paper will focus on what affected consumers’ acceptance and use of omnichannel system.  Purpose  The purpose of this study is to consider omnichannel retail as a complete commercial system, and study what are key drivers for consumers to accept and use this system. Method  This thesis takes a qualitative research analysis by conducting 10 semi-structured interview of respondents who live in Sweden. 237 initial codes were used to analyse the data by using template analysis, and thematic coding was performed through categorization and structured layer-by-layer coding.  Conclusion  The determinants of customer behaviour in omnichannel retailing in the Swedish clothing industry are: perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, perceived safety, perceived enjoyment, social influence, price value, and personal choice, and interaction was observed between these factors. These factors act synergistically on consumers' shopping intention and then influence consumer behaviour.

The purpose of this paper is to assess the relative strengths and weaknesses of a mall as viewed by two shopper segments: those shoppers who prefer to shop there, versus those who favor a competitor mall. The importance-performance technique is used in analyzing the data. Study results and their implications are discussed.

Purpose: By using mall patronage behavior as its context, this study aims to develop and test a patronage model consisting of three dimensions. Design/methodology/approach: Data for the study are collected through self-administered questionnaires from residents in an MSA in the USA. Usable responses are obtained from 319 residents. Findings: Results suggest that mall patronage behavior can be represented as a global construct with three viable components (utilitarian, hedonic and accessibility). Research limitations/implications: The study is limited to a particular sample. Replications among other samples in the study locale and elsewhere are needed to validate the current findings. Practical implications: The results enable management to look at shoppers' patronage behaviors at three levels. At the individual attribute level (first level of abstraction), management may identify areas that need special attention. At the second level of abstraction (the latent construct), choice attributes can be combined into reliable and valid composite scores across dimensions and can reveal information that is not readily available by the individual attributes. At the third and highest level of abstraction, the one second-order factor with three first-order factors as its reflective indicators provides management with a single metric for comparing a mall with its competitors or other malls owned by the corporation. Originality/value: The model tested here explicitly recognizes accessibility as a distinct patronage dimension and expands the domain of inquiry beyond the initial attribute level to the first-order and the second-order composite levels.

A model of bank choice behavior for small and medium-sized firms in the construction industry is developed and tested. The results suggest that bank choice behavior of homebuilders can be represented as a global construct with three viable components: search, credence and experience. The model allows for a comprehensive examination of the relationships between commercial banks and homebuilders. Implications for bank managers are discussed.

Background: In today's fast-paced and highly competitive marketplace, Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) brands must create a strong competitive advantage in one way to achieve this is to understand and cater to the needs, preferences and behaviors of their target consumers.In case of apparel FMCG brands, young women are an important demographic group as they make up a large portion of the consumer market. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the consumer behavior of young women in the apparel FMCG market and to identify the key factors that influence their purchase decisions. Methods: This paper uses a form of deductive reasoning that combines quantitative and qualitative research methods. Primary data were collected in the form of focus group interviews. Qualitative interview data were categorized and analyzed through classification and coding. The study explored online purchasing behavior, including purchase behavior and perceptions of product marketing online, as well as offline purchasing behavior, which addressed the impact of product quality and price on their purchase intentions. Conclusion: The findings show that the format of online shopping and social media marketing content are the most influential factors in young female consumers' purchase decisions, followed by decisions based on the information they receive, which includes product word-of-mouth and brand image. The study further explores the feasibility of digital transformation and category expansion for apparel FMCG brands to reach a broader market. The results of this study could help FMCG brands create a competitive advantage in the marketplace by developing strategies that align with young women's consumer behavior and preferences.

The issues of sustainable development began to attract researchers in the second half of the twentieth century. Since then, interest in this topic has only increased. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development introduced by the United Nations in 2015 confirmed that sustainable changes require efforts from people, consumers and companies, politicians, economists, and researchers. In particular, special attention is paid to sustainable consumer behaviour. The level of consumption consciousness directly affects the entire chain, from the production of goods to their disposal. In this regard, in recent years, a large number of studies have been conducted on the topic of sustainable consumer behaviour. However, in 2019 the coronavirus pandemic changed the world. The majority of global population was forced to stay at home because of lockdowns, which is why digitalization received a great impetus for development. By influencing daily activities, it has also significantly changed our consumer habits. Thus, in this thesis, the coronavirus pandemic’s effect on sustainable consumer behaviour is being studied. In particular, attention is paid to cultural differences.