Online reviews provided from consumers who had previous experiences have become major information resource for consumers and marketers. The blogs then becomes the Web-based consumer opinion platform; the Internet enables consumers to share their experience with other consumers as the online word-of-mouth (WOM) communication. Online reviews on traveling and food tasting and by consumers who previously experienced have become a major information source for consumers and marketers regarding to the tourist spots and restaurants. The study extends previous existing research on the effects of WOM and consumer decision making by conducting the in-depth interview with bloggers and an online survey on blog viewing and information searching behaviors. With the development of Web 2.0, word-of-mouth marketing is able to influence the consumers interactively. The user-generated contents created spread among the consumers soon and marketers become able to access millions of potential consumers over the world by understanding the new ways of communication. Word-of-mouth (WOM) marketing is the most honest form of marketing because consumers are sharing their own opinions, independent of messaging and manipulation (Throne, 2008). In the study, the researcher will discuss how the blog readers rely on the source of word-of-mouth conversations and the further suggestions on consumer behaviors and marketing insights, analyzed from the perspectives of user satisfaction, information credibility and consumer loyalty. Keywords: blog marketing, consumer decision making, online word-of-mouth (WOM).

線上遊戲產業是目前國內數位內容發展當中的重點產業，隨著線上遊戲種類越來越多，其消費者區隔也成為重要的課題。本研究旨在研究性別差異與生活型態變項，對於線上遊戲使用者之消費行為影響，期能提供線上遊戲廠商與線上遊戲消費行為研究者，對於線上遊戲使用者間性別差異與生活形態差異之了解。 研究中採用了EKB消費者決策模式，將線上遊戲使用者之消費行為分為五個階段探討：「需求確認」（Problem Recognition）、「蒐集資訊」（Information Search）、「評估方案」（Alternative Evaluation）、「購買行為」（Purchase Decision）以及「購後行為」（Post-purchase Behavior）。 研究工具則使用網路問卷調查，將問卷內容置於免費問卷網站My3Q(www.my3q.com)提供BBS遊戲討論區及遊戲討論網站之網友連結填答，得到353份網路問卷，其中有效問卷計有327份。 研究結果如下： 一、男性使用者注重「遊戲主題與形式」，而女性注重「人物場景造形設計」。 二、女性使用者對「動作」、「益智」類型遊戲較男性使用者熱衷。 三、男性玩過的遊戲數量較女性為多。 四、女性較常與網友一同進行遊戲，男性則較常與現實中的朋友一起。 五、刺激流行族為線上遊戲主力族群。 六、積極規劃族對線上遊戲之投入程度較低。 七、固執理性族較不願意花費在線上遊戲上。 / On-line game industry is the key industry of digital content development in Taiwan. With the increasing categories of the on-line games, segmenting the consumers becomes an important subject. The study focus on how gender and lifestyle factors affect consumer behavior, which suggest to offer the on-line game manufacturers and on-line game consumer behavior researchers, to the understanding of on-line game players. The E.K.B. consumer decision model has been applied on the study, and divides the consumer behavior into five stages: Problem Recognition, Information Search, Alternative Evaluation, Purchase Decision and Post-purchase Behavior. Questionnaire post on free website My3Q (http://www.my3q.com) was used for this study, and offered BBS users and game websites users to link and fill out. Among completed 353 subjects, 327 are effective questionnaires. The results of this study are: First, most male players pay attention to “the theme and form of the game,” and most female players pay attention to “characters design and scenery design.” Second, comparing with male players, most female users are in favor of “action games” and “casual games.” Third, male players have more on-line game experience than female players. Fourth, female players often join with internet friends; male players often join with friends in their real life. Fifth, people who like exciting are the main population of on-line game. Sixth, relatively, people who plan their life actively apply themselves less on the on-line game. Finally, stubborn and rational people spend less on on-line game.

Submitted by Paulo Junior (paulo.jr@fgv.br) on 2010-12-13T21:15:39Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Carla Winter.pdf: 1507257 bytes, checksum: 938194a6dc53572559e3bd377245140d (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Paulo Junior(paulo.jr@fgv.br) on 2010-12-13T21:15:59Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Carla Winter.pdf: 1507257 bytes, checksum: 938194a6dc53572559e3bd377245140d (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2010-12-16T17:40:10Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Carla Winter.pdf: 1507257 bytes, checksum: 938194a6dc53572559e3bd377245140d (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-03-26 / Within the literature of Consumer Behavior and Decision Theory there is a considerable body of theory that analyzes negative feelings and negative reactions in the decision making process, concerning high and low involvement products. Several phenomena are identified as negative in the process, such as Consumer Confusion, which comprises three dimensions: i) too much similar information about products, ii) a lot of information about different products and iii) false and ambiguous information. This phenomenon, however, seems to be moderated by a set of variables, such as Involvement, Experience and Time Constraints (moderating the relationship between Consumer Confusion and Purchase Intention). This was identified through in-depth interviews. The results of the interviews enabled the identification of moderating variables, as well as the existence of the phenomenon and its relation to the Purchase Intention. In the second phase of the research, it is assumed that individuals with low Involvement and Time Constraints have a greater propensity to confusion. In Study 2, Involvement and Time Constraint were used as moderators, both manipulated by instruction, and the dependent variables were Purchase Intention and Consumer Confusion. The results of Study 2 allowed the reseracher to infer that there are, indeed, significant differences between the groups, when analyzing the variable Consumer Confusion, but in most groups the Purchase Intention was not significantly different. In Study 3, Experience (strong and weak) and Consumer Confusion were manipulated and the dependent variable was Purchase Intention. The results of Study 3 also allowed to infer that there are significant differences between groups referring to Purchase Intention, when considered low or high confusion as well as strong or weak Experience. In the last phase of the research, consumer strategies for dealing with the phenomenon were the focus of the study. Such strategies often mediate subsequent behavior, for instance, purchase itself. In Study 4, Consumer Confusion was manipulated in two of its dimensions: overload and similarity. It was possible to identifie the preponderance of two strategies: search for additional information and postponement of the purchase decision. / Dentro da literatura de Comportamento do Consumidor e Teoria da Decisão existe considerável corpo teórico que analisa sentimentos negativos e reações adversas no processo decisório de compras de produtos de alto e baixo envolvimento. Vários fenômenos são identificados como negativos no processo, principalmente a Confusão do Consumidor, que compreende três dimensões: i) muitas informações similares sobre produtos, ii) muitas informações sobre diferentes produtos e iii) informações falsas e ambíguas. Tal fenômeno, no entanto, parece ser moderado por um conjunto de variáveis, como o Envolvimento, a Experiência e a Restrição de Tempo (moderadoras da relação entre Confusão do Consumidor e Intenção de Compra). Este fato foi identificado através de entrevistas em profundidade. Os resultados das entrevistas permitiram identificar as variáveis moderadoras, assim como a existência do fenômeno e sua relação com a decisão final de compra. Na segunda fase da pesquisa, supõe-se que indivíduos com baixo Envolvimento e Restrição de Tempo possuam uma propensão maior à confusão. No Estudo 2 foram utilizados como moderadores o Envolvimento e a Restrição de Tempo, ambos manipulados por instrução, sendo as variáveis dependentes a Intenção de Compra e a Confusão do Consumidor. Os resultados do Estudo 2 permitiram inferir que existem diferenças significativas entre os grupos, quando analisada a variável Confusão do Consumidor, mas, em alguns grupos, a Intenção de Compra não era significativamente diferente. No Estudo 3 foram manipuladas a Experiência (forte e fraca) e a Confusão do Consumidor, sendo a variável dependente a Intenção de Compra. Os resultados do Estudo 3 também permitiram inferir que existem diferenças significativas entre os grupos na Intenção de compra, quando consideradas baixa ou alta confusão, assim como Experiência forte ou fraca. Na última fase da pesquisa foram destacadas as estratégias dos consumidores para lidar com o fenômeno Confusão do Consumidor. Tais estratégias, muitas vezes, são mediadoras de comportamentos posteriores, como a compra do produto. No Estudo 4 manipulou-se a Confusão do Consumidor em duas de suas dimensões. Foi possível destacar a preponderância da estratégia por busca de informações e postergação da decisão, quando o consumidor se depara com situações confusas.

Purpose: The authors have found a common interest to investigate how the use and impact of reviews online can be applied within the subject of tourism. The purpose of the study is to investigate how consumers use reviews in their information search process. The purpose is also to investigate how and if consumers are influenced by online reviews regarding hotel stays. Method: The study is based on a qualitative method in the form of ten semi structured interviews as primary collection. The study has a support from secondary data consisting of a literature review in the chapter of previous research. Theory: The theoretical background is based on three theories. The theories are The PrePurchase-Information process, The Major Influences On Individual Travel Behaviour and the theory From Word-Of-Mouth to Electronic Word-Of-Mouth. Empiricism: The empiricism consists of a presentation of ten semi structured interviews with anonymous respondents regarding their own experiences and beliefs about the topic of the study. The chapter also includes an overview of the previous research about the topic to support and enhance the primary empirical interview material. Findings: The digital society has led to an increased online presence, critical thinking and interest on how consumers travel and what hotels they choose. Impact is constantly present in their contact with reviews and surroundings. The individuals own interpretation and perception of reality is based primarily on how they use and are influenced by reviews. In combination with critical thinking there is an insight that anyone, can write anything.

With the nature of exploring and less awareness of danger, furniture at home has been causing various kinds of child injury all over the world. Furniture tipping over is one emerging cause among children under 6 years old. Despite of the importance of child safety, it lacks evidence about people’s perceptions of child safety towards residential furniture. Hence, this thesis used the theory of consumer behaviour to identify factors that can potentially effect perceptions and applied quantitative and qualitative methods to find out perceived importance of child safety when people buy furniture and how people perceive child safety in a given case. It has been found that people perceive child safety much less important when buying furniture not specifically for children. Some factors, such as age, income have influence on it. In the given case of chest of drawers, when perceived to be more likely to tip over, people are more willing to anchor a chest of drawers. It has also found that a three-row and shallow type has mixed perceptions. When the weight of a chest is perceived to be more important, people agree more on the statement that a heavier chest of drawers is less likely to tip over. Although anchoring is considered to be an efficient way of preventing tipping over, results showed that it is not a preferred way for most people. Further study is needed to find out other ways. Information of child safety is welcomed by most of the people. More research can be done to find out effective ways of displaying child safety information.

The cognitive approach of consumer behavior emphasizes the purchase decision process, where pre-purchase alternatives evaluation is a stage and the focus of this study. Surfwear is a specific segment of clothes industry that offers a large quantity of goods and brands to its targetmarket. The study search to identify the more important evaluative criteria was superposed in a set of surfwear brands (evoked set) and results in a choice. Survey was employed in a non probabilistic sample of consumers in Fortaleza/CE. The results made evident that brand is the most important criteria and the evoked set is constituted by 1.5 brands. Still includes study restrictions and suggestions for new researches. / A abordagem cognitiva do comportamento do consumidor focaliza o processo de decisÃo de compra, onde a avaliaÃÃo de alternativas prÃ-compra à uma de suas etapas e o objeto deste estudo. O surfwear à um segmento especÃfico dentro da indÃstria do vestuÃrio, que disponibiliza um grande nÃmero de produtos e marcas para seu mercado-alvo. O estudo buscou identificar quais os critÃrios de carÃter utilitÃrio mais importantes foram aplicados sobre um conjunto de marcas de surfwear (conjunto de consideraÃÃo) e que resultou na compra de um produto. Foi utilizado o survey em uma amostra nÃo probabilÃstica de consumidores da cidade de Fortaleza/CE. Os resultados obtidos evidenciaram que a marca à o critÃrio mais importante e que o conjunto de consideraÃÃo à composto por 1,5 marcas. Incluem-se ainda as restriÃÃes do estudo e as sugestÃes de novas pesquisas.

Problemställning: Konsumentbeteendet showrooming är ett hot mot den fysiska butikens kundlojalitet. För att företag med fysiska butiker ska kunna bemöta detta beteende i deras lojalitetsarbete behöver de veta vad som får konsumenter att engagera sig i detta beteende och varför. Syfte: Syftet med studien är att bidra till förståelsen för showrooming genom att undersöka hur olika kanalattribut och produkttyper driver ett urval svenska konsumenter till att engagera sig i showrooming. Forskningsfråga: Vilka olika kanalattribut och produkttyper leder till att urvalet av konsumenterengagerar sig i showrooming? Vilka kanalattribut respektive produkttyper har störst påverkan på deras engagemang i showrooming? Resultat: Urvalet engagerade sig i showrooming och deras beteende påverkades av kanalattribut och produktkategorier men på olika sätt. Vidare visade det sig att vissa av attributen och produktkategorierna inte alls ledde till att urvalet engagerade sig i showrooming. Kunskapsbidrag: Denna studie har bidragit med kunskap om friåkningsbeteendet showrooming genom att bidra med kunskap om vilka kanalattribut och produktkategorier som får konsumenter att engagera sig i detta shoppingbeteende och varför / Problems: The consumer behaviour called showrooming is a threat towards the customer loyalty of the physical store. In order for these companies to great this behaviour in their loyalty work they need to know what leads to consumers engaging in this behaviour and why Purpose: The purpose of this study is to contribute to the understanding of showrooming through an investigation about how different channel attributes and product types leads a selection of Swedish consumers to engage in showrooming. Research question: Which different channel attributes and product types leads to the selection of Swedish consumers engaging in showrooming? Which channel attributes and product types have the biggest impact on the consumers engagement in showrooming? Result: The selection engaged in showrooming and their behaviour was affected by channel attributes and product categories, however, differently. Furthermore, it became visible that some channel attributes and product categories did not lead towards consumers engaging in showrooming. Knowledge contribution: This study has contributed with knowledge about the phenomena showrooming through contribution of what channel attributes and product categories leads towards consumers engaging in this consumer behaviour.

The world today faces many challenges in terms of sustainability and how the world will be able to continue to meet demands of future generations. Sustainability aspects are considered by customers and organizations to a greater extent today than ever before. Businesses need to find new ways forward to encourage sustainable consumption to be able to exist in the future. The increasing amount of food waste represents one of many sustainability challenges and is a stated problem in developed countries. In Sweden, the households stand for the biggest amount of food waste along the entire supply chain. Producing something that is later wasted is an inefficient use of resources. This study aims to identify barriers for consumers to act pro-environmentally when consuming products of low involvement and find ways for the industry to overcome them. The thesis is commissioned for a large bread company in Sweden, who is in the starting blocks of start selling frozen bread, something that is not done to a great extent today. Frozen bread is a more environmentally sustainable alternative than substitute products and it will serve as the low-involvement product in focus of this study. The theoretical framework is built on theories regarding consumer decision-making, consumer behavior, sustainability and sustainable consumption. Through in-store observations of customers accompanied by follow-up interviews, a solid amount of data was gathered which allowed the authors to address the gap between intentions and behavior. Semi-structured interviews with the manager of the grocery store and the commissioned company give insights to the industry perspective of sustainability and consumer behavior. The empirical findings are presented from each data collection instance and are later analyzed and discussed with regard to four sub-purposes and the theoretical framework. The results have shown that existing barriers relate to customers’ habits, inertia, attitudes and lack of knowledge. The industry has the opportunity to bring forward sustainable products without tradeoffs, to create a win-win situation. By appealing to the customers’ hedonic needs and informing them about environmental benefits it is possible to influence customer norms to achieve a pro-environmental behavioral change.

<p>Millions of households around the world rely on intermittent water supply systems (IWS), where piped water supply is limited to specific hours during the day or on specific days during the week. Households relying on IWS systems, as their primary water source, often adapt to supply intermittency by installing in-house water storage and/or supplying water from non-piped sources (for instance, in the form of water tanker trucks). The piped water distribution network (WDN) in IWS systems is subject to short-term disruptions that cause dynamic behavior and interactions of the system’s stakeholders, including households, vendors of non-piped water, and the water utility. During disruptions of the WDN, households make decisions about obtaining water from different non-piped sources at different prices and wait times. These decisions, made by a large number of households, have an impact on the dynamics (in particular, the prices and availability) of the non-piped water market, which may in turn affect each household decision. Prior studies on the literature of the analysis of IWS systems focused on analyzing each of the components (namely the WDN, households, vendors of non-pied water, and the water utility) of the IWS in isolation, assuming static behavior of the other components.</p><p>The overreaching objective of this dissertation is to bridge the gap in knowledge and practice in analyzing the short-term dynamics within each component of the IWS system (focusing on the WDN and the households) and the interactions among all components of the IWS system when responding to physical disruptions of the WDN. First, a new framework for quantifying and analyzing the resilience of intermittent WDNs is presented. The framework incorporates the aspects of intermittent supply (including household storage and supply scheduling) into a hydraulic model that examines the network’s hydraulic performance and its topology to assess three resilience capacities: absorptive, adaptive, and restorative, against various types of physical disruptive events. The evaluation of the model, using the IWS network of a case study city in the Middle East, shows that household storage capacities, timing and length of the disruption, supply inequity, and the supply scheduling are significant factors in determining the resilience of the WDN, and the interactions of these variables result in different combinations of direct and post effects on households. The framework was also used to evaluate the impact of temporary modifications of the supply schedule on the network’s resilience. The results show that this short-term utility adaptive measure can significantly improve the resilience of the network. The proposed framework can assist utilities in the operation of the intermittent WDN under normal conditions and in the evaluation of the impact of different short- and long-term resilience enhancement strategies.</p><p>Next, based on empirical data from a survey of households in a city in the Middle East, the households’ decision-making in response to disruptions of the WDN was evaluated using econometric methods. A set of Binary Probit models were developed to model the decision of households regarding their risk attitudes toward running out of water (represented by the timing of their response actions), their willingness to pay for faster delivery of non-piped water, and their willingness to wait in-line to obtain water from a non-piped source. The results show how variables related to household characteristics, wealth, age and occupation of the household’s manager, knowledge of household manager about their households’ water situation, and prior experience with disruptions affect the households’ decisions when the piped-network is disrupted. The outputs of the econometric models can assist the city’s water managers in understanding the behavior of households that affect the demand and prices of different non-piped water sources.</p><p>The final component in this research integrates the two previous components into an Agent-Based Model (ABM) to evaluate the dynamics of the stakeholders’ interactions in response to disruptions of the WDN and to evaluate the impact of these interactions on the resilience of the whole system. The ABM examines the interactions between households and vendors of water tankers under utility’s policies that regulate the water tanker market while integrating variables that describe the response of the WDN to the disruption. The demonstration of the model using a representative subset of the IWS system in the case study city shows dynamic behavior patterns in: (a) the dynamics of households, and (b) the performance of the non-piped water market under different deterministic and stochastic scenarios of disruptions of the WDN.</p><p>The results of this research address many IWS systems in the Middle East and around the world that are characterized by household storage, as well as households’ dependency on the piped network as the main water supply. The models developed in this dissertation are expandable to adopt various systems’ configurations in terms of types and capacities of household storage, types and attributes of non-piped water sources, and attributes and preferences of households. The results of this doctoral research can assist water managers in cities in understanding the behavior of their IWS system (including the WDN and the system’s stakeholders), evaluating long-term resilience enhancement policies, and planning for short-term response to disruptions of the WDN.</p>

Electric vehicle adoption is one of the most prominent discussions currently facing the automotive industry, as this is an inevitable change towards a more sustainable future of transportation. Traditionally, car manufacturers adapt to consumer needs changing, thus prompting high relevance for understanding the consumer perspective and purchasing influences. This study aims to build a deeper understanding of the importance of internal and external factors on the EV consumer decision-making process, as well as to explore how the perception of such factors change upon adoption of electric vehicles. The study follows a positivism approach by conducting deductive research. A conceptual framework is developed based on review of research literature of rational choice theory, the consumer decision-making model, and factors impacting EV consumers, and constructing a model from the findings. Quantitative survey data is then collected following the model presented, and results are obtained using SPSS. Finally, the analysis applies the social identity theory, innovation diffusion theory, and theory of planned behavior for further evaluative discussions. The findings show that internal factors such as environmental awareness and fears and anxieties have a vital impact on consumers’ decisions of EV adoption and evaluation of EV alternatives, while social influences have a relatively small impact on the decision. The findings suggest a link between the theory of planned behavior and changing perceptions upon adoption of EV, in which factors relating to attitudes and perceived behavioral control are more susceptible to changing, while factors relating to subjective norms are not.