Syftet med denna studie är att genom en kombinerad metod undersöka vilka faktorer som påverkar konsumenters beslutsprocesser samt vad konsumenter upplever som inträngande på den personliga integriteten, i kontexten av personaliserad marknadsföring. För att uppnå studiens syfte har ett visst antal konsumenter undersökts genom semistrukturerade intervjuer samt via en enkät. Resultaten visar att tillförlitlighet, diverse betalningsalternativ, leverans- och returpolicyer samt olika förmåner är faktorer som påverkar konsumenters beslutsprocesser. Ännu en slutsats är att konsumenter upplever marknadsföring och erbjudanden om produkter och/eller tjänster de endast talat om som inträngande på den personliga integriteten. Dessa slutsatser baseras på respondenternas egna åsikter och tidigare upplevelser. / The purpose of this study is to, by using a combined method, investigate which factors influence consumers' decision-making processes and what consumers perceive as intrusive on personal integrity, in the context of personalized marketing. To achieve the purpose of the study, a certain number of consumers were surveyed through semi structured interviews and via a questionnaire. The results show that reliability, various payment options, delivery- and return policies and various benefits, are factors that affect consumers' decision-making processes. Another conclusion is that consumers experience marketing and offers of products and/or services they have only talked about as intrusive on personal privacy. These conclusions are based on the respondents' own opinions and previous experiences.

The foundation for this study is based on prior research (Sproles & Sproles, 1990) that determined that learning styles are significantly related to consumer decision-making styles. Decision making involves a process of cognitive learning. Since the study was published, other studies have investigated these consumer decision-making styles. However, no additional studies have further investigated the relationship between learning styles and consumer decision-making styles for college students, especially first-year, first semester college students. Numerous studies have documented that students enter college as consumers but may lack basic knowledge and skills to make consumer decisions and avoid potential debt. The focus of the current study was to determine whether a relationship exists between beginning college students' self-reported mind styles, consumer decision-making styles, and shopping habits. To investigate this relationship, a purposive sample was targeted consisting of first-year, first semester college students. Three instruments were administered: the Gregorc Style Delineator, the Consumer Styles Inventory, and a Demographic Survey. A Chi-Square Test of Independence showed that there is a significant relationship between gender and self-reported shopping habits. Females tend to self-report purchases of clothing more frequently than males. Males tend to self-report purchases of food away from home and gas/auto expenses more frequently than females. No significant relationship was found between students' perception of family income and self-reported shopping habits, suggesting that these students purchase consumer goods frequently regardless of their perceived family income. A Chi-Square Test of Independence also revealed a significant relationship between gender and self-reported, dominant, Gregorc mind styles. Females were more likely than males to self-report their dominant mind styles as Abstract Random. Males were more likely than females to self-report their dominant mind style as Concrete Random. Although the current study's results did not support multiple consumer decision-making styles from previous studies using the Consumer Styles Inventory, an exploratory factor analysis revealed one, overall consumer decision-making style, Recreational/Hedonistic. A Mann-Whitney Rank Sum Test showed that there is a significant relationship between gender and the Recreational/Hedonistic consumer decision-making style. Females tend to be more recreational shoppers than males. A summary, discussion of the results, and recommendations for further research, practice, policy, and families are proposed. / Ph. D.

Historically, consumer perceptions towards dairy products have been measured using a rational cognitive approach. However, recent consumer insights suggest that emotions play a dominant role in consumer decision making. The South African dairy industry therefore identified a need to determine emotive reactions to educational messages in addition to the reasons underpinning dairy consumption. Using a mixed method research approach, reactions from 81 South African dairy consumers were obtained, using three different, but interrelated measuring instruments. Descriptive statistics, hierarchical ladder maps and correlation analyses were used to examine emotive and cognitive consumer reaction to a number of generic dairy messages and products. The findings indicate that certain communication messages appear to have a stronger impact on consumers due to specific emotions that these messages elicit. Personal values underpinning dairy consumption decisions were also identified within the context of emotive reactions to the selected dairy products. / Business Management / M. Com. (Business Management)

Implementation av ett CSR-engagemang innebär stora ekonomiska påfrestelser på ett företag vilket kan visa sig vara problematiskt för företag då konsumenterna uppger att de är villiga att överväga CSR men när det gäller verklig konsumtion är det få konsumenter som tar hänsyn till CSR. Syftet med denna uppsats är därför att kartlägga åsikterna om företags CSR inom mejeribranschen och klädbranschen hos konsumenter i Stockholm län. Frågeställningarna för denna uppsats är “anser svenska konsumenter att det är viktigt med CSR inom mejeribranschen respektive klädbranschen??” samt “vilka CSR-faktorer anser svenska konsumenter påverkar deras köp mest inom mejeribranschen respektive klädbranschen?”. Arbetet i studien är grundat i en kvantitativ undersökning där 307 respondenter deltog i en enkätundersökning. För att studera resultatet av enkätundersökningen har arbetet utgått ifrån teorier inom CSR och konsumentbeteende. Utifrån resultatet kan man konstatera att respondenterna anser att det är viktigare med CSR inom mejeribranschen än inom klädbranschen samt att de faktorer som respondenterna anser påverkar deras köp mest är smak eller utseende, beroende på branschen. En slutsats som kan dras utifrån resultatet är att CSR är viktigare för kvinnor än för män inom respektive bransch, samt att konsumenterna inte anser att CSR faktorer är det som har störst påverkan på deras köp inom respektive bransch. Slutligen kan slutsatsen om att respondenterna anser att CSR faktorer har större påverkan på deras köp inom mejeribranschen än i klädbranschen, bortsett från arbetsförhållanden som anses påverka mer inom klädbranschen. / Implementation of a CSR engagement involves major financial strain on a company, which may prove problematic for companies, as consumers state that they are willing to consider CSR, but when it comes to real consumption, few consumers take CSR into consideration. The purpose of this paper is therefore to map out the opinions about the corporate social responsibility regarding the industries of both clothing and dairy products for the consumers in the Stockholm area. The research questions that were examined was “do Swedish consumers consider CSR to be important in the dairy industry and the clothing industry?” and "which CSR factors do Swedish consumers consider to affect their purchases most in the dairy industry and the clothing industry?". The research has a quantitative base with a survey with 307 respondents. In order to study the result of the survey the use of different theories has been implemented for example CSR, Green Marketing and Consumer Behaviour. The result shows that the respondents think that CSR is more important in the dairy industry than the clothing industry, as well as the most important factor in their purchase is the taste or looks of the product, depending on the industry. Another conclusion is that CSR is more important for women than for men in both industries. Furthermore, consumers don't think that CSR factors is what has the greatest impact on their purchases within each industry. Lastly is that the respondents consider CSR factors to have a greater impact on their purchases in the dairy industry than in the clothing industry, apart from working conditions which are considered to affect more in the clothing industry.

Die Dissertation thematisiert die kontextbezogene Präferenzbildung von Konsumenten. Aufsatz 1 untersucht das Substitutionsverhalten von Konsumenten in Out-of-Stock Situationen unter Berücksichtigung des Einflusses von Promotions. Die Ergebnisse zweier Online-Studien zeigen, dass sowohl Phantome als auch Promotions die Dominanzstruktur eines Choicesets verändern und somit zu systematischen Verschiebungen der relativen Präferenzen führen. Aufsatz 2 diskutiert, ob Kontexteffekte in einem hypothetischen Entscheidungsumfeld mit rein imaginären Kaufentscheidungen im Vergleich zu verbindlichen Entscheidungen mit realen Zahlungen systematisch überschätzt werden. Die empirischen Resultate belegen, dass der Ähnlichkeitseffekt in hypothetischen Studien signifikant höher ist als in Erhebungen unter Verwendung von realen Marken und verbindlichen Kaufentscheidungen inklusive tatsächlicher Zahlungsverpflichtungen für die gewählten Produkte. Aufsatz 3 untersucht, ob der „reversed similarity effect“, als die Tendenz von Konsumenten bei der Nichtverfügbarkeit von bevorzugten Produkten solche Substitute zu wählen, die der nichtverfügbaren Wahloption ähnlich sind, auch in realen Entscheidungsgegebenheiten Gültigkeit besitzt und bestätigt dies anhand von zwei empirischen Studien. Aufsatz 4 analysiert den interaktiven Effekt von Phantomen und Händlerempfehlungen auf die Präferenzbildung bei Onlinekäufen. Es zeigt sich, dass der separate Einfluss beider Faktoren nicht zwangsläufig positiv interagiert. Vielmehr bedingen sich Richtung und Stärke der gemeinsamen Wirkung durch die jeweilige Produktkategorie sowie die empfundene Wichtigkeit der enthaltenen Produktattribute. Aufsatz 5 beschäftigt sich mit Präferenzdeterminanten für biologische Produkte. Mithilfe eines Strukturgleichungsmodells kann belegt werden, dass Gesundheits- sowie Umweltmotive keinen direkten Einfluss auf die Bio-Präferenzen eines Haushalts haben, sondern durch die jeweilige Einstellung zu Bioartikeln moderiert werden. / The doctoral dissertation analyzes context-dependent preference formation of customers with regard to the influence of product- and situation-specific as well as experimental factors. Essay 1 studies preference formation of customers in out-of-stock situations by coevally considering the specific influence of promotions. The results of two online studies reveal that both phantoms and promotions induce changes in the dominance structure of a choice set, thereby systematically affecting customers’ substitution decisions. Essay 2 discusses if context effects are significantly overestimated in binding choice settings that include real payments for test products. The attained results confirm that the similarity effect is significantly higher in purely hypothetical decision environments in contrast to realistic choice setting inclusive of payment obligations for the selected products. Essay 3 attends to the question if the reversed similarity effect – as a customers’ tendency to preferably select very similar substitutes when a desired item is temporarily unavailable – also holds true in market-like choice scenarios. The results of a comprehensive online study confirm the existence of the effect in all tested product categories. Essay 4 studies the interactive effect of phantoms, i.e. unavailable choice options, and recommendations on directing customers’ choice in online purchase decisions. It can be demonstrated that the factors’ separate influence does not necessarily add up when appearing within the same choice scenario. Instead boundary conditions of the factors’ interaction are identified. Essay 5 seeks to identify determinants of customers’ preference for organic products. The results of PLS structural equation modelling show that health- as well as environmental motives do not have a direct effect on relative preferences for organic items but that their influence is fully mediated by one’s attitude towards organically produced articles.

Les politiques publiques environnementales cherchent à impacter des comportements de consommation. Néanmoins, la relation causale entre l’action publique mise en œuvre et le changement de comportement se caractérise par des discontinuités. Elle doit donc être approfondie en combinant l’angle d’analyse des politiques publiques et du processus de décision du consommateur. En effet, ce dernier dépend également d’autres déterminants psychosociaux et d’autres facteurs contextuels. L’impact spécifique des instruments des politiques publiques doit cependant pouvoir y être distingué. Notre étude sur la politique publique environnementale française visant à l’acquisition de voitures à faibles émissions de carbone permet de comprendre l’impact des instruments des politiques publiques sur le processus de décision d’achat du consommateur. En effet, l’attitude envers les instruments de l’action publique produit des effets sur le processus de décision du consommateur. Cet impact n’est pas direct, mais il modère les relations causales entre les principaux déterminants du comportement. Ces effets modérateurs dépendent de la nature psychologique ou structurelle des instruments des politiques publiques qui impactent des relations spécifiques du processus de décision du consommateur / Environmental public policy tools aim to impact consumer behavior. Nevertheless, the causal relationship system between the implementation of a public policy and behavior is full of disconnections. Thus, it should be deepen with the combined analysis of public policies and consumer decision process. Indeed, this latter also depends on others psychosocial determinants towards behavior and other contextual forces. The impact of public policy tools need to be distinguished among them.Our study on the French environmental public policy aimed at acquiring low-carbon emission cars focuses on understanding the impact of public policy tools on consumer buying decision process. Indeed, the attitude towards public policy tools affects consumer decision process. It results that the impact is not so direct but it moderates the relationship between the main determinants of behavior. These moderation effects depend on the psychological or structural nature of the public policy tools which impacts specific relationships of the consumer decision process

Word of mouth (WOM) communication has been a form of additional information for consumers wishing to make a purchase decision where there was uncertainty, lack of knowledge or just a general desire for more information. The increased access and use of social media as well as anonymous opportunities for consumers to provide their reviews on products or services is changing how WOM is used and sought. There is little research on the impact and use of WOM with respect to consumer decision making in a recreation and leisure context. Much research has been focussed on retail experiences and more tangible outcomes. The purpose of this study was to explore the process consumers undertake to seek out, listen and engage in WOM communication when making service purchase decisions. This study took place in a municipality in York Region that offered swimming lessons to the public. Participants were chosen using convenience sampling methodology. 500 surveys were distributed with 301 returned surveys completed to some degree. Study participants were recruited from observers watching a swim class offered by a municipal recreation provider. The survey instrument asked participants to describe themselves in terms of their experience level with municipal recreation programs. It also included three scales relating to susceptibility to influence, self confidence and need for cognition. Participants were exposed to one of five scenarios – one control message contained no treatment information and four scenarios with treatment messages relating to self-confidence and perceived risk. Treatment group members received information suggesting either high and low levels of perceived risk with purchase and high and low levels of self-confidence with knowledge (regarding the purchase decision). Respondents in this study possessed a very high level of self confidence in their program selections; they knew where to find the information and also how to explore program options. Overall this seemed a very well informed and confident group. Results suggest that susceptibility to influence (t = 5.889, p = .000) and self confidence (t = -2.174, p = .037) influenced their search for WOM communication. Need for cognition did not influence the likelihood they would seek WOM communication (t = -1.098, p = .280). Together all three variables explained 50% of the variance (adjusted R2 = .505) in the dependent variable (likelihood they would seek out WOM to make the purchase). These results indicate that participants were more likely to seek WOM when they were susceptible to influence and when their self confidence levels were low. Results also suggest that consumers were open to on line sources of word of mouth communication. More than that, study participants were generally willing to trust online reviews from people who were not necessarily known to them. As a result, online reviews could greatly influence the program registration numbers. A key question for future research could focus on the role shared experience plays in the evolution of trust between strangers. Many of these respondents would trust the advice of others simply because they reported having shared experience. How far does this trust go? How much risk must be present before they hesitate to take advice from unknown individuals? What are the characteristics or traits that consumers look for when assessing the validity of the reviews. Word of mouth seems a very pervasive and resilient concept. This may be particularly important in situations characterized by risk. Additional research could further explore the concept of word of finger and its influence on the traditional concept of WOM communication.

Word of mouth (WOM) communication has been a form of additional information for consumers wishing to make a purchase decision where there was uncertainty, lack of knowledge or just a general desire for more information. The increased access and use of social media as well as anonymous opportunities for consumers to provide their reviews on products or services is changing how WOM is used and sought. There is little research on the impact and use of WOM with respect to consumer decision making in a recreation and leisure context. Much research has been focussed on retail experiences and more tangible outcomes. The purpose of this study was to explore the process consumers undertake to seek out, listen and engage in WOM communication when making service purchase decisions. This study took place in a municipality in York Region that offered swimming lessons to the public. Participants were chosen using convenience sampling methodology. 500 surveys were distributed with 301 returned surveys completed to some degree. Study participants were recruited from observers watching a swim class offered by a municipal recreation provider. The survey instrument asked participants to describe themselves in terms of their experience level with municipal recreation programs. It also included three scales relating to susceptibility to influence, self confidence and need for cognition. Participants were exposed to one of five scenarios – one control message contained no treatment information and four scenarios with treatment messages relating to self-confidence and perceived risk. Treatment group members received information suggesting either high and low levels of perceived risk with purchase and high and low levels of self-confidence with knowledge (regarding the purchase decision). Respondents in this study possessed a very high level of self confidence in their program selections; they knew where to find the information and also how to explore program options. Overall this seemed a very well informed and confident group. Results suggest that susceptibility to influence (t = 5.889, p = .000) and self confidence (t = -2.174, p = .037) influenced their search for WOM communication. Need for cognition did not influence the likelihood they would seek WOM communication (t = -1.098, p = .280). Together all three variables explained 50% of the variance (adjusted R2 = .505) in the dependent variable (likelihood they would seek out WOM to make the purchase). These results indicate that participants were more likely to seek WOM when they were susceptible to influence and when their self confidence levels were low. Results also suggest that consumers were open to on line sources of word of mouth communication. More than that, study participants were generally willing to trust online reviews from people who were not necessarily known to them. As a result, online reviews could greatly influence the program registration numbers. A key question for future research could focus on the role shared experience plays in the evolution of trust between strangers. Many of these respondents would trust the advice of others simply because they reported having shared experience. How far does this trust go? How much risk must be present before they hesitate to take advice from unknown individuals? What are the characteristics or traits that consumers look for when assessing the validity of the reviews. Word of mouth seems a very pervasive and resilient concept. This may be particularly important in situations characterized by risk. Additional research could further explore the concept of word of finger and its influence on the traditional concept of WOM communication.

Made available in DSpace on 2010-04-20T20:48:28Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 3 98392.pdf.jpg: 11293 bytes, checksum: 8a79246985a15176f2dd421d6775239b (MD5) 98392.pdf: 541072 bytes, checksum: 0abb34ffbabe305d0e3aef7068b0fb3c (MD5) 98392.pdf.txt: 221637 bytes, checksum: 0c7c9f71701b0881cedc3b5a57a242ee (MD5) Previous issue date: 2005-09-27T00:00:00Z / Confronted with alarming social discourse favouring the perception of food risk, modern consumers find themselves in a situation of psychological discomfort caused by consumption of foodstuffs coming from the agricultural and foodstuff industry. To eliminate this discomfort the consumer may change their purchasing and consumption habits or introduce some measures for the reduction of risk. Since Bauer first introduced the marketing world to the concept, perceived risk has had a long and varied research tradition, yet many authors have failed to recognize in their research how pervasive the construct is in all the stages of the buying process. Hundreds of studies have measured risk perception in wide variety of contexts but, in the vast majority of cases, the stage of decision process in which the consumer found himself/herself in at the time of measurement was not considered. Then, this research brings an innovation in this sense once it considers the whole decision make process in its analysis. Another important contribution of this work is to break with the traditional view of risk reduction models where the risk reduction is mainly linked to the search of information and done on the level of handled risk to consider that risk reduction may happen also with the help of practices and cognitive developments and can be done in two levels: inherent risk and handled risk. Hence, the aim of this work is to understand the way consumers perceive risk in the whole decision making process and to present a typology of risk reduction strategies taking into account the diversity of buying and consumption practices. / Confrontado com o alarmante discurso social que favorece a percepção do risco do alimento à saúde, os consumidores modernos encontram-se em uma situação de desconforto psicológico causada pelo consumo de alimentos que vêm da indústria agrícola e de gêneros alimentícios. Para eliminar este desconforto, o consumidor pode mudar seus hábitos de compra e de consumo ou introduzir algumas medidas para reduzir este risco. Desde que o mundo do marketing foi introduzido a este conceito por Bauer, a teoria de risco percebido teve uma longa e variada tradição na pesquisa, contudo muitos autores não reconheceram em suas pesquisas a dispersão dessa construção em todos os estágios do processo de compra. As centenas de estudos mediram a percepção do risco em uma larga variedade de contextos mas, na grande maioria dos casos, o estágio do processo de decisão de compra, em que o consumidor se encontra inserido em grande medida, não foi considerado. Assim, esta pesquisa traz uma inovação neste sentido, uma vez que considera em sua análise o processo decisório da compra de forma integral. Uma outra contribuição importante deste trabalho está na quebra da visão tradicional dos modelos de redução do risco, onde a redução do risco é ligada principalmente à busca da informação e feita ao nível do risco manipulado, de forma a considerar que a redução do risco pode acontecer também com a ajuda das práticas e de desenvolvimentos cognitivos, podendo ser feita em dois níveis: risco inerente e risco manipulado. Por fim, o objetivo deste trabalho é compreender a maneira pela qual os consumidores percebem o risco, considerando todo o processo decisório, e apresentar uma tipologia das estratégias de redução do risco, identificando a diversidade de práticas de compra e de consumo que fazem parte da escolha do cliente. Palavras-chaves: consumo, processo de decisão de compra do consumidor, risco percebido, redução do risco, carne bovina.

Made available in DSpace on 2010-04-20T20:59:58Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 4 Rodrigo de Santi.pdf.jpg: 2532 bytes, checksum: 0213df0b6dbfe7971ab55d1ee306a56f (MD5) Rodrigo de Santi.pdf.txt: 135255 bytes, checksum: a91dd070d8bf8695037dd3d11064c280 (MD5) license.txt: 4712 bytes, checksum: 4dea6f7333914d9740702a2deb2db217 (MD5) Rodrigo de Santi.pdf: 1004709 bytes, checksum: a129a3ee39343107d951514e154050a4 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009-10-22T00:00:00Z / Mobile phones have turned into an essential part of our lives during the last years, not only due to the easiness of communication they provide us, but also because they are part of our own way to express ourselves and how we want to be perceived. However, there are few academic studies dealing with the reasons behind the consumer decision making process among different handsets and mobile calling plans, and how valuable (money-wise) mobile phones features are. This paper casts light on how much consumers accept to pay for mobile phones and calling plan attributes providing hedonic price analyses of Brazilian handset market during 2008. A dataset was compelled on 48 different handsets, from six manufacturer brands and three mobile operators, in nine different mobile plans weekly over the period from January to December, summing up 27 different aspects and 292.410 observations. In addition, Brazilian market is interpreted by Economics of Telecommunications theory, and true price indices are estimated using hedonic techniques and taking into consideration mobile phones features and quality change. / Apesar dos aparelhos celulares terem se tornado parte fundamental da comunicação pessoal durante os últimos dez anos, há escassez de pesquisas de ordem acadêmica dedicadas à valoração das diferentes características dos planos e aparelhos celulares. Vários fatores precisam ser levados em conta para se conhecer a percepção de valor dos atributos dos planos e aparelhos celulares, desde as condições microeconômicas que afetam a evolução do mercado de aparelhos celulares em geral, até as decisões e motivações pessoais do processo de decisão de compra de um consumidor. Este estudo procura responder quais atributos são mais valorizados pelo consumidor brasileiro em um aparelho celular pós-pago, bem como o preço destes atributos no mercado. Para isto aplicou-se o método de preços hedônicos a uma base de dados de 48 modelos de celulares diferentes, de seis marcas presentes no mercado brasileiro, de três operadoras, em nove diferentes planos de assinatura, com observações de preços semanais ao longo do ano de 2008, totalizando 27 atributos diferentes e 292.410 observações. Por fim, também é apresentada nesta dissertação uma interpretação do mercado brasileiro pela ótica da Economia das Telecomunicações, e é realizado o cálculo da deflação ocorrida no mercado brasileiro de aparelhos celulares pós-pagos no ano de 2008 levando-se em consideração as mudanças de qualidade, funcionalidades e características destes aparelhos ocorridas ao longo do ano mencionado.