Wai-kwan Li. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1990. / Bibliography: leaves 31-38. / Abstract --- p.vii / Introduction --- p.1 / Boundary of Country of Origin Effects --- p.2 / Involvement level for making buying decisions --- p.2 / Information amount --- p.4 / Interaction effect of involvement level and information amount --- p.5 / Cognitive Processes of Stereotypic Evaluation --- p.7 / Cognitive elaboration hypothesis --- p.7 / Encoding hypothesis --- p.9 / Polarization hypothesis --- p.10 / Attribute hypothesis --- p.10 / Summary representation hypothesis --- p.12 / Method --- p.14 / Design --- p.14 / Subjects --- p.14 / Stimulus Material --- p.14 / Product --- p.14 / Selection of Countries --- p.14 / Attribute Information --- p.15 / Procedure --- p.16 / Manipulation of independent variables --- p.17 / Dependent measures --- p.17 / Demographic variables --- p.18 / Results --- p.18 / Manipulation checks --- p.18 / Boundary of Country of Origin Effect on Product Evaluation --- p.19 / Psychological Mechanisms for the Country of Origin Effect --- p.20 / Free recall of product information --- p.20 / Encoding hypothesis --- p.21 / Cognitive elaboration hypothesis --- p.21 / Polarization hypothesis --- p.22 / Attribute hypothesis --- p.22 / Summary representation hypothesis --- p.23 / Attribute hypothesis as the cause of stereotypic evaluation --- p.24 / Discussion --- p.24 / Boundary Conditions of Country of Origin Effects --- p.24 / Cognitive Processes of Country of Origin Effects --- p.25 / Marketing Implications --- p.29 / Product image building --- p.29 / Product packaging --- p.30 / References --- p.31 / Footnotes --- p.39

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The possibility for different kinds of adopters, along Rogers' (1962) categorization, to display different preference patterns regarding a product's features, is investigated. The moderating role of diffusion-related variables, namely a product's newness and the extent of interpersonal communication, is assessed. / It is hypothesized that a respondent's evaluation of product descriptions can be influenced by the diffusion context which characterizes them. An attempt is made to show that such a context can be used to elicit different "best product" alternatives for different stages of the adoption curve and, prior to market introduction, can help predict time-dependent changes to be made to the product's features as adoption takes place.

M.Comm. (Investment Management) / It was postulated that the aim of consumer psychology as a science is to create constructs which can serve as a framework according to which consumer behaviour can be explained, predicted and influenced. The consumer decision-making process approach proves to be the most comprehensive and integrated approach to explain and predict consumer behaviour in terms of the individualised consumer. A fundamental problem, however, is that, as a result of their complexity and cognitive substructure, the models which have been designed to express this approach cannot easily be verified in practice. It was indicated that the model designed by Overton (1981) provides a way out of this dilemma. On the one hand the model relates well to existing consumer decision-making models, and on the other hand it is extremely useful from the viewpoint of the marketer, since consumers can be segmented according to two scales resulting from 'the model in terms of their cognitive orientation towards prcxiJct purchasing in general. The two scales were defined operationally as a rational and social consumer orientation respectively. The aim of this study was to obtain more information about cognitive consumer orientation. Contently, the study also aimed to promote scientific unity by integrating cognitive consumer orientation theoretically with field dependence and field independence, to provide a broader classification system from which new hypotheses could be derived. It was shOW1 that field independence and a rational consumer orientation both point to autonomous and cognitive-analytical functioning. A social-interpersonal disposition, on the other hand, underlies both field dependence and a social consumer orientation. Hierarchically, the constructs were set out with field dependence and field independence as the two general constructs, and the social and rational consumer orientations as the two consumer-specific constructs. The theoretical implications which the broader classification system has for cognitive consumer orientation were spelled out; amongst others, that it indicates that "field independent" could be substituted for the troublesome term "rational" . It was also shown what implications research of field dependence and field independence with regard to certain biographical correlates has for cognitive consumer orientation in terms of certain existing market segments. scenarios for certain demographic and socia-economic market segments, as well as for the so-called black and white consumer markets, were outlined. Recently it was found that field dependence does not occupy a bipolar position with regard to field independence in a•unitary construct, as has been traditionally accepted, but that the two are independent constructs. Consequently, the empirical study could be conducted more narrowly than the literature study to which it refers. Cognitive consumer orientation was also only tested in terms of cross-Cultural and gender differences…

Although research on consumer evaluation/perception of attribute quality is extensive, few have investigated the factors influencing perception of credence qualities, qualities that cannot be determined immediately after product use. Two sets of credence qualities were identified, those that can be determined through the acquisition of expert information and those that are determinable only through the passage of time after product use. Using a home banking service as the experimental context, subjects used the service by requesting a specified transaction to be carried out. They learnt how accurate it was carried out either immediately or a simulated one month after using the service. It was found that how soon subjects received information about its transactional accuracy influenced their evaluation/perception of its credence qualities that are related to the passage of time (e.g. security of personal access code and confidentiality of financial record) but not those that were not related to the passage of time but could be determined through the acquisition of expert information (e.g., sophistication of computer language used). As predicted, subjects who learnt a month later that their requested transaction was accurately carried out rated security and confidentiality higher than those who received the same information but immediately after use. Those who experienced an inaccurate service rated such qualities significantly lower when they learnt of its inaccuracy a month later than immediately after use. No difference in perception was found for credence qualities that are determinable through an expert and not over time. The results suggest that similarity between the known and perceived attribute qualities in terms of whether they are revealed over time or independently of time (such as through expert information) is a major influence on consumer's evaluation/perception of credence qualities. Theoretical, methodological, and managerial implications arising from this research are furnished. / Business, Sauder School of / Graduate

Littering, giving blood, conserving energy, voter registration and wearing seatbelts serve as examples of public behaviours which governments have attempted to alter. Whether it be for purposes of controlling costs, helping other citizens, or protecting the environment, altering behavioural patterns which operate against the general well-being of society has become big business. A plethora of techniques have been employed in efforts to sway the activity patterns of people. While various approaches have been undertaken, the research focuses upon two traditions. First, an economic or behavioural approach is employed where behavioural changes are believed to be influenced most effectively by material rewards. Second, cognitive or attitudinal approaches stress that attitudes play an operative role in effecting behavioural change. Using shifts in daily patterns of energy use as an example of social behaviour, the research reported here contrasts cognitive and economic models. While the two approaches can be complementary, it also may be that under certain conditions one or the other model is most successful. Where the two models do contrast is in the predictions made about what behavioural change will result after the removal of economic incentives. Data from a large field-experiment using a multi-stage probability sample of nearly 700 Wisconsin households is analysed to examine the influence of cognitive and behavioural models of time-of-day energy usage. The objective of the experiment was to determine whether economic stimuli could be used to reduce peoples' use of peak-time energy consumption. Behavioural change in energy consumption patterns was measured by in-house meters which recorded all usage for a year prior to the introduction of special time-of-day rates; for three years while the rates were in effect; and for a sub-sample of households, the summer after the rates ended. In addition, three waves of survey data from mailed questionnaires administered prior to, during, and following the experiment allow monitoring of the development and change in attitude toward time-of-day pricing of electricity, and its influence on behaviour. In contrast to earlier published work, this analysis suggests only a minimal, independent impact of attitude on behavioural change under time-of-day electricity rates. At the conclusion of the experiment, and in the absence of any further financial rewards, households, by and large, returned to former consumption levels. Concomitant changes in attitudinal commitment occurred as well. Nevertheless, a subset of households, constituting some twenty percent of the original sample, remained highly committed to peak electricity reductions and, to a degree, maintained their prior conserving behaviours without further financial reward. Several analyses were performed in an attempt to reconcile the contradictory nature of the current findings with those of earlier research. It is argued that the apparent influence of attitude in affecting behaviour at the time the pricing incentive was in effect was exaggerated by householders substituting an attitudinal for a financial motive. Further, the influence of price on attitude formation may have been underestimated due to the curvilinear relation of price with behaviour. Evidence in support of each of these hypotheses is provided. It is concluded that, in combination with price, attitude is important to maintaining behavioural change, but that its independent influence, in this instance, is minor. At the same time, the effect of price appears less based on the size of the pricing incentive, than serving as an informational source signalling appropriate action, irrespective of the absolute financial reward. Finally, the thesis concludes with some speculations on the lessons from this experiment for other attempts to alter behavioural patterns. / Arts, Faculty of / Sociology, Department of / Graduate

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published_or_final_version / Business Administration / Master / Master of Business Administration

Lin, Lei. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2010. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 69-73). / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / Chapter CHAPTER ONE --- INTRODUCTION --- p.1 / Chapter 1.1 --- BACKGROUND --- p.1 / Chapter 1.2 --- RESEARCH OBJECTIVE --- p.3 / Chapter 1.3 --- OUTLINE OF THIS STUDY --- p.4 / Chapter CHAPTER TWO --- LITERATURE REVIEW --- p.5 / Chapter 2.1 --- ASYMMETRlC COMPETITION --- p.5 / Chapter 2.1.1 --- Previous Explanations --- p.5 / Chapter 2.2 --- CONSUMER SUSPICION OF ULTERIOR MOTIVE --- p.10 / Chapter 2.2.1 --- Definition of Consumer Suspicion --- p.10 / Chapter 2.2.2 --- Characteristic of Consumer Suspicion of Ulterior Motives --- p.12 / Chapter 2.2.3 --- Consumer Suspicion of Ulterior Motives in Consumer Research --- p.12 / Chapter 2.3 --- ATTRIBUTION --- p.16 / Chapter CHAPTER THREE --- PROPOSITION DEVELOPMENT --- p.20 / Chapter CHAPTER FOUR --- STUDY ONE --- p.25 / Chapter 4.1 --- OBJECTIVES --- p.25 / Chapter 4.2 --- METHOD --- p.25 / Chapter 4.2.1 --- "Participants, Design and Stimuli" --- p.25 / Chapter 4.2.2 --- Procedure --- p.27 / Chapter 4.3 --- RESULTS --- p.28 / Chapter 4.3.1 --- Manipulation Check --- p.28 / Chapter 4.3.2 --- Dependent Variable --- p.28 / Chapter 4.4 --- DISCUSSION --- p.32 / Chapter CHAPTER FIVE --- STUDY TWO --- p.34 / Chapter 5.1 --- OBJECTIVES --- p.34 / Chapter 5.2 --- METHOD --- p.34 / Chapter 5.2.1 --- "Participants, Design and Stimuli" --- p.34 / Chapter 5.2.2 --- Procedure --- p.36 / Chapter 5.2.3 --- Measures --- p.37 / Chapter 5.3 --- ANALYSIS AND RESULTS --- p.40 / Chapter 5.3.1 --- Manipulation Check --- p.40 / Chapter 5.3.2 --- Dependent Variable --- p.42 / Chapter 5.3.3 --- Attribution Inference --- p.44 / Chapter 5.3.4 --- Mediating Effects of Attribution Inferences --- p.47 / Chapter 5.4 --- DISCUSSION --- p.49 / Chapter CHAPTER SIX --- STUDY THREE --- p.53 / Chapter 6.1 --- OBJECTIVES --- p.53 / Chapter 6.2 --- METHOD --- p.53 / Chapter 6.2.1 --- "Participants, Design and Manipulation" --- p.53 / Chapter 6.2.2 --- Attribution Measures --- p.55 / Chapter 6.3 --- ANALYSIS AND RESULTS --- p.57 / Chapter 6.3.1 --- Manipulation Check --- p.57 / Chapter 6.3.2 --- Dependent Variable --- p.57 / Chapter 6.3.3 --- Attribution Inference --- p.58 / Chapter 6.3.4 --- Mediating Effects of Product Attribution --- p.59 / Chapter 6.4 --- DISCUSSION --- p.61 / Chapter CHAPTER SEVEN --- CONCLUSIONS --- p.64 / Chapter 7.1 --- SUMMARY OF TI-IE Findings --- p.64 / Chapter 7.2 --- THEORETICAL AND PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS --- p.65 / Chapter 7.2.1 --- Theoretical Contributions --- p.65 / Chapter 7.2.2 --- Practical Implications --- p.66 / Chapter 7.3 --- LIMITATIONS AND FUTURE RESEARCH --- p.67 / BIBLIOGRAPHY --- p.69

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