Reputation is an important customer choice criterion in banking, a sector characterised by intangible services and limited opportunity for pre-purchase evaluation. It has been shown that while companies may communicate their reputation in a particular way, responses to reputation stimuli are not homogeneous, resulting in calls in the literature to understand sources of variation in customer responses. This study investigated whether an individual’s social axioms, that is, an individual’s general beliefs about the world were such a source of individual difference and influenced corporate reputation and behavioural intention among middle-high income South African banking customers. Conceptualising corporate reputation as customer perceptions (beliefs and attitude) led to adoption of the reasoned action approach as the study’s theoretical basis. Each of the social axioms dimensions, namely, fate control, religiosity, reward for application, social complexity and social cynicism, was hypothesised to influence customers’ beliefs about their bank and behavioural intention. Following a deductive approach and adopting a positivistic paradigm, quantitative data was collected from 636 middle-high income customers of the top five South African retail banks using an online questionnaire. The conceptual model was tested using partial least squares structural equation modelling. The study’s results confirmed that social axioms are a source of individual difference, can explain variances in customers’ beliefs, and are therefore antecedents of corporate reputation. Reward for application has the strongest relationship with customers’ beliefs while the relationship between social cynicism and beliefs was statistically insignificant. Effects of all social axioms dimensions apart from social cynicism were completely mediated in series by beliefs and attitude. Contributions to corporate reputation scholarship include definition of the construct as a collective of beliefs and attitude and expansion of the set of antecedents to beliefs within the reasoned action framework beyond the traditional personality and demographic factors. In practice the findings endorse the view that corporate reputation is to an extent beyond a company’s control and is in part controlled by stakeholders. As a result, it is suggested that bank marketing executives and reputation practitioners consider including social axioms in customer segmentation models to ensure that their offerings resonate with customers’ general beliefs about the world. / Thesis (DPhil)--University of Pretoria, 2020. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / DPhil / Unrestricted

In pace with a growing awareness among customers, so does the demand for sustainable products increase in various markets. Sustainability is even referred to become a mega-trend (Lubin & Esty, 2010). Although, extensive research can be found on sustainability and its three pillars; environment, social and economic, little is known whether there is a general customer demand for sustainability for any type of good. Therefore, this study’s purpose has been to compare sustainability demand for convenience goods and shopping goods, with the research question ‘Is the customer’s sustainability demand different between different types of goods? And if so, what are the differences?’ By using a deductive approach, hypotheses has been drawn by examining existing research in the fields of consumer behaviour, customer behaviour and sustainability in general but also for the food and apparel industry respectively.With a quantitative method using a questionnaire, primary data has been collected of customers’ sustainability demand within the food and the apparel industries as representatives for convenience goods and shopping goods respectively. The questionnaire was designed to capture customers’ sustainability demand based on their perceived importance of the three pillars of sustainability. A comparison between the industries resulted in significant mean answers of 3,97 for food and 3,17 for apparel, on a six-point scale. Further,a marginally equal level was demanded for the three pillars within food whereas the environmental pillar was considerably less ranked within apparel. The study further compares the sustainable attitude against sustainable behaviour. Actual buying of sustainable goods within all three pillars was shown to be lower than demand for both types of goods. Lastly, an exploratory research was conducted on the two types of goods in combination with demographic factors, resulting in indications of what factors companies should take into consideration. The final conclusion of the research question was that there is a difference in customers’ sustainability demand for different types of goods.

O grande crescimento da comunicação boca a boca, principalmente após a popularização da internet e redes sociais, aumentou a circulação de opiniões sem que o indivíduo tenha consumido, utilizado ou até mesmo tido algum tipo de contato com o produto. Por isso, é necessário que as empresas entendam melhor quais características devem promover em suas marcas para aumentar o valor percebido pelo cliente, proteger-se do boca-a-boca negativo e estimular o positivo. Assim, o objetivo do trabalho é analisar as inter-relações entre personalidade de marca, valor percebido e atitude e seus efeitos preditivos sobre o boca-a-boca entre os consumidores antes da compra. Neste estudo descritivo foram obtidas 1.156 respostas on-line para a utilização de modelagem de equações estruturais. Foram aplicadas ferramentas estatísticas preparatórias, que validaram os dados para aplicação do método PLS, permitindo estimar uma série de relações de dependência entre variáveis latentes. Foi confirmado que uma cadeia de eventos anterior à compra, formada pelos construtos sob análise e moderada pela familiaridade com a marca e envolvimento com o produto, resulta na intenção do consumidor realizar o boca-a-boca, especialmente o positivo. Quando percebidos, a competência da marca e os atributos emocionais do produto tendem a se sobressair ao preço e influenciar com maior relevância a atitude do consumidor para estímulo ao boca-a-boca. / As internet and social media usage expands, significant growth in word-of-mouth communication has increased consumers\' opinion-sharing about products and brands, regardless they ever having used, consumed, or been in contact with such products. For this reason, it is crucial for companies to better understand the cognitive and emotional aspects of such consumer behavior in order to protect their brands from negative word-of-mouth and stimulate positive mentions. Therefore, this work aims at analyzing the interrelations between brand personality, perceived value and attitude, as well as their predictive effects in word-of-mouth communications between customers before the purchase. In this descriptive study, 1,156 self-administered questionnaires data was subjected to Structural Equation Modeling analysis. Statistical analysis validated the data for PLS path modeling which, in turn, allowed estimation of several dependent interrelationships between latent variables in a model developed from literature. Results suggest that a chain of events, comprised by the analyzed constructs and moderated by brand familiarity and product involvement, results in customer\'s intention to engage in predominantly positive word-of-mouth prior to the purchase. When actually perceived, brand competence and emotional attributes overweight price perception in influencing customer\'s attitude toward word-of-mouth behavior.

O grande crescimento da comunicação boca a boca, principalmente após a popularização da internet e redes sociais, aumentou a circulação de opiniões sem que o indivíduo tenha consumido, utilizado ou até mesmo tido algum tipo de contato com o produto. Por isso, é necessário que as empresas entendam melhor quais características devem promover em suas marcas para aumentar o valor percebido pelo cliente, proteger-se do boca-a-boca negativo e estimular o positivo. Assim, o objetivo do trabalho é analisar as inter-relações entre personalidade de marca, valor percebido e atitude e seus efeitos preditivos sobre o boca-a-boca entre os consumidores antes da compra. Neste estudo descritivo foram obtidas 1.156 respostas on-line para a utilização de modelagem de equações estruturais. Foram aplicadas ferramentas estatísticas preparatórias, que validaram os dados para aplicação do método PLS, permitindo estimar uma série de relações de dependência entre variáveis latentes. Foi confirmado que uma cadeia de eventos anterior à compra, formada pelos construtos sob análise e moderada pela familiaridade com a marca e envolvimento com o produto, resulta na intenção do consumidor realizar o boca-a-boca, especialmente o positivo. Quando percebidos, a competência da marca e os atributos emocionais do produto tendem a se sobressair ao preço e influenciar com maior relevância a atitude do consumidor para estímulo ao boca-a-boca. / As internet and social media usage expands, significant growth in word-of-mouth communication has increased consumers\' opinion-sharing about products and brands, regardless they ever having used, consumed, or been in contact with such products. For this reason, it is crucial for companies to better understand the cognitive and emotional aspects of such consumer behavior in order to protect their brands from negative word-of-mouth and stimulate positive mentions. Therefore, this work aims at analyzing the interrelations between brand personality, perceived value and attitude, as well as their predictive effects in word-of-mouth communications between customers before the purchase. In this descriptive study, 1,156 self-administered questionnaires data was subjected to Structural Equation Modeling analysis. Statistical analysis validated the data for PLS path modeling which, in turn, allowed estimation of several dependent interrelationships between latent variables in a model developed from literature. Results suggest that a chain of events, comprised by the analyzed constructs and moderated by brand familiarity and product involvement, results in customer\'s intention to engage in predominantly positive word-of-mouth prior to the purchase. When actually perceived, brand competence and emotional attributes overweight price perception in influencing customer\'s attitude toward word-of-mouth behavior.

Background The cosmetic industry is growing at a fast pace and, like other industries, there are a few problems regarding e-retailing that makes it hard for customers to make optimal purchase decision. Example of problems are; the number of e-retailers increase, e-retailers’ variety of products increase, and the content is almost unlimited. Companies have started to personalize to solve these problems. However, there is a lack in the literature regarding how-to best design personalization with regard to its dimensions and subcategories. Therefore, the next step is to get an understanding of which dimensions and subcategories that are the most effective. Objectives At present, the majority of the literature regarding personalization focus on how personalization can be performed and not in which way personalization should be performed to increase customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. This means that the knowledge regarding the subcategories within personalization and their effectiveness is limited. Therefore, the purpose of this thesis is to increase the body of knowledge regarding which subcategories that is the most effective in increasing customer satisfaction and/or loyalty. Knowledge about this topic can give companies perspectives to know how personalization should be designed to increase customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. Methods This study was a survey type, resulting in primary quantitative data collecting and analyzes. A pilot test was first made, before the final questionnaire. This to test the reliability and validity. The data from the pilot study were partly analyzed in SPSS and partly analyzed manually. The data from the final questionnaire were then analyzed in SPSS. Results Regarding customer satisfaction, there is a statistically significant difference between content personalization and AIGUI (Adaptive Interface and Graphical User Interface) personalization as well as between AIGUI personalization and combination (content and AIGUI) personalization. However, there is no statistical difference between content personalization and combination personalization. Regarding customer loyalty, the is no statistical difference between the personalization groups. Conclusions An e-retailer in the cosmetic industry should focus on content personalization or combination personalization / Bakgrund Industrin om kosmetik växer i en snabb takt och likt andra industrier finns det problem, kring återförsäljare som använder sig utav e-handel, som gör det svårt för kunderna att göra optimala köpbeslut. Exempel på problem är; Antalet återförsäljare som använder sig utav e-handel ökar, deras variationer av produkter ökar och informationen är i princip oändlig. Mål Litteraturen kring personligfiering handlar till större delen om hur personligfiering kan utformas och inte på vilket sätt personligfiering borde utformas för att öka kundnöjdhet och kundlojalitet. Detta innebär att kunskapen kring underkategorier av personligfiering och dess effektivitet är begränsad. Därför är syftet med studien att öka kunskapen kring underkategorier av personligfiering och ta reda på hur dessa påverkar kundnöjdhet och/eller kundlojalitet. Kunskap om detta kan ge företag perspektiv på hur de borde utforma sin personligfiering för att öka kundnöjdhet och kundlojalitet. Metod Denna studien använde sig utav en undersökning för att besvara avhandlingsfrågan. Detta resulterade i en studie av primär kvantitativ datainsamling och analysering. Först genomfördes en pilotstudie för att testa pålitligheten och giltigheten. Datan från pilotstudien var delvis analyserad i SPSS och delvis analyserad manuellt. Datan från den slutgiltiga käten analyserades i SPSS. Resultat Vad gäller kundnöjdhet framkom det att det finns en statistisk signifikant skillnad mellan innehålls personligfiering och AIGUI (Adaptive Interface and Graphical User Interface) personligfiering. Det finns också en statistisk signifikant skillnad mellan AIGUI personligfiering och combination (innehåll och AIGUI) personligfiering. Däremot framkom det att det inte finns någon statistisk signifikant skillnad mellan innehålls personligfiering och combination personligfiering. Vad gäller kundlojalitet framkom det att det inte finns någon statistisk signifikant skillnad mellan de olika personligfieringstyperna. Slutsatser En återförsäljare av kosmetik som använder sig utav e-handel borde fokusera på innehåll personligfiering eller combination personligfiering.

<p>Computer errors are a constant problem for software providers. To completely avoid bugs has proven very difficult even though computer software goes through rigorous testing before released. One of the challenges for developers is recreating errors that end-users experience. User-submitted error reports can often be of help for developers to localize and fix bugs. However, the reports often vary in quality depending on the user's experience and the effort they put into writing the report. Instead of relying on manual error reports, some software providers have equipped their software with automated error reporting functionality. These programs are set to collect important information about the computer and the software in the event of a crash. There are pros and cons with both automated and manual error reporting.</p><p>The research that has previously been done in the field of error reporting has mostly focused on the situation where private persons are senders and corporations are receivers. This report addresses the setting where both parties are corporations, which brings several new aspects to the problem. The five main topics this report focuses on are: customer attitude, which data to send, privacy, user interaction and feedback. A study has been conducted at the ERP system provider IFS in Sweden where interviews with employees and customers have been performed. Interviewees in the customer companies have been primarily ERP and application managers. The results of the study show that companies are less concerned than what the literature suggests even though the attitudes differ some depending on line of business. Conclusions are that a high degree of configurability of what is sent in the error reports and the level of user interaction is needed for companies to accept automated error reporting.</p> / <p>Buggar är ett ständigt problem för mjukvarutillverkare. Att helt undvika dessa har visat sig vara mycket svårt trots rigorösa tester innan ny mjukvara släpps. En av utmaningarna för utvecklare är att återskapa felen som uppstår hos användarna. Felrapporter inskickade av användare kan ofta vara till hjälp för utvecklare när de ska lokalisera och åtgärda fel. Men rapporterna kan variera i kvalitet beroende på användarnas erfarenhet och tiden de lägger på att skriva rapporten. Istället för att förlita sig på manuella felrapporter har vissa mjukvarutillverkare utrustat sin programvara med funktionalitet för automatiska felrapporter. Dessa program ska samla in viktig information om datorn och programvaran i händelse av att en krasch uppstår.</p><p>Viss forskning har skett inom området automatiserad felrapportering men fokus har då legat på situationen då privatpersoner är avsändare och företag är mottagare. Denna rapport behandlar läget då båda parter är företag, vilket tillför flera nya aspekter till problemet. De fem huvudfrågorna som den här rapporten fokuserar på är: kunders attityd, vilken data ska skickas, integritet, användarinteraktion och feedback. En studie har utförts hos affärssystemleverantören IFS i Sverige, där intervjuer med anställda och kunder har genomförts. De intervjuade hos kundföretagen har huvudsakligen varit ERP- och applikationsansvariga. Resultaten av studien visar att företagen är mindre oroade än vad litteraturen indikerar även om attityderna skiljer sig något i olika branscher. Slutsatserna är att en hög grad av konfigurerbarhet behövs när det gäller vad som skickas i felrapporter samt vilken grad av interaktion med användaren som behövs. Detta för att kundföretagen ska acceptera automatisk felrapportering.</p>

Computer errors are a constant problem for software providers. To completely avoid bugs has proven very difficult even though computer software goes through rigorous testing before released. One of the challenges for developers is recreating errors that end-users experience. User-submitted error reports can often be of help for developers to localize and fix bugs. However, the reports often vary in quality depending on the user's experience and the effort they put into writing the report. Instead of relying on manual error reports, some software providers have equipped their software with automated error reporting functionality. These programs are set to collect important information about the computer and the software in the event of a crash. There are pros and cons with both automated and manual error reporting. The research that has previously been done in the field of error reporting has mostly focused on the situation where private persons are senders and corporations are receivers. This report addresses the setting where both parties are corporations, which brings several new aspects to the problem. The five main topics this report focuses on are: customer attitude, which data to send, privacy, user interaction and feedback. A study has been conducted at the ERP system provider IFS in Sweden where interviews with employees and customers have been performed. Interviewees in the customer companies have been primarily ERP and application managers. The results of the study show that companies are less concerned than what the literature suggests even though the attitudes differ some depending on line of business. Conclusions are that a high degree of configurability of what is sent in the error reports and the level of user interaction is needed for companies to accept automated error reporting. / Buggar är ett ständigt problem för mjukvarutillverkare. Att helt undvika dessa har visat sig vara mycket svårt trots rigorösa tester innan ny mjukvara släpps. En av utmaningarna för utvecklare är att återskapa felen som uppstår hos användarna. Felrapporter inskickade av användare kan ofta vara till hjälp för utvecklare när de ska lokalisera och åtgärda fel. Men rapporterna kan variera i kvalitet beroende på användarnas erfarenhet och tiden de lägger på att skriva rapporten. Istället för att förlita sig på manuella felrapporter har vissa mjukvarutillverkare utrustat sin programvara med funktionalitet för automatiska felrapporter. Dessa program ska samla in viktig information om datorn och programvaran i händelse av att en krasch uppstår. Viss forskning har skett inom området automatiserad felrapportering men fokus har då legat på situationen då privatpersoner är avsändare och företag är mottagare. Denna rapport behandlar läget då båda parter är företag, vilket tillför flera nya aspekter till problemet. De fem huvudfrågorna som den här rapporten fokuserar på är: kunders attityd, vilken data ska skickas, integritet, användarinteraktion och feedback. En studie har utförts hos affärssystemleverantören IFS i Sverige, där intervjuer med anställda och kunder har genomförts. De intervjuade hos kundföretagen har huvudsakligen varit ERP- och applikationsansvariga. Resultaten av studien visar att företagen är mindre oroade än vad litteraturen indikerar även om attityderna skiljer sig något i olika branscher. Slutsatserna är att en hög grad av konfigurerbarhet behövs när det gäller vad som skickas i felrapporter samt vilken grad av interaktion med användaren som behövs. Detta för att kundföretagen ska acceptera automatisk felrapportering.

本研究目的有三：一是探討在不同特性服務業中，顧客所重視服務屬性的差異；二乃探討服務傳送系統在品質管理中有那些關鍵成功因素；最後則比較不同類別的服務業在傳送系統經營管理特性之差異。本研究採個案方式，以「顧客化程度」及「與顧客接觸程度」二分類構面，訪問國內具代表性的數家服務業者，分別是信義房屋、裕隆汽車保養廠。中華航空公司、儂特利西式速食等四家公司。 　　研究結果發現：1.在「顧客化程度」高的服務業中，顧客較重視信用性和勝任性，透過服務人員的專業能力以及公司經營理念來傳遞。2.在「與顧客接觸程度」高的服務業別中，顧客較重視禮貌性，由服務人員的行為來傳達。3.在「顧客化程度」以及「與顧客接觸程度」均低的服務業別中，顧客較重視回應性和有形物，由實體環境以及服務流程的效率來傳達，傳送系統管理應偏重於實體設施的佈置和作業流程效率的控制方面。4.在任何服務業別中，顧客皆重視回應性與安全性。5.企業文化對服務品質績效有明顯的影響。由於企業文化是透過管理制度以及教育訓練長期所塑造出來的，於是企業文化與形象越鮮明，其在經營理念、管理特性和員工特質方面越有自己的風格，若能與顧客所重視的服務屬性連結，則服務品質績效越好。6.對服務品質績效提昇而言，正面激勵要比負面制約的方式好。7.服務傳送系統管理重點應和服務核心觀念相關。 　　本研究對服務業者的建議有三：1.業者必須了解本身所具有的特性，並對顧客態度意願加以調查。了解顧客所重視的服務屬性，將有限的資源集中在服務傳送系統之管理重點，以為業者和顧客雙方創造出最大的附加價值。2.塑造出利於價值傳遞之企業文化。由於服務產出具有高度的多變性，透過管理制度和教育訓練方式將經營理念融入員工的工作態度與價值觀中，可增加服務產出的一致性，減少管理成本並增加服務品質績效。3.掌握服務核心觀念。任一服務業別的服務核心觀念會隨時代潮流以及產業激烈的競爭而重新定義，所以，業者應隨時留意顧客需求特性的改變，方不致為激烈的市場競爭所淘汰。

Marketing, Direct Marketing, Tele-Marketing, Consumer Behavior, Tele-sales, Developing countries, Customer attitude/behavior, Call center, Outbound calls, Proactive telemarketing, Sales promotion ,Survey, Telemarketing center , Telemarketing sales , Telephone marketers , Cold calls.