<p>In today’s world, consumerism is dominating all the aspects of our life. In society, life follows the pattern of the capitalist culture where the human values have a different measure. We do live in a branded world. There is no doubt about it. We all make product decisions every day. We probably all have certain types of products of which we like only one or two brands, while we buy other things based on what is on sale on a given day. This inclination to buy branded products is rooted in two basic things: recollection and satisfaction. We remember which one we like by brand name.</p><p>A survey by the Henley Centre revealed that the public trust brand names such as Kellogg’s, Heinz and Marks & Spencer more than Parliament, the police and the legal system (Sunday Times, “A can of worms is a bad diet”, 5 April 1998). This research highlights the importance of the relationship between consumers and key brands; and shows that it has strengthened to such an extent that it is now healthier than the relationship with our social structures. This is evidence of the power of consumer culture and the liberal free market economics of the westernized world. The Brands not just represent the symbol of the company but also to a greater extant defines lives people in the society. What a person uses can reflect his taste, his or her status in the society, his / her economic background as well. This makes a deep connection between the company and its brand, with the consumer. In this two way relation both the company and consumers are dependent on each other.</p><p>The salient of purpose of our study was to find out to what extent brand names influence the consumers’ purchase decisions with regard to high-involvement products. We conducted this study based on theories and survey. We reviewed a good number of relevant theories of brand and consumer decision making process. We also conducted a survey among the students. The respondents of our survey were those students who own a notebook PC, a high involvement product. We used convenience sampling for our survey. We analyzed the data of the survey in order to be able to draw conclusions and find answers to our questions.</p><p>On analysis of the collected data, we came to a conclusion that brand names have an influence on the consumer decision not only in case of notebook PC, but also in other product categories. The overall means of brand equity for male and female student are 3.64 and 3.66 respectively. Both the means are considerably higher than the average of 2.5 on the Likert Scale. So, it is reasonable to say that both male and female students’ purchase decisions are influenced by the brand equity to an extent. The consumers are very conscious about branded products because they have the view that well-known brands are more reliable. This study also explains that customers trust the branded products. Before purchasing a notebook PC people do not consider the lesser known brands. Our survey results show that the respondents previously automatically knew which brand of Notebook PC to buy. The mean of the statement “I automatically knew which brands of this product to buy” was much higher than average indicating that respondents had only a few brands in their evoked set and they ended up buying their top-of-the-mind brand. Consumers opined that well-known brand companies maintain quality of their product. Which is why, brand name affects the customer choice while making a purchase decision. Moreover, consumers also tend to trust well-known branded products. The mean of the statement “When I see an advertisement of this brand I believe the information in it is accurate” was much higher than the average which testifies to the fact that consumers usually trust the brands.</p>

In today’s world, consumerism is dominating all the aspects of our life. In society, life follows the pattern of the capitalist culture where the human values have a different measure. We do live in a branded world. There is no doubt about it. We all make product decisions every day. We probably all have certain types of products of which we like only one or two brands, while we buy other things based on what is on sale on a given day. This inclination to buy branded products is rooted in two basic things: recollection and satisfaction. We remember which one we like by brand name. A survey by the Henley Centre revealed that the public trust brand names such as Kellogg’s, Heinz and Marks &amp; Spencer more than Parliament, the police and the legal system (Sunday Times, “A can of worms is a bad diet”, 5 April 1998). This research highlights the importance of the relationship between consumers and key brands; and shows that it has strengthened to such an extent that it is now healthier than the relationship with our social structures. This is evidence of the power of consumer culture and the liberal free market economics of the westernized world. The Brands not just represent the symbol of the company but also to a greater extant defines lives people in the society. What a person uses can reflect his taste, his or her status in the society, his / her economic background as well. This makes a deep connection between the company and its brand, with the consumer. In this two way relation both the company and consumers are dependent on each other. The salient of purpose of our study was to find out to what extent brand names influence the consumers’ purchase decisions with regard to high-involvement products. We conducted this study based on theories and survey. We reviewed a good number of relevant theories of brand and consumer decision making process. We also conducted a survey among the students. The respondents of our survey were those students who own a notebook PC, a high involvement product. We used convenience sampling for our survey. We analyzed the data of the survey in order to be able to draw conclusions and find answers to our questions. On analysis of the collected data, we came to a conclusion that brand names have an influence on the consumer decision not only in case of notebook PC, but also in other product categories. The overall means of brand equity for male and female student are 3.64 and 3.66 respectively. Both the means are considerably higher than the average of 2.5 on the Likert Scale. So, it is reasonable to say that both male and female students’ purchase decisions are influenced by the brand equity to an extent. The consumers are very conscious about branded products because they have the view that well-known brands are more reliable. This study also explains that customers trust the branded products. Before purchasing a notebook PC people do not consider the lesser known brands. Our survey results show that the respondents previously automatically knew which brand of Notebook PC to buy. The mean of the statement “I automatically knew which brands of this product to buy” was much higher than average indicating that respondents had only a few brands in their evoked set and they ended up buying their top-of-the-mind brand. Consumers opined that well-known brand companies maintain quality of their product. Which is why, brand name affects the customer choice while making a purchase decision. Moreover, consumers also tend to trust well-known branded products. The mean of the statement “When I see an advertisement of this brand I believe the information in it is accurate” was much higher than the average which testifies to the fact that consumers usually trust the brands.

Background Country of origin (COO) has developed over the years and so has the definition, from the manufacturing COO and has now developed more into the COO of the brand. This development has led to a gap in research surrounding COO effects in combination with the decision-making process. Purpose The purpose of this study was to understand and explore which product information cues COO effects, along with how these cues influence the consumer's cognitive decision-making process. Leading to recommendations for companies, of how they can then use these effects in their favour. Method An interpretivism philosophy was used as part of this study, along with an inductive approach. Exploratory research was conducted to analyse the qualitative data during the experimental setting within three focus groups to gather in-depth views and opinions of participants. The research was gathered using convenience sampling, with limitations including the pre-bias participants had surrounding a COO. Findings The three most important information cues were quality, price and brand when it comes to what information consumers need to make a purchase. There is a difference in willingness to pay, perceived brand image and value surrounding COO from the COO experiment conducted between Germany and Poland. Research participants would pay on average 104 Euros more for the same product if it was a German brand over a Polish one. COO effects consumers in both a direct and indirect way, the subliminal use of COO, suggesting that the decision-making process is not completely cognitive. Similarly, consumers do not initially perceive COO as an important factor until it is brought up. However it can be said to be at the back of their minds at all times. It was also suggested that consumers have a ranking of countries within their minds and use it to aid their decision-making process. Consumers want to use the rational (intrinsic) cues (quality, design), however the extrinsic cues (brand, price) were identified as being more important. Conclusion In conclusion it can be said that COO is an important influencing factor on the consumers' decision-making process. COO is a factor effecting and influencing the different information cues which consumers identify as being important to their purchase. COO is seen as an influencing factor continuously effecting information cues, but more specifically price, brand and quality. Brands with 'higher' perceived COO's can thrive under their competitive advantage, whilst brands with a 'lower' perceived COO do not do as well.

Informational sources affecting purchase intent in online shopping: A qualitative approach to determine external informational sources affecting the online purchase intention of high involvement products.

In several years researchers have focused on identifying different socialization agents that influence the child consumer in the purchasing process. These studies have identified parents, friends and peers, television, role models, and different virtual communities as socialization agents. However, there is still no understanding of how the socialization agents are integrated in the decision-making process. The purpose is therefore to identify how the child-consumers are influenced by different sources in their decision-making process, and recognise the socialization agents’ interaction as influencers. The authors have found that there is a continuous interaction between the socialization agents in the decision-making process. The socialization agents, such as parents, siblings, friends and peers, television, role models and virtual communities, separately influence the adolescents in the purchasing process, however, the adolescents do not only take into consideration the opinion of one socialization agent but rather they use all of them. The authors have also found that the socialization agents act as support systems to other socialization agents, this in both influence and credibility.

<p>In several years researchers have focused on identifying different socialization agents that influence the child consumer in the purchasing process. These studies have identified parents, friends and peers, television, role models, and different virtual communities as socialization agents. However, there is still no understanding of how the socialization agents are integrated in the decision-making process.</p><p>The purpose is therefore to identify how the child-consumers are influenced by different sources in their decision-making process, and recognise the socialization agents’ interaction as influencers.</p><p>The authors have found that there is a continuous interaction between the socialization agents in the decision-making process. The socialization agents, such as parents, siblings, friends and peers, television, role models and virtual communities, separately influence the adolescents in the purchasing process, however, the adolescents do not only take into consideration the opinion of one socialization agent but rather they use all of them. The authors have also found that the socialization agents act as support systems to other socialization agents, this in both influence and credibility.</p><p> </p>

Purpose: The purpose of the paper is to find solutions to increase the purchase intention of HIP’s and encourage Generation Z to influence todays’ customers to buy online as well as to purchase in future online when they become relevant customers in the new-car market, and to enable car manufacturers to use the potential of increased margins and sales, of online shopping in the car industry. Design/Methodology/Approach: The structure was followed by a deductive approach. Moreover, a quantitative approach was applied in the form of a questionnaire based on 5 hypotheses with 200 valid responses. The programs for the analysis are AMOS-SEM. Findings: Evidence has shown a positive relationship between variables in the hypotheses.The attitude and subjective norms, affected by behavioral beliefs and normative beliefs, of Generation Z affected the purchase intention of Generation Z, towards online purchase of HIP’s, positively and enabled them to act as influencers. Research Contributions/Limitations: The contribution highlights that, Generation Z as influencers of today and the future customer, could change consumer behavior towards online purchase of HIP’s, which help car manufacturers improve their online sales and grow their business. The research is limited to 200 people that are representative for Generation Z. Practical Implications: The results contribute important insights of selling HIP's online to Generation Z. Furthermore, the implications are developed to decrease the perceived risk of buying cars online. Value: The study about Generation Z, as influencers of today and future customers for online purchase of HIP's and specifically cars, indicated that there is a lack of scientific studies on this specific field. Therefore, the value of the study is based on new findings to help car manufacturers create a better experience for customers and increase their online sales on the new-car market. Keywords: E-commerce, Customer Experience In Online Shopping, Generation Z, Consumer Behavior Toward Online Shopping, High Involvement Products, New-Car Market

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