In the household appliance industry, heat pump systems have been used for a long time in refrigerators and freezers to cool food, and the industry has driven the development of small, high-quality, low-price heat pump components. In the last few decades, heat pump systems have been introduced in other household appliances, with the express purpose of reducing electricity consumption. Heat pump tumble dryers have been on the market since 2000 and dominate the market today. A heat pump dishwasher was introduced on the market in 2014 and a heat pump washing machine in 2016. The purpose of adding a heat pump system in these three products was to decrease electricity consumption. Papers I and II used a methodology where transient simulation models were developed and used to increase knowledge about how to decrease electricity consumption for a tumble dryer and a dishwasher by adding a heat pump system. Papers II to V showed that a lower electricity consumption and lower global warming potential together with an energy-efficient drying method, where no humid air evacuates to the kitchen, give a heat pump dishwasher competitive advantages compared to any conventional dishwasher currently on the market. Using simulations, this dissertation concludes that a future commercial heat pump dishwasher, using R600a as a refrigerant, will reduce electricity consumption and total equivalent warming impact (TEWI) by 50% compared to the conventional dishwasher. The willingness from the customer chain to pay extra for this heat pump dishwasher is because of the decreases electricity consumption and the fact that no humid air evacuates to the kitchen. This willingness makes the heat pump dishwasher to a variant which have possibility to succeed on the future market. The challenge for the manufacturer is to develop and produce a high-quality heat pump dishwasher with low electricity consumption, predict future willingness to pay for it, and launch it on the market at the right moment with the right promotion in order to succeed. / The competition in the household appliances industry is strong. Manufacturers are continuously trying to develop, produce and sell product functions and features with good profit. To continually develop new features that the customer chain is willing to pay for is a key factor for a manufacturer to survive. In this study has a heat pump system been added as a new feature to a dishwasher. The first heat pump dishwasher was introduced on the market in 2014 and the heat pump system was only used to heat the dishwasher. Comparing that first heat pump dishwasher was a new closed drying method introduced in this study where no humid air evacuates to the kitchen. Experiments and simulations showed that a dishwasher with an added heat pump system can decrease the total electricity consumption by 50% when cleaning and drying the dishware comparing to an on market conventional dishwasher. The willingness from the customer chain to pay extra for this heat pump dishwasher is because of the decreases in electricity consumption and the fact that no humid air evacuates to the kitchen. This willingness makes the heat pump dishwasher to a variant which have possibility to succeed on the future market.

The study aimed to explore and describe consumers’ reliance on brands, specifically the Country of Origin (COO) of brands as a heuristic, i.e. the perceived quality of a selected category of interior merchandise and to subsequently explain how COO influences consumers’ quality perceptions and product choices. The study focussed on major household appliances, due to the prominence of brand names and the COO on these products. In other interior merchandise product categories such as furniture and textile products, the brand name and COO is not necessarily that prominent or visible. A survey was conducted in the Tshwane metropolitan, which is a wealthy urban area in South Africa and a key role player in the economic sector. The study was conducted in the context of an emerging economy, where international brands have penetrated the market and made a wider range of products and brands available to the consumer. The data was collected by using convenience sampling methods supplemented by snowball sampling. It involved the self-completion of a structured questionnaire by 450 willing respondents who fit the prerequisite for the study, i.e. males and females, 25 years and older who belong to the middle to upper socio-economic group (earn R5000 or more per month) and who have an education level of grade 12 or higher, regardless of population group. Data analysis involved descriptive statistics, as well as exploratory factor analysis, specifically Principal Axis Factoring, using an Oblimin rotation with Kaiser Normalization to determine the underlying factors associated with the quality indicated by brand names and the associations consumers make of brand names and specific product characteristics. Calculations of means, standard deviations, Cronbach’s Alpha, Anova, t-tests and post hoc Sheffe’s tests were calculated where significant differences between demographics were investigated for further interpretation. The study concluded that consumers are relatively brand conscious, men more so than women and that they are brand familiar in terms of various major household appliance brands. Quality as the most important branded product meaning were confirmed, as well as the use of brands as an indicator of performance and functional product attributes, i.e. value for money. Brands are also frequently used, especially by females, as an indicator of the product’s environmental and ethical compliances, but less so to infer its status implications. The study did however confirm younger consumers use brand names to a greater extent to infer social status than older consumers. It also revealed that the Black and other population group use brand names as an indication of status characteristics significantly more than White consumers. Consumers seem to have little knowledge of the COO of brands; they do however have strong stereotypes of Western and Eastern countries as well as South Africa, where Western countries enjoy more positive stereotypes than the others. These stereotypes also seem to strongly influence their overall quality perceptions of major household appliances, especially in terms of durability, performance and prestige. The COO of a brand can therefore have implications for its brand equity and should be addressed in brand management and marketing initiatives. / Dissertation (MConsumer Science)--University of Pretoria, 2014. / tm2015 / Consumer Science / MConsumer Science / Unrestricted

Consumer complaint behaviour research in transitional and emerging countries, including South Africa, is still in its infancy stage. The vast changes to the South African consumer landscape along with the socio-political changes and the multicultural population's ongoing cultural changes necessitate the monitoring of changes in personal values. However, very little research has been done in South Africa regarding consumers' personal values. The effect of personal values on complaint behaviour in a South African context has also not yet been explored. As an extension of the social adaptation theory, several researchers have proposed a value-attitude-behaviour (VAB) hierarchy model (Homer & Kahle, 1988; Cai & Shannon, 2012) in order to explain the relationship between values and behaviour. The model proposes that causality flows from abstract values, through mid-range attitudes, to specific behaviours (Homer & Kahle, 1988; Hayley, Zinkiewicz & Hardiman, 2014); that is, values influence behaviour indirectly through attitudes. While the VAB model has been confirmed in a variety of consumer behaviour contexts, it has not yet been explored in a South African complaint behaviour context. This study therefore used social adaptation theory and the VAB model as theoretical framework to determine the effect of consumers' personal values and attitudes towards appliance retailers' complaint handling on their consumer complaint behaviour in the South African context. In addition, the relationships between demographic variables and personal values and also between demographic variables and consumer complaint behaviour were explored. A survey was administered to consumers who were dissatisfied with the performance of a major household appliance within a four-year memory recall period. Data was collected via a self-administered questionnaire measuring personal values with Kahle's (1983) List of Values (LOV) and attitudes toward appliance retailers' complaint handling, using an adapted version of Keng, Richmond and Han's (1995) "Attitudes toward businesses" scale. Convenience sampling and snowball sampling were employed in Tshwane, a major metropolitan area of South Africa, which generated 361 usable questionnaires. Exploratory factor analysis revealed three value dimensions, namely (1) Harmony and Respect, (2) Hedonism and (3) Achievement. Results of the Pearson correlation analysis showed that higher valuing of any one of the three value dimensions lead to more negative attitudes towards appliance retailers' complaint handling. Furthermore, multinomial logistic regression analysis revealed that more negative attitudes towards appliance retailers' complaint handling lead to a decreased likelihood of engaging in public complaint behaviour. Moreover, ANOVA revealed relationships between specific personal value dimensions and gender, age and population group. The study has implications for marketers, policy makers, appliance retailers and consumer protection organisations. / Navorsing oor verbruikers se klagte-gedrag in opkomende lande, insluitend Suid-Afrika, is nie baie ver gevorder nie. Die omvattende veranderende Suid-Afrikaanse verbruikerslandskap, tesame met die volgehoue sosio-politieke veranderinge en die kulturele veranderinge in die multikulturele polulasie, noodsaak die monitering van veranderinge in verbruikers se waardes. Daar bestaan egter baie min navorsing in Suid-Afrika oor verbruikers se persoonlike waardes. Voorts is die effek van persoonlike waardes op klagte-gedrag nog nie in die Suid-Afrikaanse konteks ondersoek nie. Verskeie navorsers stel voor dat die waarde-houding-gedrag-hiërargiemodel, wat uit sosiale aanpassingsteorie spruit, gebruik moet word om die verhouding tussen waardes en gedrag te verstaan. Die model stel dat oorsaaklikheid vanaf abstrakte waardes, deur houdings, na spesifieke gedrag vloei (Homer & Kahle, 1988; Hayley et al., 2014). Dit wil sê, waardes beïnvloed gedrag indirek deur houdings. Terwyl die waarde-houding-gedrag-model in 'n verskeidenheid klagte-gedrag-kontekste bevestig is, is dit nog nie in 'n Suid-Afrikaanse klagte-gedrag-konteks ondersoek nie. Gevolglik is die sosiale aanpassingsteorie en die waarde-houding-gedrag-model as teoretiese raamwerk in hierdie studie toegepas om die effek van verbruikers se persoonlike waardes en houdings teenoor kleinhandelaars se klagte-hantering op hulle klagte-gedrag in die Suid-Afrikaanse konteks te bepaal. Die verwantskappe tussen verbruikers se demografiese veranderlikes en hulle persoonlike waardes, en tussen demografiese veranderlikes en klagte-gedrag is ook verken. 'n Opname is onder verbruikers wat ontevrede was met die werksverrigting van hulle groot huishoudelike toerusting oor 'n vier-jaar-herroepingstydperk gedoen. Data is deur 'n selfgeadministreerde vraelys ingesamel waarin persoonlike waardes met Kahle (1983) se List of Values (LOV) en houdings teenoor kleinhandelaars se klagte-hantering met 'n aangepaste weergawe van Keng et al. (1995) se "Houdings teenoor besighede"-skaal gemeet is. Geriefsteekproefneming en sneeubalsteekproefneming, wat 361 bruikbare vraelyste opgelewer het, is in Tswane, 'n groot metropolitaanse gebied in Suid-Afrika, onderneem. Verkennende faktoranalise het drie waardedimensies, naamlik (1) Harmonie en Respek, (2) Hedonisme en (3) Prestasie, opgelewer. Die Pearsonkorrelasie-analise se resultate toon dat 'n toename in belangrikheid in enige van die drie waardedimensies tot 'n meer negatiewe houding teenoor kleinhandelaars se klagte-hantering lei. Voorts dui die resultate van die multinomiese logistiese regressie-analise daarop dat 'n toename in verbruikers se negatiewe houding teenoor kleinhandelaars se klagte-hantering tot 'n afname lei in hul geneigdheid tot publieke klagte-gedrag. Die resultate van die ANOVA-analise toon verder dat daar verwantskappe tussen spesifieke persoonlike waardes en geslag, ouderdom en populasiegroep bestaan. Die studie het implikasies vir bemarkers, beleidmakers, kleinhandelaars en verbruikersbeskerming-organisasies. / Dissertation (MConsumer Science)--University of Pretoria, 2016. / Consumer Science / MConsumer Science / Unrestricted