ABSTRACT Botanic Garden User Outcomes: A Means-End Investigation Christopher Lee Wassenberg This study explored the outcomes that Leaning Pine Arboretum users experience from visiting the botanic garden. Understanding visitor motivations and benefits has been a focus in the field of outdoor recreation, and the subject of a number of botanic garden and green space visitor studies. Previous studies have found that visiting a botanic garden can serve as a coping strategy for dealing with and reducing life stress (Holbrook, 2010; Kohlleppel, Bradley, & Jacob, 2002; Maller, Townsend, Pryor, Brown, & St Leger, 2005) and that visiting public outdoor green spaces led visitors to experience greater exposure to natural spaces and to have meaningful experiences with others (Burgess, Harrison, & Limb, 1988). This study employed means-end theory (Gutman, 1982) to investigate the link between garden attributes and user outcomes. In-person interviews were conducted with 83 garden visitors during the summer of 2011. Researchers coded the interview data to identify participants’ reported attributes, consequences, and values. Intercoder reliability was conducted to ensure validity of the results. Coded data were entered into the Laddermap (Gengler & Reynolds, 1995) computer software program to be analyzed. Implication matrixes were created to determine the number of times concepts were linked. From the implication matrixes, hierarchical value maps (HVMs) were developed to display the results graphically. HVMs show the strength of links between attributes, consequences, and values, and were used to compare results from different visitor groups within the study. These groups included males and females, students and non-students, and first time and return visitors. The findings revealed that participants felt that the botanic garden and plants were the most meaningful garden attributes. These garden attributes led participants to experience the consequences new experiences and learning stress and relief and relaxation. Having experienced these meaningful consequences allowed participants to reach the most frequently mentioned values: transference and improved quality of life. The study found important links between attributes, consequences, and values, including the consequences escape and stress relief and relaxation, and the consequence new experiences and learning, and the value transference. Important differences were also found between the attribute, consequence, and value chains of multiple visitor groups. Botanical garden and arboretum mangers may use this study to improve visitor experiences and outcomes. A better understanding of visitor benefits and outcomes can help managers understand the needs of current visitors, potential visitors, and potential garden supporters. In turn, garden visitors who have better experiences may be more inclined to provide funding or other support to conserve and preserve their local gardens. Based on the results garden managers should maintain a broad range of healthy, well-displayed plants; exert high-levels of detail to all aspects of garden operations; continue to provide opportunities for full visitor immersion; and offer unified, accessible interpretation of garden spaces and plants. Additionally, these results may be used to validate funding requests and guide allocation of funding. Keywords: Botanic garden users, outcomes, means-end theory, Leaning Pine Arboretum

Com o passar do tempo, a crescente demanda por produtos ambientalmente mais amigáveis tem suscitado um entendimento mais avançado acerca do Marketing Verde e da forma como se delineia o consumo dentro deste campo com raízes antigas, mas ainda jovem dentro do escopo do Marketing. Nesta direção, o presente estudo consiste em uma aproximação acerca do consumo de produtos concebidos com base nos preceitos do Marketing Verde. Trata-se de um estudo de natureza exploratória que faz uso do método Laddering, baseado na Teoria das Cadeias Meios Fins, para investigar o papel do Marketing Verde no processo de Fidelização de Clientes. Sendo o processo de fidelização já bastante explorado, o presente estudo representa um avanço na medida em que propõe uma aproximação exploratória neste campo, com a finalidade de melhor entender o papel do Marketing Verde. Para tanto, foi preciso definir uma empresa que pudesse ser representativa do Marketing Verde neste estudo, o que foi realizado na primeira fase da presente pesquisa. Por meio de um levantamento com especialistas na área da sustentabilidade, e da posterior validação desta fase com base em análise documental, a empresa ou marca revelada foi a Natura, fabricante brasileira de cosméticos com engajamento em ações socioambientais. A partir desta definição, partiu-se para a aplicação do Laddering com consumidoras assíduas da Natura a fim de desvendar os Atributos, Consequências e Valores presentes no consumo desta marca. Com base nisso, pode-se perceber a forma como estes se ligam no processo de consumo da marca em questão, bem como revelar as implicações mais importantes para explicar o processo de fidelização das clientes participantes do estudo. Como resultado, constata-se o forte peso do Marketing Verde sobre o processo de fidelização destas clientes, na medida em que passa a percebido como diferencial e a ser considerado diante da escolha de uma determinada marca. No caso de produtos cosméticos, cuja finalidade básica está relacionada à obtenção de beleza e bem-estar, a constatação de que o Marketing Verde da marca estudada age tão fortemente, quanto às próprias questões relacionadas à beleza e bem-estar, sobre o processo de fidelização das clientes, significa um avanço no campo de estudo sobre lealdade. / Over time, the growing demand for environmentally friendly products has led to a more advanced understanding about Green Marketing and about the way the consumption rises within this field with ancient roots, but still young within the scope of Marketing. In this sense, the present study consists of an approximation about the consumption of products designed based on the precepts of Green Marketing. This is an exploratory study that makes use of the laddering method, based on the Means-End Chains Theory to investigate the role of Green Marketing in the process of customer loyalty. As the process of loyalty can already be considered extensively explored, this study represents advancement, in the sense it proposes an exploratory approach in this field, in order to best understand the role of Green Marketing. To that end, we have been supposed to define a company that could be representative of Green Marketing in this study, which was conducted in the first phase of this research. Through a survey with experts in the field of sustainability and further validation of this phase based on document analysis, the company or brand revealed has been Natura, Brazilian cosmetics manufacturer, because of its engage in socio-environmental actions, which can be regarded as an exponent of Green Marketing. From this definition, we advanced to the implementation of laddering with assiduous consumers of Natura, in order to uncover the attributes, consequences and values present in the consumption of this brand. On this basis, we can see how these ones link to each other in the process of consumption of the brand in question and reveal the most important implications as capable of explaining the process of customer loyalty in the study. As a result, it can be noticed the heavy importance of the Green Marketing on these customers loyalty, as it is taken into account and considered before choosing a particular brand. In the case of cosmetic products, whose basic purpose is related to the achievement of beauty and wellbeing, the discovery that the Green Marketing of the brand studied acts as strongly as the issues related to beauty and wellness on the loyalty of customers means a breakthrough in the field of study about loyalty.

Com o passar do tempo, a crescente demanda por produtos ambientalmente mais amigáveis tem suscitado um entendimento mais avançado acerca do Marketing Verde e da forma como se delineia o consumo dentro deste campo com raízes antigas, mas ainda jovem dentro do escopo do Marketing. Nesta direção, o presente estudo consiste em uma aproximação acerca do consumo de produtos concebidos com base nos preceitos do Marketing Verde. Trata-se de um estudo de natureza exploratória que faz uso do método Laddering, baseado na Teoria das Cadeias Meios Fins, para investigar o papel do Marketing Verde no processo de Fidelização de Clientes. Sendo o processo de fidelização já bastante explorado, o presente estudo representa um avanço na medida em que propõe uma aproximação exploratória neste campo, com a finalidade de melhor entender o papel do Marketing Verde. Para tanto, foi preciso definir uma empresa que pudesse ser representativa do Marketing Verde neste estudo, o que foi realizado na primeira fase da presente pesquisa. Por meio de um levantamento com especialistas na área da sustentabilidade, e da posterior validação desta fase com base em análise documental, a empresa ou marca revelada foi a Natura, fabricante brasileira de cosméticos com engajamento em ações socioambientais. A partir desta definição, partiu-se para a aplicação do Laddering com consumidoras assíduas da Natura a fim de desvendar os Atributos, Consequências e Valores presentes no consumo desta marca. Com base nisso, pode-se perceber a forma como estes se ligam no processo de consumo da marca em questão, bem como revelar as implicações mais importantes para explicar o processo de fidelização das clientes participantes do estudo. Como resultado, constata-se o forte peso do Marketing Verde sobre o processo de fidelização destas clientes, na medida em que passa a percebido como diferencial e a ser considerado diante da escolha de uma determinada marca. No caso de produtos cosméticos, cuja finalidade básica está relacionada à obtenção de beleza e bem-estar, a constatação de que o Marketing Verde da marca estudada age tão fortemente, quanto às próprias questões relacionadas à beleza e bem-estar, sobre o processo de fidelização das clientes, significa um avanço no campo de estudo sobre lealdade. / Over time, the growing demand for environmentally friendly products has led to a more advanced understanding about Green Marketing and about the way the consumption rises within this field with ancient roots, but still young within the scope of Marketing. In this sense, the present study consists of an approximation about the consumption of products designed based on the precepts of Green Marketing. This is an exploratory study that makes use of the laddering method, based on the Means-End Chains Theory to investigate the role of Green Marketing in the process of customer loyalty. As the process of loyalty can already be considered extensively explored, this study represents advancement, in the sense it proposes an exploratory approach in this field, in order to best understand the role of Green Marketing. To that end, we have been supposed to define a company that could be representative of Green Marketing in this study, which was conducted in the first phase of this research. Through a survey with experts in the field of sustainability and further validation of this phase based on document analysis, the company or brand revealed has been Natura, Brazilian cosmetics manufacturer, because of its engage in socio-environmental actions, which can be regarded as an exponent of Green Marketing. From this definition, we advanced to the implementation of laddering with assiduous consumers of Natura, in order to uncover the attributes, consequences and values present in the consumption of this brand. On this basis, we can see how these ones link to each other in the process of consumption of the brand in question and reveal the most important implications as capable of explaining the process of customer loyalty in the study. As a result, it can be noticed the heavy importance of the Green Marketing on these customers loyalty, as it is taken into account and considered before choosing a particular brand. In the case of cosmetic products, whose basic purpose is related to the achievement of beauty and wellbeing, the discovery that the Green Marketing of the brand studied acts as strongly as the issues related to beauty and wellness on the loyalty of customers means a breakthrough in the field of study about loyalty.

Com o passar do tempo, a crescente demanda por produtos ambientalmente mais amigáveis tem suscitado um entendimento mais avançado acerca do Marketing Verde e da forma como se delineia o consumo dentro deste campo com raízes antigas, mas ainda jovem dentro do escopo do Marketing. Nesta direção, o presente estudo consiste em uma aproximação acerca do consumo de produtos concebidos com base nos preceitos do Marketing Verde. Trata-se de um estudo de natureza exploratória que faz uso do método Laddering, baseado na Teoria das Cadeias Meios Fins, para investigar o papel do Marketing Verde no processo de Fidelização de Clientes. Sendo o processo de fidelização já bastante explorado, o presente estudo representa um avanço na medida em que propõe uma aproximação exploratória neste campo, com a finalidade de melhor entender o papel do Marketing Verde. Para tanto, foi preciso definir uma empresa que pudesse ser representativa do Marketing Verde neste estudo, o que foi realizado na primeira fase da presente pesquisa. Por meio de um levantamento com especialistas na área da sustentabilidade, e da posterior validação desta fase com base em análise documental, a empresa ou marca revelada foi a Natura, fabricante brasileira de cosméticos com engajamento em ações socioambientais. A partir desta definição, partiu-se para a aplicação do Laddering com consumidoras assíduas da Natura a fim de desvendar os Atributos, Consequências e Valores presentes no consumo desta marca. Com base nisso, pode-se perceber a forma como estes se ligam no processo de consumo da marca em questão, bem como revelar as implicações mais importantes para explicar o processo de fidelização das clientes participantes do estudo. Como resultado, constata-se o forte peso do Marketing Verde sobre o processo de fidelização destas clientes, na medida em que passa a percebido como diferencial e a ser considerado diante da escolha de uma determinada marca. No caso de produtos cosméticos, cuja finalidade básica está relacionada à obtenção de beleza e bem-estar, a constatação de que o Marketing Verde da marca estudada age tão fortemente, quanto às próprias questões relacionadas à beleza e bem-estar, sobre o processo de fidelização das clientes, significa um avanço no campo de estudo sobre lealdade. / Over time, the growing demand for environmentally friendly products has led to a more advanced understanding about Green Marketing and about the way the consumption rises within this field with ancient roots, but still young within the scope of Marketing. In this sense, the present study consists of an approximation about the consumption of products designed based on the precepts of Green Marketing. This is an exploratory study that makes use of the laddering method, based on the Means-End Chains Theory to investigate the role of Green Marketing in the process of customer loyalty. As the process of loyalty can already be considered extensively explored, this study represents advancement, in the sense it proposes an exploratory approach in this field, in order to best understand the role of Green Marketing. To that end, we have been supposed to define a company that could be representative of Green Marketing in this study, which was conducted in the first phase of this research. Through a survey with experts in the field of sustainability and further validation of this phase based on document analysis, the company or brand revealed has been Natura, Brazilian cosmetics manufacturer, because of its engage in socio-environmental actions, which can be regarded as an exponent of Green Marketing. From this definition, we advanced to the implementation of laddering with assiduous consumers of Natura, in order to uncover the attributes, consequences and values present in the consumption of this brand. On this basis, we can see how these ones link to each other in the process of consumption of the brand in question and reveal the most important implications as capable of explaining the process of customer loyalty in the study. As a result, it can be noticed the heavy importance of the Green Marketing on these customers loyalty, as it is taken into account and considered before choosing a particular brand. In the case of cosmetic products, whose basic purpose is related to the achievement of beauty and wellbeing, the discovery that the Green Marketing of the brand studied acts as strongly as the issues related to beauty and wellness on the loyalty of customers means a breakthrough in the field of study about loyalty.

The results from this study suggest that participants of wilderness adventure education programs offered by Outward Bound and the National Outdoor Leadership School felt challenged by many of the experiences from their programs. Interactions with their group helped in dealing with the challenges presented by the experience. The development of hard skills gave participants a confidence in their abilities to survive and feel safe in these wilderness environments, which allowed them to relax and enjoy the experience, develop new perspectives, become motivated and inspired, and develop a sense of independence. Participants developed a sense of growth and maturity from their experiences, which upon reflection led to a sense of accomplishment. This sense of accomplishment led to transference of program benefits and values into participants’ lives, particularly in greater self-respect/esteem/confidence. The purpose of this study was to gain a better understanding of the outcomes that individuals experienced from wilderness adventure programs and the effects they had on participants’ lives. Means-end theory was used to understand the outcomes, more specifically attributes, consequences, and values, and their connections to each other. This study was longitudinal in nature and a comparison between the original data collection and follow-up interviews was done to investigate reported change in values over time. The results from this study show that the outcomes from participation in the Outward Bound and NOLS programs were transferring into participant’s lives and leaving a lasting impression.

During the past years, the usage of wood as construction material in multistory applications has increased. In Germany and Sweden, various activities have been, and are about to be performed, to accentuate and improve the position of wooden multistory houses. In line with that, this thesis tries to contribute to the understanding of how consumers perceive durable products; in the contextual frame of how German and Swedish consumers perceive wooden multistory houses. It was hypothesized that consumers’ perceptions on durable products differ, depending on their age, income, national and within-country habitation. Based on the Means-End Chain Theory, the Association Pattern Technique has been further developed to collect and analyze data for two samples. In Germany and Sweden, 31 respectively 34 laddering interviews have been carried out which formed the base for a survey-study in each country. Here, 229 surveys were received from German, and 503 from Swedish respondents. The results show that age, income, national and within-country habitation have significant impact on consumers’ perceptions of wooden multistory houses. Moreover, the extension of the Association Pattern Technique was validated. It allowed for additional data to be gathered, which can be regarded as rather important, since it appeared in the most dominant Means-End Chains of the respondents in both Germany and Sweden. This helps to understand consumers’ underlying reasons why one product is favoured over another.

During the past years, wooden one and two family houses showed a higher growth rate on the German construction market compared to conventional material like brick and stone. Wood as construction material became more and more attractive. Furthermore, a growing demand on multifamily houses could be recognized, yet, wood has not been considered as an alternative in this field of application until now. Trying to understand the end-users attitudes towards wooden multifamily houses, this licentiate thesis aims at exploring German end-users’ perceptions of wooden multifamily houses. To collect the necessary data, the Association Pattern Technique (APT) was applied, which is a two-stage method and has its foundations in the Means-End theory. In the first stage, 31 in-depth laddering interviews were carried out, which served as the base for the matrix-survey in the second stage, where 229 answers were received. Extending the existing method in the matrix-survey stage allowed for important additional data to be uncovered. The results show that individuals associate certain product attributes with wooden multifamily houses and that these attributes are thought to entail specific consequences. These consequences are in turn linked with the personal values of the respondents. The most dominant perceptual orientations of different groups of respondents are shown and significant differences could be found in how individuals in German perceive wooden multifamily houses depending on age, income and habitation.

<p>During the past years, wooden one and two family houses showed a higher growth rate on the German construction market compared to conventional material like brick and stone. Wood as construction material became more and more attractive. Furthermore, a growing demand on multifamily houses could be recognized, yet, wood has not been considered as an alternative in this field of application until now. Trying to understand the end-users attitudes towards wooden multifamily houses, this licentiate thesis aims at exploring German end-users’ perceptions of wooden multifamily houses.</p><p>To collect the necessary data, the Association Pattern Technique (APT) was applied, which is a two-stage method and has its foundations in the Means-End theory. In the first stage, 31 in-depth laddering interviews were carried out, which served as the base for the matrix-survey in the second stage, where 229 answers were received. Extending the existing method in the matrix-survey stage allowed for important additional data to be uncovered.</p><p>The results show that individuals associate certain product attributes with wooden multifamily houses and that these attributes are thought to entail specific consequences. These consequences are in turn linked with the personal values of the respondents. The most dominant perceptual orientations of different groups of respondents are shown and significant differences could be found in how individuals in German perceive wooden multifamily houses depending on age, income and habitation.</p>