I följande uppsats undersöks attityder hos kunderna på Stockholms cafémarknad i syfte att undersöka möjligheterna för McCafé-konceptet att lanseras på stadens marknad. McCafés största konkurrensfördel identifieras som pris genom att studera hur konceptet utvecklats och ser ut i andra länder. För att få en nyanserad bild av kundperspektivet genomförs en enkätundersökning i centrala Stockholm med 222 svarande. Enkätundersökningens första del bygger på the Theory of Reasoned Action där konsumentens påverkan av olika attribut betraktas genom att låta denne utvärdera situationen på marknaden och sedan värdera vikten av samma attribut. Dessutom tittar teorin på förändringspotentialen för de undersökta attributen. Gällande Stockholms cafémarknad undersöks attributen pris, kvalitén på kaffe, service och interiör. Den andra delen i enkätundersökningen bygger på case-studier rörande påverkan av konsumenter inom denna bransch. Här utvärderas vilka kanaler som i högst grad påverkar konsumentens val och åsikter om caféer. Resultaten analyseras utifrån teorier om generationsmarknadsföring. Det framkommer att samtliga generationer påverkas negativt av prissituationen på marknaden och att det i detta attribut finns störst förändringspotential. Det visar även att den kanal som påverkar konsumenterna mest är vänner vilket blir en utmaning för McCafé att försöka influera i marknadsföringen kring konceptet.

The purpose of this study was to measure whether an after-school environmental education program based on modified Project Wild materials, positively impacted third graders environmental knowledge, attitudes and behavioral intentions. Eight lesson plans were developed, piloted and re-designed over a one year period and then delivered to third graders for a total of eight weeks in a fall semester. The lessons included units on water, air, land, recycling, insects, fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals. A pre-post test retrospective questionnaire was developed to determine changes in the participant's knowledge, attitudes and behavioral intentions as a result of participating in the program. Results indicate positive shifts in knowledge and changes in environmental attitudes and behavioral intentions. Recommendations were also made for future studies.

A major challenge for knowledge management concerns motivating people to share their knowledge with others. Many companies address this challenge by implementing sophisticated knowledge management systems. However, despite investments in knowledge management systems and practices, significant failure rates are being reported. Studies show that an important reason for this is that people are often reluctant to share their personal knowledge. It is therefore key for companies to understand the factors that influence employee attitudes toward knowledge sharing. Previous research on motivation has attempted to understand employee attitudes, intentions and behavior in relation to organizational knowledge sharing. However, few studies have provided a comprehensive model that includes a key set of extrinsic and intrinsic motivators for knowledge sharing, such as self-efficacy, meaningfulness, impact, tangible rewards, verbal rewards, anticipated reciprocal benefits and reputation and examined their relationship with knowledge sharing attitude and intention. The objective of this research is to fill that gap by investigating how the salient intrinsic and extrinsic motivators influence knowledge sharing attitude and intention. From an extensive review of the literature, a research model was proposed and hypotheses were developed to explore the answers to the research questions. Data was collected through a survey in organizations in New Zealand and Partial Least Squares Path Modeling was used to analyze the data. Empirical results showed intention to share knowledge was determined by attitude towards knowledge sharing and self-efficacy, meaningfulness, anticipated reciprocal relationships and reputation had a significant impact on the attitude towards knowledge sharing. This research contributes to the knowledge sharing literature by providing a comprehensive model of knowledge sharing motivators, including motivators that have been largely ignored in prior studies, and by empirically examining the influence of the key intrinsic and extrinsic motivators on attitude towards knowledge sharing. Furthermore, this research benefits companies that are using or setting up knowledge management systems and practices by allowing them to better understand how to encourage employees to engage in knowledge sharing.

Significance. International Medical Graduates (IMGs) comprise 26% of the physician workforce in the United States and 18% of the physician workforce in Iowa. IMGs fill gaps in health professional shortage areas (HPSAs) in the United States and are significant contributors to the medical community. The State Conrad 30 Program allows states to recruit IMGs to HPSAs. Physicians supported under the Conrad 30 Program are obligated to work in HPSAs for three years. Although an important subset of the physician population, little is known about the experiences of Conrad 30 Program participants, or the factors associated with recruiting and retaining this sector of the physician workforce. Purpose. This dissertation described the characteristics and experiences of IMGs practicing in the Iowa Conrad 30 Program, examined retention intention and actual retention of these physicians, and analyzed factors associated with retention of four or more years. Methods. This dissertation utilized a mixed methods approach. Study 1 examined the characteristics of 410 IMGs participating in the Iowa State Conrad 30 Program between 1996 and 2012, using existing data. Logistical regression was used to compare the characteristics of physicians who were retained for four or more years with those who were retained less than four years, controlling for covariates. Study 2 explored the experiences of nine physicians using in-depth qualitative interviews. Inductive content analysis was used to identify themes related to site selection and retention. Study 3 used a physician survey to analyze physician attitudes and subjective norms on 33 practice factors. ANOVA and linear regression was used to analyze the difference in attitudes and subjective norms by physicians’ intent to remain practicing in Iowa long term and actual retention. Results. Study 1: Of 410 physicians, 378 (92%) met the 3-year program obligation to practice at the original practice site and 280 physicians (68%) were retained four or more years. The average length of retention was 6 years and 4 months (SD = 4 years, 1 month). Male physicians had 2.7 greater odds of being retained four or more years than female physicians (95% CI = 1.39, 5.19). Physicians with a region of origin of the Americas had 0.25 lower odds of being retained four or more years compared to physicians with other regions of origin (95% CI = 0.06, 0.98). Marital status, having children at the time of hire, training in the Midwest, practice specialty, and salary were not significantly associated with odds of being retained four or more years. Study 2: Nine physicians completed semi-structured interviews. Themes from the interviews included: Physicians’ visa obligation requirements drove the initial site selection. Physicians had minimal knowledge about the state prior to selecting a practice site and had little intent to remain practicing in Iowa long term when making the initial practice site selection. Visa-related issues and the physician’s perception of mistreatment due to the visa status influenced the retention decision. The practice setting and personal motivators influenced the retention decision through the practice model, community attributes, influence of salient others, career motivators, and a sense of place. Study 3: Fifty-one physicians completed a survey regarding their retention intention when initially selecting the practice site, and their attitudes and subjective norms towards the practice and community. The perception of the beliefs of residency/fellowship faculty (subjective norms) were significant (p = 0.01) for those physicians intending to remain at the practice site for their careers. Attitudes towards the community were significantly more positive (p = 0.03) for physicians intending to remain at the practice site for their careers. Positive subjective norms of significant others (p = 0.02) and residency/fellowship faculty (p = 0.04) were significantly associated with actual retention of four or more years. Positive attitudes towards the practice site and employment factors were significantly associated with longer retention in months (p = 0.02, p = 0.03, respectively). The positive subjective norms of significant others and residency/fellowship faculty were significantly related to longer retention in months (p = 0.0002, p = 0.02). Conclusions: The findings of this study provide important empirical data on the factors influencing site selection and retention of IMGs that participated in the Iowa Conrad 30 Program. The findings suggest a modification may be needed for the existing theoretical model, which was based upon the Theory of Reasoned Action. Improving retention of physicians could help improve quality of care and reduce overall costs for physician practices. Understanding why Conrad 30 Program participants may elect to practice in rural and underserved areas, and the factors influencing retention of physicians in these areas can assist employers, program administrators, and policymakers to aid in improving the retention of International Medical Graduates.

This research was conducted to provide insights into the factors that influence consumer’s decision when choosing a channel to remit. The study looked at the following theories in determining the important factors that influence consumer intention or behavior, Theory of Reason Action, Theory of Planned Action, Remittance, Innovation Diffusion and Technology Acceptance Models. Hence, service providers should be aware of these factors so they can develop strategies and services to attract consumers to use their channels. The aim of the study was to determine which factors influence consumer’s decision in choosing a bank and non-bank channel to remit. The investigation of the key factors that influence the decision or intention, it was found that a single factor influenced the decision to remit in a bank and non-bank channel. It was also found in the study that consumers prefer physical channel of both bank and non-bank to remit. The finding has serious implications for service providers, in that consumer behavior show attachment to traditional distribution channels. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2011. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

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This study was designed to characterize consumer purchases of organic milk by differentiating consumers based on buying behavior and then evaluating what personal and household characteristics were most prominent in each group. Cluster analysis was used to differentiate four groups of consumers based on their total volume of milk purchases, percentage of organic milk purchases, and frequency of milk purchases. The clusters were then characterized based on household size, household income, age of children, race, Hispanic origin, and head of household's age, education, occupation, and gender. Regression analysis then estimated the effects of the socio-demographic variables on cluster membership. Results were consistent with existing literature. Those who purchased the most organic milk were females with a small household, families consisting of one or two members, or larger families, usually four. These two groups of consumers differentiated themselves from one another and from the other two clusters that purchased less organic milk with larger families purchasing more milk, but a smaller percentage of organic milk purchases. The results of identifying consumers based on their milk buying behavior can be used by marketers and educators to target individuals, based on group membership, for planning and guiding education and advertising campaigns and programs. / Master of Science

Bakgrund: Forskning inom socialt arbete indikerar att omvårdnadspersonal inom arbetet med äldre människor kan agera i strid med vårdtagares rätt till autonomi i situationer då en potentiell risk för skada uppstår. Syfte: Studiens syften var att: a) undersöka omvårdnadspersonalens förhållningssätt till autonomifrämjande och riskaverta omvårdnadssituationer och b) att använda Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) för att undersöka vilka faktorer som påverkar personalens intentioner till agerande i dessa situationer. Metod: Studien nyttjade en kvantitativ tvärsnitts- och kvasi-experimentell design, med vinjettbaserade enkäter skildrandes tre omvårdnadssituationer som skiljer sig i autonomifrämjande och riskaverta ageranden hos omvårdnadspersonalen. Urval: Urvalet bestod av omvårdnadspersonal (n=62) från fem vård- och omsorgsboenden för personer med demens. Resultat: Sammantaget tyder omvårdnadspersonalens bedömningar av situationerna att riskaverta ageranden var vanligare än autonomifrämjande ageranden både hos dem själva och bland deras kollegor. Genom analyser av TRA ges belägg för att de subjektiva normerna påverkar personalens intentioner till agerande mer än attityder. / Background: Research within social work indicates that staff working in care for older people can act in a way that conflicts with the care-recipient’s right to autonomy in situations where there is a risk of harm. Purpose: The study’s aims were a) to investigate staff’s response to autonomy-promoting and risk-averse care situations and b) to use the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) to investigate which factors influence staff’s intentions to act in these situations. Method: A quantitative cross-sectional quasi-experimental design, with vignette-based surveys depicting three care situations differing in terms of autonomy-promoting or risk-averse staff behavior. Sample: Nursing staff (N = 62) recruited from five specialist dementia care homes. Results: Overall, staff ratings of the vignettes suggested risk-aversion is more common than autonomy-promotion, both among their colleagues and in their own behavior, while the TRA analyses indicated that subjective norms more than attitudes influence the behavioral intentions of staff.

Frågeställning: I vilken utsträckning finns det samband mellan konsumenter bosatta i Sverige och deras Gröna Köpintention under en pågående kris? Syfte: Syftet med studien är att undersöka konsumenter bosatta i Sverige och deras Gröna Köpintention gentemot livsmedel under en pågående kris. Detta för att klargöra och analysera, samt ge en ökad förståelse kring ämnet. Metod: En kvantitativ ansats med tvärsnittsdesign har använts för studien. Webbaserade enkäter användes för insamling av primärdata. För att öka arbetets validitet har enkätfrågorna tagits från tidigare forskning. Vidare genomfördes en pilotundersökning före publicering av enkäten. Det totala urvalet inkluderade 354 respondenter varav 6 bortfall. Slutsats: Studien visade att det fanns ett samband mellan svenska konsumenter och deras Gröna Köpintention under en pågående kris. Det framkom att Sociodemografiska egenskaper inte hade något samband med Grön Köpintention i en krissituation, med undantag för kön. Däremot fanns det ett samband mellan Attityd mot Beteendet, Subjektiv Norm och Upplevd Beteendekontroll mot Grön Köpintention under en kris. Respondenterna visade en positiv attityd gentemot Grön Köpintention vilket kan grundas i en uppåtgående trend gentemot en hållbar livsstil före krisen och en ökning av Gröna alternativ i butiker. Vidare kan krisen även ha gett konsumenter utrymme för att se över sina vanor och därav deras Gröna Intentioner. / Research question: To what extent is there a correlation between consumers living in Sweden and their green purchase intention during an ongoing crisis? Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine consumers living in Sweden and their green purchase intention during an ongoing crisis. This to clarify and analyze the subject as well as contribute with further knowledge. Method: A quantitive approach with a cross-sectional design has been used for this study. Web-based surveys were used to collect the primary data. To increase the validity of this study, the survey questions were formed after previous research. Furthermore, a pilot-study was conducted prior to the publication of the survey. The total sample-size included 354 respondents, of which 6 were not in the criteria-range. Conclusion: The study showed that there was a correlation between Swedish consumers and their green purchase intention during an ongoing crisis. It emerged that socio-demographic attributes did not correlate with green purchase intention, with the exception of gender. However, there was a correlation between attitude towards behavior, subjective norm and perceived behavioral control towards green purchase intention during an ongoing crisis. The respondents showed a positive attitude towards green purchase intention, which can be based on an upward trend towards a sustainable lifestyle that has emerged prior to the crisis and an increase in green alternatives in stores. Furthermore, the crisis may also have given consumers space to review their habits and therefore their green intentions.