This research examines consumer preferences for certification of select credence attributes by different certifying agents. Over two separate study periods, groups of Edmonton consumers participated in sessions comprised of three components a real choice experiment, a stated preference exercise and a survey designed to elicit willingness to pay for select credence attributes of eggs, certification of those attributes and establish attitudes and beliefs that may affect preferences. Results indicate that consumer shopping habits, overall trust levels and certain demographic characteristics influence the preference for an attribute as well as the preference for certification of that attribute. Survey respondents prefer certified to uncertified eggs and government is the preferred certifier. Pasteurized eggs gained the most from certification. Furthermore, an assessment of respondent knowledge about current certification practices indicates that certification schemes be accompanied by an adequate education campaign.

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Titel: Hur står sig de billigare substituten emot premium produkter? Nivå: C-uppsats i ämnet företagsekonomi Författare: Giancarlo Mancuso & John Gustafsson Handledare: Jonas Kågström Datum: 2012 – Maj Syfte: Syftet med denna uppsats är att vi vill undersöka hur de billigare substituten står sig emot premium produkter genom att ställa de emot varandra i ett blindtest föreslagits av tidigare forskning Ogenyi Ejye (1994). Vi vill veta om det finns en stor skillnad mellan de billigare varianterna och de premier produkterna enligt tidigare gjord forskning. Metod: Vi har utfört ett experiment i form av ett blindtest där vi sätter fyra olika Cola sorter emot varandra. Under genomförandet av experimentet har vi använt oss utav enkäter för att samla in data. Detsamma gäller för vår webb undersökning. Resultat & slutsats: Det vi kom fram till i vår undersökning är att varumärken påverkar oss konsumenter både positivt och negativt. Vi kan tydligt se i det blinda testet att det inte skiljer sig så mycket mellan premier produkterna och de billigare substituten när det kommer till smaken. Men i det visuella testet kan vi se en tydlig skillnad mellan de olika sorterna. Vidare visade vår undersökning att det genomsnittliga priset som våra deltagare var villiga att betala för de olika produkterna ligger över det faktiska priset i både det visuella och det blinda testet. Förslag till fortsatt forskning: En intressant vidare forskning skulle vara att ta samma deltagare och genomföra två olika experiment på dem. Den ena skulle vara ett blindtest där deltagarna är omedvetna om vad det är de dricker och det andra skulle vara ett visuella test där deltagarna är medvetna om vilket varumärke det är de dricker, därefter jämföra resultatet. En annan vidare forskning i detta sammanhang skulle vara att undersöka WTA(Willingness To Accept) för att se vilket pris man som konsument skulle vara villig att betala.  Uppsatsens bidrag: Det vi kom fram till är att skillnaden mellan de olika Cola sorter inte är så stora när man tar bort varumärket. Det är ett bevis på att de billiga substituten börjar matcha det premium produkterna i form av smak preferenser. Vi ser också hur viktigt det är att skapa ett starkt varumärke. Nyckelord: Brand, Brand Equity, Willingess to Pay, Consumer price perception, Pricepremium / Title: How do the cheaper substitutes withstand the premium products? Level: Degree in Business Administration Author: Giancarlo Mancuso & John Gustafsson Supervisor: Jonas Kågström Date: Maj – 2012 Aim: The purpose of this paper is to investigate how cheaper substitutes hold up to premium products by comparing them to each other in a blind test suggested by previous research Ogenyi Ejye (1994). We want to know if there is a major difference between the cheaper versions and the premium products in accordance with previous research. Method: The research had been done in the form of a blind test. Four different Cola varieties and have been compared against each other using a survey to collect data. This form of testing applied to our online survey as well. Result & Conclusions: The conclusion of our study is that brands do affect us as consumers, both in a positive and negative way. We could clearly see that in the blind test between the premium products and the cheaper substitutes there was not much of a difference in taste. In the visual test we could clearly see a difference between the products. Furthermore this research has shown that our participants are willing to pay more than the actual retail price for this product in both the visual and blind test. Suggestions for future research: It would be interesting with further research to take the same participants and perform two different experiments on them. One could be a blind test and the second could be in a visual test. During which the participants are aware of what they taste to see if there would be a major difference between the results. It would also be interesting to see research done using WTA (Willingness to Accept) in this context.  Contribution of the thesis: Our research has shown that there is not a great difference between the tastes of the products. It has given further proof that the cheaper substitute products are delivering almost the same quality as the premium product, which shows how important it is to build strong brand equity. Key words: Brand, Brand Equity, Willingness to Pay, Consumer price perception, Price premium

Since September 11, 2001, the United States Government (USG) has possessed unparalleled capability in terms of dedicated intelligence and information collection assets supporting the analysts of the Intelligence Community (IC). The USG IC has sponsored, developed, and borne witness to extraordinary advances in technology, techniques, and procedures focused on knowledge harvesting, knowledge sharing, and collaboration. Knowledge, within successful (effective & productive) organizations, exists as a commodity; a commodity that can be created, captured, imparted, shared, and leveraged. The research problem that this study addressed is the challenge of maintaining strong organizational effectiveness and productivity through the use of an information technology-based knowledge management system (KMS). The main goal of this study was to empirically assess a model testing the impact of the factors of rewards, power, centrality, trust, collaborative environment, resistance to share, ease-of-using KMS, organizational structure, and top management support to inducement, willingness to share, as well as opportunity to contribute knowledge to a KMS on knowledge-sharing in a highly classified and sensitive environment of the USG IC. This study capitalized on prior literature to measure each of the 15 model constructs. This study was conducted with a select group of USG Departments and Agencies whose primary interest is Intelligence Operations. This study solicited responses from more than 1,000 current, as well as former, Intelligence Analysts of the USG IC, using an unclassified anonymous survey instrument. A total of 525 (52.5%) valid responses were analyzed using a partial least squares (PLS) structural equation modeling (SEM) statistical technique to perform model testing. Pre-analysis data screening was conducted to ensure the accuracy of the data collected, as well as to correct irregularities or errors within the gathered data. The 14 propositions outlined in this research study were tested using the PLS-SEM analysis along with reliability and validity checks. The results of this study provide insights into the key factors that shed light onto the willingness of US intelligence community analysts to contribute knowledge to a KMS in a highly classified and sensitive environment. Specifically, the significance of a knowledge worker’s willingness to contribute his/her knowledge to a KMS along with the opportunity to contribute knowledge, while inducement was not a significant factor when it comes to knowledge sharing using KMS in highly classified environments.

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