Most research on place in retailing and marketing examines retail atmospherics, spectacular consumption, third spaces and logistics. This study lies at the confluence of retailing, marketing, and geography, and focuses on the city as the product consumed by its residents. The study seeks to examine the degree to which the retail landscape of a city affects the residents' perceived value of the city, their urban identity, and ultimately, their willingness-to-pay to live there. In order to answer this question, this study utilized mixed research methods consisting of a survey, based on several adapted existing perceived value scales; an urban identity scale; a willingness-to-pay scale; as well as archival geodata used to map the existing and perceived retail landscapes of Tucson and San Francisco–the two cities of interest in this study. These two cities were chosen because they are on opposite ends of a spectrum of US cities that includes cost of living and median income, among other variables. Results show that perceived value of the city and urban identity are very highly correlated and suggest the existence of a new construct. While the retail landscape in Tucson tends to have a positive effect on residents' affective responses to living there, there results are not statistically significant. The relatively low cost of living may play a role in these expectations. Residents accept the existing retail landscape and tend to make do with the options available. In San Francisco, because residents already pay a premium to live there, the retail landscape plays a more statistically significant role in residents' affective responses to living there. These results are important to retailers and marketers because retail expenditures form a large part of the tax revenue a city earns each year. If residents are unhappy with their retail patronage options, they may spend money elsewhere resulting in a decreased tax base from which to run the city.

The aim of this study is to quantify the social cost of air pollution in Bophelong Township. Bophelong is a dominantly Black low-income settlement located on the South-western part of the Emfuleni Local Municipality in the Vaal Triangle. In 2006 the Vaal Triangle was the first region in the country to be declared an Airshed Priority Area in terms of the National Environmental Management Act (39/2004). Economic literature reveals that there is a strong positive correlation between poverty and pollution. It is on this basis that the study provides a theoretical background to poverty and pollution. The study makes use of a Contingent valuation method to elicit respondents‘ maximum willingness to pay for the reduction of air-pollution in the area. The survey questionnaire covers three broad socio-economic categories namely, the demographic profile, labour force profile and the residents‘ attitudes towards environmental issues. The valuation part of the questionnaire makes use of an open-ended questionnaire to elicit the respondents‘ maximum willingness to pay for the reduction of air pollution in Bophelong. The mean willingness to pay for the reduction of air-pollution in Bophelong is estimated at R132 per annum. The annual social cost of air-pollution in Bophelong is calculated by multiplying the mean willingness to pay with the estimated total population. Bophelong‘s total population was estimated at 49 408. The annual social cost of pollution is thus estimated at R6 521 856. The regression analysis shows that several factors positively influence respondents‘ willingness to pay. The analysis shows that education, employment and level of income are positively correlated with the respondents‘ willingness to pay. This study indicates that there is a positive correlation between poverty and pollution. Most of the air pollution that affects the population of Bophelong is generated from domestic sources such as the burning of coal and biomass fuels for VALUING THE SOCIAL COST OF AIR-POLLUTION IN BOPHELONG TOWNSHIP heating and cooking purposes. In order to eliminate the negative impacts of air pollution on the residents of Bophelong the study recommends that authorities must begin by ameliorating the poverty situation in the area. On the main authorities must introduce measures that target domestic sources of pollution. Some of the measures that could be undertaken to reduce the impact of pollution could include: (a) encouraging residents to adopt the more cleaner top-down coal ignition method known as Basa-njengo-Magogo, (b) providing free basic electricity to poor households in the area and (c) ensuring that houses are constructed with thermal comfort in mind, as this will minimise the need for space heating particularly during winter months. / PhD (Economics), North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2013

Intensive research activities in low-income countries during the International Drinking Water Supply and Sanitation Decade (1981-1990) led to the conclusion that cost recovery is a prerequisite for the sustainability of water services provision. The challenges for cost recovery are greater in urban areas of low-income countries where, it is projected, 88% of all the increase in global population will live by 2015. In spite of these challenges, available data show that the bill collection efficiency in selected urban water utilities in Africa in 1996/97 ranged from as low as 50%. This study used empirical data, obtained through a cross-sectional survey in eleven towns in Uganda, to establish the influence of customer perceptions on bill payment behaviour. Using qualitative methods, a questionnaire was developed, pretested, piloted and refined, before it was sent to a probability sample of 690 registered customers of an urban water utility. Regression analysis of the obtained results showed that customer perceptions of technical quality, functional quality, service value and corporate image are individually strongly related to customer satisfaction. Correspondingly, service value and customer satisfaction predict substantial variation in customer loyalty, which in turn is a predictor of bill payment behaviour. Furthermore, gender, level of education, and type of occupation of the head of household, together with tenure status and household income, moderate the satisfaction/loyalty relationship. Findings of this research also highlighted the relative importance to customers of urban water utilities of such software attributes as: (i) how interface staff relate to customers during service encounters; (ii) how easy it is to transact with the utility, and (iii) the image organisational personalities project to the public. These findings have one major implication for supply-driven managers of water utilities: Similar to other services, customer orientation will improve profitability ratios in the urban water sector of low-income countries.

Marketing literature has propagated “customer-participation” and “co-production” in the seller-buyer framework since the 1970s (Lovelock and Young 1979), yet marketing knowledge gaps exist in this area. Recent management research emphasise the need to re-evaluate how value is created for consumers and to consider the close nature of the interactions between buyers and sellers (Payne et al 2008). Vargo and Lusch’s (2004) proposed service-dominant logic reiterates this need, arguing that the “customer is always the co-creator of value”, as they are part of the system that delivers value. Understanding value co-creation is then important to management research, as it uncovers new opportunities to create “value” for customers. This also enables firms to formulate better pricing strategies. This thesis examines value co-creation attributes and how they may impact on the customer’s willingness to pay. Three studies utilising qualitative and quantitative methods have been conducted to address the research question. The first two studies employed qualitative methods to derive insights into value co-creation attributes from a comparative case study perspective under two different service contexts; the defence and healthcare industries. The third study, conducted under the higher education context, employed quantitative methods to gauge the impact of value co-creation attributes on the customers’ willingness to pay. The qualitative studies found six generic value co-creation attributes, while the quantitative study empirically verified the importance of value co-creation attributes and the fact that they may impact on the customer’s willingness to pay for a service. This thesis validates that value co-creation is important in service provision. As customers become increasingly informed and empowered, a deeper understanding of how customers co-create value with the firm is then central to marketing activities, specifically in how firms design and price their services. Therefore, this thesis contributes to marketing knowledge by proposing value co-creation attributes that have both theoretical and managerial implications.

Syfte: Vår studie tar avstamp i det som tidigare forskning beskrivit som ett gap mellan konsumenters attityd och beteende till etisk konsumtion. Utifrån en efterfråga om ytterligare kartläggning och en upplevd avsaknad av studier som undersöker betydelsen av kunskap för betalningsvilja och konsumtion till fairtrade-produkter har vi därför formulerat följande syfte: "Syftet med studien är att få djupare förståelse för förhållandet mellan konsumenters kunskap om etisk märkning och deras konsumtion samt betalningsvilja för etiskt märkta-produkter." Metod: En enkätundersökning utfördes på Ica Maxi i Gävle där 143 slumpvis valda respondenter deltog. Respondenterna fick besvara frågor angående deras subjektiva ochobjektiva kunskap i avseende till fairtrade och därefter värdesätta priset för märkningen på tre utvalda produkter; banan, kaffe och honung. Utifrån detta kunde ett förhållande utläsas mellan kunskap och betalningsvilja. Resultat och slutsats: Resultatet av vår undersökning visar ett positiv samband mellan konsumentkunskap och betalningsvilja samt konsumtion. Objektiv kunskap hade en större positiv påverkan på respondenternas betalningsvilja för fairtrade-produkter medan subjektiv kunskap hade större påverkan på uppskattad konsumtion och inställning. Fortsättningsvis kunde vi utläsa en generellt förhöjd betalningsvilja för fairtrade på samtliga utvalda produkter. Förslag till vidare forskning: Vi har i denna studie inte mätt respondenternas faktiska betalningsvilja eller faktiska konsumtion. Vidare forskning skulle således kunna undersöka betydelsen av kunskap om etisk märkning för betalningsviljan i verkliga marknadssituationer. Uppsatsens bidrag: Denna studie pekar på vikten av konsumentkunskap för etisk konsumtion. Bidraget är förståelsen för rollen objektiv och subjektiv kunskap spelar för att få konsumenter att inkludera etiskt märkta produkter i deras konsumentval samt  vara villiga att betala det pris premium som vanligtvis föreligger på fairtrade-märkta produkter. / Aim: Our study builds on what previous research has described as a gap between consumers' attitudes and behaviour to ethical consumption. Based on the request for additional mapping and a perceived lack of studies investigating the importance of knowledge to willingness to pay and consumption for fair trade products, we have formulated the following purpose: "The purpose of the study is to gain a deeper understanding of the relationship between consumers' knowledge on ethical labelling and their consumption together with willingness to pay for ethical labelled products." Method: In this study, we performed a quantitative survey at the food store Ica Maxi in Gävle with 143 randomly selected respondents' who completed the questionnaire.The respondents where asked to answer questions regarding their subjective and objective knowledge regarding fairtrade and then price three different food products labelled with fairtrade with the price of the equivalent product without label stated as a reference point. The products were; banana, coffee and honey. Through this we could examine the relationship between knowledge and willingness to pay. Result &amp; Conclusion: The result of our survey show that the level of knowledge affects purchase intent and willingness to pay for fairtrade products. We also found a distinction between subjective and objective knowledge. Subjective knowledge had a more distinct affect on consumption and attitude while objective knowledge affected the willingness to pay to a greater extent. Furthermore it was found that the average willingness to pay for a fairtrade label exceeded the equivalent products without label for all examined products.<img src="file:///page5image1176" /> Further research: In this thesis we did not research the respondents' actual willingness to pay nor actual consumption behaviour. Further research should hence examine the importance of knowledge on ethical labelling for willingness to pay in actual market situations Contribution of the thesis: This study points out the importance of consumer knowledge for ethical consumption. The contribution is additional understanding to therole subjective and objective knowledge plays for consumers to include ethical labelled products in their product choice and also being willing to pay the current market price premium for fairtrade labelled products.

The adequacy of existing transport infrastructure to four distinct clusters in Austria's key regions is tested by examining the willingness of logistics managers to pay for additional service improvements. Findings show an overall willingness to pay for multiple service improvements; this reveals a general dissatisfaction with current shipping options, regardless of transport mode, where rail mode services ("Bahn") provoke the greatest dissatisfaction. Willingness to pay for improvements generally increases by degrees of regional EU remoteness and relative youth of cluster industries, as hypothesized from Schumpterian assumptions concerning infrastructure innovation. / Series: SRE - Discussion Papers

i Charles University Faculty of Social Sciences Institute of Economic Studies MASTER'S THESIS Are Sharks Worth More Alive Than Dead? A Stated Preference Study on Shark Ecotourism in Costa Rica. Author: Bc. Alicia Maria Berrios Supervisor: Mgr. Milan Ščasný PhD. Academic Year: 2016/2017 ii Declaration of Authorship The author hereby declares that he compiled this thesis independently; using only the listed resources and literature, and the thesis has not been used to obtain a different or the same degree. The author grants to Charles University permission to reproduce and to distribute copies of this thesis document in whole or in part. Prague, January 01st , 2017 Signature iii Acknowledgments With boundless appreciation, I would like to extend my gratitude to Mgr. Milan Ščasný PhD., for his incredible support in writing this research. He spent a countless number of hours on this thesis work, and ultimately, this research wouldn't have been possible without him. I would also like to express my gratitude to Carlos Avila, for his generosity in helping me conduct the in-person interviews. I would also like to express my gratitude to Prof. Melville Saayman, who helped tremendously in the experimental design of this work. Thank you to Mgr. Martin Kryl for programming the survey instrument. Lastly, I would like to...

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Master of Science / Department of Agricultural Economics / Glynn Tonsor / Recent predictions estimate that the global population will reach more than 9 billion by the year 2050 (Kochhar, 2014). Coupled with this challenge, environmental issues and climate change influence agricultural production over the globe (Jacobsen et al., 2013). Changes in the food chain have been in response to consumers becoming interested in how their food is produced as it relates to food safety. Some of these changes have come in the form of labeling of production methods and the increasing volume of organic products in the marketplace. In the livestock sector, production methods include administration of antibiotics and hormones to prevent disease, increase gains and increase the health of animals (Allen et al., 2013; Thornton, 2010). A potential solution of decreasing the amount of antibiotics and hormones in the future is the use of ribonucleic acid interference (RNAi). RNA interference is a method of silencing a targeted gene and suppressing expression (Bradford et al., 2016). The focus of this research is to explore the determinants of acceptance and willingness to pay for beef products utilizing RNAi technology in the food system. Through the means of a national survey, consumers were asked their demographic, food purchasing habits, and food safety concerns to identify potential acceptors of the technology. Respondents received information treatments and external articles regarding RNAi technology as well as information about governmental labeling regulations of the beef steaks. Choice experiment questions, and a dichotomous choice sequence were utilized to determine willingness to pay estimates of beef steak attributes by consumers. Results showed that respondents likely require a discount for beef steaks produced with RNAi technology. In some instances, some consumers would be willing to pay a premium for beef steaks with RNAi in certain label settings. These results of this study could be used in the realm of animal science to help with the introduction of this technology in the food system. The survey results could assist with future promotion and framing of the technology to a wide variety of consumers.

Cette thèse s’inscrit dans le débat scientifique actuel autour de l’évaluation économique des services écosystémiques fournis par les aires marines protégées (AMP) dans les pays en voie de développement. Appliquant la méthode de l’évaluation contingente, elle s’est intéressée à l’analyse de la perception de la population mauritanienne des services écosystémiques fournis par l’aire marine protégée du parc national du banc d’arguin (PNBA) en Mauritanie et la valeur qu’elle consente à payer pour maintenir l’offre de ces services dans son état actuel. A travers l’analyse des résultats de trois enquêtes réalisées au PNBA (niveau local), à Nouakchott (zone adjacente) et à Tidjikja (arrière-pays), la thèse discute l’impact de la distance, dans le sens de l’éloignement et du temps nécessaire pour accéder à l’AMP, tant sur la perception des services écosystémiques fournis par le PNBA que sur le consentement à payer pour sa conservation. Par ailleurs, elle aborde l’applicabilité de la méthode de l’évaluation contingente dans les pays en voie de développement et propose quelques améliorations du protocole de l’enquête pour améliorer la fiabilité des résultats. / This thesis is part of the current scientific debate around the economic evaluation of ecosystem services provided by marine protected areas in developing countries. Using the contingent valuation method, it focused on the analysis of the Mauritanian population's perception of ecosystem services provided by the marine protected area of Banc d'Arguin National Park in Mauritania and the value that this population agrees to pay to maintain the supply of these services in its current state. Through the analysis of the results of three surveys conducted at the PNBA (local level), Nouakchott (adjacent zone) and Tidjikja (inland), the thesis discusses the impact of distance, in the sense of the remoteness and the time required to access the MPA, both on the perception of the ecosystem services provided by the PNBA and on the Willingness To Pay for its conservation.In addition, it discusses the applicability of the contingent valuation method in developing countries and proposes some improvements to the survey protocol to enhance the reliability of the results.