Sugarcane spirit market share simulation: an application of conjoint analysis

This study evaluated the influence of packaging and labeling attributes of sugarcane spirit on consumers' behavior by applying the results of conjoint analysis in sugarcane spirit market share simulation. Firstly, a conjoint analysis was performed aiming to estimate the part-worths of each consumer for some sugarcane spirit packaging and labeling attributes. These part-worths were used in the market share simulation using the maximum utility model. It was observed that some packaging and labeling attributes affected consumer's purchase intention and that most consumers showed a similar preference pattern regarding these attributes. These consumers showed preference for the Seleta brand, which was bottled in 700 mL clear glass bottles with a metal screw cap that bore a label illustration unrelated to sugarcane spirit production process and had the information "aged 36 months in oak barrels". This study also showed that conjoint analysis and the use of its results in the market share simulation proved important tools to better understand consumer behavior towards intention to purchase sugarcane spirit.

The Mexican Dream, What Drives the Mexican Millennial to invest?

The Mexican dream is the equivalent of the American Dream for Mexico. This thesis explores what is the equivalent of the American Dream for young Mexican adults (25 to 35 year old Mexicans). The aim of the study is to develop an understanding of the core values of young Mexican adults. The study is made for a case company, Expertos Patrimoniales Wealth Management Advisors, who intend to sell financial management services to these young Mexican adults in the next 5 to 10 years. This study implements a cross-cultural consumer behavior framework by David Luna, in order to consider factors like culture, and value systems to uncover the Mexican Dream for young Mexican adults. In order to gather data for this study, key informants were interviewed in specific areas, such as culture, financial consumer behavior and Mexican culture among others. The results suggest that independence is a strong driver for the young Mexican adults, independence from their family, from the corporate hierarchy and men. These core drivers differ from the traditional culture values where hierarchy and a secure job, family which includes the extended family and women´s economic dependency on men have been strong. Images of the future are created in order to understand the young Mexican adults Mexican Dream in the next 5 to 10 years, in order to provide useful information for the case company for the development of products and services that this segment of the Mexican market might find interesting in the near future.

Corporate social responsibility in online retail – Perceptions from online discussions on Amazon

Online retail has experienced substantial growth due to the increased utilization of digital technologies. The growth in the industry has created numerous multinational corporations, which serve customers all around the world. As a result, the online retailers’ efforts in sustainability have been more often in publicity. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), the efforts going beyond the company’s interest in order to bring social good, have been discussed in the academic community for decades. While the various effects of CSR in retail and business generally have been realized, the research aims to make a contribution by examining the concept from the viewpoint of online retail by focusing on interaction at online discussion forums. The main research question asks: What is the role of online retailer CSR in the online discussion forum context? In order to answer this question, additional three sub-research questions are suggested: 1) What elements of CSR are relevant in the online retailer context? 2) How are discussion forums used in communication regarding CSR and online retail by different discusser types? 3) What kind of company perceptions and consumer behavior appear in online discussions of Amazon’s CSR? The study is qualitative of nature, using the content analysis research method to examine posts found from four different public online discussion forums. A qualitative, interpretative analysis was used, although quantitative measures regarding discussion posts were also presented. The analysis contains a coding process, where attributes are attached to discussion posts. As a result of the process, specific patterns can be indicated in order to categorize the posts. As the research uses Amazon as the case company, the case study method is also adopted. In the online retail context, ethics regarding the online retailer’s tax and labor policies are found as most relevant elements. Customers, using discussion forums to share their experiences and opinions regarding online retailer CSR efforts, are realized as the most prominent stakeholder. The research also highlights the role of online retailer employees providing details on internal business practices. However, the not realize the possibility to participate in discussions. Most discussion posts refer either to a positive, negative or mixed reaction towards CSR efforts, it is suggested that the concept is relevant also in online retail. Although online retailer CSR efforts are somewhat linked to company perceptions, the concept has a minimal role in consumer behavior. In online retail, CSR efforts can reduce the risk of being involved in discussions related to controversies. In addition, online retailer CSR efforts should communicate how the retailer contributes locally.

Corporate social responsibility in online retail – Perceptions from online discussions on Amazon

Online retail has experienced substantial growth due to the increased utilization of digital technologies. The growth in the industry has created numerous multinational corporations, which serve customers all around the world. As a result, the online retailers’ efforts in sustainability have been more often in publicity. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), the efforts going beyond the company’s interest in order to bring social good, have been discussed in the academic community for decades. While the various effects of CSR in retail and business generally have been realized, the research aims to make a contribution by examining the concept from the viewpoint of online retail by focusing on interaction at online discussion forums. The main research question asks: What is the role of online retailer CSR in the online discussion forum context? In order to answer this question, additional three sub-research questions are suggested: 1) What elements of CSR are relevant in the online retailer context? 2) How are discussion forums used in communication regarding CSR and online retail by different discusser types? 3) What kind of company perceptions and consumer behavior appear in online discussions of Amazon’s CSR? The study is qualitative of nature, using the content analysis research method to examine posts found from four different public online discussion forums. A qualitative, interpretative analysis was used, although quantitative measures regarding discussion posts were also presented. The analysis contains a coding process, where attributes are attached to discussion posts. As a result of the process, specific patterns can be indicated in order to categorize the posts. As the research uses Amazon as the case company, the case study method is also adopted. In the online retail context, ethics regarding the online retailer’s tax and labor policies are found as most relevant elements. Customers, using discussion forums to share their experiences and opinions regarding online retailer CSR efforts, are realized as the most prominent stakeholder. The research also highlights the role of online retailer employees providing details on internal business practices. However, the not realize the possibility to participate in discussions. Most discussion posts refer either to a positive, negative or mixed reaction towards CSR efforts, it is suggested that the concept is relevant also in online retail. Although online retailer CSR efforts are somewhat linked to company perceptions, the concept has a minimal role in consumer behavior. In online retail, CSR efforts can reduce the risk of being involved in discussions related to controversies. In addition, online retailer CSR efforts should communicate how the retailer contributes locally.

Path Analysis of Online Users Using Clickstream Da-ta: Case Online Magazine Website

This paper explores behavioral patterns of web users on an online magazine web-site. The goal of the study is to first find and visualize user paths within the data generated during collection, and to identify some generic behavioral typologies of user behavior. To form a theoretical foundation for processing data and identifying behavioral ar-chetypes, the study relies on established consumer behavior literature to propose typologies of behavior. For data processing, the study utilizes methodologies of ap-plied cluster analysis and sequential path analysis. Utilizing a dataset of click stream data generated from the real-life clicks of 250 ran-domly selected website visitors over a period of six weeks. Based on the data collect-ed, an exploratory method is followed in order to find and visualize generally occur-ring paths of users on the website. Six distinct behavioral typologies were recog-nized, with the dominant user consuming mainly blog content, as opposed to editori-al content. Most importantly, it was observed that approximately 80% of clicks were of the blog content category, meaning that the majority of web traffic occurring in the site takes place in content other than the desired editorial content pages. The out-come of the study is a set of managerial recommendations for each identified behavioral archetype.

Consumer’s purchase intention of ethical fashion. Examining beliefs about fashion industry and attitudes towards ethical fashion

Globalization and the developments of supply chain have made inexpensive labor and the low production costs of developing countries available to businesses worldwide. Unfortunately, these developments have also led to the exploitation of human and natural resources. The increasing supply of cheap and fashionable clothing has created a contradiction between consumers’ concerns for sustainability and their purchase behavior in the fashion industry. Since the uncovering of several sweatshop scandals in the 1980’s and 1990’s ethical fashion brands have started to emerge. Ethical fashion has sparked the interest of consumers and studies have shown promising positive attitudes towards it. However, these attitudes have failed to translate into action and purchase behavior of ethical fashion has not reached the expectations. In order to translate the positive attitudes into buying companies must understand consumer’s motivations and reasons behind the purchase decision. The objective of this study is to understand the antecedents behind young consumer’s purchase intention of ethical fashion. The study is based on the theory of planned behavior which has been widely used to study consumer behavior and purchase decisions. The theory has also been used in ethical decision-making and fashion context before. According to the theory, in order to understand purchase intentions consumer’s attitudes toward buying ethical fashion were studied. The theory also states that attitudes are formed from beliefs, thus, consumer’s beliefs about the fashion industry were studied. To contribute to existing research, the effect of sweatshop issues and environmental issues were compared. The data was collected from university students (n=617) with an online survey. The results were analyzed by statistical methods and they revealed that young Finnish consumers hold positive attitudes towards buying ethical fashion as well as positive purchase intentions of ethical fashion. A strong relationship was found between positive attitudes and positive purchase intentions. Also, the more negative consumers’ beliefs of the fashion industry were the more positive their attitudes toward buying ethical fashion were. In contradiction to previous research this study revealed that environmental issues had greater effect on attitudes than sweatshop issues. Interesting differences between consumers were found depending on their field of education. Students from humanities and social sciences held the most negative beliefs as well as most positive attitudes and purchase intentions of ethical fashion.

Motives and barriers for engaging in collaborative consumption in Finland

In this thesis the consumers’ expected motives and barriers for engaging in collaborative consumption in Finland are studied. The phenomenon is observed through the lens of consumer theory and it is connected to the context using Hofstede’s 6-D model. The phenomenon is new and there are almost no recorded results in the background research, and when considering the limitations of this study, there are no results at all. Therefore, combining different kinds of literature, as well as taking along consumer theory and Hofstede’s model that explains cultural factors, it was possible to compile a comprehensive general view of the present state of the phenomenon. The actual study was conducted using qualitative methods and the solution was sought collecting data from six in-depth interviews with interviewees having experience from using, or offering resources, or both. According to the results, the primary motive in all modes of consumption was economic. Anti-materialism, anti-consumption, and expanding lifestyle were another a bit more general motives. Perceived barriers were, especially as a new result, the amount of trouble one has to see and in single modes, a lack of trust, the used platform and too expensive prices.

Scanning the future of Single Euro Payment Area – towards cashless payment methods

The future of paying in the age of digitalization is a topic that includes varied visions. This master’s thesis explores images of the future of paying in the Single Euro Payment Area (SEPA) up to 2020 and 2025 through the views of experts specialized in paying. This study was commissioned by a credit management company in order to obtain more detailed information about the future of paying. Specifically, this thesis investigates what could be the most used payment methods in the future, what items could work as a medium of exchange in 2020 and how will they evolve towards the year 2025. Changing consumer behavior, trends connected to payment methods, security and private issues of new cashless payment methods were also part of this study. In the empirical part of the study the experts’ ideas about probable and preferable future images of paying were investigated through a two-round Disaggregative Delphi method. The questionnaire included numeric statements and open questions. Three alternative future images were created with the help of cluster analysis: “Unsurprising Future”, “Technology Driven Future” and “The Age of the Customer”. The plausible images had similarities and differences, which were reflected to the previous studies in the literature review. The study’s findings were formed based on the images of futures’ similarities and to the open questions answers that were received from the questionnaire. The main conclusion of the study was that development of technology will unify and diversify SEPA; the trend in 2020 seems to be towards more cashless payment methods but their usage depends on the countries’ financial possibilities and customer preferences. Mobile payments, cards and cash will be the main payment methods but the banks will have competitors from outside the financial sector. Wearable payment methods and NFC technology are seen as widely growing trends but subcutaneous payment devices will likely keep their niche position until 2025. In the meantime, security and private issues are seen to increase because of identity thefts and various frauds. Simultaneously, privacy will lose its meaning to younger consumers who are used to sharing their transaction and personal data with third parties in order to get access to attractive services. Easier access to consumers’ transaction data will probably open the door for hackers and cause new risks in paying processes. There exist many roads to future, and this study was not an attempt to give any complete answers about it even if some plausible assumptions about the future’s course were provided.

When job dissatisfaction leads to customer-oriented citizenship behaviors

This thesis places boundary conditions on the withdrawal model in the frontline setting of service organizations by considering continuance commitment and supervisory support as moderators of the relationship between job dissatisfaction and customer-oriented citizenship behaviors (COCBs). Departing from traditional research in the areas of the service-profit chain and employee withdrawal, the author advances our understanding of conditions that may lead frontline service employees who are dissatisfied to deposit COCBs into the organizational system. Specifically, based on principles derived from social exchange theory, high continuance commitment and high supervisory support are expected to lead to COCBs, because under this condition the benefits of performing such behaviors are increased (i.e., promotion-based, reciprocity-based), while the costs are decreased (i.e., opportunity costs). Utilizing a sample of 127 frontline employees from both the financial services and travel agency industries, the hypothesized relationships are empirically supported using moderated hierarchical regression analysis. To conclude discussion, implications of the results for both academics and p

The metacognitive cue of fluency on taste perception

The relative ease tha t a person experiences while performing cognitive operations, namely processing fluency, affects a broad range of judgments such as product evaluations. For example, an increase in fluency through repeated exposure to product packages enhances attitude toward the brand (Janiszewski 1993). This thesis examined the effect of fluency on taste perception and demonstrated where the fluency created an advantage or disfluency created a disadvantage for taste evaluations. Experiment 1 examined the effect of perceptual fluency on taste perception. It was found that perceptual disfluency derived from r eading the labels (i.e., font) lowered taste evaluations only when it was experienced be for the sensory experience. Experiment 2 examined the effect of linguistic fluency (i.e., pronunciation) on taste perception. However there was no evidence for the effect of linguistic fluency on taste perception. Thus, it is concluded that either the effect size of linguistic fluency is lower than perceptual fluency, or participants discounted their linguistic fluency experience because they realized that the brand names used in Experiment 2 were not real brand names. To sum up, it was found that perceptual disfluency created by presenting a difficult to read product-related information created a disadvantage for taste perception compared to when no information was presented. Therefore, this thesis provides the first evidence for the effect of the metacognitive cue of fluency on sensory evaluations.

La mise en présence dans l'acte d'achat : là où la consommation engendre le scénario

Le présent travail de recherche analyse l’acte d’achat et fait une brèche dans la relation mystérieuse que nous développons avec les biens de consommation. En microéconomie et en sociologie de la consommation, on considère que le consommateur fait des choix rationnels, et ce à travers un processus d’achat (Langlois, 2002). Ce processus est divisé en cinq étapes : la reconnaissance du problème, la recherche d’informations, l’évaluation des alternatives en concurrence, le choix et l’analyse post-achat (Brée, 2004). Bien que l’étape du choix soit certainement l’étape charnière du processus, car elle détermine le choix final menant à l’achat, elle est souvent comprise comme l’aboutissement de calculs préalables et non comme un moment régi par ses propres dynamiques. Le paradigme dominant en matière de choix, la théorie du choix rationnel, avance que nous formulons nos choix en recourant à des calculs d’utilité. Nous évaluons rationnellement les options afin d’optimiser notre situation en sélectionnant le choix qui nous rapporte le plus en nous coûtant le moins (Abell, 1991). Par contre, certains critiques de la théorie du choix rationnel allèguent que la multiplicité de choix encouragée par notre société engendre un stress lors de l’achat qui embrouille le jugement menant au choix. Cela invite à considérer la singularité du moment menant au choix. Que se passe-t-il chez le consommateur lorsqu’il est mis en présence d’un objet? En vérité, les disciplines qui s’intéressent au comportement du consommateur éludent la présence de l’objet comme forme d’influence sur le jugement. Dans le cadre de cette recherche, nous entendons par la mise en présence le moment où un individu est en présence d’un objet spécifique ou d’une représentation d’un objet. Lorsque mis en présence de l’objet, le consommateur fera un jugement qui sera potentiellement relatif aux sensations de beauté (Hutcheson, 1991) et aux émotions provoquées par un objet spécifique. Ainsi, les sens « externes » (la vue, l’ouïe, l’odorat, le goût, le toucher) stimulent un sens « esthétique » : le sens interne de la beauté (Hutcheson, 1991). De plus, il peut survenir, en consommation, lors de la mise en présence que l’émotion prenne la forme d’un jugement (Nussbaum, 2001). On définit les émotions comme un état affectif situationnel dirigé vers une chose (Desmet, 2002). C’est ainsi que la recherche s’est articulé autour de l’hypothèse suivante : de quelle manière la mise en présence influence le jugement du consommateur pendant le processus d’achat? Nous avons mené une enquête inspirée d’une approche qualitative auprès de consommateurs dont les résultats sont ici exposés et discutés. L’enquête tente dans un premier temps de cerner l’impact de la mise en présence dans le processus d’achat. Puis, le récit de magasinage de quatre participants est analysé à l’aide d’éléments tels les critères de choix, les facteurs, les influences et les contraintes. L’enquête montre notamment que la mise en présence intervient et modifie le jugement du consommateur. L’analyse des entretiens met en avant une tendance chez nos participants à la scénarisation tout au long du processus d’achat et particulièrement lors des moments de mise en présence. Nous avons observé que les moments de mise en présence alimentent le scénario imaginé par le consommateur et lui permet de créer des scénarios de vie future en interaction avec certains biens de consommation.

‘Green Consumption’ beyond mainstream economy: A discourse analysis

In contemporary society, green consumption is a popular concept. The life styles of people and consumption behaviors are moderated in accordance to the ‘green ideology’. The process of green consumption can be observed through social behaviors such as preference of bio foods, recycling, reusing, limiting the over consumption and using environmentally friendly transport systems. However, mainstream economic analyses on green consumption argued that consumer behaviors are due to the rational choice of individuality based on utility and self-preferences. The hypothesis of this paper on consumer behavior in green consumption is configured by discourses according to the discourse analysis.

Las comunidades virtuales como una herramienta para la perdurabilidad empresarial

Las compañías desde su creación, están en la constante búsqueda de la perdurabilidad en el tiempo; es decir buscan el desarrollo sostenible de su negocio y para esto se encuentran con el reto no solo de mantener el personal idóneo y motivado, sino de hacer seguimiento y gestión a sus finanzas, adquirir nuevas tecnologías y generar nuevos productos o negocios, acordes a las necesidades de sus clientes. La implementación de nuevas tecnologías como la Web 2.0, han facilitado a las organizaciones esta tarea; gracias a la retroalimentación y mejora permanente de los productos, que se obtiene a través de la interacción con los clientes, en las plataformas virtuales donde se tiene la posibilidad de: Comercializar, mercadear y publicitar un producto, además de crear prototipos, conocer intereses, necesidades y gustos, que retroalimentan de manera positiva o negativa a la compañía en procesos de preventa y postventa. A través de este estudio exploratorio, se pretende sensibilizar a los directivos de las diferentes organizaciones, frente a la importancia del uso e implementación de nuevas tecnologías como Second Life, una herramienta practica, económica y eficiente para obtener mayor reconocimiento de la marca y lograr competitividad en el mercado global. Teniendo claridad que parte del éxito que se consiga con la implementación de esta herramienta, está determinado por el cambio en la estructura de la compañía y el modelo mental del CEO o líder.

Juan Valdez in the coffe market of France

El objetivo de este trabajo es presentar un marco organizacional en profundidad de las operaciones de Juan Valdez y sus posibilidades de incursionar en el mercado Francés. El Análisis se presenta en base a una investigación de mercados que tiene como referencia las tendencias de consumo, más exactamente hacía bebidas con alto contenido de cafeína, (Bebidas energizantes, deportivas, café etc.). Igualmente se analizan los socios estratégicos con más fuerza de realizar alianzas con la empresa colombiana, sus posibilidades financieras, así como su experiencia y conocimiento de su mercado local, y la similitud de procesos o cultura organizacional. La investigación de la propuesta nos lleva a generar una aplicación y conocimiento más a fondo de aspectos teóricos relacionados con el estudio del consumidor, la diversidad cultural y su influencia en el momento de realizar estrategias de mercadeo, el concepto de red y complejidad, así como aspectos teóricos relacionados con la organización y desafíos de una empresa al optar el camino de la internacionalización.

Estudio de mercado sobre los zapatos tipo « pisahuevos »

Es de gran importancia, para determinar las tendencias de consumo, principalmente de los jóvenes y adolescentes, conocer y analizar los factores de influencia en el comportamiento del consumidor y la satisfacción de sus necesidades. Se debe conocer además, el proceso de resolución de problemas, las influencias que determinan dichos comportamientos y los niveles de respuestas existentes según el grado de participación en la compra. Es sin duda alguna, de gran valor para las empresas, conocer aspectos que llevan al ser humano a elegir o desechar productos, servicios, marcas, puntos de venta u otro elemento para estar preparados, anticiparse al mercado y aprovechar las tendencias sociales.