Consumers' health perceptions of three types of milk: a survey in Australia

A survey was conducted among 345 randomly selected shoppers in Melbourne, Australia, to identify their perceptions of the healthiness of whole milk, reduced fat milk and soy milk and to investigate demographic influences on health perceptions and types of milk consumption. The survey revealed major differences in shoppers' perceptions of the three types of milk along the themes of bone health, weight control, disease prevention, and, allergy and disease causation. Generally whole milk was perceived more negatively than soy or reduced fat milk. There were few demographic differences in the shoppers' perceptions of the three products. Reported consumption of reduced fat milk was more frequent among women and elderly people, and whole milk consumption was positively related to parenthood. The findings suggest that previous marketing and education campaigns have been effective but the widespread uncertainty and erroneous beliefs about milk products suggest that many consumers have not assimilated new findings about milk products. This represents a challenge for industry and public health practitioners.

Understanding student expectations in developing environmental science courses

Developing relevant and innovative University courses is a complex and often difficult task. This is particularly true when developing environmental science courses as the banner of environmental science has the potential to include an extremely vast array of subject material and course content. Added to this is the diversity of students entering these courses, and their associated course expectations and aspirations. A third component that cannot be ignored when developing courses includes employer demands and expectations of graduates at course completion. As tertiary educators we therefore have the challenge of developing innovative environmental science courses that are academically challenging, but meet the expectations of students, staff and potential future employers. To ensure that we meet this challenge it is vital that we determine the expectations of all relevant parties (students, staff, and potential employers) and develop our courses accordingly.  Here we report on the 'student expectations' component of this. To determine student expectations we conducted a survey of all commencing first year environmental science students. The survey asked students to provide information on drivers for course selection, preferred learning styles, the importance of different approaches to teaching, subject interest areas and employment aspirations. Our results found that environmental science students have a preference for fieldwork and hands-on experience and are very supportive of teaching that combines different teaching methods. On-line teaching was not supported by commencing environmental science students. Commencing students showed a very strong interest in key subject areas of environmental science such as Wildlife, animal conservation, national and marine parks, conservation and marine Wildlife; however, some of the critical areas of environmental science such as population statistics, social sciences and chemistry did not attract the same level of interest. Most commencing students had some idea on where they would like to gain employment on course completion. Knowledge relating to student expectations is Vital, particularly when designing courses, developing specific unit content and undertaking marketing and course information sessions. With this knowledge we can be confident that students enrolling in environmental science will, to a large extent, have their expectations met.

A theoretical application of exchange theory to online purchase decisions

Recent discussion within the marketing literature has accentuated the overlap and interrelationships between relationship marketing and e-commerce. However, as discussion is yet to focus on relationship marketing’s theoretical antecedent of exchange theory, this paper considers the evolution of e-commerce in terms of the exchange continuum. It is proposed that insight can be derived from the application of the concepts of extrinsic and intrinsic value (Houston and Gassenheimer, 1987) to online exchange. A theoretical model of extrinsic and intrinsic evaluation is developed, based on online consumers’ valuation of the object of exchange (i.e., the product). Possible empirical measures, to test the model, are suggested, derived from the relationship and services marketing literature.

A range of factors influencing Sydney dwelling sale prices

This paper presents findings from an evaluation of a range of factors considered to influence dwelling sale prices in Sydney. The aim is to determine whether factors such as dwelling type, location, population structure and sales transaction type. significantly influence dwelling sale prices in Sydney. A review of the local market literature reveals that this belief has not been validated in the recent times. Hence, some of these factors may be inadequately exploited by dwelling investors. A sample of 33 dwelling Units from eight randomly selected suburbs located within 20kms of the Sydney Central Business District (CBD) was studied, and data analysed using simple Pearson's correlation. Significant associations were only found between Australian-born population proportion and dwelling type, and the sale prices. Hence, within the scope and methodology limitations. This paper concludes that, while dwelling type and Australian-born population proportion of a suburb are significantly associated with dwelling sale prices, location. population density and sales transaction type, are virtually not, as earlier held. The implication is for the amount of effort expended on location models, sales transaction marketing and population size studies. to be reviewed, at least, in relation to dwellings. This message resonates to cities and locations of similar characteristics as Sydney.

Dying in the arts: creativity as metaphor

The idea that organizations need to adopt structures and practices that facilitate 'creativity' has become a central theme in theories of managing organisational innovation and success. This idea has been deployed in organisational theory, HRM, marketing and other domains of organization studies. We argue, however, that in the process of being appropriated from the arts, the concept of creativity has been 'hollowed out' and refashioned to suit the structures of organization as institution, and its needs as a business organization (to make money and establish 'competitive advantage'). This devalued idea of creativity has, in turn, been imposed on arts organisatons, which are impelled to see themselves as 'creative businesses'. Creativity, has been defined as a set of imaginative practices intended to express original ideas, and is in need of defence.

A comparative generational analysis of a cultural event

Like most products, special events are marketed to specific target markets. One such event, however, held in Melbourne, Australia, in May 2005, was marketed more broadly to the Melbourne community. The cultural event was developed to stimulate discussion, which one social commentator noted is currently deficient …‘there is a prevailing element of defensiveness, wariness and caution in our public discourse’ (Jones, 2005). The event sought to fill this void in community life and encouraged members of cross-sections of the community to participate in the event. One evaluative measure of success of the event was, therefore, the post-consumption evaluations of attendees. By using generational segments (ie. Traditionalists, Baby-boomers, Generation X and the Millennials) as the bases of comparison, few statistically significant differences were found with regard to post-consumption evaluations of the event. It is, therefore, not unreasonable to conclude that the event was successful in that the generational segments were generally homogenous with regard to the post-consumption evaluations of the event. The results, however, provide opportunities for improvement in the event’s marketing and management in the future.

Operationalising the balanced scorecard : an initial analysis of factor structure

To date there has been very little empirical analysis of the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) within the marketing literature. With measuring performance being a central issue in marketing and the BSC being one of the most utilised approaches, this paper investigates the BSC and its factor structure. This research tested independently the “goodness-of-fit” of both the traditional four-factor model and a later five-factor model, which included an “employee/human resource” dimension. Data were collected from a sample of medium-tolarge Australian businesses. Factor analysis was conducted on the two alternative factor structures, revealing that the five-factor model fits the observed data as well as does the fourfactor model, supporting the inclusion of an “employee/human resource” perspective in future BSC models.

An exploration of the components of relational bonds to an arts festival brand

This research investigates the nature of the bonds that consumers form with a brand that provides highly uncertain outcomes, and is only available intermittently. The research model draws upon elements of Keller’s (2001) conceptualisation of brand resonance, and extends McAlexander, Kim, and Roberts’ (2003), and Muniz and O’Guinn’s (2001) brand community construct, testing these in an atypical service environment. Qualitative research suggested the need for a broader view of the bond formed in these circumstances, specifically one comprising measures of anticipation of usage, social attraction, commitment, loyalty, and trust. This paper reports on analysis undertaken to develop such a construct, which has been labelled “brand affinity”. Tests for discriminant validity suggest that the brand affinity construct is a distinct construct that can be used to measure consumer attitudes toward a highly uncertain, intermittently available product.

Consumer complaint channel choice in self-service technology encounters

Consumers’ choice of channel to communicate complaints, following the decision to voice to the organisation, has received very little research attention. This study contributes to filling this gap by exploring the drivers of consumers’ choice of complaint channel in the self-service technology (SST) context. Surprisingly, in this context, consumers have often chosen interpersonal complaint channels over electronic channels, resulting in some of the value of using SSTs being lost for consumers and organisations alike. Preliminary findings indicate that the perceived ease of use, the likelihood of organisational response, the desire for social interaction and the source of the SST-related complaint, might provide some clues as to the organisational strategies that can be used to encourage greater utilisation of technology-based complaint channels.

Online versus postal data collection : a re-examination of the response differences using demographically matched data

Past research has identified differences between online and mail collected responses to the same survey, but differences in the demographics of respondents had also been noted making the cause of the variation unclear. In the research reported here, responses to the same questionnaire, delivered via mail and internet surveys, were demographically matched across a range of variables. This removed the impact of response differences caused by age, gender, type of product consumed and length of customer relationship. Across all the different question types and response scales, significant differences were still found between mail and online respondents, even when data were ipsatised. Notably, online respondents were far less likely to use the end-points of the scale, perhaps indicating issues with the online collection methodology. The conclusion is that the two methods of data collection can not be assumed to be directly inter-changeable, and that the method used can lead to different results if not managed carefully.

The consumption of gift wrapping

Gift Wrapping is part of a valued ritual of giving that is important culturally, socially and economically. Consumer researchers have studied the process and meanings of gift giving with little consideration for the gift wrapping. The way a gift is wrapped involves a complex range of decisions and meanings. Building on existing literature we propose a model based on existing models of the gift giving process. Our model is based on value, context, relationship, and appropriateness of consumption as perceived by the donor.

Service guarantee redress options in a hotel environment

Unconditional service guarantees are a popular marketing tool in the hotel industry worldwide. They promise total satisfaction and guests are free to invoke the guarantee whenever they are dissatisfied. While many hotels offer “money-back” compensation following guarantee invocation, others vary the payout depending on the severity of the service failure and still others will only compensate the customer if the problem leading to invocation of the guarantee cannot be fixed. To the researcher’s knowledge, the influence of compensation and fix (i.e., taking action to resolve the problem) on consumers’ perceptions of distributive justice has not been examined previously in a service guarantee context. This paper begins to address this gap by presenting a conceptual model and related propositions, arguing that redress (compensation and fix) is an important predictor of consumers’ perceptions of distributive justice, and that this relationship is moderated by service failure severity.

Antecedents of brand credibility under asymmetrical information

This study focuses on the antecedents of brand credibility and validates part of the model presented by Erdem and Swait (1998). Following the signalling literature, we argue that under asymmetrical information, the importance of brand credibility stems from the capability of brands to inform consumers who are uncertain about product attributes. Indeed, firms may use brands to notify consumers about product positions and to assure that their product claims are credible. Using information economics as theoretical background, the proposed perspective determines how credibility is shaped. Data was collected across a number of consumers in Australia via a self-report survey and a structural equation model (SEM) was estimated. The results provide empirical evidence and support the work of Erdem and Swait (1998).

Consumer traits: an investigation of influences

This study uses a hierarchical approach to build a model of the relationships between Consumer Need for Uniqueness (CNFU), Consumer Novelty Seeking (CNS), and a behavioural outcome, media consumption and information exposure. The study finds that those consumers who have a need for uniqueness are high in consumer novelty seeking tendencies. Subsequently, these consumers are found to have higher information exposure by consuming more media.

The Australian advertising self-regulatory framework - Who`s complaining?

Complaints about advertising in Australia have been on the increase in recent years under the stewardship of the new industry self-regulatory body, the Advertising Standards Board. This study utilises clustering analyses based on geodemographic and psychographic data to present a concrete profile of complainants about advertising in Australia. The findings indicate that the advertising publics must shoulder responsibility and ensure that greater care is taken to include all members of Australian society in the current complaints
process and that this inclusivity will ensure that the highest possible standards are the norms of the industry.