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Purchase Decisions (purchase + decision)
Selected AbstractsIntegrating climate forecasts and natural gas supply information into a natural gas purchasing decisionMETEOROLOGICAL APPLICATIONS, Issue 3 2000David Changnon This paper illustrates a key lesson related to most uses of long-range climate forecast information, namely that effective weather-related decision-making requires understanding and integration of weather information with other, often complex factors. Northern Illinois University's heating plant manager and staff meteorologist, along with a group of meteorology students, worked together to assess different types of available information that could be used in an autumn natural gas purchasing decision. Weather information assessed included the impact of ENSO events on winters in northern Illinois and the Climate Prediction Center's (CPC) long-range climate outlooks. Non-weather factors, such as the cost and available supplies of natural gas prior to the heating season, contribute to the complexity of the natural gas purchase decision. A decision tree was developed and it incorporated three parts: (a) natural gas supply levels, (b) the CPC long-lead climate outlooks for the region, and (c) an ENSO model developed for DeKalb. The results were used to decide in autumn whether to lock in a price or ride the market each winter. The decision tree was tested for the period 1995,99, and returned a cost-effective decision in three of the four winters. Copyright © 2000 Royal Meteorological Society [source] Social aspect of sustainable packagingPACKAGING TECHNOLOGY AND SCIENCE, Issue 6 2010Norbisimi Nordin Abstract Sustainability is one of the ,buzz' words that is highly discussed in the area of packaging nowadays. For many product manufacturing business, incorporation of sustainability principles into their business practice can only be visualized by others in the end product through packaging. Besides the criteria, underlying concepts and principles, most discussions towards achieving goals for sustainable packaging are focused on details of models and practices adopted by the industry, and the effectiveness and practicality of these practices in balancing the economic profits and environmental benefits. While the economic and environmental bases of packaging sustainability have been examined and discussed in great detail, the same is not true of social consideration. Although the success of sustainable packaging development actually relies on both technological development and social considerations, many of the social aspects of sustainable packaging are often overlooked. Although many companies have been putting the efforts and initiatives to elevate sustainability from an abstract goal into an immediate priority, relatively little is known about the consumers' insights of packaging sustainability. Recognizing the consumers as the final arbiter of the success of sustainable packaging, this paper will explore consumers' perceptions on the sustainable packaging concept, their perceptions of the impact to the environment and discuss factors that drive consumers' preferences and purchase decision. Discussion and information gathered in this paper is aimed to stimulate understanding on the importance of the social dimension of packaging sustainability and its role in supporting the efforts to improve sustainability practice. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Decision delegation: A conceptualization and empirical investigationPSYCHOLOGY & MARKETING, Issue 1 2008Praveen Aggarwal This paper examines a purchase context in which consumers, instead of deciding on their own, delegate either a part of or the entire purchase decision to a surrogate. A path model linking the antecedent variables and delegation is tested in the context of personal computer purchases. It was found that the factors that ensure decision quality emanating from the surrogate's expertise differentials, trustworthiness, accountability, and willingness to customize increase the likelihood of decision delegation. In addition to its direct positive effect on delegation, trustworthiness mediates the effect of expertise difference, surrogate accountability, and customization on delegation. Perceived loss of control inhibits delegation, but only at the stage when the final choice decision is made. Also, if a decision task is repeatable, the high return on effort has a negative effect on delegation, but only at attribute set and choice set delegations. Contributions of the study and directions for future research are discussed. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source] Ethical consumers in search of marketsBUSINESS STRATEGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT, Issue 4 2007Peter Wheale Abstract Research in ethical consumerism has concentrated on attempts to either categorize ethical consumers or to uncover their decision-making processes, but to-date there have been few investigations into the key ethical drivers behind the decision-making process. This study attempts to identify these ethical drivers within their particular product groups by means of a survey of self-proclaimed ethical consumers distributed via a questionnaire placed in the Ethical Consumer Magazine. The findings indicate that environmental issues are ranked above human rights and animal rights/welfare issues and that the ethical consumer considers the product groups to have differential importance ranging from the food products goods group, being the most strongly associated with ethical issues, to the ,brown goods' group (electric goods such as stereos and TVs), which proved to be least associated with these issues. An examination of the ethical drivers within each group suggests that ethical consumers consider each product group on the basis of its bundle of ethical attributes, with differing levels of importance placed on each ethical issue within the purchase decision. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [source] Understanding consumers' perspectives on food labelling in IndiaINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CONSUMER STUDIES, Issue 6 2009Jabir Ali Abstract This study aims at identifying the factors influencing consumers' perception on food labelling and its impact on food purchase decision making, through personal interviews of 631 respondents using a structured questionnaire. To analyse the consumers' perceptions on food labelling, factor analysis has been carried out to identify the underlying dimensions among a set of food labelling attributes using the principal component analysis. Based on factor analysis, four sets of components/factors have emerged, that is, (i) serving method; (ii) quality and nutrition; (iii) production and storage; and (iv) product identification, which explain 66.271% of the variance. Logit regression analysis indicates that among the socio-demographic indicators, the estimated coefficients for gender, education, income and location of residence are statistically significant. Similarly, information on quality and nutrition, production and storage processes, and basic information of the product is found to be significant, implying that these factors are more likely to influence the use of food labels in making informed purchase decisions by the consumers. The findings of the study give practical insights on food labelling issues for the food processors and policy makers. [source] Conflict resolution strategies in joint purchase decisions for major household consumer durables: a cross-cultural investigationINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CONSUMER STUDIES, Issue 3 2009Rina Makgosa Abstract Previous studies on joint purchase decisions have investigated the types of conflict resolution strategies used by spouses, the usage frequency of different conflict resolution strategies, and the effects of demographics and various other variables, on the uses of conflict resolution strategies. Despite efforts to address this largely unexplored area, the role that culture plays in the use of conflict resolution strategies has been significantly ignored. Using a cross-cultural perspective, this study addresses the gap in our understanding of the joint purchase decisions in the family by examining how husbands and wives of three ethnic groups in Britain , British Whites, Indians and African Blacks , use different conflict resolution strategies while jointly purchasing major household consumer products. The total sample comprised 583 husbands and wives of British White, Indian and African Black origin residing in London and Manchester in Britain. Our results showed that three conflict resolution strategies are used by both husbands and wives: bargaining, assertiveness and playing on an emotion. In addition, disengagement emerged as a strategy for husbands, whereas supplication emerged for wives. The study presented in this paper also provides substantial evidence of differences in the use of conflict resolution strategies by husbands and wives from the three ethnic groups, which greatly improves our knowledge on a cross-cultural perspective of joint purchase decisions. [source] Exploring the relationship between consumer knowledge and purchase behaviour of value-based labelsINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CONSUMER STUDIES, Issue 5 2008Morven G. McEachern Abstract Despite an increasing market presence, little research has been conducted regarding consumer-purchase behaviour of food products bearing ,value-based' labels. Moreover, as the effectiveness of these labelling formats is dependent upon consumer's knowledge of their existence, this paper aims to explore the relationship between knowledge, openness to experience (i.e. validated personality trait related to intellectual capability) and purchase behaviour upon consumer behaviour in this context. Using structural equation modelling techniques, causal influences on purchases of fresh meat bearing ,value-based' labels are identified and three multi-attribute attitude models are proposed. The paper concludes that these labels are of value to consumers and that product knowledge plays a significant role in aiding purchase decisions. Consequently, marketing communication implications arising from the proposed multi-attribute attitude models are discussed. [source] A qualitative investigation into the donor lapsing experienceINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF NONPROFIT & VOLUNTARY SECTOR MARKETING, Issue 4 2009Amber Nathan Donor attrition is costing charities a fortune. Previous research has examined the relative importance of the antecedents to donor loyalty versus lapsing. This study qualitatively builds on this. It reports the results of workshops and interviews that took lapsers and donors back through their donor and lapser journeys. It drills down into and unpacks their experiences,inclusive of the (previously undocumented) lapsing experience itself. It reveals striking similarities between the cancellation of a direct debit and other more conventional purchase decisions. Most worryingly, it seems that most people stop supporting a given charity because they had never really had any loyalty to it in the first place. Charities are not meeting people's needs as donors. There is a distinct lack of understanding between charities and their donors, and donors are lapsing because charities give them little reason to stay. The authors conclude with practical recommendations for the management of attrition. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Family purchase decision making: exploring child influence behaviourJOURNAL OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR, Issue 4 2007Elizabeth S. Thomson Children have long been acknowledged as playing an important role within family purchase decisions, with their ability to directly and indirectly influence decisions. The research discussed in this paper arose from an identified opportunity to develop knowledge surrounding the important role that children play within family purchasing by including them as direct research respondents. The methods adopted included an in-depth interview with parents and children separately, and the completion of a decision mapping tool followed by a family interview. The findings address a specific and important aspect of the data, namely the influence behaviour adopted by children during high-involvement family purchase decisions. The children in all of the respondent families were found to have direct influence over the purchases discussed. They demonstrated a range of sophisticated influence behaviours that included justifying and highlighting the benefits of purchases, forming coalitions, compromising and remaining persistent. These behaviours were underpinned and enhanced by the use of product-related knowledge and information, which was viewed positively and encouraged by parents. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Replacement purchase decisions: on the effects of trade-ins, hedonic versus utilitarian usage goal, and tightwadism,JOURNAL OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR, Issue 2-3 2007Sojin Park The paper examines the effects of usage goal (i.e., hedonic versus utilitarian usage), whether the consumer is offered a discount or the ability to trade-in the old product, and tightwadism on the likelihood of replacing a still-functioning product. Supporting previous research, the results revealed that the likelihood of replacing a still-functioning product is higher when a trade-in is offered. As expected, however, this main effect was moderated by whether the good was purchased for utilitarian rather than hedonic purposes. If the purchase was for hedonic purchases, the likelihood of purchase was significantly lower when the promotion was a sale rather than a trade-in. However, the promotion type did not influence the purchase if it was for utilitarian purposes. Additionally, when the usage goal was for hedonic purposes, the likelihood of replacement was significantly lower for those high in tightwadism. In contrast, tightwadism did not influence the likelihood of replacement when the usage was for utilitarian purposes. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Consumers' product evaluation: a study of the primary evaluative criteria in the precious jewellery market in the UKJOURNAL OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR, Issue 2 2001Dr Ahmad Jamal Lecturer in Marketing Abstract It is normally argued that consumers make their purchase decisions on the basis of their evaluation of, and knowledge about, the product attributes. This paper reports findings from a research study, which was conducted to determine the nature and type of evaluative criteria used by an individual while purchasing a piece of precious jewellery. In doing so, the study looked into the significance of product category knowledge, brand familiarity and brand consciousness in product evaluation. A questionnaire was sent to 500 consumers of precious jewellery in five major cities of the UK. Results indicate that, in general, subjective attributes are more important for people buying precious jewellery than the objective attributes. The significance of specific attributes during product evaluation could vary according to one's level of product category knowledge, brand familiarity and brand consciousness. The paper discusses implications for the marketers. Copyright © 2001 Henry Stewart Publications. [source] Assignation of Sweet Cherry Selections to 3 Taste Groupings Based on Perceived Sweetness and SournessJOURNAL OF FOOD SCIENCE, Issue 1 2010Carolyn F. Ross ABSTRACT:, Providing consumers with basic taste properties of sweet cherries at point of purchase would allow consumers to make purchase decisions based on fruit's intrinsic sensory attributes. The objective of this study was to develop a model to predict taste-grouping assignation of cherries into the following categories: (1) low sweetness/high sourness, (2) balance between sweetness and sourness, and (3) high sweetness/low sourness. A sensory panel (n,= 10) was trained to recognize sweetness and sourness in 5 cultivars of sweet cherries and assign a taste grouping based on the perceived balance of sweetness and sourness. Four of these same cultivars were then evaluated for sweetness and sourness by a consumer panel (n,= 117) and instrumentally for titratable acidity (TA) and soluble solids concentration (SSC). Results showed that for 3 of the 4 cherry cultivars, the sweetness/sourness balance of the cherries was not significantly different as evaluated instrumentally or by the trained panel. However, the balance determined by the consumer and the trained panel was different for 3 of the 4 cherry cultivars (P,< 0.05). Based on trained panel perceived sweetness and sourness, a multinomial logit model was developed to predict the assignation of cherry taste grouping. The likelihood of group assignment depended on both the perceived sweetness and sourness of the cherry, with taste groupings agreed upon for 3 of 5 sweet cherry cultivars. As previous studies have indicated a positive relationship between cherry sweetness and sourness to consumer acceptance, these groupings show promise for assisting consumers in cherry selection at the point of purchase. Practical Applications: The prediction models proposed in this study suggest that both sweetness and sourness are important in the cherry characterization and the ratio between the 2 attributes may be appropriate for making taste-grouping assignments. These groupings may then be used to provide additional sensory information to consumers to assist them in cherry selection at the point of purchase. [source] Consumer responses to new food quality information: are some consumers more sensitive than others?AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS, Issue 3 2009Zhifeng Gao Choice experiment; Consumer type; Consumer willingness to pay; Food quality information Abstract Missing information prevails in consumer purchase decisions and studies on consumer preferences. Previous research ignores the relationship between consumer types and their responses to new quality attribute information. In this article, consumer responses to new attribute information are compared across consumer groups. Results show that single households with low income are more responsive to new information than married households with high income. Both groups respond to new information more intensively when a cue attribute, Certified U.S. Product, is presented to consumers. [source] DETERMINATION OF COOLNESS AND DAMPNESS SENSATIONS CREATED BY FABRICS BY FOREARM TEST AND FABRIC MEASUREMENTSJOURNAL OF SENSORY STUDIES, Issue 4 2009SIBEL KAPLAN ABSTRACT Clothing is continuously in an interaction with the body both thermally and mechanically. Different sensations constituting the comfort status of a person arise as a result of this interaction. Coolness sensation perceived during skin-fabric contact is one of these sensations arising from the transient heat flow from skin to the fabric as skin is usually warmer than clothing. In this study, coolness to touch and dampness sensations created by knitted fabrics having different compositions and physical surface characteristics were investigated by forearm test conducted on seven males. Besides physical properties (weight, yarn count, thickness, density), surface roughness and friction properties of the inner surfaces of the fabrics touching the skin were also determined. Microscopic photographs were taken to have an idea about hairiness properties of the inner surfaces and optical porosity values were calculated by analysis of the microscopic images by using MATLAB software. It was found out that coolness and dampness sensations arise during skin,fabric contact are mostly related to the permeability and surface roughness characteristics of fabrics, and the effect of fabric material is more on dampness sensation than coolness sensation. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS In the recent years, consumers pay attention more to the mechanical, thermal and visual sensations stimulated by the dynamic body,clothing interactions besides the aesthetic properties of their clothing. They take into consideration feelings they have during first touch with the clothing into their purchase decisions. Coolness to touch sensation perceived during first contact with the fabric and dampness sensation , which is very important during wear conditions including sweating , are two of them and they are related to the thermophysiological aspect of clothing comfort. For producing garments giving desirable feelings, it is very important to determine fabric properties influencing these sensations. A subjective evaluation method , the forearm test , was used to find out the relationships between coolness and dampness sensations and fabric properties. Results of this study are thought to be beneficial data for fabric manufacturers aiming to produce clothing for specific end users. [source] Shopping for Schools: How Do Marginal Consumers Gather Information About Schools?POLICY STUDIES JOURNAL, Issue 2 2003Jack Buckley The theory of the marginal consumer holds that a subset of better informed consumers can create a globally more efficient market through their purchase decisions. In the market for education created by recent school choice initiatives, these "market mavens" are essential to the successful functioning of the choice system given the empirically documented low quantity and quality of information possessed by the average consumer. Little is known, however, about the differences between how marginal consumers and average consumers of education search for information and make decisions about their children's schooling. [source] Microsimulation Modelling of Tenure Choice and Grants to Promote Home OwnershipTHE AUSTRALIAN ECONOMIC REVIEW, Issue 1 2006Gavin Wood This article develops a microsimulation model of the Australian housing market that has tenure choice as its principal focus. The article sheds light on the role played by relative prices, wealth and borrowing constraints in shaping housing tenure choices. We explore the model's capabilities as an aid to policy making by reporting the findings from an impact analysis of grant programs designed to ease the transition of first home buyers into owner occupation. We find a large demand for home ownership that is not met because of borrowing constraints. The need to meet financial institutions' down payment requirements is particularly important. Government grants made available to first home buyers will ease down payment requirements, but the formal incidence of such a subsidy is found to be inequitable among potential first home buyers, and its impact is largely to bring forward purchase decisions. [source] The impact of firm introductory strategies on consumers' perceptions of future product introductions and purchase decisionsTHE JOURNAL OF PRODUCT INNOVATION MANAGEMENT, Issue 2 2001Derrick S. Boonea In this research, we develop and test a model of the consumer's decision to immediately purchase a technologically advanced product or to delay such a purchase until a future generation of the product is released. We propose that for technologically advancing products, consumers consider both performance lag (how far behind am I now) and expected performance gain (how far ahead will I be if I wait to buy a future expected release) in their purchase decisions. Furthermore, we hypothesize that a firm's past product introductory strategy can significantly influence consumer perceptions of performance lag, performance gain, and the rate at which a product is advancing technologically. We also propose that these perceptions of lag, gain and rate of technological change influence purchase action and ultimately determine whether or not a consumer will delay or immediately purchase a firm's current technological offering. We investigate the above relationships by introducing a model of consumer purchase behavior that incorporates the effects of a firm's frequency and pattern of next generation product introduction, and test the impact of different introductory strategies on performance lag, gain, rate of change perceptions, and purchase action. In our first study we test our model in a monopolistic setting and show that, holding all else fixed, infrequent product upgrades and/or increasing intergenerational release times result in consumers perceiving larger performance lags and gains. We also show that, holding all else fixed, consumers with larger performance lags and/or gains are less likely to delay their purchases of the currently best available product. In our second study we test our model in a competitive setting and show that, holding all else fixed, a firm's past pattern of new product introduction can influence consumers' perceptions of the firm's product's rate of technological change. We also find that consumers are more likely to purchase products which they perceive to have higher rates of technological change. The key insight from this research is that firms have a strategic tool at their disposal that has been overlooked,the pattern of introduction of next generation products. Our findings suggest that a change in the frequency and/or pattern of introduction, in and of themselves, can influence consumers' perceptions of future product introductions, and ultimately influence their purchase actions. Specifically, we demonstrate that by better understanding consumers' purchase timing decisions, firms may be able to induce purchase on the basis of introductory frequency and pattern alone. Additionally, we demonstrate that by strategically managing consumer expectations of future product introductions, firms may be able to decrease the purchase likelihoods of competing products. Implications of our research and its application to the pattern and timing of preannouncements for new products are also explored. [source] Role of Education in Cigarette Smoking: An Analysis of Malaysian Household Survey Data,ASIAN ECONOMIC JOURNAL, Issue 1 2009Andrew K.G. Tan D12; I21 Heckman's sample selection model is used to examine the role of education on household purchase decisions and expenditures of tobacco products in Malaysia. Results of the marginal effects of education, segmented by ethnic and gender groups, suggest that education decreases the probability, conditional levels and unconditional levels of tobacco expenditures amongst Malaysian households. Specifically, an additional year of education of the household head, irrespective of ethnic or gender considerations, decreases smoking probability by 1.5 percent. However, the negative effect of education seems to be higher for Chinese (US$1.07) than Malay (US$0.26) households in terms of conditional expenditures. Furthermore, education significantly decreases conditional tobacco expenditures within male-headed households. [source] Environmental Costing in Capital Investment Decisions: Electricity Distributors and the Choice of Power PolesAUSTRALIAN ACCOUNTING REVIEW, Issue 1 2008Craig Deegan Australian electricity distribution businesses use a vast number of poles in their networks. In making their purchase decisions, they can choose between types of pole. It might come from an old-growth forest or a plantation, or be made from cement, steel or fibreglass. This paper discusses how Australian electricity distribution businesses currently account (or fail to account) for the social and environmental implications of the production and use of power poles. The discussion highlights the many factors to be considered in a life-cycle costing exercise. The paper provides suggestions for future practice which have implications not only for electricity distribution businesses, but for industry generally. [source] Protein and the demand for hard wheats,AUSTRALIAN JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL & RESOURCE ECONOMICS, Issue 2 2009William W. Wilson Wheat protein is one of the most important specifications used in domestic and import purchase contracts and is used partly as a proxy for functional quality. The purpose of this article is to analyse the demand for wheat delineated by protein class. A choice-based econometric model is specified and estimated using a novel dataset of pooled wheat shipments to individual importing countries. Buyers are importing countries that make purchase decisions among different protein levels. The model frames the choice in terms of attributes of the choice and of the importing countries. Results indicate that there have been shifts over time, and purchase probabilities are highly price elastic and vary across importing regions. Functional characteristics including wet gluten content and extraction rates have significant impacts on purchase probabilities. These results have implications for breeders as it clearly illustrates the role of protein and functional characteristics on demand. The results also have implications for analysts modelling wheat trade in that there are many factors impacting market segments that would not be captured in conventional demand specifications. [source] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||