Oprah is a name that needs no introduction Essay

Oprah is so well-known that she doesn’t even need a last name! Her early years in her career were influenced strongly by viewing Barbara Walters on The Today Show. She was a senior in high school when she entered a contest. Upon entering the contest she had to choose a career goal. Her choice was broadcast journalism because the other contestants chose to be a nurse and teacher. This choice turned out to be a very wise choice. She won the contest! This win landed her a job as a newscaster while still attending Tennessee State University. Although the stress of a job and college were taxing, Oprah loved the business and knew this was an actual viable option for her. This led Oprah to a job at Baltimore’s largest television station. She was at first on, then off, the evening news. She was then placed on an early morning interview show where she felt the click -This Is It! This is my future! Her obstacles were many. She was a woman, she was African-American, she was poor but she wasn’t a quitter. She knew to succeed meant to keep on her path and to not lose sight of her goal. She knew this by the time she was three or four years old. She knew that she would accomplish something spectacular. And indeed she has; she began hosting a television show in 1984 in Chicago which soon became syndicated. She knew that to remain successful and in a leadership position that she needed to purchase her show, in which she did. This led to many other ventures in her life such as the cable channel Oxygen and her magazine, O. She is so successful that she was acknowledged as the wealthiest African American woman in entertainment. Life Magazine also listed her in â€Å"The Most 100 Influential People of the 20th Century† in 1998. See more: how to write an introduction Oprah has become so influential because she is living proof that adversity can be overcome. Abuse can be overcome. Poverty and racism can be overcome. She is an icon to all of those that struggle. Her openness about her battle with her weight is just another avenue for people to connect with and be influenced by her. She’s open about her past, people relate to that. Influence is power, especially if you show the shoes that you have traveled in. She is an advocate for African Americans, women, children, poverty, and racism. She touches nearly everyone in some facet of their life. Oprah’s leadership style is ‘Lead By Example. We have watched her air her abuse stories on air as well as her weight problems. This humanizes her as well as openly shows that any weakness can become a strength if one perseveres. She never leads by letting others pave the way. She paves the way! She opens doors for education of minorities in impoverished countries that most of the world has chosen to forget. She also leads through compassion and conviction. What impresses me most about Oprah is she never allowed herself to â€Å"stay down. † She had always managed to overcome all of her personal and professional obstacles to achieve personal and professional success. She values her personal growth and success more, and there again, it shows that she is only human like the rest of us. Even if she were to become poor today, she would still keep trying to learn the life lessons that have made her strong and truly convicted in her belief system. Conversely, what I found unimpressive is her over-playing the race card at times. If she promotes a movie that is predominately African American, she is overly friendly and has even been noted to share some â€Å"private† moment on air that the rest of America may not understand. The favoritism toward these fellow African-Americans can sometimes be nauseating.

Customer Loyalty in a Business To Business Context Essay

Customer loyalty is considered to be a powerful tool for most organizations in ensuring that they gain a competitive advantage in their respective industries ( Lam, Shankar, Erramilli, & Bvsan, 2004, p. 294). Customer loyalty is necessary for ensuring that organizations remain profitable while also achieving growth through reaching out to new market grounds. The importance of customer loyalty in the world of economics has developed gradually as an area of study especially business to business (B2B) environments. This is due to the need to study and identify factors that ensure customer loyalty is maintained and even increased, according to Haghkhah et al., (2013, p. 156). Haghkhah, et al., (2013, p. 156) further noted that increased competition for customers in the market signifies that business ought to react even faster and more specific to the demands and wants of clients in order to win their loyalty. For this reason, marketers in most organizations tend to focus on customer retention techniques and also to lay an emphasis on increasing their loyalty levels. In order to achieve this, B2B has offered vast opportunities to ensure that most organizations achieve their objectives of customer retention and loyalty. Thus, the latter shows the importance of understanding customer retention and loyalty as an important area of the research study. Customer loyalty is viewed as a behavior of repetitive buying and further developed moving forward with factors such as antecedents, consequences, and factors. This has led the researcher to gain an interest in conducting further research on customer retention and loyalty, therefore, this research paper will be on the various ways and techniques that organizations can implement in order to increase customer loyalty in a B2B context Customer loyalty According to Haghkhah, et al., (2013, p. 157) a high rate of loyalty in a B2B environment is a competitive advantage to the seller due to the client’s willingness to pay a higher price for goods and sensitive since they start becoming less price sensitive as a result of trust that has been gained. This means that the income generated is likely to increase and remain stable to move forward Customer loyalty is viewed as a strategy that aims at ensuring customers gain behaviour of repetitive purchasing from the same company. Customer loyalty in a B2B environment achieves a mutual reward that benefits both the customer and the organization. It is usually considered as ways of gaining competitive advantage by an organization over its competitors. Various companies have applied the strategy of maintaining customer loyalty since it is considered cheaper in regard trying to gain new customers in order to increase their revenue base. ÄÅ'ater.T & ÄÅ'ater.B (2010, p. 1322) view customer loyalty based on activities such as contract renewal, making recommendations to clients and increasing patronage in a business to business environments. They further note that these factors will likely influence the level of loyalty to clients of an organization. In other research, customer loyalty in a B2B environment is based on the experiences of the client, the future expectations that a client may have about the organization and the frequency at which a customer buys goods and services from the organization( haghkhah, Abdul Hamid, Ebrahimpour, Roghanian, & Gheysari, 2013, p. 158). Further, (ÄÅ'ater & ÄÅ'ater, 2010) notes that in order to influence the loyalty of clients in a B2B context, and then the organization has to understand the behaviour of the client and the attitude of the client. Literature review 2.1 Limitations and Gap in Literature The field of customer loyalty is one that has much information, but very little attention has been given to business-to-business scenarios. Most previous research has mainly focused on the customer’s point of view (Mascareigne, 2009). This could be because most view customer retentions as a behavioral factor. (Ranaweera & Prabhu, 2003) In any economy, businesses have to transact to perform their daily operations. Some businesses, such as audit firms, exist to serve other businesses. Extensive research on this area could aid other businesses to learn the dynamics of customer loyalty amongst themselves. A major limitation that was also experienced in the research was the over generalization of the research based on a B2B context. Since different businesses have different operations and strategies, some aspects may works for a certain sector that may not necessarily work for another. For example, concepts that may be used to increase customer loyalty in the banking sector, may no t work in the manufacturing sector. According to Buttle (2008, p. 267) commitment is defined as the relationship that exist between the two firms and is likely to be terminated at a reasonable future date. In a B2B environment, the commitment shared by the two firms is usually on a mutual agreement. Doma (2013, p. 72) notes that commitment between two firms is usually bonded by trust among the two firms. The level of trust that is usually shared by the two or more firms that conduct business affects their commitment framework. The more a firm is committed to another increases the level of loyalty shared by the two firms. Moorman & Rust (1999, p. 183) in their research notes that commitment is usually the level of effort that is put by firms in ensuring a valuable relationship enjoyed by the two firms is maintained in the long term. The relationship usually has economic benefits for the two firms in their bid to ensure they remain profitable in their operations. For this reason, there exists a belief among organizations that the relationship has economic benefits; thus efforts are put in maintaining it. However, according to Hennig-Thurau (2004, p. 463) states that many scholars tend to argue that there is no major difference between loyalty and commitment. That school of thought has been dismissed by Morgan & Hunt (1999, p. 24) who argued there is a difference between loyalty and commitment. They, however, noted that the two are related, with a commitment being an antecedent of loyalty. This means that commitment is a factor in B2B environment that will increase the level of loyalty. This also meant that the existence of commitment had a strong positive impact on the level of commitment. Shabbir et al. (2007, p. 280) in their research demonstrated that commitment is an antecedent of loyalty. They argued that commitment in the B2B environment, it played a central role in ensuring that loyalty is always maintained and even increased to higher levels. Sharma, et al. (2006, p. 77) in their study note that commitment is the situation whereby there is a desire to make a relationship stronger with another person or even group due to familiarity or even friendship has that has been developed over time due to the personal interaction that has occurred between the two over a period of time(Eakuru & Mat, 2008, p. 125). Therefore, commitment should be as a result of identifying the values that are shared commonly between two organizations. It is crucial to note that the customer will retain a relationship with another party due to the positive effect they have with the supplier. At times, a client may be forced to continue staying in a relationship with another party due to lack of valuable options that may be available to them (Fullerton, 2005, p. 1388). However, most relationships are maintained with a commitment as a result of the benefits that both parties will benefit from (Brandi, 2001, p. 67). When commitment is the guiding principle of B2B environment, and one organization performs poorly in comparison to the incumbent organization, then due to the level of commitment shared the partners are unlikely to switch to other options (Stephan , 2002, p. 20). This makes a commitment an underlying factor that will help in influencing the level of loyalty in a B2B environment (Stephan , 2002, p. 33). Akin (2012) gives an example, in comparing the loyal between customers with low loyalty and customers with high loyalty and explains that customers with high loyalty will be not be swayed by discounted prices from other suppliers. Therfore, the higher the level of commitment that will be shared between organizations an increase in loyalty levels between the organizations will be experienced. If the level of commitment is increased through activities such as contract renewal and making of recommendations to the other organization, it will in turn increase the level of loyalty enjoyed by the two firms. Therefore, if organizations want to increase the rate of exit by their clients, then they have to build a relationship that will be founded on a commitment. Commitment will in turn increase the level of loyalty in a B2B environment. This will ensure that the future of the organization is maintained as it will continue making profit. In a study conducted by CITATION Gus05 l 1033 (Gustavsson & Lundgren, 2005) they give an example whereby airline companies use their frequent flyer programs as a means to enhance repeated purchase through provision of economic incentives to ensure that they increase and also maintain loyal among their clients. 2.2 Theories and Methodologies A common principle that has emerged from the total quality management (TQM) movement is that the decisive path, to retaining customers, is to satisfy their needs (Colby, 2013). The theory holds that if by identifying what customers expect and by meeting these requirements and expectations, these customers are less likely to opt for the services given by a competitor. Past research conducted by Colby (2013) has shown a positive relationship between satisfaction and loyalty. In other words, if a client is satisfied with the services offered by a business, the client is bound to be loyal to the business. Other studies have also identified a positive relationship between service quality and customer loyalty (Van Es, 2012). However, a certain level of satisfaction does not always guarantee the desired loyalty. In a certain survey, Colby suggested four indicators of customer loyalty and this include; demographics, past behavior, perception of gain or loss of switching to a different brand and attitudes towards openness to new brands. Studying these four indicators can give a better understanding of customer loyalty. For instance, if a business expects to save on costs by transacting with another business, then they are most likely to be loyal to that particular partnership. The attitudinal approach takes a view of purchase behavior and tends to explain in terms of values, beliefs and attitudes. Deterministic theory entails the logical relationship between variables and researchers in this field are responsible for identifying which variables affect customer loyalty. It appears to be acceptable to most cognitive researchers that attitude comes before behavior in a scenario that involves repurchasing a product and is very important because attitude comes before a choice. The behavioral approach holds that internal processes cannot be measured and, therefore, have no place in research (Bennet & Bove, 2002). Understanding customer loyalty in a B2B scenario is a long term relationship regardless of the importance of the transactions. Both methods may differ in views but can be both used to understand the concept. Although customer loyalty research has evolved over the years, most of this research uses a logical empiricist paradigm(Paavola, 2006). Information about customer loyalty has been derived mainly from cognitive psychology, with theories about attitude forming most of the work. Current theoretical framework could, therefore, bring a new perspective into the loyalty research. Paavola (2006) uses the social constructionism paradigm to examine the notion of customer loyalty critically. The study gives a detailed description of customer loyalty that is based on the social reality of customers. The results imply that different types of loyalty should be taken into considerations when making managerial implementations. Categorization can also be very beneficial when it comes to future loyalty research. Most theories, which are associated with loyalty studies, deal with issues such as loyalty programs, customer satisfaction, customer value, service quality and social bonds (Jacobsen, Olsson, & Sjovall, 2004). A model constructed by Jacobsen, Olsson and Sjovall (2004) shows that social bonds have the most significant effect on customer loyalty with companies in the banking sector. The study shows that the most important factors, in maintaining customer loyalty in the banking sector, were social bonds and personnel. This is because, banking services are very similar and to survive in such as market, strong competitive personnel are required to make the right connections. The same study revealed that monetary benefits are not a significant factor in that area of business. According to Kuusik (2007), the factors, trustworthiness, satisfaction, importance of relationship and image are important factors that play a role in the different levels of customer loyalty. Traditionally, most research has focussed on either the influence of individual factors on loyalty or the nature of different levels of loyalty. It is important to not only view loyalty through behavioural criteria, but also attitudinal criteria as well. Behavioural clients could be divided into; forced to be loyal, functionally loyal and loyal due to inertia (Kuusik, 2007). For instance, in a B2B context, when a certain company is a monopoly, getting supplies from them is the only logical answer, and this forces a company to be loyal by force. Businesses can be loyal by inertia due to the importance of a certain process. If the process is of low importance, then there is practically no need to get another partner. This can happen in situations where the transaction is routine such as trash- pickup. Functionality loyalty is gained from when organizations have to partner with other organizations because they have an objective reason to be. Research has shown that inertia is a situation opposite to loyalty CITATION Aki12 l 4105 (Akin, 2012). For example, a business may select another business since they require minimal effort to reach them. Dahlgren (2005) used multivariate data analysis techniques to build a link between dimensions of brand loyalty and to capture the different levels of customer loyalty. The result showed several differences in the loyalty dimensions. In a similar study, Kuusik (2007) uses a LOGIT regression model to determine the significant factors that affect customer loyalty. The model comprises of various factors that affect customer loyalty. The study reveals that image, satisfaction, importance of relationship and trustworthiness are the most significant factors in loyalty research. According to East et al. (2005) the definition of loyalty is useful if they can be used to predict phenomena such as search, retention, and recommendation. The authors establish that combination measures of customer loyalty often act as poor indicators of consumer loyalty as compared to other singular indicators such as recommendations. Apart from viewing these combinations to be of limited value, the research also establishes that there is no form of loyalty that always predicts different loyalty outcomes and a general concept of loyalty should be abandoned (East, Gendall, Hammond, & Lomax, 2005). For instance, instead of using indicators such as loyalty programs and money rewards, researchers should either look for retention of customers and any recommendation given by them. 2.3 Identifying relationships between ideas and practice to increase loyalty in a B2B context Various ideas have been drafted in order to increase customer loyalty in a B2B context. For example, from the above review, it is noted that identification of the company’s prospects and acting on them will help in increasing the loyalty. However a company can deliver on all the needs of their clients, but the delivery of their services will influence the level of loyalty moving forward. If when delivering all the needs of their client, and they produce a poor delivery service, then this will likely lead to a decrease in loyalty level. For example according to Akin (2012) factors that help increasing the loyalty of customers is high-level service quality delivered by firms that will lead to a high level of customer satisfaction. In another scenario, companies tend to try and find ways in which they can influence the frequency at which their clients access their websites for information. However, research indicates that half of the customers get information from their website. The lack of companies to invest and provide websites that are easy to access and provide the necessary information to their clients will lead to a decline in the level of loyalty. For this reason, there is a clear distinction between the ideas developed to increase loyalty and the practices a company will adopt. Conclusion From this literature review, it can be shown that various researches have tried to establish the existence of a positive relationship between loyalty and aspects such as service quality and customer satisfaction. Some studies have employed the use of correlation analysis to investigate this relationship. Correlation research allows a researcher to determine whether a relationship between variables exists, it allows one to define the extent of the relationship between the variables (Gall, Gall, & Bord, 2005). Qualitative and quantitative research methods both have their benefits and drawbacks. For instance, when the correlation between two variables has been established, it still does not tell the researcher what should be done, but rather what can be done. Qualitative methods, as used by Paavola (2006), can also bring out knowledge that is not familiar with other researchers. The results can also be influenced by the researcher’s personal biases. However, some of these studies tend to cover wide areas that may take long periods of research. The benefits of customer retention have been recognized by many researchers (Feihua, 2011). In the business to business scenario, certain aspects of retaining a customer bring out themselves than conducting business with the ordinary customers. For instance, paying attention to the ordinary, like attending meetings on time is not a necessary, but a crucial habit to consider. In a B2B relationship, the parties are more defined, and this is based on the assumption that both parties are seeking common benefits in the relationship (Oy, 2010). In a normal business to customer relationship, the dissolution of the relationship ends up in the consumer leaving the services of the provider. In the B2B setup, the end of the relationship is thought in terms of a process while in switching is thought as just as a change in the relationship. In customer loyalty research, perhaps it would be of vital importance to consider the industry in which the research is being conducted on. In industries wher e the businesses provide similar services, social bonds could be the prevalent factor that promotes consumer loyalty between businesses. In other industries, where the services offered are different, probably loyalty programs and monetary rewards could be the way to win customer loyalty. References Akin, E. (2012). Literature Review and Discussion on Customer Loyalty and Consciousness. European Journal of Economics, Finance and Administrative Sciences, 158-170. Brandi, J. (2001). Building Customer Loyalty: The 21 Essential Elements †¦ in Action. Texas: The Walk The Talk Company. Buttle, F. (2008). Customer Relationship Management (2nd ed.). New York: Routledge. Doma, S. A. (2013). Relationship Quality as Predictor of B2B Customer Loyalty. SYSTEMICS, CYBERNETICS AND INFORMATICS, 111(1), 72-78. Gustavsson, S., & Lundgren, E. (2005). Customer Loyalty. Lulea University of Technology. Haghkhah, A., Abdul Hamid, A. B., Ebrahimpour, A., Roghanian, P., & Gheysari, H. (2013). Commitment and Customer Loyalty in Business-To-Business Context. European Journal of Business and Management, 15(19), 156-164. Lam, S. Y., Shankar, V., Erramilli, M. K., & B. M. (2004). Customer Value, Satisfaction, Loyalty, and Switching Costs: An Illustration From a Business-to-Business Service Context. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 32(293), 294-311. Bennet, R., & Bove, L. (2002). Identifying the Key Issues for Measuring Loyalty. QUT Digital Repository, 1-29. ÄÅ'ater, T., & ÄÅ'ater, B. (2010). Product and relationship quality influence on customer commitment and loyalty in B2B manufacturing relationships. Industrial marketing management, 39(8), 1321-1333.Colby, C. (2013, December 9). A New Paradigm for Understanding Customer Retention. Retrieved from Rockbridge: http://rockresearch.com/a-new-paradigm-for-understanding-customer-retention/ Eakuru, N., & Mat, N. (2008). The application of structural equation modeling (SEM) in determining the antecedents of customer loyalty in banks in South Thailand. The Business Review, Cambridge, 10(2), 129-139. East, R., Gendall, P., Hammond, K., & Lomax, W. (2005). Consumer Loyalty: Singular, Additive or Interactive? Australian arketing Joural, 10-17.Feihua, Q. (2011). Customer Retention in E-commerce business. Haaha-Helia University press, 1-56. Fullerton, G. (2005). How commitment both enables and undermines marketing relationships. European Journal of marketing, 39(11), 1372-1388.Gall, J., Gall, M., & Bord, W. (2005). Applying educational research: A practical guide (1st ed.). Boston: Pearzon. Hennig-Thurau, T. (2004). Customer orientation of service employees: Its impact on customer satisfaction, commitment, and retention. International Journal of Service Industry Management, 15(5), 460-478. Jacobsen, D., Olsson, M., & Sjovall, A. (2004). The Creation of Customer Loyalty. Kristianstad University, 1-71. Kuusik, A. (2007). AFFECTING CUSTOMER LOYALTY: DO DIFFERENT FACTORS HAVE VARIOUS INFLUENCES IN DIFFERENT LOYALTY LEVELS? Tartu University Press, 1-29. Mascareigne, J. (2009). Customer Retention. Lulea University Press, 1-88. Moorman, C., & Rust, R. T. (1999). The role of marketing. The Journal of Marketing, 180-197, 63.Morgan, R. M., & Hunt, S. D. (1999). The commitment-trust theory of relationship marketing. The Journal of marketing, 20-38.Oy, O. (2010). IMPROVING CUSTOMER LOYALTY THROUGH A REGULAR CUSTOMER PROGRAM. TAMPEREEN AMMATTIKORKEAKOULU University Publications, 1-45. Paalova, H. (2006). Categories of Loyalty. Toward Meaning-based Theory of Customer Loyalty. European Advances in Consumer Research, 420-428. Ranaweera, C., & Prabhu, J. (2003). The influence of satisfaction, trust and switching barriers on customer retention in a continuous purchasing setting. international journal of service industry management, 374-395. Shabbir, H., Palihawadana, D., & Thwaites, D. (2007). Determining the antecedents and consequences of donor †perceived relationship quality—A dimensional qualitative research approach. Psychology & Marketing, 24(3), 271-293. Sharma, N., Young, L., & Wilkinson, I. (2006). The commitment mix: Dimensions of commitment in international trading relationships in India. Journal of International Marketing, 64-91. Stephan, B. (2002). Customer Loyalty Programs and Clubs (2nd ed.). London: Gower Publishing, Ltd. Van Es, R. (2012). The Relationship between Service Quality and Customer Loyalty, and its Influence on Business Model Design. Universiteit Twente, 1-85. Source document

Factory Outlet vs Departmental Outlets

CUSTOMER PERCEPTIONS OF FACTORY OUTLET STORES VERSUS TRADITIONAL DEPARTMENT STORES Dr. G. S. Shergill* Department of Commerce, Massey University, Albany Campus, Private Bag 102 904 NSMC, Auckland, NEW ZEALAND Ph: 0064 9 414 0800 x9466, Email: G. S. [email  protected] ac. nz & Y. Chen Department of Commerce, Massey University, Auckland, NEW ZEALAND, Email: [email  protected] com CUSTOMER PERCEPTIONS OF FACTORY OUTLET STORES VERSUS TRADITIONAL DEPARTMENT STORES Abstract This paper examines customers’ perceptions of two different types of retail stores; factory outlet stores and traditional department stores; as well as their purchasing preferences. In addition, the paper compares these preferences across demographics. It explores four critical factors which significantly influence customers’ perceptions of both types of retail store. Findings are base on a mall intercept survey with 205 respondents across a range of demographics. The results indicate that factory outlet stores are perceived as having comparatively lower prices and attractive promotions in comparison to traditional department stores, while traditional department stores have competitive advantages in terms of the other three factors. Also it is found that different demographic characteristics play an important role in influencing differences in customer perceptions regarding the different types of stores. The main implication of these findings is that factory outlet stores are perceived favourably and that they need to build more positive marketing strategies accordingly. Keywords- Factory outlet stores, Traditional department stores, Customer preferences. Nowadays, an increasing number of customers choose factory outlet stores as their alternative shopping places, rather than continuing to shop at traditional department stores. Since customer loyalty is becoming more important for marketers in achieving sales performance goals (Kulpa, 1998), this increase in the use of factory outlet stores as an alternative choice poses a significant challenge to traditional department stores. This circumstance means that the competition between these different retail channels has become extremely intense. A factory outlet store is owned and operated directly by a manufacturer to sell only its brand of merchandise, whereas a traditional department store does not manufacture products itself but instead sells a variety of products manufactured by independent firms (Meyers, 1995). In a factory outlet store, the manufacturer has full control over the product offering, in-store customer service and the quality and price of the product sold, as well as the physical attributes of the store. Traditional department stores are owned 1 and operated independent of manufacturers. Manufacturers of the products sold at these stores have limited control over in-store customer service, prices of the products sold and the physical attributes of the stores. Initially factory outlet stores were established to offer end-of-line goods and seconds at the lowest possible prices (Lombart, 2004). As a result it was mainly customers in lower socio-economic groups who were willing to buy through this channel. These outlets have begun, however, to be gradually accepted by more customers, in part due to special annual sale promotions which began during the 1980s (Lombart, 2004). Additionally, customers’ increasing value-consciousness has stimulated the development of factory outlet stores. This has especially been the case in the United States, where there are over 10,000 factory outlet stores now in operation (Meyers, 1995). Nowadays, factory outlet stores which provide the same range of brand name merchandise attract more and more customers, and have developed into showcases in much the same form as that of traditional department stores (Fernie and Fernie, 1997). It is unclear, however, whether customer perceptions of factory outlet stores versus traditional department stores may differ in general and across demographics, as well as how such differences may be seen. The findings will assist marketers, particularly those employed by manufacturers, in understanding the ways in which customers view both traditional department stores and factory outlet stores. This insight will allow such marketers to set more suitable customer-oriented marketing strategies and business objectives, achieve superior financial performance and develop their marketing performance in the retail industry. The main objective of this paper is to explore customers’ perceptions of these different types of retail stores, as well as their purchasing preferences. In addition, the paper examines customer preferences across demographics regarding customers’ perceptions of factory outlet stores and traditional department stores. The paper contains five sections. Following the introduction is an overview of literature, summarising previous studies, and sets the hypotheses to be tested. The next two 2 sections deal with research methodology, data analysis and findings. Conclusions and implications are discussed in the last section. LITERATURE REVIEW Factory outlet stores vs. Traditional department stores Factory outlet stores An increasing number of factory outlet stores have been built for various reasons. Some of these stores have been created to deal with seconds’ products, some are presented as discount stores associated with new distribution channels, and some have been designed by manufacturers in order to reduce the price of their products through savings on overhead costs (Parker et al. , 2002). This last reason has been pursued in order to attract more current and potential customers in price-oriented and price-sensitive markets and satisfy customers’ varying needs and wants (Parker et al. , 2002). Initially, the factory outlet store was identified and established as an off-price retailer (Joshi, 2003). Internationally, especially in Europe, factory outlet stores were built and developed for four basic reasons: to sell discounted products; to reduce overhead costs and carry out sales promotions; to create flexibility of stock running; and to achieve brand promotion (Joshi, 2003). The roles and functions of factory outlet stores have changed significantly over the past few decades. They are no longer designed only as low price stores, but are also used for branded product promotions, especially in Europe and the US. For example, manufacturers of the Reebok, Levi, Gap and Warnaco brands regard their brand promotion to be one of the key functions of their factory outlet stores (Joshi, 2003). Factory outlet stores have also been designed as specific seconds stores and discount stores, and are located in many of Japan’s major cities (Joshi, 2003). There has been a 62% increase in factory outlet stores since 1990 and the trend is for this increase to continue (Rudnitsky, 1994). Factory outlet stores have been developed using original styles by including some specific characteristics of conventional shopping centres in order to provide products with attractive prices and a leisurely shopping environment for most price-oriented customers (Golub and Winston, 1983). 3 Nowadays, the factory outlet stores are normally recognised as â€Å"†¦ gaining a larger market share through price reductions, which are aimed at capturing the mass market† (Hellofs and Jacobson, 1999, p. 3). Therefore, the factory outlet stores need to develop their level of customer satisfaction and ensure that the products sold in these stores are of a reasonable quality in comparison to the previously built brand images (Parker et al. , 2002). Overall, the trend in factory outlet store development is quite satisfactory. For example, according to a sur vey discussed in Happy Campers at Outlets (Rauch, 2005), around 84% of respondents agreed that the prices in these stores met, and even exceeded, their expectations. Also, nearly 93% of the respondents indicated their intention of making a return visit (Rauch, 2005). In summary, the development of factory outlet stores is rapid. They are seen as offering reasonable and lower prices than traditional department stores, and a much better shopping environment and atmosphere than ever before. Therefore, the sales performances achieved by factory outlet stores are satisfactory, tending towards positive maintenance and a continuous increase in this type of store. Traditional Department Stores Nowadays, traditional department stores are facing a significant threat because the number of consumers who shop at traditional department stores is decreasing, although the sales of these stores have increased (Nasri, 1999). The number of customers who shop at traditional department stores has dropped sharply (Li, 2003). This means that department stores are in an endangered situation, and are receiving a lessening portion of the total retail sales. This situation has led to a significant decrease in the number of department stores (Li, 2003). Traditional department stores are perceived by customers as playing a distinctive fashion role and offering a range of up-to-date fashion merchandise with reasonable prices, high levels of customer service and a comfortable shopping atmosphere 4 (Johnson, 1994). Customers are more willing to enter into, and purchase products in, traditional department stores, which offer more excitement and emotional attachment than do outlet stores. As a result traditional department stores tend to be developed to create and satisfy various demands of customers of different ages and with differing perceptions of fashion trends (Facenda, 2005). This could be a competitive advantage which traditional department stores can utilise to attract and maintain customers, as well as increase market share as an effective defence against the threat presented by factory outlet stores. In summary, unlike discount stores, traditional department stores tend to be challenged into finding and creating a winning combination of a diverse customer and merchandise mix, along with service and price expectations, rather than addressing and focusing on attracting bargain-seeking customers through niche target marketing (Coward, 2003). Therefore, the first hypothesis to be tested in the research can be stated as follows: H1: There is a significant difference in customers’ store preferences (traditional department stores, or factory outlet stores) across their demographics. Product Brand Image Loyal customers may hold strong and positive images of a brand which are hard to change and lead to long-term sales revenue (Wyner, 2003). A well-known brand as one important extrinsic factor can significantly affect customer perceptions (Ailawadi and Keller, 2004). Retailers have an obvious opportunity, and are in an ideal position to build these kinds of positive experiences for customers (Schmitt, 2003). Brookman (2004) noted that brand images should be used to link merchandise ranges and store design. Parker et al. (2002) also recommended that good brand imagery leads to good sales revenues. Ailawadi and Keller (2004) pointed out that there was a direct relevance between branding and customer perceptions of retailer imagery, which has been confirmed by a large number of researches in this topic area. Inman et al. 2004) pointed out that customers associate different branded product ranges with different types of retail stores. Accordingly, store image is impacted significantly by customer perceptions 5 of the different branded products and services offered by retailers (Ailawadi and Keller, 2004). The greater the breadth of different products and services offered by a retail store, the greater the number of customers who will frequently patro nage the store, as the variety of product categories provided in the same store provides a much more convenient shopping experience for customers (Messinger and Narasimhan, 1997). Furthermore, the depth of within-category brand products is another very important factor in influencing store image in customer perceptions, and could be a main stimulator in the customer store choice decision (Ailawadi and Keller, 2004). Developing a selection, a range of styles, and favourable categories of branded products are the most important keys to increasing customer perceptions of store image and, as a consequence, achieving higher sales (Dreze et al. , 1994). Therefore, the design of brand-name products can be a comparable factor in creating images for factory outlet stores and traditional department stores. The customer image of retail stores is highly and positively influenced by the quality of the manufactured product brands (Ailawadi and Keller, 2004). Accordingly, Jacoby and Mazursky (1984) noted that carrying strong positive images of brands could improve the positive image of retail stores. Furthermore, they noted that it was much easier to increase sales and achieve market share by increasing both the images of the brands and of the retail stores in the current saturated retail environment (Jacoby and Mazursky, 1984). Nevertheless, Jacoby and Mazursky (1984) also mentioned that a good product brand image would be damaged if it was associated with a retail store which had a poor image. Therefore, brand products sold in either type of retail store should be designed and managed to create and improve relevant customer perceptions. In summary, customers having good brand image tend to be much more loyal in their shopping patterns, whether at traditional department stores, or factory outlet stores. Also, customers who wish to purchase high quality branded products would consider whether the quality and value of the brand products sold in traditional retail stores is higher than those products sold in factory outlet stores (Parker et al. , 2002). So, the second hypothesis to be tested in the research could be stated as follows: 6 H2: The brand images of those products sold in traditional department stores are higher than for those products sold in factory outlet stores. Retail Store Image The store image plays a very important role in creating profit and maintaining customer loyalty. Therefore, it could be a determining factor in customer perceptions (Parker et al. , 2002). A high quality store image implies the possibility of differentiation, loyalty and profitability, while a low-quality store image paves the way for price wars by emphasising and intensifying customer price sensitivity (Hallanan, 1994). The conclusion that retail stores should develop a positive, clear and favourable self-image to be an alternative choice in customers’ minds was drawn by Martineau (1958). Understanding the impact of product brand image, and how a retailer should be positioned, is extremely important in building the image of a retail store (Ailawadi et al. , 1995). Building the image of a retail store requires the identification of sufficiently different goods and services from those of their competitors, which tends to increase customers’ appreciation (Keller, 2003). There are lots of different attributes which significantly influence store image. These include the quality of merchandise and services, the tore appearance, the quality of the purchase service, the physical facilities, the behaviour and service of employees, the price levels, the depth and frequency of promotions and the store shopping atmosphere (Lindquist, 1974). Two basic dimensions can be used to analyse the store image. These dimensions are in-store atmosphere, and price and promotion (Ailawadi and Keller, 2004, p. 333). In-store atmosphere is one of the most important factors in the influenc e of customer perceptions of retail stores. Baker et al. 2002) pointed out that a store’s shopping environment plays an extremely important role in providing information and shopping guides to customers, and is the key attribute in building store image. The in-store environment; particularly physical features such as merchandise pricing, quality and store design and layout, as well as social service facilities such as employees’ service 7 and friendliness, as well as food-court service; can influence customers’ economic and psychological shopping behaviours (Baker et al. , 2002). Certainly, store environment plays a major role in providing informational cues and signals to customers about the type of merchandise and service they should expect (Parker et al. , 2002). Merchandise quality and service quality are key variables in influencing store image (Parker et al. , 2002). This indicates that service attributes might be some of the most important factors in store image brand building, and deeply influence consumer purchase behaviours (Hicks, 2000). This leads to the creation of long-term sales revenue and profitability (Hicks, 2000). Furthermore, when different retailers stock similar products and brands, an appealing in-store atmosphere can play a critical role in building retailer brand image (Ailawadi and Keller, 2004). In this research, the in-store atmospheres of factory outlet stores and traditional department stores are compared, especially in terms of the physical characteristics and social service features. Two further hypotheses need to be tested, as follow: H3: The physical features (such as lighting, air conditioning, washrooms, music, cleanliness, displays, etc. of traditional department stores are perceived to be better than those of factory outlet stores. H4: The in-store customer service features (such as friendliness, helpfulness of salespeople, etc. ) of traditional department stores are perceived to be better than those of factory outlet stores. Price and promotion is another factor which directly affects customer perceptions of different types of retail stores and their images. A store’ s image in terms of price and promotion will be influenced by average levels of prices, seasonal variations in prices, and the frequency and depth of promotions (Dickson and Sawyer, 1990). Different customers hold different perceptions of the store choice decision, according to the different images of stores. For example, large basket shoppers like every-day low price stores, while small basket shoppers prefer high-low promotional pricing stores (Bell and Lattin, 1998). Traditional department stores tend to create â€Å"†¦ a diverse customer and merchandise mix, service expectations and price point †¦Ã¢â‚¬  in order to design a desirable shopping experience (Coward, 2003, p. 27). For example, Coward (2003) suggested that 8 stores needed to rethink convenient designs, return policies and commission policies in order to make their service more flexible and satisfying for customers. Parker et al. (2002) pointed out that there is an incredible interaction between price levels and customer perceptions of product brand images and store images. In particular, comparatively lower price levels would lead to negative customer perceptions of the retail stores (Parker et al. , 2002). To identify the different price and promotion images of retail stores, the hypotheses formulated are: H5: The price and promotion features of products sold in traditional department stores are perceived as being higher than that of factory outlet stores. H6: There is a significant difference in customers’ store ratings (traditional department stores vs. factory outlet stores) across their demographics. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY The study was conducted in a mid-sized multicultural city with a range of local and international retailers, including a number of traditional department stores and factory outlet stores. Using Parker et al. ’s (2002) nineteen items developed for measuring store characteristics, a questionnaire was constructed which measured preferences for generic stores. A five point scale was used in the questionnaire, anchored by 1=very poor and 5=very good. In addition, four items designed to measure the demographic characteristics of the respondents were also included. The data was collected using intercept surveys. The respondents were selected equally at both types of retail outlets. The usable sample was 205 respondents. The sample profile is given in Table I. DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS Sample Profile The sample profile of 205 respondents is summarised in Table I below. There are 107 female and 98 male respondents in the survey. The majority of the respondents are less than forty-five years of age (approximately 71% of the total sample). Furthermore, the majority of the respondents had completed secondary school and completed at least one trade diploma, or certificate degree. Additionally, around 78% of the respondents earned 9 a yearly gross income (before tax) of over NZ$20,000. Respondents with a yearly income over NZ$60,000 only comprised 9. % of the sample, with the majority having a yearly income of between NZ$20,000 and NZ$40,000. Table I: Gender Sample Profile (N=205) Percentage Female Male Total Under 25yr 52. 2 47. 8 100 15. 6 25. 9 29. 8 18. 5 7. 8 2. 4 100 16. 6 30. 2 38. 5 14. 6 100 21. 5 45. 4 23. 9 9. 3 100 Demographics Formatted: Swedish (Sweden) Age 25-34yr 35-44yr 45-54yr 55-64yr Over 64yr Total High School Degree Educati on Trade Diploma/Certificate Bachelor Degree Masters Degree Total Individual tax) yearly Less than NZ$20,000 NZ$20,001–$40,000 NZ$40,001–$60,000 Over NZ$60,000 Total ross income (before The reliability analysis was utilised to test whether the nineteen questions used in the questionnaire fit the factor analysis criteria. Using Cronbach alpha, we found that the nineteen items’ reliability for traditional department stores was . 889 and for factory outlet stores was . 880, both figures being at an acceptable level (Nunnally, 1978). Factors which Customers keep in mind while Shopping at Traditional Department Stores (TDS) and Factory Outlet Stores (FOS) Table II displays the factor analysis results for different scales of TDS in the questionnaire. Four factors were extracted through the factor analysis for TDS. Factor 1 concerns the in-store customer service characteristics of TDS. The variables relating to 10 customer service in the stores; such as friendly, helpful, familiar with merchandise, exchanges, salespeople’s’ pressure and enough salespeople; are loaded more highly than other variables contained in Factor 1. Customers are especially concerned with whether the salespeople in traditional department stores are helpful. Within Factor 2, higher loadings are given to quality, wide selection, newest styles and fully stocked in regards to the products sold in the stores. These loadings indicate that Factor 2 largely displays concerns about the brand images of products sold in TDS. Table II: Factor Analysis Results for Traditional Department Stores and Factory Outlet Stores Traditional Department Stores Factor 1: In-store customer service features Factor 1: In-store customer service features Factory Outlet Stores Variables Factor 2: Brand images of products Factor 2: Brand images of products Factor 4: Price & promotion features Salespeople are friendly Salespeople are helpful Salespeople are familiar with merchandise Exchanges happily Less pressure from salespeople Enough salespeople Quality is good Selection of products is wide Styles of products are newest Stock level Store is attractive Store is not crowded Store is clean Store is neat Store is bright .600 . 746 . 637 . 571 . 601 . 580 . 449 . 763 . 771 . 702 . 458 . 545 . 763 . 745 . 672 .628 . 717 . 652 . 590 . 640 . 639 . 471 . 694 . 779 . 740 . 556 . 697 . 822 . 677 . 160 Factor 4: Price & promotion features Factor 3: Physical features Factor 3: Physical features 11 Prices are good Value for price Markdowns are attractive Prices of products are marked clearly .655 . 810 . 468 . 360 .359 . 325 . 882 . 739 Customers shopping in TDS tend to pay more attention to whether products sold in the stores display a wide selection, with the newest styles and are fully stocked, rather than being concerned about their quality, as the loadings of these three variables are 0. 763, 0. 771 and 0. 702, respectively, while the loading of quality is only 0. 49. Furthermore, Factor 3 shows significant loadings on the variables of attractive, not crowded, clean, neat and bright, at 0. 458, 0. 545, 0. 763, 0. 745 and 0. 672, respectively. Therefore, Factor 3 can be identified as containing the physical features of TDS. Specifically, the variables of clean and neat have much higher loadings than the others. This implies that these two factors significantly influence customer perceptions of the physical features of TDS. Factor 4 shows customers’ considerations regarding the price and promotion features of products sold in TDS. Within the fourth factor, comparatively higher loadings are found for the variables of price, value for price, markdowns and clearly marked price. These loadings are 0. 655, 0. 810, 0. 468 and 0. 360, respectively. In particular, customers’ who preferred traditional department stores tended to give more consideration to whether they could gain reasonable value from their purchase. Table II also displays the factor analysis results for the different variables of the factory outlet stores (FOS) in the questionnaire. Again, a similar group of four factors is extracted through factor analysis. As in the TDS analysis, Factor 1 concerns the in-store customer service features of FOS. The variables regarding customer service have higher loadings than the other variables contained in Factor 1. Respondents were concerned as to whether the service offered by the salespeople is helpful or not, as it is given the highest loading, at 0. 717. The variables of quality, wide selection, newest styles and fully stocked, regarding the products sold in FOS are included in Factor 2. Their high loadings indicate that Factor 2 is related to measuring the brand images of the products 12 sold in the retail stores. The customers who shop in FOS tend to give more consideration as to whether the products sold in these stores are comparatively new styles and have satisfactory stock levels, as shown in the related high loadings of these two variables (0. 779 and 0. 740, respectively). These customers do not pay much attention to the quality of the products sold in FOS, however, as this variable’s loading is only 0. 471. Moreover, Factor 3’s variables of attractive, not crowded, cleanliness, neat and bright have loadings of 0. 556, 0. 697, 0. 822, 0. 677 and 0. 160, respectively. Thus, Factor 3 can be identified as concerning the physical features of FOS. More specifically, customers tend to be concerned about the cleanliness of FOS, but few of them indicate that store brightness is important. Lastly, Factor 4 concerns the price and promotion features of the products sold in FOS. Higher loadings are given to the price, reasonable price for value, markdowns and clearly marked price variables included in the fourth factor, at 0. 359, 0. 325, 0. 882 and 0. 739, respectively. Customers of factory outlet stores tend to be more concerned as to whether the markdowns of the products sold in the stores are attractive, and whether the prices of the products are clearly marked. Customer Store Preference across Demographics To know if there is a trend to shop at factory outlet stores, we asked respondents which store they normally prefer to shop. To control for any possible response bias, we selected respondents equally at both types of retail outlets. As shown in Table III, the number of respondents who prefer TDS as their shopping place is 113, compared to 92 respondents choosing FOS as their preferred shopping place. This implies that a sizable number of customers prefer and/or are shopping at factory outlet stores. Table III: Frequency analysis of store choice Frequency Traditional department stores Factory outlet stores 113 92 Percentage 55. 1 44. 9 13 Total 205 100. 0 Chi-square is next used in order to examine whether there are any significant effects from the different demographic characteristics on customer decision-making in regards to shopping choices. As shown in Table IV, significant differences exist in customers’ store choice as regards to their different genders, levels of education and gross yearly income, as the relative P-values for these variables are 0. 001, 0. 000 and 0. 003, respectively. Nevertheless, there are no significant differences between customers’ shopping preferences in regard to age, as the P-value is 0. 690. Table IV: Store choices and demographic characteristics Department Chi-squa re values 11. 343 Traditional Demographics Gender Female Male Total 47 66 113 19 28 36 18 8 4 113 13 24 56 20 113 60 32 92 13 25 25 20 8 1 92 21 38 23 10 92 107 98 205 32 53 61 38 16 5 205 34 62 79 30 205 20. 223 . 000 3. 065 . 690 . 001 P-values Factory Total Outlet Stores Stores Age Under 25yr 25-34yr 35-44yr 45-54yr 55-64yr Over 64yr Total Formatted: Swedish (Sweden) Education High School Grad. Trade Diploma/Certificate Bachelor Degree Master Degree Total Individual yearly tax) gross income (before Less than NZ$20,000 NZ$20,001–$40,000 NZ$40,001–$60,000 Over NZ$60,000 Total 18 46 33 16 113 26 47 16 3 92 44 93 49 19 205 14. 256 . 003 14 More specifically, female respondents tend to prefer shopping in factory outlet stores, while nearly two-thirds of the male respondents prefer to shop in traditional department stores. Furthermore, customers with higher levels of education are more likely to choose traditional department stores as their shopping preference. As shown in Table IV, the number of customers who possess degrees and prefer shopping at traditional department stores is much higher than the number of those customers who are willing to go to factory outlet stores. In addition, customers who earn a higher yearly income; particularly those whose gross yearly income is between NZ$40,001 and NZ$60,000, or over NZ $60,000; tend to choose traditional department stores over factory outlet stores. These statistics are summarised in Table IV above. Therefore, H1 is supported on gender, education and income, but not on the demographic of age. Customer Perceptions of Brand Images of Products Sold in Traditional Department Stores and Factory Outlet Stores Table V below provides a comparison of the brand images and T-test results of products sold in traditional department stores and factory outlet stores. According to these results, H2; which holds that the brand images of products sold in TDS are higher than those of products sold in FOS; is supported (see Table V). In other words, the overall mean rating of TDS branded products is significantly higher than that of FOS branded products, at 16. 02 and 9. 1, respectively. Specifically; according to the analysis of the individual items of product features; the respondents gave higher ratings for products sold in TDS (regarding their wide selection, newer styles and satisfactory stock levels), than for the products sold in FOS. There is a significant difference between the mean ratings of the branded products sold in TDS and FOS. Thus, the results from the data analysis show th at there is a significant difference in the brand images of the products sold in traditional department stores and factory outlet stores. Customers tend to have higher, and more positive, images of branded products sold in traditional department stores than they do for branded products sold in factory outlet stores. 15 16 Table V: Comparison of brand images of products sold in stores Factory Outlet Brand Images of Products Sold Traditional Stores in the stores Department Stores Mean SD Mean SD P-values Quality is good Selection of products is wide Styles of products are newest Stock level 3. 88 4. 05 4. 02 4. 07 16. 02 .70 . 81 . 93 . 88 2. 69 3. 11 2. 53 2. 16 1. 91 9. 71 .77 . 89 . 87 . 94 2. 73 .000 . 000 . 00 . 000 . 000 Overall Customer Perceptions of Store Images of Traditional Department Stores and Factory Outlet Stores Table VI below provides a comparison of the store images and T-Test results of both types of retail stores. As shown, the respondents’ overall mean ratings, as well as their item-wise mean ratings of TDS physical features are significantly higher than for FOS, at 19. 87 and 16. 13, respect ively. Therefore, H3 is accepted. That is, the physical features of traditional department stores are perceived as being better than those of the factory outlet stores. There is a significant difference between the mean ratings of the physical features of TDS and FOS. Thus, the respondents indicated that the physical characteristics of traditional department stores are more attractive than those of factory outlet stores. Further to this finding, the respondents’ overall mean ratings, as well as their item-wise mean ratings of TDS in-store customer service features are significantly higher than those for FOS, at 22. 18 and 20. 48, respectively. Therefore, H4 is accepted. That is, in-store customer service features of traditional department stores are perceived as being better than those of factory outlet stores in New Zealand Furthermore, H5; which holds that the price and promotion features of products sold in traditional department stores are perceived as being significantly higher than those of factory outlet stores; is accepted, as indicated in Table V. The applicable overall mean ratings of TDS and FOS are 12. 70 and 16. 11, respectively. Also, the individual scale 17 items of price and promotion features are much higher for the factory outlet stores. This finding indicates that respondents consider the prices of products sold in FOS to be comparative lower than those sold in TDS and that the promotions offered by FOS are more attractive and satisfactory. Table VI: Comparison of the features of traditional department stores (TDS) and factory outlet stores (FOS) Features Traditional Factory Outlet P-values Department Stores Stores SD Mean SD Physical Features: Mean Store is attractive . 000 . 94 3. 32 . 84 3. 63 Store is not crowded . 000 . 85 3. 25 . 81 3. 70 Store is clean . 000 . 83 3. 44 . 75 4. 10 Store is neat . 000 . 86 3. 49 . 73 4. 16 Store is bright . 00 . 70 2. 62 . 73 4. 28 Overall In-store Customer Service Features: Salespeople are friendly Salespeople are helpful Salespeople are familiar with merchandise Exchanges happily Less pressure from salespeople Enough salespeople 19. 87 Mean 3. 86 3. 76 3. 77 3. 39 3. 48 3. 91 22. 18 Mean 2. 88 2. 82 3. 38 3. 63 12. 70 2. 96 SD . 67 . 73 . 86 . 84 . 81 . 85 3. 45 SD . 83 . 88 . 91 . 88 2. 71 16. 13 Mean 3. 59 3. 52 3. 42 3. 07 3. 36 3. 51 20. 48 Mean 3. 99 3. 66 4. 22 4. 24 16. 11 3. 10 SD . 82 . 82 . 88 . 87 . 87 . 96 3. 95 SD . 65 . 76 . 79 . 84 2. 26 .000 . 000 . 000 . 000 . 000 . 000 . 000 . 000 Overall Price & Promotion Features of Products Sold in the stores: Prices are good Value for price Markdowns are attractive Prices of products are marked clearly .000 . 000 . 000 . 000 . 000 Overall Customer Perceptions of Traditional Department Stores and Factory Outlet Stores across Demographics To investigate Objective 4 (to evaluate whether demographic characteristics are related to customer perceptions of traditional department stores and factory outlet stores), the ANOVA and T-tests are used to determine whether there are significant relationships between customers’ store ratings and their demographic characteristics. Table VII 18 displays the customer perceptions of overall store ratings and their relevant four demographic characteristics. As shown in Table VII, only the income level shows significant mean differences in the ratings of TDS. In other words, customers’ concerns regarding the physical features and price and promotion features of TDS are highly influenced by their income level. More specifically, the higher the customer’s income is the more favourable will be the mean ratings for physical features and price and promotion of TDS. There is, however, no difference in the customer perceptions of TDS and FOS across gender, age groups and educational levels, as the respective P-values are all much higher than 0. 05. Therefore, H6 is supported only on income, but not on gender and education levels. Table VII: Store ratings and Demographic Characteristics Demographics Traditional Department Stores Physical Physical features features In-store customer service features In-store customer service features Mean SD Mean SD Mean SD Mean SD Price & promotion features Price & promotion features Product features Product features Factory Outlet Stores Traditional Department Stores Factory Outlet Stores Traditional Department Stores Factory Outlet Stores Traditional Department Stores Factory Outlet Stores Formatted Mean SD Mean SD Mean SD Mean SD Gender: Female Male P-value 3. 93 4. 02 . 682 . 54 . 64 3. 32 3. 12 . 059 . 60 . 63 3. 66 3. 74 . 307 . 58 . 57 3. 43 3. 40 . 832 . 64 . 68 3. 14 3. 22 . 636 . 70 . 65 4. 02 4. 03 . 635 . 58 . 56 3. 97 4. 04 . 734 . 65 . 69 2. 48 2. 7 . 476 . 74 . 61 Age: Under 25yr 25-34yr 35-44yr 45-54yr 55-64yr Over 64yr 3. 88 3. 95 4. 05 3. 94 3. 86 4. 48 . 270 . 55 . 60 . 57 . 59 . 66 . 74 3. 23 3. 22 3. 20 3. 38 3. 14 2. 76 . 330 . 69 . 62 . 64 . 44 . 69 . 82 3. 82 3. 63 3. 71 3. 59 3. 85 3. 73 . 450 . 56 . 57 . 60 . 52 . 57 . 89 3. 47 3. 39 3. 38 3. 59 3. 28 2. 73 . 097 . 59 . 66 . 64 . 57 . 76 . 66 3. 24 2. 99 3. 31 3. 13 3. 27 3. 10 . 206 . 69 . 70 . 58 . 65 . 77 . 68 4. 09 3. 88 4. 05 4. 14 4. 09 3. 80 . 225 . 48 . 57 . 60 . 46 . 56 . 56 4. 13 3. 90 4. 09 3. 99 3. 86 3. 90 . 532 . 58 . 8 . 63 . 72 . 75 . 67 2. 54 2. 32 2. 44 2. 50 2. 44 2. 10 . 572 . 80 . 64 . 65 . 74 . 56 . 65 Formatted: Swedish (Sweden) P-value 19 Education: High School Grad. Diploma/Certificate Bachelor Degree Masters Degree 3. 96 3. 85 4. 02 4. 11 . 201 . 62 . 53 . 60 . 65 3. 38 3. 34 3. 11 3. 14 . 058 . 68 . 52 . 68 . 53 3. 59 3. 70 3. 76 3. 63 . 480 . 55 . 50 . 60 . 67 3. 51 3. 55 3. 26 3. 42 . 590 . 74 . 56 . 65 . 71 2. 94 3. 15 3. 31 3. 15 . 066 . 72 . 65 . 65 . 72 3. 99 4. 09 3. 97 4. 08 . 552 . 60 . 50 . 63 . 45 3. 83 3. 99 4. 10 4. 00 . 281 . 85 . 59 . 6 . 85 2. 57 2. 41 2. 30 2. 63 . 075 . 72 . 52 . 70 . 82 P-value Yearly gross income: Less than NZ$20,000 NZ$20,001–$40,000 NZ$40,001–$60,000 Over NZ$60,000 3. 90 3. 87 4. 11 4. 27 .64 . 54 . 58 . 62 3. 22 3. 28 3. 19 3. 06 . 524 .66 . 63 . 59 . 55 3. 67 3. 66 3. 78 3. 74 . 674 .56 . 59 . 56 . 58 3. 44 3. 48 3. 29 3. 34 . 413 .68 . 67 . 63 . 65 2. 88 3. 20 3. 30 3. 43 .71 . 67 . 59 . 68 4. 02 4. 05 4. 01 3. 99 . 960 .57 . 57 . 53 . 66 3. 85 3. 97 4. 12 4. 28 . 060 .76 . 65 . 62 . 58 2. 61 2. 38 2. 31 2. 55 . 130 .75 . 61 . 63 . 93 P-value .010 .005 CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS The findings on customer store preference across demographics show that customers with different genders, levels of education and gross yearly incomes tend to make different store choices, however, they perceive traditional department stores and factory outlet stores similarly regardless of their age. More specifically, male customers regard traditional department stores offering famous branded products as their first choice, however, female customers are willing to shop at factory outlet stores in order to seek branded products with comparatively lower prices. Female customers tend to be more price oriented and price sensitive. Furthermore, the higher the level of education customers have the more likely they are to choose traditional department stores as their shopping preference. This finding indicates that more highly educated customers tend to have greater concerns in regards to the shopping environment and atmosphere offered by traditional department stores. In addition, customers earning higher yearly incomes are more willing to choose traditional department stores over factory outlet stores. In regards to customer perceptions of brand images of products sold in traditional department stores and factory outlet stores, there is a significant difference in the brand images of products sold across these stores. The brand images of products sold in traditional department stores are perceived more positively than are those of products 20 sold in factory outlet stores. Customers perceive traditional department stores as offering wider and more satisfactory selections of various types of merchandise in comparison to factory outlet stores. The stock levels in traditional department stores are also seen as being superior. Obviously, the wider selection and greater breadth of different branded products offered in the stores, the greater the number of customers who will be more attracted to TDS. In regard to customer perceptions of store images of traditional department stores and factory outlet stores, there is a significant difference between traditional department stores and factory outlet stores. Firstly, respondents feel that the physical features of traditional department stores are more satisfactory, comfortable and attractive than those of the factory outlet stores. Customers believe that they will enjoy shopping at traditional department stores, as they provide them with a more comfortable in-store shopping environment and atmosphere. Secondly, there are significant differences in the in-store customer service features of traditional department stores and factory outlet stores. Customers believe that traditional department stores provide a higher quality of in-store customer services. TDS are also seen as having better exchange policies and an adequate number of salespeople offering to meet customers’ different wants and needs. Therefore, traditional department stores do have distinctive advantages in terms of their in-store customer services, in comparison to those offered by factory outlet stores. Thirdly, traditional department stores have much higher prices when compared with factory outlet stores. This is due to their different marketing orientation and segmentation. Customers tend to be attracted by the prices and value of products sold in factory outlet stores. Schneiderman (1998) found in his research that customers believed that factory outlet stores could provide greater value for their money than did traditional department stores. Results on the examination of customer perceptions of traditional department stores and factory outlet stores across demographics indicate that only income levels have any significant effects on customers’ mean ratings of traditional department stores, but that 21 o significant differences exist across the variables of gender, age and education. This means that customer perceptions of physical features and price and promotion features of traditional department stores are highly influenced by their different income levels. Customers with higher incomes tend to be attracted to physical features and price and promotion features of traditional department stores. They are interested in shopping in a comfortable environment and seeking famous and fashionable branded products, rather than being price sensitive, bargain seeking customers. The implications of these research findings include the point that traditional department stores should maintain their competitive positions by continuing to offer good physical facilities and environments, satisfactory in-store customer services and famous branded products, in order to maintain and attract more customers. This will also help to maintain their market share and gain competitive advantage against the intense competition created by factory outlet stores. Customers perceive that the prices offered in traditional department stores are much higher than those of factory outlet stores. Therefore, department stores are facing a big challenge from factory outlet stores in terms of price and promotion strategies. As a result, they need to assess their value positions and adapt more reasonable prices to provide satisfactory value for customers. Clearly identifying and dividing their current and potential customers into different target segments is necessary for retailers in setting differing price strategies. During sales seasons, more attractive promotion of branded products could be undertaken in traditional department stores. Certainly, customers tend to purchase more when there are large sales and attractive promotions of branded products in traditional department stores. In order to target appropriate segments, traditional department stores need to identify what relevant level of branded products should be sold and assign these products reasonable prices in stores across different ages, genders, and levels of education and income. Traditional department retail stores also need to provide more selection characteristics (in terms of their branded products adapting to the newest styles frequently and maintain good stocks level), in order to 22 eep their competitive advantages through being perceived as offering more positive brand images of the products sold in their stores. Furthermore, strategic alliances between different traditional department stores and their distributors could also be developed. In such an alliance, competitive advantages (such as better offerings of quality in-store services and pro viding similar branded products with reasonable prices and promotions) could be shared by traditional department stores, , which should reduce costs for the alliance partners. Regarding implications for factory outlet stores, they need to learn from the comparative disadvantages of traditional department stores and engage in enhancing their current competitive positions on price and promotion offerings, in order to improve customer perceptions of their stores. Maintaining their comparatively lower prices and providing frequent promotions of branded products is one of the most useful price and promotion strategies for factory outlet stores in maintaining and enhancing their competitive positions in this area. Meanwhile, manufacturers which utilise factory outlet stores need to control the values of the products through assessments. As a result, customers who are not only price sensitive, but are also value seeking will be satisfied with the prices and promotion features of the products sold in the factory outlet stores. It is extremely important for manufacturers to immediately improve their products’ brand images. Widening the selection of characteristics, improving stock levels and offering positive branded products in the stores are ways which this could be achieved. Nowadays, factory outlet stores are no longer established for the sale of seconds or comparatively lower quality products with lower prices. Therefore, they need to build more positive brand images for the products sold in the stores instead of being perceived as discount stores. They need to invest more in the stores’ physical facilities to offer a better shopping environment and atmosphere. 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Discount Merchandiser, Vol. 34 (5), pp. 54-55. Joshi, S. (2003). Who’s buying at factory outlets? Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications. Retrieved on May 12, 2005 from the WWW: http://www. blonnet. com/catalyst/2003/06/05/stories/2003060500070200. htm . Keller, K. L. (2003). Strategic brand management: Building, measuring, and managing brand equity (2nd ed. ). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall. Kulpa, J. (1998). Service levels are key for Medic customer loyalty. Drug Store News, Vol. 20 (7), p. 204. Li, J. (2003). Sincere plotting turnaround in cut-throat times. Hong Kong iMail (China). Lindquist, J. D. (1974). Meaning of image. Journal of Retailing, Vol 50 (4), pp. 29-38. Lombart, C. (2004). Factory Outlet Centres in Belgium. European Retail Digest, Vol. 41 (Spring), pp. 1-3. Martineau, P. (1958). The Personality of a Retail Store. Harvard Business Review, Vol. 36 (1), pp. 47-55. Messinger, P. R. and Narasimhan, C. (1997). 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For organizational management course Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

For organizational management course - Article Example On the other hand, Wal-Mart is in conflict with any collective action form. This conflict is viewed even when their employees are not looking for unionization but looking for respect (Sethi, 2013). In foreign parts, Wal-Mart has been involved in different types of scandals, as well as multiple bribery cases. In April 2012, a tory was published by The New York Times that revealed hundreds of suspicious payments done to the Mexican officials. These payments totaled to above than $24 million (Sethi, 2013). As stated by the Times, Wal-Mart attained hundreds of fraud and bribery internal reports yearly. In the past 18 months, in Asia, there were 90 bribery reports. In conclusion, Wal-Mart has been seen to spend more than $35 million by hiring more than thirty five lawyers, investigators and accountants in dealing and investigating the bribery issues. Wal-Mart has been seen to be associated with the injuries and deaths of many workers in their places of work, particularly in Bangladesh and other nations where low-wage, low skill manufacturing

Discussion 3 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Discussion 3 - Assignment Example Carlyle seems to be a good actor by possessing some animal’s magnetism of the early days before the periods when drugs and mania took some tolls. Moreover, Hitler saw National Socialism to be minor compared to political movement but rather regarded it as a religious one since they mostly used the Blood Flag, Sacred oaths and religious rituals. The traditional religious holidays were later substituted by the Nazi holy days and now the calls for miracles of faith were seen as manifestations of Nazism’s quasi-religious characters. Kurt Ludecke who was a supporter of Hitler regarded National Socialism as a secular conversation of a new faith that will come by itself. Most of the Germans regarded Hitler as the messiah with respect to his vision. We get to realize that the Nazi leaders encouraged the messianic view of Hitler in almost all German schools. Through this, children were required to write composition comparing Jesus with Hitler. Song was made by the youth organization who were mainly boys known as Hitler Jungvolk. The song had a lot of praise to Hitler as the Lord, Savior and hero of Germans. Further, Hitler’s ability as the Speaker is seen as a major cause for his great success by arousing deep and passionate emotions to his listeners by his carefully prepared and set speeches. It could take him few minutes to express deepest desires and dreams to his listeners. It is revealed by one of his biographer that Hitler often practiced gesturing in front of a mirror in his Munich room on the Thierschstrasse that made him to constantly improve his techniques of public speaking. On the other side, Hitler is seen as an Ideologist whose main aim was to acquire power for him by many biographers. This is seen through h is clever manipulation of weaknesses of others for his own end. Moreover, this is also evident when he wrote Mein Kampf in the mid-1920s. Adolf Hitler’s Triumph of the will German about Propaganda and mass meetings

Unit2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Unit2 - Essay Example Therefore, there arises the question of whether sentencing the child molester to life imprisonment is enough or if death penalty should be imposed. Punishment cannot ever be measured and given to meet the crime accurately. So, it becomes difficult to decide which punishment is to be awarded for a crime. Another fact is that no punishment can undo the physical or mental trauma meted out to the victim through a crime. Punishment is given so that the crime may not be repeated and the criminal be shown the right path of life while he is imprisoned. Even so, criminals who have served their tenure in jail, when they come out, begin the same old cycle of committing crimes, child molesting in this case. They can never be stopped. The only way, then, left is to award them the death penalty. But it is out of the league of anyone to understand whether a person who committed the crime once will again do so or not. Thus, by giving death penalty, the society is eliminating that person’s chances to become good. There is a possibility in death penalties that a person who earnestly wants to mend his ways may get executed. Throughout the clip, the terms â€Å"death penalty† and â€Å"child molester† have been repeated. This repetition lays a strong emphasis on the topic. The rhetoric strongly strikes home the significance of the issue under debate. It is true that the child molester kills even the child’s soul and he or she suffers throughout his or her life for the wrong that has been done. It becomes a black mark the child and affects him or her physically, mentally as well as emotionally. Towards the end, the anchor adds a comment, â€Å"Coming back we are talking weather worries of Doctor Whitman.† This seems totally out of place as all along the serious topic of child molestation and its effect on the survivors as well as the punishment for the molesters was being discussed. But then

Practical Life Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Practical Life - Essay Example Teaching polite responses: - children show respect and care to others by good manners they learn. By this tender age, the child should be saying, â€Å"excuse me†, â€Å"please† â€Å"thank you† frequent and this should be a reminder. For instance, if she received a gift in school, teach her to say, â€Å"thank you†. When a child needs something from you as a parent, e.g. a book, explain to her that that you would prefer buying her if she talks politely, â€Å"please mum, would you buy me a book?†, and you do not like if she demands or give orders. Avoiding overreacting: - if your child abuses you by calling you ‘butthead’, try to keep your emotions and react politely. Usually, children who want to annoy and provoke a reaction will tolerate any repulsiveness just to raise your anger. However, face them quietly but boldly and tell them, â€Å"In this family we do not call each other such names.† Thereafter, show them how to get what they need respectfully: â€Å"if you need my help, just ask politely, ‘mum! Please assist me, I have some homework and I cannot manage

Research paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 3

Research paper - Essay Example As such, relationship building, intimacy, and the cost benefit theory of a relationship will be analyzed through the lens of how these aspects are presented within the film in question. These three have been selected due to the fact that this analyst believes they are the strongest determinants of the plot and action that takes place within the film in question. Firstly, with regards to relationship building, the text refers to this is a multipart process result in the strengthening of the relationship or can ultimately result in its undoing. As with so many films that are concentric upon relationship and the means by which individuals fall in and out of love, â€Å"Hitch† follows a somewhat predictable line in that it presents the case of two individuals who initiate, experiment, intensify, integrate and bond throughout the course of the film. Naturally, this process is not painless or carried out in one seamless action. Rather the inverse of these is also represented to the fact that during the latter half of the film, the couple experiences a degree of differentiation, circumscribing, stagnation, avoidance, and termination. Naturally, as is the case with many films, the ability of the filmmakers to encapsulate all of these actions and emotions within a brief one hour and 20 minutes is necessarily limited. However, each of these determinants is presented in a verifiable way so that it can be ascertained that this process is indeed taking place; howbeit in fast-forward. Similarly, although intimacy is oftentimes misunderstood to merely equate to a type of physical intimacy, involving sexual relations, this is not only what was presented within the movie in question. For instance, the scene regarding Ellis Island creates a moment of intense spiritual and psychological intimacy that sees both characters share from their past and bond rapidly over these realities. Although the film has previously been described within this analysis as something of each rig ht Hollywood production, this depth in helping to describe and elaborate upon human emotion is useful and relevant with regards to seeking to understand this film within the context of sociological and interpersonal development. This alternative definition of C is a welcome refreshment from the one-sided definition of intimacy is oftentimes presented to the viewer. Although it is true that neither physical nor emotional intimacy can be categorized as having a more powerful effect, seeking to exhibit both within a film is more effective means of presenting the level of closeness that would necessarily exist between characters that share such a bond. Similarly, as it is realized that there is tension between the two characters and a series of conflicts arise, it can be noted that the female character, played by Eva Mendes, begins to engage in what can be termed as a cost-benefit analysis of the relationship (Hitch 2005). Ultimately, as a result of the seeming deception that she has wi tnessed throughout the course of her relationship, she becomes highly self doubtful with regards to whether there remains any future between the two. However, as time goes on, it is clearly seen that a level of regret is exhibited on the part of both characters and they ultimately seek to reconcile these differences new the conclusion of the film.

The Effect of United States Army Training on the Decision Making Research Paper

The Effect of United States Army Training on the Decision Making Process of the Warfighter - Research Paper Example It will also be necessary to determine whether or not success in the classroom or on the field environment equates with success in the battlefield. The methods described by Benyus (2009), Fischer (2009), Gill (2004), and Robbins (2009) will be compared and contrasted in relation to methodology in relation to training. Abstract Depth An annotated bibliography of 15 peer-reviewed articles probes current thinking on training and the resultant decision influences through a filter of successful training sessions. An analysis of Department of the Army research data demonstrates that there is a problem of declining standards in Advanced Individual Training. The declining standards are manifested in the graduates being unable make sound judgment calls in combat situations when they are assigned to units deploying to Iraq and Afghanistan. Building on the material covered in the Breadth section and drawing on recent research material, a synthesized analysis of combat training and its influence on decision-making is conducted. This research study scrutinizes assessment tools that assist teachers and trainers in providing curriculum that is both informative and challenging to the learner. Abstract Application The Application considers the extent to which the training techniques employed to educate and train today’s combat soldiers are in need of improvement. Drawing on the material analyzed in the depth and breadth, the Application section examines the methodology used to train the soldier and how it has changed very little over the years. The application examines whether or not the end result of these techniques is poor decision making during the high stress of combat and its contribution to causes an increase in the number of casualties on the battlefield. The application determines whether or not an improvement of these methods will result in better decision making. This section will present a clear model for an approach to training for military and corporate tra iners. A complete overhaul of current training practices is not suggested, but rather, an upgrade designed to yield the desired outcome. This section will provide the culmination of the prior entries and present a workable model as the summary. TABLE OF CONTENTS BREADTH 4 What is Training? 4 Training’s shortcomings 5 A Trainer’s Cure 9 Initial Entry Training 15 Army Training Requirements 15 Field Training Exercise 23 Simulated War Fighter Games 23 Applying Benyus’ Theory of Biomimicry to Military Training 27 Biomimicry Theory Explained 27 The Training Theory of Fisher 31 Fisher’s Theory Explained 31 Gill’s Training Theory 33 Gill’s Theory Explained 33 Training Theory of Robbins 35 Robbins Theory Explained 35 Summary of Breadth 37 DEPTH 39 Annotated Bibliography 39 Literature Review Essay 59 Goals and Objectives of Training Combat Soldiers 59 Nature and Significance of Decision-Making in the Battlefield 62 What Improvements can be made to Arm y Training to Enhance Decision-Making 66 Summary of Depth 68 APPLICATION 69 Project Details 69 Ongoing Developments in Military Training

Political Philosophy and Medium-paragraph Length Answer Essay Example for Free

Political Philosophy and Medium-paragraph Length Answer Essay Provide a medium-paragraph length answer to each question below (using full and complete sentences). The questions are about the readings listed on the syllabus for 2/19 and 2/26. 1. Identify and explain the two objections that Michael Sandel raises about Jeremy Bentham’s philosophy of Utilitarianism. 2. What are the three types of policies and laws that Michael Sandel identifies as being commonly rejected by libertarians? Briefly explain each type of policy, and explain why libertarians are philosophically opposed to them. 3. According to Mary Anne Warren (in â€Å"On the Moral and Legal Status of Abortion†), what are the five central criteria for moral personhood, and what are the implications of this criteria on the issue of whether or not the fetus has the right to life? 4. According to Don Marquis (in â€Å"Why Abortion Is Immoral†), what is the property that the fetus possesses which makes abortion an immoral act? Why does Marquis say that abortion is just as wrong as killing an innocent adult person? 5. Judith Jarvis Thomson (in â€Å"A Defense of Abortion†) makes an argument about the morality of abortion when the pregnancy is due to rape by creating a fictitious example about being hooked up to an unconscious violinist. What are the elements of her example that make it analogous to the situation of pregnancy due to rape? What is the conclusion she draws about the morality of abortion in this situation, and what is the basis for this conclusion? Submission Guidelines Include your name and the assignment name (Homework Assignment 1) in the text of the document Include your name and the assignment name (Homework Assignment 1) in the name of the file that you submit.

Internet Advertising: Comparison of Nigeria and Hungary

Internet Advertising: Comparison of Nigeria and Hungary Abstract Despite the marginal difference between Nigeria and Hungary, the internet develops a relationship that can be exploited. Internet users of both countries are dominated by youths, and thus are the most accessible to internet ads. Internet advertising also termed online advertising or internet marketing or web advertising is simply the making available of advertising messages and marketing communication through the internet via the web. Internet advertising which was introduced several years after traditional advertising (banners) in the 1990s now suppresses all other advertising medias and hence constitutes a significant channel for the majority of firms. These firms range from small to big sizes, national and multinational, service providing to manufacturing enterprises (Restaurants to ship manufacturing agencies). Internet advertising now shares a position in the context of marketing communication strategy planning and implementation. It is vital for organizations considering internet marketing strategy to effectively associate each component reason being that, with the global market place, it is important for entrepreneurs and marketers to be critical of what is most beneficial and meets their needs to the internet marketing strategy intended for use. Byusing the standard advertising program process as a base,it is simple to outline the characteristics of the Internet which abusiness must take into consideration when planning a Web advertisingcampaign (Kotler, 1997). Without trying to dispute earlier findings in this thesis, the work presented attempts in it own way to highlight some comparative ideas of internet advertising between Nigeria and Hungary thus stating the aims of this paper based on internet users social context on the effectiveness of internet advertisement. By using primary material from books and other sources, the idea of internet advertisement is identified. And by considering other publication, some conclusions are generated for the better understanding of this piece. By examining the topic of this thesis, its extensive nature is revealed. Three fields of study are mentioned and are dealt with accordingly -Marketing, information technology, and advertisement (internet advertising). As broad as each of these could be, the presentation is quite short and straight to the most essential. The study depicts the differences in the attitude of internet users to ads. The analysis obtained from input sources reveal a significant relationship between the type of activities of users through which they come into contact with internet ads in each of the two countries (Nigeria and Hungary). 1 Introduction 1.1 Background of Study The growth in Internet Advertising has paved its way and settles comfortably in the global world of business due to internet innovations. Further more its effects, impact and usefulness can be observed social aspect of human activities thereby creating greater opportunities for a more developed and diversified recreation. The Internet or World Wide Web has quickly become the most effective way for businesses to advertise their products or services to expected consumers. Some Web sites such sell advertisement space for sponsoring and by so doing they profit highly from the increase of advertising on the Internet. The number of people with internet access and internet services is growing continuously at a geometric rate and with internet advertisement potential customers can view these advertisements thereby contributing to the maximum level of business profits. Recent studies on internet advertising focus more on empirical works as well as theoretical structures there by investigating the role of some factors in the success of internet advertising, none the less it is necessary to present some significant measures employed in this thesis to quantify advertising effectiveness. According to Pavlou and Steward (2000), advertisement has a direct effect to consumers and therefore considered as an independent variable while consumer response is the dependent variable. They further explain the nature of the highly interactive environments taking into account other factors such as online context in which advertisement takes place in order to render this study more insightful. Incorporated here are many aspects of internet advertisement context as types of internet activities and users social context in the study of responses to internet advertisement. Internet advertising is rapidly growing and advertisements have become more apparent in our Internet usage. When advertising on the Internet, both the businesses and the web sites (search engines) profits. Businesses profit from the use of internet advertising by minimizing cost compared to standard advertising which is a lot more expensive. Internet advertising raises awareness, conveys advertisers messages and enhances brand perceptions and with greater advertisement exposure inflicts even greater impact. Responds to this advertisement differs considerably by different individual in different Geographical locations and cultural background. An AdHoc study conducted by Gemius in cooperation with Sanoma Budapest proves that most Internet users in Hungary have a positive attitude towards online advertising. Moreover it shows what their behavior is like in response to online advertising and the perceived image of the advertised companies. The respondents were also evaluating different formats of advertisements in the survey, indicating the ones that they know best and the favorite ones. The research was conducted on the Internet in the form of a pop-up survey (random sampling) on May 2006. 67% of the respondents declared that they accept online advertisements as the price for free access to web sites. (International Operations Department, Press release June 30, 2006) Internet usage in Nigeria is an important issue with the average student using 10.5 hours per week and the total population averaging 3.5 hours per week. Internet usage in Nigeria has consistently grown to 11million internet users as of June 2009 according to the International Communication Union (ITU) report. Various types of broadband bring the internet to our door steps such as Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ASDL), Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (SDSL), cable broadband, wireless, satellite, Local Loop Unbundling (LLU) etc With the accession of the internet, came an easier method of communication, transmission of information to the public and hence the rise of the internet advertisement. Advertising on the Internet can be viewed as a social contract between advertisers and Internet users. Every individual comes across advertising through multiple channels; either outdoor: through fliers, bill boards etc or indoor: through the internet, A reason why todays market is highly dominated by advertising. Based on the fact that we live in a globalized world, advertising is recognized in every country in its own structure with respect to its culture, consumer demand or requirements. 1.2 Aims and objectives This thesis outlines and compares how internet users in Nigeria and Hungary respond to internet advertisements with focus on the technical aspects, social networking and simple basic adverts in websites. In addition I am searching for various answers and perceptions of what people from these different countries think about these adverts and the effect it has on them in a cultural perspective considering the fact that both cultures are not only socially different but economical and educational as well. In the first part of this study, I am researching how technical aspects, such as social networking and website adverts in Nigeria and Hungary. It is followed by an evaluation of how Nigerians and Hungarians respond to internet in the second part. The third part focuses on a research for: the changes the internet brings in Nigeria and Hungary for example is the internet improving industries such as the banking sector or being an important educational tool for students? Is it the centre of attention for businesses? Finally, the fourth part is the conclusion drawn based on the findings of the aforementioned research. 2 Literature review Under the literature review, I will be considering a thorough review of the already existing literature on the subject of internet advertising which is highly important for the continual understanding of the sections in this thesis. Picking the pieces and fitting them together I will build a concrete piece on the above mentioned topic starting with defining the parts that make up our topic, considering the social and technical aspect of the internet, advertising and last but not the least marketing. 2.1 The internet The birth of the internet did not come as a surprise, may be to the common man in the streets but definitely not for the scientist who had been expecting something new, fresh, cheap and friendlier. It emerged in the early 1960s as a way for the US department of defense to create a secure means of communication in case of uncertainties. It evolved from Advance Research Agency (ARPA) in 1969 to ARPANET for the civilian sector and MILNET (military network) â€Å"(Jeffrey F. Rayport et al. 2001)†. In the 1980s ARPANET was renamed National science Foundation Network (NSFNET). The progress of this development proceeded in 1989 with the creation of a more efficient way of sharing information by defining the Hypermedia Protocol (HTTP- Hypertext Transfer Protocol) which is the standard addressing format URL (Uniform Resource Locator) and the programming language HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) which has become the basis of World Wide Web (WWW) which is universal and the most used part of the internet to access multimedia e.g. text documents, graphics, videos etc â€Å"(Jeffrey F. Rayport et al. 2001)†. In 1993, a team led by Marc Anderson developed a new piece of software called â€Å"Mosaic† as the first internet browser after which other browsers were introduced, like internet explorer by Microsoft which became the most prominent â€Å"(Jeffrey F. Rayport et al. 2001)†. After these developments, todays internet has not only brought technology but also affects the way things are done world wide. It is continuously changing to the extent that it has taken almost all diversification and stems all changes in world business, revolutionarising the way business is done, the concepts between business and consumers. 2.2 Overview of the general background of advertising Advertising is a collective term for public announcements designed to promote the sale of specific products or services. It is a form of mass selling, employed when the use of direct, person-to-person selling is impractical, impossible, or simply inefficient. Advertising techniques range in complexity from the publishing of simple notices in the classified-advertising columns of newspapers to integrated marketing communications, involving the concerted use of advertising in newspapers, magazines, television, and radio, and on the internet which is our main focus. Advertising dates back to the Christian era. Advertisements transited from the outdoor signs as paintings on wall of buildings that were very sight captivating to company trade marks which were two or three dimensional picture or signs in the 16th centuries. Around the 1880s, there came Mail orders and pamphlets and in late19th century, many American firms began to market packaged goods under brandnames. Previously consumers had not been aware of or influenced by brand names. The first product that had brand name was soap products. In the 1880s a fewbrands came out and they were Ivory, Pears, Sapolio, Colgate, Kirks AmericanFamily and Packers. Not long after brands such as Royal baking powder, Quakeroats, Bakers chocolate, Hires root beer, regal shoes, etc were nationally advertised. 2.2.1 Stages of advertisement The major goal of advertising is to generate awareness of a business and its products. Once the business reputation is established and its products are positioned within the market, the amount of resources used for advertising will decrease as the consumer develops a kind of loyalty to the product. Targeting the audience, product concept, communication media, and advertising message are the core elements of an advertising strategy, and are often referred to as the creative mix. Again, what most advertisers stress from the beginning is clear planning and flexibility. And key to these aims is creativity, and the ability to adapt to new market trends. Target consumer is a complex combination of persons. It includes the person who ultimately buys the product, as well as those who decide what product will be bought (but dont physically buy it), and those who influence product purchases, such as children, spouse, and friends. In order to identify the target consumer, the following should be considered; Demographics(Age, gender, job, income, ethnicity, and hobbies.), Behaviors (awareness of the business and its competition, the type of vendors and services the consumer uses, and the types of appeals that are likely to convince the consumer to give the advertisers product or service a chance.), Needs and Desires (determine consumer needs in practical and self-image terms.) The product concept grows out of the guidelines established in the positioning statement. How the product is positioned within the market will dictate the kind of values the product represents, and thus how the target consumer will receive that product. Therefore, it is important to remember that no product is just itself, but, as Courtland L. Bovee and William F. Arens stated in Contemporary Advertising, a bundle of values that the consumer needs to be able to identify with. Whether couched in presentations that emphasize sex, humor, romance, science, masculinity, or femininity, the consumer must be able to believe in the products representation. The communication media is the means by which the advertising message is transmitted to the consumer. In addition to marketing objectives and budgetary restraints, the characteristics of the target consumer need to be considered as an advertiser decides what media to use. Advertisers can choose from the following media categories such as Print, Video, World Wide Web, Direct mail, outdoor advertising-Billboards, advertisements on public transportation (cabs, buses). After deciding on the medium that is 1) financially in reach and 2) most likely to reach the target audience, an advertiser needs to schedule the broadcasting of that advertising. The media schedule, as defined by Hills, is the combination of specific times (for example, by day, week, and month) when advertisements are inserted into media vehicles and delivered to target audiences. An advertising message is guided by the advertising or copy platform, which is a combination of the marketing objectives, copy, art, and production values. This combination is best realized after the target consumer has been analyzed, the product concept has been established, and the media and vehicles have been chosen. At this point, the advertising message can be directed at a very concrete audience to achieve very specific goals. Hiam and Schewe listed three major areas that an advertiser should consider when endeavoring to develop an effective advertising platform: the unique features of the products, how consumers will evaluate the product, rank of competitors in the eyes of the consumer, their weaknesses in their positions and their strengths. Copy: When composing advertising copy, it is crucial to remember that the primary aim is to communicate information about the business and its products and services. Many companies utilize a theme or a slogan as the center piece of such efforts, emphasizing major attributes of the businesss products or services in the process. But as Hiam and Schewe caution, while something must be used to animate the theme †¦care must be taken not to lose the underlying message in the pursuit of memorable advertising. Art work and layout: Small business owners also need to consider the visual rhetoric of the advertisement, which simply means that the entire advertisement, including blank space, should have meaning and logic. Most industry experts recommend that advertisers use short paragraphs, lists, and catchy illustrations and graphics to break up and supplement the text and make the document both visually inviting and easy to understand. Remember, an advertisement has to capture the readers attention quickly. 2.2.2 Internet advertising Internet advertising is a message delivered to people by placing adverts on Search engines, Social networking websites such as Facebook, e-mails, pop ups etc. These adverts can be seen by the whole world and are not limited to a geographical region. In this same respect, adverts are meant for the mass and there are many users of internet worldwide so the message gets spread widely and quickly thereby reaching people of different cultures and beliefs. Some of the people might be uninterested because the signs or symbols used violate their cultures. E-mails are also sent to people who are either not interested or are not located geographically in areas accessible to the products. 2.2.3 Advantages and disadvantages of internet ads The most common item that determines advantages of a product or service lies in its cost. Internet advertising packages could be available at very low costs (10 dollars per monthly subscription). Trouble free relativity could also be a great advantage internet advertisement has over other media ads, to the user and the producer, all which is needed is first of all a PC then internet service, through which you can either design a site or survey advert sites. It is could also be noticed that with internet advertisement, when advertisers get to know the age group, taste, and sex of consumers who most frequently survey their ads, site owners could easily and quickly update their pages to current consumer needs compared to other media ads which could do so only periodically. Market presentation is also easy with internet ad, product or service is designed for the younger generation or the corporate world are easily viewed by this class of persons as they make the greater proportion of int ernet users and the greatest proportion of consumers. Though a multiple advantages make internet advertisement favorable, some disadvantages could still be noticed. Internet advertisement is made better with professional help and these additional costs make some ads more expensive than others. It is disadvantageous to use only the internet as advertising medium because there are a hand full of persons who can not gain access to this new technology or they just dont have the trust in these internet ads. 2.3 Broad band connections in Hungary and Nigeria Broadband connection is a new concept used, in place of dial up connections. Broadband internet connection is faster and offers a host of advantages in them. The speed is usually faster than a dial up connection, which facilitates many operations at a time in for example watching many online live shows and movie downloads etc. There are various types of broadband offered nowadays. Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ASDL), Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (SDSL), cable, wireless, satellite, Local Loop Unbundling (LLU) etc are some common types. Hungarys internet providers provide their services using a number of broadband which include DSL, Cable broadband, ADSL2+ and Wireless broadband. The broad band is distributed through multiple distribution channels namely; UPC, T-Kabel, Fibernet and DIGI. Hungarys broadband market experiences strong growth, Cable broadband is widely available due to the network penetration of the countrys cable operators. The broadband market as a whole experiences a significant growth as the regulators have reduced access tariffs and have introduced a wholesale system based on retail tariffs to ensure suitable margin for alternative operators. Digital cable services have been launched by a handful of the smaller cable operators and the countrys Direct To Home (DTH) market is showing fresh signs of life. The Internet access sector in Hungary constitutes the total revenues generated by Internet Service Providers (ISPs) from the provision of narrowband and broadband Internet connections through both consumer and corporate channels. Similar to Hungary, Nigeria uses ADSL, cable and wireless broadband services which are rapidly replacing the formal dial up access method. Market penetration is still low leaving room for necessary growth. Nigerians connect to the internet in many ways through Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) links, Wireless microwave links internet access and Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) access. Many of these sessions are through internet cafes as very few Nigerians have their own personal computers. Mobile operators are strongly gaining growth by providing Nigerians to access the internet through mobile devices. Such service providers are; MTN, Celtel, and Glo Mobile providing internet, GPRS, EDGE, UMTS and HSDPA all across the nation. 2.4 Technical aspects of internet usage in Nigeria and Hungary Internet usage is regarded with direct reflection of the total countrys population. This would be termed the percentage rate of penetration which relates to the number of internet users per square feet of the population. Public cyber cafe of various shades and sizes are the most common method of access individuals have to the internet. In addition to that, there are internet service providers delivering direct access to individuals and businesses on a variety of platforms. There is widespread availability in urban centres, and fairly good availability in smaller towns most recently, mobile phone lines such as MTN, Celtel, and Glo Mobile provide internet, GPRS, EDGE, UMTS and HSDPA all across the nation, it is almost amazing to find internet access in some of the most remote locations in the country. According to an issue in trade invest Nigeria onBroadband in Nigeria: The revolution is coming by Jaco Maritzs; posted on Sunday, March 16th 2008, Nigerians connect to the internet in many ways but 53% of connections are made through Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) links. Wireless microwave links account for 19% of internet access and Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) access are estimated to be only 14%. Many of these sessions are through internet cafes as very few Nigerians have their own personal computers. National Bureau of Statistics figures show that in 2006 less than 10% of internet users had access from the workplace and less than 4% from the home. Only 1.3% of the population own personal computers. Nigerian internet users are aged between 11 and 40 with a greater part of this population being students, business persons, and to a lower extent, the public functions giving a 7.4 % total internet population penetration. (See appendix Diagram N2) In Hungary, other than the traditional activities of the internet (emailing, browsing, reading journals online), a greater extent of Internet users use it for the leisure function of the web, job search and application, internet purchases, watching or listening to news, entertainment purposes as well. Users in Hungary vary between the ages of 10 and 69 summing a total of 34.9% internet rate of penetration. 55% of these users use the online voice transmission in communication and chatting, at least 33 percent have tried to watch television via the internet. The number of people using internet at home increases considerably, from 23% in 2007 to 28% in 2008 and 41% in 2009. Having access to the internet does not necessarily imply using it as of the 46% of home owners 10 % of them do not use it at all. (See appendix Diagram H3) 2.5 Marketing in Hungary and Nigeria Advertising is in respect to marketing, that is; people advertise to make known their products and hence gain marketing ground; therefore a vivid understanding of marketing is necessary. Customer satisfaction, as a construct, has been fundamental to marketing for over three decades and every advertisement tries to comply with this logic. As far back as 1960s, satisfying the needs and desires of the consumer stands as the definition of marketing â€Å"Keith 1960†. Interest in customer satisfaction increased through out the years till date. Several studies have shown that it costs about five times to gain a new customer as it does to keep an existing customer and these results into more interest in customer relationships (Naumann, 1995). Companies now have big investment in database marketing, relationship management and customer planning to move closer to their customers â€Å"Hill and Alexander (2000)†. These definitions demonstrate that increasing customer satisfaction affects companies directly, increases their market shares which lead to improved profits, positive recommendation, lower marketing expenditures and greatly impacts company corporate image and hence enhances their survival. The relevance of these definitions to this study indicates that customers access the internet services based on experience of use and rating is done in accordance with the internet services attributes. In this study, customer satisfaction in the Nigerian and Hungarian markets will be evaluated based on customers usage and their reaction to internet advertisements, experience of network quality, billing, validity period and customer care support. By Marketing Penetration we imply where a company expands market share in an existing market byusing existing products which could be done in 4 main ways. 1. Persuade existing customers to buy more of the same product, thiscan be done buy promotions such as 3 for 2. This make the customerfeel as if they are getting more for their money, and hopefullycould stop them from switching to alternative brands. 2. Attracting new customers to products. This can be done buyimproving the image of the product, new packaging, reducing price,or buy giving a % extra free. 3. Poaching customers from competitors. Buy reducing price, givingfreebies, and a % extra free with the product. Doing this couldincrease your market share and reduce your competitors. 4. Withdrawing other products. Buy withdrawing less profitableproducts, similar products can become more profitable, and sellmore. Marketing through internet advertising targets all already existing consumers and expected consumers both to cultivate lasting customer relationships. The internet provides a new and cheap channel for marketing through advertising. Once in the internet any customer is able to see an advert posted and many are willing to place orders via the internet by sending emails directly to the web host. According to Armstrong et al (2005), the internet is an excellent channel for communication with customers on individual basis because of its immediate and direct interaction capability. From companys point of view, a companycan enter the cyber marketing world without theintervention of any intermediaries simply by buying into the technology itself and by turning the medium into amarketing research as well as an advertising medium, interactive media also operates in territories not covered by a vendorssales force, therefore reaching the showroom and the sales pitch to the buyersremote locations simply by dropping it in the post. It can be agreed that internet marketing improves brand image of a company or products or both, hence it is a revenue earner, reliability of the country is very important for the success of internet marketing. Companies necessarily focus their internet marketing based on the gender difference and so make more money though Consumers remain uncertain. Internet marketing can be used successfully whether it is industrial products or consumer products. It is undisputable that online support is an important factor to make internet marketing a success. Companies and consumers agree that more user friendly, better key word matches would drive the future search engine marketing. 2.6 Pricing factor in internet advertising Prising in internet advertisement is a subject which can not be under minded as it involves the reason for advertising (both the advertiser and the consumer) each product or service advertised carries a different parameters depending on the desires of the individual consumer who finally decides on his/her preferences. After this determining factor of attribute parameter of product, the price becomes a relevant factor. Price is a parameter of buyers decision that can not be overlooked, further more, when a characteristic is considered more important than price in making a purchase decision, then its value is considered to be a requirement for purchase, but if the intended characteristic is considered less important than price, then acceptable range can be seen as preference rather than requirement (Joan Morris and Paul P. Maglio, 2001) Therefore, price is a general determinant for especially price sensitive consumers. Internet advertisers have different pricing techniques to attract new buyers and at the same time maintain already existing consumers which is based on consumer characteristic and the dynamically nature of demand and supply. Some of such frequently used pricing techniques are: Dynamic pricing As the term indicates, it is the dynamic adjustment of prices to consumers depending on the value attributed to product or service by these same consumers. By making provisions for affordable prices for certain products, this system instigates optimal results for consumers and hence enhances maximum sales to those selling. With internet marketing, there exists an evident shift from fixed pricing to dynamic pricing with greater competition existing against the formal and still existing traditional marketing system. Price differentiation It is a process whereby the same product of different units is sold at different prices to different consumers. With price differentiation, prices differ with the number of units sold. This could involve group pricing, discount pricing etc. With price differentiation, companies decrease the suitability of their products and services by customising their offers to the requirements of specific customers or market segment. This provides the customer with an advantage to purchase the said product or service. Using these pricing techniques enables the consumer to purchase a product by stating his or her own price, considering the suitability of the product in question. The right price in the market can not be easily determined, prices are competitive and this directly influences price sensitive consumers who have the tendency to fall for the most appreciated prices during their purchases. The best price in internet market does not only consider the price established by the producer or seller but also that requested by the buyer or consumer. Internet marketing offers the opportunity for companies to test prices, segment customers and adjust to change in supply and demand (Efraim Turban et Al. 2006) to consumers these pricing techniques are advantageous in the sense that consumers have the opportunity to find unique items and collectibles, consumers remain unanimous, internet market creates a bargaining atmosphere enabling the consumer to opt for the most affordable price, it is more convenient as consumer is not obliged to change location to execute a purchase and for the producers, they gain more customers by offering more items directly, it enhances maximum sales which is a fundamental base of every business, it improves customer relationship and customer loyalty to already existing customers. 2.7 Factors influencing intern Led Zeppelin: History and Analysis Led Zeppelin: History and Analysis Led Zeppelin was one of the most popular mainstream rock bands from 1968 to 1980. Consisting of Robert Plant on vocals, Jimmy Page on guitar, John Paul Jones on bass guitar, and John Bonham on the drums, they are now considered to be one of the greatest rock bands that ever played. Led Zeppelin made many contributions to the music world and their legacy is still very alive today. Each individual member of Led Zeppelin made their own contributions to their music and the advancement of music as a whole. Without any one member Led Zeppelins legacy would be completely different. Robert Plants high vocal style and songwriting abilities were instrumental in Led Zeppelins success. Jimmy Pages musical knowledge and innovative guitar playing are widely considered to be some of the greatest of their time. According to AllMusic.com Jimmy Page is Unquestionably one of the all-time most influential, important, and versatile guitarists and songwriters in rock history (Prato, 2011). John Bonhams loud, heavy drumming and percussion skills were essential to the Led Zeppelin hard rock sound. A friend of Bonhams once said that He always wanted to be one of the loudest drummers in the west and was determined not to be drowned out by guitarists (Welch Nicholls, 2001, p. 28). John Paul Jones steady bass rhythms and musical diversity were key elements to the Led Zeppelin sound tha t are often overlooked. Led Zeppelin was officially formed as a group in the late 1960s. Founder and guitarist Jimmy Page was playing with a group known as The Yardbirds at the time. In 1968, The Yardbirds disbanded and Page began searching for new members for the band. He was soon put into contact with Robert Plant and hired him as the bands new vocalist. Plant knew a drummer and suggested John Bonham, an old band mate, for the job. Bonham was soon hired and all they needed was a bassist. John Paul Jones soon contacted Page and the band was formed as the New Yardbirds. The band soon recorded their first album together and it was released under their new name Led Zeppelin. In late 1968 Led Zeppelin signed with Atlantic Records and in the last days of December they performed live in the United States for the first time. Led Zeppelins early days were mainly spent touring Europe and recording for their first album as Led Zeppelin. Their first record propelled them onto the music scene with a groundbreaking heavy blues-rock fusion. The touring for the first album made Led Zeppelin a household name and landed them in the limelight for the next decade. Over the next ten years Led Zeppelin went to new heights with their massive concerts and innovative records. Led Zeppelins first official album, a self-titled record, was recorded in late 1968 and was subsequently released in the United States in January of 1969. The album produced a number of classic Led Zeppelin staples such as Dazed and Confused, Good Times Bad Times, and Communication Breakdown. Elements from this album such as Jimmy Pages use of a cello bow to play his guitar went on to become icons of Led Zeppelins music. Although the album was initially criticized, the album is now considered to be one of the greatest stepping stones in the further development of hard rock music. Later in October 1969 Led Zeppelin released their second album, Led Zeppelin II, and the response was even greater than their first. This album really showcased the bands blues and folk influences on song like Ramble On and Bring it on Home. Robert Plant became famous for his mystical and story-telling songwriting style and we see those elements in Ramble On. One of the biggest legacies to come from this album was the song Whole Lotta Love. Whole Lotta Love is one of their most famous songs and has been covered extensively over the years. Jimmy Pages guitar riffs and solos are some of the most recognizable guitar works of the time. A year later, in October 1970, Led Zeppelin released their third album and unsurprisingly it was named Led Zeppelin III. The album contains more acoustic and mellow songs than its predecessors. In an interview regarding the making of their third album Jimmy Page said Well never stop doing the heavy things, because that comes out naturally when we play. But there is another side to us. The new album is totally different from the others and I see that its obviously a new direction (Retrieved April 3, 2011, www.ledzeppelin.org). The album was mostly done at a place called Bron-Yr-Aur in the U.K. One of the albums songs, Bron-Yr-Aur Stomp, was named after it. Led Zeppelins fourth album was released in November 1971, and although it is often referred to as Led Zeppelin IV, it is also known by many other names. The album itself has no name on it but it has become known as Zoso or the four symbols due to the symbols that the band members chose to represent themselves. The symbols of Robert Plant, John Bonham, and John Paul Jones all have meanings, but the symbol that Jimmy Page used has been a topic of debate since he began using it. Robert Plants symbol, a circle with a feather inside, is said to represent a writer, John Bonhams, three interlocking circles, are said to represent the link between a man, a woman, and their child, and John Paul Jones symbol, a circle over three vesica piscis, is said to be the symbol of a confident and competent individual (Retrieved April 3, 2001, www.inthelight.co.nz). The real mystery surrounds Jimmy Pages symbol which has become known as Zoso. Nobody really knows for sure what the symbol means other than J immy himself, but it has been a mysterious question for Led Zeppelin fans ever since. The fourth album is also considered to be one of Led Zeppelins greatest works and contains some of their most memorable songs. Led Zeppelin IV contained such Led Zeppelin classics as Black Dog, Rock and Roll, Going to California, When the Levee Breaks, and Stairway to Heaven. Led Zeppelin returned to their hard rock form from their first two records and the result was their best selling record. Led Zeppelin IV is the fourth best-selling album in history with over 22 million copies sold. The epic Stairway to Heaven is still the most requested song of all-time for radio (Retrieved April 5, 2011, rockhall.com). In 1973 Led Zeppelin released Houses of the Holy and in 1975 released the double album Physical Graffiti. These two albums both topped the charts and produced songs such as Kashmir, Over the Hills and Far Away, Houses of the Holy, and Trampled Under Foot. These years were also the height of Led Zeppelins tours. From 1970 until Aug. 1975 Led Zeppelin toured extensively in Britain and the U.S. They set record numbers for attendance and were famous for playing at sports stadiums and other large venues. In August of 1975 Robert Plant and his wife were involved in a serious car accident which prevented the band from touring. Although they couldnt tour, they still continued to stay in the public eye. During their break from touring due to Plants injury, the band focused on new materials and finishing an old project. In March of 1976 the band released Presence, their sixth album. Presence was their worst selling album, although it did produce the epic song Achilles Last Stand. Also, in 1973 the band played three shows in New York City at Madison Square Gardens and their live performances were filmed for use in a live concert film that was released in October 1976. The band returned to the touring circuit in 1977 and picked up where they left off. The band continued to set records for attendance to their concerts and live performances. After touring for a few months, the band cancelled the remainder of the 1977 tour dates due to the surprising death of Robert Plants son. After the death of Plants son, the band took a break and returned to record their next album in late 1978. The album, In Through the Out Door, was released in the summer of 1979. Songs like Fool in the Rain and All of my Love propelled it to the top of the charts. Led Zeppelin toured Europe on and off in 1979 and 1980. On Sept. 25th, 1980, John Bonham was found dead at the age of thirty-two as a result of choking on his own vomit following a day of very heavy drinking. The band disbanded following his death, although they did release an album of old Led Zeppelin outtakes called Coda in 1982. Over the years after 1980 the band only reunited for a few one-time performances. In 1985 they played at the Live Aid concert and again in 1988 for the Atlantic records 40th anniversary. Robert Plant and Jimmy Page released an album together in 1994 entitled No Quarter. Also, In honor of the life of their friend Ahmed Ertegun, the three living members reunited with Jason Bonham, Johns son, on drums to play a concert in London in December 2007. Almost three decades after their departure Led Zeppelin was still highly regarded by both old and new fans, as their show in December 2007 set a new record for most demanded concert tickets. From 1968 to 1980 Led Zeppelin dominated the rock music world with their high-energy live performances that broke numerous attendance records and their chart-topping albums. Their songs are still some of the most recognized and requested songs on American radio. The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995 and received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2005. Their biography for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame used these words to describe their legacy: Combining the visceral power and intensity of hard rock with the finesse and delicacy of British folk music, Led Zeppelin redefined rock in the Seventies and for all time. They were as influential in that decade as the Beatles were in the prior one (Retrieved April 5, 2011, rockhall.com). Led Zeppelin paved the way for the hard rock bands of the late seventies, eighties, and into the nineties. They also popularized huge live performances at stadiums and arenas that were emulated for years to follow. The impact and legacy of Led Zeppelin has influenced bands and the entire music industry for the past three decades and will continue to influence them for years to come. Demographic Analysis of Service Quality | Results Chapter Demographic Analysis of Service Quality | Results Chapter This section presents the findings about the respondents profile in terms of their age, gender, level of education and monthly income. The data are shown in frequencies and percentage. 4.1.1 Age Gender The respondents have been classified into six groups of age: less than 18 years old; between 19-25 years old; between 26-35 years old; between 36-45 years old; between 46-55 years old; 56 years old and above. Table 4.1 indicates that there were no respondents whose age was less than 18 years old. Around one-fifth (33 or 21.6 percent) of the respondents whose age was between 19-25 years old. More than half (78 or 51.0 percent) of the respondents whose age was between 26-35 years old. About (33 or 21.6 percent) of the respondents whose age was between 36-45 years old. Only (8 or 5.2 percent) respondents whose age was between 46-55 years old and only one person whose age was 56 years old and above. 4.1.2 Level of education The respondents have been classified into six groups of educational level: high school, diploma (two years), bachelors degree, masters degree, doctoral degree and other. Table 4.3 indicates that there were almost (11 or 7.2 percent) of the respondents who had high school. About (5 or 3.3 percent) of the respondents who had diploma (two years). About one-third (52 or 34.0 percent) of the respondents who had bachelors degree. More than third (60 or 39.2 percent) of the respondents who had masters degree. About (23 or 15 percent) of the respondents who had doctoral degree and about (2 or 1.3 percent) holding other types of certificates. 4.1.3 Monthly Income The respondents have been classified into seven groups of monthly income: Less than 2,999; 3,000 5,999; 6,000 8,999; 9,000 11,999; 12,000 14,999; 15,000 19,999 and More than 20,000 SAR per month. Table 4.4 shows that there were almost (12 or 7.8 percent) of the respondents who had less than 2,999 SAR income. About (15 or 9.8 percent) had between 3K 5,999 SAR. About (22 or 14.4 percent) had between 6K 8,999 SAR. About 17.6 and 17.0 percent had less than 12K and 15K respectively. The majority (28 or 18.3 percent) of respondents had between 15K 19,999 SAR per month and about (23 or 15.0 percent) have had more than 20K SAR as monthly income. 4.2 Level of Selected Variables This part discusses the respondents level of agreement on system quality factors, information quality factors and service quality factors. The findings are presented in frequencies, percentages, and means. The discussion also emphasizes the data sufficiency and variables effect on e-Commerce growth within Saudi Arabia. 4.2.1 Level of agreement based on system quality In terms of System Quality Approach, it can be seen in Table 4.5 that 58 (37.9 percent) of the respondents are Strongly Agree, while 29 (19 percent) of the respondents are Agree and 28 (18.3 percent) Somewhat Agree. Twenty-two (14.4 percent) of the respondents are Not Sure. Ten (6.5 percent) are Somewhat Disagree while 2 (1.3 percent) of them are Disagree. Only 4 respondents (2.6 percent) are Strongly Disagree. The findings indicated factor 2 (Ease of Use) as the highest level of agreement among the respondents (M=5.66, SD=1.531) in this category. On the other hand, factor 4 (Reliability) had the lowest level of agreement among the respondents (M=5.34, SD=1.717). In the case of the factor analysis, one important aspect is to test the assumptions. The two key techniques used are the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) sampling adequacy test and the Bartlett test for sphericity. The KMO tests the appropriateness of the data, while the Bartlett tests for correlations. For system quality, these tests are shown on Table 4.7. As shown on Table 4.7, the KMO is 0.898. According to Field (2005, p650), the recommended minimum KMO is 0.5 Values between 0.5 and 0.7 are considered as mediocre. KMO of values between 0.7 and 0.8 are considered as good, while values above 0.8 are considered as great. Based on the KMO of 0.898 produced in this analysis, it has been justified that the factor analysis was appropriate for this data. Bartletts measure tests the null hypothesis that the original correlation matrix is an identity matrix. For factor analysis to work, it in necessary for some variables to have relationships; if the R-matrix were an identity, then all correlation coefficients would be zero. Hence there is a need to test for significance (have p The results of the more robust factor analysis techniques for system quality show that a single solution explained about 75% of the variance as shown on Table 4.8 below. 4.2.2 Level of agreement based on information quality In terms of Information Quality Approach, it can be seen in Table 4.7 that 46 (30.1 percent) of the respondents are Strongly Agree, while 36 (23.5 percent) of the respondents are Agree and 39 (25.5 percent) Somewhat Agree. Seventeen (11.1 percent) of the respondents are Not Sure. Nine (5.9 percent) are Somewhat Disagree while 2 (1.3 percent) of them are Disagree. Only 4 respondents (2.6 percent) are Strongly Disagree. The findings indicated factor 6 (Simplicity) as the most influential factor amongst the respondents (M=5.64, SD=1.431) in this category. On the other hand, factor 4 (Personalization) had the lowest level of agreement among the respondents (M=5.16, SD=1.506). The factor analysis produced a single factor solution with an explanatory variance of 78% (Table 4.11). The KMO was 0.913 and Bartlett test (p = 0.000), indicating the appropriateness of the factor analysis. 4.2.3 Level of agreement based on service quality In terms of Service Quality Approach, it can be seen in Table 4.9 that 46 (30.1 percent) of the respondents are Strongly Agree, while 36 (23.5 percent) of the respondents are Agree and 39 (25.5 percent) Somewhat Agree. Seventeen (11.1 percent) of the respondents are Not Sure. Nine (5.9 percent) are Somewhat Disagree while 2 (1.3 percent) of them are Disagree. Only 4 respondents (2.6 percent) are Strongly Disagree. The findings indicated factor 2 (Understanding) as the highest level of agreement among the respondents (M=5.32, SD=1.370) in this category. On the other hand, factor 5 (Dedication) had the lowest level of agreement among the respondents (M=4.96, SD=1.589). Again, the factor analysis produced a single factor solution with an explanatory variance of 67% (Table 4.13). The KMO was 0.900 and Bartlett test (p = 0.000), indicating the appropriateness of the factor analysis. 4.3 Reliability Analysis Test Reliability can be defined as the degree to which an experiment, test, or measuring procedure would produce the same result on repeated trials (Writing guides, 2009). Furthermore, reliability could be defined as the degree to which measures are free from error and thus yield consistent results (Zikmund, 2003). There are several different types of reliability coefficients such as Split half reliability, Guttman, Parallel, Strictly parallel and Cronbachs alpha. Cronbachs alpha is one of the most commonly used measures because it can be interpreted as a correlation coefficient and it ranges in value from 0 to 1 (Coakes and Steed, 2003). Hence, Cronbachs alpha was used as a measurement of reliability for each variable in this study. From the analysis done on the instruments listed under each variable in the questionnaire, Table 4.14 shows that Cronsbachs Alpha for the variables system quality, information quality, and service quality are 0.931, 0.943, and 0.898 respectively. The internal consistency reliability of the measures can be considered as great as it achieved more than 0.8 Alpha values (Field, 2005, p. 668). 4.4 Demographic effect on the dimensions factors As stated in chapter three, the effect of demographic differences is to be examined wither it effect the significance of factors in each dimension or not. The following hypothesis was built to test this issue: H0: Demographic differences have no impact on variables significance in an IS model. H1: The importance of success variables in an IS model vary due to demographic differences. To cautiously investigate this issue, a comparison was made between cases with different demographic (from same category) in each on of the three dimensions (i.e. System Quality, Information Quality, and Service Quality) to clearly mark any differences that might exist. A detailed list of all the mean comparison made is included in appendix B. 4.4.1 Age difference effect on system quality To measure the influence of age on system quality, several comparisons have been made to investigate the case. In general, all tests showed an increase in system quality demanding along with the increase in age. The ease of use and system flexibility features significance increases with respect to the increase in age as descried in Table 4.14. Youth are careless risk takers, while elders are more conservative risk averse this statement can be clearly observed when monitoring (Reliability Security) which increases with the growth of age. Consequently, the effect of age difference on system quality could be undoubtedly seen in this matter. 4.4.2 Level of education effect on information quality To test the indirect effect of education level on the information quality dimension, three comparisons have been carried out. First, both doctoral and masters equally Agree on the importance of information accuracy; high school level, on the other hand, are Not Sure about that. While diploma holders Strongly Agree with the importance of dynamic contents, bachelors degree holders see less significance, thus, they tend to Somewhat Agree with that statement. Unlike bachelors degree holders who Somewhat Agree with the importance of information simplicity, doctoral degree holders do Agree on its weight for information quality. By looking at the three comparisons made, it could be clearly stated that the effect of education level is significant in this situation. 4.4.3 Gender difference effect on service quality Different gender has different interpretation of service quality provided by e-commerce support centres. To test the indirect effect of gender difference on the services quality provided, a small comparison has been made. Women tend to be more concerned about service centre willingness to help (commitment) and they Agree on the importance of human interaction ability in support centres. Men, on the other hand, give less attention Somewhat Agree to these two aspects. An interesting case to be noticed in this context is the privacy protection. In a conventional society such as Saudi Arabia, people tend to be more conservative when it comes to giving personal information. In such society, women are expected to be more conservative then men. Results, however, revealed that men were actually more sensitive toward privacy protection then women as show in Table 4.17. Accordingly, it could be concluded that gender differences have an effect on service quality dimension as shown here. 4.4 Summary of Findings The study revealed a number of interesting cases that need some attention in order to understand the behavior and logical reasoning behind it; in order to help build a better e-Commerce system that is more considerate and sensitive to the needs of targeted consumers. Some of interesting ranking information, regarding the participants, that could be found from the previous tables includes: Age: More than half (51%) of the respondents are between 26-35 years old. This indicates the fact that Saudi Arabia is a young nation with a median age of 24.9 years (male: 26 years, female: 23.4 years) (The World Fact book, 2010). Gender: The majority (72.5 %) of the participants are males. This is due to cultural limitation of contact between the two genders (women segregation) within the country. The minority was done via relatives. Education: More than (88 %) of the participants are holders of bachelor, masters, or doctoral degrees. This is understandable since the online survey was circulated amongst Saudi Students in the UK Saudi Arabia. The findings indicate that simplicity (Ease of use) was the most pointed feature amongst the various system quality factors. A user friendly designed system with simple navigation ability seemed more important to consumers than reliability power, robustness or even security standards. Thus, e-Commerce marketing strategy should focus on sending the image of a simple user friendly e-Commerce system rather than focusing on the facts of security or multi-access capabilities (i.e. PC Mobile, 24/7, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦etc). As for Information quality measures, the findings indicated that simplicity was again the key factor acquired by consumers. Although completeness and accuracy were of high demands (5.47 5.58 means), keeping it simple, straight forward, and in understandable terms was most favorite feature. This is obvious when compared to comprehensiveness which might leads to long lists of annoying terms and conditions catalog. The ability of e-Commerce support centers to understand consumers specific needs was the most important factor of service quality. An argument might be that, a well committed and knowledgeable support personal would not be helpful if the consumer needs were mistakenly interpreted. Based on the data of 153 respondents, the multi-items measures were subjected to a series of validity and reliability checks. For the multi-item scale, the set of factors that correspond to each dimension was initially subjected to an examination of Cronbachs alpha and item-to-total correlations test. Thus, all measures appeared to be uni-dimensional, internally consistent, reliable and valid for analysis of the model. Furthermore, this chapter has examined the influence of demographic effects on the dimensions (System, Information and Service) factors prioritization process. The relationship was conducted by computing the differences measures of the means and Standard Deviations, which supported the hypotheses that all the variables have a significance impact on e-Commerce growth and adoption in Saudi Arabia.