Theses and dissertations (Management Sciences)
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Item Fortification of food products : a consumer perspective(2019-04) Serubugo, Ayub; Penceliah, Darry S.The prevalence of malnutrition and hidden hunger in developed but largely in developing countries, has led to the introduction of mandatory food fortification for the purpose of overcoming micro-nutrients malnutrition. Consumers have inadequate knowledge and are not aware of the relevance of food fortification. It is important for consumers to be conversant with fortified food products in order to make healthy food choices in a bid to overcome the phenomenon of micro-nutrient deficiency. The purpose of the study was to assess consumers’ level of awareness of food fortification in South Africa. A sample of n=400 consumers in the Durban central region was selected to participate in the survey. Non-probability convenience sampling was applied to nominate the participants in the study. The positivist cross-sectional study was undertaken using a quantitative paradigm to assess the various factors responsible for consumers’ inadequate knowledge of fortification. The measuring instrument was a five-point Likert scale questionnaire that constituted twenty-five questions and one open ended question. The results were captured on excel spreadsheet and analysed using SPSS version 25.0 software package. Descriptive and inferential statistical methods were utilised to summarise and analyse the results respectively. The study established that most of the consumers are not familiar with food fortification and its importance. The findings indicate further that there is a positive relationship 𝑝 < 0.05 between knowledge of the benefits of fortified products and motivation to buy fortified food products. On the other hand, it was also found that, there is a significant relationship between the shortcomings of food fortification and barriers for fortified food purchase intention. Therefore, there is a need to develop intervention strategies that can create awareness of food fortification basing on the findings of the study.Item Using consumer behaviour theories to analyse the relationship between green technology and customer expectations(2021-11-17) Manqele, Mxolisi BongumusaGreen technology has become a welcome and popular development in most parts of the world, possibly due to the wide belief that green technology is a concept whereby nature and the environment are protected, retaining the environment’s ecosystem. Various actions exist that may lessen environmental impact, yet much difficulty is encountered in converting customer intentions to action, highlighting the importance of bridging the existing gap between customer intent and action; not only in safeguarding the environment but also for business to meet sustainability goals. In this regard, literature highlights a fast-growing interest in innovation for sustainability, while studies draw attention to the development of green industries and green jobs, suggesting that “green” will grow into an important measure for companies and brands, with commendations based on environmental references featured strongly in consumer decision-making. Within this context, the current study hopes to examine green technology-based products, in terms of customer expectations in the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) province of South Africa (SA). Research shows customer expectations as the desires or wants of consumers, in terms of what they feel a service provider should offer, while customer expectations of service have been further presented as subjective and based on the needs and desires customers expect to fulfil in using the service. This study concedes that green technology-based products can contribute effectively to achieving customer expectations. The mode of green technology-based products could be used to achieve this objective thus becomes the key thrust of this research. Using a quantitative methodology, this study is predicated on the assumption that because green technology preserves the environment, it is an interesting and effective method of achieving customer expectations.Item Consumer perceptions of green products, purchasing behaviour and loyalty(2018-06-14) Chikosha, Felix; Potwana, NobubeleGreen products have gained prominence on the market largely due to their perceived benefits of environmental sustainability. In view of the growth in influence of green products, the objectives of the study were to determine the impact of product quality on purchase intention for green products; ascertain the influence of environmental concerns on purchase intention for green products; establish the influence of situations affecting green product purchase on purchase intentions for green products; establish the impact of preference for green products on purchase intention and to assess the impact of purchase intention on re-purchase intention of green products. To establish these facts the study adopted a quantitative methodology, which made use of a self- reporting questionnaire which was administered to consumer households as the target population. For the suburban areas and locations, simple random sampling was done by arbitrarily picking out a number from the housing list secured from the Municipality. In the city center, convenience sampling was done by arbitrarily approaching consumers buying in shopping malls. The 497 responses received were accepted as the sample size of this study. Data collected was captured and analysed on Statistical Package of Social Sciences (SPSS) v22.0 and Analysis of Moment Structures (AMOS) v 24.0 to yield descriptive and inferential statistics. Structural Equation Modelling was then used to provide estimates of the strength of all the hypothesised relationships. The key findings of the study were that green purchase intention was significantly and positively influenced by product quality, environmental concern, preference for green products, environmental responsibility and selection attributes, but not by situations affecting purchase behaviour. Purchase intention has a strong correlation with re- purchase intention. The implications of the findings to marketers are that they need to formulate and implement green marketing strategies to improve consumer perceptions of green products. It is also suggested that marketers drop deceptive marketing practices that cause consumers to be skeptical about green products. Future research may need to be directed at green marketing practices to see what business is doing to enhance the adoption of green products by consumers.Item South African consumers' perceptions of and attitudes towards a Jamaican restaurant : country of origin effect(2016) Neshehe-Mukhithi, Fhelani; Lekhanya, Lawrence MpeleThis study is aimed to explore the perceptions and attitudes of South African towards products or services of foreign origin, in particular a Jamaican restaurant in Pretoria. The study objectives were to explore that perceptions and attitudes of South Africans toward products and services of foreign origin, investigating the various factors influencing the consumer buyer behaviour towards products including foreign products and services, and to make recommendations regarding the marketing of foreign products and services. A literature review was conducted which detailed the factors influencing consumer buyer behaviour and the various components of the country of origin effect that has consequences on the marketing of products of foreign origin. The study was a quantitative study where a sample of 231 participants between 18 and 65 years of age were selected using availability sampling at a shopping mall in Pretoria. Questionnaires were given to selected participants who completed and returned the completed questionnaire to the researcher. All the selected participants completely filled the questionnaires. The data from the questionnaires was collated using Microsoft Excel spreadsheets. The data was then presented as pie and bar charts generated from the frequency tables. Data was analysed using simple descriptive statistics, interpreting the meaning of the data and discussing the data in line with the findings of the literature review. The results showed that the participants’ responses displayed significant phenomena that relates to the perceptions and attitudes of citizens towards foreign products and services. The results demonstrated that many of the participants displayed a significant degree of animosity against foreign products, with ethnocentrism and patriotism. There was also a display of a degree of protectionism of the local industry from the influx of foreign products and services. A significant number of participants also stated that foreign goods must be regulated through higher taxation to protect the local manufacturing industry and prevent further unemployment. However, the results also showed that a significant number of participants do not display animosity towards foreign goods, and neither do they feel bound by ethnocentrism and patriotism, hence they perceive that buying foreign goods is an option. Participants also noted that they consider the country of origin of the products so as to determine the perceived quality, price and utility, often from the perceived country image.Item Influence of convenience goods package on consumer buying behaviour : an international student's perspective(2017) Tinonetsana, Faith; Penceliah, SoobramoneyThe role of packaging has changed with the move to self-service retail formats. Marketers have transformed packaging to become one of the major promoting tools of products, which in turn gets the attention of potential customers and communicate the brand value to the target market. Thus, there is a necessity to explore packaging and its elements in more detail, in order to understand which of these elements are the most important factors influencing the consumer’s purchase decision. This study seeks to reveal the influence of visual and verbal packaging elements on international students buying decision of convenience goods specifically fruit juice which is popular among students. A quantitative, non-probability research approach was employed and convenience sampling was used to identify and select study participants constituting 397 students. In the study the visual and verbal elements are both found to influence consumer buying behaviour. The visual elements that influence consumer buying behaviour are colour, graphics and packaging technology. The verbal elements that have an influence on consumer buying behaviour for convenience goods are label information and brand name. The factor analysis shows that the most important factors during buying decisions are label information, brand name, graphics, colour and technology. The regression analysis reveal a significant relationship between consumer buying behaviour and seven predictor variables; colour, graphics, packaging technology, label information, brand name, level of involvement and time-pressure. The results also reveal that when consumers are under time-pressure, they consider visual elements when they make their purchase decisions. On the other hand, the consumers consider verbal elements when they are not under time-pressure. The results also show that consumers regard convenience goods as low involvement products. Thus it is the duty of marketers to utilise packaging as a marketing tool and weapon against competitors. This study recommends that marketers must consider all packaging elements when designing a package because all packaging elements are significant in drawing interest and attention of consumers. If these elements are properly combined the package will be more attractive and attention-grabbing.Item Consumer behaviour towards cause related marketing in the greater eThekweni region(2007) Corbishley, Karen Margaret; Mason, Roger BruceCause related marketing (CRM) is becoming a popular marketing strategy used by brand managers, retailers and service companies. It can be described as a marketing strategy that links charities or ‘causes’ with the sales of a product, brand or service. The charity is mentioned in promotional campaigns and a certain percentage is donated to the cause in accordance with unit sales or turnover. A study was conducted in the eThekweni region of Kwazulu Natal, South Africa to gather information on this issue. The study was a quantitative survey and data was collected by means of an interview process. The overall objective of this study was to gain an understanding of consumer behaviour towards companies using CRM in the greater eThekweni region. This objective was made up of three sub-objectives. The first subobjective was to identify whether eThwekeni consumers would switch brands to a company involved with CRM, if price and quality were equal. This was followed by subobjective two, which was to establish whether particular socio-demographic characteristics of consumers would be related to their evaluation of a CRM offer. Finally, sub-objective three was to establish whether those same socio-demographic characteristics would be related to the selection of specific causes.Item Consumer perceptions of charity shops in the Durban area(2006) Lekhanya, Lawrence MpeleMany people have used the term “charity shop” without having a clear understanding of it, even although there are numerous articles and a previous research survey about charity shops in the UK, Canada and Australia. It seems that no research has been done in South Africa on this particular topic. Also, the confusion that surrounds consumer perceptions of charity shops highlights the need for marketers to conduct more research on this particular area. The following study was conducted within the South African marketplace, specifically in four Durban areas, using quantitative research methods. The main objective of the research was to determine consumer perceptions of charity shops in the Durban area and the factors influencing these perceptions.