Information Provision and the Valuation of Social Issues. Societies are more than the sum of the transactions in which people engage. Understanding the tradeoffs that people make between social attributes embedded within products and the functional components of those products are critical if we are to value fully the consumption of the society. In particular, to the extent that the social component of consumption is undervalued or biased because of a lack of understanding of what is being pur ....Information Provision and the Valuation of Social Issues. Societies are more than the sum of the transactions in which people engage. Understanding the tradeoffs that people make between social attributes embedded within products and the functional components of those products are critical if we are to value fully the consumption of the society. In particular, to the extent that the social component of consumption is undervalued or biased because of a lack of understanding of what is being purchased, the society will be allocating its consumption dollar in a manner that is both economically and socially inefficient.Read moreRead less
Evidence-based community standards for ethics in advertising. The primary social benefit of this project is the development of evidence-based standards representing community views on acceptable practices in advertising, providing a basis on which to lobby for improvements in regulation. Such improvements will contribute to the ability of consumers to make informed choices about product purchase and behaviour change. This project also has economic benefit for commercial and social advertisers in ....Evidence-based community standards for ethics in advertising. The primary social benefit of this project is the development of evidence-based standards representing community views on acceptable practices in advertising, providing a basis on which to lobby for improvements in regulation. Such improvements will contribute to the ability of consumers to make informed choices about product purchase and behaviour change. This project also has economic benefit for commercial and social advertisers in Australia, enabling them to: pre-test potential advertisements to ensure that they comply with community standards; develop advertisements which are better suited to their target audience(s); better forecast the effects of appeals on advertising outcomes; and reduce complaints to the ASB and other bodies.Read moreRead less
CROSS-CULTURAL DIFFERENCES IN PERCEPTIONS OF CONSUMPTION ETHICS. This research addresses the influence of such culturally distinct variables as the relevance of important others in determining and acting on ethical interpretations, the significance of external factors such as prominence of brand name on interpretations by consumers, and the importance of the type of potential ethical infraction. It utilises an interpretive research paradigm that poses potential ethical consumption dilemmas and ....CROSS-CULTURAL DIFFERENCES IN PERCEPTIONS OF CONSUMPTION ETHICS. This research addresses the influence of such culturally distinct variables as the relevance of important others in determining and acting on ethical interpretations, the significance of external factors such as prominence of brand name on interpretations by consumers, and the importance of the type of potential ethical infraction. It utilises an interpretive research paradigm that poses potential ethical consumption dilemmas and examines consumers? reactions. The interpretations of the dilemmas (are ethical issues perceived?) and informants? justifications for their actions are investigated across countries to examine how the cultural lens through which consumption decisions are viewed can shape reactions.Read moreRead less
Patterns of Buyer Behaviour in China. A mainstream interest of marketers is the study of buyer behaviour (i.e., brand choice, repeat-purchase, switching, loyalty, segmentation, etc.) Much is known. But virtually all of this knowledge comes from Western studies. Yet non-Western nations, such as China, are now immensely important trading partners for the West.
This is the first systematic study of buyer behaviour in China to be based on formal analyses of consumer panel data. An assessment wil ....Patterns of Buyer Behaviour in China. A mainstream interest of marketers is the study of buyer behaviour (i.e., brand choice, repeat-purchase, switching, loyalty, segmentation, etc.) Much is known. But virtually all of this knowledge comes from Western studies. Yet non-Western nations, such as China, are now immensely important trading partners for the West.
This is the first systematic study of buyer behaviour in China to be based on formal analyses of consumer panel data. An assessment will be made of how our analytical models, and associated findings, extend to new conditions (e.g., new geographical markets, sub-regions, traditional Chinese goods, different groups of buyers, etc.).Read moreRead less
Linking Brand Equity Modelling and Measurement with Behavioural and Affective Consumer Decision Processes. Brand equity monitoring often fails to account for image-related and habit-entrenched consumer decision rules. This research takes an established brand equity monitoring tool, A C Nielsen's Winning Brands, and incorporates work on decision heuristics into it. Heuristics occur when consumers simplify their decision task using rules sub-optimal with respect to selecting their preferred alte ....Linking Brand Equity Modelling and Measurement with Behavioural and Affective Consumer Decision Processes. Brand equity monitoring often fails to account for image-related and habit-entrenched consumer decision rules. This research takes an established brand equity monitoring tool, A C Nielsen's Winning Brands, and incorporates work on decision heuristics into it. Heuristics occur when consumers simplify their decision task using rules sub-optimal with respect to selecting their preferred alternative, but effective in terms of reducing cognitive effort. The project will conduct a meta-analysis of over 250 branding strategies followed by a new data collection and latent segmentation analysis. The result will be a more comprehensive decision support tool for brand development, focusing management actions and improving marketing efficiency.Read moreRead less
A cognitive model for identifying optimal measures of beliefs. Belief measures are of high practical relevance. One current national example is measurement of beliefs about recycled water, which will affect state and territory governments' water conservation policies. Another is cultural values, measures of which can form the basis for initiatives to improve social harmony in Australia. The knowledge gained, however, is only as good as the validity of the belief measure employed. We will analyse ....A cognitive model for identifying optimal measures of beliefs. Belief measures are of high practical relevance. One current national example is measurement of beliefs about recycled water, which will affect state and territory governments' water conservation policies. Another is cultural values, measures of which can form the basis for initiatives to improve social harmony in Australia. The knowledge gained, however, is only as good as the validity of the belief measure employed. We will analyse the main types of measures used at present and develop improved belief measures which, when published, will increase the quality of research in the social sciences and enhance Australia's international scientific reputation.Read moreRead less
Measuring Marketing Effectiveness: State of the Art, Current Practice and Areas of Leverage. Marketing performs a useful role in society by identifying customer needs, focusing the resources of the firm towards meeting those needs, and communicating to customers how best to access the products available to fulfill their needs. Without good metrics marketing is fragmented and ineffective. By improving the measurement of marketing effort there will be less waste, resulting in higher profits and ....Measuring Marketing Effectiveness: State of the Art, Current Practice and Areas of Leverage. Marketing performs a useful role in society by identifying customer needs, focusing the resources of the firm towards meeting those needs, and communicating to customers how best to access the products available to fulfill their needs. Without good metrics marketing is fragmented and ineffective. By improving the measurement of marketing effort there will be less waste, resulting in higher profits and greater focus and improved customer satisfaction within Australian markets. In global markets, Australian firms will have access to the tools necessary to assist them to better meet the needs of overseas' customers, resulting in improved export performance.Read moreRead less
Building Better Brands: A Study of Australian Organizations and Consumers. The study is the first to be undertaken in the world to develop a knowledge management system of brand development and management. It focuses on understanding how branding strategies increase the competitiveness of Australian industry. The study also explores linkages of branding strategy to consumer perceptions of brand value. The model is firmly placed in a global market context, contrasting domestic, exported and im ....Building Better Brands: A Study of Australian Organizations and Consumers. The study is the first to be undertaken in the world to develop a knowledge management system of brand development and management. It focuses on understanding how branding strategies increase the competitiveness of Australian industry. The study also explores linkages of branding strategy to consumer perceptions of brand value. The model is firmly placed in a global market context, contrasting domestic, exported and imported brands. The focus is strongly orientated toward improving Australia's competitiveness and global performance. This study is vital as the economic superiority of strong nations is evident in the value and strength of their industries' brands.Read moreRead less
The value of characteristics of Australian wheat. This project will identify the functional wheat characteristics considered by the Japanese millers when deciding what and how much to buy. It will also determine how these functional and non-functional Australian wheat characteristics are perceived by the millers compared to other countries, and determine the importance of each one of these characteristics on the final choice.
Integrating choice set formation and taste heterogeneity in market segmentation. This project develops a new model of consumer decision-making to provide managerial insights related to market segmentation, product portfolio optimisation and marketing communication strategies. The model can be specified for a particular product category using data collected from a novel elicitation instrument developed as part of this project.