Sales and Merchandising Commons^™

Built Ford Tough, Again: Does Each Generational Group Of Consumers Associate The New Ford Bronco With Positive Feelings Of Nostalgia?, Liv R. Wilson, Emily J. Plant

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

This marketing research paper investigates whether various generational groups of consumers associate the new Ford Bronco with positive feelings of nostalgia. The study conducted a comprehensive survey with 420 respondents to determine the extent of nostalgia evoked by new Ford Bronco advertisements among consumers of different age groups. The results of the research suggest a strong and affirmative response to the new Ford Bronco advertisements across all generational cohorts. This implies that the marketing strategy employed by Ford effectively taps into a universal sense of nostalgia, transcending generational boundaries. This finding underscores the brand's ability to connect with consumers of …

Essays On Salesperson’S Motivation And Job Satisfaction-Performance, Claire H. Cha

Doctoral Dissertations

Salesforces are important to firms as they drive a significant part of the firm’s brand, financial, and relational performance. Salesforce performance, job satisfaction, and motivation have remained key topics of interest to practitioners as well as researchers (Hansen & Levin, 2016; Pullins, 2001; Williams & Plouffe, 2007). This dissertation includes three essays. Essay 1 aims to address a lingering question theoretically and managerially. What is the relationship between satisfaction and performance? That question is assessed with a unique longitudinal simultaneous design to test four leading hypotheses of the causal relationship between salespeople’s job satisfaction and performance. The study’s design addresses …

Advising Communication In Finance, Jordan J. Schumann

Communication Studies

Communication is an important factor in relationships. When it comes to financial advising and the advisors’ relationship with their clients, it is no different. However, the driving factor of what makes a client choose one advisor over another remains in question. As such a question builds: what does an advisor do to maintain a client and promote gaining new ones? This study examines the experiences current advisors have had in their respective careers. To examine this topic, communication theories (Social Cognitive Theory, Source Credibility Theory, and Uncertainty Reduction Theory) are called upon to inform the outcomes of advisors' experiences. The …

Food Marketing: The Adverse Effects Of Food Advertisements And Media Messaging On Men, Women, And Children, Lindsay Arnolds

Management Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis examines the impact of food marketing on different segments of the population in the United States. Specifically, the study focuses on the effects of food advertising on men, women, and children, with an emphasis on the ways in which marketing messages influence their food choices, attitudes, and behaviors. Through a comprehensive review of the literature and a survey of various participants, the thesis analyzes the various techniques used by food companies to target these groups, including packaging, labeling, and promotional strategies. Furthermore, it reviews studies on the effects of food advertising and media messaging on the physical and …

The Life Of Una Estudiante Americana: Here Y Allí, Madeline Kastel

Honors Theses

The purpose of this study is to analyze the differences between studying Spanish at an American university, Western Michigan University, in Kalamazoo, Michigan to that of a study abroad program at La Universidad de Burgos, in Burgos, Spain in three main areas: teaching styles in classes, extracurricular activities and student experiences.

To begin this study, it is important to note the differences in demographics and available public transportation where each study took place: Kalamazoo, Michigan, USA and Burgos, Spain. In Kalamazoo, students have the option to use the city bus system, the Metro, for free, but tend to use their …

Impacts Of Information Channels On Consumer Decision Journey: Evidence From An Experience Durable Goods Industry, Chih-Wei Tsai

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

With the emergence of various information technologies, how to reasonably layout in different touch points has become a crucial issue for the company in practice, especially for those experienced durable goods with greater uncertainty and decision complexity. The company seeks to leverage the limited budget to achieve the most efficient marketing strategies, and thus the most effective combination of information channels. On the other hand, consumers could be easily influenced by different information resources in the process of purchase decision-making, and their information search behavior will gradually change with their accumulation of knowledge, experience and distinctive search objectives. Therefore, this …

Consumer Shift: Examining Female Generation Y Consumers’ Activewear Consumption, Lauren Laporte

LSU Master's Theses

The onset of the Covid-19 pandemic resulted in a change to standard consumption patterns as consumers began prioritizing health and wellness, working remotely, and made a switch from material-based consumption practices to an experiential-value-based consumption mindset. Additionally, Covid-19 brought economic downturns, loss of jobs, and supply chain issues. Consequently, the activewear market demonstrated unclear results making it necessary to understand trends within the activewear market while also understanding consumer motivations to wear or not to wear activewear during these societal shifts. This research paper aims it’s focus on female members of Generation Y, a popular and growing market for activewear. …

Factors Affecting Consumers’ Purchase Intentions Towards Recycled Products, Sherine Esmat

Theses and Dissertations

The work executed addresses the status of recycling industry in Egypt and its relation to the current sustainability trends as well as climate change issues. It also identifies the main concerns of consumers when purchasing recycled products. Consequently, identifies the key pillars that need to be applied or communicated with the target consumers to enhance the concept of selling recycled products and increase its market share. Since this industry is significantly broad, the focus of the study was only on recycled PET plastic bottles (rPET), this is to ensure attaining accurate and reliable results.

An interview and a site visit …

Bozo The Clown: An Icon As American As An Apple Pie In The Face, Gregory Kent Oswald

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

There is no single path toward the creation of an American icon, a person or item with resonance to all in the country as well as having an ability to serve as a symbol of America itself for those outside the borders. This thesis considers certain elements that propelled the journey of the entertainment for children, Bozo the Clown, into a representational figure in the minds of young and old. Like all things American, his roots include many elements from outside the country: the name derives from foreign tongues mostly in derisory terms, but in at least one instance as …

Research On The Factors Influencing New Tobacco Consumption Behavior, Yuqing Wen

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

In the global environment of tobacco control, along with the increasing concern for health, electronic companies around the world have focused on the research and production of "non-combustible alternatives to cigarettes" to meet the psychology of consumers to quit smoking and the pursuit of fashion, and the most popular products are "Electronic Cigarette” (E-cig) and its similar products. In recent years, domestic E-cig-related products have gradually known by the public, with increasing exposure in the news media and rapid growth in sales. Among them, HnB E-cig has smoking taste closer to the characteristics of traditional cigarettes and therefore is gradually …

Analyzing Effective Website Design Literature To Develop A Standard Scorecard, Karlyn Sanchez

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

No abstract provided.

La Influencia Del Marketing En El Consumo Desde Las Propuestas Teóricas De La Escuela Conductual, Jean Pool Triana Contreras

Economía

En este trabajo se realiza una metasíntesis sobre cómo el marketing afecta el comportamiento del consumidor desde la perspectiva de las principales propuestas teóricas de la escuela conductual de la economía. El objetivo es analizar el impacto del marketing en el consumo desde esta perspectiva y se plantean tres objetivos específicos para lograrlo. Se identifican los mecanismos más utilizados por el marketing para influir en el comportamiento de consumo, como la creación de necesidades, la manipulación de los precios, la utilización de técnicas de persuasión y la generación de emociones. También se destacan los riesgos asociados al uso del marketing, …

How An Abusive Supervision Climate Impacts Business-To-Business (B2b) Sales Performance, And The Roles Of Leader–Members Interdependence And Team Psychological Safety, Matthew J. Daniel

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Sales supervisors can tremendously influence the sales teams they manage, and their behaviors can influence a team’s engagement and sales performance. Because of the supervisor’s influential role, their behavior, positive or negative, can ripple throughout the organization. As a result, a supervisor who role models abusive behavior within their organization also promotes a climate of abuse and incivility that can contribute to a toxic workplace. Abusive supervision (AS) is a significant problem in many business-to-business (B2B) sales organizations that negatively impacts the financial welfare and subjective well-being of organizations and their employees. This quantitative correlational study aimed to examine how …

Exploring A Suitable Youth Football Training Model For China: From The Perspective Of Customer Engagement, Nanyan Zheng

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

As a major sport country, China’s football is facing tricky problems of insufficient reserve players and football culture alienation. Improving the quality of youth football training not only can supplement a large number of reserve players, but also shape a sound football culture, which is a good approach to the current problems of China’s football. Based on the theory of customer engagement, this dissertation starts from the reality of Chinese youth football training, analyzes the problems existing in current youth football training in depth, and proposes that convenience, interest and empathy can improve the customer engagement of youth trainees. Outland …

The Value Of Nfts, Angelina Tham

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Non-fungible token stories have flooded the media since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. NFTs have changed the public’s views on art, finances, and the self. The emergence of Web 3 redefined ways of self expression with the help of NFTs. What are NFTs, how are they valuable, and how will they shape the future of digital art? The data visualization for this project indicates that the most popular type of crypto art is in the style of a profile picture. The discussion suggests that NFTs are in their infancy and there will be more to come from digital art, …

The Impact Of E-Service Quality On The Customer Satisfaction Of Electronic And Small Appliances Online Shoppers In Saudi Arabia, Majed A. Almobarak

Theses & Dissertations

The objective of this quantitative study, which utilized a non-experimental, correlational predictive design, was to evaluate the association between perceptions of e-service quality by Saudi Arabian adult residents and their overall satisfaction with the online retailer from which they buy their electronics and small appliances products. The study also sought to determine to what extent e-service quality factors, as a group and independently, predict the customer satisfaction of the participants of this study. The participants of this study were limited to adults (18 years of age or older), male and female, who live in any region of Saudi Arabia, and …

Keurig Dr. Pepper Internship: Development Of A Tool In A Big Data Environment To Uncover Risks And Opportunities, Lindsey Ross

Marketing Undergraduate Honors Theses

Selling and sales management professions permeate job application websites. Sales is often associated with a pushy used-car dealership and cold calling. These practices are necessary, but selling, especially in our increasingly consumerist society, has long influenced and is a part of almost all business professions. You could argue that almost every employed individual operates in some sort of sales function due to the current job landscape. Whether this includes working directly with the sale of a product or even selling one’s self to a company or client. Selling in the retail space is understandably the heartbeat of the company, especially …

How The Financial Services Industry Is Utilizing Social Media To Expand Their Client Base, Kristen Stewart

Marketing Undergraduate Honors Theses

Social media is becoming an increasingly important aspect of all companies’ marketing strategies. It is almost imperative for companies to advertise through social media if they want to have a fair chance of reaching the younger generation. In fact, “the majority (97%) of Gen Z consumers say they now use social media as their top source of shopping inspiration; 65% say they use social media to find entertaining content; and 61% of them are specifically interested in watching more video content” (Kastenholz, 2021). This proves that social media can make a significant and lasting impact on a company’s success. Social …

Understanding Supply Chain Management: A Necessary Skill For Salespeople?, Lindsey Jetton

Supply Chain Management Undergraduate Honors Theses

The purpose of this research is to explore phenomena within the experience of consumer packaged goods (CPG) account representatives in customer-facing roles by investigating the impact of supply chain training, experience, and skills on sales role effectiveness in CPG companies. Findings suggest that skills needed for sales include technical competency, excellent communication skills, and the knowledge to keep commitments. Supply chain understanding within their industry impacts these identified skills by removing confusion, improving identification with their company, realistically aligning customer expectations, and building confidence.

Target Internship During The Covid Pandemic, Laura Jo Randall

Finance Undergraduate Honors Theses

The coronavirus pandemic has triggered both social and economic changes around the world. Retail companies have been at the forefront of these changes due to widespread supply chain disruptions and supply shortages. Companies have struggled to meet the challenges caused by the pandemic including supply shortages and social distancing. Target Corporation is the eighth largest big box retail chain in the United States (Tanha, 2022). It has faced the challenges with innovation and implementation of new programs this year. During the summer of 2021, I had the pleasure to intern at Target and witness firsthand how this large corporation embraced …

Walmart Vs Amazon: How Walmart Can Compete With Amazon In The Age Of E-Commerce, Andrew Turner

Finance Undergraduate Honors Theses

In the growing battle between the retail giants, Walmart, and Amazon, it has become clear that Walmart must take steps to secure their place in a market where a pandemic-driven technology enabled e-commerce industry is expected to grow leaps and bounds over the next several years. In order to compete with Amazon, who dominates the majority of e-commerce in the US, Walmart must identify core competencies that drive revenue and customer loyalty and adapt them to a new age of retail. By taking advantage of physical locations and access to customer data, Walmart may be able to continue to offer …

Insomnovation – Natural Sleep Solutions Business Plan, Nikolas Limperis

Finance Undergraduate Honors Theses

Currently, 70 million Americans suffer from some sort of sleep issues from trouble falling asleep, trouble staying asleep, and daytime drowsiness. However, the sleep solutions on the market today are either highly artificial or only address the symptoms of sleep issues rather than the underlying cause. This is what Insomnovation seeks to address. By providing supplementation to seven key vitamins and minerals, Insomnovation hopes to bring a natural solution to put the issue of sleep disorders to rest.

Effects Of Economic Development Status And Eco-Product On Consumption Values: From The Perspective Of Us Consumers, Mostafa Zaman

Doctoral Dissertations

Consumers select a product based on numerous product characteristics. Numerous studies conducted earlier revealed that consumers in developing countries preferred products made in western or developed countries because their product quality is better than the quality of local products (Lee & Nguyen, 2017; Dao & Heidt, 2018; Rodrigo et al., 2019). Moreover, consumers are increasingly concerned about manufacturers’ environmental issues. Although ethical consumers believe that eco-products could save the environment, some consumers are not concerned about the eco-products and thus select products based on other product attributes (Joshi & Rahman, 2015). Hence, it becomes very challenging for retailers to select …

Harvesting Growth -- An Internship Thesis, Emma Conover

Marketing Undergraduate Honors Theses

During the Summer of 2021, I had the privilege to Intern with Harvest Group in Rogers, Arkansas. During this 12-week internship, I was placed in the Client Services division and was a part of a consumables team that served several clients. I gained invaluable experience from this internship and developed both personally and professionally.

Business Plan: Refuge Coffee, Zachary Lewandowski

Finance Undergraduate Honors Theses

Refuge Coffee will be the premier vendor of high-quality and sustainably sourced specialty coffee in Springdale, Arkansas. Its mission is to improve lives by providing a space that reflects the community—a space in which ideas, beliefs, attitudes, and values can be exchanged, with coffee acting as a common denominator. Refuge Coffee will offer specialty coffee beverages, locally baked goods, and merchandise to consumers. We intend to partner with Canopy NWA, a refugee resettlement organization that aims to welcome and equip refugees with all they need to build new lives, through the means of employment for refugees and the continuous donation …

How Do Virtual Social Media Influencers Affect Millennial And Gen Z Female Consumers’ Purchase Intention? A Comparison Of Fast Fashion Versus Luxury Fashion Brands, Lauren Bouvier

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

With the emergence and increasing prevalence of social media, the effectiveness of social media influencers (SMIs) is apparent in today’s fast-paced life. Virtual social media influencers (VSMIs), computer-generated influencers with a real human appearance, have gained popularity. The purpose of this study is to examine important VSMI’s characteristics that affect brand image and trust which lead to purchase intention (fast fashion vs. luxury fashion brand). Social exchange theory and source credibility model were adopted to develop a theoretical framework for the present study. Two Instagram ads were developed that included the post’s image and corresponding caption: VSMI endorsing H&M and …

Apparel Students' Perception Of Denim Quality In Relation To Price And Brand, Karli Haws

Apparel Merchandising and Product Development Undergraduate Honors Theses

The purpose of this study is to evaluate apparel students’ perception of quality in denim jeans based on the influences of price and brand. The following research objectives were developed:

1. To determine if apparel students’ perceptions of garment quality are affected by price and brand.

2. To determine how apparel students perceive quality in a garment.

3. To determine if price and brand are indicators of quality to apparel students.

Consumers Perception Of Quality For Ladies' Swimwear Based On Price And Brand, Jennifer Avila

Apparel Merchandising and Product Development Undergraduate Honors Theses

Consumers shop at multiple retailers for different needs. It is understood that many choose a retailer for an experience and others will shop at large discount retailer for the better savings aspect. These two retailers are constantly working on improving customer experience as well as trying to increase their sales. In a time where E-commerce is at an all-time high, these two retailers also need to consider how other retailers compare against them in different sales categories. Since March of 2020, the retail world shifted with COVID-19 disrupting the supply chain. As retailers solve ways to keep consumers content and …

The Importance Of Agile Reporting Methods In A Retail Sales Environment, Katie Haefner

Information Systems Undergraduate Honors Theses

The primary objective of this project is to understand the importance of agile reporting methodologies for a retail sales team. Data has proven to be very vital for businesses to use and understand. In software systems that serve as data warehouses, it is expected that value be provided at each iteration within the system. This includes all the measurements, metrics, and reports. Agile reporting effects the way that data is utilized within a company. This paper looks at some of ways that value can be added when companies focus on ways to consolidate and standardize data as well as make …

Why Sales Managers Matter: How Supervisory Coaching Affects Salespeople's Job Performance, Emory Serviss

<strong> Theses and Dissertations </strong>

Today’s business environment is very competitive, forcing companies to make additional efforts to develop and keep sustainable advantages. Thus, research aimed at finding ways to increase company performance has become critical. One specific managerial tool, sales coaching, has been hailed by academics and practitioners alike as vital to improving a salesperson’s job performance. With a company’s survival dependent on the success of their salespeople, research on sales coaching is crucial. The purpose of this research is to gain a better understanding of the relationship between sales coaching and a salesperson’s work-related attitudes and behaviors. Using self-determination theory, this research examines …