3. Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETDs) - All submissions
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Item The impact of self-service technologies on perceptions of customer service quality in a Business School in South Africa(2019) Dube, Lawrence ThulaniThere is increased usage of self-service technology in efforts to deliver superior service quality in business schools. This transition from face-to-face interaction has led to both satisfaction and dissatisfaction with service quality delivered. This study sought to ascertain the impact self-service technologies have on the perception of service quality (Servqual) dimensions of reliability, tangibility, assurance, responsiveness and empathy. A survey research instrument based on an adapted Servqual questionnaire that was self-administered was employed. Convenience sampling was utilised on the Wits Business School campus, with 210 students’ views captured. Then, the data was analysed using GAP analysis and descriptive statistics extrapolated from the data. The results of the study indicate that a transition to self-service portals does not lead to customers having a positive view of all the service quality dimensions as most customers were neutral in their perceptions. Students, therefore, need to have both self-service technologies and walk-in centres for face-to-face interaction. The study contributes to the ever-increasing knowledge on the usage of self-service technology in higher education in emerging markets. While there are significant shifts towards usage of the portals in business schools, there is a need to control the pace of change and avoid drastic adoption without other options as it may not lead to positive customer perceptions. The study recommends that transition not be drastic, that focus be on user-friendliness of the portals, that there be increased use of interactive technologies such as chatbots to increase responsiveness as well as a provision of people to engage with when there is need for escalation of issues aiding service recovery.Item Market and socio-psychological factors affecting organic food purchase decision and post-purchase outcomes in South Africa(2018) Chauke, Xitshembhiso DifferenceOrganic food consumption is an aspect of green consumption which is increasingly making inroads into consumers’ consumption patterns across the globe, especiallyin Europe and North America. In South Africa, the growth is slow, both in supply and demand. Even though mainly sold in specialised markets, such as the Bryanston organic food market in Johannesburg, retail chains, such as Pick’n Pay, Shorprite-Checkers and Woolworths are getting into the organic food market, selling items, such as vegetables, herbs, grains and oil seeds, fruits and dairy products. The consumers are reportedly mainly medical patients, middle to upper income consumers, the “younger” consumer generation, who shop in the upmarket food stores and parents of younger children. Research has been conducted to understand the drivers of organic food purchase by employing various models and theories across the globe. For example, Aertsens, Verbeke, Mondelaers and Van Huylenbroeck’s (2009) untested model linked Schwartz’ values theory and the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) to propose personal factors affecting organic food purchase intention and behaviour. Even though the study combined two theories to suggest drivers of organic food purchase intention and behaviour, mainly psychological drivers were suggested. In addition to this limited focus, the study does not consider the resultant pleasure or satisfaction that consumers may get from purchasing and consuming a more natural and environmentally friendly food, which the Biophilia hypothesis theory suggests. More so, there are suggestions that external factors, such as marketing, economic, governmental and social factors can influence organic food purchase. The explanatory powers of some of these factors (e.g., social factors) have either not been empirically tested, or the studies of their impact are fragmented and lack integration. The fragmented studies in some cases provide contradictory findings. Studies show that when consumers purchase green products and are satisfied with their decision, their overall image of the products improves and leads to positive outcomes, such as positive word of mouth communication, repurchase intentions and the willingness to pay a high price iii associated with green products. Whether these will be the case for organic food in South Africa is one of the objectives of this study.To answer this question, and for better comprehension of the drivers of organic food purchase and post-purchase outcomes, ideas from the Biophilia Theory, Aertsens et al.’s (2009) adapted TPB and Yiridoe et al.’s (2005) model that suggests external drivers are integrated into a conceptual model in this study. This is to understand the impact of marketing, psychological and social factors on organic food purchase decision, satisfaction and three post-purchase outcomes (word of mouth communication, repurchase intentions and willingness to pay price premium). A survey of 611 South African organic food consumers in the cultural and socio-economically rich and diverse Gauteng province of South Africa, the proposed conceptual model with fourteen hypotheses (H1 – H14) were quantitatively tested using Partial Least Square (PLS) structural equation modelling.The results revealed that market factors (i.e., price, distribution and communication), even though they made no significant impact, explained 04% of organic food purchase decision. With an explanatory power of 53%, the psychological factors (perception of product attributes, environmental attitude, behavioural beliefs, perceived value and overall image) were found to havestrong impact on the purchase decision. Out of these psychological factors, only environmental attitude did not make a significant impact. Social factors explained 16% of organic food purchase decision, with family influence making a significant impact. While the purchase decision explained 66% of organic food consumption satisfaction, the satisfaction in turn had an explanatory power of 74%, 63% and 62% of repurchase intention, word of mouth and willingness to pay a price premium respectively. This study’s tested conceptual model of organic food purchase decision, satisfaction and postpurchase outcomes in an economically and socio-culturally diverse country such as South Africa, makes important theoretical and practical contributions. For example, it provides a comprehensive conceptual model, which can be used to understand other green consumption behaviour, not only in South Africa, but in other countries. It also reveals that marketers are ineffective in promoting, distributing and pricing organic food products. Further studies should be conducted in other South African provinces and should consider product related, economic and governmental factors helping and hindering organic food purchase and consumption.Item Factors that influence young consumer's acceptance of electronic cars in South Africa(2017) Sefora, Ramaano IsaacThe purpose of the study was to investigate the factors that influence young consumer’s acceptance of electronic cars in South Africa. A modified technology acceptance model was adopted in order to develop the research conceptual model that was used to test hypothesised relationships. The research examined the effect that perceived usefulness has on perceived trust and value. Further the relationship that potentially existed between perceived value and trust was also assessed. Lastly the effect of perceived trust, value and risk on the intention to potentially use electric cars was examined. The study was quantitative in nature whereby 380 surveys were self-administered to willing participants selected through probability sampling at the University of the Witwatersrand. To analyse research data structural equation modeling approach was adopted whereby AMOS 23 and SPSS 23 were utilised. A key finding of the study revealed that the perceived usefulness of electric cars was positively related to its perceived value and perceived trust. However it was important to note that the influence that the perceived usefulness had on perceived value was significantly greatly than that of perceived trust. The main implication of this finding was that potential customers of electric car were of the notion that if they were to purchase the vehicle it would be based more on the potential value and less on their trust. The overall finding of the study was that all proposed hypotheses were supported whereby it was clearly indicated that the youths sample had favourable attitudes towards the use of electric cars. This TAM was indeed a model that could be used to predict users’ acceptance of a new technology. The chief contribution of this study was introducing a unique approach through a modified TAM to assess youth’s potential acceptance of electronic cars.Item Factors Influencing the purchase intention of Smart wearable technology(2017) Nkonko, Evelyne KasongoThe consumer market of Smart wearable technology has shown a massive growth, therefore convincing that Smart wearable technology will be the next great thing, with market analysts forecasting its market to be worth over $30 billion by 2020. However this belief is mainly driven by major new technology manufacturers to produce Smart wearable devices that commoditise cellphones, tablets, and portable computers to influence consumer purchase intention. Consumers purchase intention is crucial for every business survival, therefore cannot be overemphasised. With the increasing number of Smart wearable technology brands on the electronics market, South African consumers have to make a choice on which brands to purchase. This study examines the factors influencing the purchase intention of Smart wearable technology in South Africa, with a special focus on product quality, design, price, and consumer attitude. From the academic side, the study makes a significant contribution by exploring the impact of product price and consumer attitude on consumer purchase intention. As a result, manufacturers in the wearable technology industry may apply this study information to develop proper strategies that will help influence more people to purchase wearable devices and ensure Smart wearable technology market growth. The study data were collected through the aid of a self-administered hardcopy questionnaire, which was circulated by the researcher in the University of the Witwatersrand Johannesburg. The research findings show that both consumer attitude and product price have a significant positive effect on the intention to purchase Smart wearable devices. Nevertheless, to be more precise, the effect of consumer’s attitude on purchase intention goes through the positive effect of a product design on consumer’s attitude. Both product quality and price are found to extend the effect of positivity of consumer’s attitude toward the product or brand, and the price tag of the product. These scenarios are fully supported in hypotheses one, two, and three. Although both quality and design positively influence product price, Product design is found to have an enlarging effect on product price. Generally, it can be stated that the design of a product successfully influence the price set for product.Item The impact of WI-FI as a complementary service on customers' likelihood to return and purchase intentions in South African townships(2016) Kovar, JulianOnline activity through the Internet and mobile phones has dramatically increased over the last five years in South Africa (Nyirenda-Jere & Tesfaye , 2015). Lower costs for Internet and mobile phones are the main reasons for more and more people being connected (Price Waterhouse Cooper South Africa, 2012). But discrepancies exist, namely between the people who are connected and those who are not. This discrepancy is referred to as the digital divide and contributing factors towards it include income, education, age and other factors which were discussed in this paper (Nievhaves, Gorbacheva & Plattfaut, 2012). Free Wi-Fi is one of the solutions to bridge the digital divide to a certain extent and it is also a very valuable tool to marketers and business owners. This research study was aimed at understanding the impact of free Wi-Fi on consumers’ purchase intentions and likelihood to return in townships in South Africa. People in townships are an important group to analyse, because of the millions of inhabitants. Infrastructure in terms of the Internet is not as good as the infrastructure standards in suburbs or in the city. The purpose of the study was to find out the impact of free Wi-Fi on the likelihood of customers to return and their likelihood to purchase something at a location where free Wi-Fi is offered. For the purpose of this research a quantitative approach was used to investigate the impact of free Wi-Fi and factors leading to return and intention to conduct purchases. Non-probability sampling was used in the form of convenience sampling. A self-administered questionnaire was developed to investigate behaviour. Four hundred questionnaires were distributed to people living in Soweto. The analysis indicated that the four access variables, namely - material, mental, usage and skills access - have an influence on the intention to use free Wi-Fi which, in turn, has an influence on the likelihood to return or purchase something. Implications for marketers and businesses is: the marketers have to consider the digital divide when marketing to consumers in South Africa and that offering free Wi-Fi at a commercial place has positive implications for both customers and businesses.Item The influencers of consumption frequency intention in the sparkling soft drinks category amongst South African youth(2016) Phiri, Elsie MorwesiBuilding, maintaining and measuring consumption frequency over a specific period of time has become the primary driver of success for nonalcoholic beverage organisations; however, there is limited research on youth consumption frequency within South Africa. Using the Theory of Planned Behaviour, the study aimed to investigate the impact of brand association, flavour variety, peer influence and perceived value on consumption frequency intention in the sparkling soft drink (SSD) category amongst youth in South Africa. A quantitative research design was followed and data collected from 300 research participants aged between 16 and 24 years in Soweto, Gauteng Province in South Africa. The collected data was analyzed using SPSS 22 and AMOS 21 statistical packages for structural equation modelling. All four hypotheses are supported, with results indicating a positive relationship between brand association, flavour variety, peer influence, perceived value and consumption frequency intention. Peer influence and perceived value have a significantly stronger influence on consumption frequency intention. The results also indicate that flavour variety “ambiguous SSD flavour names” scored higher amongst 16 to 18 years olds. Ambiguous flavour naming strategies have proven to be successful in other beverage categories. Quantity-frequency (QF), a consumption frequency measurement instrument has been used, with consumption skewed towards “sharing” with friends or family. This study contributes significant new knowledge to the existing body of marketing literature in Africa and consumer behaviour in emerging markets. This study has implications for practitioners, academicians and public policy makers.Item Gaps in governance of process-oriented credence attributes: the South African free-range dairy dilemma(2016) Serebro, DanielleThis study investigates the nature of labelling and regulation in South African free-range dairy production. It aims to reveal the complexities of designing and implementing regulation on process characteristics and policy’s failure to address the heterogeneous needs of consumers and producers. In parallel, the tensions that arise in the policy-production interaction are considered. This research addresses a gap in the theoretical and industry literature regarding understanding and explaining labelling, certification and regulation of credence attributes, such as animal welfare, within food systems. It provides interesting and important insight into regulation’s role in developing alternative production structures and niche markets as a response to variety in consumers’ needs and tastes. It is therefore relevant more broadly for understanding drivers for and governance of other niche production structures such as organic, fair-trade and religious or cultural influences.Item The effect of multi-sensory branding on purchase intention at coffee shops in South Africa(2016) Anvar, MuntahaIn the retail sphere of coffee shops, the increase in competition has led retailers to revert to alternative methods of capturing the attention of customers. By means of multi-sensory branding, retailers aim to stimulate consumers‟ emotions towards a brand, which ultimately influences buying behaviour. Although the success of multi-sensory branding is still relatively low, there seems to be an increased awareness of involving the five senses into the retail sphere. Its successful implementation can help marketers benefit financially through increased sales, profits and market share. The purpose of the present study is therefore to fill this void by exploring the effect of multi-sensory branding on purchase intention at coffee shops in Johannesburg. For the purpose of this study, the five senses (sight, touch, taste, smell and sound) are the predictor variables, with customer satisfaction as the mediating variable, and purchase intention as the outcome variable. Despite a number of studies that have been conducted in this field, little research has focused on the South African coffee shop industry, which is gaining increased attraction from global investors. This study follows a quantitative approach in which 400 surveys were distributed among male and female students at University of the Witwatersrand to explore the influence of multi-sensory branding on purchase intention at coffee shops. Although the findings indicate that all six proposed hypotheses are supported, the strongest relationships were found to be between customer satisfaction and sound, taste, and smell respectively. Thus indicating that sound, taste and smell have the most significant influence on customer satisfaction. Likewise, customer satisfaction has a significant influence on purchase intention. The contribution of this paper is firstly, to expand the contextual knowledge multi-sensory branding and its factors that are used to influence consumer purchase intentions. Secondly, it will add to existing literature on multi-sensory branding. Theoretically, it also contributes to the consumer behaviour literature in marketing and retail branding. Lastly, the investigation completed on the influences of purchase intentions, provides marketing practitioners with a proper understanding of techniques and strategies that can be employed to influence buying behaviour through manipulation of multiple sensory cues.