Masters Degrees (Business Management)

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Browsing Masters Degrees (Business Management) by browse.metadata.advisor "Du Preez, Ronel"

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    Drinking behaviour, alcohol outcome expectancies, and drinking motives of South African university students : a consumer behaviour perspective
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2015-12) Lategan, Benjamin Wilhelm; Pentz, Chris; Du Preez, Ronel; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences. Dept of Business Management.
    ENGLISH SUMMARY: The world has a serious alcohol problem, with an estimated 5.9% of global deaths and 5.1% of the global burden of disease attributable to alcohol. Globally, alcohol is responsible for more deaths than HIV/AIDS, violence or tuberculosis, and has been identified as a serious health problem and priority, especially in middle-income countries such as South Africa. In fact, in South Africa the problem is even more severe, with an estimated 7.0% of all deaths and 7.1% of the burden of disease attributable to alcohol. The problematic drinking behaviour in South Africa is concentrated among young adults who are characterised by high levels of binge, hazardous, and harmful drinking patterns. University students, a minority group of young adults, are characterised by even higher levels of alcohol consumption than their non-student peers, classifying them as a high risk group of drinkers. Thus, the drinking behaviour of South African university students is of great concern to the public health community, academic community as well as corporate members of the alcohol industry. However, very little is known about their drinking behaviour. It was therefore the purpose of this study to provide a better understanding of the drinking behaviour of university students in South Africa by investigating the most proximal variables that influence drinking behaviour. To address this purpose, the alcohol outcome expectancies, drinking motives, drinking behaviour and various socio-demographic indicators of a group of Stellenbosch University students were investigated. The results suggest that a large proportion of university students engage in harmful and hazardous drinking behaviour coupled with a high tendency to engage in binge drinking behaviour. Concerning alcohol outcome expectancies, positive relationships were observed between increased sexual interest and drinking behaviour, tension reduction and drinking behaviour as well as between negative consequences and drinking behaviour. Regarding drinking motives, positive relationships were observed between both social motives and drinking behaviour as well as between enhancement motives and drinking behaviour. Thus, university students in this study predominantly drink to achieve social goals such as to experience heightened levels of enjoyment of social gatherings (i.e. social motives) and to increase or maintain positive affective states, such as feelings of excitement or joy (i.e. enhancement motives). It was also observed that social and enhancement motives mediate the relationship between positive alcohol outcome expectancies and drinking behaviour. More specifically, the effect of increased social confidence on drinking behaviour is fully mediated through social and enhancement motives. The influence of both increased sexual interest and tension reduction on drinking behaviour is also partially mediated through both social and enhancement motives. In light of the present findings, it is recommended that alcohol expectancies and drinking motives should be incorporated into alcohol abuse prevention and education campaigns targeted at university students. It is furthermore recommended that the public health community combine existing alcohol abuse prevention and education campaigns with a more youth-focused approach which endorses moderate alcohol consumption among university students while discouraging excessive consumption through attitude and behavioural change techniques. More specifically, attention should be directed at cultivating a drinking culture among university students focused on moderate consumption, the taste of alcohol, and enjoying the company of others, while simultaneously discouraging excessive consumption.
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    Evoked nostalgia, personal continuity and behavioural outcomes: a study of Generation X and Y consumers in a South African context
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2021-12) Heyns, Grethe; Pentz, Christian Donald; Du Preez, Ronel; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences. Dept. of Business Management.
    ENGLISH SUMMARY : Evoked nostalgia and nostalgic marketing appeals have been found to have significant and lasting effects on consumer behaviour and, more specifically, consumer decision-making and consumer-brand relationships. However, the phenomenon of evoked nostalgia and research on the relationship thereof with important behavioural outcomes for brands, such as brand loyalty, purchase intention and active consumer engagement in a South African context are limited. Thus, this study investigated the relationship between evoked nostalgia and these behavioural outcomes, as well as sensory and affective brand experiences as potential antecedents of these relationships in the context of the Disney brand and its Disney+ brand extension. Brand attitude and personal continuity as potential mediators of these relationships were also investigated. A theoretical model was constructed, drawing on the theories of planned behaviour, reasoned action and self-identity to address the primary objective of the study. A literature study on the theoretical model constructs was conducted, which resulted in the development of a nostalgic brand evaluation instrument with ten indicators. Disney, and its Disney+ brand extension, were identified as the appropriate choice of brand for the empirical work as another result of the literature study. A self-administered online questionnaire on the Qualtrics platform was used in surveying South African Generation X and Y consumers. Descriptive and inferential analyses by way of Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) and multi-group analysis were conducted on the realised sample of 264 respondents. Statistically significant positive relationships between evoked nostalgia and its potential antecedents, namely sensory and affective brand experience, respectively, for both the Generation X and Y samples were confirmed. Further empirical results that were confirmed include statistically significant positive relationships between evoked nostalgia and the two mediating variables in the research model, that is, brand attitude and personal continuity, for both generational samples. Moreover, statistically significant positive relationships for both samples were confirmed between brand attitude and brand loyalty, brand loyalty and purchase intention, purchase intention and active consumer engagement, as well as between brand loyalty and active consumer engagement. Nostalgic marketing strategies characterised by sensory and affective appeals are recommended for both generational audiences. It is suggested that marketers prioritise the development of such strategies in the context of memorable and annual events in South Africa, such as holidays with family, for example Christmas, that could also contribute to an increased sense of personal continuity, especially for Generation X consumers. The use of music and visual elements in nostalgic marketing strategies to build loyalty towards Disney+, for Generation Y consumers specifically, is also recommended. Differences in the sizes of the study’s samples, as well as the lack of taking respondents’ cultural and societal background differences into account contributed to the study’s limitations. Future research opportunities could include the replication of the research in the context of a utilitarian product category compared to a hedonic product category. Moreover, the research could be comparatively replicated amongst South African consumer groups representing different cultural and societal backgrounds.
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    Perceived risk barriers to online shopping : experiences of technologically enabled generation y consumers
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2018-03) Swiegers, Liezel; Pentz, Chris; Du Preez, Ronel; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences. Dept. of Business Management.
    ENGLISH SUMMARY : Online shopping is progressively becoming popular worldwide however, in South Africa it continues to experience slower growth rates. This is contrary to the expected uptake of online shopping by a generation who grew up with Internet and have access to Internet technologies on a daily basis. The current study aims to contribute to the understanding of firstly, online consumer behaviour, secondly, the slow growth of online shopping in South Africa and thirdly, the risk perception of a significant market segment in South Africa. The focus of the study was therefore, to investigate the online purchasing behaviour of technologically enabled South African Generation Y consumers, with the primary objective of identifying perceived risk barriers towards online shopping. As a secondary objective, the study also investigated the technology usage profile of Generation Y respondents to identify how, when and why younger consumers in South Africa access the Internet, as well as their online shopping behaviour. Because previous research highlighted the importance of product type when shopping online, perceived risk was measured for the context of high involvement products (clothing), as well as low involvement products (books). Consideration was also given to experienced and inexperienced online consumers and therefore, online purchase and repurchase intent. The study draws from theories such as the Technology Acceptance Model and Theory of Perceived Risk and used Structural equation modelling (SEM) to test relationships between the dimensions of perceived risk and online purchase and repurchase intent. It was found that perceived psychological and perceived social risk have a significant effect on the repurchase intent of experienced online consumers, for the clothing and books. In addition, perceived financial and perceived social risk were found to significantly affect online purchase intent of inexperienced online consumers, for the context of clothing and books. From the findings, managerial implications were formulated and suggestions were made for online retailers and marketers to enhance their business strategies. As a result of limitations that exist in the current study, suggestions for future research are also proposed.
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    The relationship between self-concept, self-efficacy, emotional state, weight perception and food choice : implications for marketers based on a Generation Y sample
    (Stellenbosch : University of Stellenbosch, 2011-03) Janse van Rensburg, Louise; Terblanche-Smit, Marlize; Du Preez, Ronel; University of Stellenbosch. Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences. Dept. of Business Management.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Numerous individuals daily partake in injurious consumption, such as excessive or unhealthy food choices. Individuals’ incorrect food choices can have a negative effect on their weight, health and general quality of life. Marketers could and should play a pivotal role in influencing consumers’ food choices, which will ultimately contribute to healthier individuals and societies as a whole. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships between self-concept and food choice, self-efficacy and food choice, emotional states and food choice, and weight perception and food choice, and to highlight implications for marketers based on these findings. These relationships were investigated in a Generation Y sample. A sample of 383 college-aged1 students of Generation Y completed a self-administered questionnaire that was designed based on previous studies. Respondents’ weight perception was also investigated as many students from Generation Y try to change their weight perceptions through their food choices. Respondents’ food choice was compared to the recommended food choice of the South African Department of Health (Department of Health, 2009). Based on this comparison, it was proposed that marketers of food products should promote a decrease in respondents’ meat consumption and an increase in milk, fruit, vegetable and starch consumption. Small yet significant relationships between respondents’ specific food choices and self-concept, self-efficacy, emotional states and weight perception were found. Marketers can incorporate these relationships into their advertising campaigns and brand slogans in order to positively influence Generation Y to make healthier food choices. Another significant finding was that male respondents indicated a higher ideal weight than their actual weight, while female respondents indicated a lower ideal weight than their actual weight. A relationship was also found between self-concept and weight perception for both men and women from Generation Y. The significance of this study lies in the expansion of knowledge regarding the food choice behaviour of a Generation Y sample and the recommendations made to marketers based on relationships found between food choice and the constructs at hand. These recommendations can ultimately improve consumers’ food choice.