Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Consumer stereotypes'

The retail sector spends millions of dollars each year advertising to consumers. This is a considerable investment for companies seeking effective ways to inform and persuade the consumer. Consequently, retailers need to develop creative message strategies and tactics that will positively affect consumer attitudes. One particular tactic available to retailers is the use of a spokesperson in the advertisement. Salespersons are used in numerous advertisements and can provide key benefits to an advertiser. However, to maximize these benefits, retailers need to carefully select the spokesperson that will be most effective for their store and product. This purpose of this research is to examine the characteristics that influence consumers' perceptions of print advertisements that include a spokesperson in the advertisement. Most of the past literature concerning spokespersons has concentrated on the consumer perspective of meeting and interacting with a living, breathing person. This research seeks to use the past research on salespeople to examine the spokesperson as a cue in a print advertisement. In this perspective, the consumer views the spokesperson from a visual-only perspective. The proposed experiment will utilize print advertisements from two retail businesses. More specifically the study will investigate how consumers react if the individual viewed in the advertisement is typical (matches with their preconceived stereotype) or if the salesperson is atypical (does not match with their preconceived stereotype). This research also examines how men and women are viewed differently in the spokesperson role and how changes in physical appearance may impact consumers' perceptions. The research also studies the influence of spokesperson stereotypes on consumers' cognitive responses.

Background: The environmental changes leave the younger generation (Gen Z) to worry about their future, which means implementing changes in their consumption behavior. With global meat consumption drastically increasing, Gen Z has the potential to frame their food consumption patterns for the future. Existing research lacks an understanding of the young consumer's motives for their meat consumption and how marketing can reach the young consumers. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explore the motives of Gen Z's sustainable consumption, and more precisely, meat consumption, and what implications their perceptions can have on the marketing of meat substitutes.  Method: This is an exploratory qualitative study, where sixteen semi-structured, in-depth interviews of participants from Gen Z were held and analyzed inductively. The collected data was analyzed through the Gioia method to find patterns and further develop a theory.  Conclusion: The empirical findings suggest that awareness is the key driver for women of Gen Z to change their consumption patterns. However, the same awareness is not affecting the male participants to the same extent. Moreover, the findings suggest that the best approach to reach the young consumers is through digital channels and through neutralizing the concept of avoiding meat. This study contributes to research regarding the consumption patterns of Gen Z and provides insight into a crucial segment of the modern market. Furthermore, suggestions are provided for future research.

Background and Purpose: The process of rebranding requires a lot of consideration and analysis in order to be successful. In 2020, a rebranding movement of stereotypical brands began in the USA, and the effects also transpired to the Nordics, leading to multiple brands in the food industry initiating a rapid rebranding process. However, due to its complex nature and the balancing act between different stakeholders, it raised the question whether rebranding was necessary from a business perspective. The purpose of this study is to investigate how consumers perceive the rebranding's of stereotypical brands, whether they regard it as a necessary move for the companies, and how it affected brand equity.   Method: In order to successfully achieve our purpose, a qualitative research design was implemented through an interpretivist and exploratory research design. Data collection was conducted through ten semi-structured interviews and analyzed through a thematic analysis enabling us to expand a presented framework.   Conclusion: Our research identified the rebranding of stereotypical brands as a highly complex process, where the consumers perceive rebranding in various ways and where brand equity is impacted in multiple ways. Rebranding affects brand awareness, brand associations and brand loyalty. In addition, we identified that on many occasions, the negative effects of rebranding on brand equity are stronger than the positive effects. We also observed that although acknowledging the potential issues with stereotypical brands, consumers might not care about it in the end. Overall, we argue that listening to one’s own consumers and extensively analyzing the pros and cons of rebranding is the optimal approach for companies to successfully rebrand.

Syftet med uppsatsen är att undersöka de attityder som svenska och finländska konsumenter har beträffande ursprungslandsinformation, i synnerhet bilden av PIIGS-länderna. Teorierna i uppsatsen utgår ifrån Country of origin och dess effekter samt från tidigare forskning.Uppsatsen har en kvantitativ ansats där en enkätundersökning och statistiska beräkningar utförts. Slutsatserna i denna uppsats är att de svenska och finländska konsumenterna generellt inte tar hänsyn till ursprungslandsinformation. De påvisar även negativa attityder gentemotPIIGS-länderna gällande tillförlitlighet och produktkvalité i jämförelse med deras hemländer.
The purpose of this paper is to examine the attitudes that Swedish and Finnish consumers have regarding Country of origin information, in particular the image of the PIIGS countries.The theories in this essay are based on Country of origin and its effects as well as from previous conducted research. The essay has a quantitative approach in which a questionnaire and statistical calculations have been performed. The conclusions of this paper are that the Swedish and Finnish consumers generally do not take Country of origin information into account.They also show negative attitudes towards the PIIGS countries regarding reliability and product quality in comparison to their home countries.

The purpose of this thesis is to explore how the country image influences Swedish brands in their promotion strategy. The thesis will explore what underlying factors come to influence the country of origin effect in the brands promotion and which cues are used when communicating their origin with consumers. To address the purpose of the thesis, the following question will be answered: How does the country of origin influence Swedish brands in their promotion strategy?In regard to the research question and purpose, the theoretical framework includes previous studies related to different dimensions of country of origin and the effect it has on consumer affinity, different stereotypes regarding country image as well as different COO-strategies. To answer the research question, this thesis contains a qualitative research approach, with an inductive method and a multiple case study design. We interviewed 3 companies, within 3 different product categories which gave us valuable insights regarding how the Swedishness is communicated to consumers and how the Swedish country image is perceived internationally on different product categories. An analysis was made with the empirical findings together with the theoretical framework, with comparisons between the companies as well as pointing out differences and similarities between the case companies. The overall findings from this thesis is that Sweden holds a positive image internationally and that it is beneficial for companies to promote their Swedishness. The different companies also emphasize different cues in their promotion, to get a match between product category and country image, hence use the Swedishness in different ways.

As the retail apocalypse is increasing, it is common to face stores without consumers in citycenters. E-commerce is one of the factors that has had a negative impact on physical stores,both in city centers and in shopping malls. It has been easier for shopping malls than forcity centers to fight the increased competition.The purpose of this thesis was to explore who the typical shopping mall consumer was andif this consumer felt excluded from city centers. Four concepts were investigated; consumerstereotype, place image, shopping experience and place attractiveness. A qualitative,method and an exploratory approach were applied, and the data was collected through anonline focus group and interviews.The findings showed that the perceived typical shopping mall consumer had seven traits;social, fun, curious, open, flexible, time thrifty, calm and patient, and four characteristics;young, families with children, females and formal styles/ fashion oriented. Furthermore,this consumer felt excluded as a shopper because of the limited supply and divided citycenter.The implication of this study was to understand who the typical shopping mall consumeris and, if and why he/she felt excluded. Hence, this can provide retailers in city centers withunderstanding of what factors affect the perceived typical shopping mall consumer’s choiceand thus will enable them to make their stores more welcoming also to the typical shoppingmall customer.The original value of this study is an understanding of the perceived typical shopping mallconsumer and if this consumer feels excluded from city centers, which has previously notbeen explored.

Esta dissertação consiste em um estudo aos profissionais da área de têxtil, moda e comunicação utilizado para entender como se dá a relação entre mídia, formação do sujeito social e consumidor, assim como os fatores principais para que o crescimento dos lucros seja otimizado.Desta forma, foi realizada uma abordagem a partir de análise bibliográfica, seleção e estudo aprofundado do conteúdo escrito e imagético da revista Vogue Kids, assim como aplicações de questionários às leitoras da revista
This project consists in a dissertation to professionals in textile, fashion and communication used to understand how is the relationship among media, formation of the social and consumer, as well as the main factors for the growth of profits be optimized. So, was made an approach from literature review, selection and in-depth study of the written content and imagery of Vogue Kids, as well as application of questionnaires to readers of the magazine

The study aimed to explore and describe consumers’ reliance on brands, specifically the Country of Origin (COO) of brands as a heuristic, i.e. the perceived quality of a selected category of interior merchandise and to subsequently explain how COO influences consumers’ quality perceptions and product choices. The study focussed on major household appliances, due to the prominence of brand names and the COO on these products. In other interior merchandise product categories such as furniture and textile products, the brand name and COO is not necessarily that prominent or visible. A survey was conducted in the Tshwane metropolitan, which is a wealthy urban area in South Africa and a key role player in the economic sector. The study was conducted in the context of an emerging economy, where international brands have penetrated the market and made a wider range of products and brands available to the consumer. The data was collected by using convenience sampling methods supplemented by snowball sampling. It involved the self-completion of a structured questionnaire by 450 willing respondents who fit the prerequisite for the study, i.e. males and females, 25 years and older who belong to the middle to upper socio-economic group (earn R5000 or more per month) and who have an education level of grade 12 or higher, regardless of population group. Data analysis involved descriptive statistics, as well as exploratory factor analysis, specifically Principal Axis Factoring, using an Oblimin rotation with Kaiser Normalization to determine the underlying factors associated with the quality indicated by brand names and the associations consumers make of brand names and specific product characteristics. Calculations of means, standard deviations, Cronbach’s Alpha, Anova, t-tests and post hoc Sheffe’s tests were calculated where significant differences between demographics were investigated for further interpretation. The study concluded that consumers are relatively brand conscious, men more so than women and that they are brand familiar in terms of various major household appliance brands. Quality as the most important branded product meaning were confirmed, as well as the use of brands as an indicator of performance and functional product attributes, i.e. value for money. Brands are also frequently used, especially by females, as an indicator of the product’s environmental and ethical compliances, but less so to infer its status implications. The study did however confirm younger consumers use brand names to a greater extent to infer social status than older consumers. It also revealed that the Black and other population group use brand names as an indication of status characteristics significantly more than White consumers. Consumers seem to have little knowledge of the COO of brands; they do however have strong stereotypes of Western and Eastern countries as well as South Africa, where Western countries enjoy more positive stereotypes than the others. These stereotypes also seem to strongly influence their overall quality perceptions of major household appliances, especially in terms of durability, performance and prestige. The COO of a brand can therefore have implications for its brand equity and should be addressed in brand management and marketing initiatives.
Dissertation (MConsumer Science)--University of Pretoria, 2014.
tm2015
Consumer Science
MConsumer Science
Unrestricted

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This research is within the scope of the communication field and investigates the production strategies of the discourse of difference in the advertising communication from the production point of view. The research issue is how the foreign body stereotype is used as strategy of advertising discourse production representing the difference in the sphere of consumption, and its main purpose is analyzes the use of the foreign body stereotype as rhetorical discursive strategy in the Brazilian advertising communication in the 21st century. Considering the contemporary consumer society setting, the concepts of multiculturalism, transculturality, social hybridism, miscegenation, and crystallization of cultural homogenization are part of the theoretical reference upon which the reflection is based. The bibliographical research performed collected samples from the Brazilian advertising from the first decade of the 21st century, printed on Revista Veja, using stereotyped foreign body as rhetorical-discursive resource of the difference and analyzed its interdiscursive relations, subject relations and action on the formation of the discursive meaning, under the French Discourse Analysis approach. The results reached show that stereotypes as discursive strategy result is notably metaphorical discursive flows, with the transference of attributes as the most prominent discursive object and cooperating for the construction of meaning in a predominantly authoritarian way according to the discourse typology proposed by Orlandi. Thus, stereotypes represent a safety zone as construction strategy of the discourse of difference in the contemporary Brazilian advertising communication.
A presente pesquisa enquadra-se no campo da comunicação e investiga as estratégias de produção do discurso da diferença na comunicação publicitária a partir da perspectiva da produção. Como o estereótipo do corpo estrangeiro é usado como estratégia de produção do discurso publicitário que representa a diferença na esfera do consumo, constitui-se o problema de pesquisa que tem como objetivo principal analisar o uso do estereótipo de corpo estrangeiro como estratégia retórico-discursiva na comunicação publicitária brasileira no século XXI. Considerando o cenário da sociedade de consumo contemporânea, os conceitos de multiculturalismo, transculturalidade, hibridismo social, miscigenação racial e cristalização da homogeneização cultural são parte do referencial teórico que fundamenta a reflexão desenvolvida. A pesquisa documental realizada coletou amostras da publicidade brasileira na primeira década do século XXI, veiculada na Revista Veja, que usam o corpo estrangeiro estereotipado como recurso retórico-discursivo da diferença e analisou suas relações interdiscursivas, suas relações de sujeito e sua ação sobre a formação dos sentidos discursivos, sob a ótica da Análise do Discurso de Linha Francesa. Os resultados alcançados revelam que os estereótipos como estratégia discursiva resultam em fluxos discursivos eminentemente metafóricos, que têm a transferência de atributos como objeto discursivo mais proeminente e que cooperam para a construção de sentidos de modo predominantemente autoritário conforme a tipologia do funcionamento do discurso proposta por Orlandi. Deste modo, os estereótipos representam uma zona de segurança como estratégia de construção do discurso da diferença na comunicação publicitária brasileira contemporânea.

Background: For decades, gender representation in advertising has occupied the attention of researchers, where especially advertising that depicts women sexually has been well examined. However, relatively few research works have investigated the sexualization and objectification of men in advertising, although it is starting to change. Research Purpose: The purpose of this research is to analyze Swedish male's perspectives of male representations in fashion advertising, specifically, sexualized, and objectified male representations and its effects on brand image. Methodology: For this study, a qualitative research method with a deductive approach was applied. The data collection was conducted through semi-structured interviews, using a topic guide based on the proposed analytical framework by Edell & Burke. 17 stimulus in the form of advertisements were chosen from internationally well-known brands as well as Swedish brands within the time frame of the last ten years, from 2013-2019. 17 semi-structured, in-depth interviews with Swedish male adults between the ages of 25-57 were conducted. Findings: The findings, in relation to RQ1, showed that the aspects emphasized by Swedish male adults in discussing sexually objectifying images of men in advertising are: “lack of reality”, “body focus and lack of purpose”, “lack of new-thinking” and “lack of inclusion and self-identity with brands”. The findings, in relation to RQ2 showed that the men’s negative feelings, judgements, beliefs and attitudes about and towards most of the brands and advertisements resulted in a negative or ambivalent brand image. An exception to this was the men’s positive feelings, judgements, beliefs and attitudes towards the American Eagle and Dressman which resulted in mostly a positive brand image. Conclusion: In conclusion, the findings of this thesis confirms firstly that the aspects emphasized by Swedish male adults in discussing sexually objectifying images of men in advertising are: “lack of of reality”, “body focus and lack of purpose”, “lack of new thinking” and “lack of inclusion and self-identity with brands”. Secondly, Swedish men’s attitudes towards sexually and objectified males in fashion advertisements resulted in a positive, negative, or alternatively, an ambivalent brand image being created, depending on the context the brand image was analyzed from. Theoretical Contributions: This thesis contributes in several ways theoretically to literature on the topic of advertising, gender stereotyping and sexualizatiom in relation to the advertising of males. Firstly, it highlights a modern phenomena which has been overlooked in previous research. Secondly, it contributes to new areas of consumer attitudes, in this case Swedish male adults, which has not previously been thoroughly investigated. Lastly, this thesis contributes with updated, descriptive as well as specific information on the phenomena and ultimately creating and generating a better understanding of the phenomena: sexualized and objectified men in fashion advertising and the effects it has on brand image.

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The present research aimed to investigate social representation of afro-descendant individuals on printed pieces of advertisements along the timeframe comprised between 1968 through 2006. The main objective focused on research the way printed pieces of advertisements have been portraying afro-descendant individuals in order to identify possible progresses, setbacks or stabilization of representation on what regards the social roles played by them on this kind of media. On what concerns methodological procedures, the research has made use of content analysis technique on 1,279 pieces of advertisements out from 76 issues of six Brazilian large circulation magazines (Veja, O Cruzeiro, Exame, Pequenas Empresas Grandes Negócios, Cláudia and Nova) which, on their turn, comprise three categories of publications (general interest, business & economy and feminine). Additionally, it has also been used qualitative analysis on two automobile pieces of advertisements that contain at least one afro-descendant character on it. The main results revealed by the present research indicate that along the timeframe of 38 years, the relative frequency of afro-descendant individuals portrayed on pieces of advertisements has reached the average value of 4.20%. However, when assessed by periods within the timeframe (1968-1969; 1979-1988; 1989-1991 and 2006) it is possible to notice a general trend of increasing participation, especially on the last 10 ~ 12 years, reaching the relative frequency of 7.18% in 2006. On the other hand, besides the relative frequency lower than 10%, what demonstrate a significant level of social invisibility, on what regards their social representation it is still possible to notice the existence of a large gap between their diversified and increasing social participation and the way they are usually portrayed on pieces of advertisements.
Esta pesquisa propôs-se a investigar as representações sociais de indivíduos afro-descendentes retratados em anúncios publicitários de revistas dentro do recorte temporal compreendido entre 1968 a 2006. O objetivo principal residiu em pesquisar de que forma os anúncios publicitários impressos em revistas têm retratado os indivíduos afro-descendentes, a fim de identificar possíveis progressos, retrocessos ou estabilização na forma de representações no que diz respeito aos papéis sociais desempenhados por eles neste contexto midiático. Em termos de procedimentos metodológicos, a pesquisa utilizou a técnica de Análise de Conteúdo (de caráter quantitativo) em 1.279 propagandas presentes em 76 exemplares de seis revistas de grande circulação nacional (Veja, O Cruzeiro, Exame, Pequenas Empresas Grandes Negócios, Cláudia e Nova), as quais, por sua vez, compreendem três categorias de publicações (interesse geral, economia & negócios e femininas). Adicionalmente, utilizou-se também o método de Análise Qualitativa em duas propagandas de automóveis que continham, pelo menos, um personagem afro-descendente em seu contexto. Os principais resultados revelados pela pesquisa indicaram que, ao longo do recorte temporal de 38 anos, a freqüência relativa de indivíduos afro-descendentes presentes em anúncios publicitários atingiu o nível médio de 4,20%. Contudo, quando analisado de forma subdividida em períodos dentro do recorte temporal (1968-1969; 1979-1988; 1989-1991 e 2006) é possível constatar tendência geral de incremento de participação, principalmente nos últimos 10 ~ 12 anos, atingindo a freqüência de 7,18% em 2006. Por outro lado, além da participação relativa inferior a 10%, que sinaliza certo grau de invisibilidade social, em termos de representações sociais ainda verifica-se a existência de grande hiato entre a diversificada e crescente inserção social dos indivíduos afro-descendentes e a forma como são comumente retratados em anúncios.

Since the cognitive ability to process information is limited, people often rely on stereotypes to help them make sense of their social environment. These knowledge structures allow people to utilize past experiences and social learning to infer the characteristics and behaviors of individual group members. Stereotypes provide their holders with scripts, specifying how to interact with members of specific social groups (e.g., what products to choose or avoid and how certain actions may be interpreted). Despite the prevalent use of stereotypes in daily life, little research in consumer behavior has examined the role of stereotypes from this perspective. I propose that consumers use stereotype knowledge to navigate interpersonal interactions through adjusting their self-evaluations and product choices to match the needs of the social situation. My research suggests that both the stereotypes applied to the self and those applied to others have implications for how consumers strategically leverage this socially shared knowledge when interacting with others.

In Essay 1, I examine how consumers use stereotypes to guide their self-evaluations when preparing to interact with someone who may stereotype them. Most interestingly, consumers are selective in what aspects of the stereotype they take on, depending on whether they have more interdependent or independent self-construals. In three studies, I demonstrate that individuals with more interdependent self-construals engage in selective self-stereotyping and that these shifts in self-evaluations are specifically tailored to the preferences and expectations of the interaction partner. However, I find that individuals with more independent self-construals engage in selective counter self-stereotyping in order to distance themselves from the constraints of the stereotype and also to rebuff the expectations of the interaction partner.

Essay 2 examines the various impression management concerns that arise when consumers choose products to share with others. I find that when the consumer has little information regarding his consumption partner, stereotypes related to the consumption partner's social group are used to guide product choices. Whether the chosen products are stereotype consistent or inconsistent depend on the consumer's social goals and the consumption partner's expectations. Across four studies, I take both the perspectives of the consumer making the choice and the consumption partner to examine the various strategies adopted for making joint consumption choices and also to evaluate the interpersonal consequences of these strategies.

Dissertation

碩士
僑光科技大學
企業管理研究所
103
Recently the manager of motel in Taiwan turned the table around by creative business investment and bold creativity operation. And this action took Motel business development a big leap. Based on the unique operation of motel business, most of consumers thought it highly related to infidelity. And, the media also supported the negative image of motel by mass broadcasting. Hence, the stereotype was constructed. This study based on an attempt to correct the negative stereotype in consumer mind. If the negative image could reverse, the motel business expanded the market and reached new consumer group. Therefore, this study focused on following three objects: 1. The possibility of correcting negative stereotype image of consumer that never been to motel. 2. The possibility of correcting negative stereotype image of consumer that have been to motel. 3. The requirements differences of software services and hardware equipments between negative stereotype image consumer and positive image consumer. The statistical analysis and hypothesis testing shows that attempting to changing the Negative Stereotypes of people who never go to Motel by the advertising and in-depth interviews is failed. The Motel may need to use some ways more efficient to achieve their purpose. However, the study shows that to the people who have ever go to the motel is worked. The study also found that the Motel only needs to make these existing 12 software and 12 hardware much better to improve the Negative Stereotype of the people who have ever go to the Motel.

ENGLISH SUMMARY The main objective of this thesis was to provide a complex perspective on the mutual relationship of gender and media in the age of post-modernity with a special attention to the stereotypical gender portrayal presented to us by the contemporary Czech advertising discourse. We chose to demonstrate this problematics through the methods of semiotic analysis on the analytical sample of 5 advertisements (consisting of selected TV commercials) representing various aspects of stereotypical gender images appearing in the today's Czech advertising contents. We then subjected these selected advertisements to the analytical methods in pursuit of finding the answers to the questions related to the media image of men, women and our society that the stereotypical gender depictions contained in these advertisements help to construct. Although many of these advertisements appear to be openly sexist or even misogynic on the first sight, using the mechanisms of semiotic analysis we came to a rather opposite conclusion proposing the analyzed contents are rather pro-feminine tending toward an extensive masculine critique. This result, however, is based mainly on the mechanisms of oppositional reading of the subjected texts. On the other hand, it is presumable that the "average media consumer" not having access...

碩士
國立臺北大學
金融與合作經營學系
101
In recent years, the early stereotypes of women is strongly affected by the Feminist upsurge. And the female consumer’s money attitude and consumer style changes significantly because of the upsurge. This study have similar cultural roots, but different cultural characteristics－Taipei, Taiwan and Shanghai, China women to be compared, discuss differences of the female gender stereotypes, money attitude and consumer style between Taipei and Shanghai women. We use BSRI of Bem(1974) and Lee Mei-Chih(1984), MAS compiled by Yamauchi and Templer(1982), and CSI of Sproles and Kendall(1986) to set up our questionnaire. Internet questionnaires distributed to 18-35-year-old female consumers in Taipei and Shanghai. The results showed that whether difference analysis, correlation analysis or regression analysis are illustrated female gender stereotypes influence the attitudes of money due to Taipei, Shanghai two regions differ, the results verify the different areas of women in gender stereotypes, money attitude and consumer style have differences, that is, women with different socio-cultural have different female gender stereotypes and different consumer style.

碩士
國立成功大學
資訊管理研究所
106
Stereotype is a kind of imagination from a cultural perspective. It is about overgeneralize personal attributes or characteristics of a group of people. Especially in the modern society, people are easier to be influenced by their culture and form stereotypical perceptions of other people groups. Online shopping has become one of the mainstream shopping methods. Consumers use online bidding to purchase products at a lower price. The information provided on online bidding platforms is mostly personal information of sellers, but the information of the bidders is usually just the account numbers. Buyers have different consumer behaviors and choose different bidding methods. In online bidding situations, if it is possible to know in advance the personal information of bidding competitors, it may result in more effective purchasing decisions. This study combines the Stimulus-Organism-Response (SOR) theory with the Engel-Kollat-Blackwell (EKB Model) model, using three different stereotypes as the experimental stimuli. In addition, fMRI tools were used to explore how stereotypes influence consumers' decision-making. This study observes the activity of brain regions when consumers are faced with different types of bidders, as well as the consumers’ buying decisions in the presence of perceived risks. This study aims to serve as a reference for online bidding platforms and to learn about Taiwanese consumers' stereotype of other consumer groups. This study found that consumers have significant activation on the left side of the prefrontal cortex when facing competitors of different races and genders, especially when they see white old females; consumers' amygdala is slightly activated when they see black people, especially black young males; the DLPFC was activated when consumers see older bidders, especially older white males. The results of the research show that stereotypes will influence the decision-making of consumers when they are bidding, and it is expected that this study can serve as a reference for future research.

碩士
中國科技大學
視覺傳達設計系
104
In 2008, there are only 500 Apps in Apple App Store, but up to 2015, there are more than 1.5 million Apps in it. Averagely, a person owns about 119 Apps. Recognizable App icon design is one of the cognitive factors affecting consumer’s selection, image more recognizable than naming. Thus, in this research, we would like to explore whether App users may classify an unknown App into some sort of category, which may result from color and image stereotype based on previous Appinvolvement. The objects of this research are(1) Investigate the current color design of Social Networking Apps.(2) Investigate the relationship of Gender and Social NetworkingApps icon color stereotype.(3) Investigate the relationship of Gender and Social Networking Apps icon color click intention.(4) Investigate the relationship of Social Networking Apps involvement and the icon color stereotype.(5) Investigate the relationship of image design and Social Networking Apps icon stereotype.(6) Investigate the relationship of image design and Social Networking Apps icon click intention.Nine basic colors and Image Elemennts(Chang, 1992) are adopted to testify in this research. First, a content analysis is used to explore the current trend of icon color and image design for Social Networking Apps. A questionnaire of survey is based on the results of content analysis. 427 samples are collected from website questionnaire. The data is analyzed by Pearson's chi-squared test, Logistic regression and Analysis of Variance,and the results shows:(1) Blue color is mostly used in Community Apps design;Red color is mostly used in Dating Apps design.(2) "Gender" and color stereotype (men like blue, women like red) no association. Just look at "color suitable for Community Apps icon design" has statistical significance. Men are more likely to recognize "Black" and Women are more likely to recognize "Red" and "Purple" as Community Apps icon design. "Gender" and color stereotype (men like blue, women like red) no association. Just look at "more eye-catching" has statistical significance. Men are more likely to recognize "Red" and "Brown" , and Women are more likely to recognize "Purple" and "White" as Community Apps icon design. "Gender" and color stereotype (men like blue, women like red) no association. Just look at "color suitable fordating Apps icon design" has statistical significance. Women are more likely to recognize "Purple" as Dating Apps icon design. (3) "Gender" and "more likely to attract me to read more(Community Apps ) " has statistical significance. Men are more likely to recognize "Black", and Women are more likely to recognize "Purple" and "Gery". (4) The variables of "BeeTalk App (Yellow Design) involvement" and "yellow design icon will attract my attention" have a positive relationship. The variables of "Paktor App (Red Design) involvement" and "Red-designed icon is considered as Dating App icon" have a positive relationship.(5) "Community Apps Image Design" and five questions has statistical significance.The recognition level of Symbols(Dialog Box) is apparently higher than other image design.(6) "Dating Apps Image Design" and five questions has statistical significance.The recognition level of Pictogram(Heart) is apparently higher than other image design.

碩士
國立成功大學
國際企業研究所
88
For the past decade, the service industry in general has been developing rapidly; one of the most significant trends of the world is the prominent growth of the service market. All kinds of service units, ranges from financial service, food and beverage industry, to health care service, and even to travel industry, all have indispensable links with our daily lives. Furthermore, the encouragement of automation, the continuous improvement and renovation of technology and equipment all has lead service industry to a new milestone. Especially, for the professional service providers, due to the increasing competition in service market, the diminishing of consumer loyalty and the increasing of self-conscience on consumer rights, the clients nowadays have become more demanding on service quality. Unlike the past, they are no longer passively taking everything the services providers had given to them; conversely, via interaction with the service providers, they are starting to display switching behavior for any dissatisfactory service encounter (Keavency, 1995; Richman, 1996). This clearly demonstrated the fast changes in our environment; consumers have begun to actively search for their ideal and trustworthy service providers. In the field of professional care service, the field of health care service deserved our particular attention. Among them, the medical service quality and consumer satisfaction has been frequently discussed. The interaction between customers and the service providers became critical; many researches indicated that personal service encounter is the key element to the service performance related topics. However, the interaction between dental service provider and their patients has been rarely discussed. Additional , the influence on server’s gender stereotypes to the perceptions of service quality has never been discussed in Taiwan. Based on the above-mentioned encounter experiences, these factors have important effects on patients’ perception and reaction on service quality. This research have chosen interactive dental care service as the professional service setting and intends to examine and understand patients’ perception and reaction to professional dental service quality. The empirical results showed the following: 1. On the aspect of professional service encounter, there is a significant positive correlation between “professional service encounter” and patients’ perception of service satisfaction. II 2. On the aspect of actual service environment, different scopes of dental institution (hospital, associate dental clinic and personal dental clinic), would not lead to any difference in patients’ perception of service satisfaction. However, the patients’ perception on tangible cues of hospitals or dental clinics, such as comparative level of familiarity, comparative decoration, comparative advancement of equipment, comparative level of equipment hygiene and comparative atmosphere of waiting room all have significant effect on patients’ service satisfaction. 3. Most of the patients have no preference on the gender of dentist; only very few have gender stereotypes on the dental service providers. 4. There is a significant correlation between “patients’ perception of service satisfaction” and their “post-consumption behavior’s intention” under the setting of professional service encounter.

by Chong Lai-Yin, Ho Lai-Wai Thomas Leo, Lee Ching-Lum Bianca.
Thesis (M.B.A.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2003.
Includes bibliographical references (leaves 140-141).
Questionnaire in Chinese.
ABSTRACT --- p.i
TABLE OF CONTENTS --- p.iii
LIST OF TABLES --- p.vii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS --- p.ix
Chapter CHAPTER 1 --- INTRODUCTION --- p.1
Chapter 1.1. --- Rationale of Study --- p.1
Chapter 1.2. --- Research Objectives --- p.6
Chapter 1.3. --- Research Scope --- p.7
Chapter 1.3.1. --- Study Focus --- p.7
Chapter 1.3.2. --- Advertising Media --- p.8
Chapter CHAPTER 2 --- LITERATURE REVIEW --- p.9
Chapter 2.1. --- Gender Stereotype --- p.9
Chapter 2.2. --- Sexual Content in Advertising --- p.14
Chapter 2.3. --- Chinese Culture --- p.16
Chapter 2.4. --- Attitude towards Sex of Hong Kong People --- p.17
Chapter 2.5. --- Advertising Effectiveness --- p.20
Chapter CHAPTER 3 --- METHODOLOGY --- p.22
Chapter 3.1 --- Hypotheses --- p.22
Chapter 3.2 --- Definition --- p.23
Chapter 3.3 --- Research Methods --- p.24
Chapter 3.3.1. --- Part One: Content Analysis --- p.24
Chapter 3.3.2. --- Part Two: Experiment Study --- p.26
Chapter 3.3.2.1. --- Experiment Data Collection Method --- p.26
Chapter 3.3.2.1.1. --- Experiment Objects --- p.26
Chapter 3.3.2.1.2. --- Experiment Subjects --- p.28
Chapter 3.3.2.1.3. --- Experiment Procedure --- p.28
Chapter 3.3.2.1.4. --- Experiment Questionnaire Design --- p.29
Chapter 3.3.2.2. --- Experiment Data Analysis Method --- p.30
Chapter 3.3.2.2.1. --- General Brand Name Recall --- p.30
Chapter 3.3.2.2.2. --- Sexual Appeal Ads Recall --- p.30
Chapter 3.3.2.2.3. --- Gender Role Stereotyping Ads Recall --- p.31
Chapter 3.3.3. --- Part Three: Survey --- p.31
Chapter 3.3.3.1. --- Survey Data Collection Method --- p.31
Chapter 3.3.3.1.1. --- Survey Objects --- p.31
Chapter 3.3.3.1.2. --- Survey Population --- p.33
Chapter 3.3.3.1.3. --- Survey Sampling Method --- p.33
Chapter 3.3.3.1.4. --- Survey Sample Size --- p.33
Chapter 3.3.3.1.5. --- Survey Procedure --- p.34
Chapter 3.3.3.1.6. --- Survey Questionnaire Design --- p.34
Chapter 3.3.3.2. --- Survey Data Analysis Method --- p.36
Chapter 3.3.3.2.1. --- Sexual Appeal Ads --- p.36
Chapter 3.3.3.2.2. --- Gender Role Stereotyping Ads --- p.36
Chapter CHAPTER 4 --- CONTENT ANALYSIS RESULTS --- p.38
Chapter 4.1. --- Gender Role Stereotyping --- p.39
Chapter 4.1.1. --- The Family --- p.40
Chapter 4.1.2. --- The Ritualization of Subordination --- p.41
Chapter 4.2. --- Sexual Appeal --- p.42
Chapter CHAPTER 5 --- EXPERIMENT RESULTS --- p.45
Chapter 5.1. --- Respondent Profile --- p.45
Chapter 5.1.1. --- Age --- p.45
Chapter 5.1.2. --- Gender --- p.46
Chapter 5.1.3. --- Education Level --- p.46
Chapter 5.2. --- General Brand Name Recall --- p.47
Chapter 5.2.1. --- Overall Recall --- p.47
Chapter 5.2.2. --- First Recall --- p.49
Chapter 5.3. --- Sexual Appeal Ads Recall --- p.51
Chapter 5.3.1. --- Sexual Appeal and Non-Sexual Appeal Ads --- p.51
Chapter 5.3.2. --- Sexual Appeal Ads Recall by Gender --- p.52
Chapter 5.4. --- Gender Role Stereotyping Ads Recall --- p.53
Chapter 5.4.1. --- Gender Role Stereotyping Ads and Non-Gender Role Stereotyping Ads --- p.53
Chapter 5.4.2. --- Gender Role Stereotyping Ads Recall by Gender --- p.54
Chapter CHAPTER 6 --- SURVEY RESULTS --- p.55
Chapter 6.1. --- Respondent Profile --- p.55
Chapter 6.1.1. --- Age --- p.55
Chapter 6.1.2. --- Gender --- p.56
Chapter 6.1.3. --- Education Level --- p.56
Chapter 6.2. --- Sexual Appeal Ads --- p.57
Chapter 6.2.1. --- Descriptions of Sexual Appeal Ads --- p.57
Chapter 6.2.1.1. --- Overall Descriptions --- p.57
Chapter 6.2.1.2. --- Descriptions by Gender --- p.57
Chapter 6.2.2. --- Attitudes towards Sexual Appeal Ads --- p.58
Chapter 6.2.2.1. --- Overall Attitudes --- p.58
Chapter 6.2.2.2. --- Attitudes by Gender --- p.59
Chapter 6.3. --- Gender Role Stereotyping Ads --- p.65
Chapter 6.3.1. --- Descriptions of Gender Role Stereotyping Ads --- p.65
Chapter 6.3.1.1. --- Overall Descriptions --- p.65
Chapter 6.3.1.2. --- Descriptions by Gender --- p.65
Chapter 6.3.2. --- Attitudes towards Gender Role Stereotyping Ads --- p.66
Chapter 6.3.2.1. --- Overall Attitudes --- p.66
Chapter 6.3.2.2. --- Attitudes by Gender --- p.66
Chapter 6.4. --- Sexual Appeal and Gender Role Stereotyping Ads Comparison --- p.72
Chapter 6.4.1. --- Descriptions of Ads --- p.72
Chapter 6.4.2. --- Attitudes towards Ads --- p.73
Chapter CHAPTER 7 --- DISCUSSION --- p.76
Chapter 7.1. --- The Sample --- p.76
Chapter 7.2. --- Product Recall --- p.77
Chapter 7.2.1. --- Unaided Recall --- p.77
Chapter 7.2.2. --- Recall vs. Gender --- p.78
Chapter 7.2.3. --- Recall vs. Product --- p.79
Chapter 7.3. --- Perceptions & Attitudes --- p.80
Chapter 7.3.1. --- Sexual Appeal --- p.80
Chapter 7.3.1.1. --- Ad-By-Ad Analysis --- p.81
Chapter 7.3.1.1.1. --- Ad A1 --- p.81
Chapter 7.3.1.1.2. --- Ad A2 --- p.82
Chapter 7.3.1.1.3. --- Ad A3 --- p.82
Chapter 7.3.1.1.4. --- Ad A4 --- p.83
Chapter 7.3.2. --- Gender Stereotypes --- p.84
Chapter 7.3.2.1. --- Ad-By-Ad Analysis --- p.86
Chapter 7.3.2.1.1. --- Ad Bl --- p.86
Chapter 7.3.2.1.2. --- Ad B2 --- p.87
Chapter 7.3.2.1.3. --- Ad B3 --- p.88
Chapter 7.3.2.1.4. --- Ad B4 --- p.88
Chapter 7.4. --- Null Hypotheses Review --- p.89
Chapter CHAPTER 8 --- LIMITATIONS --- p.91
Chapter 8.1. --- Literature Research --- p.91
Chapter 8.2. --- Print Analysis --- p.91
Chapter 8.3. --- Sample & Representation --- p.92
Chapter 8.4. --- Advertisement Recall & Perceptions Questionnaire --- p.92
Chapter 8.5. --- Overall Representation --- p.93
Chapter CHAPTER 9 --- CONCLUSION --- p.95
Chapter CHAPTER 10 --- APPENDICES --- p.99
Chapter 10.1. --- Appendix 1: Hong Kong Magazines 2000/2001 --- p.99
Chapter 10.2. --- Appendix 2: Photos of Advertisements --- p.103
Chapter 10.3. --- Appendix 3: Experiment Procedures --- p.117
Chapter 10.4. --- Appendix 4: Experiment Questionnaire --- p.118
Chapter 10.5. --- Appendix 5: Survey Questionnaire --- p.121
Chapter 10.6. --- Appendix 6: Content Analysis Results --- p.123
Chapter 10.7. --- Appendix 7: Advertisement Database --- p.126
Chapter CHAPTER 11 --- BIBLIOGRAPHY --- p.140
Chapter 11.1. --- Books --- p.140
Chapter 11.2. --- Periodicals --- p.140
Chapter 11.3. --- Websites --- p.141

Main purpose of this thesis is to pursue the question whether it is possible to find differences (and if so, which) in attitudes towards computer (or rather digital) games resulting from various family socio-cultural backgrounds and gender. In order to explore this, the thesis analyzes selected gaming behaviors along with the socio-cultural environment and gender stereotypes shaping the gamers. The research study focuses mainly on gamers' preference in choosing the game type, reflection of their approach and ways of dealing with this phenomenon exhibited by their parents. This thesis does not aim to state any general theory; it is rather attempting to offer specific insight into this issue. Keywords: digital games, computer games, games' classification, computer games entertainment, parental attitudes towards gaming, family socio-cultural standard, gender stereotypes, computer games usefulness/ harmfulness in its consumers, virtual communication in computer games.