This problem set will be due at the start of class on Wednesday, December 6. 1. Consider a wholesaler and a retailer selling designer handbags. Each has market power. The wholesaler sells designer hadbags to the retailer, which then sells the handbags to consumers. The demand for handbags is captured by P = 24-Q. Assume that the marginal cost of producing a handbag is constant (MC=$8). Consider the following scenarios: a. Suppose that the retailer is the only firm and that it can produce the handbags it sells (there is no wholesaler here). How many handbags will be produced and what price will be charged? Draw a graph and show these points on the diagram. b. Now suppose that the retailer cannot produce handbags and must instead buy them from the wholesaler. The wholesaler charges the downstream firm $16 per handbag. How many handbags will the retailer purchase and sell, and what price will the retailer charge? 2. If the wholesaler and retailer in problem 1 merged, what would be the effect on overall social surplus? 3. Discuss the problem of double marginalization. What is it? What causes it? How is it mitigated by a vertical merger? 4. Define first degree price discrimination, second degree price discrimination, and third degree price discrimination. Provide an example of each. 5. We have seen how monopolistic industries can result in a deadweight loss relevant to the competitive outcome. Consider the case of a monopolist engaging in first degree (perfect) price discrimination. How do you think the profits of the monopolist and overall social welfare are affected compared to the case where the monopolist sets a single monopoly price? (Hint: try drawing a simple diagram in both cases). 1 Note that this assignment is under 1,600 words so there is room for expansion. Introduction An investigation of the behaviour of smokers and their attitude toward quitting can deliver valuable information to create effective measurements to work towards a lower smoking prevalence in the future. Within this study the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) is applied, with the purpose to investigate the influence of the TPB antecedents on intention (INT) of smokers to quit smoking. The antecedents are defined as attitude (ATT), subjective norm (SN) and perceived behavioural control (PBC). A key focus within this research is to discover similarities and differences across the two different European countries: Greece and Spain. The paper will first give a theoretical overview about the theory of planned behaviour. Secondly the sample profile will be briefly discussed. A descriptive analysis will discuss differences between the mean scores of the antecedents across the two countries. Based on the findings a regression analysis will demonstrate the predictability of the intention to quit smoking by the TPB variables and how this differs between the nations. Finally a conclusion will give ideas for the usefulness ...

1. This problem set will be due at the start of class on Wednesday,
December 6.
1. Consider a wholesaler and a retailer selling designer
handbags. Each has market power. The wholesaler sells
designer hadbags to the retailer, which then sells the handbags
to consumers. The demand for handbags is captured by P = 24-
Q. Assume that the marginal cost of producing a handbag is
constant (MC=$8). Consider the following scenarios:
a. Suppose that the retailer is the only firm and that it can
produce the handbags it sells (there is no wholesaler here).
How many handbags will be produced and what price will be
charged? Draw a graph and show these points on the diagram.
b. Now suppose that the retailer cannot produce handbags and
must instead buy them from the wholesaler. The wholesaler
charges the downstream firm $16 per handbag. How many
handbags will the retailer purchase and sell, and what price will
the retailer charge?
2. If the wholesaler and retailer in problem 1 merged, what
would be the effect on overall social surplus?
3. Discuss the problem of double marginalization. What is it?
What causes it? How is it mitigated by a vertical merger?
4. Define first degree price discrimination, second degree price
discrimination, and third degree price discrimination. Provide
an example of each.
5. We have seen how monopolistic industries can result in a
deadweight loss relevant to the competitive outcome. Consider
the case of a monopolist engaging in first degree (perfect) price
discrimination. How do you think the profits of the monopolist
and overall social welfare are affected compared to the case
where the monopolist sets a single monopoly price? (Hint: try
drawing a simple diagram in both cases).

2. 1
Note that this assignment is under 1,600 words so there is room
for expansion.
Introduction
An investigation of the behaviour of smokers and their attitude
toward quitting can
deliver valuable information to create effective measurements to
work towards a
lower smoking prevalence in the future. Within this study the
theory of planned
behaviour (TPB) is applied, with the purpose to investigate the
influence of the TPB
antecedents on intention (INT) of smokers to quit smoking. The
antecedents are
defined as attitude (ATT), subjective norm (SN) and perceived
behavioural control
(PBC). A key focus within this research is to discover
similarities and differences
across the two different European countries: Greece and Spain.
The paper will first give a theoretical overview about the theory

3. of planned behaviour.
Secondly the sample profile will be briefly discussed. A
descriptive analysis will
discuss differences between the mean scores of the antecedents
across the two
countries. Based on the findings a regression analysis will
demonstrate the
predictability of the intention to quit smoking by the TPB
variables and how this
differs between the nations. Finally a conclusion will give ideas
for the usefulness of
the acquired data and discuss research limitations.
Theory of planned behaviour
The TPB is an expectancy value model which states that human
behaviour is a
consequence of one’s behavioural intention, which is in turn
explained by one’s
attitude, subjective norm and perceived behavioural control
regarding the behaviour.
The TPB is an extension of the theory of reason action (TRA;
Fishbein & Ajzen,
1975) which does not include perceived behavioural control and

4. thus not designed to
explain behaviours out with an individual’s volitional control.
In the TPB and TRA
models, behavioural intention is the cognitive representation of
the individual’s
motivation to enact the behaviour in question. Attitude toward
the behaviour is the
individual’s positive or negative evaluation of performing the
behaviour. Subjective
norm is the individual’s perceived social/peer pressure in
undertaking the behaviour.
Lastly, perceived behavioural control represents the individual's
perception of the ease
or difficulty in enacting the behaviour. The TPB has been found
to explain intention
Comment [E1]: Executive summary
needed. This is part of the assignment
requirements. Should also include title and
contents page.
An executive summary should provide a
summary of all the research process. i.e.
what the objectives of the research are, how

5. the research was conducted, the key results
and recommendations.
Comment [E2]: Could be more specific
as to why this is important, including some
literature.
I would expect research objectives to be
clearly stated, with associated research
questions to be answered
Comment [E3]: What about any specific
studies in the content of smoking cessation?
These would be very relevant to refer to.
Reference to key journal articles pertinent
to the research topic is needed.
For your report, there is no need to dwell on
theory, but you need to give some brief
background on the key variables such as
perceived value in the appendix.
2

6. and behaviour in a wide variety of contexts and is considered to
be the most used
model in understanding health behaviour (Astrom & Rise,
2001).
Analysis and Results
Sample profile
The study was conducted through an online questionnaire in
Greece and Spain.
Overall 248 responses were received with a higher proportion
(60% or 150) of
responses from Greece and the remaining 98 responses from
Spain. A number of
questions were used to collect information about the sample,
these were gender, age
(in years), household income (in €), and social position. All
respondents identified
themselves to be smokers. Figure 1a and 1b show the
proportion of respondents who
are male and female for each country. There are proportionally
more males for the
Greek sample than in the Spanish ample. A Chi-square test

7. showed a significant
difference in proportion of males/females across country (p <
.05). Figure 2a and 2b
gives the social position of respondents for each country. The
bar charts show that for
both countries around half of the respondents are in full-time
employment. For Spain
there are a higher proportion of respondents across each of the
remaining categories
than for Greece. For the Greek sample most respondents who
are not employed full-
time are in the categories of student or other. The other
category may represent
homemakers but this is not clear from the data provided. In
terms of age and income
across the countries, Table 1 provided descriptive statistics.
The mean values
highlights that the Spanish sample are overall older than the
Greek sample. An
independent samples t test confirmed that the mean age of
respondents is different (p
< .05) across the two countries. Difference in mean household
income was also
statistically significant (p < .05) indicating that the levels of

8. household income differ
across the Spanish and Greek respondents. The Greek
respondents have on average a
higher household income than the Spanish respondents.
Comment [E4]: Could also include a
descriptive analysis of the variables, e.g.
was intention to quit high/low?
Comment [E5]: Avoid mixing present
and past tenses in your reporting. You can
use either present or past tense, but keep
consistently to one choice.
Comment [E6]: A vague term. Try to
avoid ambiguous terms. State clearly what
you mean.
Comment [l7]: There is a higher
proportion
Comment [l8]: These two statements
contradict each other. The statement for
Spain is wrong and does not reflect the
views shown in Figures 2a and 2b.

9. 3
Figure 1a. Pie Chart showing Gender for
Greece
Figure 1b. Pie Chart showing Gender for
Spain
Figure 2a. Bar Chart showing Social Position for Greece
Comment [E9]: Should use a clustered
bar chart instead of two separate charts.
4
Figure 2b. Bar Chart showing Social Position for Spain
Table 1. Descriptive statistics for age and income across
Country

10. T-tests across Country
It is important to determine if the two countries are similar in
regard to the mean level
of the TPB variables. Before discussing the t-test it is
important to establish if the
respondents from each country have a similar variability in their
responses to the TPB
questionnaire items. Results from the Levene’s test of equality
of variances shows
that for the intention items and the overall average of intention
there are significant
Comment [E10]: It is better to include
the SPSS output as an appendix and create
your own tables using word. Your own
table should contain only the centrally
important statistics (and also decide on
suitable number of decimal places). I
suggest 2 dp’s. A table such as Table 1 of
Hassan and Shiu (2006) but giving the
number of items, the range, the mean and
standard deviation for each construct would
be useful. It is important that the reader

11. understands what, for example, a mean of
2.5 represents - does this value perhaps
indicating a very positive attitude or a
moderately positive attitude? It also
depends of the measurement i.e. how many
scale points are used and what the end
points of the scale are so this is important
information.
Comment [E11]: Again see Hassan and
Shiu (2006) for a further example of
displaying and writing about t-test results.
Comment [E12]: This is vague! Why is
it important and to whom is it important?
5
differences (p < .05) in the variability across the countries with
respondents from
Spain being less homogenous in their responses than the
respondents from Greece.
The levene’s test results for subjective norm show that there is
no difference (p > .05)
in the variability of responses from respondents across the two
countries.

12. In order to establish if there are mean differences an
independent t-test was
conducted. The results of this analysis are presented in Tables
2 and 3. The results
show overall that there are many mean differences across the
countries in terms of
intention and attitude. But that SN and PBC do not differ
significantly across the two
countries. Importantly plan and intend significantly differ
across the countries with
respondents from Spain having a higher intention to quit
smoking. However
respondents in both countries both exhibit a similar mean
regarding wanting to quit.
There are no differences across the countries in terms of the
cognitive attitudinal
items, however there are differences across the countries in
terms of the affective
attitude items. Respondents in both countries consider smoking
to be negative and
bad. However smokers from Greece perceive smoking to be
more pleasant and
enjoyable than respondents from Spain. This might represent a

13. barrier to engaging in
quitting. In terms of SN respondents from both countries
express some normative
pressure to engage in quitting. However the overall mean value
is low. Respondents
from both countries perceive that quitting is within their control
and therefore have
high mean values on the measures of self-efficacy.
Table 2. Means for each TPB variable across Country
Comment [E13]: Within the discussion
of the t-test results, it is important to
demonstrate an understanding of the
Levene’s test. The red text adds a
discussion of Levene’s test for intention and
subjective norm only.
Comment [E14]: Would also be good to
add in brackets the mean values so that
readers can see some detail without having
to look at the table. For example, in terms
of SN, respondents from both countries
express low levels of normative pressure to
engage in quitting (mean = 1.4).

14. 6
Table 3. T-test results for each TPB variable across Country
Comment [E15]: Hard to see, again
create tables in word with the key
information and put SPSS output in
appendix.
7
Regression Analysis of the TPB model
In order to determine the usefulness of the TPB in this context.

15. Regression analysis
was employed to determine if any of the TPB antecedents
explained intention to quit
smoking. The dependent variable is defined as the intention to
quit smoking. The
independent variables are attitude, subjective norm and
perceived behavioural control.
The results (see table 4) show that the TPB antecedents explain
approximately 34% of the
variation in intention to quit smoking. However neither
Attitude nor SN are significant
factors in explaining intention (ps > .05). Only self-efficacy
explains intention to quit (p
< .05) with respondents who have stronger belief in their ability
to quit smoking having a
higher intention to do so. Thus the TPB and TRA models have
not been shown to be
powerful in explaining intention in this behavioural context.
An additional hierarchical
regression analysis including country as an additional predictor
variable shows that
country adds to the explanation of intention (p < .05) with an
increase in r-squared from
Comment [E16]: Not a complete

16. sentence. When you start with “In order
to ….” You should have a second part that
goes something like “… one
should/must ….”
Comment [l17]: (neither one) is
Comment [E18]: Where is the output
for this?
8
.34 to .36 (Sig. F change p < .05) This indicates that the TPB
should be modelled
separately for each country.
Table 4. Regression results for TPB model
Discussion
The research results give some helpful insights how to explain
the behavior of smokers to

17. quit. The data acquired can be useful input for organizations
which develop anti-smoking
campaigns in the two countries. The fact that perceived
behavioral control is the strongest
influencer of a smoker’s intention to quit is useful information
that enables marketing
managers to implement suitable strategies, such as promotional
programs which support
smokers to know and develop their motivation and will-power
regarding quitting. An
important finding for social marketers is that respondents from
Greece hold positive
Comment [E19]: In this case, you
should conduct and report this additional
analysis.
Part correlations could be included and
explained, also what about beta values?????
Also demographic factors could be included
in the model.
Comment [E20]: No mention of the
predictive ability of the TPB in relation to

18. other studies in this area or with regards to
meta-analyses on the TPB.
Wherever possible, it is useful to relate your
findings to that reported in the literature
you referenced earlier.
Comment [E21]: Should use UK
English spelling consistently.
Comment [l22]: Again US spelling.
Comment [E23]: Again US spelling.
9
attitudes towards smoking, and these positive attitudes might
inhibit their intentions to
quit smoking.
There are various factors that limit the validity of the research
results. Firstly solely the
intention to quit was measured, but not the actual behaviour.
This might limit the
effectiveness of non-smoking strategies based on the results,
since no evidence for the

19. translation of intention into the actual action exists.
Furthermore other variables that were
identified to influence on the intention to quit, such as habit
(Godin et al., 1992) and past
experience (Ajzen, 1985) were not included into the research.
Regarding the validity of the findings there are some limitation
within the research
methodology. The very brief questionnaire cannot catch all
dimensions of TPB model.
Additionally the subjective norm was only measured on a one
item question. There might
have been higher correlation between the subjective norm and
the intention to quit, as
identified by previous researchers, if the question would have
been asked with a multi-
item scale. The comparability across the countries is limited due
to some significant
differences within the sample profile by country in terms of
unequal distribution and
structure. Apart from the limitations of the research the TPB
model itself has some
restrictions. First of all demographics, personality-related and
cultural factors are not

20. taken into account, although they also shape the behaviour of
people. Additionally, the
model assumes rationality of people, unconscious decision
making is not considered
(Sharma, 2007).
Overall the TPB has performed poorly in explaining intentions
to quit smoking in Greece
and in Spain.
References
References should be included
Also useful to include an appendix (say to give a clear
definition of the key concepts
such as self-brand connection, perceived value, etc. - reference
to extant literature will
be good too.)
Comment [E24]: What does this
mean??? When you make a statement, you
need to convey clearly and if necessary
provide a justification too to substantiate
your statement/claim.

21. Comment [E25]: Watch out making this
generalization as the analysis was not
conducted separately for each country.
Also, try to avoid short paragraphs (with
less than four sentences).
1
ASB-4523 Marketing Research
Semester two coursework 2017/18: Individual Project
Deadline for submission: 20 December, 2017.
This coursework is worth 40% of the total module mark. For
this coursework, you will
complete and report on a quantitative marketing research
project (details given
below).
Overview of the research project
This marketing research project is intended to explore customer
insights on the retail firm
Dunelm in Bangor, in order to provide the store manager with
valuable information that could
be utilised to improve customer loyalty. To give the

22. management an understanding of what
customer loyalty means in their situation, factors that might
drive loyalty are identified. These
potential drivers include the customer perceived value
dimensions (price, quality, social,
emotional), trust, commitment, self-brand connection, service
quality and customer
satisfaction. [In order to understand these concepts, if not
already covered during the
programme, students are expected to conduct a google scholar
search and read a few key
journal articles which discuss them.]
Brief facts of Dunelm in Bangor
Dunelm furniture store in Bangor offers a wide range of quality
home products at local prices.
From curtains and cushions to bedroom furniture, bedding and
sofas, customers can find
furnishing inspiration for their house. Dunelm store can be
conveniently reached by car and
public transport. As an alternative, Dunelm assure their
customers that there is no need to visit
all the furniture stores in Bangor when trying to track down a
specific item. Instead, they can
try to use Dunelm’s “Reserve and Collect” service, which
allows the customers to shop online
in the comfort of their own home. Within hours, the customers
can have their purchase ready
for collection in the store. There is an in-store café where they
offer a range of tasty
sandwiches, and a selection of hot and cold beverages. More
details can be obtained from
http://www.dunelm.com/stores/bangor.
Purpose of the Report
The main aim of the research is to investigate and identify

23. customer characteristics and their
perceptions that would have an impact on customer loyalty. To
this end, a survey was
commissioned and undertaken by an independent Marketing
Research agency, whereby a
random sample of 125 customers of Dunelm was interviewed
within the store.
In order to achieve the above research aim, specific research
objectives have been set as
follows:
1. Provide Dunelm with a better understanding of the views,
attitudes and general
characteristics of their customers.
2. (a) Identify an ideal (most loyal) customer profile in terms of
specific customer
characteristics, and (b) additionally, identify the key customer
perceptions that would
lead to higher levels of customer loyalty.
3. Identify (potential) distinct customer segments.
2
Coursework requirements:

24. A report giving:
1. an executive summary (of no more than 150 words 5%)
2. an introduction to the retailer and retail environment used
within this study (around
450 words 15%)
3. an account of the analysis and resultant findings (around 900
words) on
a. (10%) the sample profile
b. (10%) the ideal customer (regression analysis based on
customer characteristics),
and
c. (20%) the ideal customer (hierarchical regression based on
customer
characteristics and customer views/attitudes),
d. (10%) comparing (potential) distinct customer segments
based on gender (and/or
other characteristics)
4. (30%) a discussion, limitations and recommendations section
(around 500 words)
Supporting evidence (tables/charts/figures) should be included
in the body of the report or
in the appendices (where appropriate). The report should be
fully referenced using the

25. Harvard style.
Note that the above percentages are an indication of the
weighting of each section. The report will
be marked as a single coherent piece of work and therefore it is
important that you consider issues
of structure, layout, and presentation. All tables presented in the
main body of the report should be
discussed. The emphasis of the report is on interpreting the
statistics rather than describing what
they are.
Additional Information
Your report should be written in a style and format suitable for
a reader who is a marketing
manager of the target retailer. The report should be a stand-
alone document containing all
necessary information regarding the whole marketing research
project excluding details on
the research methodology. The target total word count for the
individual report is 2,000 words
(maximum of 2,200 words). Penalty will be applied on
submissions beyond 2,200 words. The
word count excludes the table of contents, tables, charts,
figures, references and appendices.
Tables, charts, figures, references and appendices must be used
with care, must be
appropriate and must be referred to within the main body of the
report. In particular, tables,
charts, figures and appendices must NOT be used to circumvent
the word count.
A unique data set will be available on Blackboard for each
member of the class. Please
download and work on only the data assigned to you, your

26. dataset is named. A survey
questionnaire (same for all students) associated with the data
will also be available on
Blackboard. Please look for all coursework related documents
within the Blackboard
coursework folder.
The focus of this coursework is on your ability to properly
address the marketing research
questions posed and to make justified, insightful and actionable
recommendations to the
managers of the retail business under examination. You must
fully address the set of research
objectives specified in the coursework. You are strongly
advised to present the results and
3
findings arising from your statistical analyses in a manner that
would provide clear and
meaningful information to your intended reader (managers).
You are also encouraged to
reflect on the whole marketing research project and state any
limitations of the research
undertaken as well as reservations regarding the
recommendations offered to the reader.
Lastly, insightful suggestions (with justifications) on key
additional (follow-up) marketing
research activities will be welcomed.
Note: Include only relevant SPSS output as appendices and
reference them clearly in the
main body of the report. You should create your own tables for

27. the main body of your report
using only the pertinent information from the SPSS output.
Note: Use Times Roman font size 12 with 1.5 spacing in the
main body of your report.
You must include the following details on your front page:
module code and title; word
count; as well as your name, student ID and degree programme.
Submission 20 December, 2017.
(a) One hard copy of the individual report must be submitted to
the Admin hub together with
a completed ‘cover sheet’. Note: the ‘cover sheet’ is available
on Blackboard.
(b) One electronic copy of the individual report must be
submitted to Turnitin via the
Blackboard site.
See the PG Handbook on procedure for submissions and on
Bangor policy on deadline extensions.