This research aims to mine the relationship between demographic variables and brand associations, and study the relative importance of these variables. The study is conducted on fast-food restaurant brands chains in Jordan. The result ranks and evaluates the demographic variables in relation with the brand associations for the selected sample. Discovering brand associations according to demographic variables reveals many facts and linkages in the context of Jordanian culture. Suggestions are given accordingly for marketers to benefits from to build their strategies and direct their decisions. Also, data mining technique used in this study reflects a new trend for studying and analyzing marketing samples.
Perceived Quality and Competitive Advantage in Beer Products In Kabale Distri...IJMCERJournal
ABSTRACT : Perceived quality is customer perception to the overall quality or superiority of a product or
service with the intent to expect respect. Perceived Quality ensures the organisation defines and delivers the
requisite levels of satisfaction desired by their various target customer segments. Competitive advantage has
been approached by looking at the external environment of the firm that is how the economic power of firms can
be used to create competitive position in an industry. This study focuses on Resource Based View a model that
provides a framework for identifying unique set of resources and this perspective shifts the approach of
assessing competitive advantage from the external to the internal environment that is the resource power. This
study, therefore, set out to determine the effect of perceived quality on competitive advantage in beer products in
Kabale district. The specific objective of the study was to (i) To determine the effect of perceived quality on
competitive advantage in alcoholic beer products in Kabale district. The study used a descriptive survey
research design. The target population was 1783 including wholesalers, retailers, customers and brand and
marketing managers of Nile Special Lager, Eagle Lager, Senator Extra Lager, club and Bell beer products in
the District of Kabale, South Western Ugand
The study titled, “A Study On Brand Perception In Electronics Industry” focuses on the level of awareness and perception customers have about for a brand. For the purpose of the study, an electronics company „s customers were surveyed for a period of two months. The tools used for analysis are frequencies test, mean analysis, independent sample T – Test and ANOVA. At the end of the study, it was found that factors such as quality, warranty, brand image influenced customer‟s perception of the brand. Some findings about the customer demographics were also found
The strong brand equity value has turned into an exceptionally critical element that influences customers' behaviour of a brand. Success brand management climbs from understanding and overseeing brand equity fittingly to create the characteristics that will impact customers' behaviour when settling on their decisions. The study makes use of primary and secondary data relating to consumers’ behaviour and brand equity. Data collected from 100 customers from two major cities in odisha. Convenient sampling method is adopted for the selection of samples. This paper stresses on the examination of the effect of purchaser behaviour and brand equity dimensions on purchase of durable products. Spearman's Correlation Coefficient is used for analysis and interpretation in order to study the difference among the purchase value of durable goods, consumer’s buying behaviour of durable goods, brand awareness, brand image, perceived quality, brand association and brand loyalty.
International Journal of Business and Management Invention (IJBMI)inventionjournals
International Journal of Business and Management Invention (IJBMI) is an international journal intended for professionals and researchers in all fields of Business and Management. IJBMI publishes research articles and reviews within the whole field Business and Management, new teaching methods, assessment, validation and the impact of new technologies and it will continue to provide information on the latest trends and developments in this ever-expanding subject. The publications of papers are selected through double peer reviewed to ensure originality, relevance, and readability. The articles published in our journal can be accessed online.
The Journal will bring together leading researchers, engineers and scientists in the domain of interest from around the world. Topics of interest for submission include, but are not limited to
Perceived Quality and Competitive Advantage in Beer Products In Kabale Distri...IJMCERJournal
ABSTRACT : Perceived quality is customer perception to the overall quality or superiority of a product or
service with the intent to expect respect. Perceived Quality ensures the organisation defines and delivers the
requisite levels of satisfaction desired by their various target customer segments. Competitive advantage has
been approached by looking at the external environment of the firm that is how the economic power of firms can
be used to create competitive position in an industry. This study focuses on Resource Based View a model that
provides a framework for identifying unique set of resources and this perspective shifts the approach of
assessing competitive advantage from the external to the internal environment that is the resource power. This
study, therefore, set out to determine the effect of perceived quality on competitive advantage in beer products in
Kabale district. The specific objective of the study was to (i) To determine the effect of perceived quality on
competitive advantage in alcoholic beer products in Kabale district. The study used a descriptive survey
research design. The target population was 1783 including wholesalers, retailers, customers and brand and
marketing managers of Nile Special Lager, Eagle Lager, Senator Extra Lager, club and Bell beer products in
the District of Kabale, South Western Ugand
The study titled, “A Study On Brand Perception In Electronics Industry” focuses on the level of awareness and perception customers have about for a brand. For the purpose of the study, an electronics company „s customers were surveyed for a period of two months. The tools used for analysis are frequencies test, mean analysis, independent sample T – Test and ANOVA. At the end of the study, it was found that factors such as quality, warranty, brand image influenced customer‟s perception of the brand. Some findings about the customer demographics were also found
The strong brand equity value has turned into an exceptionally critical element that influences customers' behaviour of a brand. Success brand management climbs from understanding and overseeing brand equity fittingly to create the characteristics that will impact customers' behaviour when settling on their decisions. The study makes use of primary and secondary data relating to consumers’ behaviour and brand equity. Data collected from 100 customers from two major cities in odisha. Convenient sampling method is adopted for the selection of samples. This paper stresses on the examination of the effect of purchaser behaviour and brand equity dimensions on purchase of durable products. Spearman's Correlation Coefficient is used for analysis and interpretation in order to study the difference among the purchase value of durable goods, consumer’s buying behaviour of durable goods, brand awareness, brand image, perceived quality, brand association and brand loyalty.
International Journal of Business and Management Invention (IJBMI)inventionjournals
International Journal of Business and Management Invention (IJBMI) is an international journal intended for professionals and researchers in all fields of Business and Management. IJBMI publishes research articles and reviews within the whole field Business and Management, new teaching methods, assessment, validation and the impact of new technologies and it will continue to provide information on the latest trends and developments in this ever-expanding subject. The publications of papers are selected through double peer reviewed to ensure originality, relevance, and readability. The articles published in our journal can be accessed online.
The Journal will bring together leading researchers, engineers and scientists in the domain of interest from around the world. Topics of interest for submission include, but are not limited to
Comparison on ads or not? Influence of Referent on Advertising EffectivenessWaqas Tariq
This study explores how consumers distinguish different products and how to achieve advertising effectiveness. An experiment of 2(high/low ideal brands)x2(with/without comparisons)=4 mixed designs was conducted to verify the advertising effect influenced by the present of comparisons on ads with respect to high/low ideal brands. 50 subjects per design and 200 effective samples were evaluated under descriptive statistics and two-way ANOVA test. The study concludes: the present of comparisons on ads ameliorates Brand Attitude and Advertising Attitude regardless of high/low ideal brand. However, Purchase Intention was not significantly influenced by comparisons on ads.
A Study on Consumer Behaviour Among Retail Outlets in Chennaiijtsrd
In this research paper researchers basically focused on behaviour of consumer mainly on purchasing pattern, frequency, price, period of purchase and various factors deciding the purchase. Researchers observed that the customers prefer retail outlets because of price discount, followed by colour, quality and fitting. Researchers have also observed that generally the customer purchase the product during festive season followed by off season. It was found that there is a significant difference between the expectations of coupons for purchasing readymade garments and income level of consumers. Mrs. A Nishath Sultana | Saabhreen Nisha "A Study on Consumer Behaviour Among Retail Outlets in Chennai" Published in International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (ijtsrd), ISSN: 2456-6470, Volume-4 | Issue-6 , October 2020, URL: https://www.ijtsrd.com/papers/ijtsrd33621.pdf Paper Url: https://www.ijtsrd.com/management/consumer-behaviour/33621/a-study-on-consumer-behaviour-among-retail-outlets-in-chennai/mrs-a-nishath-sultana
The impact of Recruitment and Selection process on candidates' intention to a...Target Research
Negli ultimi decenni la competizione per attrarre e trattenere in azienda i talenti, la cosiddetta “War For Talent” (Michaels, Handfield-Jones & Axerold, 2001) è aumentata costantemente. Diventa quindi fondamentale per le aziende trovare le modalità di Recruitment più efficaci per raggiungere i migliori e portarli dalla loro parte.
Relation between Preference for Local or Global Brands and Various Demographi...Dr. Amarjeet Singh
Now a days, dilemma of choosing between local and
global brands is faced while purchasing most of the goods be it
be a needle or a sophisticated machinery. Good quality and
affordable prices of goods of global brands are overpowering
the local brands. It is seen that young generation is getting
very much inclined towards the global brands and gradually
local brands are finding it difficult to survive in market. Along
with age many other factors are also responsible for this
phenomenon. In this situation a study on various factors which
are related with preference for local or global brands is need
of the hour. For the purpose of study a questionnaire was
developed and sent to respondents in order to find out whether
actually there is any relationship between demographic factors
of respondents and their choice between branded and local
goods. On the bases of survey it was found out that, actually
there is a relation between demographic factors of respondents
and their choice between local and branded goods to a large
extent.
Importance of Food Packaging and Its Relation to the Consumer's Demographic ...inventionjournals
International Journal of Business and Management Invention (IJBMI) is an international journal intended for professionals and researchers in all fields of Business and Management. IJBMI publishes research articles and reviews within the whole field Business and Management, new teaching methods, assessment, validation and the impact of new technologies and it will continue to provide information on the latest trends and developments in this ever-expanding subject. The publications of papers are selected through double peer reviewed to ensure originality, relevance, and readability. The articles published in our journal can be accessed online
ARF Review of Brand Keys' Brand Engagement Measurement MetricsBrand Keys
The Advertising Research Foundation's review of Brand Keys' brand engagement measurement methodology.
Our methodological framework is considered the most effective means of predicting sales and subsequent changes in real-world consumer behavior by the Advertising Research Foundation.
Changing Dynamics of IT and Marketing Teams in the Procurement of Marketing T...Anurag Anwariya
With the increase of digitization in marketing, marketers are steering towards the purchase of technologies which enables them to make informed decisions. Initially marketers in association with their agencies were making the purchase decision of these marketing technologies without defining technical specifications. This ultimately led to the role conflict between IT and Marketing due to implementation challenges and lack of IT compliance. This white paper tries to bring forth the necessary viewpoints on how IT can play a vital role in executing marketing strategies and be the revenue generator of the organization. By collaborating both IT and Marketing teams can define each other’s responsibilities, draw a strategy road map and work towards the shared goal of the organization.
Customer experience in supermarkets and hypermarkets – A comparative studyiosrjce
IOSR Journal of Business and Management (IOSR-JBM) is a double blind peer reviewed International Journal that provides rapid publication (within a month) of articles in all areas of business and managemant and its applications. The journal welcomes publications of high quality papers on theoretical developments and practical applications inbusiness and management. Original research papers, state-of-the-art reviews, and high quality technical notes are invited for publications.
Comparison on ads or not? Influence of Referent on Advertising EffectivenessWaqas Tariq
This study explores how consumers distinguish different products and how to achieve advertising effectiveness. An experiment of 2(high/low ideal brands)x2(with/without comparisons)=4 mixed designs was conducted to verify the advertising effect influenced by the present of comparisons on ads with respect to high/low ideal brands. 50 subjects per design and 200 effective samples were evaluated under descriptive statistics and two-way ANOVA test. The study concludes: the present of comparisons on ads ameliorates Brand Attitude and Advertising Attitude regardless of high/low ideal brand. However, Purchase Intention was not significantly influenced by comparisons on ads.
A Study on Consumer Behaviour Among Retail Outlets in Chennaiijtsrd
In this research paper researchers basically focused on behaviour of consumer mainly on purchasing pattern, frequency, price, period of purchase and various factors deciding the purchase. Researchers observed that the customers prefer retail outlets because of price discount, followed by colour, quality and fitting. Researchers have also observed that generally the customer purchase the product during festive season followed by off season. It was found that there is a significant difference between the expectations of coupons for purchasing readymade garments and income level of consumers. Mrs. A Nishath Sultana | Saabhreen Nisha "A Study on Consumer Behaviour Among Retail Outlets in Chennai" Published in International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (ijtsrd), ISSN: 2456-6470, Volume-4 | Issue-6 , October 2020, URL: https://www.ijtsrd.com/papers/ijtsrd33621.pdf Paper Url: https://www.ijtsrd.com/management/consumer-behaviour/33621/a-study-on-consumer-behaviour-among-retail-outlets-in-chennai/mrs-a-nishath-sultana
The impact of Recruitment and Selection process on candidates' intention to a...Target Research
Negli ultimi decenni la competizione per attrarre e trattenere in azienda i talenti, la cosiddetta “War For Talent” (Michaels, Handfield-Jones & Axerold, 2001) è aumentata costantemente. Diventa quindi fondamentale per le aziende trovare le modalità di Recruitment più efficaci per raggiungere i migliori e portarli dalla loro parte.
Relation between Preference for Local or Global Brands and Various Demographi...Dr. Amarjeet Singh
Now a days, dilemma of choosing between local and
global brands is faced while purchasing most of the goods be it
be a needle or a sophisticated machinery. Good quality and
affordable prices of goods of global brands are overpowering
the local brands. It is seen that young generation is getting
very much inclined towards the global brands and gradually
local brands are finding it difficult to survive in market. Along
with age many other factors are also responsible for this
phenomenon. In this situation a study on various factors which
are related with preference for local or global brands is need
of the hour. For the purpose of study a questionnaire was
developed and sent to respondents in order to find out whether
actually there is any relationship between demographic factors
of respondents and their choice between branded and local
goods. On the bases of survey it was found out that, actually
there is a relation between demographic factors of respondents
and their choice between local and branded goods to a large
extent.
Importance of Food Packaging and Its Relation to the Consumer's Demographic ...inventionjournals
International Journal of Business and Management Invention (IJBMI) is an international journal intended for professionals and researchers in all fields of Business and Management. IJBMI publishes research articles and reviews within the whole field Business and Management, new teaching methods, assessment, validation and the impact of new technologies and it will continue to provide information on the latest trends and developments in this ever-expanding subject. The publications of papers are selected through double peer reviewed to ensure originality, relevance, and readability. The articles published in our journal can be accessed online
ARF Review of Brand Keys' Brand Engagement Measurement MetricsBrand Keys
The Advertising Research Foundation's review of Brand Keys' brand engagement measurement methodology.
Our methodological framework is considered the most effective means of predicting sales and subsequent changes in real-world consumer behavior by the Advertising Research Foundation.
Changing Dynamics of IT and Marketing Teams in the Procurement of Marketing T...Anurag Anwariya
With the increase of digitization in marketing, marketers are steering towards the purchase of technologies which enables them to make informed decisions. Initially marketers in association with their agencies were making the purchase decision of these marketing technologies without defining technical specifications. This ultimately led to the role conflict between IT and Marketing due to implementation challenges and lack of IT compliance. This white paper tries to bring forth the necessary viewpoints on how IT can play a vital role in executing marketing strategies and be the revenue generator of the organization. By collaborating both IT and Marketing teams can define each other’s responsibilities, draw a strategy road map and work towards the shared goal of the organization.
Customer experience in supermarkets and hypermarkets – A comparative studyiosrjce
IOSR Journal of Business and Management (IOSR-JBM) is a double blind peer reviewed International Journal that provides rapid publication (within a month) of articles in all areas of business and managemant and its applications. The journal welcomes publications of high quality papers on theoretical developments and practical applications inbusiness and management. Original research papers, state-of-the-art reviews, and high quality technical notes are invited for publications.
Today, APIs should be core to your cloud-based platform strategy: they create both a competitive advantage and are a lever for an aggressive growth strategy. Open APIs combined with an agile culture are the way forward for enterprises that need a high level of elasticity to start competing in the sharing economy. So what is keeping your company from playing in the league of internet startups?
The strong brand equity value has turned into an exceptionally critical element that influences
customers' behaviour of a brand. Success brand management climbs from understanding and overseeing brand
equity fittingly to create the characteristics that will impact customers' behaviour when settling on their decisions.
The study makes use of primary and secondary data relating to consumers’ behaviour and brand equity. Data
collected from 100 customers from two major cities in odisha. Convenient sampling method is adopted for the
selection of samples. This paper stresses on the examination of the effect of purchaser behaviour and brand equity
dimensions on purchase of durable products. Spearman's Correlation Coefficient is used for analysis and
interpretation in order to study the difference among the purchase value of durable goods, consumer’s buying
behaviour of durable goods, brand awareness, brand image, perceived quality, brand association and brand
loyalty
A Study of Consumers Buying Behaviour in reference to Brand Positioningprofessionalpanorama
Brand positioning is to do something with the company’s products and
services offerings to its existing as well as prospective customers, for the
placement of brand in customer’s mind and to create a space for brand
according to customer’s expectations in market. Marketers understand the
needs of consumers to own a product of a brand for tangible and intangible
reasons. So, consumer’s buying behaviour and brand positioning is very
crucial area of research and development for marketers. This story shows
the effects of the consumer’s buying behaviour on brand positioning. It also
reveals the effects of demographic factor on consumer’s buying behaviour
This study examines the effect of the trademark on consumer behavior of consumers of air conditioners in Sudan, in order to know the dimensions of the trademark that affect consumer behavior in Sudan, and provide information to companies on the dimensions of the trademark that affect the purchasing decision of the customer and contribute to customer satisfaction. The study adopted descriptive analytical method using a sample of 230 individuals who consume air conditioners in Sudan. The results showed that there is a positive significant relationship between the trademark of air conditioning and consumer behavior as well as a positive significant relationship between the trademark name of air conditioning and consumer behavior and finally there is a positive significant relationship between the trademark logo and consumer behavior.
The Effect of Brand Equity on Consumer Buyer Decisions : A Case Study in Groc...AJHSSR Journal
ABSTRACT : The increasing competition leads product offering from other competitors are varied, hence
consumer loyalty is questionable. It is prominence to create distinguishable product so that leads loyalty to the
consumer, particularly in grocery product. This paper aims to test brand equity of a new brand which consist of
brand awareness, brand loyalty, brand association, and perceived quality on consumer purchase decisions. The
finding revealed strong relationship on perceived quality and brand association regarding strong cognizable
from the previous brand product in spite of low brand loyalty. The findings are more useful to practitioners in a
way to understand the way of consumer perception point of view.
KEYWORDS : Brand association, awareness, loyalty, perceived quality, purchase decisions
This project is an extensive research on the buying behavior of consumers for different brands of chocolates. It covers facts and figures and depicts all graphs of the companies. It begins with the introduction of industries. It covers some of the major strategies adopted by the companies like their pricing policy, sales promotion, and advertising policy, distribution policy etc. The project has been made interesting with the inclusion of the topics, which covers the 4P’s of marketing.
The major players in the sweet confectionary industry in India are Amul, Campo, Cadbury, and Nestle. They have a cut-throat competition among themselves. Whatever strategy is followed by one company, it is copied by the other to make themselves popular among the market too.
Running head; EVALUATING A QUALITATIVE STUDYEVALUATING A QUALITA.docxjeffsrosalyn
Running head; EVALUATING A QUALITATIVE STUDY
EVALUATING A QUALITATIVE STUDY 9
Evaluating a Qualitative Study
Name
Institutional Affiliation
Date
Evaluating a Qualitative Study
The authors conducted a study the effects of social media advertising on customer’s perception, motivation and purchase. The authors conducted the study based on the rational that current, the world is digitized and modern everyone is engaged and attached to the internet. As a result, organizations can use social media to advertise their products and services. Besides social media advertising attracts customers and organizations can use it a medium for advertising which provides them with advanced ways for businesses to obtain existing and potential customers through reviews as opposed to traditional; ways of using methods such as television and radio. Furthermore, the authors argue that using social media platforms is affordable when compared to other channels. Likewise, social media marketing influences customers, perceptions, purchase intention and motivation. The authors conducted the study to determine the effects of social media advertising on a consumers purchase intention while considers factors such as perception variables and mediation
The study is important as it provides organizations with an idea on how factors such as customer motivation, perception and purchase intention influences consumer purchase. The study also draws a model that will demonstrate the link that exists between consumer purchases and the use of social media as an advertising tool, while understanding consumer purchase decisions that enables them adopt to those brands and services that are advertised through social media. Besides, the study is important because it provides a step towards understanding consumers purchase intentions to some brands while advertising through social media.
The authors have provided a thorough literature review as they provide some of the sentiments of past studies on social media advertising and study variables. For instance, one past research indicates that the market for smart phones is increasing daily, the researcher estimate that there will be roughly 5 billion Smartphone users by the year 2020.As a result, social media marketing will play a critical role in advertising for organizations. Further, after the introduction of Smartphone touch in the year 2007, there is an upsurge of Smartphone usage globally. Furthermore, statistics conducted by Google play store and Apple indicate that more than 135 billion apps are downloaded through smart phones and the number is bound to increase in the near future. Also, users spend most of their time in social media platforms.
The author also provides a definition of customer perception. They define it a marketing concept that creates awareness consciousness and impression on a customer about an organization’s products and services. Customer’s perception is influenced by review, advertising, public relations .
Questions1. To what extent do you consider the title adequately re.pdfAlphaVision2
Questions
1. To what extent do you consider the title adequately represents the research question and
research objectives?(5 points)
2. To what extent do you consider the literature discussed in the Background section supports the
research question and objectives? Give reasons for your answer. (5 points)
3. In relation to the title, research question and research objectives, what key points would you
wish to outline in a revised Background section? (5 points)
4. What are the strengths and weaknesses of the information provided in the Method, Timescale
and Resources sections? (5 points)
5. What key points would you wish to emphasise in revised Method, Timescale and Resources
sections? (5 points)
6. Proofread Katrinas draft proposal and make a list of all the spelling, typographical and
referencing errors you can find. (5 points)
Task 3:
Kristinas first draft research proposal
Kristina is studying for a masters degree in international business, Although she has chosen to
study overseas, she wishes to undertake her research project in her home country. She is
interested in the relationship between marketing strategy and international business and has
prepared her research proposal for an applied research project. This states that the aim of her
research project is to establish how the case study organisation (Healthy-FoodCo) can market a
dietary supplement (DietSupp) successfully in another country (OverSeasCountry). She emails
the first draft of her research proposal to her project supervisor and is surprised that he emails
back, requesting a meeting to talk through some concerns about the proposal. Below we present
an abbreviated version of the first draft of her research proposal. Please note the proposal
intentionally includes methodological, as well as spelling and grammatical, errors to allow you to
evaluate and improve it by working through the case study questions.
Title
The impact of national cultures and the marketing mix on consumer buying behaviour: A case
study of HealthyFoodCos marketing of a new diet supplement internationally.
Background (abridged)
The marketing mix is the central concept of marketing (Khan, 2014). Scholars argue that the
concept originated in the 1940s with Neil Borden (e.g. Schultz and Dev, 2012). At this point, the
concept of marketing mix was not formally defined and it was Jerome McCarthy who adapted
this concept in the 1950s into what is known as the 4Ps: product, price, place and promotion
(Schultze and Dev, 2012). Phillip Kotler then popularized the 4Ps (Schultz and Dev,2012),
which continue to be the most enduring marketing mixer framework. Each of the 4Ps may be
seen to be a controllable element that an organisation may use to formulate and implement a
marketing strategy that is adapted to the environment within which their target market exists
(Dadzie et alia 2017). The intention here is to influence customer buying behaviour favourably
towards the product being marketed.
However, as main critique surr.
Influence of Branded Grains in Indian Retail MarketsIOSR Journals
The study was designed to investigate the Relationship between Rice Branding Dimensions and Brand Rating. The study covers the population includes 780 consumers from Tamil nadu, who are all using branded rice. The questionnaires were given to 900 consumers who are all using branded rice. Out of 900 consumers contacted, 780 questionnaires were received with required coverage and details. The participants completed the two sets of self-reported questionnaires, including Background characteristics and variables chosen for this study in order to measure the influence of branded milk are the Salience, performance, Imagery, Judgment, Feelings, attitude and Resonance. The collected data were computed and analysed using multiple regressions. The findings of the study were generalized as follows: Statistically significant differences were found in Brand rating by the different brand dimensions like Salience, Performance, Imagery, feelings, attitude and Resonance. In the end of the study implications and conclusion were provided.
International Journal of Business and Management Invention (IJBMI)inventionjournals
International Journal of Business and Management Invention (IJBMI) is an international journal intended for professionals and researchers in all fields of Business and Management. IJBMI publishes research articles and reviews within the whole field Business and Management, new teaching methods, assessment, validation and the impact of new technologies and it will continue to provide information on the latest trends and developments in this ever-expanding subject. The publications of papers are selected through double peer reviewed to ensure originality, relevance, and readability. The articles published in our journal can be accessed online.
intllab.com - Mine for sale (magazine advertising)intllab.com
Attitude towards advertising can be used as one of the predictable factors of advertising effectiveness. Of course, considering belief factors is very important and also necessary. Influential responses to advertising (effective reaction to advertisement) have significant impacts on causing positive reaction to the brands. Moreover, the impact of influential responses on attitude towards advertising and then attitude towards brand may be different from one person to another
GraphRAG is All You need? LLM & Knowledge GraphGuy Korland
Guy Korland, CEO and Co-founder of FalkorDB, will review two articles on the integration of language models with knowledge graphs.
1. Unifying Large Language Models and Knowledge Graphs: A Roadmap.
https://arxiv.org/abs/2306.08302
2. Microsoft Research's GraphRAG paper and a review paper on various uses of knowledge graphs:
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/blog/graphrag-unlocking-llm-discovery-on-narrative-private-data/
In his public lecture, Christian Timmerer provides insights into the fascinating history of video streaming, starting from its humble beginnings before YouTube to the groundbreaking technologies that now dominate platforms like Netflix and ORF ON. Timmerer also presents provocative contributions of his own that have significantly influenced the industry. He concludes by looking at future challenges and invites the audience to join in a discussion.
Communications Mining Series - Zero to Hero - Session 1DianaGray10
This session provides introduction to UiPath Communication Mining, importance and platform overview. You will acquire a good understand of the phases in Communication Mining as we go over the platform with you. Topics covered:
• Communication Mining Overview
• Why is it important?
• How can it help today’s business and the benefits
• Phases in Communication Mining
• Demo on Platform overview
• Q/A
GDG Cloud Southlake #33: Boule & Rebala: Effective AppSec in SDLC using Deplo...James Anderson
Effective Application Security in Software Delivery lifecycle using Deployment Firewall and DBOM
The modern software delivery process (or the CI/CD process) includes many tools, distributed teams, open-source code, and cloud platforms. Constant focus on speed to release software to market, along with the traditional slow and manual security checks has caused gaps in continuous security as an important piece in the software supply chain. Today organizations feel more susceptible to external and internal cyber threats due to the vast attack surface in their applications supply chain and the lack of end-to-end governance and risk management.
The software team must secure its software delivery process to avoid vulnerability and security breaches. This needs to be achieved with existing tool chains and without extensive rework of the delivery processes. This talk will present strategies and techniques for providing visibility into the true risk of the existing vulnerabilities, preventing the introduction of security issues in the software, resolving vulnerabilities in production environments quickly, and capturing the deployment bill of materials (DBOM).
Speakers:
Bob Boule
Robert Boule is a technology enthusiast with PASSION for technology and making things work along with a knack for helping others understand how things work. He comes with around 20 years of solution engineering experience in application security, software continuous delivery, and SaaS platforms. He is known for his dynamic presentations in CI/CD and application security integrated in software delivery lifecycle.
Gopinath Rebala
Gopinath Rebala is the CTO of OpsMx, where he has overall responsibility for the machine learning and data processing architectures for Secure Software Delivery. Gopi also has a strong connection with our customers, leading design and architecture for strategic implementations. Gopi is a frequent speaker and well-known leader in continuous delivery and integrating security into software delivery.
Essentials of Automations: The Art of Triggers and Actions in FMESafe Software
In this second installment of our Essentials of Automations webinar series, we’ll explore the landscape of triggers and actions, guiding you through the nuances of authoring and adapting workspaces for seamless automations. Gain an understanding of the full spectrum of triggers and actions available in FME, empowering you to enhance your workspaces for efficient automation.
We’ll kick things off by showcasing the most commonly used event-based triggers, introducing you to various automation workflows like manual triggers, schedules, directory watchers, and more. Plus, see how these elements play out in real scenarios.
Whether you’re tweaking your current setup or building from the ground up, this session will arm you with the tools and insights needed to transform your FME usage into a powerhouse of productivity. Join us to discover effective strategies that simplify complex processes, enhancing your productivity and transforming your data management practices with FME. Let’s turn complexity into clarity and make your workspaces work wonders!
Why You Should Replace Windows 11 with Nitrux Linux 3.5.0 for enhanced perfor...SOFTTECHHUB
The choice of an operating system plays a pivotal role in shaping our computing experience. For decades, Microsoft's Windows has dominated the market, offering a familiar and widely adopted platform for personal and professional use. However, as technological advancements continue to push the boundaries of innovation, alternative operating systems have emerged, challenging the status quo and offering users a fresh perspective on computing.
One such alternative that has garnered significant attention and acclaim is Nitrux Linux 3.5.0, a sleek, powerful, and user-friendly Linux distribution that promises to redefine the way we interact with our devices. With its focus on performance, security, and customization, Nitrux Linux presents a compelling case for those seeking to break free from the constraints of proprietary software and embrace the freedom and flexibility of open-source computing.
How to Get CNIC Information System with Paksim Ga.pptxdanishmna97
Pakdata Cf is a groundbreaking system designed to streamline and facilitate access to CNIC information. This innovative platform leverages advanced technology to provide users with efficient and secure access to their CNIC details.
GridMate - End to end testing is a critical piece to ensure quality and avoid...ThomasParaiso2
End to end testing is a critical piece to ensure quality and avoid regressions. In this session, we share our journey building an E2E testing pipeline for GridMate components (LWC and Aura) using Cypress, JSForce, FakerJS…
Climate Impact of Software Testing at Nordic Testing DaysKari Kakkonen
My slides at Nordic Testing Days 6.6.2024
Climate impact / sustainability of software testing discussed on the talk. ICT and testing must carry their part of global responsibility to help with the climat warming. We can minimize the carbon footprint but we can also have a carbon handprint, a positive impact on the climate. Quality characteristics can be added with sustainability, and then measured continuously. Test environments can be used less, and in smaller scale and on demand. Test techniques can be used in optimizing or minimizing number of tests. Test automation can be used to speed up testing.
Enchancing adoption of Open Source Libraries. A case study on Albumentations.AIVladimir Iglovikov, Ph.D.
Presented by Vladimir Iglovikov:
- https://www.linkedin.com/in/iglovikov/
- https://x.com/viglovikov
- https://www.instagram.com/ternaus/
This presentation delves into the journey of Albumentations.ai, a highly successful open-source library for data augmentation.
Created out of a necessity for superior performance in Kaggle competitions, Albumentations has grown to become a widely used tool among data scientists and machine learning practitioners.
This case study covers various aspects, including:
People: The contributors and community that have supported Albumentations.
Metrics: The success indicators such as downloads, daily active users, GitHub stars, and financial contributions.
Challenges: The hurdles in monetizing open-source projects and measuring user engagement.
Development Practices: Best practices for creating, maintaining, and scaling open-source libraries, including code hygiene, CI/CD, and fast iteration.
Community Building: Strategies for making adoption easy, iterating quickly, and fostering a vibrant, engaged community.
Marketing: Both online and offline marketing tactics, focusing on real, impactful interactions and collaborations.
Mental Health: Maintaining balance and not feeling pressured by user demands.
Key insights include the importance of automation, making the adoption process seamless, and leveraging offline interactions for marketing. The presentation also emphasizes the need for continuous small improvements and building a friendly, inclusive community that contributes to the project's growth.
Vladimir Iglovikov brings his extensive experience as a Kaggle Grandmaster, ex-Staff ML Engineer at Lyft, sharing valuable lessons and practical advice for anyone looking to enhance the adoption of their open-source projects.
Explore more about Albumentations and join the community at:
GitHub: https://github.com/albumentations-team/albumentations
Website: https://albumentations.ai/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/100504475
Twitter: https://x.com/albumentations
Removing Uninteresting Bytes in Software FuzzingAftab Hussain
Imagine a world where software fuzzing, the process of mutating bytes in test seeds to uncover hidden and erroneous program behaviors, becomes faster and more effective. A lot depends on the initial seeds, which can significantly dictate the trajectory of a fuzzing campaign, particularly in terms of how long it takes to uncover interesting behaviour in your code. We introduce DIAR, a technique designed to speedup fuzzing campaigns by pinpointing and eliminating those uninteresting bytes in the seeds. Picture this: instead of wasting valuable resources on meaningless mutations in large, bloated seeds, DIAR removes the unnecessary bytes, streamlining the entire process.
In this work, we equipped AFL, a popular fuzzer, with DIAR and examined two critical Linux libraries -- Libxml's xmllint, a tool for parsing xml documents, and Binutil's readelf, an essential debugging and security analysis command-line tool used to display detailed information about ELF (Executable and Linkable Format). Our preliminary results show that AFL+DIAR does not only discover new paths more quickly but also achieves higher coverage overall. This work thus showcases how starting with lean and optimized seeds can lead to faster, more comprehensive fuzzing campaigns -- and DIAR helps you find such seeds.
- These are slides of the talk given at IEEE International Conference on Software Testing Verification and Validation Workshop, ICSTW 2022.
A tale of scale & speed: How the US Navy is enabling software delivery from l...sonjaschweigert1
Rapid and secure feature delivery is a goal across every application team and every branch of the DoD. The Navy’s DevSecOps platform, Party Barge, has achieved:
- Reduction in onboarding time from 5 weeks to 1 day
- Improved developer experience and productivity through actionable findings and reduction of false positives
- Maintenance of superior security standards and inherent policy enforcement with Authorization to Operate (ATO)
Development teams can ship efficiently and ensure applications are cyber ready for Navy Authorizing Officials (AOs). In this webinar, Sigma Defense and Anchore will give attendees a look behind the scenes and demo secure pipeline automation and security artifacts that speed up application ATO and time to production.
We will cover:
- How to remove silos in DevSecOps
- How to build efficient development pipeline roles and component templates
- How to deliver security artifacts that matter for ATO’s (SBOMs, vulnerability reports, and policy evidence)
- How to streamline operations with automated policy checks on container images
Alt. GDG Cloud Southlake #33: Boule & Rebala: Effective AppSec in SDLC using ...James Anderson
Effective Application Security in Software Delivery lifecycle using Deployment Firewall and DBOM
The modern software delivery process (or the CI/CD process) includes many tools, distributed teams, open-source code, and cloud platforms. Constant focus on speed to release software to market, along with the traditional slow and manual security checks has caused gaps in continuous security as an important piece in the software supply chain. Today organizations feel more susceptible to external and internal cyber threats due to the vast attack surface in their applications supply chain and the lack of end-to-end governance and risk management.
The software team must secure its software delivery process to avoid vulnerability and security breaches. This needs to be achieved with existing tool chains and without extensive rework of the delivery processes. This talk will present strategies and techniques for providing visibility into the true risk of the existing vulnerabilities, preventing the introduction of security issues in the software, resolving vulnerabilities in production environments quickly, and capturing the deployment bill of materials (DBOM).
Speakers:
Bob Boule
Robert Boule is a technology enthusiast with PASSION for technology and making things work along with a knack for helping others understand how things work. He comes with around 20 years of solution engineering experience in application security, software continuous delivery, and SaaS platforms. He is known for his dynamic presentations in CI/CD and application security integrated in software delivery lifecycle.
Gopinath Rebala
Gopinath Rebala is the CTO of OpsMx, where he has overall responsibility for the machine learning and data processing architectures for Secure Software Delivery. Gopi also has a strong connection with our customers, leading design and architecture for strategic implementations. Gopi is a frequent speaker and well-known leader in continuous delivery and integrating security into software delivery.
Alt. GDG Cloud Southlake #33: Boule & Rebala: Effective AppSec in SDLC using ...
MINING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN DEMOGRAPHIC VARIABLES AND BRAND ASSOCIATIONS
1. International Journal of Managing Value and Supply Chains (IJMVSC) Vol.4, No. 3, September 2013
DOI: 10.5121/ijmvsc.2013.4301 1
MINING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN
DEMOGRAPHIC VARIABLES AND BRAND
ASSOCIATIONS
Ajayeb Abu Daabes1
and Faten Kharbat2
1
Emirates College of Technology, Abu Dhabi, UAE
2
Al Ain University of Science and Technology, Abu Dhabi, UAE
ABSTRACT
This research aims to mine the relationship between demographic variables and brand associations, and
study the relative importance of these variables. The study is conducted on fast-food restaurant brands
chains in Jordan. The result ranks and evaluates the demographic variables in relation with the brand
associations for the selected sample. Discovering brand associations according to demographic variables
reveals many facts and linkages in the context of Jordanian culture. Suggestions are given accordingly for
marketers to benefits from to build their strategies and direct their decisions. Also, data mining technique
used in this study reflects a new trend for studying and analyzing marketing samples.
KEYWORDS
Brand Associations, Branding, Service Marketing, Demographic Variables, X-Means Algorithm, Data
Mining, Ranking, ReilefF.
1. INTRODUCTION
Exploring and analyzing characteristics of consumers can help marketers to target the right
customers in the right way by the right tools. Understanding the relationship between
demographic characteristics and brand associations has many indicators that reflect the customer
behaviour from one side, and how to tailor marketing mix to fit and satisfy customers‟ needs and
preferences from the other side.
According to Aaker [1], brand associations are "the category of a brand's assets and liabilities that
include anything ``linked'' in memory to a brand". Keller [2] defines brand associations as
"informational nodes linked to the brand node in memory and contain the meaning of the brand
for consumers. Associations come in all forms and may reflect characteristics of the product or
aspects independent of the product".
Scholars variously described brand image as “the perceptions and beliefs held by consumers, as
reflected in the associations held in consumer memory” [3]. Several efforts have studied specific
elements of brand associations; for example, [1], [4], [5], [6], [7]. Brand associations form brand
image which is composed of anything deeply placed in customer‟s mind toward the brand.
Associations may be implicit or explicit perceptions with a brand name through information from
commercial/ non-commercial sources (e.g., word of mouth, media, country of origin, channel of
distribution, and many other sources). Therefore, the marketers should manage well these sources
to influence the consumers‟ image to be associated strongly with something positive and unique.
The huge amount of data with complicated relations necessitates using other techniques, such as
data mining, that are concerned with formulating the process of generalization as a search through
2. International Journal of Managing Value and Supply Chains (IJMVSC) Vol.4, No. 3, September 2013
2
possible hypothesis instead of focusing on testing exist hypothesis which is applied by
conventional techniques. Data mining is defined to be:" the process of discovering meaningful
new correlations, patterns and trends by sifting through large amounts of data stored in
repositories, using pat-tern recognition technologies as well as statistical and mathematical
techniques" [9]. Accordingly, this study aims to achieve the following goals:
• Study the relationship between brand associations and demographic variables through
data mining techniques.
• Study demographic variables according to their weight on brand associations.
• Recommend some suggestions for marketers to direct marketing strategies for their target
markets.
This study is organized into five sections. Section 2 overviews some of the recent related work
for the brand associations and customer behaviours. Section 3 describes the methodology used in
this study. Sections 4 and 5 illustrate the results and conclusions for the study along with some
future directions.
2. RELATED WORK
The relationship between brand associations and customer characteristics could be measured by
different conventional tools. Keller [2] defines quantitative research techniques to be "a means to
better approximate the breadth and depth of brand awareness, the strength, favourability, and
uniqueness of brand associations, the favourability of brand responses, and the nature of brand
relationships". Quantities trend is very useful in concluding summaries which represent various
types of scale questions. They have been used as "a primary ingredient in tracking studies that
monitor brand knowledge structures of consumers over time" [2]. Qualitative researches
techniques [10], in the other hand, "are a means of identify possible brand association" [2]. They
have unstructured nature and used to provide an in-depth of what brands and products mean to
consumers [11].
Understanding the relationship between customer characteristics and brand associations has been
an interesting area of research [15, 16]. Several studies conducted recently aimed to study many
elements of consumer brand associations throughout qualitative and quantitative researches using
conventional tools to analyze data.
Srivastava [13] conducted a descriptive study to ascertain the perception change in the brand
identity of a well known soap brand, brand personality, awareness levels, usage pattern,
promotional campaigns and the factors influencing the buying behaviour of the consumers. The
study observed that most of the respondents identified the soap clearly as a family/male soap. The
study focused on the main issues affecting the soap‟s brand identity, the markets it has entered,
the positioning strategies it has adopted, the celebrities used in endorsing the product, the pricing
techniques used.
Another study was conducted by Ménde, Oubiña, & Rubio [14] aims to analyze the relative
importance of brand-packaging, price and taste in the formation of brand preference for
manufacturer and store brands in food product categories. The study used a blind taste test of the
product using three brands (two manufacturer brands and one store brand). It used con-joint
analysis to analyze the influence of the intrinsic cue (taste) and the extrinsic cues (price and
brand-packaging) on consumers‟ preference for manufacturer and store brands. The results show
that not knowing the brand to which the taste tested belongs, leads consumers in general to order
3. International Journal of Managing Value and Supply Chains (IJMVSC) Vol.4, No. 3, September 2013
3
their preferences fundamentally by taste. However, the results differ by product category and
consumer segment analyzed. Consumers who evaluate the taste of store brands as better change
their preferences more when they know which brand belongs to which taste. Further, the change
in preference when consumers know the brand-taste correspondence is clearly greater in the most
differentiated category. Store brands are only evaluated more favourably than manufacturer
brands in price.
Alimen & Cerit [15] analyzed via exploratory study the impacts of gender, field of education, and
having consumed the brand, on consumers‟ brand knowledge. The survey was con-ducted by
using convenience sampling over Turkish university students. The study discovered significant
differences with respect to usage, gender, and departments. The study revealed that students in
departments more related to fashion and female students have more knowledge about the tested
brands. Also, "the findings demonstrate that consumption of a brand increases both brand
awareness and brand image" [15].
Alexandris et al. [17] focused on the exploratory factor analysis and revealed eight brand
association factors: popularity, management, logo, escape, vicarious achievement, nostalgia, pride
and affect. The study was conducted over 165 participants of a managed-owned fitness club. Two
questionnaires were designed of 25 questions each, one to measure brand associations, and the
other to measure service quality. It was found that five of the eight brand associations (escape,
nostalgia, pride, logo, and affect) significantly contributed to the prediction of loyalty. Also, it
was revealed that the service quality dimensions predicted significant amount of variances in all
the eight brand associations.
3. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
This study applies some of the well known data mining techniques to study the relative
importance of demographic variables and the favourable bonds with brands associations for fast
food restaurants‟ brand. In this research we aim to study some of restaurants‟ brand associations
in relation with customers‟ demographic variables. The following restaurants‟ brand associations
were studied:
1. Brand Elements which are defined as the name or logo or any other symbols represent the
restaurant.
2. Emotions that reflect feelings that are carried toward the brand.
3. Trust that means the level of credibility the brand stands for.
4. Distribution Channels that reflect availability and convenience for the customer.
5. Brand Quality that reflects perceived quality from customer.
6. Country of Origin that represents the perceived image the customer has toward the country of
origin.
7. Price that indicates the level of affordability for the customer.
8. Loyalty that represents positive feelings toward the brand that lead to a commitment to re-
purchase the brand and continue using it.
Experiments were performed using two well-known data mining techniques via Weka software
[18]. Weka is a collection of machine learning algorithms for solving real-world data mining
problems [18]. The Weka workbench [19] contains a collection of visualization tools and
algorithms for data analysis and predictive modelling, together with graphical user inter-faces for
easy access to this functionality. The first data mining technique is the X-Mean Clustering
Algorithm which is an extended K-Means Clustering algorithm [20] by an improve-structure part
in which the centres are challenged to be split in its region. The decision between the records of
each centre and itself is done comparing the BIC-values of the two structures [21]. The second
4. International Journal of Managing Value and Supply Chains (IJMVSC) Vol.4, No. 3, September 2013
4
data mining algorithm used in this research is the Ranker Algorithm which “ranks attributes by
their individual evaluations.” [19]. The algorithm is used in conjunction with the Relief algorithm
(ReliefF [23]) to estimate and evaluate the variables. It is also used to detect conditional
dependencies between data features. Many researchers have demonstrated that ReliefF algorithm
is very useful in different applications and domains, for example [24] and [25]. It is usually used
to deal with data that is noisy, incomplete, or/and has more than two classes.
The questionnaire was developed to collect the primary data needed for this study; it consists of
two main parts: the first part includes questions about demographic data of the respondent, which
are: gender, marital status, educational degree, age, and income level. Table 1 illustrates the
variables and their categories along with their frequencies.
The second part of the questionnaire includes eight variables. 49 statements were developed to
cover all the variables. Likert scale in five levels was applied. The variables: (1) Brand elements
were measured in paragraphs 1-5. (2) Brand quality was measured in paragraphs 6-18, (3) Brand
trust was measured in paragraphs 19-22, (4) Emotions were measured in paragraphs 23-27, (5)
Distribution channels were measured in paragraphs 28-33, (6) Price was measured in paragraphs
34-38, (7) Country of origin was measured in paragraphs 38-43, and (8) Loyalty was measured in
paragraphs 44-49.
Table 1: Summary of Demographic Variables
A total of 1067 survey questionnaires were distributed via convenience sample covering fast food
restaurant brand chains‟ clients in the capital of Jordan, Amman. From this, 889 questionnaires
were returned and 77 questionnaires were dropped from the analysis due to incomplete answers,
with a final sample of 812 respondents representing a response rate of 76%. Briefly, the
respondents consisted of 61% (n=493) males, about 54% the age group of 20-30 years old, about
78% were single, and more than half had university education. All in-come ranges were covered
%FrequencyCategory
Demographic
Variables
16394MaleGender
49469Female
52504Less than 20 yearsAge
2334250-40
94346-30
23436-20
424More than 50 years
47144SingleMarital status
64642Married
230Divorcee
139Less than High SchoolEducational degree
67635High School
340Diploma
27343Bachelor
63664Graduate
62667Less than 500 JDIncome level
45515200-6000
566196006-6200
66906206-5000
56644More than 2000JD
5. International Journal of Managing Value and Supply Chains (IJMVSC) Vol.4, No. 3, September 2013
5
in the questionnaire, but about 32% of the respondents had an estimated monthly income between
500-1000 JD. A summary of demographic variables is presented above in Table 1.
4. RESULTS
Our work has two main results. First, we present the findings for the X-Means algorithm over
each demographic variable separately. Next, we evaluate the variables to discover their ranking
which gives us indication about their importance to the brand associations.
After applying X-Means algorithm over the sample, five figures are produced to reflect each
demographic variable separately in relation with brand associations using excel line chart type as
shown in Figure 1.
a) Clusters based on Gender b) Clusters based on Marital Status
c) Clusters based on Degree Level d) Clusters based on Age
e) Clusters based on Income
Figure 1: The Clusters Based on the Demographic Variables
Figure 1(a) reveals that there are positive associations between the customers‟ gender and the fast
food restaurants‟ brand. The figure shows that the sample is divided into three groups; the first
and the second groups are very similar in their trend. They show neutral and favourable relations
with brand associations between customers and fast food restaurants brands; that is, most of the
associations have a centre around or above 2. The first group is for the males customers and the
second group is for part of the females‟ customers. The third group is for the other part of the
6. International Journal of Managing Value and Supply Chains (IJMVSC) Vol.4, No. 3, September 2013
6
females‟ customer which shows different trend towards brand associations; it reflects weak
relationship with brand associations.
Figure 1(b) reveals that there are positive associations between the customers‟ marital status and
the fast food restaurants' brand associations. The figure shows that the sample is divided into
three groups; married customer has good and favourable relationship with fast food restaurants
brand along with part of the singles customers. On the other hand there is a segment of single
customers that have below average relationship with brand associations.
Figure 1(c) reveals that there are positive associations between the customers‟ educational degree
and the fast food restaurants' brand associations. Although the figure shows four different groups,
the sample trend seems to have three different tendencies. Graduate and bachelors‟ educational
degree have positive and favourable relationship with fast food restaurants brand associations
along with segment of high secondary schools customers. The remaining two groups are for
diploma and segment of high secondary schools customers which have below average
relationship with brand associations.
Figure 1(d) reveals that there are positive associations between the customers‟ age and the fast
food restaurants' brand associations. The figure shows that one group of the sample has
significant relationship, which is the customers between 20-30 years old, and brand association.
This group is divided into two different clusters. One of them has positive and favourable
relationship with fast food restaurants brand and the other one has weak relationship.
Figure 1(e) reveals that there are positive associations between the customers‟ income and the fast
food restaurants' brand associations. The figure shows two groups that have significant trend;
customers‟ incomes‟ between 500 and 1000JD, and between 1501 and 2000JD. Customers from
the two categories reflect positive and favourable relationship with fast food restaurants' brand.
The second part for our result is the output of the Ranking and Relief algorithm which is a weight
between −1 and 1 for each variable; the more positive weights indicate more predictive attributes.
Table 2 illustrates the demographic variables and their weight based on the used algorithm. The
result reveals that the Income variable is the most important indicator for the current sample on
the brand associations. On the other hand, the age variable has shown to have the least effect.
Table 2: The Demographic Variables‟ Weights Using the Ranking and Relief algorithm
Weight DV
-0.01017 Age
-0.0075 Sex
-0.0036 Degree
-0.00268 Material
0.00895 Income
5. DISCUSSION
The conclusions of this study split into two parts; the first one is that using the X-Means
algorithm over all the demographic variables help discovering brand associations and suggest
some relations between the variables and brand associations. Findings reflect neutral and
favourable relationship between demographic variables and brand associations. These results
support the "variety seeking buying behaviour [22]" type: which occurs in situations "of low
consumer involvement but significant perceived brand differences. In such cases consumers often
do a lot of brand switching" [22]. This indicates that there is no real brand loyalty; hence, further
effort should be conducted in future research to distinguish between associations. However, some
Morepredictive
7. International Journal of Managing Value and Supply Chains (IJMVSC) Vol.4, No. 3, September 2013
7
demographic variables show to have a unique trend toward brand associations; for example,
married customers seem to have positive trend towards brand associations, some of the females‟
customers tend to have negative brand associations, and the customers from the middle age seem
to have two different trends with the brand associations.
All males group and a segment of females have favourable relationship with brand associations
while the remaining segment of females has weak relationship. This result refers to the culture
prevailed in Jordanian society which allows males to move more freely, and that definitely helps
them to build some associations with their brands.
Being single has strong effect on the brand associations. This result seems to match the Jordanian
social customs which encourage family relations and home cooking meals. Singles studying or
working in Amman may be from another city and hence their bonds with the restaurants are
strong. In general, singles have less responsibility towards their families and strong bonds with
their friends which encourage them to use the restaurant services more often.
Graduate and bachelor‟s customers have significant relationship with brand associations; this
result aligns with the level of awareness within these categories that help to build and create
positive relationships with brands.
Both married and singles customers have significant relationship with brand association except a
segment of singles customers. This result seems to be logic since married customers have a lot of
standards to make purchasing decisions. While singles have different trends, some of them has
positive relations with brand associations, and the other one has weak relations which indicates
that this segment don‟t care of about fast food brand associations.
For the income element, there are no differences between the two clusters, but the figure shows
that both clusters should be in high income range to build such an associations. This result is logic
since the income level in Jordan (Amman in particular) is low, and the visits to restaurants may
be considered a complementary expense for low incomes. For that the output of the Relief
algorithm reflects that the income is the most effective factor in comparison with other
demographic variables in this study.
Customers (20-30) years old seemed to have significant relationships rather than other categories.
This result aligns with nature of Jordanian society in which the majority of this category is
unmarried therefore they visit fast food restaurants frequently and building favourable
relationships with these brands.
It recommends a practical technique that can help marketer to forming their strategies and
decisions using well known data mining techniques instead of pure traditional statistical
techniques. Data mining techniques are used to discover implicit interesting patterns and relations
within the collected data using machine learning, pattern recognition, statistics, databases, and
algorithms. This study opens the door for using such techniques in the field of branding. Further
investigations may illustrate a comparison study between the results using pure statistical
methods and data mining techniques.
The second part is highlighting the brand associations between customers and fast food
restaurants brands chains in Jordan. The result reveals that there are neutral and favourable
associations, and this result is reasonable since the switching cost is low and the customers want
to check variety of services. The study shows that some demographic variables have significant
impact on brand associations, such as, income, marital status, and educational degree. Therefore,
further efforts have taken place to examine the strengths of the suggested associations via ranking
technique to rank the variables according to their impact on brand associations as shown above.
8. International Journal of Managing Value and Supply Chains (IJMVSC) Vol.4, No. 3, September 2013
8
6. CONCLUSIONS AND FUTURE WORK
The conclusions of this study split into two parts; the first one is that using some data mining
techniques, such as X-Means algorithm, over the demographic variables help discovering brand
associations and suggest relations between these variables. The findings reflect neutral and
favourable relationship between demographic variables and brand associations. These results
support the "variety seeking buying behaviour" type: which occurs in situations "of low consumer
involvement but significant perceived brand differences. In such cases consumers often do a lot
of brand switching" [22]. This indicates that there is no real brand loyalty for the restaurants‟
brands; hence, further effort should be conducted in future research to distinguish between
associations. However, some demographic variables show to have a unique trend toward brand
associations; for example, income, marital status, and educational degree have significant
differences between customers and brand associations.
The second part of the conclusion relies on predicting significant targets for marketers that is
derived from the previous results. In general all customers hold neutral associations with
restaurants‟ brand. Hence, this fact creates a lot of pressure on marketers to switch customer form
neutral status to loyalty status.
Segments of the female group have shown weak associations with restaurants‟ brand; this
requires marketers to attract this segment through their brand strategies. Also, category of
customers between 20 and 30 years old presents significant relation with the associations, which
indicates positive attitudes towards fast food brands. Marketers are advised to focus on this
category to make them more loyal and to attract other ages‟ segments.
High income customers seem to have a good trend towards brand associations; however, low
income levels have negative attitude toward fast food brands. Marketers should persuade other
categories with their pricing strategies.
High educational customers who have significant relations with restaurants‟ brand reflect that
lower educational level customers may have an ignorance relation, which means that customers
from this segment does not care about any associations!
Married customers and singles both are targeted for fast food restaurants; marketers shouldn‟t
ignore any segment unless they scan the culture and their trends.
Finally, this research recommends a practical technique that can help marketer to form their
strategies and decisions using well known data mining techniques instead of pure conventional
techniques. This study opens the door for using such techniques in the field of branding. Further
investigations may take place to compare this study with others from different culture and
countries.
REFERENCES
1. Aaker, D.: Managing Brand Equity. Capitalizing on the Value of a Brand Name. Free Press: New
York (1991).
2. Keller, K.: Strategic Brand Management, 3rd edition, Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall
(2008).
3. Kotler, P., Keller, K.: Marketing Management, Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 13th
edition (2009)
4. Aaker, D.: Building Strong Brands, Free Press: New York (1996)
5. Aaker, D., Jacobson, R.: Study Shows Brand-building Pays Off For Stockholders, Advertising
Age, vol. 65 (1994).
6. Aaker, J.: Dimensions of Brand Personality, Journal of Marketing, Research, vol. 34: 3, 347-356
(1997).
9. International Journal of Managing Value and Supply Chains (IJMVSC) Vol.4, No. 3, September 2013
9
7. Keller, K.: Conceptualizing, measuring, and managing consumer-based brand equity, Journal of
Marketing, vol. 57, 1-22 (1993).
8. Abu Daabes, A.: Determining the Factors that have an Impact on Building Customer-Based Brand
Equity in the Service Sector “Empirical Study on Fast Food Restaurant Chains in Jordan”, PhD
Thesis (2009).
9. Larose, D.: Discovering Knowledge in Data: An Introduction to Data Mining, John Wiley & Sons
Inc (2005).
10. Belk, R. W.:Handbook of Qualitative Research Methods in Marketing, Edward Elgar Publishing
(2006).
11. Bruner, G. C., Hensel, P. J.: Marketing scales handbook: A compilation of multi-item measures.
Chicago: American Marketing Association, vol. 2. (1996).
12. Delassus, V. P., Descotes, R. M.: Brand name substitution and brand equity transfer, Journal of
Product & Brand Management, vol. 21: 2, 117 – 125 (2012)
13. Srivastava, R.K.: Understanding brand identity confusion, Marketing Intelligence & Planning, vol.
29: 4, 340 – 352 (2011)
14. Méndez, J. L., Oubiña, J., Rubio, N.: The relative importance of brand-packaging, price and taste
in affecting brand preferences, British Food Journal, vol. 113: 10, 1229 – 1251 (2011)
15. Alimen, N., Cerit, A.G.: Dimensions of brand knowledge: Turkish university students'
consumption of international fashion brands, Journal of Enterprise Information Management, vol.
23: 4, 538 – 558 (2010).
16. Danes, J. E. , Hess, J. S., Story, J. W., York, J. L.: Brand image associations for large virtual
groups, Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal, vol. 13: 3, 309 – 323 (2010)
17. Alexandris, K., Douka, S., Papadopoulos, P., Kaltsatou, A.: Testing the role of service quality on
the development of brand associations and brand loyalty., Managing service quality, vol. 18: 3, pp.
239-254 (2008)
18. Hall, M., Frank, E., Holmes, G., Pfahringer, B., Reutemann, P., Witten, I.: The WEKA Data
Mining Software: An Update; SIGKDD Explorations, vol. 11: 1 (2009).
19. Witten, I. H., Frank, E., Hall, M. A.: Data Mining: Practical machine learning tools and
techniques, 3rd Edition, Morgan Kaufmann, San Francisco (2011).
20. Hartigan, A.: Clustering Algorithms (Probability & Mathematical Statistics). John Wiley & Sons
Inc (1975).
21. Pelleg, D., Moore, A.: X-means: Extending K-means with Efficient Estimation of the Number of
Clusters. In Proceedings of the Seventeenth International Conference on Machine Learning (ICML
'00), P. Langley (Ed.). Morgan Kaufmann Publishers Inc., San Francisco, CA, USA, 727-734.
(2000).
22. Kotler, P., Armstrong G.: Principles of Marketing, Prentice Hall, 14 edition (2011).
23. Kononenko, I.: 1994, „Estimating attributes: analysis and extensions of Relief‟. In: L. De Raedt
and F. Bergadano (eds.): Machine Learning: ECML-94. pp. 171–182, Springer Verlag.
24. Marko RS, Igor K: Theoretical and empirical analysis of reliefF and RReliefF. Machine Learning
Journal, 53:23-69, 2003.
25. Stokes M, and Visweswaran S.: Application of a spatially-weighted Relief algorithm for ranking
genetic predictors of disease. BioData Mining, 5:20, 2012.
Authors
Ajayeb Abu Daabes is an Assistant Professor in Marketing at Emirates College of Technology, Abu
Dhabi, UAE. She holds PhD degree in Marketing/Branding from Amman Arab University, Jordan, in 2009.
Her Master degree was in MBA/Marketing in 2002 from Jordan University. Her main research interest is
customer behavior, service marketing, brand management, and relationship marketing.
Faten Kharbat is an Assistant Professor in Artificial Intelligence at the Al Ain University, Abu Dhabi
Campus, UAE. She holds PhD degree in computer science from the University of the West of England,
UK, in 2006. Her main research interest is Learning Classifier Systems, knowledge based systems,
applying data mining techniques to marketing, website design, and recently was involved in e-learning and
quality of higher education.