Online purchase - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 21 Words: 6416 Downloads: 2 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Finance Essay Type Argumentative essay Did you like this example? Search and Purchase Correlation in German Online Market Dynamics and Trends Purchasing Drivers for Customers Abstract More and more people make online purchase; buy different kind of goods in online stores. Targeting on these people becomes opportunity as well as challenge for marketers. Understanding what are the main drivers of people preferring to buy products and services online rather than offline has become main area of research for many stakeholders. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Online purchase" essay for you Create order Researchers analyze the topic form various angles, they try to find main online purchasing drivers for customers, which make them prefer to go to online stores rather than real ones. Building a reliable model on that factors which will make predictable the future of online purchase dynamics, is one the purposes researchers aim to achieve. My thesis will be one more contribution in that area. It will be unique in the way that its analysis is based on most recent facts which cover 4 years dynamics and tends in that field on German market, starting from 3rd quarter of 2005 until 2nd quarter of 2009. Looking at facts through this time frame should give us opportunity to observe if there is any recognizable change in â€Å"customer behavior†: if the trust towards online purchase is increasing which is reflected on the increased amount of sold products in online stores, and which factors or purchasing drivers can be applicable for explaining these trends. To be more specific, I will divide my thesis in several important parts: first, I will try to find out if there is any connections between the amount people spend with the internet stores and the amount of products the buy, or in other words, if there is any evidence of correlation between the â€Å"product search† and â€Å"product buy† amounts. This will be done by running regression analysis based on internet traffic data provided on www.AGOF.de web site (in more details it will be discussed in the INTRODUCTION part). Second, after tracking the statistically significant relationships between these two factors: â€Å"search† and â€Å"buy†, where second factor depends on the first one, I will try to dived this relationship between â€Å"explainable with search amount† and â€Å"explainable with other factors† parts. Then I will try to cover already famous literature, which is explaining the motivators of people searching goods online. Finally, we will talk abo ut other factors, which might explain online purchase behavior but they are not prone to the underline logic of our model, or just simply are beyond or the factor â€Å"search† as an explanatory of â€Å"buy† rate. As a conclusion I will summarize my findings in the topic. 1. Introduction Developing of technologies and internet has born for people new opportunities changing our behavior and our attitude to many things. Without any exaggeration it has dramatically changed our lives. In many activities Internet has given us opportunity to save our efforts, time and sometimes even money. One of the areas internet has made dramatic affect is shopping. Online shopping becomes more and more important part in our everyday life. Referring to the Chen Chih-Chung and Su-Chao Chang common research in 2005, â€Å"if in 2004 online shopping was only 7% of retail sales in USA, in 2010 it is expected to reach 13%†. Marketers are paying more and more attention to the opportunities lying in online world trying to analyze and predict the trends and movements there, in order not to miss their chance, while in the fierce and almost saturated competition in offline shopping, online market is almost only way of fast growth. In order to succeed in online shopping one of the m ost important aspects for marketers is to understand their potential clients _ what makes them buy goods in virtual stores rather than in real ones, what are the key factors and drivers which initiate them to conduct online purchase. The final goal of the thesis cant be to find the only model with only factors which describe pretty exactly the determinants and intensions of customers. Many researchers try to explain the phenomenon such as online purchase intension and I will one of the also. Hope to make my little contribution in that field. In this Thesis I apply some academic researches, online traffic data analysis available on AGOF, bring some insights from ESMT practice project conducted with my per classmates in Axel Springer consulting team and also will refer to one questionnaire conducted for the same practice project. Based on these information and my personal observations I will try make some more insights not only in above mentioned online purchase determinants for customers, what makes them to pay money online, but also I will try to analyze overall trend and dynamics in online shopping during last four-five years. I will try to make some insights which products were sold mostly through internet several years ago and which are sold now, through which web sites. Which Internet-content-areas were most employed years ago and which are emerging now. Finally, I will try to build a model explaining the intension of purchase through different factors. Even more challenging is converting offline shoppers into online shoppers, but before achieving that, marketers in the industry have to understand basic drivers _ what make people buy different things on-line instead of going to supermarket, understanding whether it is general trend that due to the technologies development people change their purchase habits and more and more people transform form off-line into on-line shoppers and hence the future of e-markets is sunny with plenty of room and e ver growing possibilities, or there is something special which catches peoples attention, which affects their decision making process in particular situation and makes them preferring buying things in virtual world. Something which makes them â€Å"take more risk† and without having possibility to touch the product and checking its quality pay money in it and at the same time be sure that his decision is right. My thesis will be one more contribution in understanding above mentioned online-purchase drivers. Besides referring to already published academic researches and newspaper/magazine articles, I will try to analyze internet traffic data, to look at the developments and trends over last four-five years, if there is any content-wise change what people were buying several years ago and what they are buying now. This observation should give us additional information if there is substantial difference in amount of purchased quantity of different products, if it so, we have to analyze what induces these differences, why are definite kind of products sold through internet more compared to others. Finally, defining key online purchasing derivers, I will try to classify them with respect of relevance and importance, try to understand their correlation and final affect on purchasing decision. 2. Literature Review Literature, different researches and publications, were basically used for explaining the driving factors of people who search and buy products online. By analyzing various sources I tried to come up with common understanding of drivers which motivate people in conducting online purchase. Besides academic and non-academic researches, some insights from area experts were also taken in consideration. These experts were interviewed during consulting practice project, which I and my three other peer class mates conducted for one of the European leading media companies, about the topic â€Å"how to monetize online content†. Kevin Wises and Hyo Jung Kims publication in Cyber Psychology Behavior in November 2008, named â€Å"Searching versus Surfing: How different ways of acquiring content online affect cognitive processing† elaborates about distinctions between different methods of search people apply online. Authors claim that there are two different types of search: s earching and surfing. In first case people are aware of their will. They look for something objectively, whether in another case, they just wander in internet, without aiming on finding something specific. Testing differences between these two models with different type of examples and quantitative models and assessment tools, gave evidence that, depending on that whether people surf or search internet, differences not only final content of found information and then they way how these people remember details about the searched product, but differences also the biological processes which take place in these people while looking for information. Depending on the model used, they hade different level of arousal and different pace of hart beating. Authors conclude that, â€Å"being there† and â€Å"getting there† makes big affect on the final outcome of searched data. M. Bosnjiak, M. Galesic and T. Tuten in their â€Å"Personality determinants of online shopping: Expl aining online purchase intensions using a hierarchical approach† published in Science Direct in 2007 make focus on personality determinants of online shopping behavior and the study is based on the on the work of Mowen about hierarchical approach to personality (Mowen, 3M Model, 2000 will be described below). Besides Mowen, authors widely apply to some other researchers and academics works. It could be perceived as almost perfect summarization of most valuable researches conducted on this topic by other researchers. One of the theories they apply is Pachuris 2002 work, where he tries to explain approach to online shopping behavior through four categories: 1) economics of information approach, 2) cognitive costs approach, 3) lifestyle approach, and 4) contextual influence. 1) Economics of information approach elaborates on perceived efficiency of buying online. It focuses on consumers preferences on shopping channels taking in consideration and comparing different alternativ e subjective costs including time costs. Perceived cost of shopping online should be less then shopping offline, if that is not the case, then consumers will not apply to inline purchase. 2) Cognitive costs approach elaborates on search-related cognitive processes and claim that consumers take decisions based on price and quality of the products, as well as reliability and credibility of online stores. Their final aim is to minimize cognitive costs associated with the actual purchase. 3) Lifestyle approach focuses on the type of life consumers lead, and their socio-demographic habits of money spending, interests, motives, values and opinions. Here they quote Alerck and Settle (2002) investigate regarding the time saving as a motivator of online shopping, where they conclude that surprisingly online consumers do not shop because Internet is perceived as the time-saving factor during shopping. 4) Contextual influence approach makes focus on navigational aides as well as atmos phere. Quoting Senecal et al. studies (2005) they repeat that recommendations in buying process to the customers who are exposed to the product make decision more complex but in fact it does not change final outcome. The work claims that despite all four points give us some insights and knowledge about online purchase motivators, it does not exactly examine the traits affecting the willingness of shopping online and still makes hint on the psychological portrait of every individual, and it seems that online and offline shoppers psycho-portrait differs from each other (Donthu and Garcia, 1999). Online shoppers seem to be more innovative people who are willing to take more risk and experience new feelings rather than non-Internet-shoppers. Mowens 3M Model of Motivation elaborates more on personality, takes I consideration individual differences and tries to draw the portrait of online shoppers. It applies four hierarchical levels: surface traits, situational traits, compound tra its and elemental traits. All these are hierarchically dependent on each other with the order they are presented. Situational traits (affective involvement, cognitive involvement) affect surface traits (intention to shop online), then come compound traits which often are developed through socialization (need for cognition, need to evaluate, need for arousal, need for material resources), but they are affected not only from external factors but also with personal experiences and socialization history with the traits at the highest level of model (elemental traits neuroticism, conscientiousness, extraversion, openness, agreeableness). â€Å"Effects of consumer Trust and Risk on online purchase decision making: A comparison of Finnish and United States students† (authors: C. Comegys, M. Hannula, J. Và ¤isà ¤nen) published in August 2009 by International Journal of Management, as we understand from label, makes focus on consumers trust and risk perceiveness during online pu rchase. They go through Kotlers five stage Consumer Buying Decision Process (need recognition, information search, evaluation, purchase decision, post-purchase behavior) and investigate how risk and trust theories work together through these five stages. Based on hypothesis testing method they also examine such factors as gender, changes over time and purchase volume. Finally they suggest managerial implications. Chen Chih-Chung and Su-Chao Changs â€Å"Discussion on the behavior intention model of consumer online shopping† tests and extends the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) models by examining variables of past experience and purchasing channels knowledge, in predicting consumer shopping. TPB elaborates that not all human decisions are explained and motivated by personal will, but rather they are somewhere between completely and incompletely controlled by personal will. In this research, authors exercise different factors, such as attitude, subject norm, perceived beha vior control, behavior intention, past shopping experience and consumer channel knowledge through multi-regression analysis model with level of significance p0,01. Jonna Jà ¤rvelà ¤inens â€Å"Online purchase intensions: An empirical testing of a multiple-theory model† (2007, Journal of Organizational Computing) concentrates on understanding how consumers choose their purchasing channel when the environment is relatively stable. The factors tested are: preferring conversation with customer service, complexity of product, prior online shopping experience, social influence or perception of system usefulness or ease of use. This model also offers to test some hypothesis and then builds correlation matrix to identify extent of final influence of each factor. Finally it summarizes theoretical and practical implications. â€Å"A model of the determinants of purchasing from virtual stores† by R. Bakhri, F. Belanger and J. Hiks (2008, Journal of Organizational Computin g and Electronic Commerce) describes the consumer purchase decisions in a virtual stores. It makes focus on how individual visiting online stores could be affected to purchase from such a stores. Factors such as perceived usefulness, perceived behavioral control, perceived peer influence are tested through several hypothesis built in a quantitative model Chi-square analysis. The research discusses the design of stores as a tool leading to a purchase decision. As a conclusion I would say that literature contributed me not only in understanding intensions and drivers of online customers which make people start search for products objectively, but also to understand what are some other factors which are not among the factors motivating search, but are in the â€Å"un-explainable by search† part of our regression analysis and affect final decision of purchase. 3. Identifying correlation between the quantities of searched and purchased products. Analyzing AGOF data 3.1. What is AGOF? Founded in 2002 by German online marketers and online advertising media, AGOFs area of interest include activities such as: advertising market, meaning media agencies and online media planners, marketing decision makers at advertisers, marketers as well as other market partners. It has 17 members and 60 licensees and its studies are audited by independent third parties. AGOF collects and analyzes data about customers usage of internet, analyzes it through different criteria and segments (differentiated by sex, age, education, working status) and thus makes internet advertising more transparent and predictable. AGOFs approach is to sort and analyze everything through â€Å"unique user†, and the methodology applied is multi-method model, which means: collecting data about unique users (unique computer) with three different ways. Main source is the electronic measurement (data collection) is a basic, and the other two, telephone interviews and on-site surveys are complementa ry for fulfilling the data. Individual clients account measures more technical inputs such as page impressions, visits, time (when), content related topics (content on IVW level), whereas online survey collects the information about clients themselves and their computer usage habits: socio-demographic data (age, gender, education†¦), place of use, information on computers (number of users, login, etc). AGOF renews its information on the quarter basis, publishing the internet facts of previous three months, tries to catch with latest dynamics to make internet more predictable and plannable for marketers. Also, it constantly tries to further develop internet facts study. Analyzing relationship between â€Å"search† and â€Å"buyâ€Å". Conversion rate Before I move to the main part of the thesis, and use the â€Å"search† data as the main explanatory of â€Å"buy†, I will try to conduct multi-step analysis, first find out if there is any statistically significant relationship among these two factors. For this purpose I will test two hypotheses: 1. H0: B = 0, there is no statistically significant relationship between these two factors 2. H1: B 0, there is statistically significant relationship between two factors We will test these hypotheses on p0,01 significance level. Then if there is any correlation between â€Å"search† and â€Å"buy† we will interpret this confirmed correlation through the time-line across all products. Finally we will try to find main explanatory drivers and motivators of online purchase, academics and different publications talk about. Before testing the hypothesis lets review what it means for two variables being correlated to each other: to claim on correlation be tween X independent and Y dependent variables, the following should occur: * X proceeds Y * Y must not occur if X does not * Y must occur whenever X occurs As we know, the last point is not always the case, and very often people search products but do not buy them. One of the explanations of this â€Å"phenomenon† is nicely described in Kevin Wises and Hyo Jung Kims research named â€Å"Searching versus Surfing†, published in 2008, with the purpose to find out whether the content of acquired online media changes or not depending on the way how it acquired. The â€Å"surfing† part describes situation when people just â€Å"wander in the internet† without aim to buy anything. For us it is important to understand what makes these wanderers not aiming to purchase, suddenly change their mind and conduct online shopping. More important for us is to understand the purchasing drivers of those people who go shopping online consciously and predetermined . Or as this article explains, we are going to describe different motivators of â€Å"being there† and â€Å"getting there†. For the first step of our analysis, we are taking 26 different products from AGOF database (list of products in Appendix 2), for which we have different observations for every quarter, and then we run one linear regression for 4 year time observations. In total we will have 416 (26 products multiplied on 16 quarters) observations in the regression analysis (Appendix 4). As the results of regression show on appendix, R Squared is 0,8422 which means that about 84% of buy data can are explainable with â€Å"search†, and if we explain what are the motivators for people to search or surf on internet, then we will make one more step towards making internet purchase process more explainable and predictable. Other 14% of data can be explained with some other factors rather than search, and in later stage of the thesis we will have a talk on the se factors either. Besides R Squared, there are some more important coefficients in our results of linear regression, which are worth to pay attention. P-value as well as F-value in ANOVA table, is almost zero with 168 level, which tells us that from two hypothesis previously developed by us, we can reject first H0 hypothesis with p0,01 significance (1% significance level) and claim that there is statistically significant relationships between search and buy data. Some other coefficients which are worth to interpret are slope and the intercept: * Y intercept B0, in our case 1,13 says how many products are bought when â€Å"search† rate equals to zero. Once we have not any observations on zero â€Å"search† level, then its interpretation will be dubious practical value. * Slope B1, 0,53 in our regression, can be understood as change in half-year â€Å"buy† quantity, when â€Å"search† is increased by one degree. On the second stage we should inte rpret this confirmed correlation through the timeline, across different quarters across all 26 products participating to understand if the conversion ratio of search into buy changed over time. Because it is suggested to have more than 26 observations for running more reliable regression analysis, we will unite two quarter data under one group/label â€Å"half year†, thus doubling our sample of observations and running regression on 52 observed products. In 4 year time period we will 8 different half-years and thus 8 more new regressions should be run. After running eight different regressions, to facilitate overview of results I gathered major coefficients in one table and then built some graphs to indicate trends better for R Squared, Intercept, Slope and P-value (Appendices 6 and 7) As table on Appendix 6 and the slight but constant increase over time of R Squared show (P-value decreases over time), correlation between search and buy rates increase, which means, more and more actual purchases become explainable with search rate, so more and more actual purchases become prone to logical explanation by different purchasing motivators researches have investigated. Other 14% which on its side is also decreasing over time, which means less and less purchase are non-explainable by search factor and its motivators. 4. Defining purchasing drivers based on academics researches, publications and expert insights As we already saw in literature review part, different academics have different approaches toward this problem; they all try to find the most appropriate criteria which will be most accurate measure of on-line purchase willingness. They try to test their theories and models form various angles, starting from personal psychological characteristics and portrait of people, continued with previous purchase experience, poor IT skills, affect of different external factors such as socio-demographic or the shopping channels used during process. Lookin g at the models of different publications and researches we can structure general criteria and factors which might be main motivators for conducting online purchase. Despite that these works never are the same they still have quiet much in common. We can categorize these factors as those, which might be logical motivators for searching products in internet and those which affect final â€Å"buy† quantity but are not explanatory factors for search motivation. As we already ran regressions on AGOF data for half-year time periods to look at the changes through 4 years time frame and we have clearly visible relationships between search and buy factors, where search as an independent variable mostly explains buy rate outcome with even increasing tendency, we can now try to correlate quantitative outcome with theory and try to interpret figures in purchasing drivers. But, lets first discuss separately what each article and publications tell us and then let us try to unify the m under one structure. In â€Å"trust and risk† theory already discussed in literature review, authors categorize eight different risk factors associated with internet purchase; these factors play important roles in every stage of the buying process. 1) performance risk related to product performance 2) time risk involved in transaction timed needed for shopping 3) financial risk absolute cost may be higher than in conventional shopping 4) delivery risk- the product may not arrive or may arrive late 5) social risk how friends and family react 6) privacy risk whether personal information is secure or not 7) payment risk financial consequences from sharing the credit card number 8) source risk reliability of the information on web-site Authors conclude that privacy, source, performance and payment risks were considered as the most crucial of risk in electronic business. Some of the hypothesis developed in the research found justification and also some other findings were: a) There is a positive relationship between the amount of consumer online trust and the online purchase volume b) There is a positive relationship between the amount of consumer online trust and the possible increase in purchase volume. There was evidence that people with little trust towards e-vendors significantly reduced purchased volume of products over time. c) Amount of risk-taking does not have any influence on purchased volume d) Risk and trust factors were perceived independently from five stage purchase process during buying process itself. â€Å"Behaviour intention model† which came up with following factors as purchasing drivers: attitude, subject norm, perceived behavior control, behavior intention, past shopping experience and consumer channel knowledge, finally concluded: a) Consumers attitude will affect their shopping behavior b) Consumers subject norm to online shopping will affect his/ser purchase beha vior c) Consumers perceived behavioral control to online shopping will affect his/her purchase behavior d) Consumers past online shopping experience will affect his/her purchase behavior e) Consumers internet channel knowledge will affect his/her shopping behavior f) The perceived behavioral control is not significant Further more, research agrees that consumers increased channel knowledge will grow in increased shopping intention. In fact the same concludes another, â€Å"online purchase intension model†, or â€Å"multiple-theory model†, which studies the affect of online channel in a relatively secure environment. This theory comes up with some interesting findings, but before quoting those findings, I will describe the theory approach itself: In the model, author looked to the case of purchasing behavior through eight different factors: PU, PEOU (Appendix 1), conversation preference, prior online experience, previous online booking experience, prod uct complexity, task ambiguity and social environments attitude. Covariance table was built for checking the relationship of each factor towards the final outcome. As covariance table showed, none of above mentioned criteria was significant determinant of result on its own; however some combinations like PU-PEOU might have become not big but statistically significant. Also, the model made evidence that: a) Prior online purchase experience has a significant positive effect on behavioural intention b) With increased experience a customer begins to trust online channel more c) The more customers are willing to repurchase form any given site, the more tend to shop on-line in general positive relationships with repurchase intension and purchase volume d) Trusting customers tend to be more loyal than who are risk-neutral. Loyal customers are typically satisfied with the service/products they receive â€Å"Experience with traditional and online channels had a conside rable impact on channel choice, as well as PU. The effect of social environment was smaller but statistically significant. Inexperienced customers who do not find online shopping quicker, cheaper, suitable, for shopping, or easier to find information are likely to abort the online shopping process and finish it offline.† Experience had such a big impact that special efforts should be done by companies to create first pleasant shopping experience. Some other important findings were: a) Some people, who do not want to shop elsewhere than in a store, do not perceive any convenience in for example online shopping. This again comes to the individualistic approach of different people. b) The social environment has a significant positive effect on behavioural intention and PU of the system Theory claims that the main reasons to purchase online could be: convenience, broader selection, competitive pricing, product choice, product value, greater access to information Do IT skills matter? What really matters rather than IT skills is trust towards the online shopping, which is something which comes with experience of internet usage. As conducted research among Fin and American students show, any difference in trust factors among consumers lay beyond the IT skills. It something deeper, which in most cases is inexpiable because perceived risk is very individual and comes from personal characteristics * Described in of Jonna Jervelà ¤inens Multiple-theory Model, â€Å"Technology acceptance model (TAM), which is based on two basic concepts, perceived usefulness (PU) and perceived ease of use (PEOU) tries to somehow answer that question. Experience with traditional and online channels rather than pure IT skills, had a considerable impact on channel choice, as well as PU. The effect of social environment was smaller but statistically significant† General insights in academics researches Lets sum up also some more general knowledge also, different research ers and stakeholders got about the internet: Here are some important findings: * Those who have less risk perception associated to the internet purchase buy more but at the same time we should consider that risk perception reduces due to the usage the internet over time. More experience customer has more he starts to trust the online channels. Hence heavy internet users buy online more than those who use internet less. Women and men perceive risks differently no matter the level of their technical or any other skills and no matter the environment * First online purchase experience has a significant influence on customers behaviour in the future. If a consumer had a negative experience during first purchase process, e.g. during booking tickets online, it less reliable that he will come back and try some other time. This explains why companies try to make positive first experience in their consumers buying behaviour and very often with different approaches try to incentivise them to conduct the purchase * Having positive prior experience increases the tru st of customers towards channels. There is always less possibility that trusting, loyal customer will be unsatisfied with the product/service he receives * Experience is so important that it is recommended to be taken in consideration while making the design of site. Even more as researches show, very often people take purchase decisions based on emotions rather than reasonable judgment and actual need of the product * There is positive correlation between total volume purchased by a customer and his repurchase intention rate from any other site. * Increased security perception in terms of provided personal information safety does not increase significantly consumers willingness to buy more. At the same time risk perception for customers is on peak when they enter their personal information. Thus we can conclude that companies should not make barriers to the customers during purchase procedure * One of the main factors which can make believe people to by products online is having possibility of returning them back, in case they do not like it will not meet their expectations after receiving it * Overall costs perceived during online purchase should less than during offline parches. If is more or the same, than consumer will not by online. In other words it should be more â€Å"convenient† for client to prefer buying online Interpreting increasing dynamics of regression analysis coefficients As we saw in previous topics reviewing academic and non-academic researches and their findings regarding purchasing motivators, purchasing channel preferences and etc. we can conclude that the trend we came up in our regression analysis (Appendices 6 and 7) is very logical reflection of what researches say. Increased R Squared value means that hypothesis mentioned by us in previous topics as the explanatory factors gain more and more credibility. They become more prone to the logic, which tell us that, over time, people get more experience of using Internet, thus their fear and risk averseness towards online purchase decreases: two main factors benefit two that: shifting the proportion of generation distribution, thus more and more old people become skilled in internet usage (those who were young several years ago) and another is socio-demographic affect or in other words peers or friends influence: once more people buy start trusting online purchase at least because of gained experience in the area, more people they will recommend. So, the conversion ratio of search to buy data will increase, as well as absolute number of online shoppers. Some other factors explaining this phenomenon might be the marketers themselves who are now more aware about online customers and their behaviour rather than several years ago, when industry was new and emerging. Many marketers possibly also realized that sometimes it might be nice, attracting design and correctly delivered massage, rather than customers actual need which will make them buy products online. Marketers started â€Å"attacking† the customers by asking with different flexible approaches to buy for some products and services online, and in many cases they become successful, once as we mentioned they are now more educated, and customers also become more trustful towards internet shopping. Factors not explaining the search amount As Mowens 3M Models one of the surprising findings is that sometimes important determinant which makes people to purchase goods online, is affective rather than cognitive involvement. In other words, decision sometimes is made purely on emotion merit rather than reasoning. This might be partial explanatory factor of those 13% of error term we got in our regression analysis last â€Å"half-year† coefficients. The other explanatory factor might be e.g. easing of payment for the good online. Because mostly this is the factor that customer is not aware the specifics about from the very beginning of purchase decision and when comes at the stage of real purchase, way of payment (easiness, clarity, quantity of information required) might become either motivating factor or discouraging one. 5. Conclusion As dynamics show slowly but objectively more people become online buyers, and also more consciously they become regarding online purchase (which is reflected in regression analysis coefficients) meaning that they need less and less page impressions (search clicks) to conduct actual purchase. I think this trend will continue because many facts already mentioned by us, contributes to this dynamic. As we mentioned, more experience with online has positive relationship with increased purchased volume. Another factor is the successful prior experience which also positively contributes towards increased purchased volume and finally the affect of your social network. Marketers should take in consideration some important factors which affect either negatively or positively the buying decision: * Sometimes people make online purchase on emotional basis rather than cognitive, so attractiveness of massage and design of site has big importance * Ease of payment system is another facto r contributing to increased amount of online sales * Increased security measures regarding filling the personal information, in not transformed in increased perception of safety. Even more, risk perception from customer is on the peak while entering online his name or his credit card number. Thus marketers should target on minimizing risk perception for the customers and hence boosting sales * Once successful prior experience with online purchase has invaluable impact on customers further behavior, marketers should aim to create first pleasant experiences of online purchase for their customers * Customers should have opportunity to return product back, is they do not like it after receiving As we managed to show in our analysis, there is a strong correlation between search and buy amounts in internet. Marketers should target not only â€Å"buy† traffic records, but also, â€Å"search†, because as we mentioned customers need time to become more loyal towards online shopping, time and experience converts them more trustful. Besides, sometimes purely emotional arousal might become the basis of consumers decision, thus give them opportunity to sea a nicely designed massage, might convert them in from neutral to active customers. References M. Bosnjak, M. Galesic, T.Tuten (2006) Personality Determinants of Online Shopping: Explaining Purchase Intentions Using a Hierarchical Approach ScienceDirect (www.sciencedirect.com), Journal of Business Research 60 (2007) 597 605 Jonna Jà ¤rvelà ¤inen, Online Purchase Intensions: An Empirical Testing of a Multiple-Theory Model Journal of Organizational Computing and Electronic Commerce 17(1), 53 74 (2007) Chen Chih-Chung, Su-Chao Cahng (2005) Discussions on the Begaviour Intension Model of Consumer Online Shopping Journal of Business and Management vol. 11, (2005) Reza Barkhi, France Belanger, and James Hicks, A Model of the Determinants of Purchasing from Virtual Stores Journal of Organizational Computing and Electronic Commerce, 18: 177 196, (2008) Copyright  © Taylor Francis Group, LLC; ISSN: 1091-9392 print/ 1532-7744 online; DOI: 10.1080/10919390802198840 Charles Comegys, Mika Hannula, Jaani Và ¤isà ¤nen, Effects of Consumer Trust and Risk on Online Purchase Decision-making: A comparison of Finish and United States Students Vol. 26 No. 2; (August 2009) Kevin Wise and Hyo Jung Kim, Searching Versus Surfing: How Different Ways of Acquiring Content Online Affect Cognitive Processing, volume 11, Number 3, (2008) Traffic data analysis Power Point presentation from internet web-site: www.agof.de graphiken if 2009 ii Traffic data from internet web-site www.agof.de Appendix 1: Terminology Explanation of some words or phrasal words, which in everyday life could be understood with many different meanings, but in my thesis they bear one and only one underlined meaning: AGOF German internet web-site tracking internet traffic data based on multi-method model AGOF clients German audience more than 14 years old using internet Conversion ratio the ratio of searched and purchased products in internet, indicating the rate by which â€Å"search† are converted in â€Å"buy† Customer behavior customers attitude towards online purchase on average, their intention to search and then by products online. The pace they search and buy products at a definite period of time Changing customer behavior any changes in amount of searched and purchased products in particular period of time compared to other period IVW German internet web-site tracking internet traffic data Unique user individual user in internet, individual computer Technology acc eptance model (TAM) consists from two major concepts: the perceived usefulness (PU) and ease of use (PEOU) of a system. PU users subjective perception of the ability of a computer to increase job performance when completing a task PEOU persons subjective perception of the effortlessness of a computer system Appendix 2: List of products on which analysis are conducted Alcoholic bavareges other alcoholic beverages and spirits Books computer and videogames computer hardware and accesoories computer software without games Tickets for movies, theatre, classical concerts, pop concerts or sporting events Movies on DVDs, Videos cheap air tickets from airlines Pay to music or movies from the internet as a download Investments, shares, securities, funds Health products and medicines DIY or DIY tools Hotels for leisure and business trips Charges Lottery Games Life and annuity insurance as private pension rental cars Music CDs Furniture or objects on the furniture Perfumes, fragrances for men or women shoes Sporting goods, sports equipment Sweets and salty snacks Telecommunications products, e.g. Cell phones or cordless phones Frozen foods and ready meals Holiday travel and last-minute travel Appendix 3: Number of Internet users in Germany in the second qurter of 2009 Source: www.AGOF.de, graphiken-if-2009-ii.download Population in Germany (people more than 14 years old) _ 64.82 million People who use Internet _ 43.20 million Internet users observed for surveys (people who used internet last three months) _ 42.22 million Appendix 4: Regression analyses for finding out relationship between â€Å"search† and â€Å"buy† data Appendix 5: Uniting two quarter data under one group for the sake of regression analysis Appendix 6: Important coefficients from eight different period regression analyses Columns: SS explainable Regression sum of square. Portion of â€Å"buy† explainable by â€Å"search† SS Residual Residual sum of square. Non- explainable part of â€Å"buy† factor with â€Å"search† SS Total Total sum of square R Squared Portion of â€Å"buy† explainable by â€Å"search†, as portion form 1 Non Explainable Non- explainable part of â€Å"buy† factor with â€Å"search†, as portion from 1 Appendix 7: Graphs representing trends in regression analysis coefficients over 4 years time period R Squared increases over time, which means, more and more „buyâ€Å" data are explainable with „searchâ€Å" data, thus the purchase motivating factors described by academics become more and more prone to the logic. It also is a matter of experience, social affect, improved IT skills, and trust towards channels as well as online purchase as the whole P-value approaching to zero means that hypothesis about â€Å"search† and â€Å"buyâ€Å" data correlation gain more and more viability

Gay Adoption - 874 Words

The issue of adoption has caused much controversy in the United States. There are people who are for it and people who are against it. Each side uses many arguments to defend in what they believe. People who believe that gay adoption is bad say that letting homosexuals adopt children is bad for the children and it harms them. According to a study done by Paul and Kirk Cameron, children in 48 out of 52 families being raised by homosexuals experience problems that include hypersexuality, instability, molestation, and domestic violence. There are also clinical reports of psychiatric disturbances of children with homosexual parents. In 1996 the U.S government did a sex survey. That survey found that the oldest lesbian was 49 years old and that†¦show more content†¦The state of Arkansas doesn’t ban gay and lesbian adoptions specifically but they have regulations that prevent it. The states of Alabama, Oregon, Tennessee, and Virginia have all introduced bills that would res trict the parenting rights of gay couples. Lastly, Conservatives in Congress are also expected to introduce a bill to ban gay and lesbian adoption in Washington D.C. People who agree with gay and lesbian adoption have done many studies to prove that it does not harm kids. The American Psychology Association says â€Å"no scientific evidence that parenting effectiveness is related to parental sexual orientation: lesbian and gay parents are as likely as heterosexual parents to provide supportive and health environments for their children.† There has also been research gathered by experts such as F.W Bozett, and R.L Barrett that says there is no difference between homosexual and heterosexual fathers in providing recreation, encouraging autonomy, maintaining disciplinary guidelines, or dealing with general problems of parenting. Other experts such as D.K Flaks and S. Golombok and done research comparing mothers and they have found that lesbian mothers function normal on interviews and psychological assessments, and their scores on standardized measures of self-esteem, anxiety, depression, and parenting stress are the same as scores from hetero sexual mothers. Lastly, the American Academy of Pediatrics concludes: â€Å"A growing body of scientific literatureShow MoreRelatedGay Adoption Essay803 Words   |  4 PagesGay parents are facing discrimination because of their sexual orientation. Twenty-two states currently allow single gays to adopt and 21 states currently allow gay and lesbian couples to adopt in the U.S. (Mallon, 2007, p. 6). The ability of gay couples to rear a child should not be denied only because they are gay. Homosexuals may be looked down upon by society, but they still are humans and have morals. These morals they possess, may influence a child more than those morals taught to a child withRead MoreGay Adoptions Essay1223 Words   |  5 PagesThere are basically two types of adoption agencies: Public agencies that are usually supported by public funding and are run by the state and Private agencies that are licensed by the state, but run privately (Reference 99). Regardless of the type of agency, the state has some say in their operations, and if the state has a ban of g ay adoptions, then the agencies will have to abide. In 1977, Florida passed a civil rights ordinance making sexual orientation discrimination illegal in Dade County.Read MoreGay Adoption Should Be Legal1203 Words   |  5 PagesGay adoption is a touchy subject to a lot of people. Even though gay adoption became legal in all 50 states on June 26, 2017 everyone still seems to have an opinion on the matter and a lot of the opinions lean toward not allowing gay couples to adopt. There are so many children in the foster care system that need loving and stable homes so why not let gay couples give that to them? There is a lot of evidence to show that gay couples can be just as good at parenting as a straight couple. Maybe evenRead MoreGay Parent Adoption And Same Sex Adoption1851 Words   |  8 Pages Gay parent adoption or same-sex adoption refers to the adoption of children by individuals who prefer romantic partners of the same sex--gays and lesbians. Same-sex adoption is portrayed by the media as being a potentially good thing but with potentially detrimental side effects, most notably for the adopted children. This type of adoption is often made to look as if it might well be done but perhaps should not be for the sake of the children involved. With groups such as the religious right, fundamentalistRead MorePersuasive Essay On Gay Adoption1643 Words   |  7 Pageschildren? Do gay parents and guardians effect children negatively? Adoption is a lengthy process of legally accepting responsibilities of a non-biological child. While adoption is usually governed by laws that vary from state to state, but there are also federal regulations. These federal laws are set in place to provide clarity on who can and cannot adopt, parental rights, consent, the best interest of the adoptees, and the confidentiality of the adoption. Preceding the adoption process,Read MoreGay Adoption Should Be Legal1355 Words   |  6 Pagesare no unwanted children just unfound families† (National Adoption Center.). Families together are one not anything different from every other family. No matter race, color, or the type of family. Adoption is just a way for anybody who wants to create a family would be able to have the access to have a family of their own. Even to the families who are not able to have a child or does not have a partner to have a child. The National Adoption Center allows the families in need to adopt a child in needRead MorePros And Cons Of Gay Adoption1793 Words   |  8 Pagessolutions, but must make use of pros and cons. Like all adoptions, the prospective parent(s) must prove themselves to be responsible and show they are capable to raise a child on their own, or with a spouse. This problem is one that is proving to be a much bigger issue than many people expected. In today’s more accepting society, gay couples are seeing more acceptance than ever before. Homosexuals and heterosexuals both have parental desires and gay couples are as interested in beginning families andRead MoreGay Adoption : Discrimination Against Gay1626 Words   |  7 PagesRomero, Jessica Communication Studies 105 Tuesday, Thursday 8-9:20 a.m. Gay Adoption Introduction Attention getter: Discrimination against gay men and lesbian women has been socially recognized for hundreds of years and still continues today. Homosexuals have adopted children for many years, regardless of fear and prejudice. The controversy of this matter is why homosexuals are not presented the equal fairness of the process and open opportunity as heterosexual couples who seek to adopt or fosterRead MoreArgumentative Essay About Gay Adoption1295 Words   |  6 PagesCorri Fairfull Discursive Essay-Gay Adoption Gay adoption is a subject which is widely debated. However over recent years gay adoption has allowed for most gay couples who want to adopt young children and give them a good quality of life, which they would have if they lived with their biological parents or a heterosexual couple, to do so. One positive view of gay adoption is that it gives the gay couple the chance to start their own family and give a child in care a new start to life in a lovingRead MorePersuasive Essay About Gay Adoption1639 Words   |  7 PagesWhat do these words have in common? They don’t describe gay adoption. The common misconceptualization that gay people get to choose their sexuality is false, so why should parents who were born with a different sexuality be scorned for wanting to adopt? Most people agree with the statement that children deserve to live in a home with a loving family rather than be stuck in an orphanage until they’re old enough to live alone. Same sex adoption has success stories, studies, and statistics that back

Results of the Crusades Free Essays

The Crusades as a whole were an obvious failure, yet regardless of the lack of gain from such expeditions, Europe still moved forth within their own boundaries. The First Crusade was a shining victory, taking Jerusalem out of Muslim control and achieving mass popularity with the people of Europe. Thanks to the achievement of the first Crusade, one of the results was the Templars, or Knights of the Temple, which created safe routes between Europe and the crusaders states and the defense of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. We will write a custom essay sample on Results of the Crusades or any similar topic only for you Order Now Later results of the Crusades were extremely important to the longevity of the Europeans, even though the Crusades did not produce a permanent Western political presence in Asia Minor. Although they had been defeated, the Europeans had already found new routes to the Far East and were in the midst of a far broader overseas expansion. Another great result of the Crusades were advances in military technology.After the initial invasion, the crusaders fought a largely defensive war, which led them to become particularly skilled in the art of constructing castles. Coincident with improvement of castle building was greater sophistication in siege engines to break down walls and gates. Another result of the Crusades were economic, especially for traders and the general economy of Europe. Although the campaigns were expensive, they also put a considerable amount of money in circulation by paying for weapons, provisions, shipping, and accommodations. The Crusades stimulated trade in sugar, spices, and similar products from the East and encouraged the production of luxury goods, such as silk cloth, in Europe itself. Regardless of these great results for European nations themselves, the most important result for Christianity and the spread of, was easily exploration.The Crusades encouraged a curiosity about exotic cultures. Starting from the crusader principalities in the East, first missionaries and then merchants penetrated deep into central Asia, and by the 13th century had reached China. Their reports of the areas gave Europe abundant information about East Asia and helped inspire Western navigators in the late 15th and 16th centuries. The desire to explore, conquer other cultures, and of course, spread Christianity was all part of the crusades-inspired later imperia lism. How to cite Results of the Crusades, Papers

Impact of Outsourcing in Performance - MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Write about theImpact of Outsourcing in Organisational Performance. Answer: Problem Statement The concept of outsourcing is a recent trend which has created a significant impact on the world of business. Outsourcing has played a major role in helping the business establishments to reduce their business expenses and as a result business establishments have been able to maximise their revenues and profits in the market. The concept of outsourcing mainly involves transferring their unimportant work or activity (which could have been performed in-house) to any third party organisation in the market at a lower cost. When an organisation outsources their work to any third party organisation, they become responsible for performing certain task like manufacturing or providing certain services to the customers in the market on behalf of that organisation (Yang et al., 2007). This enables an organisation to save on their resources and they are able to allocate their resources on the important tasks which occupy a high place on their list of priorities. Outsourcing plays a very important role in influencing the organisational productivity of a company and this is the major reason why it has become such a popular concept with the business establishments around the globe. An organisation decides to outsource their business activities based on their cost constraints. If an organisation finds that some aspects of their business are incurring more cost or expenses for the organisation in the market, then they can outsource those activities and functionalities to other service providers in the market. However, the process of outsourcing is not very simple and it comes with its own set of challenges (Handley Benton, 2009). Before outsourcing their activities an organisation needs to identify trustworthy and reputed service providers who have a proven track record of providing quality services to the end users in the market. This will go a long way in determining the future growth and success of the organisation which is intending to outso urce some of their operational activities. This research will mainly focus on the evaluating the impact of outsourcing on the organisational performance. The research will try to indentify the challenges encountered by the business establishments during the process of outsourcing and how they would be able to tackle those challenges in an effective manner in order to ensure a successful outsourcing process which would contribute towards their organisational productivity (Geis, 2006). The researcher has undertaken this research in order to evaluate the different aspects of outsourcing and how they are contributing towards the growth and success of an organisation. Research Aim, Objectives and Questions Research Aims The aim of this research is to evaluate the impact of outsourcing on the organisational performance and provide recommendations regarding how an organisation will be able to ensure a successful outsourcing process which would enable them to produce successful outcomes in their business. Research Objectives 1) To assess the importance of outsourcing from an organisational context. 2) To evaluate the impact of outsourcing on the organisational performance. 3) To recommend the measures through which an organisation will be able to successfully outsource their business operations to other third party service providers. Research Questions 1) What is the importance of outsourcing? 2) How outsourcing can help a business establishment to realise their business goals and objectives in the market? 3) What measures need to be undertaken by an organisation in order to ensure a successful outsourcing process? Justification and Potential Output of the Research Project Importance of Outsourcing for a Business Outsourcing is a recent practice which is fast gaining popularity and acceptance among the majority of the big business establishments of the world. With the process of outsourcing, an organisation is able to reduce the cost associated with their business activities in the market by transferring a portion of their functioning activities to another service provider in the market. According to Geis, (2006) business establishments are able to capitalise on the market expertise of the third party service providers and get their work done at a much lower cost. Thus, an organisation is able to guarantee their future growth and sustainability in the market by reducing the cost associated with their different business process. An example of outsourcing is when a business establishment decides to buy certain goods from third parties at affordable prices instead of manufacturing those goods in-house which would have been much more costly proposition for the organisation. According to Lacity et al., (2011) outsourcing is playing an essential role in helping todays contemporary business entities to focus on their core activities which are critical for their organisational success. It enables them to concentrate on the main functionalities of their business which are much more essential from the organisational context. This facilitates them in improving their organisational efficiency and performance and thus they are able to create a competitive edge in their respective industry sector. The process of outsourcing plays an instrumental role in streamlining the business processes and activities of a corporate entity which would go a long way in facilitating better communication and coordination resulting in improved cohesion between the diverse departments within the organisation (Chatzoglou Sarigiannidis, 2009). Business establishments are able to reduce the cost associated with labour and they are able to obtain the same output without investing their resources. This helps to increase the turnaround times which helps the business entity to tackle the industry competition in an effective manner. They are able to maximise their organisational productivity resulting in the successful realisation of their business objectives. However, outsourcing also has its own shortcomings and drawbacks. By outsourcing their business activities to another organisation, an organisation provides information pertaining to their business to another party. This can invariably compromise the security of the sensitive and confidential information which are being utilised within an organisation (Handley Benton, 2009). Outsourcing of business activities involves signing of contractual agreements with third party business entities and this is often a very time consuming legal process which can cause delay in an organisation. Impact of Outsourcing on Organisational Performance Outsourcing is the latest business trend which is widely gaining prominence and popularity among the global corporate entities. Organisations these days are becoming more and more conscious about the cost without compromising on the service quality that is being offered to their customers in the market. This is the main reason why they are increasing outsourcing their non-core business operations and activities to destinations like India where there is a wide availability of cheap and skilled manpower (Karabulut et al., 2007). This enables the global corporate to save on their manpower and labour costs which would help them to increase the revenues and profits from their business. Corporate entities would be better equipped to capitalise on the expertise of their third party vendors in order to increase their productivity in the respective industry sector. They are able to compete in an effective manner with their business rivals which would ultimately provide them with a competitive edge in the market (Ghodeswar Vaidyanathan, 2008). Outsourcing provides a wide variety of benefits to an organisation which enables an organisation to sustain their future growth and success in the market. These benefits have been discussed below: 1) Outsourcing helps an organisation to increase their business efficiency by gaining access to world class business capabilities. 2) Outsourcing enables an organisation to focus on the core aspects of their business by allocating their internal resources in an effective manner. 3) Outsourcing helps an organisation to streamline their business operations in the market and thus they are able to improve their business performance and productivity in the market (Weidenbaum, 2005). 4) Outsourcing enables an organisation to maximise the use of their external resources. 5) Outsourcing helps an organisation to reduce and control their operating expenses in an effective manner by capitalising on the infrastructure, technology and expertise of their vendors. 6) Organisations are able to share the market risks with their vendors and this helps in reducing the obligations in the market (Mani et al., 2010). 7) Outsourcing will play a significant role in ensuring the delivery of improved quality of products and services to the end users thereby creating value proposition for their customers. Understanding the measures or steps through which an organisation will be able to ensure a successful outsourcing process Outsourcing is a very important aspect of an organisation which requires a lot of strategic planning and decision making. It is a long term business decision which has both positive as well as negative consequences for an organisation. Thus, it is imperative for any business establishment to take a cautious and calculated approach towards outsourcing. During the initial days head count reduction was the main purpose of outsourcing. However, in todays corporate world outsourcing has a different purpose altogether (Chatzoglou Sarigiannidis, 2009). Outsourcing provides a strategic advantage to an organisation by enabling them to carry out value proposition in their business and this enables and organisation to capitalise on its strengths and core-competencies. There are many factors which play a critical role in determining the success of the outsourcing activities which are being carried out by an organisation. These have been discussed below: 1) An organisation must have total clarity regarding their business goals and objectives in the market. 2) An organisation must have a strategic vision and plan regarding how their outsourcing activities need to be carried out in the market. They must identify the activities which needs to be outsourced and how it will enable them to maximise their profits and revenues in the market. 3) Selecting a vendor is another important task which must be carried out carefully and with a lot of introspection. Organisations must select a trustworthy vendor or service provider who has a proven track record of addressing the business needs and requirements of their clients. This is going to play a very important role in determining the success of the outsourcing activities which have been planned by the organisation (Nadkarni Herrmann, 2010). 4) Relationship management is another aspect which must be emphasised by an organisation. Organisations need to ensure a strong relationship with their vendors to whom they have outsourced their work and this will ensure better understanding and coordination between the organisation and their vendor. This will play a vital role in helping the organisation to maximise their business productivity in the market. 5) Organisations must undertake proper contractual agreements with their vendors in the market and this will enable them to ensure the smooth continuity of their business operations in the market. 6) There needs to be proper involvement and support from the top leadership of an organisation and this would play a vital role in helping the organisation to outsource their business activities in a successful manner (Handley Benton, 2009). Conceptual Framework Research Methodology This section will provide a detailed discussion regarding the process through which the research has been conducted. The researcher will provide an effective justification about the different methods which were utilised by the researcher and why they have been preferred over the others. Research Design This is mixed research which utilises both primary qualitative and quantitative data. Survey questionnaire approach has been utilised by the researcher for gathering the quantitative data pertaining to the research. An open market survey was undertaken to collect the qualitative data. In this market survey, the respondents had been selected randomly from among the local population. These respondents were in turn presented with a series of questionnaires wherein the respondents had to provide their independent thoughts and opinions about the research topic. The primary qualitative data was gathered by organising a face to face interview with some of the market experts (Kothari, 2004). This will enable the researcher to evaluate the expert opinions and perceptions which are provided by the industry stalwarts. The primary data will play a very essential role in facilitating a precise and consistent information gathering process which will help in producing effective research outcomes. Type of Study The researcher has incorporated an exploratory research design in this particular research. An exploratory research is mainly undertaken when there are not adequate information available on a research topic and this compels the researcher to explore the topic in a detailed manner. Due to the lack of conclusive studies made regarding the research topic from previous researchers, the main focus of the researcher in this particular research was to develop and gain the necessary knowledge and insights regarding outsourcing and its impacts on organisational performance (Welman et al., 2005). This will enable the researcher to create a good platform for the future researchers wherein they would be able to carry out their future investigation regarding the research topic in a much more thorough and conclusive manner. Methods of Data Collection The researcher has utilised both qualitative and quantitative data in this research. An open market survey has been considered for the purpose of collection of primary quantitative data. This market survey will be open to the general population and they will be the main respondents in this survey. The respondents would be selected in a random probabilistic manner so as to ensure minimum discrepancy in the data collection process. Once the respondents are selected, a questionnaire would be given to them. The respondents would then be asked to give their thoughts and opinions on the research topic by asking them specific questions which are mentioned in that questionnaire. This probabilistic sampling strategy has proved instrumental in helping the researcher to minimise and mitigate any chances of bias and inconsistency in the process of data collection. This enabled the researcher to arrive at effective outcomes from their research (Denham, 2010). On the other hand, the qualitative da ta has been collected with the help of a convenience sampling strategy which is non-probabilistic in nature. The convenience sampling strategy played a very important role in helping the researcher to select the market experts who shared their precious feedbacks and views with the researcher and thereby enabled the researcher to gather vital information pertaining to the research topic. The independent variable in this research is outsourcing and the dependent variable is organisational performance. The fact that organisational performance can be largely impacted with the help of outsourcing makes it the dependent variable (Gatrell et al., 2012). The outsourcing strategy will eventually determine the growth and success of the organisation and so it is the independent variable. Measurement of the Relationship Between the Dependent and the Independent Variable The dependent variable will be evaluated with the help of graphs and tools which will enable us to understand the correlation between the dependent and the independent variable. In order to realise this objective, the researcher has utilised software tools like MS Excel which enabled them to carry out an accurate evaluation of the relationship which exist between the dependent and the independent variable in this research. Sampling Space The researcher has considered a sampling space of 55 market respondents in the quantitative data analysis. Additionally, the researcher has selected 3 market experts for the purpose of conducting the qualitative data analysis (Denham, 2010). Population Description The study will involve respondents from the general population. The general population will comprise the quantitative data in this research. The qualitative data will involve three industry experts who are having a good understanding regarding the research topic. Piloting A pilot study or a preliminary survey will be carried out by the researcher which will enable the researcher to identify the various problems associated with the research. This will make the researcher better equipped in tackling and solving all the problems that might arise in the future course of this research. The researcher will be able to understand the problems faced by the market respondents and this will enable the researcher to ensure that all the questions put across to them are clearly understood and comprehensible by them. To ensure the validity and reliability of the data, the researcher will personally design the questionnaire and supervise the data collection process (Welman et al., 2005). Research Ethics Ethics are a vital component of any research which ultimately determines whether a research is trustworthy and can be relied upon or not. Research ethics ultimately determines whether the facts and information stated in a research could be validated by experts. The researcher has taken every measure possible in order to keep the identity of the market respondents under wraps. The researcher has maintained the highest levels of data confidentiality which helped in preserving the privacy of the survey participants. The researcher has also made sure that no one was compelled or forced to take part in the survey. The views expressed by the respondents were their independent opinions and none of them were motivated to provide their views in this market survey (Eysenbach and Till, 2001). Research Limitations The main limitation which was faced by the researcher in this particular research was time constraint and budget constraint. The researcher did not have the necessary time and money at his disposal which is required to carry out an accurate and comprehensive research. This played a very important role in undermining the reliability of this research. This research would have been more successful and accurate if there had been more time and money available with the researcher at the time of the research (Kothari, 2004). Validation and Analysis The validity of a research depends on the sample size which has been incorporated and utilised in the research. The sample size incorporated in this research is very small and it cannot be considered to be a realistic and accurate reflection of the opinions and perceptions of the majority of the population (Kumar Phrommathed, 2005). However, in order to offset this discrepancy, the researcher has utilised statistical analysis with the help of MS Excel and this has enabled the researcher to carry out an accurate and reliable research from their end. Project Budget The researcher has carried out the entire research within a budget of $5000. The majority of this amount ($3000) was spent on the collection of the primary qualitative and quantitative data. The remaining amount of $2000 was spent on carrying out the other stages associated with the research. Research Timeline Activities Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6 Topic selection and its scope Identification of secondary data sources Preparation of research proposal Preparation of literature review Description of research methodology Preparing interview/survey, ethics form Collecting primary data Analysing data Comparing findings Conclusion and recommendations Finalising and submission References Denham, W. (2010). RESEARCH DESIGN AND RESEARCH PROPOSAL CHECKLISTS.Anthropology News, 20(4), pp.9-11. Gatrell, J., Bierly, G. and Jensen, R. (2012).Research design and proposal writing in spatial science. 1st ed. Dordrecht: Springer Science+Business Media B.V. Eysenbach, G. and Till, J. (2001). Ethical issues in qualitative research on internet communities. Bmj, 323(7321), pp.1103--1105 Kothari, C. R. (2004).Research methodology: Methods and techniques. New Age International. Kumar, S., Phrommathed, P. (2005).Research methodology(pp. 43-50). Springer US. Welman, C., Kruger, F., Mitchell, B. (2005).Research methodology. Oxford University Press. Handley, S. M., Benton, W. C. (2009). Unlocking the business outsourcing process model.Journal of operations management,27(5), 344-361. Geis, G. S. (2006). Business outsourcing and the agency cost problem. Karabulut, Y., Kerschbaum, F., Massacci, F., Robinson, P., Yautsiukhin, A. (2007). Security and trust in it business outsourcing: a manifesto.Electronic Notes in Theoretical Computer Science,179, 47-58. Weidenbaum, M. (2005). Outsourcing: Pros and cons.Business horizons,48(4), 311-315. Chatzoglou, P. D., Sarigiannidis, L. (2009). Business outsourcing and organisational performance: The case of the Greek hotel industry.International Journal of Services Technology and Management,11(2), 105-127. Lacity, M. C., Solomon, S., Yan, A., Willcocks, L. P. (2011). Business process outsourcing studies: a critical review and research directions.Journal of information technology,26(4), 221-258. Yang, D. H., Kim, S., Nam, C., Min, J. W. (2007). Developing a decision model for business process outsourcing.Computers Operations Research,34(12), 3769-3778. Mani, D., Barua, A., Whinston, A. (2010). An empirical analysis of the impact of information capabilities design on business process outsourcing performance.Mis Quarterly, 39-62. Nadkarni, S., Herrmann, P. O. L. (2010). CEO personality, strategic flexibility, and firm performance: The case of the Indian business process outsourcing industry.Academy of Management Journal,53(5), 1050-1073. Wllenweber, K., Beimborn, D., Weitzel, T., Knig, W. (2008). The impact of process standardization on business process outsourcing success.Information Systems Frontiers,10(2), 211-224. Weeks, M. R., Feeny, D. (2008). Outsourcing: From cost management to innovation and business value.California management review,50(4), 127-146. Ghodeswar, B., Vaidyanathan, J. (2008). Business process outsourcing: an approach to gain access to world-class capabilities.Business process management journal,14(1), 23-38.

Marketing Effectiveness The Most Pressing Problem in Business Marketing Today

Introduction Marketing effectiveness can be defined as the â€Å"quality of marketers to optimize their efforts and achieve the best short-term and long-term results†. (Buyline Research 1, pp. 5) This concept is directly related to Return on Marketing Investment (ROMI) and ROI which are often utilized in the description of the relationship between costs and the returns gained mainly in the form of profits (Buyline Research 2).Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Marketing Effectiveness: The Most Pressing Problem in Business Marketing Today specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More It’s sometimes very difficult to measure the effectiveness of marketing activities either in advance or after they have been executed. The situation may be further complicated if a company uses different marketing strategies. This paper seeks to report on the difficulties that are frequently faced while measuring marketing eff ectiveness. It further describes how best the issue can be tackled by describing the strategies that can be employed to measure the effect of individual marketing activities. Difficulties in measuring marketing activities The current business environment is characterized by intense competition. Therefore firms cannot do without marketing activities such as advertising to promote their survival (King, pp. 2). Many companies usually face a dilemma in establishing whether their investment in marketing truly yields a competitive advantage for them or not. Companies can be disappointed after investing heavily in unsuccessful campaigns. However, even when good returns are realized, one should say it is not easy to determine the exact contribution of each marketing activity to that success. Research conducted indicates that most firms cannot hold their marketing departments accountable for the vast resources they use to carry out marketing activities. Few companies that have developed meas urement tools, are measuring the wrong things. The majority of them are not in a position to measure anything at all. The research indicates that about 54% of companies usually set their marketing budgets basing on historical data – clearly showing that they do not have any idea on the effectiveness (King, pp. 3). It is further noted that only about 20% of marketing executives are able to accurately estimate the impact that follows budget cuts. It’s further identified that firms that cannot accurately report on the progress of a marketing ROI usually do not have individuals that have been specifically assigned to that task (Powell 5).Advertising Looking for research paper on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Because of the difficulty that is associated with measuring the impact of advertising, existence of external impacts, and the difficulty in establishing controls; several firms cannot measu re the value of advertisement. In one particular study carried out in the year 2008, it was established that 100 biggest U.S retail banks use up to USD 2 billion on advertising annually. This implies that banks in today’s society must rely on advertisement for survival (Stern 17). Strategies for effective measurement of marketing Marketers should be in a position to collect all the data that are required to measure their marketing activities. They should be able to know the specific aspects as well as the priorities that should be measured. They should understand what should be measured in the future and most important why they are carrying out the measurements. A well planned measurement will give the firm the confidence to undertake innovations that bring a positive impact. Firms need to determine whether there are gaps in coverage, put measures in place to ensure that measurement is managed automatically rather than manually, and lastly the measurement should be integrated into the larger marketing portfolio rather be left on its own (Powell 27). Figure1: A chart showing marketing metrics continuum Identification of key performance indicators for marketing Research has revealed that marketing performance indicators usually vary depending on the specific areas of responsibility. Metrics for different areas of responsibility that are needed for effective monitoring of marketing activities include: The brand managers are required to monitor changes in statistics of aspects such as brandy equity, brand awareness, brand preference, brand image and brand loyalty (Buyline Research 12). It’s important to note that internal tools within the organization are used to collect data as an ongoing process.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Marketing Effectiveness: The Most Pressing Problem in Business Marketing Today specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More However, the best information for gauging the success of a brand is usually derived from the outside environment. Usually, the data should be collected by hand and kept in form of reports or spreadsheet. Using such data, the brand manager can monitor the increase or decrease in a product’s market performance over time. Usually, the product marketing managers often spend most of their time in the manufacturing rather than the marketing side. Research indicates there are elaborate systems that have been developed to inform the product marketing manager about the manufacturing process but very few to reveal progress on the marketing side (King, pp. 5). Similar to the brand manager, the product marketing manager is often centered on the opinions of the customer. He or she takes a kin interest in factors such as addition of new features, lowering or raising of the prices. Product managers therefore keep an eye on the brand of related evaluations (Powell 34). In most cases they take action following reports of market share, customer satisfaction, sales and price sensitivity. Public relations managers work in departments that are preoccupied with identifying how the public perceives the company, using indicators such as exposures on TV or leading newspapers (Lenskold 14). It is important to note that companies receive both positive and negative exposures and both should be used in measuring the success of the PR department. The different responsibilities carried out by the above mentioned positions are crucial in the measurement of marketing effectiveness. They are vital for the identification of the three essential things in a marketing campaign; the cost, the revenue or leads’ generates and the life time value of customers (King, pp. 4). The advertising manager is concerned with the number of viewers the company reached and how those can be increased. There are specialized software applications that allow advertisers to catalogue and track these numbers (King, pp. 6). Sales manage rs always think about the sales figures of the various commodities offered by the company. They carry out comparative studies to determine sales figures across different regions. This individuals form part of the company accounting systems, they ensure that orders are booked, invoices are sent and commissions are always paid.Advertising Looking for research paper on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Focus on performance measurement through automation It is important to note that performance measurement and marketing automation work hand in hand. For effective evaluation of marketing performance, the data capture process should be automated (Buyline Research 9). The automation should ensure that data are not only captured and organized but also measured in the most effective way. Savvy marketing automation investment decisions include greater â€Å"control of the measuring capabilities that is offered by different solutions, the capture process, the different available option and instant analysis† (King 35, pp. 3). There are several automation solutions but most are not effective as they require much more effort to access data before shaping for relevant analysis. A study has been carried out to identify the marketing performance monitoring activities that are under automated portfolios in a number of firms (Powell 9). When marketers were asked about what they desired mos t in the coverage areas, they felt underserved, and gave interesting responses. Most of them stated that better measurement capabilities would increase their loyalty by 51% with the likelihood of increasing their investment by 44% (Lenskold 12). This implies that marketers are in constant search for performance measurement solutions to determine the effectiveness of their marketing activities (Stern 24). They hope that there will be a rapid development in the automation tools which will in turn help them to foster internal and external success (Buyline Research 6). Economic Modeling Studies have established that in order to successfully measure the effectiveness of advertising and other marketing activities, it is imperative to carry out econometric analysis. This is important for establishing the impact of each element in the marketing mix, the effectiveness and ROI (King, pp. 6). Advanced data mining techniques should be employed in the determination of the strengths and weaknesse s of the marketing program implemented by a given firm (Lenskold 8). The identified challenges can be corrected by carrying out changes in the pricing, advertising and promotion. The econometric analysis examines influences from the external environment in the form of competition, changes in the market environment due to seasonality and changes of other economic conditions in order to have a better understanding of how they impact sales performance. If the results are accurately determined then planning can be carried out for future advertising, promotion, pricing, and other marketing activities to improve sales performance and distribute marketing resources for increased ROI (Stern 7). Studies have shown that econometric models provide a standard measurement technique across different portfolios of a business, marketing lines and markets; an accurate measurement of the historical performance; forecasting of the future performance and the optimization of the business operations thro ugh the media mix or channel (Buyline Research 11). Econometric modeling often requires input from a variety of key factors that include external data such as consumer data, economic performance data, competitive advertisement and internal data such as product specifications and process changes. Channel data should incorporate TV, radio, branch, magazines, point of sale and direct mail information (Buyline Research 11). Product data can include deposits, lending and other products that can be attained from the banking sector. Historical data should be collected from modeling inputs and arranged in the order of time series fashion so as to allow for adjustments to be made in the future regarding the seasonality, competitiveness, market mix, distribution changes and interaction effects (Powell 56). All the dynamics in the marketing arena are put into consideration so that a model is developed to allow pinpointing variations in any specific component. In spite of the fact that economet ric modeling provides a valuable tool for evaluating difficult actions such as spending on media, there is no single measurement method that can provide the necessary insights into marketing effectiveness across the different channels (Buyline Research 13). Therefore, it is better to combined with other control methodologies to provide an overall effective means of measuring the effectiveness of marketing activities of a given company (Buyline Research 14). Test/Control methodologies The dynamic nature of marketing activities makes it difficult for a firm to evaluate the impact of individual marketing portfolios on subsequent customer numbers. This occurs because the potential customers are informed through many different channels in the marketing arena. Due to this observation, it’s common for the effect of specific marketing activities on consumer behavior to be overstated or understated because the impact of other is not properly evaluated resulting into a biased measureme nt (Lenskold 5). Well designed experimental tests are usually multivariate which can be effectively used to measure the impact of an individual marketing activity. Matching is commonly employed in the measurement of the effectiveness of advertising. The method relies on the contrasting outcomes of participating markets with outcomes of comparable non participants (Buyline Research14). Conclusion This paper sought to report on the difficulties that are frequently faced while measuring marketing effectiveness. It further describes how best the issue can be tackled by describing the strategies that can be employed to measure the effect of individual marketing activities. Indeed, it has been established that it is very difficult to carry out an effective measurement of the impact of marketing activities. There are a lot of companies worldwide that are often misled and may not be able to know what marketing activity contributes. This paper has provided some of the most effective ways thr ough which firms can effectively measure their marketing activities. They include automation and economic modeling as well as the use of test controls. Works Cited Buyline Research. Marketing Perfomance Measurement: Target Areas Where  Marketers Want to Improve How The Measure Up. Massachusetts: Buyline Research LLC, 2008. King, William. â€Å"Measuring Marketing Effectiveness in Comparison With Sales.† 2011. Web. Lenskold, James. The Path To campaign, Customer, and Corporate profitability. New York: McGraw Hill Professional, 2003. Powell, Guy. Marketing Calculator: Measuring and Managing return on marketing  investiment. New York: John Wiley and Sons, 2008. Stern, Jim. Best Practice: Measuring Marketing Effectiveness. CA: Synergex International Corporation, 2003. This research paper on Marketing Effectiveness: The Most Pressing Problem in Business Marketing Today was written and submitted by user Mauricio U. to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

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