Theory Of Reasoned Action

Theory Of Reasoned Action CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 2.0 Introduction This chapter will deals with survey of literature review in the area of online purchase intention and perceived risk and its determinants. This section will discuss the dependent, independent and mediating variables and the relationship among the variables that might influence consumer perceptions of perceived risk towards online purchase intention. Researcher was replicates the framework from the study Factors influencing consumer perceptions of brand trust online by Hong-Youl Ha, 2004 and The influence of prior experience and age on mature consumers perceptions and intentions of internet apparel shopping by Wi-Suk Kwon and Mijeong Noh, 2009. The reason to choose this framework are because, this framework seem like fit with Malaysian culture and tradition. Although researcher was replicate the framework but some changes were made, which is researcher will combine both of the frameworks into one new framework and will test the framework into different setting of place. 2.1 Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) To make some improvement for the past studies, researcher will apply the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) by (Fishbein, 1980) and Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) by Ajzen in 1991. Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) by Fishbein, 1980 was developed to explain how a consumer leads to a certain buying behavior, this theory asserts that attitude toward buying and subjective norm are the antecedents of performed behavior. Two antecedents which are (attitude and subjective norm) influence the purchase behavior additively (Ha, 1998). Two important propositions underlying the theory of reasoned action offered by Lutz (1991) are the first one is to predict a purchase behavior, it is necessary to measure a persons attitude toward performing that specific behavior, not only the general attitude toward the object around which the purchasing behavior is. The second one is, in addition to the attitude toward the behavior, TRA includes a second determinant of overt behavior namely the subjective norm (SN). SN is intended to measure the social influences on a persons behavior such as family members or friends and colleagues expectations. Sometimes in some situations expectation o f relevant from others may be a major factor in ultimate behavioral performances and simply not under the attitudinal control of individuals. Another study Lada et al., 2009, claim that according to the TRA, a persons intention is a function of two basic determinants, which are one personal in nature and the other one is reflecting social influence. The personal factor is the individuals positive or negative evaluation when performing the behavior and this factor is termed attitude toward the behavior. The second determinant of intention is the persons perception of the social pressure put on him or her whether to perform or not to perform the behavior in question and this factor is termed subjective norm since it deals with perceived prescriptions, (Ajzen and Fishbein, 1980). According to Ajzen and Fishbein, 1980), attitudes are a function of beliefs when someone believes that performing a given behavior will lead to mostly positive outcomes they may hold a favorable attitude toward performing the behavior, contrary a person who believes that performing the behavior will lead to mostly negative outcomes then they will hold an unfavorable attitude. The beliefs that underlie a persons attitude toward the behavior are termed behavioral beliefs while subjective norm is a function of beliefs that specify individuals or groups to think whether they should or should not perform the behavior and these beliefs which is underlying a persons subjective norm termed as a normative belief. A person who believes that most referents with whom they are motivated more to comply think, that they should perform the behavior will receive social pressure to do so (Lada et al., 2009). 2.2 Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) The second theory is Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), which is proposed by Ajzen in 1991 as an extension of the first theory discussed above which is theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) (Fishbein, 1980). (Ajzen and Fishbein, 1980), the TPB has been used by many researchers over the past 20 years and its shown to be able to predict a variety of intentions and behaviors perform by persons. According to Ajzen (1991), a persons action is determined by their behavioral intentions, which in turn are influenced by an attitude toward the behavior and subjective norms as discussed above. (Azjen, 1991), behavioral intentions are factors that capture how people are willing to try to perform a behavior, behavioral intention also the most influential predictor of behavior and its shown that in TPB constructs, intention was a better predictor of behavior. In the TPB, attitude toward the behavior is defined as ones positive or negative feelings about performing a specific behavior and determined through an assessment of ones beliefs regarding the consequences which is arising from ones behavior and an evaluation of the desirability of these consequences. 2.3 Conceptual Definition of Dependent Variable (Online Purchase Intention) It is best to start this study by explaining what an online purchase intention is it in order to give some idea and to dispel some common misconceptions that might occur. Purchase intention can be defined as a plan to purchase a particular goods or services in the future. Purchase intentions is the likelihood that a consumer will buy a particular product in which resulting from the interaction of his or her need for it, attitude towards it and perceptions of it and of course from the company itself which produces the products or services (J. Baker, 1998). This study using definition from (Azjen, 1991), behavioral intentions are factors that capture how people are willing to try to perform a behavior, behavioral intention also the most influential predictor of behavior, intention also was a better predictor of behavior. 2.4 Conceptual definition of Mediating Variable (Perceived Risk) Risks is a part of everyday life and always come as a routine in between us and exist when there is a less than 100 percent probability that things will turn out as someone expected will happen (Baeur, 1967). Risks are different for different persons, according to Martin and Camarero (2008), some people view risk as a their inability to value the quality of the product directly, lack of personal contact with the salesperson, the cost involve of learning on how to use the internet, cost switching different channels, security of payment and personal information. Whilst others, view risk as a (Stone and Gronhaug, 1993) degree of uncertainty about the outcome of an action which might carries the possibility of physical harm or damages. Manzano et al., 2008 offered six dimensions of perceived risk which are security risk, privacy risk, performance risk, time loss risk and social risk. Whilst Beardon and Mason, 1978 proposed different dimensions of perceived risk namely, financial risk, social risk, performance risk, psychological risk and physical risk. Although there are different kind of names or term used but the meaning is quiet same in a context of online shopping. Financial risk or security risk share a same meaning, it can be incurred when customers financial circumstances are damaged because of loss of money in cash or via credit card (March, 2006; Manzano et al., 2008). Social risks come through purchasing process that is perceived to be down-market (March, 2006). Littler and Melanthiou, 2006 found that social risk is concerned with the possibility of attracting unfavorable attention and response from purchasing a particular product. Consumer attitudes to the different methods of purchasing highly depend on their characteristics. Performance risk according to (Littler and Melanthiou, 2006) is concerned with how well the product perform relative to expectations for example, the lack of personal contact with a salesperson prevent the consumer from correctly evaluating the characteristics of the product which in turn decreasing confidence (Ba, 2001) among consumer. It is good if consumer can try out the product they will buy before they make a payment, (Gerrard and Cunningham, 2003) in their study reveal that the opportunity to conduct a trial before make payment provides the necessary confidence to consumers with high perceived performance risk. Whilst March 2006, implies that performance risk is occur when a product does not fulfill its functio n as expected especially services which may take risk time wasted in waiting. Time loss risk happen when consumer incur time costs from using online purchasing, the time of learning how to buy on a certain products, the time to wait for respond or the time for searching process( Littler and Melanthiou, 2006). Physical risk leading with purchases that might include products which are unsafe or will cause physical harm to the user or in services, allow customers to take risks whilst undertaking risky activity such as cycling (March, 2006). The last dimensions of perceived risk are psychological risk, which may be caused by consumers wearing unfashionable clothes, leading to the social risk of not fitting in and in turn will decrease confidence level among consumer. We do not always accurately perceive the threats of risks, accurately understanding and effectively eliminating or limiting risks are part of the survival and safety especially in online industry. Risk management must be an active part of facility marketing manager duties, risk should be well manage to control the financial and personal injury loss from sudden, unforeseen, unusual accident, and intentional torts (Ammon et al., 2004). In summary, for the purpose of this study, perceived risk can be summarize as a degree of uncertainty about the outcome from an action which carries the possibility of physical harm especially in financial and information fraud. Hence, this study assumes customer perceived risks are all the six dimensions discuss above which are, security risk, privacy risk, performance risk, time loss risk and social risk. 2.5 Conceptual definition of Independent Variables 2.5.1 Security Theres a various definition of security, Yoo and Donthu, 2001; Wolfinbarger and Gilly define security as to protecting the user from the risk of fraud and financial loss. According to (Milne et al., 2004), security often breaches of internet transmissions and databases enable the unauthorized use of consumers confidential information from third parties such as, name, address, password, social security and credit card numbers and, often result in identity theft. In reality, the prospect of privacy losses and information misuse in e-commerce settings may offset any convenience, time, and financial savings afforded to consumers thus by providing security for consumers will lead to customer satisfaction and in turn will decrease risk perception among consumers. Unfortunately, security breaches are occurring at a growing rate from time to time. Indeed, Miyazaki and Fernandez (2001) found that internet users highly concerns with regard to online shopping were privacy, system security breaches from third parties in which due to faulty technological security and security breaches in the form of fraudulent online retailer behavior. Security plays a vital role on customer trust and customer satisfaction, thus by providing security to consumers will lead to brand trust and would expect (Mayer et al., 1995) security decrease risk perceptions among consumers. On the other hand, Krisnahmurthy (2001) also found that consumers who experience positive security leads to improvements in the levels of familiarity on the web, accordingly security should affect brand trust as well as decrease risk perceptions. 2.3.2 Privacy Consumers patronizing an online service which requires the regular transmission and remote storage of confidential information may perceive elevated concerns regarding threats to the privacy of their personal and confidential information is very important during online transactions (Mauricio et al., 2007). Privacy refers to protection of personal details implicit or explicit agreement and not to sell or exchange the personal information gathered from consumers during transactions (Yoo and Donthu, 2001; Wolfinbarger and Gilly, 2003). Another definition of privacy from (Parasuraman et al., 2005) is the claim of individualsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦to determine on when, how, and to what extent information about them is communicated to others. (Caudill and Murphy, 2000; Sheehan and Hoy, 2000) proposed in their studies that consumer concern for information privacy is considered one of the most important issues nowadays. Fried (1998) was one of the earliest modern scholars to evaluate the notion of privacy; he argued that privacy is especially valuable since it allows people to conduct online transactions that result in trust, which would not be possible in the absence of privacy. Caudill and Murphy (2000) argued that both public and private information should be included in the debate regarding privacy since technologies today are making it increasingly easier to move private information into the public domain, which will cause consumers serious concerns regarding their private information. If the private information going into public meaning that, there is no privacy at all and this will cause distrust among customers and will lead to unsatisfied customers. 2.3.3 Brand Name Theres are various definition of brand, one of the definition is proposed by Bennett, 1988 claim that a brand is a name, term, sign, symbol, design, or any combination of these concepts, used to identify the goods and services of a seller. Keller (1998) states that brand name are one of the main factors facilitating the development of brand awareness or familiarity. The more specialized and reputable a brand name is in selling or recognizing the product or service, the more highly will its brand trust be perceived by consumers. Choosing a brand name for a consumer product or service is so critical that some writers argue it is one of the most important marketing management decisions that marketing manager should take highly considerations about choosing a brand name (Landler et al., 1991). A well chosen brand name can provide a customer with a symbolic meaning which assists in both the recognition of the product and the decision-making process (Herbig and Milewicz, 1993), it is also can produce a number of specific advantages including suggesting product benefits (McCarthy and Perault, 1990), contributing to brand identity, simplifying shopping, implying quality (McNeal and Zerren, 1981), evoking feelings of trust, confidence, security, strength, durability, speed, status and exclusivity and at the end of the day can decrease risk perceptions (Shimp, 1993). The more positively the persons perceived the brand, the higher the consumers brand awareness and loyalty, allowing the firm to command larger margins, higher market share, more inelastic consumer response to price increases, less vulnerability to competitive activity, increased marketing communications effectiveness, additional brand extension opportunities and other competitive advantages such as distribution leverage, customer satisfaction and as well as decrease risk perceptions (Keller, 1998). 2.3.4 Word of Mouth Word of mouth (WOM) plays a vital role in consumer behavior because Word of mouth (WOM) would affect purchase and intention to purchase and also experience of other consumers by conveying their consumption experience of others, namely the satisfaction or dissatisfaction after the purchasing process occur. WOM is commonly defined as informal communication about the characteristics of a business, services or a product which occurs between consumers (Westbrook, 1987). Most importantly, WOM also allows consumers to exert both informational and normative influences on the product or service evaluations and purchase intentions to fellow consumers (Bone, 1995; Ward and Reingen, 1990). According to Ha, 2004, WOM has been shown to influence awareness, expectations, perceptions, attitudes, behavioral intentions and behavior towards a product or services. Online shopping consumers will perceive higher purchase risk than that of the traditional shopping since the purchase occurs in virtual space rather than face to face transactions. They will accordingly rely more on WOM information to reduce uncertainty and purchase risk to make decisions (Kim and Song, 2010). According to Assael (1995), since online shopping has higher purchase risk than face to face interactions, (Richins and Shaffer, 1987) consumers carry out WOM action to obtain market information while making buying decision especially consumers who rely more on WOM as they perceive higher risks. Nowadays, there a growing body of evidence that the internet based opinion mechanism influence consumers when making a purchase such as blogs, social network (facebook, myspace, twitter) (Hong, 2006) and this is a new form of word of mouth communication and is known as electronic Word of Mouth (e-WOM). e-WOM is any positive or negative communication among the potential, current or former customers about a product, services or company that is available to public on the internet. Indeed, (Sen, 2008; Sen and Lerman, 2007) claimed that the impact of e-WOM is not as effective as the traditional face to- face word of mouth (WOM). In contrast, Steffes and Burgee (2009) found that the information gained from the e-WOM forum is more influential and beneficial in decision making process rather than speaking with friends in person (WOM). 2.3.5 Good Online Experience Often consumers tend to remember best the last experience they encounter (the recency effect): thus, one positive experience may be sufficient to alter perceptions of more than preceding negative experience, and vice versa (Ha, 2004). Experiences are sometimes confused with services, but experiences are as distinct from services as services also distinct from goods because experiences exist only in the mind of the individual. They are rich with emotional, physical, intellectual, or spiritual sensations created within the consumer during transactions (Kotler et al., 2005). According to Pine and Gilmore (1999), An experience occurs when a company intentionally uses services as the stage, and then goods as props to engage individual customers in a way to create a memorable event that consumer will remember best. The more satisfied the customer with the experience that the web sites offer, the more durable is the relationship among consumer and that particular brand (Buchanan and Gillies, 1990), and the relationship is highly depends on the customers experience, whether positive or negative experience. Experience plays a vital role in trust by making it possible to compare the realities of the firm with customer preconceived expectations. Ganesan (1994) goes further, and views experience as an antecedent to build brand trust among customers which in turn will lead to making purchasing. Usually customers expect Web sites to offer them not just a message, but a positive experience such as, security and privacy, ease of use, web site design and aesthetic elements and interactivity. The ease of use of the web sites is important factor which refers to the layout and design of the web site and the ease of making ones way around it, how the users perceives and interacts with the site, and how easy t o use it (Nielsen, 1999). While (Steur, 1992) covers the web sites design and aesthetic elements as a representation of the web site environments, associated with its formal characteristic such as graphics, colors, images, icons, animated sequences, videos and pop -ups which will influence customer to trust the web site as well as to proceed at the end action which is making purchasing. (Yoo and Donthu, 2001) claim that these elements has contribute to the atmosphere of the web site and are important in evaluating the web site experience. Thus, if the web sites offer all of this experience to customer will lead to customer satisfaction and build brand trust among customer thus will decrease customer risk perception. General speak in detailed, the fact that it easy to access and use the site, including the access speed and the overall guide design and layout, as well as the information provided; requirement fulfillment refers to whether the sites handling and goods delivery in a systematic way; system accessibility refers to whether the site has been technology based or still using a traditional based, or is vulnerable to attacks; and privacy, also known as security, refers to whether the site can keep the customers information secret and payments safe (Sheng and Liu, 2010) are experience that customer want in which we can called it positive experience will lead to customer satisfaction and purchase as well as to build brand trust. 2.3.6 Quality of Information There is various definition of information. Some writers make no distinction between data and information (Wang et al., 1998) while some writers see the differences as most crucial (Tozer, 1999). Information is logically derived from theories or principles, it is an artifact. The producer of information has an intention to produce a symbolic meaning of certain entities or events, put it into a context, assign it into a pre defined meaning and then transmit the information into receiver. The producer of information expected that the receiver will capture the meaning as intended (Lillrank, 2002). Consumers search for information in their pre-purchase search process for a product or service they intend to buy thus, by providing effective information does lead to improved awareness and brand perception among consumers (Aaker and Joachimsthaler, 2000; Ha, 2002; Keller, 1998), particularly for individuals with high brand trust and high perceived risk (Duncan and Moriarty, 1998). Many online buyers indicate that their buying decisions mostly depend on the information offered online (Long Ching, 2009). Bickart and Schindler (2001) found that consumers who gathered information from online discussions namely electronic word of mouth (e-WOM) reported greater interest and intention to buy in the product than did those consumers who gathered information from the marketer-generated sources. The main reason for this is highly likely to be the trust issue as raised in a study by Sen (2008). Customized information has become more important in internet nowadays based applications due to the multitude of choices that are available on the internet (Simonson, 2005; Ha, 2002). (Ha (2002), has shown that internet users are very interested in customized information offer by the web sites be this is because mostly firms today have added value by providing appropriate information to simplify the customers decision making process (Murthi and Sarkar, 2003). In addition, the source of the information is very crucial for a message to be effective and reliable and it often depends on the receivers perception of the senders trustworthiness and expertise (Kiecker and Cowles, 2001) they also suggest that the information also must be perceived believable, competent, valuable and trustworthy for information recipients. (Robinson and Kaye, 2000), found that consumers, who relied on online sources for more information, rated the online sources as more credible than other sources, so it is important tasks for managers to provide quality information online to gain trust from customers. Meyvis and Janiszewski (2002) reveal that irrelevant and lack in quality information will weakens consumers belief in the products or services ability to deliver the benefit. Hence, whether perceived quality of information is provided and, if it is provided, the quality of customized information for customers, also highly influence the level of brand trust and custom er satisfaction on the web (Ha, 2004). 2.4 Relationship among the Variables Individuals who perceive a low risk in online buying likely make decisions more quickly and less likely to take into account aspects outside of the web site. In contrast, individuals who are more fearful will behave in a more cautious way, searching for external information that warrantees a successful buying decision to decrease uncertainty in internet purchase (Martin and Camarero, 2008). Bhatnagar et al., 2000, reported that consumers were less likely to shop online in which perceived product performance risk was high than those with low product performance risk, consumers perceived risk negatively influences their intention to purchase products online. Customer who satisfied with the security, privacy and online good experience offered by the web sites will experience lower perceived risk and will have effect on the purchase intention. (Chen and Hsin, 2008) results show that consumers perceived risk towards specific online retailer with regards to purchase intention was influence by trust. As consumer trust increases because of decreasing perceived risk will influence consumer to make purchase (Chen and Hsin, 2008). 2.5 Summary This chapter reviewed literatures on consumer perception of perceived risk towards online purchase intention in detailed. Based on the findings from literature reviews, definition conception of online purchase intention, perceived risk, security, privacy, word of mouth, brand name, good online experience and quality of information are developed. In the last part of this chapter, the relationship between independent variables, mediating variable and dependent variable are constructed. Conceptualizing definitions of variables is important in order to construct a research framework in which would be discussed in chapter 3.

Evaluate the Possible Ways to Market a New Business Essay

For my business studies coursework, my new business will be a Junior Tennis Academy for talented tennis players aged 3-18. Its name will be named after where it is based, at St Georges College, Weybridge. Therefore its name will be The Weybridge Tennis Academy. It will provide top coaching for young talent, as well as providing state of the art facilities which include four indoor tennis courts, three artificial clay, eight acrylic and three grass courts, as well as a gym where the players can train to help get fitter and stronger to help give them that physical edge over their competitors. We offer these services because tournaments are played on many different surfaces and we need to train our players to the highest possible standard. We also offer a re-stringing service at extremely competitive prices as well as official Weybridge Tennis Academy merchandise supplied by a top sports company, which is available for purchase at a discounted price. These facilities will help the business because ‘Tennis Parents’ will see that our company has better facilities for their child than another tennis academy down the road. Tennis is a very expensive sport, so therefore our business is not only aimed at the players playing, but also the parents paying. Tennis parents are notoriously pushy people and they are usually quite well off, so therefore the more facilities we can offer, the more likely they will come to us. Usually, when money isn’t a factor, people go for the best product, and by offering so many facilities, we have that competitive advantage over our competitors. With our location being in Weybridge, we automatically have good transport links, such as the M25 and Addlestone and Weybridge train stations. This will target all people living in and around London. London is the biggest city in Britain, so therefore we have many more potential customers compared to a tennis academy in for example Northumberland . My business’ aim is to fill a gap in the market. It will meet a demand for a Tennis academy open to all standards, rather than one where you have to be invited to join. For example the National Tennis Centre at Roehampton, a 32 million pound facility is only open to players who have been invited. The Weybridge Tennis Academy is open to young players of all standards but with the same facilities as the National Tennis Centre. Therefore many more players will pass through the doors of my academy because it is open to a wider range of players. This will then lead to my business making a profit because there is not any other competition in the local area. During this coursework I will need to investigate the potential market and location to enable me to situate my business in the best possible location to help make as much profit as possible. I will also have to research the local competition to identify my main competitors and the buying habits of the local consumers to see what they look for most when investing in a product. The importance of Marketing Marketing is selling ‘the right product, at the right place, at the right time and at the right place.’ The marketing mix, sometimes known as the four P’s is used to describe the key elements that a consumer wants and needs when buying a new product. I will need to find out what a consumer looks for, and make sure I find the right elements to help make my business successful. My business has to offer the customer a better thing than the local competition otherwise my business will fail. This means that my business will have to offer the customer something that no other tennis academy offers in the local area. This is because obviously if every academy offered the same thing as my business my business would have no competitive edge which will lead to failure. The Weybridge Tennis Academy needs to offer the customer what they want and need. This will then identify the first stage of the marketing mix which is product. The second stage of the, marketing mix is place. Place means how the customers are going to access my academy. There are many factors affecting this decision. It has to be in a place where customers can easily get to, as well as somewhere where there are many potential customers. My business will be situated in St Georges College, Weybridge (hence the name of the business). By being in Weybridge, there are many convenient transport links, such as the M25 or Weybridge or Addlestone train station. Addlestone train station is in fact situated less than a mile away from the centre, which means that there are many good transport links. This will then draw customers in from all around London and the South East. The third section of the Marketing Mix is Price. The Price is how much the product is being sold for. The price is very important to any business because it is normally one of the first things to be looked at when a consumer is considering buying a product. The customer has to think that the business is good value for money, and by comparing the prices of local competition, I will come up with an appropriate pricing method for my business. It is important that I take into account how much the business has cost to build because obviously if the expenditure is higher than the income, I will have made a loss rather than a profit There are many pricing strategies available to me, for instance cost plus pricing, which means setting a price by adding a fixed amount or percentage to the cost of making the product. This means that however much I spend on my Tennis Academy; I will add a percentage of money to this amount and charge the customers that amount. By doing this, I will always make a profit because I will be getting my money back on the expenditure, plus an added amount. The second pricing strategy I could use is to set a price based on competitors pricing. This means that I would look at the price of my competitors’ product and I would make that cheaper or better value to help make customers buy into my product. The fourth and final section of the Marketing Mix is the promotion. Promotion means how your product is shown to the customer, obviously if the customer does not know the business is there they cannot buy it. One example of this is advertising. There are many ways of promoting a business; it could be through a newspaper, television, internet and radio. These are examples of advertising through the media. Another way of promoting your business is through merchandising. This is a crucial way that I plan to promote my business through players buying official Weybridge Tennis Academy Merchandise, wearing it to tournaments and promoting the company through people seeing the companies name or logo on a back of a player’s shirt. Most players at my academy will be competing against players from other academies. This is a way of promoting because other players will see the company’s logo and the tennis parents may well look into the possibility of sending their child to my acade my. However ways such as sales promotion, which could include special offers, price discounts or free gifts, would not be appropriate because my business is looking for long term customer rather than short term customers. To get the best results I will conduct numerous experiments and research which will help me to find what the customers want and need. I will conduct questionnaires, surveys and interviews with other people finding out what they look for in investing in a tennis academy. I will also research statistics such as the number of competing juniors in the south east and also the amount of tennis academies in that area. This will then help me gain a competitive advantage over my competitors. Market Research Market Research is used by a business to try and find out what people want and also what competitors and doing and planning. Market Research helps find out who the customers are, whether they will like the product, how the business can be promoted, how much the customers willing to pay, what type of customer will be interested, how the profile of the customers can be built, whether the business is in the right location and how the products will be distributed. There are two main ways of conducting research. Field/Primary research is used to find out new information, and Desk/Secondary research is useful for looking at an entire market, and analysing trends for future reference. I will use both to research how my business can best achieve its goals and how it can beat competitors to getting customers. Field/Primary research is the process of manually entering the population and asking first hand questions. The advantage of using this method is that it is specific to my business, meaning that it is up to date and relevant. This means that I can ask any questions on any subject, and receive answers that are highly relevant and suitable for my research. There are many techniques which can be used, such as surveys, questionnaires and interviews. I believe that by conducting the research in the area where my business will be situated, I will achieve the most relevant and suitable results. However, to ensure that the data is accurate you need to use large field samples which can be expensive and very time consuming. Desk research is useful for looking at an entire market, whilst analysing past trends for future reference. For example I would have to look at the trends of tennis academies across Britain. Desk research has already been researched and accessed by other companies, so it therefore already exists and therefore it takes no time to conduct or find the data you want. The data can be accessed through the internet, newspapers, government records and market research. Desk research is good because it is easy to obtain and it is cheap. The disadvantage is that it is not specific or relevant to your business. It can also be biased or out of date which severely affects the reliability. I will try and collect Qualitative data so I can then see exactly what people want, as well as their thoughts and feelings. This will then help me know what customers want which will help me gain an edge over the competitors. I will do this by interviewing a select amount of people and finding out what they look for in a tennis academy. The questions asked will be based on how much people will pay, how the location will affect their decision and once again what they look for when investing in a tennis academy. After I have found out the information, I will access it and make it relevant to my business. By knowing what customers look for in a company, I will know what to include when I am trying to promote my business. For instance if a lot of people want indoor courts to make sure that it can never be cancelled or so that there child can play all year round, I will make sure that the fact that my academy has indoor courts is highly publicised. Also, by knowing what customers want, I will have an advantage over my competitors. Evaluation Number of Competing Juniors: Berkshire-149 Essex-343 Hampshire-274 Kent-338 Middlesex-450 Surrey-536 Total number of competing juniors in the south east-2090 Information obtained from www.lta.org.uk Juniors includes all players born in 1990 Tennis academies in the south east: Clive Asprey Tennis Academy-Aldershot Sutton Junior Tennis Centre The National Tennis Centre-Roehampton Win Tennis-Bisham Abbey Esporta-Croydon Westway-London These are all TENNIS ACADEMIES this does not include any ‘LAWN TENNIS CLUBS’. Lawn tennis clubs are open to any people and are therefore not relevant to my business. These academies are my main competitors because it is invitational only. There are roughly 2000 competing juniors in the South East and there are six tennis academies (not including my academy) in this area. Therefore on average there are around 300 children to every academy. Obviously this would not be the case in reality but it gives a good idea of the Academy/Player Ratio. INFORMATION OBTAINED BY WWW.YELL.COM 1st Interview 1) What are the 3 main things that you look for in a tennis academy? The three main things I look for are the ability for the academy to get my child to its full potential, therefore I know that I am paying for excellence and I know my money’s being put to good use. The ability to play all year round is very important because I therefore know that sessions can never be cancelled due to weather and my child can therefore train all year round. Lastly the coaches have to be highly qualified and I would like to know a bit about them so I know that they can emphasize with players when they are going through tough times. 2) How would the location affect your decision of where to send your child? There would have to be good roads such as motorways because obviously I don’t want to be travelling all the time. Also if my child is of an age that he could travel on his own, I would like there to be easy to access buses and trains for him/her to use. 3) How important is the cost of the tennis academy? I wouldn’t mind paying a lot of money as long as the results were shown. Also if I had a younger child, I would want to pay less at first until I see that he/she was improving and that he was committed. As he/she improves I would be more inclined to pay more. 2nd Interview 1) What are the three main things you look for in a tennis academy? I would firstly look at the academy’s credentials, for instance its results of members, and the proof of its results. It would also have to be good value for money, so therefore I would need to be seeing an improvement in my child’s progress. Also the location is important because I don’t wish to be travelling all the time. 2) Why is the location an important factor in choosing where to send your child? I have got a busy life and I don’t wish to be travelling all across the countryside after I’ve had a long day at work. It has to be easy to attend so therefore good transport links are vital. 3) How important is the cost of the tennis academy? Obviously there is the factor of whether it can be afforded but the price is not important. I would have to see that my money is being put to good use so therefore the investment has to match the progress. 3rd Interview 1) What are the three main things you look for in a tennis academy? I look at the facilities of the academy, for instance whether it has indoor courts. I would also like to know the standard of the players that attend the academy and the background of the coaches. The attitude and the atmosphere of the academy are crucial because I have to know where I am sending my child. 2) Is the location an important factor in choosing where to send your child? Obviously I don’t want to be travelling too much and it has to be reasonably local otherwise we’ll spend more time travelling than actually playing. Also I don’t want to be paying a fortune for the transport fees, for instance petrol or train/bus fares on top of the price of attending the academy. 3) Is the cost important? The cost is obviously very important otherwise our whole life would be being run by tennis. I would prefer to pay less at the start and once I have seen an improvement or a commitment start to increase the price. Evaluation of Questionnaires: I have found out that what most people want is value for money. This means that however much they put in, they want out. This therefore means that the more they pay, the bigger the improvement in their child’s ability they would expect to see. Therefore I think I will give special offers to new customers, such as they get the first term half price so that they know that it is what their child wants to do and also if they do not see an improvement they have the opportunity to pull out. This was suggested to the people that I interviewed and it seemed a popular idea. Secondly, they found the factor of indoor courts crucial as that meant they could play all year round. As my academy would have this facility, this is a good thing, however many other academies have indoor courts and this therefore does not separate us from our competitors. Many people thought that the location was an important factor. Many parents have busy lives and they do not wish to be travelling all over the place. My academy is situated in a place with good public transport links, there are two train stations within two miles of the academy, and it is situated two miles from the M25. This was once again explained to the interviewees and they seemed to be in favour of the placement of my academy. Many people didn’t mind about the cost of the academy, as long as they saw the results. This was touched upon earlier and I will use a penetration pricing method, which means that I will make the price quite low at the start to try and draw customers in and then increase it as they see an improvement. This was a major aspect that the people that I interviewed would look for in tennis academy and this will help me gain that competitive advantage. Overall the research I conducted was extremely useful as it told me what customers wanted and needed, as well as giving me statistics that would help me gain a bit more knowledge in this type of business. I found out the amount of competing juniors in the south east, as well as the number of academies. It also told me how customers felt, for instance about the price and location of the academy. The information I have found out will help me in making the decisions about the academy, such as the pricing, structure and promotion of the business. Conclusion/Judgement Overall I believe that my tennis academy will work. There are six full time academies in the South East, not including my one, and there are over two thousand regularly competing juniors in the same area. This means that the ratio of Academies/Players is 6:300. Obviously in reality some academies have more players than others because of reputation, facilities, transport and cost. My academy has state of the art facilities, as explained earlier. It is also situated in a place where there are good channels of distribution and good transport links. This means that customers will be attracted because it is easy to get to. The cost will be determined by a ‘Penetration’ Pricing Method. This means that my prices will be low for new customers, so that parents then know that their child is improving, or enjoying the experience. Most parents interviewed wanted their money to be payed back through improvement of their child’s development. Therefore if I charge low prices at the start, for instance half price for your first term, and the child makes a big improvement, the parent is more likely to want to pay more from then on. If the child does not improve, the parent will then be giving the option of continuing with the programme. This will then help company/customer relations. This will then help my academies reputation, which will then attract more customers. As my academies reputation builds, more profit will come in and we can start charging higher prices. To help promote my academy, I will seek sponsorship from sports companies such as ‘NIKE’, ‘Adidas’, ‘Wilson’, ‘Babolat’, ‘Prince’, ‘Head’, ‘Dunlop’, ‘TTK’ and ‘Lacoste’. I will also sell official Academy merchandise such as training kit, match play kit, and tracksuits which will be worn to tournaments by players and other players will see them. This is a way of free advertising as the children/parents would be paying for the kit and wearing it around showing it off to other players and parents. I will also look to gain funding from the ‘Lawn Tennis Association’ who gives funding to academies that have regularly competing juniors. These are called ‘Satellite Clubs’ and they are given funding which helps pay for the costs of balls, rackets and other training equipment. As my academy builds in reputation, I will look to gain more funding which wi ll help me make more profit. Overall there is a lot of potential in this product. I believe that people will be attracted to my product because of the facilities, meaning the product itself; the price, meaning that I will make it cheaper at the start to draw customers in; the promotion, for instance the official merchandise that will be seen in tournaments; and finally the place; meaning the channels of distribution. This will attract customers because of where it situated, meaning that it is easy to get to. However my tennis academy does have a lot of competition, which means that I will have to use the knowledge that I found out through the market research to help gain the competitive advantage over my rivals.

Myers Briggs Type Indicator Instrument Evaluation Essay

Myers-Briggs Type Indicator: Instrument Evaluation The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator is well-known and widely used in the psychology and counseling professions. In fact, â€Å"Millions of people worldwide have taken the Indicator each year since its first publication† (Myers Briggs Foundation, 2016). This instrument is trusted to identify personality types and measure preferences of an individual based on answers to a questionnaire. The MBTI has many applications and is a respected personality assessment today. History of MBTI Carl Jung was born in 1875 in Switzerland. His parents had very opposite personalities which could have contributed to the theory he later developed (Feist, Feist, Roberts, 2013). Like many psychologists of the day, he received a medical degree and was an early follower of Freud, but split from Freud’s teaching due to disagreeing with his strong sexual theoretical basis. Jung developed his own psychoanalytic theory which included explanation of personality. 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Significant Place - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 2 Words: 706 Downloads: 5 Date added: 2017/09/13 Category Advertising Essay Did you like this example? September 3rd, 2010 Significant Place: Brooklyn, New York Many people have a place that is very significant to them. In my opinion, having a significant place is a very good thing because that means that significant place has a meaning. Brooklyn, New York, is the original hometown of the majority of my family and they have a very significant background history there. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Significant Place" essay for you Create order Brooklyn, New York is a very capacious city. My favorite thing to do there is shop. When I go shopping, I often enjoy seeing the enormous crowds in the downtown area which lets me know I am in New York. I try to ignore the rambunctious sounds coming from the cars, buses, people and trains because Brooklyn is a very large city which means there’s going to be a lot of noise coming from everywhere. When I go downtown, a very distinct aroma often hits me which I think only I can smell. I just love the fresh scent of downtown; the scent is as fresh as the smell of roses; very obsessive. Also, when I am downtown, I frequently visit a deli called Lawry’s to get me a hero which is something like a sandwich but only better. The taste of it is very addictive which leaves me wanting more and more. I just love Brooklyn and I doubt anywhere else can replace it. So many people live in New York. The enormous crowds are so indescribable. I like to go out at night and see the lights which are so bright enough to light up the streets of Brooklyn. You would never have to worry about getting around in New York because there are many types of transportation. You can take the large city metro bus, the train which is quite a bumpy ride and also the yellow taxi cab. In Brooklyn, I always used to go to Coney Island to go to an amusement park which is kind of like a carnival. I always used to have so much fun there. I loved to play games while I was there so I could win me a nice big fluffy teddy bear. I collected so many teddy bears and barely had room for anymore. The rides were also fun but my favorite ride I used to always get on was the Ferris wheel. I liked the Ferris wheel because it was very slow and relaxing to me and it gave me a great view of the whole carnival. If I ever wanted something sweet while I was there, I always used to get me some cotton candy; I just love the sweet taste of it. It’s very soft and it just melts in my mouth. However, I love Coney Island and enjoy going there in my free time. The majority of my family lives in Brooklyn. Most of them resided from South Carolina to Brooklyn and the others were born and raised there. My family loves New York as well. Most of them are very successful, while few are still struggling to make a living. To my family, home is Brooklyn, New York and as they would always say â€Å"There’s no place like home†. Brooklyn, New York is known as the â€Å"Big Apple† and â€Å"The Empire State†. It is a very populous state. Many people decide to reside to New York to seek a better living as far as jobs and transportation. My family decided to reside to South Carolina because of my great grandmother. She was very sick at the time and needed someone to care for her. Soon she died and my family decided to stay in South Carolina. Now my family is enjoying the South. We have a very nice house here and doubt we will ever move back to New York. Even though we are enjoying the south, there’s no place like home. In conclusion, it’s good to have a place that is very significant, not only to you but others as well. However, Brooklyn, New York is a very significant place to me and my family and they have a great background history there. If you don’t have a significant place to you and others, I encourage you to find one.