Master's Degree Thesis
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Master’s degree thesis IP501909 MSc thesis, discipline oriented master Consumer Perceptions of Country of Origin, Brand Image and Product Quality on the Purchase Intention of High-Tech Products: A Multi-Country Study of Ghanaian, Norwegian and South Korean Consumers. 10013/Grace Muni-Awudu and 10004/Hyeokmin Kwon Number of pages including this page: 143 Aalesund, 06.06.2017 Mandatory statement Each student is responsible for complying with rules and regulations that relate to examinations and to academic work in general. The purpose of the mandatory statement is to make students aware of their responsibility and the consequences of cheating. Failure to complete the statement does not excuse students from their responsibility. Please complete the mandatory statement by placing a mark in each box for statements 1-6 below. 1 I/we herby declare that my/our paper/assignment is my/our own . work, and that I/we have not used other sources or received other help than is mentioned in the paper/assignment. 2 I/we herby declare that this paper Mark each . 1. Has not been used in any other exam at another box: department/university/university college 1. 2. Is not referring to the work of others without acknowledgement 2. 3. Is not referring to my/our previous work without acknowledgement 3. 4. Has acknowledged all sources of literature in the text and in the list of references 4. 5. Is not a copy, duplicate or transcript of other work 5. I am/we are aware that any breach of the above will be considered as cheating, and may result in annulment of the 3 examination and exclusion from all universities and university . colleges in Norway for up to one year, according to the Act relating to Norwegian Universities and University Colleges, section 4-7 and 4-8 and Examination regulations . 4 I am/we are aware that all papers/assignments may be checked . for plagiarism by a software assisted plagiarism check 5 I am/we are aware that NTNU will handle all cases of suspected . cheating according to prevailing guidelines. 6 I/we are aware of the NTNU’s rules and regulation for using . sources. 2 Publication agreement ECTS credits: 30 Credits Supervisor: Associate Professor Richard Glavee-Geo Agreement on electronic publication of master thesis Author(s) have copyright to the thesis, including the exclusive right to publish the document (The Copyright Act §2). All theses fulfilling the requirements will be registered and published in Brage, with the approval of the author(s). Theses with a confidentiality agreement will not be published. I/we hereby give NTNU the right to, free of charge, make the thesis available for electronic publication: yes no Is there an agreement of confidentiality? yes no (A supplementary confidentiality agreement must be filled in and included in this document) - If yes: Can the thesis be online published when the period of confidentiality is expired? yes no This master‟s thesis has been completed and approved as part of a master‟s degree programme at NTNU Ålesund. The thesis is the student‟s own independent work according to section 6 of Regulations concerning requirements for master's degrees of December 1st, 2005. Date: 06.06.2017 3 Acknowledgements Our initial thanks go to God for the grace granted us to finish this academic race successfully. Next, we want to sincerely appreciate and thank our supervisor, associate professor Richard Glavee-Geo for his tremendous efforts and help given us at all phases of this study. His availability, prompt response, expertise and directions had a very significant impact on the thesis in general. We also wish to express our gratitude to the management of this university for granting us the privilege and opportunity to be a part of this master program. Special thanks to the international business department for their collective and individual assistance through the impartation of knowledge especially professor Ø ivind Strand and associate professor Mark Pasquine for helping with the conjoint study. Finally, we wish to express our heartfelt appreciation to our individual family relations especially our mothers (Elizabeth Afua Adzator and 유은경님) for their unrelenting support and motivation throughout the duration of this master program. We are eternally grateful and owe it all to their selfless nature and hard work. Thanks to everyone that made our studies and stay here worthwhile. Å lesund, June 2017, Grace Muni-Awudu and Hyeokmin Kwon. 4 Abstract Purpose: In recent times, smartphones can be considered as one of the basic needs of every person. The flexibility, efficiency and ease of use it comes with make it a necessity in today's age and world of technological development. The main purpose of this study therefore, is to find out what factors motivate consumers to purchase a particular smartphone brand. Design/methodology/approach: Online survey and conjoint analysis were the two approaches used in conducting this research. A total number of 394 respondents from Ghana, Norway and South Korea participated in the experiment. Findings: The empirical findings reveal brand image, product quality and customer satisfaction positively influence consumers purchase intention in all three (3) countries. Research limitation: The main limitation is that, this study covers only a very small part of smartphone users across the world, which makes the research setting very limited thus, findings and results cannot be generalized. Practical implication: Theoretically, this study aids in revealing those variables that affect a consumer's purchase intention of high-tech products (smartphones). It also uncovers the indicators and signals consumers use during the process of deciding to purchase smartphones (purchase intention). A managerial implication could be the suggestion for organizations to be more concerned on establishing a strong brand image by making products that are perceived to be of high quality and satisfying existing and potential consumers. Keywords: Country-of-origin image, Brand Image, Product Quality, Product Knowledge, Customer Satisfaction, Habitual Usage, Brand Visibility on Social Media, Purchase Intention 5 Contents Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................................... 4 Abstract .................................................................................................................................................. 5 CHAPTER ONE - INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................ 9 1.1 Background of study .................................................................................................................. 9 1.2 Research Problem .................................................................................................................... 10 1.3 Justification of the study .......................................................................................................... 10 1.4 Scope of study.......................................................................................................................... 11 1.5 Organization of the study ......................................................................................................... 11 CHAPTER TWO - LITERATURE REVIEW ................................................................................. 12 2.0 Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 12 2.1 Consumer Decision Making .................................................................................................... 12 2.2 Country Of Origin.................................................................................................................... 16 2.3 Brand Image ............................................................................................................................ 22 2.4 Product Quality ........................................................................................................................ 27 2.5 Summary .................................................................................................................................. 32 CHAPTER THREE - SMARTPHONE PRESENTATION ............................................................ 33 3.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 33 3.2. The Country‟s Environment and the Smartphones ................................................................. 33 3.3 Summary .................................................................................................................................. 39 CHAPTER FOUR - RESEARCH MODEL AND HYPOTHESES ................................................ 40 4.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 40 4.2 Overview of Research Model .................................................................................................. 40 4.3 Hypotheses ............................................................................................................................... 42 4.4 Summary of hypotheses ........................................................................................................... 52 4.5 Summary .................................................................................................................................. 52