Browsing by Author "Hill, Roy W."

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    Export marketing strategies for the Northern Ireland seed potato industry
    (Cranfield University, 1989-08) Lamont, Jeffrey; Hill, Roy W.
    This thesis is concerned primarily with the export marketing performance of the Northern Ireland seed potato industry. The Industry has shown a dramatic decline in exports over the past twenty years, and this thesis proposes strategies aimed at regaining, and maintaining, a competitive advantage for the industry in world markets. A comparative analysis is conducted of the strategic and organisational export capabilities of the Northern Ireland industry and its main competitors. In addition, an analysis of the requirements of major world seed potato markets is undertaken. Academically, the thesis aims to apply the principles of export marketing to a traditionally managed sector of agriculture. As such, it is hoped that the thesis makes a useful contribution to the literature on agricultural marketing and export marketing. Major academic themes explored in the thesis include - Globalisation versus 'customisation' - New product development strategy and export success - Product-life-cycle analysis and product-enhancement strategies - Export promotional strategies - The utility of horizontal and marketing performances - 'Market spreading' versus 'key market concentration' vertical integration in enhancing - Centrality or peripherality of the export function The central hypothesis explored in the thesis is that in an agricultural industry, such as a seed potato one, where production is fragmented over a. large number of small production units, then a necessary prerequisite to successful strategic exporting is the existence of an appropriate organisational structure to carry out the strategic tasks. This hypothesis is confirmed by the findings of the research. As the product and service requirements of world seed potato markets have changed over the years, and are becoming more sophisticated, the Northern Ireland industry has been unable to adopt an appropriate customisation strategy in response. This is due to the inhibiting effect of an inappropriate organisational structure within the industry. By way of contrast, industries which have developed considerably by responding to changing market requirements (such as the Netherlands, France and Scotland) are characterised by a strongly integrated organisational structure (both horizontal and vertical). In all these countries this has largely been achieved by the development of marketing co-operatives. In seeking to propose export marketing strategies for the Northern Ireland industry therfore, a necessary prerequisite is to establish an appropriately integrated organisational system within the industry. As the seed potato marketing co-operative Expotato Limited has already begun to introduce a horizontally and vertically intergrated discipline into the Northern Ireland industry, it is suggested that this co-operative should be further developed as a catalyst for positive organisational and strategic development of the industry ...[cont.].
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    The Market Maven, a new ally in the diffusion of innovations process
    (Cranfield University, 1997-03) De Vita, Carmine Franco; Hill, Roy W.
    The initial motive for undertaking this research, was a desire to better understand those factors which were said to affect the diffusion of ethnic foods. In attempting to develop the general methodology for this study, the author revisited seminal studies on diffusion of innovations, word-of-mouth, opinion leadership, and innovator / early adopter influence. During this process, the author discovered Feick and Price's (1987), emergent "Market Maven", theory. Said to be distinctly different from opinion leaders and early adopters, market mavens were not only believed to have a higher awareness of general marketplace information, but also more source credibility than other word- of-mouth influencers. Employing a replication study approach, a telephone survey of 400 households in urban, suburban and rural north Bedfordshire was undertaken. The author found that the market maven construct was not a purely US phenomenon, but was also present in the UK. Developing further Feick and Price's (1987) preliminary investigations, this study confirmed that (in common with related opinion leadership studies), it had not been possible to identify market mavens using demographic / socio- economic variables. VAiilst classifying market mavens remained problematic, the author was nonetheless able to confirm Feick and Price's (1987) earlier findings, that market mavens had an inherently increased propensity for general marketplace information gathering. As this behaviour was considered by the author to be unique to market mavens, the construct was employed to test those factors, said to affect ethnic food diffusion, with interesting, if largely inconclusive results. The author concluded, that the potential of the market maven construct in the diffusion of innovations process was significant, particularly as a conduit for internal word-of- mouth information in the business-to-business / industrial marketing context. In that situation, market mavens' heightened awareness of, and active search for, general marketplace information, would make them ideal targets for the type of marketing communication message that innovators and opinion leaders alike, reputedly ignore.
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    The role of attitudinal, normative and control beliefs in drink choice behaviour
    (Cranfield School of Mangement, 1995) Thompson, Keith E.; Thompson, Nicholas J.; Hill, Roy W.
    Between 1985 and 1990 consumption of low alcohol and alcohol free beer grew at an annual rate of 100%. Yet expectations of a large and expanding market into 1990's were not fulfilled, partly because of economic downturn. As the economy recovers some brewers are anticipating renewed growth. This paper reports an application of reasoned action theory to the roles of attitudes, norms, behavioural control and habit in predicting behavourial intention in respect of alcohol free beer, in the very different market environment of the 1990's. Data were collected by means of a questionnaire posted to 400 households, yielding 78 usable responses. Unexpectedly, not getting drunk was not found to be an important predictor of intention. instead, behavioural intention was chiefly determined by beliefs concerning taste and health. Normative influences, especailly friends for non-users, family for users, were secondary predictors. Neither perceived behavioural control or habit were found to add to the predicitive power of the model. Some suggestions for the practical application of the findings are made.