Browsing by Author "Walker, David"

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
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    Attitudes, involvement and consumer behaviour : a longitudinal study in fast moving consumer goods markets
    (Cranfield University, 1994-06) Walker, David; Knox, Simon
    An empirical study is reported which attempts to validate two key theoretical consequences of consumer involvement: differences in brand buying behaviour and differences in the type of decision processing undertaken. A literature review is provided which traces the history of involvement and identifies a suitable contemporary framework. Work on brand loyalty and attitude modelling is also reviewed and suitable frameworks identified. A pilot stage is reported which shows how involvement measurement techniques can be adapted for use among frequently purchased products. Results from reliability testing and differences in the mean levels of involvement for six grocery product categories are reported. A main fieldwork phase is reported where a consumer panel was operated for four months (n=191). Data on levels of involvement, decision making and purchasing behaviour were collected from the panel using surveys and diary sheets for three product categories: newspapers, breakfast cereals and paper kitchen towels. The relationship between sources of involvement and buying behaviour was analysed using LISREL. A model of involvement is identified which suggests that brand involvement is generated by the risks associated with making a poor brand choice and the levels of pleasure associated with the product field. For newspapers, the modelling identifies a significant (but small) relationship between involvement and devotion of purchasing to a limited number of brands. This relationship was not significant in the other two product fields. Further analysis identifies four classifications of buying behaviour (habitual, loyal, switchers, and variety seekers) which helps to explain why the linear relationship is so weak. A second analysis phase is reported which examines the utility of the Extended Fishbein Model for each of the three product categories. This analysis supports the notion that decision processing is more extensive where the level of product involvement is higher. The theoretical and managerial implications of the findings are discussed. Strengths and limitations of the research design are reviewed.
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    Empirical developments in the measurement of involvement, brand loyalty and their structural relationships in grocery markets
    (1995) Knox, Simon; Walker, David
    The paper reports on a research design that attempts to integrate prior theory on consumer involvement and brand loyalty through a unifying model which we test in a longitudinal study of grocery product purchasing. Using a previously identified and validated measure of involvement, together with a new test instrument to capture the dimensionality of brand loyalty, the model was estimated using LISREL. We report on our main finding which is to confirm the existence of a significant relationship between the two constructs in grocery markets. The implications of this for marketing theory and practice are discussed and future research directions signposted.
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    New empirical perspectives on brand loyality: Implications for segementation strategy and equity
    (Cranfield School of Management, 1995) Knox, Simon; Walker, David
    There has been much written about the role of brand loyalty as a primary measure of effective brands marketing and a partial measure of brand equity. To date, however, the progress in providing a practical measure of the construct has been very limited. In this empirical study of grocery brands, we have developed such a measure in which both brand commitment and brand support were found to be necessary and sufficient conditions for loyalty to exist. Based on this measure, we identify four consumer purchasing styles which we characterised as "Loyals", "Habituals", "Variety Seekers" and "Switchers". The strategic implications of segmenting grocery markets on this basis is discussed both in the context of the marketing of brands and managing brand equity.
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    ‘The darker angels of our nature’: Early Bronze Age butchered human remains from Charterhouse Warren, Somerset, UK
    (Cambridge University Press, 2025-02) Schulting, Rick J.; Fernández-Crespo, Teresa; Ordoño, Javier; Brock, Fiona; Kellow, Ashleigh; Snoeck, Christophe; Cartwright, Ian R.; Walker, David; Loe, Louise; Audsley, Tony
    Direct physical evidence for violent interpersonal conflict is seen only sporadically in the archaeological record for prehistoric Britain. Human remains from Charterhouse Warren, south-west England, therefore present a unique opportunity for the study of mass violence in the Early Bronze Age. At least 37 men, women and children were killed and butchered, their disarticulated remains thrown into a 15m-deep natural shaft in what is, most plausibly, interpreted as a single event. The authors examine the physical remains and debate the societal tensions that could motivate a level and scale of violence that is unprecedented in British prehistory.