Quantitative Marketing Research Research Articles

Acquisition of Electric Vehicles—A Step towards Green Consumption. Empirical Research among Romanian Students

The paper analyzes particular aspects of a competitive economy based on low carbon emissions, which requires a fundamental change in consumer behavior, by focusing mainly on green acquisitions. The article contributes to the literature by the novelty of the researched problem: identification and analysis of the attitude and behavior of Romanian students regarding the electric vehicles acquisition. Thus, a quantitative marketing research was conducted, using a sample of 1221 students from 11 Romanian university centers. Also, the paper includes an overview regarding the costs and financial benefits provided by the Romanian Government to the electric vehicles owners, such as acquisition price reductions or tax reductions. The research results show that only half of the students are familiar with the concept of green consumption, and 37.8% of them are interested in buying an electric vehicle, the main reason being the fuel consumption. The authors recommend to the state’s institutions to develop special programs, by offering attractive facilities to the young people with higher education, as potential buyers, for the purchase of electric vehicles, this way diminishing the barrier effect generated by the high price. The academic environment should initiate research, both at the micro and macroeconomic level, to quantify the economic-social implications of green acquisitions in general and electric vehicles in particular.

STUDY ON E-COMMERCE IN THE CLOTHING INDUSTRY IN ROMANIA

Abstract: The fast evolution of the Internet over the last decade had a major impact on all aspects of life, mainly on the business world, stimulating the emergence of a new form of commerce, namely e-commerce. The development of e-commerce has made its mark on the market, with changes taking place both at the level of consumer behavior and at the level of business management. The e-commerce market has been constantly evolving in recent years, and in Romania it has recorded the highest growth in recent years at European level. The study analyzes the sales of clothing products in the online environment in Romania. Thus, quantitative marketing research is conducted at the population level in Romania, a research aimed at knowing the opinions and attitudes of citizens in relation to the purchase of clothing items from online stores. In this research, special attention was paid to the knowledge of the reasons why consumers choose to buy clothing items online. The results of this research can be used by online store managers to find out how they can improve their services, but also for offline store managers who want to get into the online business.

Ways to create an effective positioning of Romanian universities through identity, image and promotion elements

Abstract The process of universities positioning, as a component of educational and university marketing consists of a synergetic system composed of all the marketing and management efforts of a university as an entity inside the educational market, materialized in identity, image and promotion elements that lead to the creation of a strong brand of the university and to contribute to the consolidation of a solid reputation. The present paper aims to address the topic of effective positioning of universities, as a tool of university marketing, in a Romanian and European higher education market with increasingly complex evolutions. Taking into account the tendencies in the field of education and university marketing (eg: competition between universities in Romania, but also at European and worldwide level), the authors consider that higher education institutions have to emphasize the various elements of identity, image and institutional promotion, because current or future bachelor students, master students and PhD students want to belong to some entities with prestige and reputation, in other words, with a strong image and identity to provide them with confidence and security. The paper considers an approach on three main components: the analysis of the stage of knowledge of the higher education field, an original marketing research research and the conclusions and solutions. The research consists of a quantitative marketing research applied among the Romanian high school graduating students, regarding their perception about different elements of identity, image and promotion of some important universities in Romania. The paper aims, as a fundamental objective, to provide results that can be integrated into the marketing strategies of the universities from Romania and Europe.

Approaching the Bioeconomy in Terms of Increasing the Energy Efficiency of Households in Romania

This paper approaches the transition process to the bioeconomy from consumers’ perspective and their attitudes to decision-making process regarding the use of renewable energy systems in households. The article contributes to the literature by introducing a new challenge: identifying and analyzing the Romanians’ opinion on increasing the energy efficiency in their households and their intention in using energy obtained from renewable resources. For the purpose, a quantitative marketing research was conducted by interviewing 1123 persons from Romania’s eight development regions. Data were collected using an electronic questionnaire. The research results underline that Romanians have invested in increasing the energy efficiency of their household, the main improvements being energy saving by purchasing low-power home appliances or thermal insulation of the dwelling. These investments were made based on economic considerations, being considered as a long-term benefit for the entire household. The authors propose to the Romanian economic environment to carry out information and promotional campaigns in order to raise awareness of Romanians on the importance of using energy obtained from renewable resources for sustainable development. To the academic environment, the authors recommend including bioeconomics in the curriculum of study programs offered to the education services market

PCN215 - EMERGING TRENDS IN THE MANAGEMENT OF NSCLC PD-L1+ PATIENTS IN ITALY

Over the past decade, a paradigm shift in the treatment of cancer arose, driven by advances in personalized medicine and immuno-oncology. The aim of this study was to assess the major change occurred after immunotherapies approval, in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) Programmed Death Ligand 1 (PD-L1) positive patient treatments in Italy and the new testing attitude toward this biomarker. A desk research was conducted to gather international and national treatment guidelines. The study also included a quantitative market research (i.e. IQVIA Biomarker tracking), conducted in Italy from January 2016 to December 2017, to evaluate the rating of biomarkers tracking within pathology wards with a specific focus on the PD-L1 testing. Furthermore, a continuative study about oncological treatments in hospitals, based on the collection of patient records (OncoView database), was used to assess and weight the impact of immunotherapies in the NSCLC market. The market research showed a dramatic increase of the PD-L1 testing rate (up to 50%) during the past 2 years, with a growth of 25% after pembrolizumab 1st line approval in July 2017, across the mapped hospitals. As matter of fact, among the 40% of responding hospitals stated the main diagnostic sequence adopted was PD-L1/EGFR/ALK. Furthermore, according to the recent guidelines, the sequences of treatment showed a concomitant growth of immunotherapy prescriptions in NSCLC PD-L1+, with pembrolizumab and nivolumab treatments growing around 50%, showing how this type of therapy affected the NSCLC disease market. This study provides contemporary real-world evidence on the treatment changes that has affected the management of the NSCLC PD-L1 patients in Italy. The comprehension of cancer immunology has advanced simultaneously with the increased availability of biomarkers-based treatment that strengthened a wider therapeutic choice for oncologists. However, many obstacles as testing results interpretation and treatment complexity still need to be overcome.

Mobile diaries – Benchmark against metered measurements: An empirical investigation

Researchers seeking to study the relationships between consumers' communications, attitudes, and behaviors could benefit from monitoring consumers over time, across multiple locations and channels, and in a way that reflects consumers' subjective perceptions. Diaries on smartphones (mobile diaries) can be used as a research tool for such purposes. A mobile diary is a self-report instrument whereby people use their mobile handset to repeatedly report experiences of interest. Mobile diaries are increasingly used in psychology, geography, medicine, and commercial marketing. Yet they have rarely been used for quantitative marketing research, and were not benchmarked against best-practice metrics in marketing.In this study, we aim to set the ground for using mobile diaries in quantitative marketing research. We first lay out the theoretical infrastructure for the usage of mobile diaries, and describe possible respondent reporting concerns, including concerns related to non-reporting, reporting over time, and concerns stemming from individual-level heterogeneity.We demonstrate the potential of mobile diaries, as well as the importance of the various concerns, using a benchmark test case in the context of primetime TV viewing. Our benchmark uses a sample of respondents with both mobile diary viewing reports and Nielsen People Meter (NPM) records. Our analysis reveals that averaging across all conditions, 47.4%–64.7% of the NPM records are reported by the diary. The major sources for mismatch are random time periods without alarms, short viewings, and periodic reporting inactivity (pulsing). Concerns such as a decrease in reporting rates over time (e.g., fatigue), smartphone ownership, and demographic variation across individuals have relatively small effects on reporting likelihood. Analyzing the cases in which diary reports do not have a matching NPM record, we find many of them can be attributed to out-of-home viewing and viewing on non-metered devices. This finding demonstrates how mobile diaries can complement metered measurements. Overall, aggregate diary-based ratings have a 0.90 correlation with NPM ratings.We discuss implications for designing and using mobile diary studies in marketing.

PHS148 - Readiness of Community Oncology and Urology Practices for Value-Based Care

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) have published guidelines that reward healthcare providers based on the quality of care instead of quantity. The Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA) focuses on quality, value and accountability in determining reimbursement schedules for various services provided. The goal of this study was to evaluate the understanding and preparedness of community oncologists and urologists to implement changes in their practices to be compliant with the new CMS requirements. Quantitative market research data on various topics were collected from U.S.-based community oncology and urology treatment sites representing >800 physicians at a live event held in June 2017 using audience response system. Most physicians were from large practices and over 70% had basic knowledge about MACRA. Less than half of the representing practices were participating in a qualifying alternative payment model and only 23% were participating in the Oncology Care Model (OCM). Although 60% of the physicians felt that their practices were somewhat prepared for the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS), practices were facing significant barriers to its success including lack of qualified staff, lack of knowledge regarding MIPS requirements, and cultural shift within the practice. Half of the practices had chosen the specific quality and Advancing Care Information measures to be submitted for 2017 with respect to MIPS. Both MACRA and OCM require practice transformation to deliver value-based care. However, only 21% of the representing practices had implemented practice transformation to drive quality and savings. Overall, half of the practices would implement practice transformation to reduce hospitalizations and emergency room visits as the initial step to drive cost savings. Most oncologists and urologists were aware of MACRA. While they were concerned about impact of MACRA and OCM, most practices were not yet ready to implement value-based care.

ДИВЕРСИФИКАЦИЯ ЭКОНОМИКИ МАЛЫХ МОНОГОРОДОВ: РОЛЬ СЕТЕВЫХ ВЗАИМОДЕЙСТВИЙ

<p>The paper focuses on the diversification of single-industry towns’ economy and identifies the role of networking in this process. The author presents preliminary results of the Russian Science Foundation project "Sustainable development of the territorial<br />economy through networking of small cities and district centers". The goal of the project is to identify opportunities to overcome the growing gap in the level and quality of life in small Russian towns vs. large cities and megacities, and to propose measures for combining<br />resources and competencies of small cities in the framework of network relationships. The cases of Tula, Vladimir and Perm regions were in the focus of research. To achieve the research goal, a set of methods was applicable, including system analysis, formal logical<br />method, dialectical method, as well as quantitative and qualitative marketing research. This allows us to draw conclusions about the presence of structural problems and contemporary trends, and to offer recommendations taking into account the specialization of small singleindustry towns. Serious problems faced by the municipalities of single-industry towns, and the obstacles to efficient inter-municipal cooperation have been identified. At the same time, international evidence shows that the formation of a favorable institutional<br />environment for mutually beneficial combination of resources and competences of singleindustry towns with different specialization facilitates the implementation of joint projects and makes it possible to accelerate the processes of economic diversification by using the<br />benefits of a network coordination mechanism</p>

Mind-reading a friend: A better way to ask the polling question?

This article reports on differences observed when asking a simple polling question in a traditional way—that is, asking respondents for predictions about their own voting behavior versus asking respondents for predictions about a friend’s voting behavior. My intuition, based on a reading of the behavioral science literature, was that a polling question based on “reading the mind” of a friend might yield more accurate results than a traditional self-declared polling question. Four independent studies among UK adults were fielded using Google Surveys, two for each approach at the start of the electoral campaign and two for each approach at the end of the campaign. Analysis of survey results suggested that the question asking for predictions about a friend was more accurate, and more sensitive to campaign shifts, than the self-declared question. Furthermore, it was the only approach that seemed to predict a decline in turnout among older voters—a subtlety that was not more widely recognized until the numbers had been crunched post-election. We conclude by suggesting that the authenticity of the approach could be enhanced when combined with pollsters’ weighting models and that as a technique it deserves greater consideration within quantitative market research generally.

Trend spotting: Using text analysis to model market dynamics

As marketers, we are confronted by an increasingly complex world—one characterized by markets that emerge and evolve at an unprecedented rate. This has led to an increased need for methods that can help researchers translate this complexity and dynamism into actionable intelligence. In the current work, I introduce one such method, and show how it can be applied to the emergence and evolution of the biotechnology industry during the 1990s and early 2000s. I conclude with a discussion of how this method can be applied more broadly to areas like content marketing, trend spotting, and the interface between qualitative and quantitative market research.

SYNERGIA ILOŚCIOWYCH I JAKOŚCIOWYCH BADAŃ MARKETINGOWYCH – CAPI I SAMOOBSERWACJA

The purpose of the publication is to indicate the need for a well thought-out combination of quantitative marketing research with qualitative research. The result of this research approach should be a fuller understanding of the research problem and the ability to interpret results more closely, while maintaining the reliability of the whole research process. In the theoretical part of the article, the essence of quantitative and qualitative research, with particular emphasis on the limitations and strengths of both research approaches, is presented. The increasing popularity of qualitative research does not absolve researchers from the prudent attitude towards the whole marketing research process − including the need to verify hypotheses or research questions. Excessive simplification in the approach to qualitative research can distort the essence of marketing research. In the empirical part of the article, the authors presented an example of combining quantitative marketing research with qualitative research − for this purpose, the results of their research will be used (scientific grant from National Science Centre). The CAPI technique (n = 1103) was used in the quantitative study, and observation diaries (n = 110) were used for qualitative research.

Financial services for enterprises: analysis of logistic nature and customer value attributes

The object of research is the consumer perception of financial services, which can be used by enterprises to achieve their economic goals and form the landscape of today’s financial services market. The insufficient level of financial services use by national economic entities in 2014–2018 had significantly limited the pace of development in both real and financial sectors of Ukraine’s economy. In the course of this research the key factors that downgrade the attractiveness of the use of financial services for Ukrainian enterprises were determined, the complex of desired consumer properties of modern financial services was described. The methods of content analysis, qualitative and quantitative marketing research, methods of statistical data analysis, functional analysis of the Kano model were deployed in this research. The findings suggest that Ukrainian consumers of financial services (in particular, micro-, small and medium-scale business enterprises) have started to change their consumer perception of financial services in recent years. Over 60 % of the surveyed executives of Ukrainian companies see the consumer value of financial services (insurance, lending, leasing, etc.) in securing an easy access to financial resources in the necessary amounts, place, and at the time of need. So far, according to the perception of consumers in this group these services are rather logistic, than purely financial. The improvements to the existing approach to the marketing positioning of financial services were suggested. To improve their consumer perception and growth in demand in the Ukrainian market, it is advisable to position them as logistic services with a combination of desired consumer attributes: fast, simple and secure (state guaranteed) access to the necessary financial resources. The positioning of financial services as logistic services is better understood and more important for the domestic consumer and can help in solving the problem of low financial inclusion both at the level of business enterprises and at the national scale.

Improving the Relationship between Higher Education Institutions and Business Environment in South-Eastern Europe: A Case Study

In the context of aligning South Eastern European countries to the EU requirements, the aim of this paper is to provide solutions for improving the relationship between the market of higher education services and labour market in Romania.For achieving this aim, a quantitative marketing research was developed regarding the economist students’ opinions on the training level provided by higher education institutions for labour market integration. The research sample includes 1683 students from 9 representative Romanian universities.Research objectives were to quantify the economist students’ interest in being employed during the study period, the type of knowledge provided by higher education institutions, the essential skills and competences to be acquired during college study.

Youngsters’ Opinions on Health, Health Tourism and Balneotherapy Tourism

The way in which health is managed by demand agents needs to be thoroughly analysed, all the more so as this phenomenon represents an increasingly stronger stake for many audiences; the profound understanding of health, and the consequences of its management gradually leads to the branching of the concept, its physical, moral and social implications being intertwined with a vast area of aspects of life. The results of this study reflect how health is understood and managed by young people, but also their reporting to health tourism, with an emphasis on the consumption of balneotherapy tourism products; therefore, a quantitative marketing research was carried out on a sample of 129 people, aged 18-24, between December 2015 and May 2016, to determine how health is perceived and understood, and the opinions of young people regarding its treatment in balneotherapy destinations in Romania.

Social networks usage implications at the level of medical services consumption in Romania

The social networks usage degree increase is evident in recent years, this having implications for the consumption of the most types of products and services. A very special field of research is presented by the consumption of healthcare services, who, both in terms of consumption motivations, decisional buying process or consumer behavior is having peculiarities and specific traits. In this context, the present article aims to investigate the role that social networks use can have regarding changes within the consumer behavior in case of healthcare services consumption. In order to achieve the scientific endeavor, authors have conducted a quantitative marketing research as a field survey, using a questionnaire administered online to patients from different medical institutions, both from the public and private sector.The research results reveal key issues from the perspective of emotional involvement within consumption for the patients and the influence of key variables such as level of education, personality and lifestyle within social networks usage context.

Opportunity of Constructing a Cargo Terminal – Case Study Brașov International Airport, Romania

Air transport and especially air cargo transport became ever more important during the last 25 years, with a signifi cant impact upon economic development. Air cargo transport supports regional economic development, provided there is suffi cient local demand for its services. In our study, we have identifi ed signifi cant elements of the impact a cargo terminal at the International Brașov-Ghimbav Airport would have upon local economic development. For this purpose, we have conducted a quantitative market research. We have reached the conclusion that constructing a cargo terminal at the Brașov-Ghimbav Airport is a necessary investment in the current economic context, with an important contribution to the economic development of its surrounding counties. The positive results registered in our study could contribute to improving the economic and fi nancial prospects of Brașov-Ghimbav Airport and attract investors in this project.

Integrating the Use of Online Social Networking Sites in the Communication Strategy of a Company

Abstract The usage of online social networking sites has never been stronger for the individuals and for the companies. This paper is underlining the importance of using the online social networking (OSN) sites in the communication strategy of one’s company; it presents the concept and the evolution of this marketing tool. It points out the advantages and disadvantages of using such a platform in a marketing campaign. We are underlining the strengths and weaknesses of this tool, as well as the main tactics and actions that the company must use in order to achieve the desired / maximum result when using such a communication platform in its strategy. At the same time we are presenting several results of a quantitative marketing research about how the OSN sites influence the consumers and the buying behaviour.

Importance of Company Reputation and its Customer-Oriented Culture for Strengthening of Relationships with Customers on Industrial Market with Chemical Products

The aim of this paper is to explain the nature of customer-oriented business culture and its various components and to summarize the results of quantitative marketing research among managers of selected chemical industry businesses in the Czech Republic focused on mapping of what is their perception of the usefulness of various aspects of the customer-oriented corporate culture, image and goodwill of the company for strengthening business relationships with customers and how they perceive their current level in their company and business units. This quantitative research was carried out using the method of personal interviews in April 2013. The survey was accomplished in four chemical business units. The obtained data were processed using statistical software IBM SPSS Statistics and by synthesis of the obtained findings. The research showed that the customer-oriented corporate culture and the perceived reputation of the company is very important and beneficial for strengthening the relationship with customers in chemical industry.

The Future of Quantitative Marketing: Results of a Survey

We report the results of a survey conducted in November 2014 in which 29 quantitative marketing scholars from around the world reflected on the present and future of their field. The survey focused on substantive areas, methods and tools, practical and managerial relevance, doctoral training, and promotion and tenure. The results of the survey revealed several general insights on the challenges and opportunities faced by the field of quantitative marketing research.

The Impact of Competitive Intelligence on Sustainable Growth of the Enterprises

This paper is focused on the better use of knowledge of enterprises to support their sustainable growth and innovation. The aim is to describe the positive impact of competitive intelligence on sustainable growth of the enterprises through the quantitative marketing research which was conducted in the Slovak enterprises during 2014. Our attention in this research was focused inter alia on that if the implementation and subsequent use of competitive intelligence in terms of the Slovak republic leads to an improvement in the competitive position of businesses and increasing of their market share.