The Attitude-to-Behavior Process: Implications for Consumer Behavior

 

Within any given product category, consumers typically can choose among a variety of specific brands. Presumably, consumers' attitudes toward each brand (i.e., their summary evaluations) guide or influence this selection process. Indeed, such an assumption appears to be central to much advertising. Although a goal of advertising is often to increase sales, the manner in which this goal is pursued is often via social influence attempts directed at attitudes.

According to the model of attitude-behavior process, the critical concern with respect to the attitude-to behavior process is the extent to which the attitude influences one's definition of the event that is occurring. Thus, in the context of a consumer making a purchase decision, the question becomes "What are the consumer's immediate perceptions of the brand(s) under consideration?"

Does a previously formed summary evaluation of an attitude object bias one's perceptions of the object in the immediate situation? A considerable literature indicates that attitudes are capable of biasing perceptions in this way. 

Within the context of consumer behavior, normative knowledge may sometimes exert a greater impact on individuals’s definitions than their own attitudes do. Regardless of one's personal views, one's knowledge regarding the consensual preferences of one's friends, for example, may influence strongly the decision to purchase and serve a particular wine at a dinner party. Thus, normative information regarding appropriate behavior in a given situation may affect one's definition of the situation. This definition of the situation may outweigh one's perceptions of the attitude object itself in the individual's construal of the event. This may be one reason why attitude--behavior consistency occurs only sometimes. (Fazio and Herr, 1993)

THE ROLE OF GLOBALIZATION IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF GLOBAL BRAND ENTITIES

 

INTRODUCTION

The International Monetary Fund defines globalization as the “growing economic interdependence of countries worldwide through the increasing volume and variety of cross-border transactions in goods and services and of international capital flows, and also through the more rapid and widespread diffusion of technology.” Globalization is about the flow of goods, services, and money across borders. Globalization is made possible by the increasing spread of market economies and is facilitated by the rapid spread of technology. 

How much globalization is there? The statistics are staggering. Whereas only 7,000 companies had operations in more than one country in 1970, by 1998, more than 54,000 companies were operating in more than one country and on average were operating in a far larger number of countries. Those companies had spent $44 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI, as it is called) in 1970—the amount that companies spend to build or buy operations in another country. By 1998, their spending had leapt to $644 billion and by 2000, over $1 trillion. (FDI, it is important to note, does not include portfolio investments—the purchase of stocks in publicly traded companies.) The cross border flow of goods and services boomed as well. World trade totaled $311 billion in 1950. By 1998, it had reached $5.4 trillion. (Zonis, 2001)

Sample Chapter 1 on Arbitrations

CHAPTER I                         INTRODUCTION
 
Arbitration, in the law, is a legal alternative to the courts whereby the parties to a dispute agree to submit their respective positions (through agreement or hearing) to a neutral third party (the arbitrator(s)) for resolution. Since arbitration is based either upon contract law or, in the case of international arbitration, the law of treaties, the agreement between the parties to submit their dispute to arbitration is a legally binding contract. All arbitral decisions are considered to be "final and binding." This does not, however, void the requirements of law. Any dispute not excluded from arbitration by virtue of law (e.g. criminal proceedings) may be submitted to arbitration. Arbitration exists under both domestic and international law, and arbitration can be carried out between private individuals, between states, or between states and private individuals. In the case of arbitration between states, or between states and individuals, the Permanent Court of Arbitration and the International Center for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) are the prodominant organizations. Arbitration is also used as part of the dispute settlement process under the WTO Dispute Settlement Understanding. International arbitral bodies for cases between private persons also exist, the International Chamber of Commerce Court of Arbitration being the most important. The American Arbitration Association is a popular arbitral body in the United States. Arbitration also exists in international sport through the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Moreover,when arbitration occurs under domestic law, either party to an arbitration may appeal the arbitrator's decision to a court, however the court will generally not change the arbitrator's findings of fact but will decide only whether the arbitrator was guilty of malfeasance, or whether the arbitrator exceeded the limits of his or her authority in the arbitral award or whether the award conflicts with positive law. Some jurisdictions have instituted a limited grace period during which an arbitral decision may be appealed, but after which there can be no appeal. In the case of arbitration under international law, a right of appeal does not in general exist, although one may be provided for by the arbitration agreement, provided a court exists capable of hearing the appeal. Some domestic jurisdictions have stipulated that judges may require either arbitration or mediation of certain disputes as a first step toward resolution, familiy law (particularly child custody) being a prime example. Arbitrators are not bound by precedent and have great leeway in such matters as: active participation in the proceedings, accepting evidence, questioning witnesses, and deciding appropriate remedies. Arbitrators may visit sites outside the hearing room, call expert witnesses, seek out additional evidence, decide whether or not the parties may be represented by legal counsel, and perform many other actions not normally within the 23purview of a court. It is this great flexibility of action which, combined with costs usually far below those of traditional litigation, makes arbitration so attractive. No definitive statement can be made concerning the credentials or experience levels of arbitrators, although some jurisdictions have elected to establish standards for arbitrators in certain fields. Several independent organizations offer arbitrator training programs, such as the American Arbitration Association, and thus in effect, credentials. Generally speaking, however, the credibility of an arbitrator rests upon reputation, experience level in arbitrating particular issues, or expertise/experience in a particular field. Arbitrators are generally not required to be members of the legal profession. A growing trend among employers whose employees are not represented by a labor union is to establish an organizational problem-solving process, the final step of which consists of arbitration of the issue at point by an independent arbitrator. Most collective bargaining agreements in organizations where employees are represented by a labor organization stipulate that the final step of any grievance procedure shall consist of arbitration. To ensure effective arbitration and to increase the general credibility of the arbitral process, arbitrators will sometimes sit as a panel, usually consisting of three arbitrators. Often the three consist of an expert in the legal area within which the dispute falls (such as contract law in the case of a dispute over the terms and conditions of a contract), an expert in the industry within which the dispute falls (such as the construction industry, in the case of a dispute between a homeowner and his general contractor), and an experienced arbitrator. Arbitration is a device whereby the settlement of a question, which is of interest for two or more persons, is entrusted to one or more other persons, the arbitrator or arbitrators, who derive their powers from a private agreement, not the authority of a State, and who are to proceed and decide the case on the basis of such an agreement. Moreover, arbitration has also been defined as a mechanism for the settlement of disputes between parties, either by a person appointed by themselves or by relying upon procedures or institutions chosen by the parties. In his definition of arbitration, Robert highlights the similarity between arbitration and litigation: "Arbitration means instituting a private jurisdiction by which litigations are withdrawn from the public jurisdictions, in order to be resolved by individuals vested, for a given case, with the powers to judge such litigations.'' Background of the Study In this time and age, transactions are often take place through the World Wide Web. Commercial transactions conducted on this medium are labelled as e-commerce. Nevertheless, with the purpose for e-commerce to persist to flourish, legal confidence should subsist such that commercial transactions completed online will be put in force in the physical world. A dependable and enforceable dispute resolution mechanism customized exclusively to the needs of the e- commerce milieu would assist in the progress of such officially authorized certainty. Proposed solutions on online dispute includes online alternative dispute resolution (ADR) intuitions that assimilate either a mediation or arbitration model, or some sort of combination of the two. As noted earlier, the idea of taking legal action in a foreign jurisdiction under foreign rules is taken rather anxiously by all businesses engaged in international transactions, including those now partaking in online ventures. The best solution historically for the resolution of international commercial disagreements has been conventional ADR services. As stated earlier, ADR is normally speedy, efficient and confidential. Nevertheless, it is inappropriate for settling online commercial disputes, predominantly for the reason that legal revolution have insulated in the wake of the changes in the social, technological, and commercial mores of cyberspace. Moreover, creative entrepreneurs and academics have thus devised dispute resolution programs on the web. The aptitude to play a part in an online proceeding of this category generates a freer market for dispute resolution, a market unfettered by anxiety of locality or time. The accessibility of online arbitration services enables parties at anyplace and at any time to commence or take action to a petition by accessing a website and finishing electronic forms that steer them through the numerous stages of the course of action. Moreover, the individual parties are able to become accustomed to the process particularly to their precise needs and utilize multimedia technology to conserve time and money. This sleek and collectively obtainable process diminishes entry impediments to arbitration for businesses and individual parties, providing a new means of access to justice. Initially, the individual factions on the web more often wouldn’t have seen each other in the physical world considering they live actually in different nations or continents. In the real world, common consumers do habitually not go into an international agreement. On the other hand, in the Internet, they would have taken advantage of small transactions, which is unusually for them considering they would have second thoughts in acquiring assets in the physical world. As stated earlier in this chapter courts normally are slow and expensive. Furthermore, courts are considered as a financially irrational channel to resolve disagreement arising from the World Wide Web. The factions to such small or medium-sized disagreements in the web will time and again have hardwearing economic enticement not to pursue court proceedings, leaving the fraudulent party with a victory. Additionally, online arbitration could provide this effectiveness, because the alternative to legal actions in courts is barely negligible and therefore much less costly. Nevertheless, difficulties follow from this form of legal effectiveness. Online arbitration compels the factions to give up some of their liberties, which does not stimulate faith and which is the motive why arbitration at present still deal with a sequence of legal hindrances. In terms of the claims of the consumer, there is for instance a predicament of arbitrability beneath a quantity of regulations. Though it is acceptable that most of these legal hindrances are simply errors in the legal system these obstacles are still there. The international market offered by e-commerce creates peril that may be taken in hand by incorporating arbitration clauses in online contracts. Introducing numerous customers one click far from carrying out a business deal that generates the risk of thousands of consumers putting on record lawsuits in their domestic locations or a fusion in a class action lawsuit. The process of arbitration occurs when a third party is chosen by the parties involved, or proposed by the institution selected by the factions, provides a decision on a case while applying fundamental procedural principles. Conventionally, similar to traditional arbitration, its online counterpart resolves a dispute by making a practical decision. This is what is labelled as the binding form of arbitration. It is a procedure where judgments are enforceable by the powers that be. The philosophy of binding arbitration online is that it comprises a mode of private judging, a substitute for court litigation. Thus, in the milieu commerce in the World Wide Web, arbitration's supplementary remuneration of guaranteeing an adjacent medium for resolution of the dispute and eliminating the presence of class action lawsuit stand up to added importance. Online arrangements may take account of an arbitration stipulation with a forum assortment clause and a preference of law clause. Statement of the Problem The researcher finds the necessity for a study that specifically tackles the impact of online arbitration the advancement of technology. Specifically, this study intends to understand the effect of online arbitration on the community, judicial system, technology and the business itself. It will also try to fill in the difference, advantages and disadvantages between traditional arbitration and online arbitration. Moreover, this paper intends to answer the following queries: 1. What is arbitration? 2. What are the related factors in traditional and online arbitration? 3. What are the advantages and disadvantages of traditional arbitration? 4. What are the advantages and disadvantages of online arbitration? 5. What are the related current issues in arbitrations? 6. How can we improve the online arbitration? Hypothesis of the Study This paper will work on the following hypothesis: o There is a significant difference between online arbitration and traditional arbitration in terms of their performance. o There is a significant difference between online arbitration and traditional arbitration in terms of their advantages and disadvantages. Significance of the Study This study will be a significant endeavor in promoting online arbitration by exposing the biases between traditional arbitration and online arbitration in terms of practicality, effectiveness and performance. It is true that these Moreover, this study will be helpful to the Internet user, researchers, educators, and business practitioners in training and informing them in the area of arbitration. It will help them in formulating social responsibility policies, objectives, and strategies. It will also serve as a future reference for researchers on the subject of arbitration. And importantly, this research will educate individuals in doing businesses in the Internet. Scope and Delimitation This paper shall attempt to determine the impact of online arbitration to the current state of the community. Moreover, the literature covering the area of arbitration, the overview of Internet businesses and policies related in arbitration will be discussed. References: David, R. (1985) Arbitration in International Trade . Deventer, The Netherlands: Kluwer Law and Taxation Publishers. Katsh, E., Rifkin, J., Gaitenby, A., (2000) E-commerce, E-Disputes, and E-Dispute Resolution in the Shadow of eBay law, Ohio State Journal of Dispute Resolution, No. 15 , pp.705 Katsh, E., (2000) New frontier. Online ADR becoming a global priority, in Dispute Resolution Magazine, winter, pp..6. Lalive, P., (1999) Towards a Decline of International Arbitration?, The Journal of the Chartered Insitute of Arbitrators, No. 4. Lasprogata, G. (2001) Virtual Arbitration: Contract Law and Alternative dispute resolution, Journal of Legal Studies Education Vol. 19 No. 107 Robert, J. (1967) Arbitrage: Civil et Commercial . Dalloz, Paris. Robert, J. and Carbunneau, T. (1983) The French Law of Arbitration. Matthew Bender, New York. Vahrenvald, A. (2000) Out of Court dispute settlement systems for e-commerce, Report on legal issues, Joint Research Centre of the EC, Ispra (Italy), 29th May van den Horen, H. (1984) "Commercial Disputes and Their Settlement: A Factor in Business Planning" in International Arbitration: 60 Years of ICC Arbitration--A Look at the Future . ICC Publishing, Paris.

Sample Chapter 4 (Analysis and Interpretation of Data) - Intranet Technology

 

Chapter IV

 PRESENTATION, INTERPRETATION AND ANALYSIS OF DATA

 

This chapter shall discuss the findings obtained from the primary instrument used in the study. It shall discuss the characteristics of the respondents, their intranet-use behavior, and their perceived strength and weaknesses of intranets. In order to simplify the discussions, the researcher provided tables and graphs that summarize the collective reactions of the respondents.3

Characteristics of the Respondents

 

 

The study’s population is composed of the employees of the Mosscare Housing LTD. The respondents numbered to twenty-five (25). The table below summarizes the gender of the respondents. The table shows that majority of the respondents are male.

 

Table 1.  Gender of Respondents

Sex	Frequency
Male	19
Female	6
Total	25

 

 

Moreover, the table also shows that the population of the male respondents is over thrice the size of the female. This is illustrated on the figure below. The figure shows that the male employees outnumber the female, 76% to 24%.

 

Figure 1. Gender Distribution of the Respondents

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The study also sought the diversity of opinions regarding the use of the intranet, thus it sought the responses of the different departments in the company. The table below summarizes the reactions of the respondents. The study sought the help of nine departments; nonetheless, the survey only obtained pertinent data on seven departments.

 

Figure 2. Department of Respondents

Department	Frequency	Percentage
Repairs	2	8
Lettings	3	12
Rent	0	0
Finance	3	12
Marketing	5	20
Administration	7	28
Development	2	8
IT	3	12
Others	0	0
Total	25	100

 

Based on the collective results of the most well represented department is from the Administration department providing 28% of the total respondents. The Marketing department follows this with 20% of the population coming from their keep. The Lettings, IT, and Finance Departments individually provided 12% of the population. Similarly, the Repairs and Development Departments furnished the study with 8% apiece. The percentage of distribution is illustrated in the figure below.  It can be posited that the major users of the intranet technology in the company are those among the Administration and Marketing departments probably because of the web pages available in the internal network caters more on the said departments.

 

Figure 2. Departmental Distribution of Respondents

The Use of Intranet Technology

This part of the chapter shall discuss the intranet-use behavior of the respondents as measured by the survey questionnaire. It is established that the intranet of Mosscare could only be used in the premises of the company. This is reflected by responses of the employees stating that they could not avail the intranet services of the company at the comfort of their own home. On the other hand, the table below summarizes the respondents’ reaction on the regularity of their use of the technology. According to the data, almost half of the population scarcely uses the technology while twenty-percent of the respondents stated that they use it seventy five percent of the time they spend on the office.

Table 3. Frequency of Intranet Use

Particulars	Frequency	Percentage
Nearly Always	4	16
75% of the time	5	20
50% of the time	2	8
25% of the time	3	12
Hardly ever	11	44
Total	25	100

Moreover, 16% of the respondents stated that they avail of the technology practically the entire time of their stay in the office. The data also shows that 12% of the respondents spend a quarter of their office time in utilizing the technology while only 8% noted that they spend half. The said information is illustrated in the figure below.

Figure 3. Trends in Responses

The study also took note on the level of importance of the web pages available in the intranet service. In a study made by Lai (1998), he noted that in order to reap the full benefits of intranets, organizations are extending their intranets to reach their key customers, suppliers, and/or trading partners. The table below summarizes the responses of the employees. Based on the employees’ reaction, over half of them stated that the online news services about the company were rather important while 20% of them stated that it is important. This is similar to the results incurred by the provision of news on the intranet.

Table 4. Use of Intranet Pages

Particulars	Important	Rather Important	Not Sure	Not Very Important	Not at all Important	Total
Online News	20	52	16	12	0	100
News	20	52	16	12	0	100
Business	32	24	20	16	8	100
Sub contractors	60	8	0	32	0	100
Inside Mosscare	100	0	0	0	0	100
Property Agents	48	16	20	0	16	100
Leisure	72	28	0	0	0	100
Others	0	8	76	12	4	100

On the other hand, a third of the respondents stated that the business section of the intranet service is important to them. Nonetheless, twenty percent are not sure while sixteen percent are slightly not impressed on the said feature. In addition, an astounding sixty percent of the employees stated that the Subcontractors section is important for the company. Nonetheless, one-third of them are stated that it is not that important. Moreover, all the employees stated that the web page pertaining to the happening inside the company is important. On the other hand, practically half of the respondents stated that the web page containing the property agents of the company is important. Nonetheless, 20% are not sure of the importance of it while 16% stated that the web page is not at all important. In a lighter note, almost three quarters of the respondents stated that the leisure section is important. This is affirmed by the remaining 28% stating that the web page is moderately essential. The said responses are illustrated on the figure below.

Figure 4. Intranets Pages’ Level of Importance

 

 

On the other hand, the study also measured the perception of the respondents regarding the intranet technology. The reactions are summarized on Table 5. Based on the said inquiry, the employees strongly agreed that Intranets could be used for publishing not only text and graphics but also audio, video and interactive applications. Likewise, the employees also strongly agreed that intranet results in the change of the calendar driven publishing schedule to a needs based publishing of documents. On the other hand, the respondents agreed that the intranet reduces the cost and time of publishing and distribution of documents. Similarly the employees agreed that they probably do not need elementary keyboard skills in using the intranet, however, they admitted that in using the intranet, an employee would need to know how to use a mouse. They also agreed that the intranet leads to widespread information dissemination as well as the fact that the intranet leads to more informed decision-making. The employees also agreed that the Mosscare’s intranet gets updated automatically, thus made communication more efficient and effective.

Moreover, they also agreed that the changes to documents are made as needed and uploaded unto the intranet for immediate access for users as well as in the fact that the intranet provides a simple point and click way to surf through a web of hyper linked documents. The respondents also admitted that the intranet tends to be accessed more frequently and more widely by users throughout the organization.

Table 5. Responses of the Respondents

	Particulars	Weighted mean	Interpretation
A	The intranet reduces the cost and time of publishing and distribution of documents.	3.48	Agree
B	The intranet results in the change of the calendar driven publishing schedule to a needs based publishing of documents.	3.75	Strongly Agree
C	Changes to documents are made as needed and uploaded unto the intranet for immediate access for users.	3.18	Agree
D	Intranet has reduced work stress.	2.19	Disagree
E	Intranet has made communication more efficient and effective.	2.73	Agree
F	It’s hard to learn how to use Mosscare intranet.	1.75	Disagree
G	The intranet provides a simple point and click way to surf through a web of hyper linked documents.	3.28	Agree
H	In using the intranet, the entire staff needs to know is how to use a mouse.	3.23	Agree
I	Employees probably do not need elementary keyboard skills in using the intranet.	3.56	Agree
J	The intranet tends to get accessed more frequently and more widely by users throughout the organization.	2.81	Agree
K	The intranet leads to widespread information dissemination.	3.40	Agree
L	The intranet leads to more informed decision-making.	3.22	Agree
M	Intranet Is the technology system of the year.	2.18	Disagree
N	Users can access not only static information but also dynamically generated information from corporate databases.	3.71	Agree
O	Intranet has made the Mosscare more competitive against other organization.	2.50	Disagree
P	In the intranet, web pages get updated automatically.	3.00	Agree
Q	Intranets can be used for publishing not only text and graphics but also audio, video and interactive applications.	3.57	Strongly Agree
R	Information is readily available to everybody in the intranet without the need for filtering and processing by various levels of management and staff.	2.93	Agree

 

Moreover, they also agreed that the users could access not only static information but also dynamically generated information from corporate databases. In addition, they also agreed that the information is readily available to everybody in the intranet without the need for filtering and processing by various levels of management and staff.

 

On the other hand, the respondents stated that the intranet has not made the Mosscare more competitive against other organization. They also disagreed that it has reduced the stress they acquire from work. Nonetheless, they stated that it is not hard to utilize the Mosscare intranet. This affirms the recent study that intranets did not foster more employee cooperation perhaps due to the lack of knowledge pertaining to the technology’s capabilities or a lack of incentive. (Lai, 2001) Moreover, in consideration of the study of Lai (2001), Mosscare has effectively accomplished one of the success factors brought about by intranets, the company is successful in ingraining the technology in the culture of the company that accessing the network is among the personnel’s necessity. Besides, as noted by Ward (2002), benefits such as competitiveness, communications and content management (the big ‘C’s’) were rated the most important.

 

Challenges and Opportunities on Intranets

 

This part of the chapter shall discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the technology of intranets as perceived by the employees of Mosscare. According to the respondents, the system is makes it easy to communicate with co-staffs. This means that memos are sent faster as well as other form of correspondence provided that it is internally concerned. Moreover, the employees stated that it made file sharing, transfer, and management is much simpler. This way, there is no need to ask for documents from co-worker. Similarly, they stated that important documentation could be secured. Nonetheless, they also noted that with the technology, there is an easy access on property development and made management reporting more efficient. They are also aware that the information in the intranet is updated daily. Thus, properties can be monitored and made the tenacities manageable. This way, the personnel can manage their work well, ensuring the efficiency of the company.

 

In addition, they also stated that Intranet lessens legwork and paper work environment and promotes an efficient file management. It also furnishes the company with easier access to other departments. The staff can find solutions to most of the work related problems in the intranet thus providing a flexible framework the will suit the work’s needs. It also provides other features such as sites of properties, maps and directions as well as tools, properties, and renovations and retrieved in a faster rate.  This enhances information management and efficiency of work. Besides the provision of general information, it also promotes less talking, more time, more work done. Moreover, discussion forums can be done without going to the conference room. This affirms the study of Lai (2001) that found out that there were areas of use that were more common than others. In Human Resource arenas, more than 80% application rate was found. HR was able to put corporate documents, guidelines and manuals on the Web instead of printed material that was sometimes distributed to every individual employee.

 

On the other hand, the employees also provided several points on how to improve the intranet technology of Mosscare by pointing out the weak point of the system. Apparently, there is a lack of the initiative in updating the mapping sites, properties and renovation. The respondents stated that this should be addressed. Although the network provides security for the documents of the company, there is also the need to upgrade it specifically those pertaining to other tenant property. The employees also recommended looking into the development of the small-scale transfer proposals in the intranet.