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    Using market research methodologies to advance public engagement with emerging climate technologies : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy via publication in Marketing at Massey University, Manawatū, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2022) Carlisle, Daniel
    The world is facing an unprecedented climate emergency that threatens humanity and global ecosystems. To help avoid some of the worst impacts, scientists are developing innovative technologies for addressing rising greenhouse gas emissions and climate change. However, in the early stages of research and development, the effectiveness, consequences, and desirability of implementing these technologies remains highly uncertain. Early public engagement is therefore critical for ensuring research and development pathways are acceptable to society. Currently, it remains unclear how best to engage the public on a global scale; an issue addressed in this thesis by drawing on theories and methodologies applied in the marketing discipline to advance the field of public engagement. The core methodology draws on marketing theories and measurement metrics by drawing on associative network theories of memory (ANTM) to model cognitive associations (i.e., public perceptions) with unfamiliar concepts. Study One is a replication and extension of work by (Wright, Teagle, & Feetham, 2014) and uses qualitative and quantitative methods to measure public perceptions of six climate engineering technologies across countries and over time. The results show strong perceptual differences between technologies, but remarkable consistency between countries and over time. This consistency validates the cognitive association method as a robust tool for rapid public engagement and tracking perceptions as they evolve. Study Two builds on Study One by drawing on additional dual processing theories and using an experimental design to test how citizens form opinions about emerging climate technologies. Contrary to concerns that survey methods elicit insufficiently considered responses, the study finds that citizens rely on rapid, snap judgements to form opinions, and that encouraging more thorough consideration does not affect their responses. Thus, the research further validates the use of survey methodologies for public engagement. Study Three shifts focus, measuring perceptions of alternative fuels for decarbonising the shipping industry – a previously unresearched topic. The study is also the first to use a mixed-method approach to modelling cognitive associations in academic literature. Again, the quantitative findings showed strong, previously-unknown differences in perceptions between alternative fuels. Furthermore, the qualitative analysis supplemented these findings with rich insights into the drivers behind differing public perceptions. This thesis makes several notable contributions: Practically, the results demonstrate the public’s consistent preference for Carbon Dioxide Removal over Solar Radiation Management, their cautious support for carbon capture technologies, a strong distaste for stratospheric aerosol injection and ammonia as a shipping fuel, a striking preference for nuclear propulsion over heavy fuel oil, support for hydrogen and biofuel powered shipping, support for local implementation of alternative shipping fuels, and conditional support for small-scale research into acceptable emerging technologies. Theoretically, the research advances ANTM and dual processing theories in the context of emerging technologies, yielding results that are broadly applicable to not only public engagement with science, but also market research, brand tracking, and consumer judgement. Methodologically, the research validates cognitive association methods for cross-country public engagement, demonstrates the ability to track perceptions over time, and demonstrates a mixed-method approach to modelling cognitive associations. Finally, the research demonstrates the importance of conducting early and ongoing public engagement to identify acceptable decarbonisation pathways, guide research trajectories, and inform climate policy.
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    The effect of marketing research evidence in deceptive advertising litigation : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in marketing at Massey University
    (Massey University, 1990) Langton, Robert John
    A review of court cases decided under the New Zealand Fair Trading Act 1986 shows that a television advertisement would be found to contravene the Act where it could be shown to convey an implied claim that is false. A review of the literature reveals that a variety of empirical tests have been proposed to determine whether an advertisement conveys an implied claim. A review of legal decisions in the United States, Australia and New Zealand, suggests that the most probative evidence as to whether an advertisement conveys an implied claim is an empirical test using artificial viewing conditions and forced-choice questions. A survey of expert lawyers in New Zealand shows that evidence of such tests is likely to be given substantial weight in litigation under the Fair Trading Act 1986.
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    A computer-based application to understanding marketing plans : the Bridges' marketing plan flow chart : a research report presented in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Master of Business Administration at Massey University
    (Massey University, 1985) Hunt, Lynn M
    The scene is the Jelita Cold Storage supermarket, 1983. The refridgerated display shelves still contain many bottles of New Zealand milk. There are gaps were the cartons of Australian milk stood. A glance at the price tags reveals the reason: New Zealand milk, $5.99; Australian milk, $3.05. Now, walk over to the meat department. Small Australian flags decorate the fare. A request for New Zealand lamb sends the assistant scuttling out the back to search. Finally, move over to the fruit stand plastered with large posters of New Zealand apples. Underneath, the apples are French. Why? There have been no shipments of New Zealand apples for several months. This shopping expedition was concluded with a trip to the Trade Commissioner at the New Zealand High Commission. The questions: - Why are New Zealand's goods priced so high compared with competitors? - Why are New Zealands products not attractively displayed? and - Why aren't advertising efforts and supply deliveries better co-ordinated? brought a surprised, "We don't need to market. Everyone knows our products are the best!".
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    Involvement of primary school children in the product development process : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Technology in Product Development at Massey University
    (Massey University, 1996) Pound, Carol J
    The purpose of this research was to study some ways in which children could contribute to the development of products for which they were the main consumers. The research was conducted with female primary school children in small groups selected because they were part of the target market. The project had two specific aims; the development of techniques for incorporating ethical standards into projects involving young children, and the evaluation of a series of techniques that would enable children to develop and screen concepts for new products. This research was undertake in a local New Zealand primary school using four class rooms of children aged between five and nine years. The first stage of the project involved ninety-one children, male and female in a Group Introduction where a questionnaire on toy products was completed as a class room activity. The second stage of the project only involved the female children from these four classes and they participated in four stages of the Product Development Process. These were; Product Idea Generation and Screening, and Product Concept Development and Testing. In these sessions up to eight children, placed in groups according to age, tried the various techniques to develop a product concept for a new doll. The techniques used by the female children included; Focus Groups, Projective Techniques, Scaling and Preference Questionnaires, Card Sorting, Conjoint Analysis and Multidimensional Scaling. Of these Conjoint Analysis and Multidimensional Scaling were the least successful with the children. The research showed that female New Zealand children over the age of six years can use the techniques tested to contribute usefully to the Product Development Process. This process was successful in the New Zealand school context because the children had a high standard of literacy and were comfortable with group and creative project work of this kind. Techniques incorporated in the project to meet ethical standards were; a detailed reporting system to all participants of the project, no screening of the children but screening of the data after the test was completed, and a motivation method that rewarded attendance not performance and many chances for the children to withdraw from the project. The methods on the whole proved to be successful. The issue of screening is important but the research showed it is not necessary or may not be desirable to conduct a detailed screening programme with children to find those with special skills, to obtain information for the Product Development Project. The modifications to the techniques used with adults for consumer analysis with children should focus on methods of improving the communication between the researcher and the children. This project shows general that in much the same way as the average adult consumer participates in the development of products, average children can make a valuable contribution to the development of new products in the first stage of the Product Development Process.
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    Consumer input and product concept testing in developing dried fruit snack prototype for Malaysian market : thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of Master of Technology in Product Development at Massey University
    (Massey University, 1996) Ibrahim, Aida Hamimi
    The input of the consumer when developing a dried snack fruit for the Malaysian market using the product development process was studied. A consumer panel made up of Malaysian students was used in each step of the product development process in this study. Preliminary consumer research was carried out using the focus group and the survey method. The results indicated that the two ethnic groups, Malay and Chinese, within the Malaysian student community could be treated as a homogenous group as they had similar attitude and behaviour characteristics towards the dried snack fruit product. Both student groups had been studying in New Zealand for less than two years. In the idea generation stage, the consumer panel generated 41 product ideas for the dried snack fruit using the nominal group technique. The 41 product ideas were reduced to three using a series of scoring techniques for screening. At this stage, consumer input was used to determine the market acceptability of the three possible products. These three product ideas with a benchmark were tested in concept product testing using the target consumer panel to evaluate consumer acceptability. Two different forms, concept description and concept prototypes, of concept testing using two different techniques, the focus group technique and the survey method, were tested in order to determine any significant effects they had on consumer acceptability. It was found that the concept prototypes had a significant effect on the consumers' preferences for product concept appearance, attractiveness and, buying intention. The two different techniques however, did not have a significant effect on the consumer acceptability of the product concepts. Of the two techniques, the focus group required less time for data collection compared to the survey technique, but the focus group was more expensive to run. By using the ECHIP programme and the line scale with floating ideals, which was the input of the consumers in the sensory evaluation stage, an optimum product formulation for the dried fruit snack was obtained. The prototype consisted of six types of fruit namely, apple (0.25), kiwifruit (0.25), banana (0.175), pineapple (0.13) strawberry (0.125) and jackfruit (0.07) with their natural flavours. The prototype was tested on the target consumer using in- house tests in order to determine the acceptability potential of the prototype. The results showed that the idea of developing the dried fruit snack with their natural flavours was acceptable among the Malaysian students. Freeze drying was found to be the most preferred drying process for the dried snack fruit product. The acceptable package size of the product by consumer panel was 40gm. Consumer input played a major role in the product development process in this project and it gave direction in the development of the dried snack fruit product for the Malaysian market. Consumer input was found to be vital during the preliminary consumer research, idea generation, concept testing, product formulation stages, and the final product testing phase in this study.