Facilitating Consumers' Adoption of E-Government in South Africa

This chapter examines the diffusion and adoption of electronic governance systems (e-government) in South Africa. The purpose of the chapter is to determine how the supply side in South Africa has facilitated consumers' adoption of e-government. To achieve this objective, an extensive review of the literature encapsulating e-government, South African public services, information communication technologies (ICTs), and commerce was conducted. Findings revealed interesting results. First among many was that e-government is viewed by the government as a panacea to a plethora of socio-economic problems facing the country. It was further revealed that e-government initiatives at the municipality level are quite instrumental in driving the e-government agenda in South Africa. Of note, municipalities have rolled out various e-government programs. As a result, the country's overall e-government rankings were observed to have significantly improved in the recent past. The chapter concludes by highlighting several opportunities through which e-government could be further strengthened.

Place Consumption

This chapter investigates the influence of country of origin's reputation on the notion of place brand and vice versa. Employing a case study methodology, cases of Lagos (Nigeria) and Dubai (UAE) are examined to generate a model of place brand/branding. This model highlights the flow of causality between a nation brand and a city brand. Four themes are highlighted as matters of interest to focus on when recommending a way forward for Lagos city to generate and improve its global reputation in order to increase the footfalls of visitors and expats.

The Effect of Celebrity Endorsements on Consumers' Buying Behavior in South West Nigeria

Advertisers engage celebrities to endorse their products. This chapter hinges on the meaning transfer theory of McCracken that says that celebrity image can be transferred to items that users buy. Using the survey method, this work examined if celebrity endorsements affect buying. Copies of the questionnaire were administered on 1,516 residents drawn from urban, suburban, and rural areas of Lagos and Ogun States, Nigeria. The Pearson correlation found positive relationships between celebrity endorsements and buyers' decisions. The tests show that celebrity endorsements influence the purchase decisions of the residents, and these buyers' avoidance of a product is more clearly influenced by celebrity endorsements. People buy products because of the celebrities that endorsed them. However, some respondents, especially those in the rural areas, were not as influenced into buying these products as are those from the urban and sub-urban areas. It is advised that advertisers pursue other avenues to draw patronage from this area.

Consumerism and Entrepreneurial Opportunity

Despite significant research on consumerism, little is known about its impact on entrepreneurial opportunity production. Where existing literature focuses on describing consumerism, this chapter investigates how consumerism can influence the production of entrepreneurial opportunity for some. The case study of Mavrodi Mundial Movement (MMM) is examined from secondary data sources (such as articles, journals, magazines, etc.) to obtain historical information. The analysis shows that by understanding consumerism, the individuals behind MMM were able to produce and exploit an entrepreneurial opportunity in different markets.

Expanding Research Agenda for Sustainable Consumption and Social Institutions

Sustainable development is part of the developmental agenda for developed and developing countries both. For developing countries, growth is critical but resource consuming. Therefore, it is important to ensure equitable growth in these countries without degradation of natural and social environment and resources. Sustainable consumption and production both are part of Sustainable Development Goal 12. Mostly countries focus on the production rather than on the consumption, which needs to be changed. South Africa faces challenges of under-consumption in lower income classes and over-consumption in affluent and aspiring middle classes. Examination of institutional actors highlights the gap, which can be filled by social institutions. Social institutions are active and growing in South Africa and were identified suitable to promote sustainable consumption through cooperation, collaboration, and partnerships. This chapter attempts to expand the research agenda to examine the role and potential of social institutions in facilitating sustainable consumption in a developing country like South Africa.

Celebrity Credibility Influence on Cosmetic Product Purchase Intention

One of the strategies that are used by companies to differentiate their cosmetic products is celebrity endorsement. Despite this popular advertising technique, researchers and advertisers have not agreed as to which celebrity source characteristics are most effective in influencing consumers' purchase intention. Another important factor that affects consumers' purchase intention is the consumer ethnocentrism level. Consumers in different countries have different preference over local and international products. Thus, the objective of this chapter is to examine the source credibility theory with the moderating role of ethnocentrism. The result suggests that celebrity endorsers' trustworthiness (TR), attractiveness (AT), and expertise (EX) had a significant positive influence on cosmetic product purchase intention (CPPI). The moderating role of ethnocentrism between AT, TR, and CPPI were examined and found to be significant. This indicates that AT and TR are stronger when consumers' ethnocentrism is high.

Perfume Consumption in India

Perfumes have been important in India for millennia and so have the stories connected with them. The perfume business in India is worth billions ($). A background from which the Indian perfume industry can be understood in terms of the Berger's STEPP model, the consumers' cognitive schemas, consumers' behaviors, and the story of the product, brand, and their customers' stories. Three sets of themes—product perceptions, concerns, and consumers' lifestyle—are identified, each with their own sub-themes that are antecedents to perfume purchasing behavior. Segments in the Indian perfume market are also identified. Each consumer segment has their own behavioral nuances and they consider different aspects of the perfume product taking into account their own income and aspects of the three themes and 19 sub-themes. It is important for perfume marketing managers to consider each aspect of the STEPPs modeland for the Indian government to locate and develop a “Place of Perfume” within India that will eventually challenge the region of Grasse in France as the global perfume marketplace.

Measuring Consumer Behavior Using Neuroscience Methods in Marketing

Neuromarketing is providing the leverage for marketers to delve into consumers' subconscious minds to determine behavior. Marketers, economists, and other consumer-related disciplines are looking to science to accurately determine consumer behavior. The purpose of this chapter is to provide insight into a burgeoning field of study, neuromarketing, documenting various research studies and applications of mechanisms in determining brain activities and other uses of science to benefit marketing research. Data for the study is derived from impartial cross-referencing of conceptual and empirical articles published in major journals. The application of neuroimaging technique in research have provided marketers with concrete evidence of brain activation that signal increased activities during stimulation. Further, the implication and causes of concern in using neuroscience methods in marketing are highlighted. Developing country studies on neuromarketing are examined to determine its application and use as a marketing research tool.

Marketing Solar Energy in Ghana

This chapter reports the results of an exploratory qualitative investigation into buying behaviors and growth challenges within the solar energy industry in Ghana. It is premised on the understanding that African firms may experience “liabilities of localness” when marketing renewable energy products developed in the West. That is, customers doubt their capabilities to produce and install these products. Thus, market-driven growth of the solar energy sector in Ghana requires firm-level capability development through institutional support that promotes effective cross-border inter-firm collaborations as well as trust-building relationships with local customers. The results of the study confirm these observations. They show that Ghanaian consumers tend to evaluate the capabilities of foreign solar energy providers as superior to those of local firms. However, collaborations between local and foreign firms have enhanced their credibility. Firms rely mainly on word-of-mouth recommendations to attract new customers and see customer price consciousness as a major growth constraint.

The New Consumers of India

The chapter explores the growing importance of children as consumers. The chapter would first discuss the importance, growth, and views on consumer socialization theory. The chapter would then take the discussion forward by introducing the change in the role of children not just as learners but as influencers. This section of the chapter concludes by initiating a discussion to understand the similarity and differences in the two theories: consumer socialization and reverse socialization. The theoretical overview provides the researchers a premise to integrate consumer socialization theory and reverse socialization to understand how children and parents acquire learning properties to be a consumer. Based on the two theories, a conceptual model was developed by the author to understand and indicate the process of children and parents becoming consumers. The chapter further discusses the changing social and economic scenario in developing nations with a special focus on India.