| Abstract | [Abstract]: Corporations in the twenty-first century are increasingly concerned about
managing societal issues in marketing to benefit key stakeholder interests,
particularly customer groups. A number of industry surveys attest to the positive
effects of societal marketing and its related concepts on consumer attitudes and
behaviour throughout various countries. However, a scarcity of empirical
research in this field still exists, especially in Thailand. Thus, this thesis
addresses gaps in the literature by investigating the research problem:
'How does a societal marketing program influence the attitudes of Thai
consumers in relation to corporate image?'
Specific objectives this research program addresses are to:
- develop a Thai model for societal marketing's impact on consumer's attitudes
toward a corporate image;
- gain better understanding of demographic factors, such as gender, age,
educational level, income level and marital status, that also influence
consumer attitudes toward corporate image; and
- test the Thai model of societal marketing's impact on corporate image with
data gathered using the Brand's Educational Summer Camp program on
customer attitudes toward the image of Cerebos.
The methodology used in this research comprises three distinct stages, firstly a
review of existing literature, secondly exploratory studies consisting of in-depth
interviews and focus groups and finally, a descriptive survey of the customers of
Cerebos (Thailand) Limited which implemented the societal marketing program,
namely Brand's Educational Summer Camp program.
Following a review of related literature on societal marketing, corporate image
and their related forms, three key gaps were identified. Firstly, that the extant
literature empirically describing the impact of societal marketing on consumer
attitudes regarding corporate image in the Thai context was relatively limited,
with most of the existing explanatory models or theories lacking the empirical testing necessary to support them. Secondly, it was possible to distinguish a lack
of studies conducted on demographic influences regarding corporate image.
Finally, as most previous empirical studies in this field were initiated in the
United States, there existed a lack of studies from different countries, particularly
from Thailand.
Based on results from the review of literature, three in-depth interviews and four
focus groups were conducted to further identify and refine the model of the
impact of societal marketing programs on customer attitudes regarding corporate
image for the Thai context.
The final and main stage of this thesis was a mail survey, completed by 1,153
Cerebos' customers achieving a 38.4 percent response rate. The data was
analyzed by SPSS and LISREL using structural equation modeling, which
measured the strengths of the variables and tested the structure of the model. A
two-step approach was then applied to simplify analysis of the complete model.
In summary, the findings of this research indicate that in the research context of
Thailand, a societal marketing program and corporate marketing communications
can create positive customer attitudes toward corporate image. Two specific
demographic characteristics of respondents, educational level and marital status,
show particular and significant impact on attitudes toward corporate image.
Additionally, both feeling and belief components serve as important determinants
of attitude toward corporate image, with a belief component indicating more
important a role than a feeling component, for attitude formation in the Thai
context.
The theoretical implications of this research empirically support the theory that
societal marketing has a positive effect on Thai consumers' attitudes toward
corporate image. Additionally, that a Thai model of societal marketing's impact
on customer's attitudes in relation to corporate image has been developed.
Moreover, that the use of a multidisciplinary research approach and structural
equation modeling in the research of societal marketing impact on corporate
image, can now be supported. The practical implications of this research promote the provision of better
information that will ensure corporate marketers application of societal marketing
in order to differentiate themselves from competitors. Also, such results can be
used as input to government policy makers to encourage the use of societal
marketing programs by business enterprises to both benefit key stakeholder
interests and establish alliances with non-profit organizations to engender the
promotion of their social activities and concerns.
In conclusion, future research was identified in three areas namely, delimitations
of scope, then, a further testing and validation of scales and the model developed
and finally, the continued improvement and refinement of the methodology used.
Ultimately, future investigations should be extended to different societal
marketing programs and strategies across different industries in the Thai context. |
|---|