Building micro brands via buyer-seller relationships by informal sector micro businesses for food products | |
| Author | Sanatcha Theerachun |
| Call Number | AIT Diss. no.SM-13-01 |
| Subject(s) | Small business Food industry and trade Brand loyalty |
| Note | A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctoral of Philosophy |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Series Statement | Dissertation ; no. SM-13-01 |
| Abstract | As Asian economies develop, the modern, urban middle class is shifting purchases of consumer food products away from traditional markets to the modern retail sector. It is useful to examine whether traditional micro-retailers can survive in the modern,urban economy. This is an important public policy issue, as a substantial part of the workforce is still in small-scale agriculture, and sells their products through the traditional micro-retail outlets. Further, traditional micro-retailing provides employment for many urban residents. Therefore, the main research question is whether micro-businesses in the traditional food sector are able to build their brand imageby applyingtheir competitive advantages. In-depth interviews in Bangkok with fruit juice micro-retailers and (separately) with their customers indicate that some middle class consumers are only occasional buyers, but are mainly loyal to supermarket brands. However, others are loyal to specific stand operators. They view the service relationship as the distinguishing factor in choosing where to buy juice. This study exploresthe meaning and definition of branding in the context of traditional sector, micro business. Themeaning is closer to retail branding not just product branding. It is viewed as the retail outlet as a brand or the store as a brand. Micro brands depend more on relationship enhancement, service offering, and value establishment which focus more on the emotional part of customers.The survey was conducted with 425 respondents from 14 markets around Bangkok. The empirical results confirm that middle class customers agreed that the distribution channel functions help enhance branding perceptions. While the convenience (location and operating hours) is the most importantaspect for brand building, relationship is the most significant for enhancing trust. In the micro-business context, trust among customers is created jointly from both buyers and sellers. The study shows that customer trust has a positive relationship toloyalty.They do not care about price or the product which they relate toas commodities. They pay attention more on the quality and the service that can fulfill their demands. If retailers adapt themselves to focus on the needs of these customers, they havemore potential to get longer term loyalty because customers prefer additional valuewith the transaction. |
| Year | 2013 |
| Corresponding Series Added Entry | Asian Institute of Technology. Dissertation ; no. SM-13-01 |
| Type | Dissertation |
| School | School of Management (SOM) |
| Department | Other Field of Studies (No Department) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Master of Business Administration (MBA) (Publication code=SM) |
| Chairperson(s) | Donyaprueth Krairit |
| Examination Committee(s) | Zimmermann, Willi ;Voratas Kachitvichyanukul ;Nowarat Coowanitwong ;Speece, Mark |
| Scholarship Donor(s) | Royal Thai Government Fellowship |
| Degree | Thesis (Ph.D.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2013 |