Masters Dissertations

Permanent link for this collection

https://hdl.handle.net/10292/476
The Masters Dissertations collection contains digital copies of AUT University masters dissertations deposited with the Library since 2007 and made available open access. From 2007 onwards, all dissertations for masters degrees awarded are required to be deposited in Tuwhera Open Theses & Dissertations unless subject to an embargo.

Dissertations submitted prior to 2007 are usually recorded in the AUT Library catalogue where the full text, if available, may be accessed with an AUT password. Other people should request an Interlibrary Loan through their library.

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Browsing Masters Dissertations by Supervisor "Baxter, Roger"

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
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    Brand Trust: elements and influences on Industrial Landlord/Tenant Relationships
    (Auckland University of Technology, 2012) Sullivan, Brigid
    There is a lot of research into the concept of brand trust amongst numerous industries but it has not been researched in relation to the real estate industry and in particular industrial property developments. The elements and influences on brand trust are numerous and disparate dependant on the industry within which the concept is researched. However, the literature did identify certain common elements and influences amongst the industries researched. The existing literature on commercial and industrial property developments identifies there are many aspects of a property that tenants take into consideration when leasing including location of a building or site, rent incentives, lease terms, operating expenses and management of the property. There are also many intangible influences on the decision making process that are not as easily identifiable but can primarily be recognised from the relationship between landlords and their tenants in terms of trust, balance of power and overall satisfaction. The existing literature identifies that the tangible aspects of the relationship are considered more significant than the relationship in commercial leasing. There is a clear gap in the research between the concept of brand trust and its value in landlord/tenant relationships in industrial property developments. This dissertation proposes to answer the following questions: What are the elements of brand trust in landlord/tenant relationships in industrial property developments? What are the influences on brand trust in landlord/tenant relationships in industrial property developments? What is the influence of brand trust in comparison to other aspects of commercial leasing on tenant retentions in industrial developments? This dissertation primarily reviews the existing literature on the concept of brand trust as well as the literature on landlord/tenant relationships in industrial property developments and the influences on tenant retentions. An exploratory research method is utilized to collect data. Semi structured interviews were conducted with 6 respondents who were tenants of medium-large sized industrial property developments with multiple tenants and managed directly by the landlord. This study identifies that the predominant elements of brand trust in landlord/tenant relationships in industrial property developments include accessibility, benevolence, communication, competence, conflict resolution techniques, cooperation, coordination, credibility, equality, flexibility and professionalism. The primary influences on brand trust are the level of landlord power, the level of tenant power, the economic environment, the tenant mix in a development, the power balance in the landlord/tenant relationship, word of mouth and experience. Subsequently this dissertation identifies that the influences on tenant retentions in industrial property developments include switching costs, alternative attractiveness, the tangible aspects of the relationship including lease, location and building, the economic environment, the power balance in the relationship, brand loyalty and brand trust. The elements and influences on brand trust that are identified in this dissertation are generally consistent with the existing literature. However, although the dissertation identifies that brand trust is influential on tenant retentions, it is of less importance than the tangible aspects of the relationships including the location, building and lease. This only partially supports the existing literature on the influence of brand trust on commitment. In conclusion, the implications for management are that, provided landlords are able to meet tenant’s needs in relation to the tangible aspects of the development, then they should focus on the level of brand trust in the relationship to gain an advantage over other landlords in retaining their tenants.
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    The Effects of Guanxi on Doing Business in China
    (Auckland University of Technology, 2006) Fan, Jerry Wenjie
    Guanxi is one of the major issues for doing business in China. This dissertation defines the concept of guanxi, analyses its characteristics and functions, and presents the similarities and distinctions between guanxi and Western relationship marketing principles. This paper argues that guanxi has a major and positive impact on business performance. Finally, the paper creates a model for developing and retaining guanxi as a guideline for foreign marketers looking to succeed in China.
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    Exploring New Zealand management attitudes to customer involvement in new product development in the health supplement industry
    (Auckland University of Technology, 2009) Zhang, Yan
    New product development (NPD) is seen as one of the most important business strategies that are widely undertaken by many firms. It is a very effective and efficient way to satisfy the expectations of customers. However, current customers’ expectations are changing fast, as well as being difficult to define. Therefore, involving customers in the actual process of new product development is becoming more popular. Customer involvement is an important and effective way for firms to gain knowledge of customers more easily, especially knowledge of their needs and what will satisfy those needs. In the New Zealand health supplement industry, the competition is intense and the market environment is complex and unpredictable. Thus, based on the established theoretical literature of Cooper’s (2001) seven-stage NPD processes and Baxter’s (2007) six-dimension evaluation framework of NPD success, the main aim of this study is to create an in-depth understanding of customer involvement in the process of NPD. Also this study determines at which stages are customers involved in NPD in the New Zealand health supplement industry. In addition, this research will explore the understanding of the key determinants of NPD success and key factors of NPD success evaluation in the New Zealand health supplement industry. In this study, the multiple case studies technique was employed as the main empirical research method. In addition to the case studies, several sources were used for secondary data collection, such as the AUT online database and business articles. For the primary data collection the purposive sampling method was used to investigate six companies in the New Zealand health supplement industry, by interviewing the product development manager, general manager or CEO of each of companies. The collected data from interviewees in those six companies was analyzed using the technique of pattern matching. The findings of this research suggest that the key determinants of NPD success include market knowledge, product knowledge and relationships that must be considered by firms. In other words, knowledge of the market and product and their relationships are very important for firms to plan and operate a successful NPD project. The study also suggests that firms should involve customers in the NPD process, because customers can significantly contribute to NPD success. By analyzing the data from six interviews, and integrating this with information from the literature, the most important and effective factors that lead to success are found in New Zealand health supplement industry. These factors are financial success, market success and strategic advantage gains. Secondly, Cooper’s (2001) seven-stage NPD process model (which contains discovery, idea screening, scoping, business analysis, development, market testing and validation, and launch) and Baxter’s six-dimension NPD success evaluation framework (financial success, market success, technical success, speed to market, strategic advantage gains, and social and ecological sensitivity) were used and tested in this research, which is discussed based on the primary data. The results of the research suggested that there is only a slight difference in the initial stages of the NPD process in the New Zealand health supplement industry compared with Cooper’s (2001) seven-stage NPD process, and that Baxter’s (2007) six-dimension NPD success evaluation framework is supported in practice. This research also presents a number of implications from both strategic and managerial perspectives. From the strategic perspective, the findings suggest that successful NPD is very important for business survival and development. Further to this, customer involvement is vital for NPD success. Financial success, market success and strategic advantages gains were found to be the most important factors for the evaluation of NPD success. This research suggests that managers need a clear understanding of the factors that drive NPD success and knowledge of how to involve customers in NPD, and how to assess the success of NPD in terms of its outcomes.
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    Intangible relationship value from buyer to seller and its effect on new product development
    (Auckland University of Technology, 2013) Al-Qahtani, Rasha
    This research will study and validate a model presented by Baxter (2007) through which the relationship between buyer and seller enables new product development success were validated. For this purpose the Quantitative survey data will be analysed to test whether the data support the conceptual model of Baxter (2007). The data were collected by using self-administered questionnaires forwarded to the managers of cafes in Auckland. These questionnaires validated the attributes of business-to-business buyers effect in the success of new product development (NPD) from sellers who involve in that buyer NPD, and get benefit from resources of buyers’ input in that NPD process. The relevant buyers’ attributes are their competence, attitude, intellectual agility, relationships, organization with renewal and development. Correlation and exploratory factor analysis will be used to analyse the relationships between buyer’s attributes and success of NPD. After that, the quantitative data were thoroughly collected from respondents who were selected on the basis of convenience sampling. Then the gathered data was statistically tested and correlations were determined among hypothesized factors. The results have clearly indicated that the data failed to prove significant relationships among the constructs provided in the Baxter model. On the other hand, this outcome has certain limitations but provides a significant direction for the further studies.
Dissertations are protected by the Copyright Act 1994 (New Zealand). The dissertation may be consulted by you, provided you comply with the provisions of the Act and the following conditions of use:
  • Any use you make of these documents or images must be for research or private study purposes only, and you may not make them available to any other person.
  • Authors control the copyright of their dissertation. You will recognise the author’s right to be identified as the author of the dissertation, and due acknowledgement will be made to the author where appropriate.
  • You will obtain the author’s permission before publishing any material from the dissertation.