Commerce - Student Works

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https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14078/52

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Apple iPhone: a market case study
(2021) Van De Vliert, Daylin; Muralidharan, Etayankara
Founded in 1976, Apple inc. quickly became one of the biggest companies in the world. Throughout the years, Apple has been apart of the technology market where there has been an exponential amount of opportunities and threats. This market case study aims to determine how Apple can target such opportunities to help predict future trends and influences over the market. To identify these trends and market influences, I have first conducted an environmental scan of Apple’s current and future market(s). Then I described Apple’s fundamental psychological and sociocultural consumer behaviors. And finally, I identified Apple’s target market, how they have chosen to segment and the demographics and geographics within Apple’s largest target segments. As a result of successfully identifying trends in the past, Apple continues to impress with its globally known brand name and customer base/market. However, Apple must continue to identify future opportunities to stay relevant in the ever-advancing technological market. This analysis of the marketing context suggests Apple may need to re-position its iPhones to maintain its leading position in the marketplace.
The sharing economy: do e-scooters make the cut?
(2020) Bailey, Brady; Sereda, Sarah
Sharing is as old as civilization itself. Corporations now are taking an old idea and creating a strategic model with the help of technology. This modern sharing economy, while having roots in sustainable practices, can often be mistaken as an inherently sustainable business model. We present the outcomes of a project on e-scooters as an example to emphasize the potential impacts and characteristics of a business operating within the sharing economy. To understand and gain public opinion, a survey was conducted gathering 222 responses regarding e-scooter usage in Edmonton, Alberta. Another source of information was the interview with a top executive of Lime Scooters, an e-scooter company operating in Edmonton. We found that while online platforms make resource sharing between peers easier to access, they are not always economically sustainable. Literature review on life-cycle analysis of e-scooters revealed that environmental sustainability is also not ingrained in practice, and careful consideration of business operations is needed to mitigate potentially negative impacts. In addition, thoughtful policies need to be considered and put into place in-order to encourage public and private trust. Overall, the sharing economy can be quite effective in creating a sense of community and social sustainability, but it should not be graded as a wholly sustainable practice without evidence.
The effect of increasing student involvement with career development services: the integration of faculty members & fostering student/faculty relationships
(2020) Wurban, Luke Easton; Amundson, Wesley; Ho Si, Albert; Bosgoed, Morgan; Makardajh, Antonio
The primary goal of this research is to recognize and disseminate the possible components of what makes students more involved with career development services on campus. We examined 25 scholarly articles as part of our initial research to identify possible relationships, which lead us to one major question to answer: “how can we increase the student usage of the MacEwan University Career Development and Experiential learning office by integrating faculty members of various departments?” Some of the largest problems that we found when speaking with the Career Development services and professors is that both students and faculty are either unaware of what they are, and what services they provide. Our qualitative research with faculty members has indicated that they do not know of the availability of career development services on campus, and they do not communicate with the office very frequently. This research allowed us to formulate a well-rounded quantitative survey to be administered to other faculty members that reflects on possible solutions to create more student involvement, and by extension – more student success. Our sample data included 28 responses of our possible 361 survey questionnaires sent. We did not have the greatest response rate; therefore, our findings are not fully generalizable. However, the responses that we did receive are very important and informative to the career development services of MacEwan University, which helps aid in conclusions and recommendations for student involvement.
Tire purchasing: does it have a place online?
(2020) Aarbo, Joshua Thomas; Anderson, Kennedy; Bruni, Marco F.; Liosis, Julia; Lang, Madison
This article outlines our collaboration with Tireland, in which we conducted research regarding the potential success of selling tire online. We looked into aspects of an online presence that would be positively received by consumers in the tire industry. Our research has included an interview with the decision maker, five in-depth interviews, and an online questionnaire. The aim with these methods was to gain a further understanding of the current online tire industry and the constraints that may be present when implementing an ecommerce sales strategy. The target market we were focused on includes males and females between the ages of twenty to thirty. We received 114 responses to our online survey, of which 103 were part of our target market. The data we aimed to collect helped us compare variables such as level of education, online features, and annual household income with the individual’s likelihood to purchase tires online. It is through our SPSS analysis that we were able to gather a better understanding on the statistics surrounding the problem at hand. Our studies offered an insight into the necessary elements to create a successful ecommerce platform. Based on our five research questions, we determined that while variables such as income and education have a minor impact on the likelihood to purchase tires online, other variables such as available online features, tire characteristics, and history of online shopping are significant. Our analyses have led us to recommend that the company should target individuals who already typically shop online. As well, characteristics such as availability, customer service, and price are important to consumers when making a purchase. Finally, consumers are more willing to shop on a website that offers reviews, product information, reminders and an online question service. If these variables are focused upon that will be the greatest way for a company to implement a successful ecommerce platform.
The value of certified pre-owned vehicles for Lexus of Edmonton
(2020) Kasawski, Trisha L.; Singh, Sunaina; Bhullar, Kanwarbir; Sidhu, Gurman; Bath, Gurman
Our objective was to discover productive improvements to Lexus of Edmonton’s (LoE) current Certified Pre-Owned (CPO) Vehicle practices by determining if CPO vehicles added value, and if so, what value was added. By utilizing multiple methods, we discovered areas in the used vehicle sector that Lexus of Edmonton could improve on. In order to conduct our research, five in-depth interviews, scholarly article evaluations, meet with the representatives of Lexus of Edmonton, and surveys were conducted using paper, email and social media tools such as Google surveys, Twitter and Facebook. The methods allowed our group to utilize statistical analysis to outline the importance of relationships between variables with the statistical software, SPSS. With the information received from statistical analysis, we believe that Lexus of Edmonton can succeed with the sale of CPO vehicles by following our recommendations, including: certification education, appropriate pricing of used vehicles, building trust, value-added certification benefits based on willingness to spend and targeted demographics, as well as further research.
Attracting university-educated job seekers
(2020) Thomson, Kyle; Block, Nicole; Labrie, Camille; Pichert, Michaela; Zahr, Daniel
While a strong demand for university-educated employees exists within the auto sales industry, few graduates give serious consideration to car dealerships as career opportunities. Lexus of Edmonton, a leading luxury car dealership, presented our team with this concern, prompting a three-month marketing research project. This report examines the factors which influence university-educated job seekers’ decisions when searching for employment, and how Lexus of Edmonton can tailor their recruitment strategies to target graduates. Our examination followed a three-phase research design involving a review of 25 academic articles, a qualitative analysis of five in-depth interviews, and a quantitative analysis of 101 questionnaire responses. In summary, we found that school involvement, internships, and online platforms were effective means of attracting university graduates. We identified business-majors as the audience most interested in a career with Lexus of Edmonton. We also found that corporate social responsibility and organizational culture were major concerns for graduates, with some metrics being considered as highly as salary and compensation. Based on these findings, our team recommends that Lexus of Edmonton expand their ongoing involvement with local universities, leverage their online presence to network with students, and tailor its communications to reflect their commitment to employee wellbeing. Drawing on this report as a case study in recruitment strategies, we hope that other employers and universities may optimize their own processes to better match graduates to career opportunities.
Spreading the word: how to increase interest in a career development course for university students
(2020) Cartwright, Kelly; Hesthammer, Kai; Stener, Davin
The purpose of this research is to identify ways in which MacEwan’s CDEL Navigating MyCareer Journey program can better reach students and increase enrollment and completion rates. This paper addresses these goals by looking at ways to improve the programs current marketing strategies and the features that effect its overall appeal. First, we researched fifteen scholarly articles regarding career development and student learning preferences. Next, we conducted three in-depth interviews with MacEwan students; one currently enrolled in the program and two not enrolled. After our analysis, we formulated a questionnaire aimed at solving the programs main areas of concern. A total of 126 respondents from the target group completed the survey. The research indicates that CDEL should focus its marketing efforts on posters, friends, MyMacEwan website, and Blackboard. It also showed that CDEL should focus on creating awareness through friends, parents, online forums, and professors. Our research indicates that networking skills, career/life opportunities, and developing a career mindset are the most important topics to students and that CDEL should focus on those. Our research also identified that making a comprehensive, for-credit course might be the best way to increase their completion rate. We recommend that CDEL develop these key features of the program and modify the course to make it warrant credits.
Interdisciplinary research on perceptions of fairness in organizational setting
(2020) Dawyd, Colin; Jindal, Rohit
I propose to present the main findings from a research project at MacEwan University. Fairness is an important concern when organizations are recruiting. Our research explores the effects of fair versus unfair selection processes, specifically: (1) How does fairness affect the effort levels of people who are selected? (2) How does fairness affect the motivation of people who are not selected? Previous studies indicate that the standard economic model lacks consideration for fairness. However, what processes are deemed fair or unfair depends on the situation. A majority of people find ‘weak people first’ and ‘first come, first serve’ to be the most fair, while a small percentage finds random selection as most fair selection process. Our research builds on this topic by exploring people’s perceptions of fairness and their resultant levels of motivation. We collected data through a survey with 252 MacEwan University students, containing hypothetical scenarios regarding recruitment for a sustainability initiative on campus. Respondents were asked to rank the fairness of four different selection processes: (1) Auction (2) Authority (3) Lottery (4) Queue. We had eight different versions of the survey presented through the Qualtrics platform to ensure each student viewed a random version of the survey. Our results indicate that fairness does affect people’s levels of efforts, especially for the participants who were offered volunteer positions with people reporting significantly lower effort level when selected through an unfair process. Our research holds significance for why organizations should use fair selection processes to ensure higher levels of effort.
Why do firms delay recalls? The effects of firm type and country of origin on time to recall defective toys in the United States
(2019) Tiwari, Sejal; Muralidharan, Etayankara
This article examines the influence of perceptions of the country of origin of the defective product on time to recall in the context of the U.S. toy industry. Using signalling theory, shareholder/stakeholder perspectives, and drawing on insights from attribution theory, it is suggested that perceptions of low country of origin of the defective product make firms issue quicker recalls. Besides, this effect is more pronounced in publicly traded firms as opposed to privately held firms. Data on 400 toy recalls were obtained from the Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) from 2007 to 2018 to show empirical support for the above. Implications and contributions are discussed.
E-commerce and Zapato Sanchez, custom shoes: research and exploration
(2019) Capito, Sabrina; Garcia, Maria; Hu, Yan; Santiago, Marla; Zwierink, Teagan; Angulo-Ruiz, Fernando
As e-commerce platforms expand, local businesses are trying to keep up and grow alongside the bigger companies. This research project explored the role of e-commerce and custom-made artisanal dress shoes for a local Edmonton business, specifically investigating if advertising on social media platforms would allow for sales growth.
E-commerce and Zapato Sanchez, custom shoes: research and exploration
(2019) Capito, Sabrina; Garcia, Maria; Angulo-Ruiz, Fernando
As e-commerce platforms expand, local businesses are trying to keep up and grow alongside the bigger companies. This research project explored the role of e-commerce and custom-made artisanal dress shoes for a local Edmonton business, specifically if advertising on social media platforms would allow for sales growth.
Time to recall and type of firm: the moderating effects of country of origin on product recall.
(2019) Tiwari, Sejal; Muralidharan, Etayankara
The purpose of this paper is to understand what influences the time to recall defective products. Especially, the influence of public firms and perceived country of origin image of manufacturing countries on promptness/delay to recall. The paper collects recall data from Consumer Products Safety Commission database from 2007 to 2018 and The Global Competitiveness Report by the World Economic Forum for the same period.
Lexus marketing research
(2019) Sedani, Sujay; Koski, Jack; Mayers, Jordan; Roman, Andrei; Angulo-Ruiz, Fernando
Lexus of Edmonton is the leading luxury car dealership in Edmonton and currently seeking to optimize and improve their email marketing campaigns. At the beginning of the semester, our group was tasked with finding the right email marketing frequency, and ways to improve their email marketing efficiency. We specifically focused on the luxury car owner segment and how they responded to email marketing. In addition, we had a target demographic of 18-65-year olds. Throughout the three months of the research, our report garnered the inefficiencies of email marketing practices and most importantly how they could be improved. The report also shows how newsletter subscribers interact, what times they are likely to open an email, and what device they view the email on. The research project included a literature review, four in depth interviews, and 146 participants from our questionnaire. The questionnaire included twelve structured questions that would produce data that could be extrapolated and lead to our main findings.
Lexus marketing research 312
(2019) Sedani, Sujay; Koski, Jack; Mayers, Jordan; Roman, Andrei; Angulo-Ruiz, Fernando
This research seeks to bridge the gaps between business to consumer communication strategies and explores the several potential underlying causes affecting customer beliefs about email marketing campaigns, specifically in the automobile industry. Facets of email marketing such as implementing segmentation strategy, preferences regarding content of emails (subject lines, body content, key words, images), and email frequency. Evidence is collected based on target market and demographic characteristics through secondary research of scholarly literature/academic journals and primary research with communication experts, industry executives, and general consumers.
Understanding the literacy rates of indigenous children on reserves in Canada
(2019) Janvier, Brittanny; Pastion, Cole; Wong, Leo
The detailed research project our team has completed was focused on literacy levels within first nations communities in Canada. As well, we identified a lack of educational initiatives for First Nations, Metis, and Inuit people across Canada. We first identified the challenges and problems that Indigenous people faced when trying to enhance their literacy skills and educational levels. Then we completed a local and global study of programs and opportunities currently available to enhance literacy and learnings. After that, we completed a study of the current gaps in the system and the levers of change that our team decided would be most beneficial. We believe that indigenous people in Canada deserve the same educational funding and levels as the rest of Canadians. Interdisciplinary Dialogue Project.
Facing your career, can we help?
(2018) Thai, Leon; Overwater, Conor; Vydra, Mark; Patel, Subhaan; Prezanowsky, Chris; Angulo-Ruiz, Fernando
Our marketing research focuses on the MacEwan Career Development and Experiential Learning office. This study was done to research a management issue brought forth: how to increase the Career Development and Experiential Learning office’s face-to face interactions.
Tracing the path of international business research
(2018) Tiwari, Sejal; Muralidharan, Etayankara
Past studies have attempted to identify the domains of international business over specific periods of time. Most have used data sets for short time periods, providing a snapshot of the field for the period under review. This paper attempts to review the research in the area of international business for the past five decades, with the objective of understanding the path that research has taken over the last five decades in terms of research content, relevance, and methodology. This understanding supports proposal of a research agenda for the future, from the perspective of both content and methods in international business research.
Relevant restaurant interests to partnering with non-profit organizations
(2015) Schick, Tracey; Stephen, Marla; Oatway, William Keenan; Philips, Adam
Mealshare is a newly formed non-profit organization that partners with restaurants to feed persons in need. We conducted exploratory and quantitative research on Edmonton and area restaurants to identify those restaurant interests leading to partnerships with non-profit organizations. By performing in-depth interviews with restaurant owners and managers within Edmonton, we discovered main themes such as marketing benefits of social responsibility, preferences for charities to donate to, concerns about charity work, and influences on choosing social responsibility efforts. A questionnaire was developed and distributed to restaurant owners and managers, from which we derived tentative conclusions and recommendations to enhance the Mealshare brand and identify future opportunities. Based on the findings, we find that Mealshare should focus on configuring their marketing activities to emphasize community involvement, time constraint management, and marketing benefits, as well as tailor themselves for independently owned restaurants.
Apple Inc.: a marketing analysis case study
(2015) Nagamia, Namira Kausar
Apple has been at the leading edge in the electronics industry ever since the launch of its first product. In addition to showing good market and financial performance the company has also demonstrated socially responsible behavior towards its employees and the environment. This case study exemplifies how the principles of environmental scanning and market segmentation can be systematically applied to Apple’s various product lines. Specifically, the influence of economic and competitive factors on Apple’s marketing has been discussed. Further, income levels (demographic) and life stage (socio-cultural) factors in order to study consumer behavior have been applied to arrive at key market segments for the company’s products such as IPods, IPads, IPhones, and MacBook/IMac.
To cheat or not to cheat: that is the marketing research question
(2015) Brodie, Sarah; Hunter, Sarah; McNeilly, Victoria; Takla, Sarah; Zirk, Amanda; Angulo-Ruiz, Fernando
Focusing on Academic Integrity at MacEwan University, our research provides an overview of the perceptions faculty and students have on this topic. With our research completed, our recommendations and conclusions may help reduce problems the Academic Integrity office at MacEwan University faces. Our research showed that business students were more inclined to be academically dishonest than most faculties. Most students feel that instructors have given a suffice amount of information on the policies. We strongly believe that this evidence can create a new adaptive culture within MacEwan, where small differences will lead to greater successes.

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