Is "co-operative" a valuable element in market communication?
The dairy industry has met increasing competition in recent years. The companies must have an clear profile to possess a strong market position. Branding is important and product development and differentiation have increased. This thesis studies the question whether co-operative firms can use their...
| Autor principal: | |
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| Formato: | Otro |
| Lenguaje: | sueco Inglés |
| Publicado: |
2005
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| Materias: | |
| Acceso en línea: | https://stud.epsilon.slu.se/10964/ |
| _version_ | 1855571783655096320 |
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| author | Brusvall, Peter |
| author_browse | Brusvall, Peter |
| author_facet | Brusvall, Peter |
| author_sort | Brusvall, Peter |
| collection | Epsilon Archive for Student Projects |
| description | The dairy industry has met increasing competition in recent years. The companies must have an clear profile to possess a strong market position. Branding is important and product development and differentiation have increased. This thesis studies the question whether co-operative firms can use their business form to strengthen their profile and make their brands more attractive among consumers. The purpose is to investigate if it is suitable for co-operative firms to use the argument of being co-operative in their market communication. As case firm the Swedish-Danish Arla Foods, specifically its Swedish operations.
Since the study primarily treats the subject of brand communication, the theoretical part consists of theories on branding strategies and consumer behaviour. Particularly the perception of the immaterial values among consumers is studied. During recent years the importance of brand identity has gained much attention.
An empirical investigation is made through a questionnaire among 234 consumers randomly selected in Uppsala. The questionnaire was designed by a group of students in Rennes, France. The questionnaire treats spontaneous knowledge among consumers about co-operative firms and their brands as well as statements to consider concerning co-operative firms compared to non co-operatives. The latter part treats the values the consumers have concerning the firms. The study is made both in Sweden and France, which make comparisons possible. On the basis of the theoretical study three hypotheses are formulated for the Swedish study
1. The knowledge and involvement the consumers have concerning co-operative firms and their activities are low.
2. Communication of being a co-operative is not an important identity carrier for Arla.
3. The important identity carriers for the consumers concerning co-operative firms are concrete added values such as food safety, animal care, regional production and environmental consideration.
The empirical studies show similar results in both countries. Consumers have more positive attitudes towards and knowledge of co-operative firms than expected. The first two hypotheses, which are tested through questions about spontaneous knowledge, prove to be false. The third hypothesis, which is built on the values and statements in the questionnaire, is verified to some degree. But the conclusions whether or not co-operative firms should use their identity as an argument in the market communication are not all obvious.
Based on the theoretical study and the realities of Arla Foods, it is probably not suitable to stress the co-operative identity. Even if the results indicate rather good knowledge, it has to do with a general knowledge that has followed the history of the firm. The values in the second part of the questionnaire (quality, environmental consideration, working conditions) could be more useful, but these values are not specific for co-operatives. One conclusion from the comparison between the two countries is that local firms could have more use of their co-operative identity in their marketing. In France the local identity is more present than in Sweden. Big companies like Arla Foods should rather emphasize the values present in the Swedish culture like the values mentioned above. The co-operative identity can follow as a part of this, but have a more passive role. |
| format | Otro |
| id | RepoSLU10964 |
| institution | Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences |
| language | Swedish Inglés |
| publishDate | 2005 |
| publishDateSort | 2005 |
| record_format | eprints |
| spelling | RepoSLU109642017-09-19T11:02:08Z https://stud.epsilon.slu.se/10964/ Is "co-operative" a valuable element in market communication? Brusvall, Peter Cooperatives Trade, marketing and distribution Faculty of Natural Resources and Agricultural Sciences (until 2013) The dairy industry has met increasing competition in recent years. The companies must have an clear profile to possess a strong market position. Branding is important and product development and differentiation have increased. This thesis studies the question whether co-operative firms can use their business form to strengthen their profile and make their brands more attractive among consumers. The purpose is to investigate if it is suitable for co-operative firms to use the argument of being co-operative in their market communication. As case firm the Swedish-Danish Arla Foods, specifically its Swedish operations. Since the study primarily treats the subject of brand communication, the theoretical part consists of theories on branding strategies and consumer behaviour. Particularly the perception of the immaterial values among consumers is studied. During recent years the importance of brand identity has gained much attention. An empirical investigation is made through a questionnaire among 234 consumers randomly selected in Uppsala. The questionnaire was designed by a group of students in Rennes, France. The questionnaire treats spontaneous knowledge among consumers about co-operative firms and their brands as well as statements to consider concerning co-operative firms compared to non co-operatives. The latter part treats the values the consumers have concerning the firms. The study is made both in Sweden and France, which make comparisons possible. On the basis of the theoretical study three hypotheses are formulated for the Swedish study 1. The knowledge and involvement the consumers have concerning co-operative firms and their activities are low. 2. Communication of being a co-operative is not an important identity carrier for Arla. 3. The important identity carriers for the consumers concerning co-operative firms are concrete added values such as food safety, animal care, regional production and environmental consideration. The empirical studies show similar results in both countries. Consumers have more positive attitudes towards and knowledge of co-operative firms than expected. The first two hypotheses, which are tested through questions about spontaneous knowledge, prove to be false. The third hypothesis, which is built on the values and statements in the questionnaire, is verified to some degree. But the conclusions whether or not co-operative firms should use their identity as an argument in the market communication are not all obvious. Based on the theoretical study and the realities of Arla Foods, it is probably not suitable to stress the co-operative identity. Even if the results indicate rather good knowledge, it has to do with a general knowledge that has followed the history of the firm. The values in the second part of the questionnaire (quality, environmental consideration, working conditions) could be more useful, but these values are not specific for co-operatives. One conclusion from the comparison between the two countries is that local firms could have more use of their co-operative identity in their marketing. In France the local identity is more present than in Sweden. Big companies like Arla Foods should rather emphasize the values present in the Swedish culture like the values mentioned above. The co-operative identity can follow as a part of this, but have a more passive role. Mjölkindustrin har mött ökad konkurrens de senaste åren. För att ha en stark ställning måste företagen idag ha en tydlig profil. Varumärkena har blivit viktigare, och produktutvecklingen och -differentieringen har ökat. Denna uppsats behandlar frågan om huruvida kooperativa företag kan använda sin företagsform för att stärka sin profil så att deras varumärken blir mer attraktiva bland konsumenterna. Syftet är att utreda om det är lämpligt för kooperativa företag att i sin marknadskommunikation använda den kooperativa identiteten som ett argument. Som fallföretag används dansk-svenska Arla och dess verksamhet i Sverige. Eftersom studien handlar om varumärkeskommunikation, omfattar den teoretiska genomgången främst varumärkesstrategier och konsumentbeteende. Särskilt behandlas hur varumärkenas immateriella mervärden uppfattas av konsumenterna. Under senare år har märkesidentitetens stora betydelse blivit allt mer uppmärksammad. En empirisk studie görs med hjälp av en enkät bland 234 slumpmässigt utvalda konsumenter i Uppsala. Frågeformuläret är utvecklat av en grupp studenter i Rennes, Frankrike. Det omfattar dels spontana kunskaper om kooperativa företag och varumärken, dels påståenden att ta ställning till angående kooperativa företag i jämförelse med icke-kooperativa företag. Den senare delen testar konsumenternas värderingar av företagen. Undersökningen görs i både Sverige och Frankrike, varför jämförelser är möjliga. På basis av teorigenomgången utformas tre hypoteser för den svenska studien: 1. Konsumenterna har små kunskaper om och engagemang för kooperativa företag och deras verksamhet. 2. Att ett företag är kooperativt är inte en viktig identitetsbärare för företagets marknadskommunikation. 3. De viktiga identitetsbärarna för kooperativa företag är konkreta mervärden såsom livsmedelssäkerhet, djurskötsel, regional produktion och miljöhänsyn. Undersökningarna i de båda länderna uppvisar liknande resultat. Konsumenterna är mer positiva än förväntat. De två första hypoteserna, som prövas genom frågorna om spontan kunskap, visar sig inte vara korrekta. Den tredje, som bygger värderingar och påståenden, stämmer bättre. Slutsatserna om huruvida kooperativa företag bör använda sin identitet såsom argument är inte helt självklara. Utifrån teorigenomgången och Arlas verklighet är det troligen inte lämpligt att trycka på den kooperativa identiteten. Även om undersökningen visar ganska goda kunskaper, rör det sig om generella kunskaper som följt med företagets historia. Värderingarna i formulärets andra del (kvalitetskriterier, miljöhänsyn, arbetsförhållanden) kan vara mer värdefulla, men dessa är inte specifika för kooperativa företag. En slutsats från jämförelsen mellan länderna är att lokala företag kan ha mer nytta av sin kooperativa identitet i marknadskommunikationen. I Frankrike är den lokala tillhörigheten mer närvarande än i Sverige. Stora företag såsom Arla bör snarare framhäva de värderingar, som finns i svensk kultur. Den kooperativa identiteten kan följa med som en del i detta, men då ha en tillbakaskjuten roll. 2005-02-03 Other NonPeerReviewed application/pdf sv https://stud.epsilon.slu.se/10964/1/brusvall_p_170919.pdf Brusvall, Peter, 2004. Is "co-operative" a valuable element in market communication? : an empirical study of consumer perceptions. UNSPECIFIED, Uppsala. Uppsala: (NL, NJ) > Dept. of Economics <https://stud.epsilon.slu.se/view/divisions/OID-510.html> urn:nbn:se:slu:epsilon-s-6989 eng |
| spellingShingle | Cooperatives Trade, marketing and distribution Faculty of Natural Resources and Agricultural Sciences (until 2013) Brusvall, Peter Is "co-operative" a valuable element in market communication? |
| title | Is "co-operative" a valuable element in market communication? |
| title_full | Is "co-operative" a valuable element in market communication? |
| title_fullStr | Is "co-operative" a valuable element in market communication? |
| title_full_unstemmed | Is "co-operative" a valuable element in market communication? |
| title_short | Is "co-operative" a valuable element in market communication? |
| title_sort | is "co-operative" a valuable element in market communication? |
| topic | Cooperatives Trade, marketing and distribution Faculty of Natural Resources and Agricultural Sciences (until 2013) |
| url | https://stud.epsilon.slu.se/10964/ https://stud.epsilon.slu.se/10964/ |