Marketing Theses and Dissertations

Permanent URI for this collection

https://hdl.handle.net/1794/8830

Browse

Browsing Marketing Theses and Dissertations by Author "Marquardt, Adam Jefferson"

Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    Buyer-Seller Relationship Quality and Brand Equity in the Thoroughbred Consignment Industry
    (University of Oregon, 2007-08) Marquardt, Adam Jefferson
    The purpose of this thesis is to determine in as far as is possible, the types of baskets produced by the Indians of Oregon, their distribution and their affinities to those in adjacent areas. The problem is complicated by two main factors; one, the few ethnographic studies available for most of the Or egon tribes, and two, the undocumented time range between the historic and archeological horizons involved. The ethnographic studies are best for those tribes which border the California groups. This lack of information is understandable since by the time any systematic work was undertaken many of the Northwestern Oregon tribes had been depleted or wiped out by the many epidemics which had swept the lower Columbia region in the early eighteen hundreds. The time range may be divided into two main divisions, that of pre-history, where the information is archeological in nature, and that of historic times where the information is to be found in the early historic accounts and modern ethnographic studies of native groups. The time period between the archeological horizon and historic times is one which is undocumented. Since the earlist evidence, to-date, of the occupation of the American continent is found in the Intermountaine flateau, it seems likely that Oregon would hold many clues as to the nature of these early peoples as it was in the pa~h of subsequent migrations into adjacent territory. Substantuating this hypothesis, recent archeological researches have revealed a culture a considerable antiquity in Oregon. Therefore, a study of the basketry techniques used by these early peoples should help in filling in one of the gaps in our knowledge of the affinities of the early cultures of Oregon to those of adjacent areas.
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    Buyer-Seller relationship Quality and Brand Equity in the Thoroughbred Consignment Industry
    (University of Oregon, 2007-09) Marquardt, Adam Jefferson
    In the relationship marketing literature, our knowledge of business-to-business buyer-seller relationship quality and its role in influencing seller brand equity remains incomplete. This study develops a theory-grounded conceptual framework regarding the mediating role of buyer-seller relationship quality between buyer attitudes toward the seller's corporate and product brands, and seller brand equity in a business-to-business context. A mail survey was administered to buyers of Thoroughbred horses regarding the past purchase of a racing prospect (product brand) from a Thoroughbred consignor (seller brand), generating 249 buyer responses. Structural equation modeling was used to test the hypotheses. Results reveal that buyer-seller relationship quality fully mediates the positive direct path between buyer attitude toward the seller and seller brand equity, and partially mediates the negative direct path between buyer attitude toward the product and seller brand equity. The finding that buyer attitude toward the product is inversely predictive of seller brand equity in this context is particularly interesting, because it imphes that in spite of the expense and uncertainty attached to the purchase of a Thoroughbred racing prospect (product brand), the value the buyer ascribes to the consignor (seller) is marginalized when the buyer has a more favorable attitude toward the horse. The finding that buyer-seller relationship quality partially mediates this path is also very interesting, because it implies that as the buyer exhibits a less favorable attitude toward the racing prospect (product brand), the value attributed to the consignor (seller) increases. The results of this study have significant implications for sellers within speculative and competitive business climates.