Product Knowledge, Product Quality and Country-of-Origin effects on Purchase Intention of Personal Computers: A survey of Aalesund University College Students

Abstract

Purpose: Today’s turbulent and very competitive international marketing environment which is further characterized by changing customer needs especially for quality products; competitive pricing; good product attributes and features has intensified the need for international and global companies to create their own unique and strong brands coupled with increased brand awareness, increased product knowledge and high quality products in order to attract potential customers and to increase consumer purchase intention. Secondly, the increasing use of social networking sites to keep in touch with customers and potential customers is worth mention. Hence this study’s main objective is to find out which factors influences consumer purchase intention of technological products such as the personal computer. Design/methodology/approach: This study used an online survey as it is research design. 122 responses were collected from students of Aalesund University College through online survey. Findings: The empirical finding shows that Product Quality, Product Knowledge and Country of Origin have a significant positive influence on Consumer Purchase Intention and Price, used as a control variable, has a significant negative influence in Consumer Purchase Intention. Research limitation: The main limitation of this master thesis is that the results are based on only 122 respondents from one research setting (Aalesund University College) and hence the findings can therefore not be generalized. Practical implication: The implications of this study for global and international technological companies is that they should put more emphasis in producing very quality products; develop strategies for increasing product knowledge of their brands and sometimes emphasize the country of origin of their products. It is only by so doing that they can quicken the decision making process of potential customers to make purchases and to stay competitive.