Extensive decision-making process – consumer behaviour

1 Introduction

This report has been prepared to analyse the many elements of EKB’s consumer decision model (as shown in Figure 1.0) in relation to consumer behaviour. The focus of the consumer decision model is to enhance the understanding of the many processes undertaken whilst undertaking a high involvement purchase, hence providing a theoretical framework of determining and justifying consumer behaviour.

The model was applied in context with our decision to purchase a holiday to Vanuatu, as this type of purchase is best suited to an extensive decision-making model (Sheth & Mittal, 2004). The various aspects of the model are explored using the knowledge gained during our research into various sources for this particular holiday. Recommendations based on our experience and researches have also been considered in this report, in order to facilitate further improvement in the overall extensive decision-making process.

Figure 1.0- EKB’s model of consumer behaviour (Poulos, 2001)

2 Analysis

Whilst purchasing a complex good/service many thoughts and procedures are undertaken, and in order to analyse this choice an appropriate consumer decision model is required for it to develop and prosper. The consumer decision models provide conceptual frames of reference that logically indicate the interrelationship of variables for research purposes and also aim to give an understanding of what happens as variables and circumstances change (Erasmus et al, 2001). The utilisation of EKB’s consumer decision making model has allowed us to become more perceptive when undertaking this complex purchase. The model under analysis is a schematic representation of the stages of the buying process;

2.1 Need recognition

The tension caused by the difference between actual state and desired state (Schiffman et al, 2001). Our need recognition for a holiday was triggered by psychological factors including boredom, need for change, independence, exploring different the world & expanding of our knowledge to a more global perspective.

Extended decision making

Extended decision making ‘occurs when the search is extensive and deliberation prolonged’ .It is also common for purchases that have high risks involved, such as costly investments (Sheth JN & Mittal B, 2004 p.285). Hence, our holiday to Vanuatu can be classified as being in this
category due to its high costs and extensive search conducted for various information regarding airlines and accommodation.

Need recognition’s main three aspects that our model covered were;

2.1.1 Environmental influences

These influences are made up of a buyer’s social context together with situational influences (Evans et al, 1996). The elements which considerably played a role in our need recognition of a holiday were culture, social class, personal influence, family and situation. We all are university students of middle class working families, which have been brought up with an Asian background influence. Being university students, mid year break is a great opportunity to travel and celebrate our results from the previous semester.

2.1.2 Individual differences

Need recognition can be said to have been determined by buyers’ individual differences and their social context together with antecedent experience (Poulos, 2001). Our resources, motivation, involvement, knowledge, attitudes, personalities, lifestyle and demographics were the main factors in this aspect of need recognition. We were all motivated and excited about the whole idea of a holiday, which lead to our involvement in researching and contributing our past knowledge. Having a high education level and living in urban environments, according to Evans, Moutinhou and Van Raaij (2001) lead to expectations of us being able and willing to process more information, experience less information overload, and use more complex decision rules.

2.1.3 Memory

Memory is considered to be antecedent experience with the service. In our case the cheap flight advertisements triggered off our memory of past friends and family which have travelled in their semester break and also of their travelled destinations.

What our model failed to analyse were the situational influences;

2.1.4 Situational influences

Situational Influences are basically the reasons behind a consumer buying behaviour (Quester et al, 2004). Influences such as social surroundings can have an impact on a purchase decision (Neal et al, 2004). For example, when we were enquiring at STA travel, the interaction between the staff and customer was informal and created an atmosphere where we felt welcomed and relaxed.

On the other hand, the social surrounding of Harvey World Travel seems quite formal and staff seemed quite pushy and disinterested which made us feel uneasy and hence we decided not to purchase the holiday from this particular travel agency. Also at Harvey World Travel, antecedent states such as the current mood we were in also impacted on our overall purchase decision (Quester et al, 2004). We were quite tired and moody from University causing us to cast a quick dislike to the general social and unfriendly atmosphere that we were presented with.

The physical surroundings of the purchase point is also very important(Quester et al, 2004). The service scape of a travel agency does affect client’s perceptions of the particular agency and impact on purchasing behaviour (Hoffman & Bateson, 2002). At STA Travel, the brochures were widely available to customers to simply pick up from surrounding shelves and the open plan offices implied a respectable/friendly workplace. In comparison, at Globeoz Travel which was a private travel agency, the physical appearance of the store was not as appealing with brochures kept behind the travel agent’s desk; surrounding walls were completely bare hence giving us the perception of an uncomfortable atmosphere.

Situational influences can also mean unexpected situational changes (Neal, Quester & Hawkins, 2004), which we also experienced. A prime example would be our unexpected change in airlines due to financial reasons and customer loyalty to a certain airline brand. We were originally planning to fly with Air Vanuatu on recommendation of our travel agent; however one of us mentioned that they had some frequent flyer points on Qantas’s Customer Loyalty program. Hence, we wanted to save costs and also experience the quality of this well known airline.

2.2 Pre-purchase search

When a consumer perceives ‘a need that might be satisfied by the purchase and consumption of a product’ they conduct an information/pre-purchase search (Schiffman et al, 2001 p.524), in order to consider possible purchase alternatives or have an evoked set (Hoffman KD & Bateson JEG, 2002). In order to look for the suitable product in order to satisfy our needs an information search was conducted using three methods;

Internal Search

External Search

Exploratory Search (Neal et al, 2004)

Since, the holiday we are planning on purchasing is a highly involved product; all three of these searches will be utilised in order to make an informed purchase decision (Poulos, 2001).

2.2.1 Internal Search

An internal search is based on the consumer’s past experiences and memories of a particular product. The past experiences and memories from personal contact such as friends and family may also be other sources of an internal search (Hoffman KD & Bateson JEG, 2002). In the case of purchasing a holiday to Vanuatu, previous travel experiences with insurance deals and specific airline may influence the final decision. However, if ‘a resolution is not reached through internal search, then the search process is focused on external stimuli relevant to solving the problem’ (Quester et al, 2004). In the case of a highly involved purchase, external sources should be sought to gain more knowledge about the purchase (Kotler et al, 2006 p.89).

2.2.2 External Search

The external search is largely dependant on ‘previous knowledge and experience of the consumer, the perceived risk involved in the decision (Refer Appendix 1) and other information related to the information itself’ (Schiffman et al, 2001 p.524). Hence, in the case of purchasing the holiday, Vanuatu was a totally new holiday destination for us; therefore we had to undertake a thorough external search. This type of search is normally done to collect new information (Hoffman KD & Bateson JEG, 2002). In the case of our holiday to Vanuatu, the external sources consulted included travel agents to obtain different quotes, the internet, travel books, travel expos and brochures about the destination.

It must also be realised that ‘the initial internal search generally produces a set of guides or decision constraints that limit external search’ (Neal et al, 2004 p.89). In the case of the holiday, our internal search found that we preferred to fly with Qantas airlines, this was due to us being members of the Qantas Frequent Flyers. This reward system allowed us to earn one Qantas Frequent Flyer point per mile travelled on Economy flights. As only 5 airlines travelled to Vanuatu including; Qantas, Air Tahita Nui, Air Vanuatu, Air Calin and Air New Zealand, of which only 2 were part of the Qantas Frequent Flyer Reward System. Therefore when approaching the external source of a travel agent we only enquired about possible Qantas flights to Vanuatu. Amongst the various external sources used, the most effective would be the travel agent, as personal communications with the agent proved to be more informative than other generic sources such as brochures etc.

2.2.3 Exploratory Search

An exploratory search is not common amongst most purchases as it is done to not only acquire additional information about a product but because the process itself is pleasurable (Neal et al, 2004). Most exploratory searches can be triggered even where there is no problem recognition (Neal et al, 2004). However, in the case of purchasing the holiday, some exploratory searches were done through contacting various travel agents and simply finding pleasure about learning more about Vanuatu.

2.3 Information processing

Comprehending and accepting the information gathered and retaining relevant data as the “evoked set”. This decision was seen to be of high economic, functional, time and social risk due to the uncertainty that we faced with the unforeseeable consequences & no antecedent experiences. As the amount of information we obtained increased, uncertainty was reduced as well as the perceived risk (Furukawa et al, 2001). It has four steps: exposure, attention, interpretation and retention.

2.3.1 Exposure

The purpose of exposure is to ensure that the marketing offering is in the right place for the target market to have access to it, at least potentially (Evans et al. 1996). STA travel had used promotional media and distribution channels to their advantage in offering complementary services to us with our student flights such as; the International Student Identity Card, airport transfers and also travel insurance. STA had understood that exposure to advertising in their travel destination brochures is a basic requirement for them to reach their consumers and potentially change their knowledge, attitudes or behaviour.

STA Travel also offered us an International Student Identity Card which would make us eligible to many savings on airfares, accommodation, entertainment, museums, food, clothes, movies and much more. This opportunity was hard to pass up for a low cost of $18. The benefits foreseen would be immediately reaped with us being officially eligible for student fares. This card would be valid in many different countries allowing us to access over 36,000 discounts worldwide, it would be valid from one year of the date of travel (STA Travel, 2006).

As we are students, we were seen to be price conscious travellers on a tighter budget than families when it came to travel insurance. We were looking for a travel insurance that would give us a reasonable level of cover on medical, cancellation, personal liability and luggage. The comprehensive insurance looked a little over the top and expensive. Therefore we went for a safe, yet affordable travel insurance, the Travel Lite Insurance option. It would cost us only $63.20 with our ISIC cards. We would be able to lodge claims 24 hours a day, 7 days a week from overseas, within Australia and when we returned home. Refer to Appendix 2 for the Travel Lite Schedule of Benefits

2.3.2 Attention

Regardless of the marketing offering being strategically placed in the right place, there is no guarantee that the market will see it (Mowen JC & Minor M, 1998). We could have totally ignored the travel brochures we were given. As consumers we scanned the brochures to see if there was anything interesting or worthwhile seeing when the travel insurance and ISIC card came to our attention. The three questions that went through our minds were;

Is there anything interesting?

Is it important?

What is the value?

We found that the use of colour was one technique that was used in order to gain our attention. Other techniques included the position and size of the intended messages.

2.3.3 Interpretation

Once attention is gained, the message/offering should be perceived and understood in its intended manner (Evans et al, 1996). It is in this stage that we drew information from the complex psychology of our perceptions. We found that our interpretation of the complementary services being offered were based on our expectations and needs. We further enquired about the services offered with the travel agent and she noticed our interest and included this in the quotation for our holiday.

2.3.4 Retention

Retention is concerned with ensuring that the complementary services are remembered. For us, the retention of the complementary services was provided in the quotation of the holiday as a constant reminder, in a way making it a travelling package. We were also given a specific brochure in regards to these services.

2.4 Evaluation of alternatives

The process named evaluation of alternatives is about how the consumer processes information gathered during the search process, to arrive at a final purchase choice (Kotler et al, 2006). Consumers generally use two types of information in this process. The first being the evoked set of brands and second is the criteria used to rank each brand and how this criteria is chosen (Schiffman et al, 2001). This process can also be influenced by factors such as ‘attitudes of significant others’ and ‘unexpected situational factors’ (Kotler et al, 2006 p.167). In the case of purchasing the Vanuatu Holiday, all of these theories came into application.

2.4.1 Awareness, Evoked & Consideration Sets

When considering a purchase, consumers rarely have every possible brand in mind, instead a ‘select subset of brands/suppliers’ are considered (Refer Appendix 3). This is known as the awareness set (Sheth JN & Mittal B, 2004). For example, when planning the Vanuatu trip we all knew of a few airlines that flew to our destination (Refer Appendix 4), this is known as our evoked set, as they were the brands that instantly came to mind when thinking of airline choices (Poulos, 2001). Information gathered was used to evaluate alternative agents in our memory. Our evoked set was based upon all of our personal beliefs, attitudes and intentions. We all had family and friends who had travelled over the years to different destinations, and all stories to tell, refer to Figure 1.0. However, after considering financial and service levels, some of the airlines were eliminated from this evoked set to become our consideration set (Refer Appendix 5), which is the final range of alternatives a consumer wishes to purchase from (Sheth JN & Mittal B, 2004).

2.4.2 Evaluative Criteria

An important aspect of the evaluation of alternatives is the criteria set to eliminate the alternatives in order to produce one final purchase choice. This is done by viewing ‘each product as a collection of features or attributes’ (Quester et al, 2004 p.205). A common and simple way to determine criteria is by using an evaluative grid, which shows features common to different products (Quester et al, 2004). We used this to determine which holiday destination to choose (Refer Appendix 6).

2.4.3 Decision Rules

The usage of decision rules also assists with evaluating which criteria is suitable for the selected product (Schiffman et al, 2001). There are various types of decisions rules and each are suited to a particular type of product (see Figure 2.4.3).

Type of decision rule Definition Example/Uses

Conjunctive Setting a minimum cutoffs on all salient attributes Business-to-business transactions

Use for low-involvement purchases

Disjunctive Establishes a minimum level of performance for each important attribute “I’ll consider all brands that perform really well on any attribute consider to be important’

Elimination by aspects Ranks attributes in order of importance, and establishes a cut off point for each attribute. “I want to buy the brand that has an important attribute that other brands do not have’

Lexicographic Attributes of alternatives are ranked in order of importance “I want to get the brand that does best on the attribute of most importance to me. If there is a tie I will break it by choosing the one that does best on my second most important criterion”.

Compensatory Choice that rates highest on the sum of the consumer’s judgments of the relevant evaluative criteria will be chosen Use for highly involved purchases

Eg. Vacation Destination

Figure 2.4.2- Decision rule comparison

(Adapted From: Sheth JN & Mittal B, 2004; Neal et al, 2004)

However in the case of the Vanuatu Holiday being a highly involved purchase, the best decision rule to use is the compensatory rule (Quester et al. 2004). The decision for this is based upon the fact that the compensatory rule is based upon ‘considering all attributes and benefits of a product or service and mentally trading off the alternative’s perceived weakness on one or more attributes for its perceived strength on other attributes’ (Sheth JN & Mittal B, 2004 p.293). Hence, this method would be effective in determining what type of airline or holiday to go on as these expensive services should be evaluated carefully in order to select the most appropriate choice that will meet and satisfy a consumer’s expectations. The compensatory model is also suited to evaluating holiday destinations due to the many factors that need to be considered when choosing a suitable holiday destination, and hence the rule helps to evaluate each important factor (Neal et al, 2004).

2.4.4 Perceptual Mapping

Although perceptual maps are normally used in marketing for positioning products in a target market, they are also a valuable tool when evaluating various criteria in order to make a final purchase decision (Quester et al, 2004; Sheth JN & Mittal B, 2004). A perceptual map basically provides ‘a visual map in a multidimensional space that shows how similar or different various brands are considered to be by the consumer’ (Sheth JN & Mittal B, 2004 p.250). There are many characteristics that are involved in the choice of airline, only a few are seen to be important in our decision-making process.

In the case of the Vanuatu Holiday, we used a perceptual map to decide which airline from our evoked set would be the best option (Refer Figure 2.4.3).

These two characteristics were; price due to our tight budgets and service which included safety, meals, comfort, and reputation. As every customer does we were looking for an airline which corresponded to our specific criteria; reasonable price and an emphasis on high service.

Figure 2.4.3- Perceptual Map of Airlines.

2.4.5 Influences on the evaluation process

Situational influences such as unexpected events may influence the final purchase choice (Quester et al, 2004). Changes in expected income, price and product benefits may alter the intended purchase intention (Kotler et al, 2006). For example, in the case of the Vanuatu Holiday, the expected prices of airfares actually rose due to the natural and political disasters of Bali. Hence, if we could not have afforded the price increase, our final holiday destination may have been altered.

Another influence on the evaluation process is the attitudes and opinions of others on the chosen product or service (Kotler et al, 2006). For example, if one of our partners deemed that it would be unsafe to go to an area such as Vanuatu, then the chances of picking that place as a holiday destination would significantly be reduced.

2.5 Purchase

If the evaluation of a product leads to our personal needs being met and is compatible; whether to spend or save, from which agent to purchase, “best brand or alternative” (Mowen JC & Minor M, 1998). At the end of the process portion of the EKB model, the consumer identifies the ‘best’ alternative, which in this case is to travel with STA Travel. We found that we all previously had great experiences with STA Travel, although their price was a little more expensive they offered us flexibility and security with Agencies located all over the globe. Identifying the best alternative will vary from each individual due to environmental influences and individual differences. The EKB model is insightful in identifying as many possible aspects and influences that will influence the consumer’s purchase decision.

Variables that influence the decision process include environmental factors such as culture, social class, personal influences, family and situation. These factors vary depending on the consumer and hence identify why marketers need to provide various alternatives. For example culture refers to beliefs, values and customs that serve to direct consumer behaviour of members of a particular society (Schiffman et al, 2001 p. 374). Thereby culture is a particular variable that determines how a consumer makes a purchase decision. In this situation the notion of family was a major influence on joining STA travel. As mentioned there were concerns regarding the price but due to the endorsement of the family they had a major influence on the purchase process.

It is not only environmental factors but also individual differences that determine the ‘best’ alternative for each consumer. Individual differences include consumer resources, motivation and involvement, knowledge, attitudes, personality, lifestyle and demographics. As the purpose of this proposal is to identify a high involvement purchase, there can be a safe assumption that when making a purchase, the consumer has used a number of resources, they have been motivated, highly involved and extensive knowledge on all the alternatives.

The EKB model provides an extensive insight on the major influences and processes that lead to the eventual purchase of the best alternative. Purchasing is the final step in completing the transaction. Transactions can be made online, through credit, cash etc. We decided to purchase our tickets from STA Travel instead of the internet, this was due to only a $250 deposit being required. Whereas on the internet a full payment was required immediately. We felt that the human interaction we had with the travel agent gave us assurance and clarity on what we were paying for. Whereas over the internet it was not clear what you were receiving, and there was no one to ask questions to. Other services such as airport transfer, International Student Identity Card, Travel Insurance and also personal recommendations were also provided to us. The main advantage was that we were able to pay off our ticket in the lead up of the holiday.

Though the actual purchase may not be an extensive process the high involvement nature of choosing a holiday package ensures that prior to purchase there has been a great deal of effort placed in identifying the best alternative.

2.6 Post-purchase

Post purchase covers such areas including post-purchase evaluation, loyalty, product non-use and dissonance. Due to the nature of this purchase, the focus is on post purchase evaluation, loyalty and product dissonance.

Product dissonance is the “doubt or anxiety about the correctness of one’s decision after a purchase has been made” (Neal et al, 2004), which have resulted from positive/negative effects leading to satisfaction or dissatisfaction. The more important a decision is, the higher the chance of product dissonance. In relation to this assignment, product dissonance is at a higher probability because a holiday is considered to be an important decision. The nature of this purchase can invoke different levels of dissonance from various factors involved in this purchase. For example, doubts in enjoying the holiday destination or anxiety concerning the travel arrangements. As a high involvement purchase the doubts or anxiety experienced in purchasing travel arrangements will be of great magnitude.

Further, this alternative was chosen because it’s positive attributes outweighed those presented in the other options that were considered in the purchase process. Thereby, choosing the particular package there is a high level of expectation of the purchase. The perceived performance may be higher or lower than the expected result, which leads to either different levels of satisfaction from the consumer. Satisfaction relates to the perceived expectation and the actual performance. (Schiffman: 2005, p. 491)

As the holiday was a high involvement purchase the level of post-purchase analysis will also be high. In this situation if the holiday was enjoyable and the travel arrangements were convenient, then the likelihood of the consumer using STA travel and perhaps recommending the company to other consumers will increase. Similarly, if the experience was not enjoyable, then perhaps the decision-making process may begin again in the search for more suitable experiences.

In this situation there is an identification of the post purchase evaluation in regards to the holiday. For example the consumer may have had a better than expected holiday. Initially, there may have been concerns regarding the price. There may also have been a learning process whereby during the holiday there may be locations and cultural experiences that were unexpected.

Moreover, there can be an identification of how consumers behave if they are not satisfied with their purchase. A consumer can act in a certain way that can include never purchasing the product again, complaining to the marketer and perhaps even take public or legal action. (Schiffman et al, 2001 pg 492) An unfavourable experience would usually lead to us being less loyal and experience cognitive dissonance (Hoffman KD & Bateson JEG, 2002) and prompt us to purchase from other travel agents or chose a difference destination in the future (Bank Malaysia 2005). Revisiting an external search would initiate more investigation using information retained in memory.

Many texts believe that a low involvement purchase will not create this effect. The choice of travel agent as STA was seen to be a low involvement process due to loyalty towards this travel agency, but every experience with this travel agency will not be generic. It will differ every time. That is why the argument of low involvement purchases can also lead to post purchase dissonance. STA Travel provided a comprehensive, one-on-one service which was terrific at reassuring us of our purchase decision by calling us, organising our travelling kits, planning around our schedules. This therefore eased the way for a repeat purchase from them or at least to spread positive messages of their service to others.

Whilst purchasing a complex good/service many thoughts and procedures are undertaken, and in order to analyse this choice an appropriate consumer decision model is required for it to develop and prosper. The consumer decision models provide conceptual frames of reference that logically indicate the interrelationship of variables for research purposes and also aim to give an understanding of what happens as variables and circumstances change (Erasmus et al, 2001). The utilisation of EKB’s consumer decision making model has allowed me to become more perceptive when undertaking a complex purchase.

3 Conclusion and Recommendations

The EKB model provides an extensive insight on the major influences and processes that lead to the eventual purchase of the best alternative. The model is also insightful in identifying not only the entire decision-making process, but variables affecting individual consumers as well. Yet the limitation of the EKB model and in general any model determining the decision-making process, fails to properly account for the external and internal environment. For example: changes in economic conditions or the level of household income. Furthermore, the model cannot identify the impact that technology has in making purchase decisions as well as globalisation and the impact of new marketing tools.

Whilst purchasing a complex good/service, many thoughts and procedures are undertaken, and in order to analyse this choice, an appropriate consumer decision model is required for it to develop and prosper. The consumer decision models provide conceptual frames of reference that logically indicate the interrelationship of variables for research purposes and also aim to give an understanding of what happens as variables and circumstances change (Erasmus et al, 2001). The utilisation of EKB’s consumer decision-making model has allowed us to become more perceptive when undertaking a complex purchase.

Free flow between stages within the model also should be implemented, in order to ensure a realistic viewpoint of this process. As much as all researchers and publishers like to have a sound & systematic model, this is unfortunately not reality. We believe that our model failed to realise the situational influences which we found to play a major role in our decision making process, in regards to both the travel agent chosen and the airline choice.

The role of the marketer was a major influence, in our final selection of where to purchase the holiday from. However, one aspect of improvements to the marketer’s role could be the improvement of payment options, especially online. At the moment, payments made over the internet must be the full amount, which can be a strain for customers experiencing financial difficulties (STA Travel, 2006). An improvement to this system could be that a deposit is paid firstly, with a policy that allows for regular instalments to be paid later on. This alteration could not only increase usage of the online payment system but also appeal to potential customers who can’t afford the full payment upfront but would still like to purchase a holiday via STA Travel.

4 References

Texts:

Creative Holidays 2006, ‘Flying to the south pacific: Choose from 5 leading airlines’, South Pacific: Vanuatu New Caledonia Tahiti, Summer, p.4.

Evans MJ, Moutinho L & Van Raaij WF 1996, Applied consumer behaviour, Addison-Wesley Publishing, London

Hoffman KD & Bateson JEG 2002, Essentials of Services Marketing, Dryden Press, Florida

Kotler P, Adam S, Brown L & Armstrong G 2006, Principles of Marketing, 3rd Edition, Prentice Hall, New South Wales.

Mowen JC & Minor M 1998, Consumer Behaviour, 5th Edition, Prentice Hall, New Jersey.

Neal C, Quester P & Hawkins D 2004, Consumer Behaviour: Implications for Marketing Strategy, 4th Edition, McGraw Hill, New South Wales

Poulos M 2001, Buyer Behaviour: Implications for Marketing, Prentice Hall, New South Wales

Quester, PG, McGuiggan, RL, Perreault, WD & McCarthy, EJ 2004, Marketing: Creating and Delivering Value, 4th Edition, McGraw Hill Australia, New South Wales

Schiffman L, Bednall D, Cowley E, O’Cass A, Watson J & Kanuk L 2001, Consumer Behaviour, Prentice Hall, New South Wales

Sheth, JN & Mittal, B 2004, Customer Behavior: A Managerial Perspective, 2nd Edition, Thomson Learning, Ohio.

Webpages:

Bank Malaysia 2005, “Marketing of Financial Services”, viewed 11th March 2006,

http://www.ibbm.org.my/publications/q&a/apr%202005/DP10QA0405.pdf

Erasmus AC, Boshoff E & Rousseau GG 2001, “Consumer decision-making models within the discipline of consumer science”, viewed 11th March 2006,

http://www.up.ac.za/academic/acadorgs/saafecs/vol29/erasmus.pdf

Furukawa R, Kato H & Yamada M 2001, “Review of Marketing Science

Working Papers”, viewed 9th March 2006,

http://www.bepress.com/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1018&context=roms

Qantas Airlines 2006, “Frequent Flyer”, viewed 27th April 2006,

http://www.qantas.com.au/fflyer/dyn/partners/airline

STA Travel 2006, “International Student Identity Card”, viewed 27th April 2006,

http://www.statravel.com.au/cps/rde/xchg/au_division_web_live/hs.xsl/isic_card.htm

Travel Insurance STA 2006, “Travel Insurance”, viewed 27th April 2006,

http://www.statravel.com.au/cps/rde/xchg/au_division_web_live/hs.xsl/travel_insurance.htm