MKT366 Specimen Exam Paper Solutions PDF

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MKTMKTSpecimen Examination PaperSustainability Marketing Time allowed: 2 hours SolutionsMKTQuestion 1(a) Examine the socio-ecological issues that APB Singapore addressed through its sustainability initiatives. (15 marks) From the macro perspective, APB mitigated the environmental impact of its brewe...

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MKT366 Specimen Examination Paper

Sustainability Marketing ___________________________________________________________________________________

Time allowed: 2.5 hours ___________________________________________________________________________________

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MKT366 Copyright © 2021 Singapore University of Social Sciences

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Question 1 (a)

(b)

Examine the socio-ecological issues that APB Singapore addressed through its sustainability initiatives. (15 marks) •

From the macro perspective, APB mitigated the environmental impact of its brewery activities. The natural environment functions in two ways: 1) providing both renewable (e.g., air, water) and non-renewable resources (e.g., coal, metals, oil, and gas); and 2) serving as a sink for disposals (e.g., chemical waste, air pollution).

•

APB minimised consumption of renewable resources by water conservation. It also avoided waste disposal through its commitment to lowered carbon emissions and waste reduction.

•

From the micro perspective, APB implemented measures for water conservation and energy savings in the manufacturing process. It also conducted collection of reusable bottles after use in the disposal stage of the product life cycle.

Compare the possible consumer responses to the sustainable brewing of APB Singapore from the rational and the psychological perspectives. (10 marks) 1.

From the rational perspective, consumer behaviour is modelled based on the notion of economic rationality. It assumes that consumers are rational individuals who tend to serve self-interests by maximising benefits and minimizing costs. A rational consumer will choose a behavioural alternative that could offer the highest perceived net benefits, which are computed by the formula below: Perceived Net Benefits = Perceived Benefits – Perceived Costs. The perceived benefits may be economical or non-economical. Customers may find it rewarding to purchase from a sustainable retailer like APB. Perceived costs may be inconvenience arising from the need to collect and return reusable glass bottles. The final choice of behaviour (e.g., whether to buy APB products) depends on the trade off between perceived benefits and perceived costs.

2.

From the psychological perspective, not all individuals are rational and individuals do not always behave in a rational manner. Psychological factors, such as attitudes, beliefs, values, lifestyles, are important determinants of consumer behaviour. Customers may shape their responses to the initiatives of APB based psychological factors. Their resultant response behaviour may depend on their answers tothe following questions: a. Is environmental protection important to me? Or prices and convenience are more important?

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b. c. d. e.

f.

(c)

Do I believe what APB does could achieve sustainability? What does buying from a sustainability beer retailer like APB mean for me? Do I share some responsibility in power savings, recycling resources and water preservation in beer consumption? Can I make a difference in enhancing the use of solar energy, water preservation and recycling of materials by purchasing from APB? How do I see myself as a sustainability consumer of beer? Do I really care whether the values of beer sellers like APB are consistent with mine?

Appraise three (3) factors determining consumers’ decisions to buy from a sustainable brewery like the APB Singapore. (15 marks) Students may discuss any three of the following factors. 1.

Geographical factors: International differences, such as economic growth, diet, culture, climate and political systems lead to different views and priorities about sustainability. Students should discuss the sustainability culture in Singapore and how it affects customers’ purchase decisions of APB products.

2.

Purchase factors: The sustainable purchase perception matrix depicts four different sustainable purchases scenarios, depending on the degree of compromise and the degree of confidence. The degree of compromise refers to the additional costs that a customer is willing to bear in exchange for purchasing a sustainable beer. For example, a customer may need to pay a premium price for beer sellers like APB that engage in sustainability initiatives. The degree of confidence reflects the strength of belief that a customer holds about how a purchase of beer from APB could genuinely achieve sustainability. Four purchase scenarios may occur: • Win-win purchases: High degree of confidence; low degree of compromise. • Why not? Purchases: Low degree of confidence; low degree of compromise. • Feel-good purchases: High degree of confidence; high degree of compromise. • Why bother? Purchases: Low degree of confidence; high degree of compromise.

3.

Situational factors: Students are expected to discuss how purchase decisions of APB beer could be affected by various situational factors, such as weather, traffic conditions, availability of time etc.

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4.

Lifestyle factors: The lifestyle of consumers affects their sustainable beer consumption pattern. For example, some consumers may prefer fine wine despite they approve the sustainability values and initiatives of APB.

5.

Macro factors: The macro environment where the consumer behaviour takes place will also impact the behavioural pattern due to differences in: • The legal and regulatory context: different laws and regulations of marketing. It affects whether and how APB can communicate their sustainability values to their customers. • Business practices and norms of beer retailers in Singapore. This would affect the acceptance of APB’s sustainability initiatives by beer customers. • Social and cultural differences in the perception of beer consumption.

Question 2 (a)

Analyse five (5) challenges in launching the sustainability innovations in the passage. (15 marks) Students may discuss and elaborate on challenges pertaining to one or more sustainability innovations stated in the passage. The key challenges faced by marketers in launching the sustainability innovations include: 1. Actual demand may fall short of estimated demand. Customers may be interested in the smog free ring but may not make an actual purchase. 2. New products like the solar balloons with high risks may be challenging to obtain finance from investors. 3. Customer education is required on the use of new technologies like the smog free rings and for facilitating behavioural change in wearing sustainability accessories. Market share, publicity and brand awareness of the smog free rings must be established in order to set up market entry barriers for competitors. First-time-tomarket advantage of the smog free rings could not be sustained over time. Continuous improvement must be carried out to sustain the innovativeness of the product to the market, such as by offering more varieties of designs of the rings.

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(b)

(c)

Examine two (2) tools for auditing the external environment and discuss their advantages and disadvantages. (15 marks) 1.

SWOT analysis a. Matching internal factors of strengths and weaknesses with external factors of opportunities and threats. It enables strategic sustainability planning and marketing planning. b. Does not account for changes of SWOTs over time and does not provide solutions to deal with threats identified.

2.

TOWS analysis a. TOWS refers to threats, opportunities, weaknesses and strengths. b. It is a variant of SWOT analysis and it addresses the limitations of SWOT analysis, which does not portrait the interrelationships among SWOT factors. c. Different strategies should be implemented depending on the matching of the TOWS factors, including i. Strategies that draw on strengths to utilise opportunities (SO). ii. Strategies that draw on strengths to avoid threats (ST). iii. Strategies that minimises weaknesses through making use of opportunities (WO). iv. Strategies that minimises weaknesses and threats (WT).

Discuss three (3) examples of information required to conduct the external environmental audit. (10 marks) • •

Students are expected to suggest examples of information required for the external environmental audit based on any of the innovations discussed in the case. The information should be related to the external environment rather than the internal resources of the marketers of the innovations. For example, the building regulations in Singapore and property prices of commercial buildings may give rise to opportunities or threats to the GBI innovation.

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Question 3 (a)

Critique the sustainability product strategy of BreadTalk with a focus on its product packaging and corresponding impact on consumer convenience. (10 marks) Students are expected to critique the product packaging of Breadtalk in terms of • Whether the use of biodegradable materials can protect the product and help to ensure its quality • Whether the use of biodegradable materials can facilitate transport and storage of products • Whether the use of biodegradable materials can promote products in the store environment by attracting customers’ attention • Whether the use of biodegradable materials can provide useful information such as ingredients, quantity, country of origin, and usage instructions • Whether the use of biodegradable materials can portion the products into various sizes to suit different customer needs • In addition, a product’s packaging also serves to communicate convenience and ease of use to consumers. Hence, the challenge for Breadtalk is to deliver convenience to consumers while reducing the environmental impacts created by packaging.

(b)

Recommend an appropriate pricing approach for the Neo Group for its adoption of biodegradable cornware. (10 marks) Students should consider valued-based and cost-based pricing approaches and their recommendation should be adequately justified. For example: Value-based pricing is a pricing approach that sets price based on the perceived value of products rather than the actual costs of producing and distributing them. In the case of adoption of biodegradable cornware by the Neo Group, these utensils may not likely to be perceived by customers as value-added. Hence value-based pricing may not be appropriate. Cost-based pricing considers the social and ecological costs incurred by the company during production and consumption when setting price. It is recommendable for the Neo Group to reflect the costs of the use of cornware in their pricing. This helps ensure the company will not compromise on their business performance while implementing this sustainability initiative.

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