Abstract
This study was carried out to determine the marketing variables influencing the
purchase of plastic building products by real estate developers in Bayelsa State.
Six research questions were developed and answered while three research hypotheses were also formulated and tested in line with the research questions. The study employed survey research design. The population for the study was
1997 Engineers, Architects and Surveyors from east, west and central senatorial zones of Bayelsa State. Proportionate random sampling technique was used to select 399 respondents that constitute the sample for the study. A 71-item structured questionnaire was developed as instrument for data collection. The questionnaire was face validated by three experts; two from Department of Vocational Teacher Education, University of Nigeria Nsukkka and one from Department of Vocational Industrial Education, Niger Delta University, Wilberforce Island, Bayelsa State. The reliability of the instrument was achieved using split half technique and Cronbach Alpha method in which on the average, the reliability coefficient for the six clusters was computed as 0.83. The questionnaire was administered by the researcher with the help of three research assistants across the three senatorial zones in Bayelsa State. All the 399 questionnaire administered were retrieved representing 100% retrieval. Frequency count, percentages and Mean were used in answering the research questions while the null hypotheses were tested using analysis of variance (ANOVA) at P ≤ 0.05 level of significance. It was found out from the study that the purchase of plastic building products by real estate developers in Bayelsa state were influenced by marketing variables such as quality of the products, durability of the products relative to other close substitutes, affordable price of the products, constant availability of the products in the market, advertising and marketing promotion through relevant media and branding of plastic building products. The findings of this study on the null hypotheses tested showed that there was no significant difference in the mean ratings of the three groups of respondents on the influence of quality, durability and price on the purchase of plastic building products by real estate developers in Bayelsa State. Based on the findings of this study, it was recommended that: the adoption and utilization of marketing variables should be ensured by manufacturers in the manufacturing sub-sector of the Nigerian economy in order to always enjoy competitive advantage against counterfeit and sub-standard products in the market and that stakeholders in quality and standard regulations should be strengthened and protected with appropriate law in order to operate freely within the manufacturing sub-sector of the Nigerian economy to bring quality back to the system.
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CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
Marketing is a common phenomenon, but it is a very complex and elusive subject matter. It means different things to different people, and affects everyone. Kotler and Keller (2006) defined marketing as getting the right goods and services to the right people at the right place, right time, right price, with the right communication and promotion. Globally, marketing is considered from a broad-based context as a total system of interacting business activities designed to plan, price, promote and distribute want-satisfying products and services to present and potential customers (Osuala,1998). The demand for want-satisfying plastic building products in Bayelsa State has enhanced development in the area of construction of buildings, roads and infrastructure with substantial improvement in people’s living standard and environmental awareness.
Osuala (2005) defined a variable as a quantity that may assume any one of a set of values; a quantity or property that varies. According to Ekerete (2003) marketing variables are those activities and events that enhance a change and can adapt to other conditions. The marketing variables include price, quality, durability, availability, advertising, sales promotion,
publicity, packaging, distribution and branding in influencing the purchase of plastic building products.
In the opinion of Waldron (1998) a plastic building product is the general common term for a wide range of synthetic or semi synthetic organic amorphous solid materials used in the manufacture of industrial products. Plastic building products are made out of chemical substances that can be formed into shapes when heated or made into thin threads and used to make various artificial fabrics (White, 2009). Plastic building products are fabricated with polycarbonates and possess certain basic features as durability and beautification. These plastic building products are easily fabricated, with less stress and are ideal for making porches, car pot, and extensions. Plastic building products are diverse in nature and used for several purposes in buildings with distinct characteristics ranging from resistant to chemicals and are both thermal and electrical insulators. Plastic building products are generally light in weight with varying degrees of strength. Modern fascia boards, ceilings, and water pipes come in plastics with several brands such as Golden Polyvinylchloride (PVC’s) and Amola Polyvinylchloride (PVC’s) which are used in the building construction. Plastic building products require no pre-drilling and can be fitted using
conventional joinery tools. Plastic building products do not warp, split or rot and are used by real estate developers for building purposes (Robert, 2006).
Real estate according to Robert (2006) refers to land and the improvements made by human efforts such as buildings, machinery, and the acquisition of various property rights, and the like. Similarly, Thomas (1996) described real estate as a piece of land, including the air above it and the ground below it, and any building or structure on it. The author further added that it includes business and residential property and are generally sold either by a realtor or directly by the individual who owns the property. Stoebuck and Dale (2002) maintained that real estate is the land and fixtures together, as distinguished from real property referring to ownership of land and appurtenances, including anything of a permanent nature such as structures, trees, minerals and the interest, benefits and inherent rights thereof. The real estate business is, however, made up of highly qualified and experienced graduates from different fields of study which cuts across Architecture, Engineering, and Surveying (Obiegbu, 2003). The Architects design and draw building plans; while the Electrical Engineers are responsible for electrical installations like lighting and fittings. In addition the real estate developers include Land Surveyors, who survey the land and determine its boundaries and dimensions. Quantity Surveyors are
responsible for the determination of estimates and total cost of materials and quantities to be used. The Structural Engineers also known as Civil Engineers are responsible for reinforcement works and determine the material strength to be used. The Mechanical Engineers are responsible for efficient plumbing system, and general piping.
Real estate developers also possess professional and specialized trainings by enrolling in professional bodies such as Council for Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN) and the Nigeria Institution of Surveyors (NIS) that enhance their effectiveness and distinguish them from ordinary artisans. The real estate industry in Bayelsa State has a good blend of rural and urban developers. The rural developers are those staying outside the capital city while the urban developers are those residing in the capital city of the State. The State also has foreign-based and indigenous developers. Foreign developers are those from outside the State either Nigerians or expatriates while indigenous developers are those from Bayelsa State. In addition, are the male and female real estate developers. Some of the developers in the State belong to Professional bodies such as COREN and National Institute of Building (NIOB), whereas the non professionals do not belong to these bodies. According to Obiegbu (2003) greater demands are made upon the real estate building process to improve standards of
performance, not only in terms of time, cost, project organization, procurement, management and quality of a product.
Quality is an indispensable variable in the world of marketing. Quality refers to a state of excellence, class, value, worth, and superiority placed on a product (Brewster, 2004). Similarly, Kotler and Keller (2006) defined quality as a collection of features and characteristics of a product that contribute to its ability to meet given requirements. Home owners and prospective buyers in Bayelsa State place premium on plastic building products because they are durable and thus perform well. Though Bayelsa State is a relatively young State, the rate at which buildings and infrastructural works are springing up make real estate developers prefer to use quality building plastic products because they do not rot and get rusty easily. Kotler and Keller (2006) defined durability as a measure of the product’s expected operating life under natural or stressful conditions. The authors argued that buyers will generally pay more for products that have a reputation for being-long lasting such as plastic products. In Bayelsa State, real estate developers have high regard for durable and superior plastic products considering the acidic and salty environment in which the State is located. These plastic building products are able to withstand acidic and salty soil without easily decaying and account for easy purchase.
Purchase is an act of exchange of money or a promise to pay for ownership or use of a good or service, Inyanga (1998). Kotler and Keller (2006) described purchasing as the art of placing or buying a product. The authors maintained that it is also a location where the buyer and seller are both present dialoging on a suitable price. A Product on the other hand refers to anything that can be offered to a market for attention, acquisition, use or consumption that might satisfy a want or need. It includes physical objects, services, persons, places, ideas, events, and organization, Polyvinylchloride (PVC) pipes, PVC cladding and PVC fascia boards are examples of plastic building products (Kotler, 2002).
Product availability is an important consideration in the purchase of many products. Availability is becoming an increasingly important issue for consumers seeking out convenient product solution (Ekerete, 2003). Similarly, Inyanga (1998) stated that manufacturers and retailers lose out to store and brand- switching as consumers of other products substitute these products which are sometimes unavailable or difficult to find. Kotler and Keller (2006) observed that shoppers are the most likely to substitute stores if a product is out of stock, with over one in two claiming it as a response to availability issue. The authors added that consumers dislike visiting multiple stores to complete their purchase but are increasingly relying on factors that
make purchase easier and quicker. Plastic building products seem to be available, easily fabricated and consumers use them for building purposes. In Bayelsa State, plastic building products’ availability is made possible through advertising which helps to create awareness and thus help real estate developers find the products of their choice and are willing to pay any price in their procurement.
Price is perhaps the most important reason why buyers regularly patronize a particular product or a store. Traditionally, price is seen as the major determinant to buyers’ choice (Kotler and Keller 2006). Price in ordinary usage is the quantity of payment or compensation for something. However, economists see price as an exchange ratio between goods that are exchanged for each other (Kotler, 2000). However, real estate developers are willing to pay any amount on durable and quality plastic building products in order to obtain maximum satisfaction. The price of plastic building products in Bayelsa State is relatively the same as what obtains elsewhere and is affordable and made accessible through advertising activities to real estate developers.
Advertising has been variously defined by writers and experts. Osuala (1998) and Kotler and Keller (2006) defined advertising as any form of non- personal presentation and promotion of ideas, goods, or services by an
identified sponsor which can be undertaken by the use of any of the following media: magazine, newspaper, radio, television, billboards, and internet. Advertisers have adopted several promotional activities in enhancing sales of plastic products. Advertising influences intended target market and provides services because it gives information about products and the job of selling (Osuala, 1998). Influence on the other hand refers to the power to affect somebody’s attention, action, character or belief (Jonathan, 1995). It means convincing others that a suggestion will benefit them. For example, a marketer advertising a particular plastic product seeks to influence viewers and readers to accept a particular brand of plastic product.
Perhaps the most distinctive skill of professional marketers is the ability to create, maintain, protect and enhance brands. The American Marketing Association (2005) defined branding as the process of giving a name, term, sign, symbol or design, or a combination of them, intended to identify the goods and services of one seller or group of sellers and differentiate them from those of competitors. Similarly, Osuala (1998) defined branding as the practice of identifying a product or line of products by a special name or symbol. Osuala posited further that since brand is a name or symbol used to identify a product, brands play a significant role in
marketing and help to create a product’s image. Many plastic brands are used by real estate developers and they include Golden Polyvinylchloride (PVC), Amola PVC, Blue PVC, Easymeg PVC, Ansteve PVC, and Viaeny PVC. Polyvinylchloride (PVC) is a strong plastic material used for a variety of products, such as clothing, pipes, and floor coverage (White, 2009). These brands make plastic building products a household name as far as buildings are concerned everywhere in Nigeria particularly in Bayelsa State. Branding plastic building products has helped to ease customers’ shopping habit in the State and thus helped real estate developers to differentiate superior plastic building products from other inferior products.
Statement of the Problem
Bayelsa State is a relatively young State located along the coastal line of south- south region of Nigeria with an attendant harsh weather as well as acidic soil formation. These weather and soil conditions destroy substandard and inferior building materials, which makes it imperative to popularize plastic building products that have reputation for lasting long. The State is witnessing an unprecedented infrastructural works and numerous building constructions, which as a result led to the influx of people to the State thereby stimulating high demand for plastic building products used for building purposes. This high demand has also resulted in the increased cost
of plastic building products in the State which makes it difficult for prospective home buyers to own and rent houses and has also resulted in the occasional scarcity and unavailability of plastic building products.
Marketing variables that influence purchase in the opinion of Inyanga (1998) are qualities real estate developers and sellers expect from a given plastic building product. According to Inyanga, many real estate developers flood the real estate market in search for quality and durable plastic building products. However, many counterfeit and inferior plastic building materials have been introduced in the market resulting in their breakages, leakages and outright damage of these plastic building materials which makes home owners and real estate developers to spend more money in replacing these substandard plastic building materials used. In the bid of manufacturers to market their plastic products, they adopt aggressive advertising activities in order to create awareness. However, most of these activities produce negative impression on the choice of plastic building products by real estate developers. Some of the branded plastic building products have not only helped to ease the real estate developers’ shopping habits in Bayelsa State but have also helped them to identify the many similar brands in the market. According to Osuala (1998), manufacturers that market branded products normally make much use of advertising to promote their products. This
advertising activity causes the price of the product to rise. The rise in the cost of advertising eventually leads to a rise in the product and occasionally substitution of the product. A marketing variable, therefore, which influences the purchase or sale of any product, tends to have both positive and negative side.
Purpose of the Study
The major purpose of this study was to determine the marketing variables which influence the purchase of plastic building products by real estate developers in Bayelsa State. Specifically, the study determined the influence of:
1. quality on the purchase of plastic building products by real estate developers in Bayelsa State.
2. durability on the purchase of plastic building products by real estate developers in Bayelsa State.
3. price on the purchase of plastic building products by real estate developers in Bayelsa State.
4. availability on the purchase of plastic building products by real estate developers in Bayelsa State.
5. advertising on the purchase of plastic building products by real estate developers in Bayelsa State.
6. branding on the purchase of plastic building products by real estate developers in Bayelsa State.
Significance of the Study
The findings of this study would have a direct benefit to business education students and graduates by highlighting important marketing variables needed for plastic business success. It would also be of great benefit to advertisers and marketers of plastic building products by appreciating the importance of advertising in boosting the sale of plastic building products. The findings would also be beneficial to real estate developers because it would help them differentiate the various brands of plastic building products. The findings of the study would be of immense benefit to the real estate developers in selecting plastic building products for their buildings.
The findings of the study would be useful to ministries of commerce, lands and housing and works and infrastructure in Bayelsa State in regulating building codes which will form the basis for proper adherence to plastic materials. It would further be useful to manufacturers of plastic
products. It would help manufacturers of plastic building products in pricing and branding in order to compete favorably with competitors.
The findings of the study would also be of great benefit to curriculum planners by providing relevant information for curriculum review and update to meet societal needs. Finally, the findings would also provide useful resource materials to business organizations, university libraries and other researchers.
Research Questions
The following research questions were answered in this study: What is the extent of influence of:
1. Quality on the purchase of plastic building products by real estate developers in Bayelsa State?
2. Durability on the purchase of plastic building products by real estate developers in Bayelsa State?
3. Price on the purchase of plastic building products by real estate developers in Bayelsa State?
4. Availability on the purchase of plastic building products by real estate developers in Bayelsa State?
5. Advertising on the purchase of plastic building products by real estate developers in Bayelsa State?
6. Branding on the purchase of plastic building products by real estate developers in Bayelsa State?
Hypotheses
The following Null hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance:
Ho1: There are no significant differences in the Mean responses of male and female real estate Architects, Quantity and Land Surveyors on the extent of influence of quality in their purchase of plastic building products in Bayelsa State.
Ho2: There are no significant differences in the Mean responses of Rural and Urban real estate Structural, Mechanical and Electrical Engineers on the extent of influence of durability in their purchase of plastic building products in Bayelsa State.
Ho3: There are no significant differences in the Mean responses of Foreign based and Indigenous real estate Architects, Land and Quantity Surveyors on the extent of influence of price in their purchase of plastic building products in Bayelsa State.
Delimitation of the Study
This study is delimited to the marketing variables that influence the purchase of plastic building products by real estate developers in Bayelsa State. The study covered six of the marketing variables which are quality, durability, price, availability, advertising and branding. No attempt was made to include all the marketing variables. The study was further delimited to professional real estate developers.
This material content is developed to serve as a GUIDE for students to conduct academic research
MARKETING VARIABLES INFLUENCING THE PURCHASE OF PLASTIC BUILDING PRODUCTS BY REAL ESTATE DEVELOPERS IN BAYELSA STATE.
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