The owners of new passenger vehicles: Some empirical findings on post-purchase patronage regarding servicing and repairs

Bosho , C.; Du Plessis, P. J. A icle The owne s o new passenge ehicles: Some empi ical indings on pos -pu chase pa onage ega ding se icing and epai s Sou h A ican Jou nal o Business Managemen P o ided in Coope a ion wi h: Uni e si y o S ellenbosch Business School (USB), Bell ille, Sou h A ica Sugges ed Ci a ion: Bosho , C.; Du Plessis, P. J. (1989) : The owne s o new passenge ehicles: Some empi ical indings on pos -pu chase pa onage ega ding se icing and epai s, Sou h A ican Jou nal o Business Managemen , ISSN 2078-5976, A ican Online Scien i ic In o ma ion Sys ems (AOSIS), Cape Town, Vol. 20, Iss. 3, pp. 129-133, h ps://doi.o g/10.4102/sajbm. 20i3.952 This Ve sion is a ailable a : h ps://hdl.handle.ne /10419/218028 S anda d-Nu zungsbedingungen: Die Dokumen e au EconS o dü en zu eigenen wissenscha lichen Zwecken und zum P i a geb auch gespeiche und kopie we den. Sie dü en die Dokumen e nich ü ö en liche ode komme zielle Zwecke e iel äl igen, ö en lich auss ellen, ö en lich zugänglich machen, e eiben ode ande wei ig nu zen. So e n die Ve asse die Dokumen e un e Open-Con en -Lizenzen (insbesonde e CC-Lizenzen) zu Ve ügung ges ell haben soll en, gel en abweichend on diesen Nu zungsbedingungen die in de do genann en Lizenz gewäh en Nu zungs ech e. Te ms o use: Documen s in EconS o may be sa ed and copied o you pe sonal and schola ly pu poses. You a e no o copy documen s o public o comme cial pu poses, o exhibi he documen s publicly, o make hem publicly a ailable on he in e ne , o o dis ibu e o o he wise use he documen s in public. I he documen s ha e been made a ailable unde an Open Con en Licence (especially C ea i e Commons Licences), you may exe cise u he usage igh s as speci ied in he indica ed licence. h ps://c ea i ecommons.o g/licenses/by/4.0/ S.A .J.Bus.Mgm .1989,20(3) 129 The owne s o new passenge ehicles: some empi ical indings on pos -pu chase ·i pa onage ega ding se icing and epai s C.Bosho * Depa men o Business Economics, Vis a Uni e si y, P i a e Bag X613, Po Elizabe h, 6000 Republic o Sou h A ica P.J. du Plessis School o Business Leade ship, Uni e si y o Sou h A ica, P.O. Box 392, P e o ia, 0001 Republic o Sou h A ica Accep ed 6 Feb ua y 1989 Despi e conce n among mo o ehicle manu ac u e s abou he ela ionship be ween hei anchised deale s and new ehicle owne s ega ding se icing/ epai s, e y li le empi ical esea ch has been done o in es iga e he pos -pu chase pe cep ions o new ehicle owne s. Resea ch s udies conduc ed in Ame ica ound ha he expi y o he wa an y on a new mo o ehicle esul ed in a majo shi away om anchised deale s o se icing/ epai s once he wa an y had expi ed and ha he olde he ehicle became, he highe he p obabili y ha i would no be se iced by a anchised deale . In o ma ion ga he ed om a andom sample o new ehicle owne s sugges s ha hese conclusions also hold ue o he Sou h A ican si ua ion, despi e a high ,) 1 deg ee o sa is ac ion exp essed wi h unde -wa an y se icing. _ Nie eens aande komme by mo o e aa dige s oo die e houding ussen hul agen skaphoue s en nuwe- oe uigeienaa s wa he s el- en e sieningsdiens e aan be e , is min empi iese na o sing nog gedoen om die na-aankoop pe sepsies an nuwe- oe uigeienaa s e onde soek. Na o sing wa in Ame ika gedoen is, he be ind da 'n aansienlike aan al nuwe- oe uigeienaa s nie !ange die agen skaphoue onde s eun nie en da hoe oue 'n oe uig is,' hoe mil de is die kanse da 'n agen skaphoue wel e sienings- en he s elwe k aan die oe uig sal doen, Inlig ing bekom an 'n ewekansige s eekp oe nuwe- oe uigeienaa s dui daa op da hie die a leidings ook in die Suid-A ikaanse si uasie geld, nie eens aande 'n hoe ma e an e edenheid me dienslewe ing e wyl die oe uig nog onde waa bo g is. * To whom co espondence should be add essed In oduc ion Au omobile epai se ices is a opic ha has ecei ed a ai amoun o a en ion in ma ke ing esea ch li e a u e. Biehal (1983: 82-91), o ins ance, in es iga ed consume s' p io expe iences and pe cep ions in au o epai choice, whe eas Ma illa & James (1977: 77-79) used mo o epai se ice cus ome s o illus a e a echnique o measu ing a ibu e impo ance and pe o mance in e alua ing he elemen s o a ma ke ing p og amme. In ea lie yea s, Richa dson & Fogg (1970), C andall (1970) and Pashigian (1961) analysed he au omobile epai ma ke in e ms o pa onage and ma ke sha e. They concluded: - ha a high pe cen age o new ehicle owne s shi hei pa onage o so-called independen wo kshops o se icing/ epai s once he wa an y has expi ed, and - ha he olde he ehicle is, he highe he p obabili y ha i will no be se iced/ epai ed by a anchised deale , bu a he by a so-called independen wo kshop1• Howe e , hese s udies ha e been mainly o Ame ican o igin. Sou h A ican esea ch on he opic has been limi ed. The only a en ion i has ecei ed gene ally has been as pa o consume buying beha iou s udies whe e i s impo ance as e alua ion c i e ion in he decision o buy a pa icula passenge ehicle, has been e alua ed (Rousseau, 1977; Du Plessis. 1986). In one o he ew a emp s o s udy mo o epai se ices pe se, a compa ison was made be ween he pe cep ions o he cus ome s o anchised deale s and hose o he cus ome s o independen wo kshops wi h ega d o he a ious elemen s o a epai se ice (Bosho , 1986: 196-201). Despi e he ac ha wo leading Sou h A ican manu ac u e s es ima e he e en ion a e o hei epai se ice cus ome s a e he expi y o he wa an y on new ehicles a below 30% (Bosho , 1986: 196), no esea ch in Sou h A ica has been done o in es iga e he pos -pu chase pe cep ions and pa onage beha iou o he owne s o new passenge ehicles. Objec i es This s udy in es iga ed he ollowing wi h ega d o he owne s o new passenge ehicles: -whe he a anchised deale o he manu ac u e o he ehicle is pa onized o se icing/ epai s while he ehicle is unde wa an y; -whe he owne s o new passenge ehicles a e sa is ied wi h he se ice ecei ed om hese deale s; and - he ex en o which pa onage o se icing/ epai is shi ed away om deale ships o he manu ac u e once he wa an y has expi ed. An a emp was u he made o es ablish whe he he heo y sugges ed (Pashigan, 1961) ha he age o a ehicle has an in e se ela ionship o he p obabili y o se icing/ epai s a a anchised deale , holds ue. The ela ionship be ween sa is ac ion wi h se ice ecei ed 130 om anchised deale s and (i) he model o he ehicle and (ii) he p ice o he ehicle was also in es iga ed. Me hodology Ques ionnai es we e mailed o a s a i ied andom sample o 3 000 owne s o new ehicles. Add ess lis s o consume s who bough a new passenge ehicle du ing 1985 and 1986 om six o he se en mo o ehicle manu ac u e s s ill ac i e in he Sou h A ican mo o ehicle ma ke , se ed as sampling ame. The sample was s a i ied acco ding o he ma ke sha e o each manu ac u e in 986, a e he one manu ac u e who did no wish o pa icipa e was excluded. The ac ual ma ke sha e in 1986, adjus ed ma ke sha e, s a i ied sample size, ac ual numbe o esponses pe manu ac u e , and pe cen age esponse a e pe manu ac u e a e shown in Table 1. These e eal a ela i ely high esponse a e om owne s o Volkswagen p oduc s and a ela i ely low esponse a e om Nissan owne s. Howe e , hese a iances a e no conside ed o be o such a magni ude ha i would ha e a nega i e in luence on he alidi y o esul s ob ained. The demog aphic cha ac e is ics o he esponden g oup is illus a ed in Table 2. These e eal ha 657 usable ques ionnai es we e ecei ed, ep esen ing a esponse a e o 21,9%. The majo i y o esponden s (78,8%) we e male, epo ed on ehicles in he RIO OOO---R19 999 p ice ange (58,8%), and he wa an y o he ehicles o 63,6% o esponden s had expi ed. The age dis ibu ion o esponden s is ai ly e en h oughou he a ious ca ego ies. Resul s I is o en assumed ha owne s o new passenge ehicles comply wi h he s ipula ion o he wa an y ha all se icing/ epai s should be conduc ed by a anchised deale o he manu ac u e . This has no been Table 1 Response a e pe manu ac u e 1986 Responses Ma ke Adjus ed sha e ma ke % o Manu ac u e (%) sha e1 Sample (n) sample Toyo a 26,01 29,76 893 159 24,4 Samco 20,70 23,68 710 130 20,0 Volkswagen 17,38 19,87 596 247 37,9 Me cedes Benz 11,16 Del a 8,00 9,15 275 46 7,1 Nissan 7,82 8,94 268 16 2,5 BMW 7,52 8,60 258 53 8,1 O he 1,41 100,0 100,0 3000 651 2 100,0 1 Me cedes Benz was no p epa ed o pa icipa e in he s udy while manu ac u e s who we e no longe ac i e in he Sou h A ican ma ke we e excluded. 2 Six esponden s did no indica e he manu ac u e o hei ehicle. S.-A . Tydsk .Bcd y sl.1989,20(3) Table 2 Demog aphic cha ac e is ics o esponden g oup Sex Male 518 78,8 Female 137 20,9 No esponse 2 0,3 657 100,0 P ice ange <10 000 23 3,5 10 000 - 19 999 386 58,8 20 00() - 29 999 174 26,5 30 ()(NJ+ 70 10,7 No esponse 4 0,6 657 100,1 Wa an y expi ed Yes 418 63,6 No 239 36,4 657 100,0 Age <20 5 0,8 20- 29 102 15,5 30- 39 177 26,9 40-49 156 23,7 50-59 111 16,9 60+ 105 16,0 No esponse 0,2 657 I 00,0 Table 3 Ins i u ions pa onized while ehicle unde wa an y Ins i u ion Deale ship o manu ac u e Deale ship o compe ing manu ac u e Independen wo kshop Do own se icing/ epai s 'Backya d mechanic' No speci ic deale /ga age No esponse Numbe % o o al 623 94,8 2 0,3 15 2,3 8 1,2 2 0,3 0,2 6 0,9 657 100,0 empi ically es ed in Sou h A ica be o e, bu Table 3 shows ha i is indeed he case. Acco ding o Table 3, 94,8% o esponden s pa onize a anchised deale o he manu ac u e o se icing/ epai s while he ehicle is unde wa an y. The sa is ac ion o consume s who pa onize( d) he anchised deale s o manu ac u e s was also measu ed. Table 4 shows ha 80,6% o hose new ehicle owne s who pa onize( d) anchised deale s while he ehicle is/ was unde wa an y a e/we e sa is ied wi h he se ice ecei ed. Richa dson & Fogg (1970: 216) ound ha in he S.A .J.Bus.Mgm .1989,20(3) Table 4 Sa is ac ion le els o esponden s who pa onize(d) anchised deale s o manu ac u e s Sa is ac ion le el Numbe % o o al Sa is ied 502 80,6 Indi e en 51 8,2 Dissa is ied 67 10,8 No esponse 3 0,5 623 1 100,l 1 Only he sa is ac ion le els o esponden s who pa onize(d) anchised deale s a e epo ed Table 5 Ins i u ion pa onized du ing pe iod one yea a e expi y o wa an y Ins i u ion Numbe % o o al Deale ship o manu ac u e 304 72,7 Deale ship o compe ing manu ac u e 4 1,0 Independen wo kshop 42 10,0 Do own se ices/ epai s 41 9,8 Backya d mechanic 11 2,6 No speci ic deale /ga age 4 1,0 Ha en' decided ye 9 2,2 No esponse 3 0,7 To al 418 100,0 Uni ed S a es o Ame ica a sizeable p opo ion o ca owne s shi hei se ice business o non-deale se ice o ganiza ions once he wa an y pe iod expi es. An a emp was made o es ablish i he same applies o Sou h A ican new ehicle owne s. The esul s appea in Table 5. Table 5 e eals ha 72,7% o he 418 esponden s whose wa an y ha e expi ed s ill use a anchised deale o he manu ac u e du ing he i s yea a e expi y. Compa ed wi h Table 3 i ep esen s a decline o 22,1 % which is signi ican a he 0,05 le el o con idence (see Table 8). To u he in es iga e he pa onage beha iou o he owne s o new passenge ehicles immedia ely a e he Table 6 Ins i u ion o be pa onized a e expi y o wa an y Ins i u ion Numbe % o o al Deale ship o manu ac u e 170 71,1 Deale ship o compe ing ~anu ac u e 2 0,8 Independen wo kshop 29 12,1 Do own se ices/ epai s 22 9,2 Backya d mechanic 4 1,7 No speci ic deale /ga age 2 0,8 Ha en' decided ye 10 4,2 To al 239 100,0 131 expi y o he wa an y, esponden s whose wa an y ha e no ye expi ed, we e asked which ins i u ion hey in end o pa onize a e expi y (Table 6). Table 6 e eals ha 71, 1 % o esponden s in end o pa onize a anchised deale o he manu ac u e a e expi y o wa an y, which seems o con i m he indings e ealed in Table 5. Pashigian (1961: 245-249) ound ha he p obabili y ha a ca will be se iced by a anchised deale dec eases as he age o he ca inc eases. An a emp was made o es ablish i his inding holds ue in he Sou h A ican si ua ion. As he selec ion o a ep esen a i e sample o ehicle owne s whose ehicles we e o a ying ages was impossible, all esponden s we e asked wha hei in en ions ega ding pa onizing would be when he wa an y on he ehicle had expi ed, in he case, i s ly, o ehicles less han i e yea s old and, secondly o ehicles mo e han i e yea s old. Al hough his me hod o in o ma ion ga he ing migh no be comple ely sound scien i ically, s udies whe e u u e pu chasing in ensions we e s udied ha e been epo ed (Wise & Cox, 1980; Humph eys & Kasulis, 1981) and i does gi e some indica ion o consume pe cep ion and possible pa onage beha iou 2. Resul s o esponses a e shown in Table 7. Table 7 shows ha o he 642 esponden s who indica ed ha hey would s ill possess hei ehicles when hey we e less han i e yea s old, 64,8% in end o pa onize a anchise deale du ing his pe iod. Table 7 also e eals ha o he 390 esponden s who hope o s ill possess hei ehicles when hey a e mo e han i e yea s old, only 50,3% indica ed ha hey would pa onize a Table 7 Ins i u ion o be pa onized du ing u u e ime pe iods1 Time pe iod Vehicle< 5 Vehicle 5+ yea s old yea s old Ins i u ions (n) % o (n) (n) % o (n) Deale ship o manu ac u e 416 64,8 196 50,3 Deale ship o compe ing manu ac u e 9 1,4 2 0,5 Independen wo kshop 72 11,2 51 13,1 Do own se icing epai s 70 10,9 51 13,1 Backya d mechanic 19 3,0 15 3,9 No speci ic deale /ga age 8 1,3 ·5 1,3 Ha en' decided ye 26 4,1 49 12,6 O he 2 0,3 1 0,3 No esponse 20 3,1 20 5,1 To al 6422 100,1 3903 100,2 1 All esponden s included, wa an y expi ed and wa an y no expi ed. 2 642 o he 657 esponden s indica ed ha hey will s ill possess he ehicle when i is less han i e yea s old. 3 390 o he 657 esponden s indica ed ha hey will s ill possess he ehicle when i is mo e han i e yea s old. 132 Table 8 Ac ual and in ended pa onage o anchised deale s a a ious ehicle ages Age o ehicle Unde wa an y (Table 3) Fi s yea a e wa an y -ac ual (Table 5) Vehicle < 5 yea s old (Table 7) Vehicle 5+ yea s old (Table 7) • Signi ican a p < 0,05 Pe cen age Di e ence 94,8 22,1• 72,7 7,9 64,8 14,58 50,3 anchised deale o he manu ac u e . Using Tables 3, 5 and 7 as basis, a possible pa e n o ac ual and expec ed (in ended) pa onage o anchised deale s a a ious age ca ego ies has been cons uc ed and is e lec ed in Table 8. Table 8 shows a decline om 94,8% o esponden s who pa onize a anchised deale while hei ehicle is unde wa an y o 50,3% who in end o pa onize a anchised deale o he same manu ac u e when he ehicle is mo e han i e yea s old. The ends de ec ed by Richa dson & Fogg (1970), C andall (1970) and Pashigian (1961), iz. ha wa an y expi y esul s in a majo shi away om anchised deale s o se ice and epai wo k and ha he olde he ehicle becomes he g ea e he p obabili y ha i will no be se iced by a anchised deale , hus seem o hold ue o he Sou h A ican si ua ion. An a emp was made o es ablish whe he he decline (di e ence) be ween he ou ime pe iods was signi ican . As he wo g oups compa ed ( hose who pa onize a anchised deale and hose who do no ) a e ela ed, a conse a i e es o di e ences in p opo ions was conduc ed. Con idence in e als a he 0,05 le el we e calcula ed o bo h p opo ions. As no o e lapping was ound he 22, 1 % decline a e expi y o wa an y (Table 8) and he 14,5% decline be ween he ages less han i e yea s old and mo e han i e yea s, could be desc ibed as signi ican (Table 8). The s udy also in es iga ed he ela ionship be ween sa is ac ion wi h se ice ecei ed while he ehicle was unde wa an y and (i) he model o he ehicle and (ii) he p ice o he ehicle. No ela ionship was ound be ween sa is ac ion wi h se ice and he model o he ehicle owned a he 0,05 le el o con idence (x2 = 6,57; d = 10). The same holds ue ega ding he p ice o he ehicle owned (x 2 = 4,99; d = 6). No mo o manu ac u e hus appea o deli e a supe io epai se ice while newly sold ehicles a e unde wa an y. Summa y o indings The indings o his s udy a e: - he owne s o new passenge ehicles pa onize a anchised deale o he manu ac u e o hei ehicle o se icing/ epai s while he ehicle is unde wa an y; S.-A .Tydsk .Bed y sl.1989,20(3) - he owne s o new passenge ehicles a e gene ally sa is ied wi h he se ice ecei ed om anchised deale s o he manu ac u e while he ehicle is unde wa an y; - a signi ican numbe o new ehicle owne s shi hei pa onage o se icing/ epai s away om a deale ship o he manu ac u e once he wa an y has expi ed; - a dec easing numbe o owne s o new passenge ehicles in end pa onizing a anchised deale o he manu ac u e as he age o he ehicle inc eases; - he e is no ela ionship be ween sa is ac ion wi h he se ice ecei ed while he ehicle is/was unde wa an y and (i) he p ice and (ii) he model o he ehicle. Limi a ions o he s udy A limi a ion o his s udy is ha he esea che s, endea ou ing o in es iga e he pa onage beha iou o new ehicle owne s, equi ed esponden s o p o ide in o ma ion on in ended, u u e beha iou . Al hough s udies ocusing on pu chase in en ions ha e been epo ed (Wise & Cox, 1980; Humph eys & Kasulis, 1981), his app oach may no be scien i ically sound and esul s ob ained mus be in e p e ed in he ligh he eo . Implica ions I is appa en ha a de ini e shi in pa onage wi h ega d o se icing/ epai s occu s as he age o a ehicle inc eases. I has also been es ablished ha he shi is pa icula ly se e e immedia ely a e he expi y o he wa an y. Howe e , i appea s as i he shi is no qui e o he same magni ude as sugges ed by wo leading manu ac u e s (Bosho , 1986: 196). A possible eason may be ha he echnology used in mode n passenge ehicles is o such a na u e ha consume s may inc easingly insis on he mo e specialized se ice only anchised deale s can o e . O pa icula conce n o mo o manu ac u e s should be he con as be ween he high le el o sa is ac ion among esponden s ega ding se icing/ epai s while he ehicle is unde wa an y, wi h he indica ion by almos hal o hose who hope o s ill own he ehicle when i is mo e han i e yea s old, ha hey will no longe be pa onizing a anchised deale a ha s age. Possible easons o his decision wa an a en ion du ing u u e esea ch. No es 1. Th oughou his a icle, pa onage e e s o se icing/ epai s and deale o deale ship o a anchised deale o a mo o ehicle manu ac u e . F anchised deale s a e he only i ms pe mi ed o ma ke new ehicles. 2. In en ions o use a o ney ad e ising ha e been used as a su oga e o ac ual use. The au ho s s a ed ha he cos o ob aining a sample o ac ual use s would be p ohibi i e. See Humph eys & Kasulis, 1981. S.A .J.Bus.Mgm .1989,20(3) Re e ences Bosho , C. 1986. Impo ance-pe o mance analysis: A compa a i e s udy o mo o epai se ice cus ome s. S. A . J. Bus. Mgm ., ol.17, 196-201. Biehal, G.J. 1983. Consume s' p io expe iences and pe cep ions in au o epai choice. J. Ma ke , ol. 40, Summe , 82-91. C andall, R.W. 1970. The decline o he anchised deale in he au omobile epai ma ke . J. Bus., ol. 43, Janua y, 19-30. Du Plessis, P.J. 1986. Ve b uike sged ag by die aankoop an 'n mo o oe uig. Unpublished DBL Disse a ion. P e o ia: Uni e si y o Sou h A ica. Humph eys. M.A. & Kasulis, J.J. 1981. A o ney Ad e ising. J. Ad e . Res., ol. 21(6), Decembe , 31-37. Ma illa, J.A. & James, J.C. 1977. Impo ance-pe o mance analysis. J. Ma ke ., Janua y, 77-79. Pashigan, B.P. 1961. The dis ibu ion o au omobiles: An economic analysis o he anchise sys em. New Yo k: P en ice-Hall. 133 Richa dson. L. & Fogg, D.N. 1970. Se ice pa onage pa e ns and new p oduc wa an ies: A s udy o au omobiles. J. Bus. Res., July, 213-217. Rousseau, G.G. 1977. 'n Bema kingsna o singsonde soek na die koopmo iewe an mo o eienaa s in die Suid-A ikaanse mo o handel. Humani as, RS.A., ol. 4-2. Wise, G.L. & Cox. M.L. 1980. A Long i udinal analysis o new ca pu chase pa e ns and in en ions (1977-1979) as a ec ed by di e ing deg ees o ene gy unce ain y. In: De elopmen s in Ma ke ing Science, ol. III, edi ed by Venka ak ishna, V.B. 1980. P oceedings o he Fou h Annual Con e ence o he Academy o Ma ke ing Science. Dallas. Texas (Ap il 30 - May 3). pp 1-4.