Treść książki

Przejdź do opcji czytnikaPrzejdź do nawigacjiPrzejdź do informacjiPrzejdź do stopki
INTRODUCTION
Todaycompaniesruntheirbusinessinanenvironmentcharacterizedbyunprec-
edentedchangesandunstableregulations.Attheonsetofthe21
stcenturywecan
noticenewcorporatechallengesandthreatsappearingatanacceleratingpace.So-
cial,economicandpoliticalchangeshavesignificantimpactonconsumption
processes,asreflectedinnewconsumertrendscharacterizedbynewdevelopments
inthesystemofvalues,expectations,preferencesandgrowthofbothshopper
awarenessaswellastheirpurchasingpower.Thisisaccompaniedbychangesin
conditionsoffulfillingneedsandinterests,activityareasandlifestyles.
Theaboveprocesseshavesignificantinfluenceonmarketingstrategiesandac-
tivitiesofcontemporarycompanies-especiallycustomercommunicationmethods
-andwaysofoperations.Earlierstrategiesneedtobemodifiedandmanagersneed
toswitchtoanewwaysofthinkingandacting,whereanimportantroleisplayed
byknowledgebasedeconomyandmodernelectronicmedia.
Oneofthekeyproblemscurrentcompaniesarefacingisthequestionhowtomar-
ryrequirementsoftheeconomyofscaleandoperationaleffectivenesswithunique,
stronglyindividualizedandeverchangingcustomerandtradepartnerneeds.C.K.
PrahaladandV.Ramaswamystressthatanewparadigmofcreatingvalueforthe
consumeriscreated.Toanincreasingextentconsumersareinvolvedinproduction
processesandco-createproductuniquevalue,addingtothecreationofcompetitive
advantageonthecurrent,demandingmarket.Accordingtothisnewparadigm,both
thecompanyandtheconsumerco-createvalueattouchpoitns[47,p.8].
Fortworeasonstheauthordecidedtochooseyoungconsumersasthesubjectof
research.Firstly,youngpeopleareapowerfulandgrowingmarketsegmentwith
highpurchasingpower,thereforetheirprospectiveroleissignificant.Thesignific-
anceofthismarketshouldbeviewed,however,notonlyfromtheperspectiveof
representedpurchasingpower,butalsoinotherdimensions,largelyquantitative
nature.Youngpeoplearedemandingconsumers,butopentonovelty,changing
fashionsandtrends;theyareattentivemarketwatchersandapproachinnovative
productsandserviceswithinterest.Youngconsumersnotonlycreateideasfornew
productsandservices,butalsoexertaneverincreasingimpactonfamilyconsump-
tionandpurchasedecisions.Thus,formanycompaniesthismarketisextremely
attractive,albeitdifficulttolearnandsegment,duetodynamicallychangingatti-
tudesandexistingdifferencesinsocio-economicanddemographicprofiles.
Secondly,youngconsumermarketanalyses,especiallytheonesmadeinPoland
andcountriestransformingtheireconomies,areataninitialandpioneerphase.The
potentialofthissegmentisseeminglyunnoticedbyscientistsspecializingincon-
sumerbehaviorissues.InPolandthereisagaptobefilledwithscientificpublica-