A hot topic in marketing research is the exploration of a technology-based self-service (TBSS) encounter, in which various technologies (e.g., ATMs, online banking, self-scanning at retail stores) allow the customer to perform all or part of the service. Marketing professor Dan Ladik of the University of Suffolk investigated whether there were differences in customer characteristics and customer satisfaction between users of discount coupons distributed through the mail (nontechnology users) and users of coupons distributed via the Internet (TBSS users). A questionnaire measured several qualitative variables (defined in the accompanying table) for each of 440 coupon users. The data are saved in the TBSS.
Variable Name........................Levels (Possible Values)
Coupon User Type...................Male or Female
Gender................................ High School Vo-Tech/college, 4-year College Degree,
or Graduate School
Work Status...........................Full Time, Part Time, Not Working, Retired
Coupon Satisfaction.................Satisfied, Unsatisfied, Indifferent
a. Consider the variable Coupon User Type. Conduct a test (at α = .05 ) to determine whether the proportions of mail-only users, Internet-only users, and users of both media are statistically different. Illustrate the results with a graph.
b. The researcher wants to know whether there are differences in customer characteristics (i.e., Gender, Education, Work Status, and Coupon Satisfaction) among the three types of coupon users. For each characteristic, conduct a contingency table analysis (at α = .05) to determine whether Coupon User Type is related to that characteristic. Illustrate your results with graphs.