Nicosia Model of Family members Behavior 

 was developed in 1966, by Professor

Francesco M. Nicosia, an expert in family members motivation and behavior.  This model
focuses on the relationship between the firm and its potential consumers.  The model suggests
that messages from the firm (advertisements) first influences the predisposition of the family
members towards the hospital or service. Based on the situation, the family members will
have a certain attitude towards the hospital. This may result in a search for the hospital or an
evaluation of the hospital attributes by the consumer.   If the above step satisfies the
consumer, it may result in a positive response, with a decision to buy the hospital otherwise
the reverse may occur.  Looking to the model we will find that the firm and the family
members are connected with each other, the firm tries to influence the family members and
the family members is influencing the firm by his decision.
Problem Recognition:

By gathering information from a number of family members can identify the most frequent

stimuli that spark interest in a hospital category. They can then develop marketing strategies

that triggers family members and lead to the second stage in the buying process. An aroused

customer who recognizes a problem will be inclined to search for more information. We can

distinguish between two levels of arousal.

At the milder search strategy heightened attention, a person simply becomes more receptive

to information about a hospital. At the active information search level, a person surfs the

internet, talks with friends and visits stores to learn more about the hospital.

Family members Sources:

Family, friends, neighbours and acquaintances.

Commercial Sources:

Advertising, web sites, sales persons, dealers, packaging, displays.\

Public Sources:

Mass Media, consumer-rating, organizations.

Experimental Sources:

Handling, examining, using the product.

Stage 3:
Evaluation of Alternatives:

Once the family members conducted an information search, how does he process competitive

brand information and make a final judgment? There are several evaluation processes; the

most current models view the process as being cognitively oriented, meaning that consumers

form judgments largely on a conscious and rational basis.

Purchase Decision:

The first factor is the attitudes of others i.e., family members or friends. The second factor is

unanticipated situational factors, i.e., sudden death or birth in the family, sudden loss of job

etc. Smart marketers study, the factors that provoke a feeling of risk in consumers and then

provide information and support to reduce the perceived risk.

The Nicosia model of family members behavior offers no detail explanation of the internal
factors, which may affect the personality of the family members, and how the family
members develops will develop what attitude toward the product. For example, the family
members may find the hospitals facilities very interesting, but virtually they cannot book the
Hospitals bed because it contains something prohibited according to hospitals policies.
Apparently it is very essential to include such factors in the model, which give more
interpretation about the attributes affecting the decision process.

Nicosia model is a structural model of the purchase decision-making process by an

individual consumer or a whole family.

This model shows the interactive relationship between the company and the consumer. They
arise between them for mutual communication - company communicates with consumers
through promotional activities, while consumers by making purchases.

The author of a model F.M. Nicosia identified three stages that gradually moves the family
membersin process:

 preferences,
 attitudes,
 motivations.

Q2
The Engel Kollat Blackwell Model of Family membersBehavior  was created to describe
the increasing, fast-growing body of knowledge concerning family membersbehavior. This
model, like in other models, has gone through many revisions to improve its descriptive
ability of the basic relationships between components and sub-components.
The Engel Kollat Blackwell Model of Family members Behavior or  consists of four distinct
stages;

1. Information Input Stage:  At this stage the family members get information from
marketing and non-marketing sources, which also influence the problem recognition
stage of the decision-making process. If the family members still does not arrive to a
specific decision, the search for external information will be activated in order to
arrive to a choice or in some cases if the family members experience dissonance
because the selected alternative is less satisfactory than expected.
2. Information Processing Stage:  This stage consists of the consumer’s exposure,
attention, perception, acceptance, and retention of incoming information. The family
members must first be exposed to the message, allocate space for this information,
interpret the stimuli, and retain the message by transferring the input to long-term
memory.
3. Decision Process Stage:  The central focus of the model is on five basic decision-
process stages: Problem recognition, search for alternatives, alternate evaluation
(during which beliefs may lead to the formation of attitudes, which in turn may result
in a purchase intention) purchase, and outcomes. But it is not necessary for every
family members to go through all these stages; it depends on whether it is an extended
or a routine problem-solving behavior.
4. Variables Influencing the Decision Process:  This stage consists of individual and
environmental influences that affect all five stages of the decision process. Individual
characteristics include motives, values, lifestyle, and personality; the social influences
are culture, reference groups, and family. Situational influences, such as a consumer’s
financial condition, also influence the decision process.
5. The EKB Model expands on the Theory of Reasoned Action, and lays out a five-step
process that consumers use when making a purchase. The first step, input, is where
consumers absorb most of the marketing materials they see on television, newspapers
or online. Once the consumer collects the data, he or she moves into information
processing, where the consumer compares the input to past experiences and
expectations.
6. Consumers move to the decision-making stage after a period of thought, choosing to
make a purchase based on rational insight. Consumers are affected in the decision-
making phase by process variables and external influences, including how the
consumer envisions his or herself after making the purchase.
7. Under the EKB Model, marketers have two periods where their input is the most
valuable. During the initial information stage, marketers must provide consumers with
enough information about the product to drive the consumer to keep the company’s
products under consideration for purchase. Marketing becomes a factor again in the
phase of external influences. Lifestyle brands are very good at instilling a desire in the
consumer to look or feel a certain way with the product, even if the brand’s product is
not fundamentally different from the competition.

Q3

Process Of Motivation: Motivation plays a key role in the accomplishment of any

task. Any task can be completed under any set of conditions but the level of
efficiency and output may not be the same if done by a motivated person as
compared to an unmotivated worker.
Process theories of motivation try to explain why behaviors are initiated. These theories focus
on the mechanism by which we choose a target, and the effort that we exert to “hit” the
target. There are four major process theories: (1) operant conditioning, (2) equity, (3) goal,
and (4) expectancy.

Operant Conditioning Theory

Operant conditioning theory is the simplest of the motivation theories. It

basically states that people will do those things for which they are rewarded and
will avoid doing things for which they are punished. This premise is sometimes
called the “law of effect.” However, if this were the sum total of conditioning
theory, we would not be discussing it here. Operant conditioning theory does
offer greater insights than “reward what you want and punish what you don’t,”
and knowledge of its principles can lead to effective management practices.

Reinforcement occurs when a consequence makes it more likely the

response/behavior will be repeated in the future. In the previous example, praise
from Colleen’s superior is a reinforcer. Extinction occurs when a consequence
makes it less likely the response/behavior will be repeated in the future.
Criticism from Colleen’s supervisor could cause her to stop working hard on
any assignment.

There are three ways to make a response more likely to recur: positive
reinforcement, negative reinforcement, and avoidance learning. In addition,
there are two ways to make the response less likely to recur: nonreinforcement
and punishment.

Making a Response More Likely

According to reinforcement theorists, managers can encourage employees to

repeat a behavior if they provide a desirable consequence, or reward, after the
behavior is performed. A positive reinforcement is a desirable consequence that
satisfies an active need or that removes a barrier to need satisfaction. It can be
as simple as a kind word or as major as a promotion. Companies that provide
“dinners for two” as awards to those employees who go the extra mile are
utilizing positive reinforcement. It is important to note that there are wide
variations in what people consider to be a positive reinforcer. Praise from a
supervisor may be a powerful reinforcer for some workers (like high-nAch
individuals) but not others.
Approach using negative reinforcement with extreme caution. Negative reinforcement is
often confused with punishment. Punishment, unlike reinforcement (negative or positive), is
intended to make a particular behavior go away (not be repeated). Negative reinforcement,
like positive reinforcement, is intended to make a behavior more likely to be repeated in the
future. In the previous example, Philip’s reminders simultaneously punished one behavior
(slow stocking) and reinforced another (faster stocking). The difference is often a fine one,
but it becomes clearer when we identify the behaviors we are trying to encourage
(reinforcement) or discourage (punishment).
Workers stacking eggs
A worker stacks eggs on the shelves at a supermarket. Consider the interchange
between Ted and Philip regarding speeding up the shelf restocking process.