A Study On The Impacts Of Deceptive Advertising In American Brands On Bahamian Consumer Behavior

More and more,companies around the world are taking on the unethical marketing practice of Deceptive Advertising in order to increase sales.While most people believe that the practice is harmless,studies conducted by past researchers have proven that deceptive advertising could have an impact on consumer behavior,leading to diminished consumer trust,product avoidance and a number of other negative consumer behavioral responses.Though some companies deceive consumers unintentionally,many companies knowingly withhold information with the purpose of deceiving their consumers,as is the case with many American brands that are brought into The Bahamas.Though this phenomenon occurs worldwide,this paper focuses specifically on the act in American brands because The Bahamas receives 90% of imports from America.Therefore,while other researchers have studied deceptive advertising relative to countries in which they reside,this paper focuses on the act between America and The Bahamas,also highlighting the aspect of international trade.This master’s thesis examines and reports the impact of deceptive advertising in American brands on Bahamian consumer behavior,by combining past research,as well as quantitative and qualitative research methods.Following the lead of past researchers that have studied and tested the impacts of deceptive advertising on consumer behavior,a conceptual framework consisting of independent,sub and dependent variables was formed;further,three hypotheses were shaped and tested.A questionnaire was designed and distributed to 130 respondents and descriptive statistics,Cronbach analysis and regression analysis are the tests that were used on the data.The questionnaire was formulated around consumer behavior and dissected into three parts: general information,general consumer behavior,reactions to deceptive advertising and perceptions of deceptive advertising.This study,though yet to be explored in depth is very critical to not only the Bahamian economy,but also Bahamian consumers.The objective of this research is to not only analyze the situation but to also shed light on a very prevalent,yet under-discussed situation.Therefore,through past opinions and research from scholarly articles,this common practice will be analyzed between American brands and Bahamian consumers.The entire thesis consists of six chapters that thoroughly examine and discuss the subject matter of deceptive advertising on Bahamian consumers and provides suggestions to better the situation.