Consumer Attitude toward Fumigation Services In Aba, Abia State (Published)
The study assessed the attitude of consumers toward fumigation services in Aba. Survey method was adopted with a target population of 66,920 landlords of residential buildings in Aba metropolis, as derived from the current National Population Census Enumeration Areas (Field Survey). The population comprised landlords of Aba North (9,560), Aba South (38,240) and Osisioma (19,120) Local Government Areas. Stratified, convenience and judgmental sampling procedures were used.The sample size of 398 was determined using Yamane (1967) formula (Eboh, 2009). Applying Bowley’s proportional allocation statistical technique, the sample size for each category was estimated; Aba North (57), Aba South (227) and Osisioma (114). One hypothesis and a research question guided the study. Primary and secondary sources of data were accessed. The primary data were collected through the researcher’s self-designed questionnaire titled “Consumer Self-Assessment Questionnaire(CSAQ)”.In the questionnaire, the five point Likert Scale was used to measure the direction of attitude (favour or disfavour) of the respondents and the extent of their feeling( intensity of attitude) toward fumigation services, where Very Favourable(VF),Favourable(F),Neutral(N), Unfavourable(U),Very Unfavourable(VU) denote the values;5,4,3,2,1 respectively. In-depth interviews were held with the respondents. Attitudes of consumers were inferred from what they said and indicated on the questionnaire. Pilot survey was conducted. The instrument was validated by experts’ opinions. Using Cronbach’s Alpha technique, the reliability coefficient of 0.961 was determined, reflecting high degree of internal consistency of the research instrument (Gliem, et al, 2003). At 0.05 level of significance and 18 degrees of freedom, the hypothesis was tested using one way ANOVA technique and Minitab software package. The study revealed that the extent of consumers’ attitude, at zero percent intensity, was non-significant to favour fumigation services in Aba metropolis.
Keywords: Consumer, Fumigation, Services Marketing, Vertebrates and Pest Control., attitude