EVALUATION DES CRITERES D'ACHAT PAR LA MENAGERE SENEGALAISE: APPLICATION AUX CEREALES LOCALES TRANSFORMEES

Problematic and originality of the Research
Our work joins in the dynamics of research on the domestic purchase in Africa. The basic models of our reasoning are those which recognize the specific role that can play the family members in purchase decisions. Dankoco's works (1996) showed that in Senegal, there is a specialization of the roles. This specialization depends on the type of product that family buy and for foodstuffs it is the woman who is responsible of the purchase. In our works, the housewife is not considered as an independent person who wants to satisfy a personal need, but as a person who decides freely, without forgetting to integrate into her choices needs and desires of the other members of the family. lt is appointed by the family. With regard to the previous works, the originality of our study is at three levels:
- At first, the search on purchasing behavior of the housewife appointed by the family joins in a collective approach simplified and retumed to the individual scale (the housewife ).
- Second, the purchasing behaviour of the housewife for methodological conveniences applies to basic consumables. It is said in the theory that when the product is commonplace, the decision-taking at the buyer is simple. While for a product very implying, the decision-taking is complex and extensive. What does not mean necessarily that in of commonplace product, the buyer has no cognitive activity in the forming of preferences? The present work allows showing that in the case of transformed local cereals the housewife uses her cognitive capacities to estimate the possibilities of choice. Thus, she is engaged in a cognitive activity before making a decision of purchase.
- Finally, our step tries to understand the criteria which direct the purchasing behaviour of the housewife to the one or the other type of transformation oflocal cereals. The relations between these three levels of specification of our study lead to the elaboration of our research question:
In the context of consumption of cereal transformed in Senegal, what are the variables which influence the attitude or the behaviour of purchase of the housewi.fe to the various variants of the product?

Methodological choices
The thesis investigates the housewife's attitudes through the role which it plays in the process of decision of domestic purchase. A qualitative study allowed to identify and to select the determining attributes. A quantitative study allowed to build and to validate scales of measure of attitudes. The research model is tested on a sample of 300 housewives chosen in a reasoned way and according to quota.
Results and Contributions of the Research
The results revealed that the attributes perceived by the housewife are effectively on the base of the attitude. The factors which influence the housewife's attitude are: the attributes, certain characteristics of the housewife and the household. The results also showed, a relation between attitude and behaviour, and the intensity of the relation depends on the type of product. In the typology, both reserved classes do not oppose strongly some are housewife's characteristics. We note a homogeneity of the preferences which explains by the nature of the product. On the other hand, we hold in the study that the housewives attribute scores raised to the criteria which participate in the decision of purchase. What proves that they have requirements to these criteria of purchase? The contributions of the search are noted at three levels. On the theoretical plan, it is a confirmation of the approach of the behaviour of the consumer given responsibilities by th.e family. On the methodological plan, it was an occasion for us to conceive and to validate statistically scales of perception of transformed local cereal.
On the manager plan, it helps the managers to have information about the criteria of the most relevant choices and to know the way gift the product is estimated.