ABSTRACT. Grounded in social and behavioral change, social marketing addresses societal issue and the value creation marketing can offer. In a similar vein, public policy is often designed to alter economic conditions through behavioral change. Here, social marketing and public policy intersect, connecting the goals of a non-profit with those who seek to give and those who seek to receive. Social marketing and public policy are often associated with the goals of corporate social responsibility. Stakeholder theory is associated with CSR as an accountability tool that creates value for a business through the relationships between its stakeholders. The following qualitative study looks to understand how stakeholders, identified as clients for this study, view the services they receive from a non-profit and to explore the implications of these views for developing effective social marketing and public policy. The findings of this study offer an insight into what it means to be a client of a non-profit. In addition, it points to the ways social marketers can work with public policy makers to facilitate economic growth through independence. Last public policy and social marketing can work in tandem to meet the needs of the stakeholder relative to CSR.

ABSTRACT. Despite their growing popularity, the implications of point-of-purchase solicitations are unclear. It is specifically unclear if point-of-purchase solicitations boost a retailer’s reputation, sales, shopper loyalty, or result in some other competitive lift. We fill this void through three online, survey-based experiments. The first study links point-of-purchase charitable requests to retail performance by demonstrating that shoppers asked to donate are less satisfied with their retail experiences than those not asked to donate. The second study builds upon the first by showing that shoppers who do not donate are less satisfied because soliciting donations violates the norms of their relationship with the retailer (and vice-versa). Though promising, these earlier studies do not explain how the emotions generated from point-of-purchase charitable requests are projected onto retailers. The third study addresses this issue by showing that shoppers attribute their emotional reactions to retailers (rather than themselves or charities). Collectively, these studies demonstrate that soliciting donations violates the norms of the traditional shopper-retailer relationship which in turn produces negative emotions that are projected onto the retailer. Thus, retailers that solicit point-of-purchase donations are likely to under-perform relative to comparable peers.

ABSTRACT. Despite prevalent use of negative emotion appeals in charity advertisements (e.g., advertisements that evoke guilt or sadness by displaying images of starving children), prior research offers conflicting findings about whether negative emotion appeals do, in fact, help raise donation. We propose that potential donors’ regulatory focus would moderate their emotional and behavioral responses toward the appeal and would thus reconcile the prior inconsistent findings. In four studies, we show that a prevention focus—compared to a promotion focus—discourages charitable giving when the donation is solicited using a sadness appeal. In contrast, this difference in giving is not observed when the donation is solicited by means of a neutral appeal. We find that compared to a prevention focus, a prevention focus demotivates charitable giving because prevention focus activates negative persuasion knowledge that provokes skepticism about the sadness appeal. This skepticism impairs prospective donors from feeling sympathy, and consequently, from contributing to charity. When a constraint in potential donors’ cognitive capacity deactivates their persuasion knowledge, the sadness appeal becomes equally effective in motivating donation for donors with different regulatory orientations.

ABSTRACT. Over the past few decades, checkout charity initiatives have spanned numerous retail categories. However, many service retailers, specifically casual sit-down restaurants, have not yet embraced checkout charity. This may be due to the potential impact that money requested for charity has on servers’ gratuities. Thus, this research aims to examine the relationship between checkout charity and service quality, and the subsequent effect it has on charitable donation amount and a server’s gratuity. To achieve this objective, this research employs a 2 (donation request: yes/no) x 3 (service quality scenario: excellent/ average/poor), between-subjects experimental design. The findings demonstrate that implementing checkout charity does not negatively impact a server’s gratuity when service quality is excellent or average, but does so when service is poor. Furthermore, for those consumers who decide to donate money to charity, the donation amount is higher when service quality is poor than when it is excellent or average. This suggests that customers engage in mental accounting when deciding on the amounts to donate to charity and provide to servers via gratuity. These findings have implications for service retailers, as the presence of a charitable donation can have potential negative downstream consequences on management in regards to increased turnover intention and decreased customer willingness to re-patronize the service retailer.

ABSTRACT. The current research attempts to examine how customer-company identification (CCI) affects customers during service failure. Doing so suggests a customer’s self-construal is a determining factor of how CCI influences customer reactions to service failure. More specifically, CCI under an independent self-construal leads to a more entitled attitude, the expectation of extra recovery actions, and a greater likelihood of voicing a complaint. In contrast, CCI under an interdependent self-construal leads to a more forgiving attitude, an expectation of fewer recovery actions, and a lower likelihood of voicing a complaint. This framework is tested in five studies using primary and secondary data.

ABSTRACT. The results from a qualitative study reveal different situations and media consumers progress through when voicing complaints offline and online. Many consumers first voice complaints privately to firms offline. If an unsatisfactory recovery occurs, consumers progress to voice complaints publicly to firms online via corporate social media channels. If an unsatisfactory recovery still occurs, consumers then voice complaints publicly to other consumers online through third-party review and opinion sites. While managerial strategies and theoretical frameworks exist for complaining behavior in the aforementioned first and last situations, less is known about complaining via corporate social media channels. The results suggest that corporate social media pages are viable customer service channels. Furthermore, this new type of service channel is unlike all other existing customer service situations, due to the publicly viewable and participative nature of social networks.

ABSTRACT. The issues of elderly consumers remain under researched despite a rapidly aging population in most countries across the globe. We examine the complexity of problems of a nursing home for seniors and seek to contribute to the field of research in terms of exploring internal marketing solutions based on two theoretical frameworks- Service Profit Chain and the Relational Third Place theory, to provide insights about why elderly people are not treated as consumers with due rights. Besides, based on comprehensive review of literature and analysis of an important case situation, we develop a new theoretical framework called Complex Organizational Problems and Solutions (COPS) by generalizing the insights we gained through the study. We find that internal marketing practices help improve employee satisfaction and service quality, which in turn leads to satisfied consumers. We then make propositions to stimulate further research.

ABSTRACT. Past research has shown that the status of the apologizing service personnel in offline medium impacts fairness perceptions of service recovery differently in cross-cultural settings. The tremendous growth in the global online retailing industry with their ever increasing consumer base belonging to Eastern cultures makes it imperative to find a cost-effective way to manage service recovery from this cultural group about which there is very little literature. This paper addresses this issue by first showing that what works for Eastern consumers in offline service recovery may not necessarily work in online without suitable modifications. We then further reveal a novel cost-effective way using social media to increases fairness perceptions even in the impersonal online medium. Two experimental studies were conducted using non-student samples from a Western country (Germany) and two Eastern countries (India and Philippines). Our empirical findings indicate that a public apology from a high status service provider in the online medium that is conveyed through social media would result in higher justice perceptions for consumers in Eastern cultures as compared to Western cultures. For managers of global online retailers, we thus show a powerful yet cost-effective way to deal with consumer complaints.

ABSTRACT. The U.S. retail industry makes billions of dollars a year by engaging customers to participate in their business (design, production, delivery of goods and services); however, scholarship that focuses on the psychological implications of such participation by customers is just beginning to gain prominence. This paper explores the role of upward counterfactuals in a participatory set up (the process of looking back at events and thinking about how things could have turned out better). More specifically, the role of upward counterfactuals on perceived ownership towards the co-produced good is examined. Additionally, the role of consumer’s self-assessment of participation as an antecedent to upward counterfactuals and the moderating role of opportunity to return the product on the aforementioned are explored.

ABSTRACT. This study deals with the “weight bias,” e.g., the social stigma of obesity, in a grocery retail context in the United States. Using an online controlled experiment, we examined brand attitudes and the emotional response people have towards other shoppers based on body size (thin, average, obese) and healthiness of their shopping basket (healthy, unhealthy). In addition, we evaluated a potential helping opportunity towards the shoppers. The findings suggest that people use basket healthiness as a heuristic judgment for determining the amount of effort they would make to help an obese shopper. In contrast, the basket healthiness of a thin shopper generates an emotional response that mediates the effect of the basket on helping effort. An assessment of brand attitudes also shows differences based on the body size of the shopper, but it is contextualized by the healthiness of the basket. This study provides insights for realizing the broader context of obesity as a social stigma, and highlights the under-studied effects of stigmas associated with those who are potentially viewed as “too thin”.

ABSTRACT. Many national brand manufacturers, termed “dual branders,” produce retailers' private label brands to optimize outcomes from the channel relationship. Dual branders do not volunteer this information, though, due to concerns about preserving their own brand market share. However, consumers can be inadvertently exposed to dual branding knowledge, which may impact their brand evaluations of national and private label brands, respectively. This research examines the influence of dual branding on customers’ respective brand evaluations through the mechanism of their comparative quality perceptions. Results of the analyses suggest that exposure to dual branding does influence consumers' comparative quality perceptions between competing private and premium brands, which in turn significantly impacts respective brand evaluations. Specifically, comparative quality perceptions facilitate the indirect effects of dual branding, which positively (negatively) influences private (national) label evaluations.

ABSTRACT. The aim of this paper* is to examine the influence of store’s aesthetics on consumers' emotions and how these emotions, in turn, influence patronage intention through the moderating effect of crisis and store’s familiarity, by comparing this impact on privileged and under-privileged area. The research took place in six supermarkets from which three of them are located in up market area and the other three in down market area. The findings showed that the aesthetics have an almost equal positive effect on the customer’s emotional state and on their patronage intention for both areas. The store familiarity is indicated as moderator between emotions and patronage intentions for under-privileged area and as determinant indicator for privileged area. It should be noted though, that even if the privileged area were not much affected by crisis, they would like to go for shopping in a pleasant environment like the consumers from the underprivileged area, who regard it as a necessity.

*The publication of this paper has been partly supported by the University of Piraeus Research Center.

ABSTRACT. Trolling, a social phenomenon that represents the behavior of out-group online community members whose motivation is to disrupt the forum via aggression or deception, has affected a number of social networking platforms and warrants a detailed investigation of the relevant motivations and effects of trolling. The purpose of this research is to develop a conceptual model of the antecedents and consequences of trolling in online communities using theory on social influence, impression management, and power. Trolling behavior is driven by intrinsic goals and extrinsic factors, and consequently affects how focal person(s) of power, such as opinion leaders, and in-group community members identify and respond to such interactions. These responses are moderated by the individual’s or community’s experience with trolling, the type of platform used, and whether the platform has a centralized or decentralized authority. The present research classifies these responses and discusses their various effects on the resulting troll and respondent power. The present research extends theory on social influence and impression management in their unexplored negative side as evidenced by trolling. The findings are applicable to all types of virtual communities that enable user-generated content and what these findings mean for consumers, firms, and platforms.

ABSTRACT. Automated recommender systems have been widely adopted by online marketers in order to help customers to easier find preferred alternatives within overwhelmingly large assortments. In contrast to previous studies on recommender systems which predominantly concentrated on an improvement of underlying algorithms that enable these systems to better identify consumer preferences, this research focuses on the effects of product recommendations on the construction of preferences. In sum, the results of two experimental studies reveal that even randomly generated suggestions constitute an anchor for decision making in such a manner that recommending an alternative with higher (lower) values on a numerical attribute leads to an increased preference to select an item with higher (lower) values on this attribute. On the one hand, these results imply that marketers could use recommender systems not only to help their customers with purchase decisions but also to “nudge” consumer choices in a desired direction. On the other hand, this research raises important questions in terms of customer protection issues in online shopping environments.

ABSTRACT. The majority of companies have now adopted social media. The initial euphoria framing social media as a golden opportunity to build harmonious communities of consumers has faded. Marketers now take a more balanced view, giving attention to disharmonious interactions between consumers on social media. Specifically, social media conflict attracts increasing interest from academics and practitioners because of its disruptive nature and potential destructiveness. It has a strong influence on value formation, whether by creating or destroying value. However, existing monitoring tools fail to adequately detect social media conflict, leaving marketers unable to manage conflict effectively. This research develops an instrument to automatically detect social media conflict. In this paper, social media conflict is first conceptualised before presenting the methodology and findings and discussing implications.

ABSTRACT. Our research goal is to devise a social influence model with sentiment analysis to help organization discover real influential people on social media. This research takes into account retweet and reply as the most important metrics in the proposed social influence model, which is also considered as the quality of post. The sentiment behind retweet and reply is more important than numbers. Our model not only measures the influence from retweet and reply but also considers the factor of sentiment. This research selected four targets from Twitter to examine the proposed model. The results revealed the sentiment ratio of celebrities is higher than politicians because the celebrities usually posted random issues. The politicians’ tweets are easy to provoke a conflict. That is, fans or followers sometimes may have emotional expressions. Sentiment analysis can adjust it based on qualitative perspective of content. The main goal of this study is to fill up the gap by taking into account quantitative and qualitative perspectives. The proposed model can appropriately calculate the social influence of a specific person in the social media to help companies provide adequate marketing campaigns.

ABSTRACT. The scarce past literature dedicated to the effectiveness of indirect comparative advertising suggests that advertisers have little reason to use indirect comparative advertising. However, Miniard et al. (2006) convey a different story about its effectiveness. Extending this body of work, the current research further examines the effectiveness of indirect vs. direct comparative advertising (ICA vs. DCA) by taking into consideration the consumer’s usage status of the comparison brand. Based on a 2 (ICA vs. DCA for a fictitious pain reliever medicine brand) x 2 (with vs. without precise comparative information) between subjects factorial design, the findings are overall in line with the Framing Correspondence Hypothesis as well as a possible association effect consecutive to the presence of both the advertised brand and the comparison (leading) brand in the comparative ad. Whereas DCA advantage for positioning the advertised brand against the comparison brand may result from both effects favoring DCA, the Framing Correspondence effect favoring ICA for positioning the brand against the entire market may be compensated by an opposite association effect favoring DCA. Furthermore the results do not show that comparison brand users feel more defensive during their exposure to DCA nor process more the advertised brand information.

ABSTRACT. A 4X3X2 between subjects full-factor experiment using homeowners who were some form of pet lover was developed. Subjects viewed an advertisement for a fictitious realtor with either a dog or a cat. The ad copy expressed one of the following experimental conditions: individualism, independence, dependability, or security. Subjects were asked to describe themselves as one of the following: a cat lover, a dog lover, or an animal lover. Further, subjects were classified as either “high” or “low” in terms of scoring on a summation of the List of Values (LOV) Scale. Outcome effects were attitude toward the ad, attitude toward the realtor, and purchase intentions. A main effect was found for LOV. “High” LOV subjects preferred the ads, preferred the realtor, and had greater purchase intentions than “low” LOV subjects. A significant interaction was found among the four experimental conditions and the three categories of: cat lover, dog lover, or animal lover. Cat lovers preferred the ads, preferred the realtor, and had higher purchase intentions regarding the ads conveying individualism and independence in comparison to dog lovers. Dog lovers preferred ads, preferred the realtor, and had greater purchase intentions regarding ads that conveyed dependability and security compared to cat lovers.

ABSTRACT. The authors present evidence that the use of high fear and sharp numbers significantly improves STD awareness public service announcements amongst college students

ABSTRACT. The article focuses on slice-of-life (SOL) and slice-of-death (SOD), as two types of semantic differential advertising appeals. The authors make conceptual, measurement, and managerial contributions to the research dealing with slice of life versus death advertising appeals. The research extends message-framing and emotional advertising literature by utilizing emotional informational management framework for measuring and evaluating SOL&D advertising appeals.

Keywords: slice-of-life, slice-of-death, advertising attitudes, purchase intentions

ABSTRACT. This paper aims to find out how marketing can play a more strategic role in helping firms improve performance in the Digital Age. Particularly, this paper investigates the drivers of e-Marketing capability and the impact of e-Marketing capability. This research studies how IT capability, marketing and IT cross functional collaboration and leadership emphasis can impact e-Marketing capability and thus improve customer relationship management and new product diffusion. In addition, the moderating effect of industry type is also investigated. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed at the end.

ABSTRACT. Marketing managers are hard pressed to defend their existing products and brands, as well as to launch new ones in efforts to maximize their shareholder value. Drawing upon the market-based assets framework (cf. Srivastava, Shervani, and Fahey 1998), a substantial body of research in marketing has investigated the effects of product and brand strategies on shareholder value in the last two decades. In marketing, we have an extensive body of knowledge pertaining to the performance implications of product portfolio strategy with a special emphasis on new product introductions. Despite this vast body of work, academic literature on branding strategy, product portfolio strategy, and new product innovations remain fragmented because these streams of research have progressed somewhat independently. This issue is also critical form a practical perspective because most managers make strategic decisions about their product portfolios in conjunction with brand portfolio decisions This study attempts to address these issues by proposing, and empirically testing, a conceptual model of the relationships between product- and brand-portfolios of companies in the U.S. automotive industry between 2007 and 2013. Study findings make a unique contribution to the field of marketing by demonstrating that effective management of the portfolio does not happen in isolation and firms can only reap the benefits of branding and product decisions simultaneously.

ABSTRACT. New product development (NPD) beginning with the perception of a market opportunity and ending in the production, sales, and delivery of a product, plays a pivotal role in determining competitive advantage. New products serve to improve a firm’s market share, value, and survival likelihood, allow for organic growth, and help firms survive in dynamic market environments. Successful NPD requires effective use of market knowledge and is facilitated by the process of organizational learning. Organizational learning theory identifies knowledge as one of the most important resources firms can possess and which is influenced by market orientation. Research findings investigating the impact of learning on NPD performance are inconclusive as they do not consider the moderating role of environmental turbulence. Employing the ‘values-behavior-outcome’ framework and contingency theory, the study shows that learning is enhanced by a market oriented culture and technological turbulence moderates the relationship between learning and NPD performance.

ABSTRACT. All, or virtually all, introductory level business textbooks are accompanied by banks of multiple-choice questions, the questions invariably being classified into three levels of difficulty. For several question banks, recent research has shown the accuracy of those classifications to be in the range of 50 to 60 percent. Those researches, though, have used just one operationalization of "difficulty," albeit the most common one--percent of students answering the given question correctly. However, additional operationalizations of difficulty have been put forth. Possibly the accuracy of published difficulty levels is at least somewhat dependent on the specific measure of difficulty employed. To address this issue, the present research investigates the accuracy of several published question banks using a variety of measures of difficulty.

ABSTRACT. To match industry demand, higher education institutions have rapidly started educational offerings in marketing analytics. Since marketing analytics education typically require students to use software to conduct data analysis, marketing analytics courses or programs have to expose students to data analytic software. However, it is not yet very clear what software skills are demanded by employers for marketing analytics jobs. On the supply side, there is not much information on software tools taught. Since learning data analytics software is not a light undertaking, many who wish to pursue a career in data analytics generally wanted to make sure they are learning a skill that can help them obtain gainful employment. This study seeks to shed some light on software skills needed by employers and those provided by higher educational institutions. To this end, job postings on indeed.com and online secondary information on marketing analytics education were used for an exploratory analysis. The results indicate that the software skills taught higher education institutions are not matched well with industry demand.

ABSTRACT. Universities are complex service institutions where a number of factors and actors interact to co-create value and to achieve innovative teaching. In most UK universities, the diversity of student backgrounds impacting on learning achievements and their variability of skills continue to present obstacles to achieving innovative teaching, leading to a fragmented process in institutional provision and student learning. The diversity and variability of student learning needs could be achieved by providing a standardised and consistent teaching model that uses simulators which are powerful tools that enhance the learning experience. Simulators in Higher Education (HE) promote conceptual learning, problem solving skills, co-operation, and real-world participation. In business studies (BS), simulators have been shown to offer many advantages. They help improve the students’ knowledge of the business theories and their confidence about their employability. For lecturers, simulators foster innovative teaching methods and improve team working abilities. However, although a plethora of simulators are being produced for BS, many academics are still reluctant to use this unique educational resource. It is expected that the number of universities using simulators will rise in the future as a result of the UK Government’s push for good teaching. Therefore, it is important for universities to know why some academics are still reluctant to use of simulators in their teaching. The purpose of this study is to explore the drivers and barriers for academics in using simulator games in the UK universities.

ABSTRACT. This study investigates and analyzes university/college slogans which play an important role regarding institution-specific positioning and digital marketing. By discussing the literature and morphological issues (word formation in sentences), the study investigates 1,935 universities and four-year colleges in the U.S. Findings of this study reveal that nearly half of the institutions used slogans in 2007 on their Websites. At the same time, this number declined significantly after seven years in 2014. These findings clearly support the notion that universities and colleges are showing limited interest regarding placing slogans on their Websites. Interest in slogans may be declining because of the appearance of new technology platforms and digital media. Findings of the study confirm that slogans help universities and colleges to seek identity and develop online marketing campaigns that aim at differentiating their academic programs and institutional image. The paper carries a meaningful value added in the areas of positioning and digital marketing which often change in higher education to deal with competition, digital technologies, and new delivery methods.

ABSTRACT. This paper extends the understanding of Positive Customer Feedback. Technological advances suggest future trends in customer feedback management will encompass ever advanced methods of data capture and analysis. Thus, customer feedback is increasingly likely to contain both negative and positive sentiment, as opposed to the predominantly isolated negative content which researchers and practitioners have historically focused on. By comparing and contrasting front-line employees’ and customer’s perspectives, we aim to develop a deeper understanding of the main elements and characteristics of positive customer feedback, its various impacts, and the perceived importance of this phenomenon for both actors. Exploratory research is conducted using a novel integrated methodological approach combining two well-established qualitative techniques: structured Laddering interviews and various elements of the Zaltman Metaphor Elicitation Technique (ZMET). Forty participants were interviewed (20 service customers, 20 front-line employees). Understanding of positive customer feedback is extended via the identification of nine characteristics, and a number of associated impacts on both customers and front-line employees. Both actors share similar understanding of positive customer feedback, however the importance of the various elements and subsequent impacts, varies between the two. The study contributes to a holistic understanding of customer feedback by countering the dominant focus on the “dark side” and proposes a complimentary view of the positive, with implications for management of positive service encounters.

ABSTRACT. The hospitality industry is dynamic and highly competitive. Being a service industry, the role of service quality in the success of hotel businesses cannot be overemphasised. It is therefore vital for hotel managers to have a good understanding of what customers want. Identifying the specific expectations of customers and the dimensions of the service quality relevant for each specific segment of the hotel industry would help hotel management surmount the challenge of improving and delivering quality service (Akbaba, 2006). This study develops a scale to determine which items and factors are relevant for small hotels service quality in developing country context.

ABSTRACT. Virtual travel communities (VTCs) are exploding in the tourism industry, but knowledge on the mechanism by which site stickiness develops is lacking. This study explains how VTC stickiness develops for specific types of travelers. The analysis reveals that trust plays a mediating role in the link between perceived communication quality and stickiness and commitment. Specifically, the link between trust and commitment is stronger for women and older travelers, but the link between trust and stickiness is stronger for men. Furthermore, the link between commitment and stickiness is stronger for low-income travelers. This study is the first to test the mediators and moderators of VTC stickiness behavior in an integrated framework. Key implications shed light on the mechanism by which site stickiness develops and thus help VTC operators identify which groups of customers are more or less likely to stick.

ABSTRACT. Several studies have sought to investigate the potential of marketing efforts as a tool for quality signals (Kirmani and Rao, 2000). In the contemporary panorama of the rise of the internet and electronic commerce, the organizations' websites are also evident as a powerful channel of commerce. At that point, Harris and Goode (2010) present a model of e-servicescape from dimensions of websites that influence the customer’s perceptions about products and services offered on the Internet. The convergence of these elements have generated some questions: The website of an organization can be recognized as a signaling element of quality? The e-servicescape influences the credibility of this signal? The development of an experiment aimed to verify the relationship of cause and effect between these variables. The procedure includes the development of platforms with different quality levels (high, medium and low). The channels were accessed and analyzed by students and then assessed the credibility of the signal (quality signals). Results from analysis of variance (ANOVA) and correlation tests confirmed the hypothesis that a website may be recognized as an investment element and the e-servicescape influences the credibility of this signal.

ABSTRACT. This research first discusses anthropomorphism theory, and the related theoretical phenomena relevant to consumers’ understanding and acceptance of brand characters. Second, this research examines the inconsistencies within the literature regarding advertising-icons, spokescharacters, and brand-mascots. The literature depicts respectable disagreement and noteworthy contradiction. The distinction, and whether or not a distinction needs to exist at all, amongst these animated creatures, is blurred at best. While some authors have attempted to provide applicable classification, others use the terms advertising-icons, spokescharacters, and brand-mascots interchangeably. The purpose of this paper is to provide clarity amongst the disagreeing and contradictory literature describing spokescharacters. Distinctions designed to aid in the agenda of a less confusing classification are provided. This research also distinguishes and describes a fourth sub-area worthy of consideration. This research makes a contribution to spokescharacter, marketing literature by presenting a more thorough and theoretically sound classification scheme. Lastly, recommendations for future research are provided.

ABSTRACT. Although previous context effect literature has confirmed the mood congruence effect, this study attempts to examine the emotional blunting phenomenon that could possibly occur between same valence emotions when the emotions have a different appraisal. Building on the Appraisal tendency framework and emotional blunting hypothesis, the current study examines how emotions elicited by a media context could carry over and blunt the subsequent emotional experiences induced by a commercial that follows. The findings of the study will not only contribute to the theory of advertising context effect but also provide a useful guide to help practitioners implement a proper ad placement.

ABSTRACT. The current study posits that perceived length of the video ad might be incongruent with the actual length of the video ad, and thus, it might be more influential to viewer’s reaction. This study will examine the effect of the completeness of the narrative ad on viewer’s perception and attitudinal responses to the ad in the context of online video advertising. We expect that viewers would perceive that incomplete ads are always shorter than complete ads, regardless of their relative lengths. Further, we predict that this perception affects viewer’s attitude toward the ad contrarily depending on the context of ad presentation. Specifically, people would prefer a complete ad to an incomplete ad when the ad is presented independently while people would prefer an incomplete ad to a complete ad when the ads are presented contextually in media content. However, the effect of completeness on people’s attitude toward the ad will be eliminated when the actual amount of ad time is explicitly provided.

ABSTRACT. Description of the Special Session:

For this special session, we propose to have an interactive panel session in which expert panelists explore the social, technological and organizational issues related to emerging types of wearable technology, or the wide range of devices that people can wear on almost any part of the anatomy; for example, some of the most well known wearable devices include Google Glass, the Pebble, and the FitBit.

Description of the Presentations:

Current perspectives identify a number of fundamental questions regarding wearable technology. These questions will be the topic of the special session panel discussion, including: · Technologies, applications and organizational issues related to IoP (Internet of People) and IoE (Internet of Everything) · Big data management (e.g., storing, accessing, analyzing, and reacting to IoP and IoE data) · Where should the user interface hardware be worn and how should it transmit information to the wearer? A key design dilemma is how to make the hardware more comfortable to wear. · What information should be accessible? Is the information tailored (i.e. a fitness watch) or general (i.e. you have access to your whole computer, the news, weather, stock prices, etc)? · Opportunities and challenges related to consumer behavior (e.g., privacy concerns, concerns regarding making the technology ‘fashionable’ to wear) · Key issues for innovators, developers, IT firms, and technology vendors

ABSTRACT. Consumer transgression is an emerging field of study within marketing. We examine how customers’ self-judgment of their own transgressions can be influenced by altering the visual perspective to take when examining their own transgressions. Our findings can be used in promotions, advertising, and design of store atmospherics to lower incidents of customer misbehaviors.

ABSTRACT. Customer citizenship behavior (CCB; voluntary behavior performed by customers to help other customers and the firm) has been increasingly important in services marketing. Despite a growing literature on the topic, CCB in the context of airline services remains unknown. Nevertheless, CCB is particularly relevant to airline services.

Airline services context is different from other services contexts in that air travel experience usually involves a higher level of stress. We examine if all airline customers would experience similar levels of stress and perform similar levels of CCB when reacting to the same stressors (delays and crowdedness). We propose that when facing the same stressors, airline customers would experience different levels of stress and perform different levels of CCB, depending on their travel motivation (hedonic vs. utilitarian).

A scale was developed to measure CCB in the airline context. A 2 (business vs. leisure travel motivation) x 2 (delay vs. non-delay) x 2 (crowded vs. non-crowded) study was conducted. The findings suggest that, as compared to utilitarian-oriented airline customers, hedonic-oriented airline customers do not feel stressed even when both stressors are present. Delay is perceived as stressful for utilitarian-oriented airline customers, but not for hedonic-oriented airline customers. As expected, both utilitarian- and hedonic-oriented airline customers perform the similar high level of CCB when there is no stressor. Utilitarian-oriented airline customers perform the lowest level of CCB when both stressors are present. However, interestingly, hedonic-oriented airline customers perform a much higher level of CCB than business-oriented airline customers, when both stressors are present.

ABSTRACT. Extant research on the impact of CSR efforts has mainly been focused on consumer perceptions of products and brands. Very little research on the impact of CSR efforts on the perception of services within business markets has been conducted. Furthermore, services are increasingly being delivered via technological platforms where the customer can use the service at his or her own convenience (e.g. self-service technologies). Since customers make use of the service when the provider is not present, firms may have trouble of assessing the impact of their CSR initiatives. We propose a service-dominant (S-D) logic perspective, that emphasizes customer value co-creation (‘value-in-use’), can offer insights into the impact of technology-driven CSR initiatives in business markets. Based upon a grounded study of a real estate firm in the forefront of technical and service developments (i.e. theoretical sample) we propose that the potential impact of SSTs for CSR efforts is related to (a) the alignment of the firm-customer relationship and (b) the alignment of the firm-customer sustainability strategy.

ABSTRACT. Globally, the carsharing domain is growing, and new service offerings are arising. Peer-to-peer carsharing, facilitating car rental between private individuals, has attracted attention from managers and researchers alike. Studies on carsharing predominantly focus on identifying users’ consumption motives in business-to-consumer contexts. However, no study has considered consumers’ motivational drivers to use peer-to-peer carsharing services. By conducting a series of laddering interviews with German peer-to-peer carsharing users, we uncover their hierarchical motive structures and identify four overarching motivational patterns: (1) economic interest, (2) comfort, (3) quality of life, and (4) certitude. Sustainability, often discussed in other studies, is not a main participation motive for car users, but rather is seen as an indirect consequence of participation. We engage in a detailed discussion of each motivational pattern and juxtaposition with existing literature. Implications are drawn for further academic investigation and marketing managers.

ABSTRACT. Many important decisions depend on spending forecasts. We show that spending forecasts, in turn, depend on how the target category of spending is described. We report a study in which we asked participants to estimate how much an average student spends on groceries. The participants of 1 group ('packed') were asked just that. Those of another 4 groups ('unpacked') were asked how much the student spends on a particular item and all other groceries (e.g., milk and other groceries). The 4 'unpacked' groups were created by crossing the Typicality of the unpacked item (typical, atypical) with the perceived spending on it (high, low). With respect to the packed group, unpacking a typical item (e.g., milk/meat) left spending predictions unaffected, whereas unpacking an atypical item (e.g., alcohol/spices) influenced them. Specifically, the atypical high spending item (alcohol) increased spending predictions, while the atypical low spending item (spices) reduced them. We relate these findings to unpacking accounts of subjective probability judgment, and derive practical implications.

ABSTRACT. Almost 35% of Americans are considered to be obese (Center for Disease Control 2015), and more than half of Americans will not have enough savings to maintain their accustomed standard of living upon retirement (Porter 2015). Though consumers may have the best of intentions, research indicates that they often miss the mark when making long term decisions. In this research, we investigate a new method for improving consumers’ long term decisions by encouraging them to think about their future more concretely. Because the future is abstract and construed by consumers in much less detail than the present, consumers tend to have less reliable information available with which to make long term decisions (Trope et al. 2007). Thus, we suggest that because consumers see the future as abstract and hard to grasp, leading them to view it more concretely will help them see how their actions today impact their future, thus leading to better long term decision making.

ABSTRACT. The benefits of enhanced identification with organizations have been well-documented with respect to customers, but little is understood about how such organizational bonds are strengthened or diminished within salespeople. This research attempts to understand this unique phenomenon via a specific application of organizational identification--the firm's online corporate image. Building on established notions of social identity theory, a conceptual framework for interpreting the cognitive mechanism behind salespeople's organizational identification is proposed. Managerial implications are discussed and directions for future research are outlined.

ABSTRACT. Although it has been generally reported that high pressure sales tactics can have negative effects on both customer and the salesperson/firm (e.g., Chu, Gerstner, & Hess, 1995), the amount of attention devoted to the subject in the marketing literature is less than optimal. As such, our understanding of factors, such as salesperson credibility, that can contribute to consumer perceptions of sales pressure could also benefit from more research effort. Additionally, with the millennial generation playing an ever increasing role in the consumer population, the need exists to examine the role of consumer entitlement in this relationship. Using a sample of 326 consumers, this study examines the moderating role of consumer entitlement on the relationship of salesperson credibility and perceptions of sales pressure. As hypothesized, this moderated relationship was found to be significant. Vital to the finding is the implication that, for highly entitled customers, the impact of low credibility on perceptions of sales pressure is magnified. On the other hand, perceptions of sales pressure are significantly lower for consumers who perceived their salespeople as being highly credible, regardless of the level of entitlement of the consumer.

ABSTRACT. Despite the ubiquity of competition in sales, little is known about how competition effects the ethical behaviors of salespeople. This study examines the relationship between competitive psychological climate, ethical psychological climate, and the ethical behavior of salespeople directed at their customers during sales interactions. Using a unique dyadic dataset, this study finds contradictory results based on who is reporting the salesperson’s ethical behavior – the salesperson or the customer. Specifically, salespeople report that the interaction of an ethical psychological climate and a competitive psychological climate improves their ethical selling behavior. However, customers report the exact opposite, suggesting that in a competitive climate the firm’s ethical climate actually reduces the salesperson’s ethical selling behavior. These conflicting results reveal a disparity between the perceptions of salespeople and their customers in regard to ethical behaviors and produce interesting implications for both researchers and managers.

ABSTRACT. The brand-brand dyad is increasingly becoming a holistic interbrand relationship; we define these interbrand relationships as consisting not only of traditional, tangible value created through strategic brand alliances/co-branding/brand extensions (Park, Jun, and Shocker 1996; Rao and Ruekert 1994; Simonin and Ruth 1998), but also of non-traditional, intangible value created through interbrand communications. Interbrand communications are more informal and conversational, typically exist in public two-way mediums (social media), and are quicker and more frictionless in terms of managerial approval processes. But do interbrand communications have any effect on consumer evaluations of interbrand (brand alliance/co-branded/brand extension) products? We suggest interbrand communications have a positive impact on the interbrand relationship—not only on brand attitudes, but also on interbrand product evaluations. When the partner brand is familiar, consumer evaluations of interbrand products are higher if the interbrand communication precedes an interbrand product announcement. When the partner brand is unfamiliar, consumer evaluations of interbrand products are higher if the interbrand product announcement precedes an interbrand communication. We conclude with implications for further research on the effect of interbrand communications on interbrand relationships.

ABSTRACT. While the power of eWOM is accepted, to date, extant literature has not specifically addressed the impact of responses to negative eWOM and how those responses may affect readers’ evaluations of the focal brand. Our research examines how a response (i.e., a negative review has been posted online and another person posts in reference to the original comment) can counter a negative online review and the empirically examines the differing impact based on who responds. Using congruity and commodity theories, we show that deletion of a negative post has negative impact to the viewer's satisfaction, attitude towards the brand, and brand relationship quality (BRQ). Our results also indicate that when a negative review is posted online, the company can see beneficial results to loyalty and satisfaction when a countering comment is left in response to the original post. Loyalty and satisfaction are highest when another consumer posts a rebuttal, as opposed to an employee of the company, the company as a poster, or when no response is left at all. In practice, some sellers do not allow other consumers to respond to an original poster. Our results indicate that this is not the best course of action, and may actually do more harm than good. As negative reviews hold more weight than positive reviews and can influence attitude, this research is important in offering timely insights into understanding eWOM.

ABSTRACT. Social media has provided organizations with a new medium for advertising and has revolutionized the industry through new methods of targeting, higher levels of consumer interactivity and personalization, and higher accessibility to world markets. As more people join social media communities internationally, marketing managers are working to understand the best practices for reaching consumers overseas. The Middle East, in particular, is a viable region for marketing interests as it has experienced rapid growth in social media use. Through empirical survey research, we explore the role that social media advertisements play in determining brand equity and purchase intent of Middle Eastern consumers.

ABSTRACT. Brand personality has become an increasingly important concept within brand theory and factor-based methods constitute the standard measure in brand personality research. However, questions have been raised about the validity of current factor-based models. This research explores how brand personality characteristics that are salient in verbal and visual advertising content change over time as the brand is extended into multiple product categories. The empirical data are based on a case study of four sub-brands of the personal and skin care brand Nivea and include an advertising analysis, in-depth interviews with executives, and a document analysis. The results show that the meanings of words that represent brand personality characteristics in advertising content shift across different product categories. The study emphasises the problems related to the use of a generalised brand personality scale and develops an alternative methodological approach for brand personality research.

ABSTRACT. Strategic and effective brand communication becomes increasingly relevant in achieving brand differentiation as the variety of products and services increases and the number of communication channels expands (Ellwood, 2000). This research explores how likely consumers are to use traditional versus social communication channels to inquire information and express their opinions with and about high-stake and low-stake brands. Understanding where consumers communicate with and about brands can assist brand managers in strategically better utilizing traditional communication channels and social media.

ABSTRACT. Current research examined the effects of celebrity endorsement on donation with the moderating role of construal level. The findings indicated that participants showed more favorable responses to advertisement when the celebrity endorsed advertisement is matched with concrete messages than abstract messages. On the other hand, participants’ response to the non-celebrity endorsed advertisement was not different depending on construal level messages. Moreover, the findings showed that there was significant covariate effect of individuals’ the charity support importance, indicating that individuals’ concern and thought for issue has an impact on the relationship. Psychological distance was proposed as potential underlying mechanism for the interaction effect. Theoretical and practical implications were also followed.

ABSTRACT. This paper argues that the existing models used to explain how celebrity endorsement works could benefit from an evolutionary psychology perspective. We specifically focus on the theory of sexual selection and the role of attractiveness as a desirable adaptive trait. A brief overview of the existing theories used to understand celebrity endorsement is provided. Then, evolutionary psychology is introduced as a paradigm capable of adding explanatory and predictive power to celebrity endorsement. With a particular focus on sexual mating strategies, the distinct mating goals that males and females pursue are explained and incorporated in an explanation of the celebrity endorsement phenomena. Five propositions are made in this paper in addition to suggestions for more evolutionary-based associations regarding celebrity endorsement.

ABSTRACT. In marketing in general and communication in particular, progress in neuroeconomics provided advanced tools to measure the impact of marketing activities (e.g., software-based facial coding to capture a person’s affective state, Bartlett et al. 2005) and generated new findings and evidence for intuitive ‘gut knowledge’ with reference to the performance of marketing activities (e.g., regular price setting increases the activation of the pain system, specifically, the insula area, as shown by Knutson et al. 2007, while premium price setting may enhance activity in parts of the reward system, namely, the medial orbitofrontal cortex). Consequently, high expectations in neuroeconomics generally and in neuroimaging technology particularly raised the hopes of marketers that their (daily business) problems could be solved, e.g., by improving marketing activities (pricing strategies, product packaging design, etc.) or uncovering insights about customer’s true preferences (Ariely/Berns 2010). However, in the contemporary science and business world, the label “neuro” is overused, e.g., innumerable books have been published on all sorts of neuro topics (neuromarketing, neuromanagement, neurosales, neuroleadership, neurowebdesign, etc.) and an increasing number of companies sell neuro as a business activity (e.g., consulting, market research, etc.). Anyhow, or, for that reason: “All that neuro that glitters is not gold” and is sometimes merely “new neurowine in old marketing wineskins”. With this tendency in mind, this session aims to extract and discuss justifiable hopes from blind hype. Specifically, we try to outline a practical neuro-related brand communication framework in order to provide guidance for serious marketing purposes.

ABSTRACT. Regular consumption of a well-balanced diet is an important factor for ensuring healthy nutrition, especially in children of primary school age. In particular, seafood products are key components of a healthy diet and are important culturally and ethically around the world (Affinita et al. 2013). The communication of a balanced and ethical diet and the achieved health benefits needs to be carefully balanced to take into account various family factors which influence eating habit formation in young children (Castaño et al. 2015). The family atmosphere is the first and most crucial place where children acquire the examples and principles of own eating habits. Indeed, this paper explores the effects of family eating habits on sustainable seafood consumption habit creation in children. This study will employ an exploratory research approach which will help explore food habit formation in young UK families through an ethnographic study. This approach will enable the researcher to discover what causes consumers to make food choices, consumers’ perception of their food choices, habit formation, intra-family influences on sustainable seafood consumption. Instruments for collection data will consist of in-depth interviews, observations, Daily Seafood Intake Diary, and various projective techniques, with a requirement for consumers to identify best practices which, in their opinion, will be the most influential in the increase of their consumption of sustainable seafood. Data will be thematically analysed in NVivo.

ABSTRACT. Word-of-mouth studies have been extended to the online environment with the increasing engagement of consumers. eWOM has been adopted by consumers in purchase decision making. Industry report suggests that Internet users trust more on reviews from unknown resources rather than traditional media (Cheung & Thadani, 2012). Elaboration likelihood model developed by Petty and Cacioppo (1986) has been widely used in persuasion. Prior research on eWOM has applied the ELM in explaining the effect of eWOM. However, there is no consensus in literature on how consumers process eWOM and potential outcomes. This paper seeks to develop a framework of consumers’ eWOM processing based on the ELM model.

ABSTRACT. The increasing interconnection of automobiles with the environment promises the implementation of various new ideas and concepts, so that connected car seems to be “one of the most fascinating innovations in the more than 100 years old history of the automotive industry”. The growing connectivity of the automobile opens up completely new possibilities for mobility and automobile usage as well as the marketing of these new technologies. Therefore, the focus of this study is on the examination of specific application concepts, their implications on business models as well as possible changes in automotive industry from a user perspective. We use forecasting methods, such as focus groups and the Delphi method to derive precise propositions on how car driving will look like in the midterm future, how the balance of market power will be distributed on the market and which technological features are most promising from a consumer viewpoint. After the focus group and the first round of Delphi analysis, results emphasize the increasing importance of autonomous driving. We also find drivers and barriers of future connected car technologies. This study aims to develop managerial implications for the automotive industry based on the empirical findings.

ABSTRACT. Retailers have a great need to understand and respond to the changing consumer buying habits. Physical stores therefore need to learn to how to manage their business both online and offline and how the different channels can complement and support each other and generate additional sales. Some main challenges of omnichannel management as pointed out in a global survey of retail CEOs include providing seamless cross-channel experiences and redefining the role of the store in the path to purchase (PwC, 2014). Often, the same product is offered through digital channels and in the physical store – but what is it that determines consumers’ choices between the different channels? What is their behavior, expectations and attitudes toward the different channels? How and when are they using mobile devices during the buying process? This special session will address questions such as these, through a presentation of results from an ongoing project, as well as through discussion of the general trends and challenges facing retailers today.

ABSTRACT. The role of retailing and pricing cues are growing in importance, as retailers strive to enhance customer value and engagement. The three papers in this special session investigate how different retail and pricing factors influence consumer behavior. In the first paper, “How Differences in Vertical Location of the Reference Price and Sale Price Influence Evaluations?,” across multiple studies, the authors examine the impact of displaying the sale price above or below the reference price, and demonstrate the importance of making it easy for consumers to calculate the discount depth (or, amount saved). In the second paper, “The Role of Green Cues on Store Loyalty,” the authors report the results of a survey testing the role of how having a green image enhances consumers’ loyalty, and moderating factors thereof. In the final paper, “Consumer Touchpoints in Omnichannel Shopping,” the authors report the results of a qualitative study highlighting the importance of various touchpoints in omnichannel shopping. These papers highlight the importance of understanding retailing and pricing cues, and also showcase a breadth of methodologies; experiments, surveys and consumer diaries.

ABSTRACT. The digital and social media campaign of the NITB is evaluated using both qualitative and quantitative performance metrics. The overall success of the GoT Belfast campaign is weighed in terms of economic costs to attract the filming to Northern Ireland versus the economic impact on the region.

ABSTRACT. The use of social media is ubiquitous in American culture. Seventy-four percent of American adults report using social networking sites; among consumers 18-29 years of age, the penetration rate is 90% (Pew Research, 2014). Eighty-three percent of Fortune 500 companies have corporate Twitter accounts with a Tweet in the previous 30 days, a 16% over 2013 (Barnes and Lescault, 2014). As social media has increased in importance as a marketing medium, placement of links to social media in various outlets has become widespread. The expected advertising spend in this area is $14 billion by 2018 (Hoelzel, 2014). Moreover, the use of multiple media to reach a target audience is more prevalent than ever before. Conventional advertising on high-reach media such as television and magazines is supplanted with a mix of touch points, espousing a huge number of media alternatives (Romaniuk, Beal and Uncles, 2013). Magazine advertisements frequently carry colorful social media icons. This qualitative study explores the attitudes of social media adopters towards these magazine links. Findings suggest that the most salient feature of compelling social media links are promotional offers (such as coupons, discounts, free shipping, games, contests, or any other thing that is interesting about the company) and a clever link or hashtag keyword that facilitates easy information access about a particular product in an advertisement.

ABSTRACT. Native advertising, or paid content that is assimilated with the visual design and function of non-paid content on a publisher’s site, is growing in popularity. The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) asserts widespread advertiser and publisher agreement regarding clear and prominent disclosure that native ads are paid content. The disclosures are important because they help prevent scrutiny about whether native advertising is misleading or deceptive, which could trigger policy intervention. However, by definition, native ads, including their disclosures, are designed to match the experience provided by other content. So, it is not clear a) if consumers know native ads are sponsored content or b) whether consumers care about the source of the content. To begin to address this gap in our understanding of native advertising, the article begins with a report of current native advertising formats and practices. It then reviews 122 examples of native ads from identified native advertising leaders over a 31-day period. The report summarizes ad format (video, content, picture), industries that used native ads, the amount of engagement with the content during the 31-day period and, perhaps most importantly, how the sponsorship was disclosed in each case. There was wide variation in the words, contrast, and placement used for sponsorship disclosures. Using persuasion knowledge theories as a conceptual basis, it identifies research propositions, ethical and policy questions that provide directions for future research.

ABSTRACT. It is becoming increasingly accepted that brands possess the capacity to convey different sets of benefits to different consumers, and that these benefits can be functional, experiential and/or symbolic in nature. While our understanding of functional and experiential branding has grown considerably in recent years, our knowledge of symbolic branding lags behind. Illustratively, although a considerable amount of research has been conducted regarding brand personality as an effective evaluation tool for predicting perceived brand benefits and acceptance, to date no studies have employed brand values for the same predictive capacity. As co-determinants of lifestyle, both brand personality and brand values are integral to the formation of consumer attitudes, behavior and lifestyle. By examining the predictive capacities of Kahle’s List of Values (LOV) framework and Aaker’s Dimensions of Brand Personality framework, this study conceptualizes symbolic brand equity and then uses linear regression modeling to evaluate the List of Values (LOV) as a measurement framework for assessing symbolic brand equity, as well as its relative effectiveness in measuring symbolic brand equity as compared to the Dimensions of Brand Personality framework. While Aaker’s Dimensions of Brand Personality framework continues to be an effective framework for assessing brand equity in general, study findings reveal that Kahle’s List of Values framework outperforms the Dimensions of Brand Personality framework when measuring symbolic brand equity. Correlations are drawn between brand values and brand personality, as well as within the LOV instrument itself. Theoretical and managerial implications of consumers’ brand values and brand personality evaluations are also discussed.

ABSTRACT. In both marketing research and business practice, the study of corporate brand reputation has gained growing interest. Especially, the highly dynamic and intense contentions in the various markets worldwide initialized a paradigm shift from physical competition, including tangible problem solutions and overall product quality, to a psychological competition with reference to identity and reputation. However, better knowledge of drivers of corporate brand reputation, and the effects on the overall brand performance from a customer’s perspective, is still needed. That said, previous studies about corporate brand reputation fall back on traditional and basic explicit self-reporting scales. However, an increasing number of neuroeconomic studies indicate that customers are not fully aware of their thoughts and opinions. In fact, most mental processes are of so-called implicit nature, taking place hidden in the unconscious and automatic mind. Yet, established models of corporate brand reputation are missing implicit processes completely. Against this backdrop, the aim of the current paper is to fill this research gap. For that reason, a holistic framework of dual information processing is derived with reference to corporate brand reputation. Furthermore, related explicit (reflected/deliberate) and implicit (impulsive/automatic) measures are developed and applied to capture the dual facets of corporate brand reputation. The empirical results provide evidence that both dimensions, implicit and explicit corporate brand reputation, have a crucial impact on the degree of attachment toward the brand.

ABSTRACT. This paper examines the effect of brand attachment and its antecedents on commitment, satisfaction, trust and brand equity of in the context of Higher Education Institutions. The findings from an online survey with students and recent graduates (n=605) in the United States indicate that brand meaning is the main antecedent of brand attachment strength that affects satisfaction, trust, and commitment as well as brand equity. The effect of the brand attachment antecedents on satisfaction is stronger for current students whereas the effect of brand attachment antecedents on commitment is stronger for recent graduates. The effect of attachment strength on brand equity is also stronger for recent graduates.

ABSTRACT. Given the growing importance of companies’ Facebook fan pages for brand communication, details about consumers’ perceptions of these pages need to be linked to their effect on customer-based brand equity creation. Our research builds on Keller and Lehmann’s (2003) brand value chain theory and adopts this framework to the social media context. This enables us to investigate the role of multiple brand fan page characteristics for producing a favorable consumer brand mindset and enhancing brand value. Specifically, we study the impact of perceived brand communication vividness, interactivity, as well as informational and entertaining brand post content on brand awareness, image and attitude. Results show that consumer-oriented brand fan pages can strengthen consumer-brand relationships and can enhance positive brand outcomes such as increased customer loyalty and brand recommendations. This process is mediated through a positive consumer brand mindset. Our research indicates that brand communication content has a differential effect on brand awareness and image. This suggests that marketers should brand messages based on their goal and also acknowledging the branding context as well as consumers’ individual differences.

ABSTRACT. Digital technologies reshape customer behavior. Currently, many customers are shifting their searches about new products, their communication about it, and consequently their purchases to online channels. Therefore, traditional brick-and-mortar retailers face a massive wave of new online competitors to whom they are continuously losing customers. Past research about this highly relevant issue is deficient as it lacks a comprehensive strategy on how brick-and-mortar retail stores can survive in this new digital world on a long-term and customer-oriented basis.

The aim of this research project is to identify measures brick-and-mortar retailers can take to prevent the additional loss of customers to online competitors. To do so, we model the real-life decisions of customers between the online and offline retail channels. We investigate the reasons why customers choose brick-and-mortar retailers over online stores – and vice versa. Building on these reasons, we derive competitive advantages traditional retailers can profit from potentially. These insights offer important implications for the survival of brick-and-mortar retailers in a digital environment.

ABSTRACT. Retailers nationwide are implementing point of sale donations, in which charitable support is elicited from consumers at the conclusion of their transactions. Recent statistics indicate that such tactics are effective in raising money for charities; however, few scholars have empirically investigated the impact these marketing appeals may have on the companies asking for the donations. Thus, this research utilizes structural equation modeling to identify antecedents to consumer participation with point of sale donations as well as affective outcomes through a utilization of signaling theory. Managerial implications are provided as well.

ABSTRACT. Several studies have examined the effect of music in retail settings. Despite this, a deeper investigation of earlier results reveals several ambiguities regarding the effects of music. In this study a field experiment is conducted with a Latin square design in three grocery stores with the purpose to examine the effects of 1) the presence of music, 2) the type of music (foreground and background music), and 3) interaction effects of music and the time the music is being played. Results support an interactive effect of "music on/off" and "part of week". Music had a positive effect on sales during weekdays, but a negative effect on sales during weekends. There was also an interactive effect of "type of playlist" and "part of week" on sales. Background music was the best to use during weekdays while no music at all and the faster foreground music treatment resulted in the highest average sales during weekends. This research adds to knowledge about the effects of music in retail setting. It provides guidance on both if music should be played, and if so, guidance on what kind of music should be played and if there is a need to take on different tactics on different days.

ABSTRACT. This paper examines the effects of in-store activities on perception of retailer's legitimacy and consumer patronage behavior. Results from a study conducted in a real retail setting reveal that while in-store activities do not exert main effects on legitimacy and patronage behavior, corporate attributions play a major role. Precisely, the value consumers derive from their par-ticipation to these activities exerts a positive impact on perceived legitimacy and an indirect effect on patronage behavior only when corporate attributions are low.

ABSTRACT. Technology influences consumers’ consumption habits and construction of identities. This research focuses specifically on the wearable activity tracker, Fitbit, and explores how it not only drives change, but also becomes an active participant in consumers’ everyday lives. Four themes are presented: health-related behavioral change, impact on emotional state, technology- governed goal-driven behaviors and technology dependency and embodiment. We conclude that when consumers actively track and monitor their quantified selves, the technology takes on an agentic role and demands consumers’ trust and reliance in exchange for gratification, access to performance data and a happier, more satisfied, state of mind.

ABSTRACT. Inactive lifestyles and associated healthcare costs fostered a trend of encouraging use of wearables (e.g. wristbands tracking daily activity) to promote proactive wellbeing management. Yet, there is a gap between consumers’ interest in and actual adoption and usage of wearables. This limits the technology in fully unfolding its potential for different stakeholders, i.e., consumers, device vendors or governments. Our study examines factors fostering the adoption and usage of wearables deploying product trials followed with interviews, focusing on Perceived Usefulness (PU) and its determinants. TAM-2 model was found most suitable and was further enhanced by three antecedents of Output Quality, one of the factors affecting PU, namely Accuracy, Design and Data Delivery. Our results contribute to enhancing the model’s ability to predict adoption and usage of wearables. Furthermore, practical implications and further research directions are derived.

ABSTRACT. This paper draws its conceptual lens from the sociology of expectations and from market studies to investigate the relationship between hype cycles and how future markets are formed. Through discourse analysis we interrogate a body of 462 publicly accessible texts from the period 2005 to 2015 around digital health technologies and markets across newspapers, internet sources and public policy documents, tracing: the content of the discourse, the promises made and warnings sounded, who contributes to the hype, and its effects on the shaping of the digital healthcare landscape. We find that the digital health technology hype follows an hourglass pattern, where the early market impetus around cost savings in healthcare systems finds itself replaced by a technology development frenzy in a second phase before settling down into a more mature third phase where technologies are integrated into a wider socio-economic discourse again.

Our paper contributes to technology marketers' understanding of how technology markets are shaped and how they can position themselves in these markets to best effect. We warn against following the 'hype', especially when it encourages companies to engage in technology development that is blinded by the promises of an untapped market and unhinged from broader systems, societal, ethical or economic concerns.

ABSTRACT. Free-to-play online games, funded by the sale of virtual items are renouncing the sale of those which provide a competitive advantage for those which are purely cosmetic, in order to keep competition pure. Recent quantitative research has discovered several motivations for the purchase of virtual items in general, but no study has directly explored the motivation to purchase cosmetic items (i.e. non-functional). This paper contributes here, by exploring the motivations of non-functional virtual item purchase through 16 interviews with western hardcore gamers of League of Legends. The results reveal three superordinate purchasing motivations: hedonistic, social and social payments. The first two support existing knowledge in the field, however the latter, provides novel contribution. This is akin with other site such as Wikipedia, where users are motivated to invest money with the intention to reward and support the developers and to ensure its future existence. Future research and marketing implications are provided.

ABSTRACT. Today’s competitive marketplace increasingly pressures organizations to provide benefits beyond those desired by end consumers, to enhance some facet of the surrounding community. One emerging trend to meet such standards involves CSR practices incorporating a minority community in need directly into their service offering. In fact, businesses are creating opportunities for minority groups to be front-line employees that provide services to the majority population. These organizations operate with the dual goals of bridging the gap between majority-minority populations while providing tools for subsistence for the need community. The creation of these new service business models aligns with the basic notion of new service innovation (Johnson et al. 2000). Supporting the service logic perspective, this innovative model changes the manner in which the majority customers think about the minority population, as they are in direct contact with one another. Further, through increased participation and interaction amongst both parties within these models, there are new opportunities for value co-creation while also fostering societal well-being (Michel et al. 2008). This research seeks to understand the experiential elements of such innovative models from both the minority and majority perspectives. Prior CSR and co-creation research primarily focuses on the positive aspects of implementing such models; however, this paper shows the “dark side” which may arise when co-creation amongst various cultures is used to achieve a CSR mission. Results of two qualitative fields studies are presented, as well as theoretical and managerial implications. Finally, future directions for this research study are discussed.

ABSTRACT. As New Service Development (NSD) is a key source of competitive advantage, NSD management constitutes a central research priority in the marketing literature. A crucial but relatively neglected aspect of NSD management encompasses the resolution of conflicts occurred in NSD teams. Although most NSD projects are blended with conflict and disagreements, empirical evidence on how managerial conflict management styles determine team dynamics and conflict resolution during NSD remains scarce. This study proposes a dynamic integrated framework, which posits that NSD actors’ selection of various conflict-management styles during conflict episodes affects team dynamics and conflict resolution. The Fuzzy-Set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fs/QCA) is employed in order to assess the relative importance of each conflict-management style on a group of parameters of team dynamics (i.e. team cooperation, trust, socialization, role ambiguity). Using this set-membership technique, we also uncover how the aforementioned contingencies of the team environment affect the resolution of conflicts occurred during NSD projects. Results confirm that individual team parameters have complex trade-off effects and that only certain combinations of parameters act as sufficient conditions for successful conflict resolution.

ABSTRACT. Drawing from social exchange theory, service-dominant logic, and social identity theory a conceptual model is developed to identify the variables that drive a customer to choose a provider for service exchanges. Despite substantial research on social identity and group behavior, research has failed to fully examine how customers and providers within an organization identify with each other and how relationships with other individuals within an organization influence service exchanges. A unique multi-sourced dataset from the health care industry is used to empirically examine how an individual’s degree of connectivity and identification with others influences service exchanges. The model fits the data very well, accurately predicting 76% of the cases. Results indicate that service exchanges are multi-dimensional; a customer’s likelihood to exchange with a provider is influenced by their need to belong and their degree of connectivity in the organization. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed

ABSTRACT. With the recent dramatic increase in the smartphone ownership and usage, the spending on mobile advertising surpassed the spending on desktop digital advertising for the first time in 2015. The current research investigates the effectiveness of these mobile banner ads. Particularly, we examine which location on a screen (top vs. bottom) is more effective for mobile banner ads displayed on smartphones versus phablets. Results from an experiment show that the mobile banner ads is more effective in terms of attitude and consideration set formation when displayed on the top (vs. bottom) of the screen on smartphones, but such difference is not significant for phablets.

ABSTRACT. Existing research on digital marketing has mainly focused on social media. However, Internet evolution brings particular challenges that must be faced. In order to explore new business opportunities, it becomes increasingly important to develop new conceptual models on the availability and adoption of digital marketing strategies to a more sophisticated application. This paper views the adoption of digital marketing strategies as a holistic process which encompasses motivational, emotional, and cognitive factors underlying the implementation of digital marketing strategies. To achieve research purposes it is presented a conceptual model to understand the attributes of digital marketing in building market competitiveness in Mexico. The Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) (Davis, 1986), the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) (Fishbein & Ajzen, 1975) and the Diffusion of Innovations Theory (Rogers, 1995) are used to develop the model and capture the unique business dynamics of the current digital environment. The paper concludes with a discussion on its conceptual contributions, conclusions and interesting directions for future research.

ABSTRACT. Providing responses to peers’ posts can prove problematic for students participating in online discussion forums, just as assessing these responses can prove problematic for faculty. Typically seen are responses that provide emotional support (I like how you…) or some other form of critique. These types of responses provide little opportunity for students to demonstrate their grasp of the material, nor for faculty to easily assess whether students are understanding the material. This research details a method of managing online discussions such that peer responses can act as an easily-assessed method for gauging student understanding of concepts.

ABSTRACT. With an increasing share of retail sales being conducted online, local retailers are being squeezed by customers switching towards online purchases and by the growing price pressure they face when trying to compete with online retail giants (e.g., Amazon.com). Our research addresses this issue by investigating community based resources available to local retailers and their impact on retail performance. We find that developing resources based on community engagement, shared values, and the economic value proposition increase the retailer’s share of customer and the likelihood the consumer will engage in positive word of mouth. We also find that shared values enhances the positive impact of community engagement resources on commitment. Our findings contribute to the retailing and resource based theory literature and provide managerial direction to help local retailers develop more effectively compete with online retailers.

ABSTRACT. This paper looks at the relationship between legitimate and expert social power types of preadolescent children over their perception of influence on their mothers in Peruvian toy stores. The literature review takes into consideration the concepts of Social Power and the Perception of Influence on Family Behavior to then focus on Social Power within Family Behavior with the purpose of mainly developing four hypotheses. The methodology followed a non-experimental transversal correlational design. A pilot sample size of 50 cases was used. The sample was based on an objective population of Peruvian mothers of families that live Lima and that specifically go to purchase toys with their children to major shopping centers. The results demonstrate that the expert social power as well as the legitimate social power have a strong relationship. Furthermore, both powers social powers generate an effect on the perception of influence child-mother, but not on the perception of influence mother-child. Also, the test of moderation of the expenditure on toy purchases does not have an effect on the context that was studied. The contribution demonstrates that important changes are happening on the consumption behavior on the aspect of children influencing mothers and that for Latin American contexts, the level of expenditure still does not crucially affect the causality demonstrated.

ABSTRACT. Despite the threats to local areas, the behavior of purchasing goods outside the consumers’ trading area also generates valuable opportunities to the new trading areas where the outshopping occurs. Research on outshopping has concentrated on demographic, psychographic, and segmenting variables. Yet, contradicting results remain and academics suggest further research especially in relation to micro-level characteristics of the consumer. Besides, limited studies were found especially dedicated to the US as the trading area and apparel as the traded product. This quantitative study explored the attitudes and purchase intention of Colombian consumers who outshop in the US. Findings suggest that Colombian outshoppers are simultaneously looking to save money and find unique products. Understanding the outshoppers offers marketers valuable information for developing unique market offerings designed specifically to attract global consumers in this important segment. Academically, this study contributes to the literature by focusing on apparel as outshopping product and international consumers’ outshopping in the US.

ABSTRACT. Leaning on the theoretical tenets of experiential consumption and attitude process literatures, this cross-cultural research uses path analysis to examine antecedents and consequences of superstitious beliefs. For the Korean data, attitude toward endings fully mediates the relationship between intrinsic religiosity and superstitious beliefs. For the U.S. data, intrinsic religiosity has no effect on either attitude toward endings or superstitious beliefs. For both samples, (1) attitude toward endings has a positive effect on suspension of disbelief, and (2) attitude toward zodiac signs and zodiac sign expertise relate positively to superstitious beliefs. This research adds to the religiosity and superstition literatures by exploring carefully selected yet under-researched antecedents and consequences of consumers’ superstitious beliefs. The mediation effect for Korean respondents and model differences between the Korean and U.S. respondent sets provide novel empirical results.

ABSTRACT. Research investigating business-to-business (B2B) exchange supports the position that cultivating strong exchange relationships is vital to the long-term success of both parties involved in an exchange. However, while research has rightly identified and championed the benefits associated with the cultivation of strong exchange relationships, the literature has largely ignored the vulnerability of such relationships and why they rarely last forever. Thus, we are left with questions as to how these same relationships dissolve and fail. Further, we also lack insights into how exchange relationships can be repaired following disruptive events occurring in the relationship. The purpose of the present research is to begin to address these deficiencies in the literature. We will employ a multi-method approach to address our primary research question: how are exchange relationships disrupted and how can they be repaired? To begin, exploratory research will be conducted to gain a better understanding of how disruptions manifest in B2B exchange relationships, what impact they have on the relationship, and how these exchange relationships can be recovered following a disruption event. Next, a dataset containing the transaction data and relational disruption data from a large, national manufacturer will be analyzed to extend our findings and determine the downstream impact of seller-caused relationship disruptions on buyer purchasing behavior. The results of the proposed studies will allow us to better understand the impact of disruption events on exchange relationships, thus addressing an important gap in the exchange relationship literature.

ABSTRACT. It is an acknowledged fact that any organizational buying decision is taken so as to eliminate the risk associated with the purchase. This paper investigates the moderating role of risk and the mediating role of brand love on organizational buying. We build upon the earlier works of Webster and Wind (1972) and Sheth (1973) by investigating one dimension of the environmental determinant on organizational buying through a conceptual model proposed in this paper. Branding is known to influence the decision making process. Prior studies have shown that technical specialists in a Decision Making Unit (DMU) are influenced by various dimensions of brand personality. The paper concludes with implications of the model for managers and directions for future research.

ABSTRACT. Professional services co-development between customer and supplier firms is an overlooked research area in the supply chain literature. Professional services such as information technology (IT) and software development are highly knowledge intensive service products. Because of their product nature, these kinds of professional services are often replete with technical jargon that present ambiguities to customer firms who rely on professional suppliers for service product co-development. This study explores how two types of ambiguities, i.e., need-based ambiguity and knowledge-based ambiguity, play a role in customer participation. We propose that customer participation breadth and depth each influence strategic collaboration, and yet different types of ambiguities affect these relationships in different ways. We also theorize that strategic collaboration is key to creating value to both supplier and customer firms. Using data collected from a major IT supplier and its 175 customer firms that co-developed a software package, our results largely confirm our premise and provide insights to both researchers and practitioners.

ABSTRACT. The nature of firm relationships continues to be dynamic. While most of the research focuses on the positive side and the corresponding benefits to the firm, some research highlights the dark side of relationship marketing. This paper adds to this stream of research by assessing the relationship destroying behaviors and the corresponding antecedents and consequences. Specifically, we explore the implications of relationship destroying factors for firms in acquiring, developing, and maintaining relationships with key partners.

ABSTRACT. Environmental sustainability has become a prominent issue in current business and public policy agendas. Academics and policy makers have implemented advertisement campaigns to inspire consumers to adopt environmentally sustainable behaviors. An emergent, yet under-researched advertising medium to promote these behaviors is commercial cinematographic theaters. Using an interpretive approach, this study aims to determine the way in which movies can act as ads for promoting sustainable behaviors. The data collection involved 36 in-depth interviews with viewers of a movie about Colombia's (South America) wildlife. Results show that, similar to the impact created on products, brands, and tourism, movies can heighten viewers’ sense of social responsibility toward climate change and provoke positive attitudes towards sustainable behaviors. In addition, national identity appears as a vehicle for advertisers to make sustainability a tangible concept in which viewers feel able to act upon.

ABSTRACT. Advertising is a creative and an informative source of marketing communications to reach particular target markets or audiences (AMA, 2015). While creativity helps to enhance persuasion of advertising, information provides trust to customers. With 106 participants, this exploratory research tests how creativity and information are able to improve trust of customers toward the advertising message.

In the stages of this research, creativity is represented by those artistic elements included in the ad (i.e. colors, effects, visuals, body copy, among others); and information is represented by green advertising contents (i.e. figures, data, green and cause-related information).The main question of this research is: to which extent do creative and informative elements help to improve trust of customers towards an advertising message?

ABSTRACT. The authors are the first to examine the effects of interactivity on cinema advertising effectiveness. Addressing this gap is especially important as traditional cinema advertising lacks in effectiveness and existing research on interactivity shows conflicting results about its potential. Focusing on two-way communication as the understudied dimension of interactivity, the authors show that all is not lost for cinema advertising. Introducing interactivity into cinema advertising by including trivia questions with answer possibilities lowers the level of mental construal of high-involved consumers. These low-level, concrete construals in turn, reduce consumers’ self-control and as such improve several measures of advertising effectiveness.

ABSTRACT. Specialization and knowledge intensiveness as rising trends in many industries lead to a growing demand for solutions to individual customer problems. Many of these solutions, such as special machinery or knowledge-intensive business services, are sold and delivered within processes describable as complex projects. For suppliers to be able to successfully sell and deliver complex projects, they depend on input from their customers, especially an adequate articulation of demand and the competence to co-create value during project delivery. However, existing studies reveal that business customers frequently lack the competence to sufficiently articulate their needs.

Business customers’ competence is relatively unexplored in marketing research. This is particularly surprising in light of the importance of customers’ contribution in value co-creation, as emphasized in Service-Dominant-Logic. Moreover, especially for the context of highly individualized projects, it has been pointed out that value is co-created in buyer-supplier interactions.

We develop the construct of Project Buying Competence (PBC), which offers a framework of customers’ knowledge resources as well as the processes necessary for defining needs in individualized complex projects. The concept of PBC is highly relevant for practitioners who face customers in a situation of massive technological changes, and - due to the growing complexity of these changes in a situation of diffuse demand. Although this challenges suppliers, it offers a chance for lucrative projects, where value is most obviously co-created in interaction between customers and suppliers.

ABSTRACT. The belief that salespeople should build strong interpersonal networks is ubiquitous among both practitioners and scholars. Typically, this notion is based on the belief that salespeople with stronger networks will navigate the sales process more efficiently and, therefore, enhance their sales performance. Interestingly, a core aspect of networking that is often downplayed is the fact that establishing and maintaining interpersonal networks takes considerable time and effort and may actually decrease performance before it becomes an effective long-term performance tool. In this study we apply longitudinal growth modeling techniques to a unique dataset of newly hired salespeople to examine the effects of salespeople’s networking ability on performance over a two-year period following their start date. Results indicate an interesting pattern of initial performance decline and eventual performance improvement for those high in networking ability.

ABSTRACT. The objective of this article is to discuss the performance of B2B sales strategy in the context of social media. Four components of sales strategy, customer segmentation, customer prioritization and targeting, relationship objectives and selling models, and uses of multiple sales channels are examined to assess their impacts on sales performance. In addition, three dimensions of social media usage, competitive intelligence, engagement, and word-of-mouth are explored as moderating factors that impact the relationships between sales strategy components and sales performance outcomes.

ABSTRACT. In a shift from the information processing paradigm, embodied cognition theory supports the idea that human cognition can also be influenced by bodily states. Following this stream of thought, recent research showed that by pronouncing some sort of letter arrangements, humans’ oral articulatory movements are capable of activating motivational states. Across three studies, we show that the unobtrusive inducement of oral articulatory movements can drive consumers’ food perception and consumption. More specifically, we found that unobtrusively inducing deglution (swallowing-like) [vs. expectoration (spitting-like)] oral movements can impact healthiness perception, calorie estimation as well as food desirability and consumption.

ABSTRACT. In order to extend the brand beyond its original product categories, marketers may alter the original logo to free the product limitation and increase the perceived fit of new product category. This study is inspired by the case of Starbucks’ logo redesign and proposes that logo frames will set a boundary on the perceived scope of the brand categories and its extensions. The findings support this hypothesis that consumers perceive the brand with an unframed logo with a larger scope of product categories than the one with a framed logo does. A brand with a broad scope of product categories can launch a new extension relatively easy because the extension is more likely to fit with the parent brand’s categories. Furthermore, consumers’ regulatory focus is proposed to be a moderator between the relationship of logo frame and perceived brand categories based on the information processing natures and tendencies which the promotion- and prevention-focused people have. It is found that freeing the logo from frame can increase the categories of brand extensions for promotion-focused consumers rather than prevention-focused ones. The current results contribute to bridge the research areas of brand management and logo design, also signal the importance of further research on design elements for marketers.

ABSTRACT. Recent trends in package design literature have demonstrated an increased focus on the effects of fluency. In the context of package design, this variable is shown to have important effects on consumer behavior but inconsistent results regarding how one affects the other highlight the need to address the question of their relationship. To help answer this question, the authors examine the interplay between front labels fluency and typicality on consumer willingness to pay. Relying on the literature, the authors propose a framework whereby this label-related variable of typicality but also the individual variable referring to risk avoidance tendency moderate the effects of fluency. Through two empirical studies conducted in different contexts, this research first replicates the positive effects of fluency. Second, and more importantly, results from multigroup analyses demonstrate the lack of moderating role of typicality and rather highlight that it is the consumer’s tendency to avoid risky consumption that plays such a role. Theoretical and managerial implications of these results are discussed.

ABSTRACT. The global rise of the Foodie movement has attracted some research attention as well as critique in the food industry trend followers, but little research attention in marketing research. The present study looks at the ‘Foodie’ phenomenon in the UK and aims to extend how the notion has been coined in literature through a qualitative investigation of a sample of self-professed Foodies. The objective is to provide an in-depth understanding of what it means to be a Foodie at the individual and group levels, probing attitudes, motivations and self-awareness. Results indicate that the term Foodie cannot be used as an implicit definition of someone ‘simply interested in food’; the capacity of the Foodie may be dependent on individual involvement and the level of importance along the five emerging themes; these being: Learning and discovery; Pleasure and enjoyment; Inspirational influences; Quality; and Experiencing food as an individual and in connection with others. Findings imply that there might be different levels of Foodies, leading to a start on developing a Foodie Typology. The study poses implications for food marketers and researchers that can assist in more effective segmentation, efficient targeting and tailored positioning, as well as opportunities for future research.

ABSTRACT. The exchange of negative comments online about branded offers is defined in the literature as negative electronic word of mouth (NeWOM). The understanding of the mechanisms that drive negative behaviour are of high importance for companies that want to increase their customer base and there is a call for more research on how negative relationships actually work. An important question which arises is if NeWOM is only motivated by consumer’s reaction against the company or if it is motivated by consumer’s desire of contributing to the community. This research is novel because it proposes that NeWom has a dual nature: an immediate emotional release of dissatisfactory experiences (vengeance) and social consumer behaviour (concern by other consumers). The sample consisted of 302 Spanish Millennials, active users of social networks, who have complained online in the past year. The model was tested using Partial Least Squares Path Modelling (PLSPM). Although dissatisfaction and vengeance have the main negative effect on NeWom, Our findings underline the relevance of social motivation and demonstrate that consumer to consumer online information exchanges (eC2C) about underperforming brands drives value to consumers by directly impacting on consumer’s social motivation which in turn, triggers NeWOM.

ABSTRACT. Often well-established brands are loved by some consumers, but hated by others, a phenomenon called brand polarization. The current research examines the influence of advertising that communicates that some consumers hate the brand (“hate-acknowledging advertising”) on consumers’ intentions to engage in positive word-of-mouth on behalf of polarizing brands. Specifically, the findings indicate that, when exposing those with love emotions towards a brand to hate-acknowledging advertising (vs. traditional advertising), their motivation to engage in positive word-of-mouth on behalf of the brand increases, an effect which is mediated by increases in consumer-brand identification. The empirical findings suggest that polarizing brands may benefit from leveraging the existence of brand hate emotions in an advertising context.

ABSTRACT. The internet has given rise to anti-brand communities which are forming around common aversions toward brands. We illuminate this phenomenon in the context of social networking sites and consider effects on sponsorships of the opposed brand. Therefore, we conduct a mixed method study of Facebook-organized anti-brand communities using the brand FC Bayern Muenchen and its main sponsor Deutsche Telekom. Our findings reveal that community membership negatively influences both attitude and purchase intention toward the sponsor of the anti-brand. Consequently, we establish the relevance of anti-brand communities for both the brand and their sponsors and derive marketing implications.

ABSTRACT. This study introduces the construct of online brand derision – conceptualized in terms of online brand derision avoidance (OBDA) and online brand derision communication (OBDC) components – and identify its antecedents. Drawing from existing literature on WOM, homophily-heterophily in social networks, social identity theory, and social dominance theory, this study develops and tests a theoretically grounded framework of brand derision in the online environment.

ABSTRACT. In this research, the general concept of perceived self-efficacy, i.e., one’s personal judgments about how well he can perform in certain situations – capturing the degree of confidence about what one believes he can do given his skills, knowledge or capabilities in specific behavioral domains (Bandura 1986), is extended to examine consumers’ price estimation accuracy in an evolved digital environment. Tentatively labelled as the Consumer Price Estimation (CPE) Self Efficacy scale, this domain specific individual difference measure is developed to assess self-appraisals of one’s beliefs in his general ability to precisely estimate prices for consumer goods/prices. Drawing on price knowledge, price recall and price recognition literatures, a 17-item scale has been developed to reflect the multi-dimensional nature of consumer price estimation. Results from a confirmatory exploratory analysis are summarized, along with additional findings regarding discriminant, convergent and predictive validity of the CPE Self Efficacy scale.

ABSTRACT. Recent research has shown that effort can influence consumers’ judgments of fairness and deservingness. Popular press provides evidence that consumers are willing to expend effort to get better prices, such as through behaviors exhibited on Black Friday. Social media has enabled other consumers’ effort to be more transparent; however, academic research offers little guidance of how the salience of referent effort affects judgments of price fairness. This research investigates the effect of another customers’ effort on consumers judgments of their own price fairness.

ABSTRACT. Participative pricing mechanisms which empower customers in the price determination have gained increased interest in practice and academia. The most progressive form of participative pricing is Pay-what-you-Want pricing as it gives customers full control over the price-setting process. Previous research in the field of participative pricing has focused on situational and monetary factors, and is conducted from a company’s point of view. Customer-related factors such as cognitive, emotional, and behavioral aspects have nearly been neglected, although customers and their increasing demand for empowerment are key factors for the success of participative pricing. This study adds value to existing pricing research in several ways: It offers an integrated approach of cognitive, emotional, behavioral and monetary aspects in participative pricing and examines customers’ perspective. In addition to that it is the first study which compares participative pricing with traditional fixed pricing mechanisms in a field experiment and thus aims at highlighting the beneficial value participative pricing with regard to monetary and non-monetary outcomes.

ABSTRACT. Consumer enjoys free product or service in daily life because zero is a special price. Prior studies showed that consumer perceived the benefits associated with free products as higher. In this study, we conducted a series of experiments to investigate whether the firm’s targeted audiences were shrink back at the sight of the implicit sacrifice of free product. Also, we examined the moderating role of price tactic knowledge in making decision. The result showed that most of firm’s targeted audiences changed their mind because of the implicated physical and psychological hassle costs. Also, customers with high extent of price tactic knowledge will unlikely to buy a free product.

ABSTRACT. Despite numerous studies on consumer attitudes toward Chinese products and the consumer trust-satisfaction-loyalty link, little empirical work has been conducted to investigate the causal effects of social variables, such as social influence and word-of-mouth, and the consumer satisfaction-loyalty link of Chinese consumer electronics within the U.S. market. Thus, this study has developed a conceptual model to examine the significant effects of word-of-mouth on consumers’ trust, satisfaction and loyalty regarding consumer electronics which are made in China. This study has utilized two types of social variables: word-of-mouth and social influence, and has explored the relations between the two social variables and two dimensions of consciousness: health consciousness and price consciousness. Within the model, the relations between the trust-satisfaction-loyalty link and two dimensions of consciousness have been tested.

ABSTRACT. Unfamiliar brands face the formidable challenge of effectively signaling the quality of their products to consumers. In this research, we investigate whether unfamiliar brands can signal product quality with warranties. Despite the intuitive expectation that consumers would write off any warranty-based claims from such brands, we posit and find that overall, while warranty does not act as a signal of quality for products of low or high durability, it can effectively signal quality for products of moderate durability. We also find that for a product of moderate durability, the signaling effectiveness of warranty increases with an increase in consumers’ self-assessed product category knowledge.

ABSTRACT. For a variety of product categories, such as online news, music downloads, or video games, consumers can use previews or trial versions to examine the offer before making a pur-chase decision. As a teaser for the commercial product, the structure of the preview (e.g., con-cluded vs. interrupted ending) should matter. This research addresses the question of how the ending of a text-based preview (e.g., online news) affects consumers’ buying decision. Across two experiments, the authors show that the idea of increasing customers’ excitement and will-ingness to buy the commercial product by providing an interrupted preview ending backfires in the context of text-based previews (e.g., online newspapers) because of higher dissatisfaction.

ABSTRACT. Exclusivity is a long-lived concept in marketing. Luxury goods, for example, are often discussed in terms of their “exclusive” appeal. Franchise, technology, or patent licenses are often “exclusive” in nature. Exclusive distribution is also a common distribution strategy. A product or brand may see “timed exclusivity” at a retailer or in distribution channel, or even be locked into an exclusive retailer or channel for the lifetime of the product’s existence. Firms may also use exclusivity as a part of a product or brand assortment strategy, leveraging unique inventory as a competitive tool (Dekimpe et al 2011). Some retailers report adopting exclusivity strategies to fight online competition and new consumer behaviors such as "showrooming" (Zimmerman 2012). Thus, in recent years, advertising the exclusivity of a product, or even labeling product packaging with an “exclusive” label has become common. This trend of “advertised exclusivity” has or exclusivity labeling has yet to see any significant coverage in the literature. In fact, the idea of “exclusivity” and its various forms and uses, have rarely, if ever, been discussed and summarized in a single source. This work hopes to examine the idea of exclusivity in the literature and marketplace as well as shed light on the new trend of advertised exclusivity as a retail strategy.

ABSTRACT. The sharing economy continues to grow in the U.S., developed countries, and emerging markets. The sharing economy connects sellers and buyers through unique digital platforms and P2P business models. The sharing economy can be a part of “futuristic marketing” related to the Internet and Web-based interactions. It is definitely an extension of new marketing practices that encompass consumers, business, society, virtual networks, etc. Because of the significance and application of the sharing economy, this paper aims at analyzing and discussing the sharing economy and its multidisciplinary literature and research domains. The work’s main contribution is to systematically review the literature and its multifaceted discourses and applications. We believe that future research in marketing can benefit by looking at the sharing economy and its multidisciplinary reviews.

ABSTRACT. With the assistance of new information-communication technologies (ICTs) and data analytical tools, organizations now are capable of generating better targeted and more effective advertising campaigns. Among many emerging advertising practices, data-driven real-time bidding advertising (or RTB advertising) has attracted a lot of attention. The process of RTB advertising refers to a new approach to sell advertising inventory on the network by targeting right audience and assigning each impression to the viewer. However, in order for this data-driven practice to function properly, the collection and analysis of massive consumer behavioral data are indispensable. Nevertheless, these often applauded Big Data and consumer analytics practices have severe ramifications for consumer privacy. This study explores emerging regulatory and policy issues to better understand the potential impacts of Big Data, consumer analytics, and RTB advertising on consumer privacy in a growing data-driven economy.

ABSTRACT. As the number of augmented reality applications increases, it will be necessary to acknowledge how customers become prepared to use this technology. Since prior research barely emphasized the role of customer readiness in customers’ willingness to use augmented reality, this study develops a conceptual framework regarding how customers become ready to use augmented reality. Drawing on the intrinsic motivation theory and the diffusion of innovation theory, this study presents that customer readiness is a recipient of various antecedents including personal innovativeness, previous experience, desire for control, need for interaction, need for touch, personal innovativeness, service complexity, perceived risk, relative advantage, perceived playfulness, perceived interactivity, and novelty, and influences customers’ willingness to use augmented reality.

ABSTRACT. There have been calls in marketing strategy research to focus on the role of competences in the study of competitive advantage. While much cross discipline discussion has ensued on competence creation, this research contributes a conceptual framework for future research on competence retention. Adopting an organization-wide marketing strategy perspective, propositions build on relevant, organization-wide literature, including propositions of how firm benchmarking strategies lead to triangulated isomorphism as defined in the paper. The isomorphism, in turn, is proposed as a major mechanism whereby competence retention is often lost. Implications for researchers and practitioners are introduced.

ABSTRACT. Historically, most time and time-related work in the field of marketing has utilized objective frameworks based on clock and/or calendar time; however, evidence from practice and recent work across multiple scholarly disciplines has put forth the importance that subjectivity plays in the actual perception of time. This research builds upon these examples, specifically putting forth the first alternate, non-linear, holistic temporal framework in marketing research. In this conceptual exposé, we: 1) review the historical progression of time and key temporal factors in the marketing literature and suggest why alternate temporal paradigms are needed in modern marketing theory and practice, 2) conceptualize two new time constructs (subjective time and holistic time), two new temporal orientations (idiosyncratic-temporal orientation and socio-temporal orientation) and three referent-based perspectives (individual, group and societal), and put forth a dynamic temporal framework that incorporates: holistic time, objective time, subjective time, idiosyncratic temporal orientation, socio-temporal orientation, referent perspective, and focal and situational factors, and 3) recommend how to measure and manage these rapidly evolving, socially-constructed constructs. Our powerful conceptual framework yields two critical benefits. First, it enables marketers to assess and leverage temporal factors across different contexts, products, processes, temporal orientations, referent perspectives, and strategic orientations. Second, it serves as a roadmap to guide future research and application involving time, temporal orientation and key time-related factors.

ABSTRACT. The CMO and CIO often fight for impact on strategic decision making within the Top Management Team (TMT), if they are included at all. Technological improvements have increased the ability to gather customer data which elevates the role of the CMO and CIO and requires them to start working together more closely. There has been limited research on the relationship between senior executives outside of that with the CEO, and this study fills that gap by exploring CMO/CIO cooperation. To analyze the dynamics of the CMO/CIO relationship, we developed a conceptual framework that captures three antecedents of cooperation: interdependence, CMO/CIO structure, and CMO/CIO diversity. Additionally, the study identifies four cooperation mechanisms that can mediate the relationship between these antecedents and CMO/CIO cooperation.

ABSTRACT. This research examines the relationship between narcissistic personality characteristics in CEOs and firms’ strategic marketing behavior. The authors find that firms led by narcissistic CEOs exhibit higher degrees of competitive aggressiveness. Higher competitive aggressiveness in turn not only mediates these firms’ new product introductions, but also increases the likelihood of these firms engaging in marketing controversies (deceptive advertising, pricing controversy, or product-safety issues). A sample of 395 publicly listed U.S. firms was observed between the years 2006 to 2010 to test the authors’ hypotheses. This article highlights the role of CEOs’ personal values in shaping marketing strategy, and the risks and rewards to firms associated with high degrees of competitive aggressiveness.

ABSTRACT. The role of factors impacting both in-store and online retailing has been steadily growing in importance as retailers strive to improve customer experience and engagement. The papers in this special session investigate in-store and online factors using field studies, simulated retail laboratory studies and online data to complement traditional laboratory studies. In the first paper, “The Impact of the Congruency of a Special Display with Its Surroundings,” the authors examine the role of whether the end-caps display congruent merchandise (e.g., shampoo display was in beauty department) or not (e.g., shampoo display was in sock department) and the moderating impact of the frequency of purchase of the displayed item. In the second paper, “The Effects of Music on Emotional Response, Level of Purchase and Time Spent in Store,” the authors report the results of a field study examining the role of music volume and the vocal language. In the third paper, “Exploring the Effects of In-Store Technology on Store Image, Store Value and Purchase Intentions,” the authors report the results of three experiments conducted in a simulated retail lab that examined the role of Electronic Shelf Labels (ESLs), QR codes and Smart Carts using RFID technology. The final paper, “Analyzing Language Patterns of Virality in Social Media Brand Communications,” uses one year longitudinal dataset of 14,000 brand tweets across eight Fortune 100 brands to examine virality (assessed using retweets). These four papers highlight the importance of using field data to study how retailers are interacting with their customers to enhance engagement.

ABSTRACT. This special session will includes recently hired assistant professors discussing several topics outlining what to expect from: the final year in the doctoral program, to their first semester as an assistant professor, all through the end of their first few years. Each discussant on the panel discuss a topic from the following:

The Job Market Conference Balancing the Job Search and Finishing the Dissertation The First Semester Expectations vs. Reality The First Year, Expectations, Reality, Where has the Time Gone Effectively Managing Your Time Tenure Clock Approaching Tenure

ABSTRACT. Advertisements for beauty-enhancement products commonly feature unrealistically thin models as the ideal point for which female consumers should strive. Unfortunately, many of these campaigns negatively impact the self-perceptions of the consumers that they are purportedly able to aid in achieving their goals. Some brands (e.g., Dove) have responded to this issue by using heavier models in their ads. However, the brands and advertisements are generally better received with thin models, making this a difficult path to follow for many marketers. This paper further develops our understanding of consumer response to such advertisements by integrating goal-striving and social comparison theories to explain how goal attainability may diminish the negative impacts of the thin ideal on female consumers. The paper further explores the mechanism through which the advertisements affect consumers by proposing shame as an emotional mediator and promotional focus as moderator of the effects. The results of two experimental studies provide evidence that support these propositions.

ABSTRACT. The authors develop and test a model to explain motivation and emotional response to pink tax pricing. Women pay, on average, $1500 per year more than men for essentially the same products; products that are feminized versions. We find that signaling, comparison shopping and willingness to pay a premium to signal femininity contribute to pink tax pricing.

ABSTRACT. Consumers are exposed to social norm information when they are in a good and bad mood. This paper investigates the effect of mood (positive and negative) on the influence that both descriptive and injunctive norms have on consumers’ attitudes, behavioral intentions and actual behavior. Results of the two experiments show a fundamental difference between injunctive and descriptive norms. Injunctive norms lead to more positive attitudes and intentions under positive (vs. negative) mood, whereas descriptive norms lead to more positive attitudes and intentions under negative (vs. positive) mood. Furthermore, we show that this effect translates to actual (donations) behavior.

ABSTRACT. As the internet is becoming an ever more pervasive part of consumers’ lives, businesses constantly find innovative ways of incorporating it into their marketing strategies. Recently, companies introduced ‘shoppable videos’ as a channel to promote and distribute their products. Shoppable videos are short clips that feature a company’s products, which allow consumers to click and buy them. The links to products are usually available over the video or on the side of the screen. They also display the available sizes, prices, colors and other attributes related to the items on the videos. Our exploratory approach indicated that shoppable videos offered significant benefits for consumers. Shoppable videos save time and effort for consumers, give them ideas and information on how to use products, and provide entertainment at the same time. Overall, shoppable videos are ubiquitously accessible and are more effective than still pictures or text alone in the online shopping context.

ABSTRACT. Over the last 30 years, an increasingly significant amount of research has emerged concerning the state of marketing’s influence within the firm. However, the results have been surprisingly inconsistent. For example, Homburg et al (2015), benchmarking Homburg, Workman, and Krohmer (2009), show that marketing’s influence has in fact decreased over the last 2 decades. This result appears to contradict research showing that the marketing function contributes to shareholder value (e.g., Gupta et al 2004; Kumar and Shah 2009). Again, another recent work by Feng, Morgan, and Rego (2015), suggests that marketing’s influence has increased in the last 15 years, and that it is also a driver of firm performance. To complicate the picture even more, Nath and Mahajan (2008) make the case that the presence of a CMO has no effect on firm performance. Given the amount of rigorous, yet contrary research findings, it is surprising (read: unsettling) that the results may in fact be dependent on methodology and/or sample. How does this impact strategic marketing theory? How does this information impact practitioners? Marketing spend? Hiring practices? PhD programs? Etc.

The purpose of this Special Session is to dive more deeply in this provocative area of contention and continue the much needed conversation about marketing’s influence within the firm. Top scholars in this area of research are being asked to present their thoughts and/or findings and discuss both sides of this contentious research from 4 key perspectives, managerial, theoretical/conceptual, quantitatively, and qualitatively.