ABSTRACT. The standardization/adaptation debate in international advertising is a topic on which little consensus prevails and which remains heavily discussed. By relying on evolutionary psychology, we develop a typology of advertising cues and explain their cross-cultural transportability. We highlight three distinct categories – human universals (evolved similarities), local adaptations (evolved differences), and local socialization (differences not due to evolution). The paper contributes to advertising theory by providing a meta-framework for the study of cross-cultural similarities and differences in the processing of advertising cues. It further assists advertising practice by delivering an actionable framework aiding in cross-cultural advertising copy decisions.

ABSTRACT. Over the year’s scholars have conducted several studies to examine consumer attitudes toward advertising. While countless studies concern consumer reactions to the advertisements of specific products and brands, only a small number focus on the public’s attitudes toward advertising as institution. There seems to be little research designed with the purpose of exploring and understanding rather than attempting to measure and predict these attitudes.

This Paper examines public sentiment toward advertising through cartoon analysis. Specifically, we attempt to answer the following research questions: Which advertising aspects are highlighted in cartoons? What is the sentiment? Are cartoons sensitive enough to measure public sentiment toward advertising? Finally, do the findings provide insights for management?

Caricature theory contends that editorial cartoons serve as time-specific reflections of public sentiment toward issues. One approach to guide the process of cartoon analysis is the framework developed by Greenberg (2002). We collected data from a number of online cartoon repositories and our final sample consists of 236 cartoons, from the pens of 68 cartoonists.

The findings confirm the public’s general distrust of advertising and the need for a balance in truth and exaggeration, and the need for a closer working relationship between advertising agency and client.

ABSTRACT. Humor is an important communication component of advertising in numerous countries (Eisend 2009; Gulas and Weinberger 2006) and at the origin of numerous debates. The peculiarity of humor in advertising is that it targets a very heterogeneous audience simultaneously on the local and national even international scale. While it is universally practiced, practices of humor are nevertheless extremely varied.

Over the last 50 years, the question of standardization and adaptation of advertising campaigns on the international scale has been the subject of extensive research (Schmid & Kotulla, 2011). However, reviews of existing literature show serious doubt on the results of the previous research (Birnik & Bowman, 2007). In the case of humorous ads, companies are advised to “standardize” in their international communication (Alden et al., 1993) and at the same time to “adapt” their strategies even locally on their national markets (Rutigliano, 1986).

The objective of this research cross-cultural study is to explore humor in ads’ variations across cultures in, France, US and China, understand the role of culture in the process of persuasive communication and redefine the question of standardization of humorous advertising.

ABSTRACT. Web search data are a valuable source of marketing information. Previous studies have utilized Google Trends web search data for economic forecasting. We expand this work by providing an algorithm to combine and aggregate search volume data, so that the resulting data are both consistent over time and consistent between data series. We give a brand equity example, where Google Trends is used to create several brand equity indices of 100 top ranked brands and these indices are then used to nowcast economic variables. We describe the importance of out of sample prediction when nowcasting and show how principal component analysis (PCA) can be used to improve the signal to noise ratio and prevent overfitting in nowcasting models.

ABSTRACT. With the advent of the digital age and the increasing use of Big Data in marketing, potential customers can be easily reached by companies seeking to store and collect their personal data in exchange of highly relevant and personalized targeted offers. However, these individualized marketing activities are often considered intrusive by most consumers, who feel they are losing control over their personal data and their right to privacy. This study contributes to bridge a gap in the existing literature, identified as a Marketing Science Institute 2016-2018 research priority, by developing and testing a comprehensive model of theory-based drivers and deterrents of consumers’ willingness to disclose personal information. Furthermore, customers’ age, gender, experience, as well as the type of industry, were included as potential moderators. Data was gathered using a self-administered online survey, resulting in a sample of 956 consumers who had recently disclosed personal information during online interactions with self-selected companies. The study concludes that consumers face a trade-off between the costs of privacy loss and the benefits of personalization when they decide to disclose personal information, and partially or fully supports the moderating effects proposed. The study provides valuable insights for companies interested in obtaining consumers’ consent to use their personal data during online interactions, across target segments and industries.

ABSTRACT. Both marketing firms and their customers leverage on digital technologies to optimize value, deliver and or meet gain higher quality service expectations from intra -inter organizations resources through the adoption of co-creation approach to generate value in form of new product innovation. Interviews were conducted with individuals occupying senior management positions. Results of our qualitative research show there is a positive relationship between the effective use of data analysis tools, and organisational agility toward customer needs. Our results also show there is a relationship between the skill-set of the analytical professionals and organisational agility toward customer needs.

ABSTRACT. One of the major trends in today’s business is the transformative big data (BD) phenomenon. While research on low-level operational and technical aspects of BD is flourishing, little is known about its impact on firms' strategies and specifically on marketing-related strategies. This study examines the impact of BD utilization on firms' strategic orientations en-route its implication on business performance. Drawing on data from a sample of managers in firms, key findings show that the utilization of BD enhances strategic orientations, which in turn improve performance. The study provides theoretical and practical reflections on the use of BD in organizations.

ABSTRACT. Understanding the contribution of different aspects of authenticity on the destination’s perceptions and feelings is particularly important because tourism organisations have limited resources and time. This structured abstract examines the aspects of tourists’ perceived authenticity (PA) and explore how each of them may influence the tourist-destination relationship quality. Therefore, the study aims to provide support for destination organizations toward the development of effective destination image (DI) marketing strategies. Semi-structured interviews are employed to explore the aspects of PA. Three aspects of PA, including nature-based authenticity, heritage-based authenticity and activity-based authenticity are identified and highlighted from the qualitative results. The study further suggests several links with the affective, stereotypical and unique image of the destination providing guidelines to destination managers toward the effective planning and management of an authentic DI as well as the development of unique and highly competitive tourism packages. Implications can be drawn from this study results and some directions can be offered for further research.

ABSTRACT. In many situations, consumers prefer regional over non-regional products and are even willing to pay a price premium. Yet, the concept of regionality can be ambiguous and misleading. While consumers perceive something ‘regional’ as being produced within their direct home region, legally the term only describes something produced within any specific region. This discrepancy between consumer perceptions and legal requirements allows for loopholes in branding strategies through which consumers may intentionally be deceived. By using regionality-brand strategies, managers may (legally) deceive consumers, create false associations and subsequently boost brand attitudes. However, when consumers detect such a deception, they may react strongly negatively. Consumers may feel tricked through such practices and subsequently, their brand attitudes may deteriorate. Managers should therefore carefully weigh the potential gain of (deceptive) regionality-brand strategies against the potential deterioration in brand attitudes should such deception become apparent to consumers. In the present study, we assess the concept of regionality by exploring the discrepancy be-tween legal requirements and consumer perceptions. We analyze how consumers interpret the concept of regionality and which associations are linked to the concept. We further dis-cuss different regionality-brand strategies and examine how they may impact consumers’ brand attitudes. Finally, we assess the ‘dark’ side of potential deceptive regionality-brand strategies by exploring consumers’ negative reactions when they find out that they were deceived. We, thus, shed light on the understudied topic of regionality from a theoretical perspective and also provide concrete managerial insights regarding the use of regionality-based branding strategies.

ABSTRACT. When it comes to creating a preference position among customers, brand nostalgia and brand heritage are tried and tested concepts. Although for both constructs there exists a broad body of conceptual literature setting them both clearly apart from each other, this picture is not as clear when it comes to measuring brand nostalgia and brand heritage. A literature review shows ambiguity in the utilized scales and, in consequence, triggers the question whether both concepts are distinct from each other against the background of the prosed conceptual dimensions and measurement approaches. Investigating three sporting goods brands and applying structural equation modeling, we find that brand nostalgia and brand heritage are two distinct constructs that are independent from each other. Furthermore, out of the three proposed dimensions for brand nostalgia, personal nostalgia, historical nostalgia, and perceived brand oldness, only the first two reflect brand nostalgia distinctively, whereas perceived brand oldness stands apart, apparently more leaning towards the brand heritage construct.

ABSTRACT. Studies undertaking a comprehensive approach to shopping atmosphere factors are lacking. This research uses the atmospherics’ classification provided by Turley and Milliman (2000) to empirically examine the effect of the Shopping Mall’s General Interior Variables on shopper’s emotions and behaviors. For this purpose, a convenience sample of mall shoppers was investigated. Data has been analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) to test the proposed research model. The results indicate several direct relations between color schemes, mall lighting, scent and temperature on one side and shopper satisfaction and/or the desire to stay at the mall on the other. When considering the mediating role of emotional states, pleasure and arousal mediate many relations between different variables and the studied outcomes. In addition to contributing to studies using the S-O-R model, and extending the atmospherics macro level literature, the current study demonstrates how different combinations of variables influence consumer emotions and shopper behavior. Moreover, the study adds to research about the effect of general interior variables on satisfaction and desire to stay at the mall while considering the mediating role of shopper’s emotional states.

ABSTRACT. This study proposes an expectation model of visual-tactile congruence; conceptualising it as the degree to which expectations created by the visual sense are (dis)confirmed by the haptic sense, which in turn influences a pleasure and arousal response and subsequent behaviour. Past literature has called for research to determine the underlying mechanisms behind sensory congruence and why there is a contradiction between schema and sensory congruence findings. This study presents two lab based experiments to explore this gap in the literature. The First experiment (n=322) employed a three (congruence: congruence vs moderate incongruence vs extreme incongruence) by two (valence: positive vs negative) between subjects design. Experiment one’s stimuli was a mock webpage selling a soft square pillow. This set an expectation which was then (dis)confirmed by a haptic product review which formed one of the six conditions. Experiment two (n=206) employed the same three by two design using a mock webpage selling a smart phone. The two products represent high (mobile phone) and low (pillow) involvement. After viewing the stimuli participants then completed emotion and behaviour measures. The data was analysed using structural equation modelling techniques. The two experiments revealed that as perceived incongruence in a product increases, so does pleasure and arousal. Despite negatively valenced extreme incongruent products receiving the highest pleasure and arousal ratings the behavioural responses were highest for positively valenced congruent products. However, the inverted U curve effect was found but only when a product was negatively valenced. The paper discusses theoretical and managerial implications.

ABSTRACT. The present exploratory study attempts to address a gap in the literature by evaluating the effect of a physical scented sales promotion stimuli, in particular a giftcard, on consumers online purchase behavior.

ABSTRACT. Through four studies, this research empirically demonstrates that physical hand movement and the elicitation of the embodied metaphor of hands enhance creativity and unveils its underlying mechanism. To test our prediction about the positive influence of hand use on creative cognition and judgment, we conducted four experiments. Using various measures of creativity and experimental manipulation of hand use, we demonstrated that hand use increases creativity through the activation of the symbolic metaphor of the “craft-making”. We also investigated the roles of “curiosity and imagination” as a potential mediator, and “the belief of hands as tools” and “engagement” as the boundary conditions for the effect of hand use on creativity. In addition, the current paper verifies that the mediation and moderation effects found in the studies could be applied further to actual consumer setting and influences purchase intention of the featured product. These findings demonstrate that hands serve an important embodied-oriented function and can assist in creative thinking.

ABSTRACT. Service robots are increasingly being adopted in healthcare, education, hospitality and retail where they are taking on service roles such as concierges, waiters, delivery personnel and customer service representatives (KPMG, 2016; Laurence, 2017). Service researchers have acknowledged that service research is behind in studying the impact of robots on various aspects of service (Mende, 2017; van Doorn et al., 2017). This paper addresses this gap by uncovering what we know and do not know in regards to social robots operating in service, and thereby provide research directions and act as a guide for future studies and research.

This paper presents the preliminary results of a Systematic Scoping Review of academic literature pertaining to service robots in the context of service by critically and extensively reviewing and synthesizing interdisciplinary literature. The methodology follows the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines (Moher et al., 2015; Peters et al., 2015). The search process resulted in 1482 articles. 308 duplicates were removed, 741 articles were excluded due to conceptual boundaries, and 275 papers were included in the full-text review. Current findings indicate that service robots may impact a variety of consumer-facing and service provider-facing outcomes, culminating in the theoretical contributions of this paper. The knowledge in this paper will help managers understand what it takes and what is necessary to successfully implement a service robot into service. This paper raises questions regarding the adoption, adaptation and management of service robots and their influence on the relationship between service providers and consumers.

ABSTRACT. At the era of technology advancement in the restaurant industry, customers’ dining experiences are revolutionary different than ever before. This study seeks to examine the moderating effects of the need for interaction on customers’ perceived service quality, service experience and relationship quality in the application of restaurant technology. The questionnaires were distributed in 28 restaurants which adopted different levels of technology services in Taiwan. The total of 712 surveys were collected for further analysis. The results of study provide useful information for the restaurant industry to incorporate the technology applications in the operation and service enhancement.

ABSTRACT. After service failures, consumers increasingly turn to marketer-created social media platforms to voice an online complaint and achieve their complaint goal. This research demonstrates that companies can benefit from segmenting online complainants according to their brand commitment and revenge desire to improve online complaint handling (i.e., ‘webcare’). Cluster analysis applied on multi-national survey data reveals that marketers have to deal with three complainant types: (i) ‘Revengeful loyalists’ (committed, revengeful customers driven mainly by webcare-independent motives and immune to all forms of service recovery efforts); (ii) ‘Constructive loyalists’ (committed, cooperative customers with a deep interest to restore the customer-brand relationship, but high recovery expectations); and (iii) ‘Constructive unattached customers’ (webcare-receptive customers having weak relational bonds, but no interest to cause harm). Besides profiling these segments, this study shows that webcare responses help to mitigate post-webcare negative word-of-mouth when they match the needs of the segment.

ABSTRACT. Many luxury brands have launched limited quantity (LQ) products to entice their consumers. However, limited-quantity scarcity (LQS) messages are not always effective across all products. The current study argues that the effect of LQS messages could be moderated by “made-in” tags of luxury products. The study conducted a 2 (Scarcity messages: LQS vs. no scarcity message) × 2 (Country image: high vs. low) between-subjects design experiment with a valid sample size of 248 in Taiwan. The results support that the LQS messages are more effective in stimulating luxury consumers’ purchase intention and willingness to pay if the messages are applied to products with favorable made-in tags. Therefore, the current study suggests that luxury brands should adopt LQS messages only for the products made in favorable countries. Moreover, the study suggests that luxury brands can try to charge even higher prices for the luxury products with favorable “made-in” tags under LQS conditions to enhance their profit margins. Such a pricing strategy will not scare off the customers but may instead enhance the social status perception and perceived uniqueness of the luxury brands.

ABSTRACT. Evolutionary approach generally views conspicuous consumption as homogenous. However, conspicuous consumption incorporates two distinct typologies (i.e., bandwagon and snob). The primary aim of this study is to examine the role of emotions (i.e., fear versus romantic desire) on the type of conspicuous consumption behavior (i.e., bandwagon versus snob). Moderating role of personality traits such as need for belongingness and need-for-unique have been included in the research model within the context of personality-situation interaction. Drawing upon modern evolutionary approach literature, persuasiveness and behavioral intentions depend on both the mind-set promoted by specific emotions and the specific psychological mechanism being activated by relevant overlapping fitness-enhancing cues that strengthen the goal-oriented behavior -i.e., protecting oneself or motivation to attract a mate-. Based on this approach, present study emphasizes the positive effect of fear on bandwagon luxury and negative effect on snob luxury versus the positive effect of romantic desire on snob luxury and negative effect on bandwagon luxury consumption. In order to test these evolutionary-driven hypotheses, an experimental study design has been recommended. The study also highlights the prominence of modern evolutionary approach within the consumer behavior realm and its potential conceptual and theoretical contribution capacity by its interdisciplinary and rich epistemological nature.

ABSTRACT. This research explores millennials’ relationship with brands and celebrity influencers on Instagram to determine ways in which luxury brands can infiltrate the market more effectively. Potential factors such assimilarity, exposure, perceived interactivity, willingness to share information that might evoke feelings of parasocial interaction are examined. This study concludes that people who follow both (brand and celebrity influencer) feel more interacted with the brand. Overall the millennial consumer prefers interactions with both brand and celebrity influencer, which would create a feeling of parasocial interaction. The results present that if a brand is using a celebrity influencer, the influencer needs to be interacting with the followers on Instagram more often whereas a brand needs to be transparent on Instagram in order to gain trust of millennials through open conversations. As a brand or a brand with a celebrity influencer being transparent to millennial consumers is crucial to create loyalty and interest, being able to connect with millennials by offering open conversation and providing the content which can be similar to them are needed for successful social media marketing. As luxury brands have been around for a long time and have in general created a name for themselves, they could use the well-presented reputation as a way to speak to millennials and gain their loyalty.

ABSTRACT. The few last years, some reports and studies examined to what extent sustainability and luxury are compatible. The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of responsible practices on the perceived quality of luxury products. Findings from a qualitative study, including interviews with professionals and consumers and a netnography, show that responsible practices could present a risk on the perceived quality of luxury products. More precisely, sustainable luxury items do not project prestige and self-pleasure for consumers. In addition, they seem do not fulfill consumers’ expectations in terms of beauty of design and price. Consequently, theoretical and managerial implications are suggested.

ABSTRACT. Platform-based business models have brought disruption to several industries. This disruption has been possible as digital platforms now intermediate a large number of interactions between buyers and sellers, bringing a large number of exchanges from the physical to the digital marketplace. Yet despite digital platforms arguably transforming modern exchange relationships, digital platforms remain largely unexplored in marketing literature. This review seeks to understand the state of digital platform research amongst the marketing scholarship. The review of extant literature illuminates the extant research streams and helps establish further research avenues to enrich our theoretical and methodological understanding of digital platforms.

ABSTRACT. Global competition has induced companies to change their focus from products to services and more recently to experiences in order to differentiate their offerings. In a parallel vein, a paradigm shift took place in marketing thought from a goods-dominant logic to a service-dominant logic, where the emphasis is on value co-creation, such that value determination is dependent upon the customer’s experience of the offering. From a managerial perspective, understanding and enhancing the customer experience is a top priority for the top management of most companies and providing a good experience is seen as the only durable competitive advantage. However, the link between customer experience and marketing outcomes is based on mainly qualitative studies and at times on anecdotal evidence due to the lack of a proper operationalization of the highly elusive ‘customer experience’ construct. The scales that have been proposed thus far to address this particular gap are developed under particular contexts. However, these scales do not extend well into different contexts, as contexts give rise to varying experience requirements of customers. The present research aims to address this gap in customer experience theory through developing a context independent operationalization of the concept, capturing customers’ experiences through aggregating customer experiences based on the experiential strategies adopted by firms. Furthermore, the development of the suggested scale will enable the researcher to evaluate the differential effects of customer experience quality on value dimensions perceived by the customer and their effects on customer-based performance metrics.

ABSTRACT. Knowing which effects work at the point of transition from a state of food to a state of food waste can save food from wasting. One key aspect for understanding the reaction to food leftovers is the contact of a consumer and the food she started to eat. The law of contagion assumes that a consumer’s contact with a product transmits an essence from that consumer to the product and that essence continues to stick on the product even after elimination of physical contact. Another facet of the reaction to food leftovers is the transition of these essences from the food item to the consumer who eats this left over item. Findings based on the “you-are-what-you-eat” paradigm show that properties of a food item can be transferred to the consumer who eats this food item. Bringing these ideas together, we ask: To what extent can perceived personality and character traits of consumers be transmitted through the food these consumers left over to other consumers who continues to eat these leftovers? To answer this research question we conducted and projected three pretests to choose appropriate photos as stimuli depicting the consumers who left food over. As part of this pretest, we analyzed the perceived personality and character traits of these consumers. The main study will then examine to what extent these personality and character traits identified in the pretest are transferred to another consumer who continues to eat the food leftovers.

ABSTRACT. Sports marketing–an integrated part of the modern marketing environment–has been rightfully acknowledged for its contribution to the local, national, and global economies. While an early definition of sport marketing characterizes it as a combination of the activities of consumer/industrial products' marketers who are increasingly using sport as a promotional vehicle, there are still on-going discussions about the meaning of the term, which in turn contribute to ever growing number of studies on the topic. Along the activities of marketing 'of' sports there are also increasing number of marketing activities carried 'through' sport and all those activities impact different aspects of our lives—social, political, economic, educational, etc.

The World Marketing Congress presents an opportunity to examine and discuss a plethora of marketing topics, yet sport marketing has yet to receive its rightful place in the list of topics discussed in this intellectually challenging while friendly and supportive environment. The studies presented for this special session contribute to the conference organized with the high ideas of “Scottish Enlightenment” as they examine the impact of sports marketing on youth health via sport participation and Youth Olympic Games, on integration and social inclusion of immigrants, on women recreational activities, and pedagogical approaches and experiential learning in this highly dynamic environment. These topics cover multi-dimentional impact of sport on our lives and we are hopeful that they resonate with the participants and attendants of the WMC 2019 in Edinburgh and will generate engaged discussions.

ABSTRACT. The Youth Olympic Games (YOG) are the IOC's initiative to combat the epidemic of obesity and dropping youth sport participation rates. Research into the Olympic movement recognizes the multi-dimensional influence of the OG (e.g., economic impact, urban development, media coverage, place image and branding, tourism, commercial/sponsorship, socio-cultural and psychological impacts, etc.). The current study aims to examine the impacts of YOG on the attitudes of youth guardians within the context of the III 2018 Summer YOG to be in Buenos Aires (Argentina) (BYOG)and to make a comparison with attitudes of guardians II Winter 2016 YOG held in Lillehammer (Norway) (LYOG). The online convenience sample will be drawn from a general population from a general population in Ontario (Canada)—a non-host population—during the BYOG (i.e., October 6-18, 2018) and will be compared with the attitudes of the sample that was drawn from a general population in southeast part of Norway—the host of Lillehammer Winter YOG—during the LYOG (i.e., February 12 - 21, 2016).

ABSTRACT. Sport has the ability to both produce and counter racism. Previous studies have demonstrated the role that sport and recreation can play in the settlement and social inclusion of immigrants. When it comes to community sport and recreation opportunities, immigrants are largely expected to fit in to mainstream dominant culture activities, often having limited roles in the organization or training. Experts call for more structured opportunities whereby native-born residents could learn about the physical culture of newcomers in ways that promoted interculturalism, thereby increasing opportunities for mutual learning and cross-cultural understanding. The current exploratory study examines the impact of the cricket teams on newcomer social inclusion and the recognition of immigrant-owned local businesses.

ABSTRACT. Canadian Sport Policy endeavors to increase the number and diversity of Canadians participating in sport. Female engagement is of paramount importance as recent reports indicate a concerning drop in women’s sport participation (CAAWS, 2016). Hockey is well entrenched in Canadian culture with hundreds of thousands of Canadians actively participating (Hockey Canada, 2017). This passion for hockey is spreading worldwide as the International Ice Hockey Federation reports over 1.7 million players (IIHF, 2017). The purpose of this research is to bring needed attention and understanding to a passionate group of women recreational players who are steadily growing in the shadows of mainstream hockey. This study is part of a progressive research project that was initiated in 2012 with a quantitative inquiry that profiled 781 women recreational hockey players. Output from these efforts revealed a passionate and influential group of hockey consumers with unique needs and considerations. Also discovered through this initial study was the growing skill gap and rising tension brewing among recreational players. In 2016, player interviews were conducted to better understand this tension between young competitive-minded players and more mature recreationally-spirited players. The broad age range of participants coupled with the historical barriers to women’s active involvement in this sport, accentuate the probability of inter-cohort conflict and the need to better understand and manage such risk. This third phase of research reveals the most recent input from over 800 current or past women recreational hockey players in an effort to further profile and segment these evolving sport consumers.

ABSTRACT. This presentation will share highlights from four progressive experiential learning projects in a sport marketing course at Nipissing University (Canada). In all cases, students worked in dedicated management teams to organize charity-linked varsity sporting events that raised over $30,000 for worthy community causes. Lessons learned from each event were instrumental in influencing the design of subsequent projects. A retrospective analysis of the management and delivery of these learning experiences is contrasted with other published cases in order to advance the understanding and creative application of these learning methods and to present recommendations for broader pedagogical use and adaptation. The main themes that will be shared with respect to developing sport marketing experiential learning opportunities include: •Ideal class sizes and the management of both intra and inter-team dynamics and communication. • Student ownership, active engagement, and learning reflection. • Measuring individual versus group learning outcomes. • Instructor support and mentorship. • Enriching social interactions and citizenship through multi-stakeholder relationships. • Enduring growth and innovation in recurring program offerings. • Integration of faculty research in experiential learning settings. • Extending learning platforms through inter-university collaboration. • Common barriers and resource demands of experiential learning initiatives.

ABSTRACT. The current research investigates empirically the conditions that lead to the adoption of the three pricing strategies used for determining the price of a new product in a B2B market, namely, skimming pricing, penetration pricing and pricing similar to competitive prices. Analyzing data from four B2B sectors, the study concludes that skimming pricing and penetration pricing are related to the company’s corporate and marketing strategy and the product characteristics, while market conditions influence the adoption of pricing similar to competitive prices.

ABSTRACT. Internet of Things (IoT) technology is increasingly valued in recent years and has been applied in many aspects. The research purpose of this paper is to study how firms will be technologically ready for the IoT adoption based on the views of market orientation and buyer-supplier dependency. Questionnaire survey method was used to proceed empirical research and collect empirical data. The survey chose Taiwanese listed electronics firms to be the sample firms and distributed questionnaires to the R&D and marketing managers in those firms to collect empirical data. Structural equation modeling (SEM) is applied to analyze the eligible data, test the robustness of the constructs and hypotheses, and verify the goodness-of-fit of the proposed research model.

The results find that responsive market orientation of firms has positive influence on their adaptive capability. A positive influence of proactive market orientation on adaptive capability is identified. The supplier dependence has both positive influences on responsive and proactive market orientations of suppliers. Adaptive capability has positive influence on technology readiness for IoT adoption. However, proactive market orientation does not significantly influence technology readiness for IoT adoption. The research contribution is to bridge the academic research gap and to provide academic and managerial implications and suggestions by proposing an integrated model to disclose the mechanism how firms’ technology readiness for IoT adoption can be affected by the strategies of their market orientation and buyer-supplier dependency.

ABSTRACT. To address the causes and consequences of increasing complexity of distribution (i.e., trade), technology, and institutions, as well as their consequences, we utilize a theoretical, macroeconomic approach, illustrating it with historical examples. The essence of our approach is to separate actions that are deliberately undertaken by people and/or firms from the ramifications of those actions. Therefore, we focus on purposeful behavior (trade, technology, and institutions) and the consequences of these behaviors

ABSTRACT. International marketing is complex (Kaspar, 2017) forcing firms to cope with unexpected events and frequent shifts in technology and consumer preferences. Thus, global managers in search of superior performance need guidance beyond traditional concepts such as marketing planning (Whalen and Holloway, 2012). Accordingly, and in line with the resource-based view theory (RBV), we argue that international firms need to recognize that distinct performance outcomes in dynamic global world depend on the related capabilities of agility and ambidexterity. Specifically, these capabilities serve as bases for designing responses to multiple changes in the environment (Zahra and Garvis, 2000). To the best of our knowledge, although both are interrelated, no paper has addressed them simultaneously yet. Moreover, most papers on these concepts were published in the operations and strategic management literatures but much less in international marketing context. Our paper is designed to address these gaps. Specifically, we argue that these constructs are positively related with two performance outcomes (international new products (NPD) performance and international market performance) and should be empirically tested together to assess their joint and specific contributions. By running two parallel models (each time with a different performance outcome), we follow Katsikeas et al. (2016) recommendation to study distinct aspects of performance as it is more appropriate than measuring a latent global performance variable.

ABSTRACT. The literature and real life have shown that some business leaders prefer to begin by looking outward, adopting an outside-in (OI) strategic approach, while others concentrate on their firms’ internal resources, implementing an inside-out (IO) approach. However, little is known about the antecedents for OI and IO behaviors? What cause managers to adopt one of these approaches, is a mystery. This is important as Asseraf and Shoham (2014) proposed that firms’ export marketing strategy can be anticipated based on its IO or OI approach. Specifically, they suggested that OI leads to the development of marketing capabilities while IO leads to the development of technological capabilities. This line of thinking follows Atuhene-Gima (2001) notion that strategic orientations “shape the way organizational members process information and react to the environment through the nature of control systems and rewards they engender” (p. 55). Hence, strategic approaches of managers are important for the development of international marketing activity as they have the potential to shape the way firms approach international markets. Accordingly, the purpose of this study (based on in-depth interviews with senior manages) is to (1) identify the underlying sources of OI and IO to provide insights into what causes managers to harbor OI or IO approach and (2) provide insights into the consequences of OI or IO in the context of international marketing.

ABSTRACT. Most studies on determinants of export and international performance have used standard statistic models (such as regression or SEM models). In contrast, we developed and tested a configurational model for understanding the joint impacts of four strategic orientations (market, innovativeness, learning, and entrepreneurial orientations, hereunder MILE) on export performance. Thus, the main contribution this study is in providing a deeper understanding of the relationships among strategic orientations and how specific configurations of these orientations influence export performance. For this purpose, we used fsQCA (fuzzy set Qualitative Comparative Analysis) as an analytical method leading to novel insights

ABSTRACT. Startups are a significant contribution to the economics of many countries, supporting the Research & Development (R&D) on many industries. Such strategy is used to promote cluster of startups in some regions (such as the USA, Malaysia, Singapore, and many others). Although there is a lot of studies into the many upsides of advertising startups from such cluster, little is known when there are counter forces against products and services that a country’s startups produce and export. Using a mixed method approach, this study focusses on startups of such a country (Israel) to identify the main strategy of startups, whether their products and services has been marketed as a clearly Israeli made service or product, if the strategy changed over time and if the main movements against the country (such as the Arab Boycott or the BDS - Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions against Israel - movements) affects its startup image. Results show the mixed feelings on the subject, as companies using its origin may have beneficial outcomes to some publics and not to others. The need for comprehensive verification of the expected results and target audiences is a must to avoid what was denominated “the Liability of Israeliness”.

ABSTRACT. This special session aims to build knowledge and understanding of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and its use in marketing. A basic definition of AI is that it is as “a set of computational technologies that are inspired by- but typically operate quite differently from – the ways people use their nervous systems and bodies to sense, learn, reasons and take action” (Stanford 2016:online). However this operational definition of AI does not encompass issues of agency, autonomy, development, ethics and the human-non-human interface. Therefore a more nuanced and multi-dimensional appreciation of the affordances of AI technology is required. This special session introduces four papers each of which examine one or more forms of intelligence as detailed within the Huang and Rust (2018) typology of AI: 1. Mechanical intelligence (i.e. automation of processes), 2. Analytical intelligence (i.e. prediction of behaviour and selecting response) 3. Intuitive intelligence (i.e. creating content) and 4. Empathetic intelligence (i.e. responding meaningfully in social situations). Employing this typology we will examine how AI may operate to reshape the consumption experience and this change might impact upon marketing practice.

ABSTRACT. In this paper we use Affordance Theory as a lens with which to identify the affordances and constraints that AI offers business practitioners. Drawing on the work of Nagy and Neff (2015) we utilize the concept of the “imagined affordance” to test a model of AI acceptance that draws user perception, attitudes and expectation. Our work develops the role of imagination and vision in technology acceptance research and provides an alternative approach to the dominant by rational, conscious and process-orientated perspectives (Nagy and Neff 2015).

ABSTRACT. The purpose of this paper is to apply a corporate social responsibility framework to critically examine current and predicted adoption of AI within fashion retailing. Several AI applications are being developed for application within the fashion retailing environment. Such applications stimulate debate concerning the extent that AI can and should replicate and replace human creativity and presence. For example Amazon has developed “Echo Look” which is combines computer vision, with predictive AI and human analysis to analyse a consumer’s current wardrobe choices and then provide recommendations of what to wear. Using this technology a user can ask the machine to rate two different possible outfits according to which is best in terms of current trends and actual appearance (Gibbs, 2017).

ABSTRACT. This presentation will focus upon the research and work of the Edinburgh Centre for Robotics and Robotarium, which will be built at Heriot Watt University and will be available to researchers and industry. The Robotarium comprises four distinct spaces: • Interaction Spaces for humans and robots to work together in physically separate indoor spaces (ROBOTARIUM West and East), • Field Robotic Systems (comprising humanoids and unmanned vehicles) for operations inside or outside the spaces. • MOBOTARIUM, a human driven sensorised and connected mobile vehicle for data assimilation/situation awareness and interaction for an operator with robots and intelligent agents in the field. Together, these spaces create an integrated capability unique in the world, for exploring collaborative interaction between remote teams of humans, robots and their environments at all levels.

ABSTRACT. After surgeries, patients frequently turn to social media to assess the experiences expressed by others and to talk about their own. In this study, we first employ IBM Watson to examine how patients who have undergone colonoscopies talk about their emotions and express sentiment through their comments online. We explore their emotions (anger, disgust, fear, happiness and sadness) and their overall sentiment after undergoing a colonoscopy. While a colonoscopy is not a positive experience for most patients, some do express a positive sentiment, and the emotion of joy. Limitations are acknowledged, managerial implications identified, and avenues for future research are suggested.

ABSTRACT. Social media has fundamentally changed the way in which people communicate and share information (Kaplan & Haenlein, 2009), and healthcare communication has certainly not been immune to this information revolution (Kreps, 2011). With the potential to impact the effectiveness and dissemination of healthcare information (Cranston & Davies, 2009; Vance et al., 2009), organisations wanting to reach specific audiences have been compelled to keep pace with users showing high usage adoption (Bolton et al., 2013). A number of studies also underline the significance of age and emphasizing that reach and impact will be optimal when a younger generation is targeted (Chib et al., 2010; Chou et al., 2009; Schein et al., 2010), especially in developing countries with younger populations, dominated by Generation Y (Gen Y) who have limited access to healthcare (Bolton et al., 2013). As a highly connected cohort, social media usage among Gen Y has received increasing attention over the past decade (Hawkins et al., 2010), yet little research has explored this group’s perception and attitude towards using these platforms for healthcare marketing. This study addressed this gap and explored Gen Y’s interpersonal expectations of social media and their perception and attitude towards its use for healthcare marketing in the developing market context.

ABSTRACT. Obesity has a significant impact on public health (Redondo, Hernández-Aguado & Lumbreras, 2018). The widespread obesity problem is attributed to the increase in the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) among consumers (Malik, Popkin, Bray, Després, Willett & Hu, 2010). This is particularly prevalent in South Africa, with the average consumption of SSBs by consumers in the country estimated to be over 200 millilitres per day (Tugendhaft, Manyema, Veerman, Chola, Labadarios & Hofman, 2016). Despite the implementation of a Sugary Beverage Levy in South Africa, effective as from the 1st of April 2018, there is a lack of communication on the part of the South African Department of Health (Scott, Schaay, Schneider & Sanders, 2017) which may be used to supplement the imposition of this Sugary Beverage Levy (Manyema, Veerman, Chola, Tugendhaft, Sartorius, Labadarios & Hofman, 2014).

Public health campaigns are commonly used to address national health concerns, and are implemented with the aim of (i) persuading attitudes, often through mass media channels (Wayman, 2010), (ii) compelling consumers to cease or adopt a behaviour and (iii) preventing undesirable outcomes from occurring (Snyder, Hamilton, Mitchell, Kiwanuka-Tondo, Fleming-Milici & Proctor, 2004). Of interest to marketers is the implicit consumer attitudes that are under-researched in the marketing literature. Despite a few exceptions (see for example Wanke, Plessner, Gartner & Friese, 2002; Ackermann & Mathieu, 2015), the importance of these implicit attitudes is either undermined or non-existent in marketing theory.

ABSTRACT. We are witnessing a rapid development in digital and innovative technologies and their application in omni-channel retailing. Such developments have entailed changes to consumer in-store shopping experience, which in turn, have been re-shaping consumer decision-making. As smartphones have become the norm of online shopping, the showrooming phenomenon has swayed the revenues of brick-and-mortar retailers. In this article, we investigate the impact of price perceptions and moral values on consumers’ purchase intentions in showrooming. Across three studies, we provide evidence for the joint effect of product price variation and consumers’ morality on purchase intentions. In the presence of a price matching policy, this joint effect is strong as consumers’ inferred motive is negative toward the retailer’s policy. In case of high price variation in the marketplace, price outweighs morality in forming purchase decision. Theoretical contributions and managerial implications are discussed.

ABSTRACT. The study suggests that experiences make customers happy and that the resulting happiness is an antecedent of customer satisfaction, willingness to spread positive word-of-mouth, and purchase intentions. The project focuses on brands as sources of experiences. The research was carried out in the USA using an online survey of cell phone users. The findings highlight the moderating effect of the consumer journey on the link between brand experience and customer happiness as well as on the links between happiness and the relevant customer relationship outcomes. The results also suggest that customer happiness is a bridging construct between Customer Experience Management and Customer Relationship Management. As brand and customer relationship managers aim to enhance performance indicators such as satisfaction, positive word-of-mouth and purchase intention, the study has significant implications for marketing strategy research and practice. The important task for marketers is to manage flow, experience and happiness, both online and in-store.

ABSTRACT. This study aims to conceptualize the effects of perceived retailer service innovativeness (PRSI), perceived service advantage (PSA), customer emotional satisfaction, and attitude on patronage intention. The proposed model was examined by structural equation modelling using 1386 samples from three retail formats. Results suggest that PRSI is important to retailers. Modelling results also confirm that PRSI is a significant antecedent of PSA and emotional satisfaction of consumers, which further influences their attitude and patronage intention toward specific retailers. This study also affirmed that despite offering service innovations, especially free in-store services, may not immediately increase the financial performance of firms, it not only increases consumers’ perceived service advantage but changes customers’ attitude toward the store by becoming a critical determinant of the success of retailing system. The research model is valued by academic scholars for its application in future studies during intense store competition when PRSI enhancement is used as a strategic tool to create competitive advantage.

ABSTRACT. The business press and academics have written many obituaries for traditional retail, Many suggest that traditional retail is being ‘killed’ by digital (Kara 2017, Adweek “Bad news, Brick –and-Mortar Stores: The Internet Finally has you Beat”). Not only merchandise stores, but whole industries have been transformed due to the internet – particularly books/music/movies (McCracken 2011) and theaters (Moore, Forbes, 2017).

While many proclaim the death of traditional retail, others are stating that “Why Technology Won’t Kill Brick and Mortar Retailers” (Forbes 2018) and “Online Shopping Hasn’t Killed Brick-and Mortar Retailers” (ABC News 2018). One thing is common among the proponents of B&M retailers is that the shopping experience itself is a competitive advantage. Industry experts have suggested that physical retail not focus only on the merchandise offering but also the experience - “Physical Retail Isn't Dead. Boring Retail Is.” (Dennis 2018 Forbes).

Interestingly, although prior research has focused on exploring and measuring specific elements of consumer experience, there is little knowledge regarding how to identify and measure all factors that go into consumers’ experiential outcomes in retail, events, etc. The present study seeks to address this gap by creating and testing a holistic measure of consumer experience. In particular, we create an experience scale that measures 6-dimensions of consumer experience across a variety of contexts: affective, cognitive, behavioral, sensory, and social/self-identity. In study 1, we validate this scale in the context of retail shopping. In study 2, we validate the scale in the context of a music concert.

ABSTRACT. Corporate sustainability crises involve imbalances of a company’s goal system and related actions that appear to relevant stakeholders to be one-sidedly directed at achieving economic profit at the expense of environmental or social goals. Such crises can substantially jeopardize the company’s existence unless suitable strategies of crisis management are applied. In addition to reactive measures, such strategies also include forward-looking means capable of preventing lasting crises or mitigating crisis aggravation. This paper suggests a framework for managing corporate sustainability crises with reference to the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), including general conditions and crisis phases for managing a crisis effectively and efficiently. It becomes clear that companies can successfully cope with various crisis situations through the use of active and reactive CSR when taking into account the temporal fit, content fit, stakeholder fit, and corporate fit of the measures envisaged. Several management implications for crisis resolution are derived.

ABSTRACT. Leveraging the power of corporate social responsibility (CSR) is strategically important to corporations. While extant studies mainly emphasize CSR’s impact on consumers, relatively little research examines the influence of CSR from a service employee’s perspective. Although some research has discussed the effectiveness of external CSR activities on employee perceptions, few studies have focused on the significant role of internal CSR initiatives. Therefore, we develop a conceptual model, based on social influence theory, to explain how internal CSR initiatives affect service employee attitudes and behaviors. The results suggest that perceived internal dissemination of and management support for CSR lead to service employees’ citizenship behaviors toward customer, other employees and the organization through the mediation of employee–company identification and value congruence. Implications for the research regarding internal CSR initiatives and service employee citizenship behaviors are then discussed.

ABSTRACT. Although CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) communication and strategies are the center of much management practice, we still know little about how the framing of CSR communication affects consumer attitudes and behavior. In this research, we specify a model of direct and mediated effects that links positively vs. negatively framed CSR communication to consumers’ CSR perceptions, CA (Corporate Ability) perceptions, as well as their perceptions of corporate hypocrisy to explain consumer attitudes toward the firm as well as their purchasing intentions. The study offers two main contributions to the literature on CSR communication and consumer behavior. First, by conceiving consumers’ CSR perceptions, CA perceptions and perceived company hypocrisy as mediator variables in the relationship between framing and attitude/purchase intention, the study clarifies psychological mechanisms that explain how CSR attribute framing affects attitudes and behavior. Second, by manipulating CSR frames experimentally, the study offers initial insights into contradictory findings reported in the literature.

ABSTRACT. Deservingness theory indicates that positive outcomes following positive actions, or negative outcomes following negative actions, are generally perceived as deserved. This can be extended to judgements of self-deservingness, with implications for how individuals reflect on outcomes relative to their own actions. Judgement of deservingness can be impacted by factors such as perceived effort. In health service delivery, consumer effort in value co-creation has been shown to impact outcomes, satisfaction and future intentions. How consumers form judgement about self-deservingess in relation to their own effort and the impact of their assessed self-deservingness is examined. Data are derived from interviews with 14 commercial weight-loss program users. Findings indicate the relevance of self-deservingness as a mediating variable between outcomes and consumer satisfaction. The study is the first known investigation of deservingness theory in marketing at the level of consumers’ self-judgement. The conceptual model arising from the study can be applied practically in marketing management to improve customer-brand relationships with potential for further empirical study.

ABSTRACT. Evidence is emerging that conspicuous brands are losing appeal as people turn to subtle status signals or ‘inconspicuous’ consumption, with implications for marketers who have built brands on the premise that they signal status to society at large and narrow social groups. This research will explore perceptions of identity, status and consumption among new mothers in the UK who have ability, opportunity and motivation to engage in this behaviour. The intention is to provide a holistic view of consumer identity and how it relates to status and consumption drawing on sociological ideas about identity and status characteristics, and humanistic psychological ideas about the self and status as a motive. Diary research and phenomenological interviewing is combined and consumer culture theory used as a frame of reference to broaden exploration from lived experience. Better understanding this relatively homogenous group (a substantial segment) will provide a start for further research of this phenomenon among other groups such as elite, middle class or marginalised people in advanced or emerging economies, highlighting marketing opportunities. This research will provide insight into how marketers of baby-related products can segment the market and position products in light of societal changes and shifting attitudes towards branding.

ABSTRACT. Qualitative methods of analysis are concerned with understanding the complexities of the social world (Edwards and Weller 2012). However, the question that has pre-occupied many qualitative researchers is how we can come to know others who are a part of this social world and thereby make the unknown known (Doucet and Mauthner 2008). The Listening Guide (LG) is a feminist, qualitative method developed by Brown et al (1989) to enable researchers to hear how respondents uniquely make meaning of their social world (Woodcock 2005). I-poems are a fundamental component of the Listening Guide. A collection of personal pronouns and the verbs/actions that go with them are presented in a format similar to that of a contemporary poem. I-poems have been recognised as an emergent method in social research (Hesse- Biber and Leavy 2006) and although the method has been extensively used by researchers in the field of psychology and sociology, only a very small number of marketers have adopted this method (see for example, Woodruffe-Burton and Brown 2015). We provide an introduction to this innovative method and detail its application in a study we conducted on the relationship young girls have with money. We reflect on the contribution and insights that the use of I-poems can make in marketing by comparing and contrasting the findings from a thematic analysis with that using I-poems. We argue for the wider adoption of I-poems by fellow marketing academics.

ABSTRACT. Analyzing multiple customer contact points that span the so-called customer journey is an essential prerequisite for the targeted implementation of advertising. Various procedural models seek to provide the methods for conducting such analyses; they differ in terms of how many customer contact points they analyze and how much importance they assign to customer contact points that take place online. Yet in previous approaches, distinct online channels rarely are differentiated, such that little research considers the individual characteristics of distinct (online) advertising channels. Considering the vast array of options available to advertisers today to promote their offerings online though, such differentiated analyses seem likely to be at least informative, if not necessary. Against this background, it seems necessary to examine closely the various online contact points between potential consumers and an advertising firm. On the basis of these detailed investigations, this study proposes a methodology to enable advertising companies to determine the significance of each online advertising channel, in isolation and in combination with other (online) channels. In turn, marketing decision makers can calculate the direct and indirect value contributions of their unique advertising channels. The proposed study has therefore several objectives. It will start with a literature review, to identify and briefly describe various theoretical approaches to explaining purchase decisions. In a further step in the investigation, to demonstrate scientific progress, this study will offer constructive and legitimate criticisms of extant approaches, methods, and attribution models, with a view to their potential applications to online marketing.

ABSTRACT. In the current competitive environment, store equity is an important source of sustainable competitive advantages for retailers, it influences the customer perceptions and drives store choice and loyalty. Therefore, retailers should work hard on developing and improving their store equity. In order to improve store equity, it’s important to measure it as a first stage of the development process. This paper tried to develop a scale to measure store equity. After discussing the store equity construct, the procedures used to develop and refine a multiple items scale to measure the construct are describes. Scale reliability, factor analysis, and validity will be discussed based on the analysis of the data gathered from different independent samples.

ABSTRACT. This study contributes to the literature on brand strength in three ways. First, it examines a variety of antecedent influences on brand strength. Second, it examines the inter-dimensional influences among brand strength’s three dimensions. Third, it examines brand strength’s influence on word-of-mouth (WOM) behavior, and brand preference’s mediation influence on this relationship. To attain these contributions, an empirical research study was conducted. The results reveal that all but one of our proposed antecedents had a significant influence on our target brand strength dimensions. We found that brand familiarity has an antecedent influence on brand attitude and brand remarkability, which covary. We found that brand strength’s influence on WOM is partially mediated by brand preference.

ABSTRACT. Past research has shown that brand age has a significant impact on consumer behavior. However, what does brand age mean in concrete terms? And how can brand age help with brand positioning? Using mixed methods and two studies, we attempted to answer these questions. A qualitative study consisting of eleven in-depth interviews and 151 brands was first conducted to explore the meaning consumers attribute to brand age. The findings indicate that there are two approaches to the issue. We then conducted a quantitative study consisting of 167 participants and 17 brands, which allowed us to identify four types of brand positioning on the basis of these approaches. The ensuing managerial implications consist of tools to help with brand age management and brand age positioning.

ABSTRACT. Retailers apply stringent grading standards for fresh produce based on the idea that consumers would not be willing to buy aesthetically imperfect products. Indeed, previous studies show that food shape abnormalities negatively affect consumers’ evaluation of such products. Consequently, a large volume of edible food is wasted every year.

Using five different studies this research hypothesizes and tests that physically processing imperfect fruits increases attitude toward these products. More specifically, imperfect products that have been physically processed are perceived as more prototypical of the new category they belong to than imperfect products in their original state; this in turn has a positive effect on consumers’ general attitude. We also identify a boundary condition for this effect, such that artificially processing imperfect products does not increase attitude. Implications of the research for policy makers and the food industry are discussed.

ABSTRACT. Research examining e-commerce and internationalization based on quantitative analysis of published works.

ABSTRACT. Classification analysis of the way consumers acquire things.

ABSTRACT. Research investigating individual differences associated with flow experiences coinciding with outdoor adventure tourism.

ABSTRACT. Introduction

 In recent years scholars and practitioners have suggested omnichannel management as the best approach to reach and engage the customer in the buying journey. This emphasis has determined the rise of several contributions in the fields of Marketing and Supply Chain Management, in an attempt to identify the benefits that a company can achieve through a more coordinated contact with the client, but also the difficulties that it can encounter from a logistic viewpoint (Marchet et al., 2018; Verhoef et al., 2015; Neslin et al., 2006). The goal of this paper is to understand at which conditions a company can get the most from an omnichannel management strategy both at marketing and sales level and at the operations and logistics one. In other words, the paper faces the question concerning the conditions at which the implementation of integrated online and offline channel strategy though the introduction of the e-commerce on top of the traditional sales channels lets the company get benefits in terms of the improvement in marketing & sales as well as in supply chain management processes.

On the basis of the literature review we have identified two main variables explaining the role of an omnichannel strategy as a value driver for a company’s marketing and supply chain processes. These two variables are: the level of value density (high, low) and the main (if not unique) distribution channel typology (direct, indirect).  A two-step empirical research (based on a Delphi study and on four case-studies) was conducted to understand how such variables can drive the overall value that a company can obtain from the implementation of an omnichannel strategy.

 Background

The Marketing management perspective

In marketing literature the attention to  the omnichannel strategy is mostly connected to the need for companies to face the changing in customer behavior as a consequence of the evolution of technology and digitalization. Aubrey and Judge (2012) observed that a growing number of smarter, digitally-connected and price-conscious consumers exploited multiple shopping channels to get the product they want at the right price. That leads companies to combine physical stores with ecommerce as part of an integrated ‘omnichannel ecosystem’. To engage and keep customer loyalty, it is necessary to connect and interact with customers leveraging simultaneously numerous available channels and touchpoints, - digital and physical – in such a way that the customer experience across channels and the performance over channels is optimized (Verhoef et al. 2015).

A varied number of benefits for the company are underlined as a consequence of an omnichannel strategy. From the traditional literature on multiple and hybrid channels (Moriarty, Moran, 1990) to the most recent literature on multi-channel management it is underlined that such strategies let to better reach the various customers, to increase the coverage of the market and the volumes sales. The attention is to be focused on the reduction of any overlapping and misaligned activity among channels and the level of conflicts among them (Vishwanath V. Mulvin G., 2001) Despite their potential, the use of multi- channels increases the complexity of customer management and can lead to a lack of integration between channels (Hughes, 2016). Such an holistic and integrated approach appears the main challenge in omnichannel management that makes it possible to expand the possibilities of communication with the customers, sell products and render services available (Lewis et al., 2014; Dimitrova & Rosenbloom, 2010).

An effective  omnichannel management strategy is also related to the possibility for the company to better meet the single customer’s specific requirements during the so-called customer journey (Lemon, Verhoef, 2016). Studies show that the customer uses its mobile devises before and during its visits to the physical stores, get and process information and make comparisons before buying. During this process the customer wants a customized, seamless and unified experience and expects coherent and homogeneous returns by all the channels (Krueger, 2013). Combining digital stores with websites, mobile apps and social media to contact, accompany and support the customer during its buying journey, let the company to encounter the need of the specific customer in its buying behavior. The main challenge faced by the company in implementing an effective omnicannel strategy in this respect is given by the need for combining online and offline channels and manage them as a unique entity offering an individualized experience to each customer. This can generate benefits in terms of customer satisfaction, customer loyalty and customer retention.

An effective omnichannel strategy can also let the company reach an integrated synergy among channels thus pursuing an increased efficiency thanks to the elimination of duplications and overlaps and to a better combination between fixed and variable costs, economies of scale and economies of scope (Mirsch et al., 2016). Finally a key fundamental benefit stemming from the omnichannel integrated strategy is the collection and integration of data about customers, price and inventory across all channels (Brynjolfsson et al.,2013). Explosion of data coming from social, mobile and local channels represent an enormous opportunity to enable predictive analytics, improve demand forecasting. Moreover, data make it possible customer insights and personalized consumer experience in the channel environment (Trenz, 2015). An improved learning about the customer let greater awareness, trust and control over the customer up to make location and specific time offers to present and potential customers. All this however demands the implementation of an entire new IT infrastructure that is a huge investment that not all the companies can face.

The Supply chain management perspective

From the supply chain management standpoint, the successful implementation of omnichannel strategies relies very much on the ability of the company to manage the tradeoffs between several performance attributes, providing customers with a good logistic service at reasonable logistic costs (Lim et al., 2016). In the early stages of the e-commerce, nearly two decades ago, several e-tailers started offering a limited variety of items provided to customers with a high speed and most of them failed in their attempt to gain reasonable market shares due to the high delivery costs (Laseter et al., 2015). Nowadays, these trade-offs are becoming even more challenging  and complex to manage since e-tailers are offering a much wider product variety, coupled with fast and flexible deliveries at competitive prices, while delivery costs continue to be a critical success factor, driven by labor costs, product’s value density, and average order size (Lim et al., 2018; Laseter et al., 2015). Due to the relevance of the logistic process and namely of the last mile logistics for the success of any initiative of digital selling, several studies have tried to identify the main factors affecting the delivery costs, as well as the organizational solutions suitable for properly managing the trade-off between logistic service and transportation cost. According to Gevaers et al. (2014), the main drivers of the latter rely on the level of logistic service promised to the customer, the delivery security, the geographical features of the market in terms of people density, and the technological level of the fleet. Boyer et al. (2009) focused on the customer density and the delivery window as conditions that sharply affect the efficiency of the delivery in the context of e-commerce. Wollenburg et al. (2018) have highlighted the relevance of the nature of the product in the design of the last mile logistics. On top of these operational features that act as driving factors of the key design decisions of the delivery process, several proposals have been made concerning the distribution network design (Melacini et al., 2018; Gavears et al., 2011; Boyer et al., 2005).

While the above mentioned contributions highlight some logistic problems that can arise when adopting e-commerce, it can be claimed that the use on on-line platform for digital selling can determine some positive outcomes, which are mainly related to the Sales and operations planning process. Indeed, the is extensive literature in the field of forecasting (namely judgmental forecasting) according to which the accuracy of sales forecast can be improved when forecasters can leverage contextual information. Such information (that is not necessarily numerical) can help the decision maker to better frame the forecasting process collecting any informative input (trends, customers’ preferences, relevant events etc.) that is suitable for understanding the future demand (Armstrong, 2016; Seifert et al., 2015; Davydenko and Fildes, 2014; Fildes et al., 2009, Lim and O’Connor,1996). In this regard, the e-commerce website can be a source of such contextual information, in that it is possible to track the journey of the client on it (even when it does not end with an actual purchase), and better identify the products that more than others can catch his/her interest.

 Methodology

 On the basis of the literature review we have identified two main variables impacting on the role of an omnichannel strategy as a value driver for the improvement of a company’s marketing and supply chain processes. These two variables are: the level of value density (high, low) and the main (if not unique) distribution channel typology (direct, indirect).  A Delphi study has been conducted on ten sales and operations managers, consultants as well as opinion leaders in the field of Marketing and Supply Chain Management in order to discuss the main strategic decisions and pros and cons concerning omnichannel strategies, to validate the two variables  (value density and main type of channel) and develop research hypotheses to address through an in-depth case study analysis.

The Delphi study has been conducted on ten sales and operations managers and consultants as well as opinion leaders in the field of Marketing and Supply Chain Management. The evidence of this first step of the research led us to confirm the validity of the above mentioned variables. On the basis of this outcome, we developed the following research hypotheses:

H1: The higher the percentage of revenues obtained through the direct off-line channel, the lower the benefits for the logistics and SCM processes associated with the adoption of the omnichannel strategy, but the wider the Marketing and sales benefits.

H2: The lower the value density of the product, the higher the costs associated with the adoption of the omnichannel strategy and the narrower the marketing benefits.

Four case-studies (named A, B C and D) have been analyzed in order to test these hypotheses.

Results and Discussion

 Preliminary evidence from the case-studies points out the existence of four different typologies of companies, which can be briefly described as follows:

 •          Type 1 : this is the type of companies that mostly sell high value-density products through the indirect channels (case A). For these companies the value of an omnichannel strategy is definitely high and mostly stands in the data and information gathered through it, which enable a more effective understanding of the demand from both the qualitative (i.e. what the emerging trends are in the market) and quantitative standpoint (i.e. how much a product is going to sell in a given period of time). The omnichannel strategy also enables a deeper understanding of the customer from the Marketing viewpoint, which can result in more effective customer journey and promotional campaigns.

•          Type 2: this is the type of companies with low value density products and selling mostly through the indirect channels (case B). While the possibility to establish a direct connection with the client can be valuable for these firms, the low value density of their products represents a relevant threat. In order to outweigh the unfavorable effects of the last mile logistics, these companies must leverage the digital direct connection with the customers in order to achieve a higher understanding of the demand side, so as to improve the effectiveness of their Marketing and promotional activities as well as the accuracy of their forecasting process.

•          Type  3: in this type we can find companies that mostly sell through the direct channel and with high value density products (case C). From the logistic viewpoint, due to the latter condition, these companies do not incur remarkable transportation costs, thus they can easily undertake the omnichannel strategy, which however can create opportunities that are different from the ones of types 1 and 2. Indeed, in this case the improvement in forecast accuracy is limited since the company is already in direct contact with the customer. In order to get the most from the digital selling, companies must carry out a more effective profiling of their customers offering specific services (as product customizations through configuration platforms). They can also strive to improve customer experience and customer loyalty through the effective design of the customer journey.

•          Type 4: this is a type where companies mostly sell through the direct channel and deal with low value density products (case D). As in the previous quadrant the omnichannel strategy is particularly attractive for the increasing of sales, improving customer experience and customer loyalty or to carry out a more effective profiling of the customers.  However companies do not gain any remarkable benefits in terms of sales and operation planning’s effectiveness through the e-commerce because they are already in contact with the customers through their directly operated stores. In such cases, from the viewpoint of the sales and operations planning process, there isn’t any specific reason to embrace the omnichannel strategy, the pursue of which can be due to the willingness of conforming to an overall trend (i.e. digital sales) and possibly to the ability of exploiting the omnichannel strategy in the marketing and customer satisfaction perspectives.

Conclusions and Implications for Theory and Practice

Several comments can be made leveraging the evidence of the case-studies, which can be relevant from both the theory and practice standpoints. It can be claimed that the omnichannel strategy, and namely the adoption of the e-commerce, is particularly valuable for companies that mainly operate through the indirect channel, regardless of the product’s value density. Indeed, through the digital platform firms can achieve a higher understanding of the demand from both the qualitative and quantitative viewpoint.

Focusing on the value density of the product, when it is high the adoption of the digital channel is easier to implement because the company can afford the lower efficiency brought about by the last mile logistics. However, when the e-commerce results in extremely low order size and high number of orders, the risk of a decrease in the overall value density of the shipment must be considered. This can be detrimental of the economic convenience of the e-commerce solution even in the case of high value density products.

References Available Upon Request

ABSTRACT. There is no doubt that luxury consumption is growing fast and that emerging markets like China and the UAE are contributing significantly toward this growth. According to the latest figures from Bain & Co(2018), it is expected that growth will pick up to 4-5% per annum (at constant exchange rates) increasing the size of the luxury market to €366-390 billion(≃ USD $430-460 billion) by 2025.

Given the significance of this sector to the global economy and the fact that luxury brands often need to turn classical marketing knowledge ‘upside down’ in order to preserve their luxury status and dream value (Kapferer and Bastien 2012), it is important to develop luxury specific theory and frameworks to help guide managers sustain this growth.

This special session brings together a collection of five papers from researchers associated with four academic institutions (American University of Sharjah, International University of Monaco, University of London and University of Glasgow), two of which with a ‘legacy’ in luxury research and also one practitioner organization that is the leading luxury partner in the Middle East. The papers cover a broad array of contemporary topics around luxury (e.g., selfies taken and shared on social media with luxury brands; pre-loved (pre-owned) luxury brands; luxury consumption in emerging markets with a focus on female Arab consumers) and employ diverse methodologies (e.g. conceptual, empirical). The presentations are expected to generate an interesting and lively discussion and pave the way for new collaborations and new research ideas in this dynamic field of research.

ABSTRACT. The objective of this paper is to define the conceptual domain of luxury brand charisma and its foundational dimensions. We present an exploratory study to shed light on the behavioral attributes of charismatic luxury brands. Our research has the potential to break new ground in academic brand research and specifically in the emerging area of luxury brand management.

ABSTRACT. To identify the drivers of luxury brand-selfies two studies were utilized: a content analysis of 2000 brand-selfies on Instagram and 20 in-depth interviews with consumers who share such selfies. Based on these studies as well as a comprehensive literature review, 12 drivers and moderators for posting luxury brand selfies emerged including self-expression, self-enhancement, attention seeking, status seeking, social interaction, communication, entertainment, archiving, actual and ideal self-congruence, brand attachment, narcissism and brand symbolism. To test the conceptual model a third study was conducted with a survey using Qualtrics online panel with consumers in the US. The study yields important theoretical and managerial findings for marketers wishing to understand why consumers post selfies with luxury brands with a view to encourage this practice and benefit from positive outcomes such as WOM.

ABSTRACT. We draw on social role theory (Eagly & Wood, 1999) to develop a deeper understanding for gender-related expectations pertaining to Arab female luxury consumption. In so doing, our study extends the existing literature on luxury consumption, by exploring this type of consumption through the lens of social role theory, a vastly under-studied area in the Arab context. Our results interestingly contrast with the drivers that would be expected to be used by female Arab consumers. Social role theory posits that, through socialization, females, in general, develop an interdependent self-concept embedded in a communal, caring, and nurturing social role. Our study shows that Arab women display largely independent and agentic behaviors, roles generally associated with men, in their luxury consumption. We offer plausible explanations to our findings along with theoretical and managerial implications from our study.

ABSTRACT. This research will take into account the differences between the second-hand luxury brand consumption, vintage luxury brand consumption and collectors’ pieces consumption to achieve the following objectives:

1. Evaluating the relationships between sustainable consumption and consumers’ intentions to purchase pre-loved luxury brands. 2. Analyzing the relationships between status consumption and consumers’ purchase intentions towards pre-loved luxury brands. 3. Exploring the relationships between consumers’ brand love emotions and the purchase intentions of pre-loved luxury brands. 4. Comparing the differences and similarities of the motivational drivers among the second-hand luxury brands, vintage luxury brands and collectors’ pieces.

ABSTRACT. For 10 years now, the Chalhoub Group has been focusing on GCC National luxury consumer behaviour through consumer and market research and tracking these changes year on year to stay ahead of the game. This gives us a decade-long story of the GCC National luxury consumer’s evolution; from a less confident approach in luxury purchase decisions and looking to ‘the clan’ (family and friends) (Chalhoub Group, 2014) to being in the driver’s seat and challenging preconceptions.

ABSTRACT. This paper offers an alternative interpretation for the antecedents of service climate based on attachment theory, using the context of low-skilled workers. Adopting a case study approach to investigate a successful restaurant chain, we explain how attachment and gift-giving improve the relationships among fellow employees, managers and the organization. We identify novel attachment processes that contribute to the development of a service climate. We find that employees’ emotional attachment underpins the connection between the antecedents (i.e. human resources practices and leadership) and the outcomes of service climate (i.e. employee empowerment and service performance). This is the first study that examines the emotional aspect of service climate. Through this approach, we suggest that service organizations can implement humanized approaches to improve service climate and pursue superior service performance.

ABSTRACT. Although demographic trends indicate the increasing importance of bilingual consumers, only few studies have examined the usage of code-switched messages in advertising to ethnic bilingual minorities. Besides, these studies focused on the general effects of mixed-language advertising. However, some industries are unique in terms of appropriateness of code-switched messages and require an individual approach. Drawing on the Speech Accommodation Theory and the Markedness Model, we have partially addressed this gap by developing four theoretical propositions about the applicability of code-switched advertising to bilingual minorities in the health care sector. Firstly, in the health care industry, code-switched advertising may not be a universally successful advertising approach. Secondly, if such messages are to work in this industry, greater persuasiveness might be attained by switching to the language that conveys more professional credibility with regard to medical care. Thirdly, in case of the majority and minority languages conveying a relatively perceived equal degree of professional credibility, the effect of code-switching might be primarily determined by sociocultural factors. Finally, in the health care sector, code-switched messages could be more applicable at the level of magazine or newspaper rather than at the level of the individual advertisement. Managerial implications and avenues for future research are provided.

ABSTRACT. The construct of online consumer engagement (OCE) has emerged as a key metric of social media marketing outcomes. Research has focused on positive OCE resulting in limited insight into negative OCE. This paper focuses upon customer and organisational negative OCE in a service setting. Netnographic data is gathered from the customer service Facebook pages of eight retail banks and combined with social media practitioner interviews from three of the banks. Results show misalignment in customer narratives drawing on moral legitimisation strategies, external bank narratives drawing on regulatory and cognitive legitimacy whilst internal organisational narratives mobilise pragmatic legitimacy. The use of Institutional Theory demonstrates that OCE may be targeted at a broader network of actors than has been previously conceptualised.

ABSTRACT. This study provides an empirical investigation of decision delegation strategies and, in particular, the impact of levels of trust on the propensity to delegate decisions. The context for the investigation is financial services, an area where decision delegation plays a significant role. When making a decision consumers can delegate various tasks, such as deciding what attributes or features should be investigated, what alternatives should be considered or the complete decision in its entirety. This study tests the impact of cognitive trust, affective trust and system trust on the likelihood of engaging in the various levels decision delegation. Data were collected from customers of seven types of financial provider. Results indicate that trust levels on the part of consumers are an important determinant of levels of decision delegation employed, but that the relationship between trust and decision delegation is more nuanced and complex than expected.

ABSTRACT. Research into the uptake of corporate social responsibility (CSR) has revealed significant variation across international contexts. Basing its investigation in sub-Saharan Africa, this study seeks to extend theory on CSR by examining the role that marketing communications plays in legitimising CSR with organizational stakeholders. Using case study research to capture the richness and complexity characteristic of the African context, this study reveals a pragmatic approach to CSR where firms integrate strategies to deliver both business objectives and to gain stakeholder acceptance or “licence to operate”. This study contributes to theory on CSR through uncovering the role of marketing communications in legitimising CSR with their stakeholder groups within an African context.

ABSTRACT. This paper aims to explore the typological characteristics of user-generated imagery in response to hashtags embedded within television advertisements, and to analyse the social semiotics of these visual postings on Instagram. A social semiotic analysis of visual eWOM is employed and John Lewis Christmas advert 2017 is chosen as the focus of this research. A total of 4,901 images available in the public domain are identified with the hashtag #mozthemonster, which matches the one displayed at the end of the television advert. The analysis involves an iterative process of thematic coding for semiotic data, with emphasis on identifying the typological characteristics of the collected images.

The initial coding of the result outlines a preliminary framework of visual eWOM genres derived from classifying the semiotic narratives expressed in user-generated imagery. The findings suggest that projectionism and anthropomorphism are the dominating genre types that capture the combined effect of intimacy and attachment connecting the advertising object and the consumers posting the images. It is evident that visual eWOM evokes emotions through the semiotic cues embedded within the user-generated imagery. User-generated images thus can be considered as a possible new genre of eWOM whilst the visually-rich social media platform like Instagram can be seen as a vehicle of eWOM representing a socio-cultural construction of emotional brand attachment orchestrated by an omnichannel marketing approach.

ABSTRACT. Content analysis has become a widely used technique for the analysis of the large quantities of data that are generated online. Especially relevant for marketing researchers are customer reviews on websites such as TripAdvisor and Amazon, because they express customers’ satisfaction and they represent an important source of word-of-mouth for other consumers. Although the recent preference for sentence-constrained approaches has increased the accuracy of analytical methods, in many cases these methods still ignore some of the nuances contained within online reviews. In particular, current methods may not detect when a single topic is discussed both positively and negatively in a single review, or when a single sentence discusses two separate topics.

The topic-sentiment method that is proposed in this paper addresses these two issues. It is a sentence-constrained approach that identifies ‘topic-sentiment pairs’; sentences that contain one word that describes the topic, and another that expresses the sentiment (positive or negative). To illustrate the analytical process, the method is applied to a dataset of 17,225 TripAdvisor reviews for restaurants in London. Results indicate that the topic-sentiment method offers a more nuanced approach for the analysis of customer reviews, while it retains the intuitiveness and simplicity of currently used methods.

ABSTRACT. The development of Internet communication platforms has made positive and negative product and company-related statements made by potential, actual, and former customers an increasingly important source of information for consumers. Previous research shows that online reviews affect sales, purchase intentions, and product choices. Online reviews are, therefore, a type of electronic word of mouth (eWOM) with a great potential to engage and impact the consumer. Modern technology allows consumers and companies to upload rich multimedia data on products and services, such as photos and videos. Existent research has not paid attention yet to the effect of multimedia enhanced online reviews on consumer responses. Nonetheless, prior studies have shown that the format of a content can impact people perceptions and behaviors. King et al. (2014) prescribes that further studies should define the impact of visual eWOM on the consumers. Therefore, this research aims at establishing how adding visual information (e.g., photos and video) to an online review changes consumer perceptions and intentions. This research objective contributes to the growing literature on online reviews by testing the role of the format. It also contributes to practice by revealing design factors that businesses could use to optimize the efficiency of online reviews and generate positive eWOM.

ABSTRACT. Experts guide consumers’ preferences and purchase decisions because they are often perceived as unbiased and trustworthy. Countries spend billions on marketing their agricultural industries to not only their own citizens but also foreign citizens all over the world, including these experts. The wine industry is high value agricultural industry from the standpoints of both the main raw agricultural products (i.e., grapes) and the value added in the finished products. This paper explores the role of nation brand in expert ratings and reviews using a large dataset from the global wine industry and automated text analysis. It finds evidence of nation brand bias despite the influence of product price.

ABSTRACT. Social influencers are developing into an advertising medium whose importance may surpass traditional advertising. However, until now little empirical research has been conducted on abstract success factors of social influencers. This study aims to fill this gap by exploring the extent to which the requirements of social influencers’ (1) attractiveness, (2) expertise and (3) trustworthiness are relevant for an online social influencer campaign referring to the impacts on constructs of brand perception and behavior. As fashion is the most common activity field of social influencers, an entry-level luxury fashion brand thereby takes center place. Hypothesis testing occurs by Structural Equation Modelling. The results show that the most important requirement is (3) trustworthiness followed by (1) attractiveness, while, surprisingly, the relevance of (2) expertise is virtually nil. Based on these partly counter-intuitive results, implications for management and further research are developed.

ABSTRACT. Social media, especially social media-based influencer marketing, has become an important factor in consumer decision making. Studies have recently begun investigating the effects of influencers on consumer behavior. This study contributes to existing research by examining the concepts endorser credibility and psychological ownership’s impact with the help of two social network media (Instagram picture and YouTube video). The results show that the perceived influencer credibility serves as a significant criterion, determining the product and purchase’s persuasiveness, while contributing an instrument for transferring convincing messages to increase the perceived psychological ownership feeling for a product and, thus, influence consumer behavior positively.

ABSTRACT. Consumers need to opt in to a company’s social media to receive marketing messages. Being authentic in social media communications should encourage consumers to opt in to a company’s social media page. This paper is the first to identify the key drivers of authenticity in social media by employing two studies, one qualitative and one quantitative. The empirical results offer evidence that social media authenticity is influenced by corporate social responsibility, fit, sales orientation, content quality and complaint management. Further, the findings indicate that social media authenticity has a mediating influence on consumer outcomes.

ABSTRACT. Electronic word of mouth (e-WOM) influences consumers' potential attitudes and behavioral intent toward a product. Since consumers access online information based on their relationship with communities, rather than relationships with individuals, online communities themselves function as a benchmark for assessing the quality of information. This study seeks to shed light on the following question: does positive e-WOM always improve firm's performance? We used data from Deliveries XYZ (the real name is confidential), a Brazilian fast-food business, to perform regressions between the following variables: number of website orders; total sales revenue in store; sales revenue made by the website; average rating assigned by customers; and, meaning of comments. We estimated 18 regressions, 6 for each dependent variable, store total sales, number of orders and website sales, respectively. In contrast to the published research of the effect of e-WOM on a firm performance, the present study found that relationship between consumer ratings and comments on a firm performance is statistically insignificant. An attempt to use a dummy variable to account for seasonal effects did not change the results. However, we found that a trend variable, which captures the long term effect of a series of positive comments during a certain period of time, was able to increase the model explanatory power, thus reflecting the improvement in firm’s performance.

ABSTRACT. Marketing managers have continued to grapple with the transitory targets of what are the most efficient and effective levels of marketing and sales expenditures given optimal return. Numerous studies suggest that there is a correlation between marketing and sales budgets and firm performance, however marketing scholars have been slow to integrate managerial relevance when decision making (Fischer et. al. 2011). In addition, little cohesive research results suggest marketing allocation optimization in varying product categories or geographic regions. Moreover, there appears to be little consensus as to the identification of consistent input firm or customer level variables consistently associated with favorable outcomes and good practice. Therefore, this study will examine organizational determinants and their relationship to the marketing budget allocation process in a cross-cultural context.

The proposition here is a firm level examination of variables with a particular effort to confirm impact on firm and marketing performance measurements across cultural settings. Specifically, a sample of 722 retail trade firms from Japan, Germany and the United States are empirically analyzed in an attempt to answer the following primary questions: (a) Does a common set of high-ranking determinants for Maximum Net Marketing Contribution exist among retail trade firms from the examined countries, combined? (b) Does a unique set of high-ranking determinants for Maximum Net Marketing Contribution exist within the retail trade firms from each country, individually? The variables examined employed both a non-linear artificial neural network (ANN) and a linear multiple discriminant analysis.

ABSTRACT. Exporting is believed to hold the key to growth for developing country (DC) firms, yet exporting alone can leave firms vulnerable to a race-to-the-bottom, low-price, commodity game. Increasingly, DC firms are turning to innovation as a path for improving exporting by creating new products that are more unique and provide higher value to international customers. But how can DC firms, with their relatively weaker capabilities and more hostile environments relative to developed country businesses, pursue the innovating-for-exporting strategy? Applying the Contingent Resource-Based View to a qualitative data set, we identify the exogenous and endogenous determinants of this strategy. Specifically, we interview managers and owners of wine firms and wine industry experts based in Romania, and find the endogenous firm assets of international market orientation, financial and human capitals, and passion for excellence as well as the exogenous domestic, regional, and global factors of local market development, national market integrity, European Union funding and regulation, and international country-of-origin effects as key drivers or influences. We then draw theoretical and managerial implications for DC firms pursuing the strategy of exporting by innovating.

ABSTRACT. Adoption of market orientation is an investment decision involved with benefit and cost considerations. This study explores the role market orientation and customer satisfaction play for firms operating in dynamic markets in search for growth and prosperity. Based on data collected from both the U.S. and India, representing developed and developing economies, respectively, results show that competitive and dynamic market conditions foster adoption of market orientation, which leads to high levels of customer satisfaction, which in turn leads to customer loyalty. In the U.S., market orientation is not related to performance, but customer satisfaction is related to performance. For the Indian sample, both market orientation and satisfaction are related to performance. In either case, customer loyalty is not related to business performance. Managerial implications and future research opportunity were also discussed.

ABSTRACT. Product Adaptation has been widely researched in the international domain while a company is exporting or marketing directly to guest countries. However, its adoption to segments within a country are not studied in spite of its relevance. In this paper product adaptation is contextualized to rural markets using the executives’ social representation of rural markets. We hypothesized that the representation of rural by executives would have a significant direct effect on the product adaptation decisions in rural markets. Such proposition is a unique contribution to the debate on product adaptation. We also hypothesized the indirect relationship via the cost of adaptation and product type on these two variables. Our results indicate the proposed hypotheses would found acceptable.

ABSTRACT. Until recently, the Bottom of Pyramid market was largely ignored by the multinationals, due to huge challenges it possesses to overcome; but now increasing number of multinationals are trying to tap this huge and lucrative market. Most of the attempts of multinationals are resulting into partial success or no success at all. On the other side, many academicians have criticized this approach on the grounds of vulnerability of its consumers, market size and sustainable profits for MNC’s. Thus, there is an urgent need to build robust theoretical framework that will help in not only overcoming the criticism laid by the various academicians but also will help in understanding the dynamics of this huge lucrative yet challenging market. This study aims to address this lacuna, by developing theoretical framework with completely new perspective, which is, borrowed from different discipline of literature - Town Planning. The Geddesian Theory of town planning has its roots deeply anchored in three different disciplines of Biology, Sociology and Social Sciences. It is one of the oldest and widely known theory of town planning. The uniqueness of Geddes theory is that it keeps the people or what Geddes popularly call them as Folk at the centre stage. The three main tenants of Geddesian Theory – Folk, Work and Place are reflected as Consumer, Propensity to consume, and Place in this new framework. Purpose of this research is twofold, firstly to draw parity between Geddes Theory and Bottom of the Pyramid market and secondly develop new framework.

ABSTRACT. Despite its popularity in the literature, the capabilities perspective has been criticized for its ill-defined boundary conditions and its confounding discussion of the effect of dynamic capabilities. One key question that begs for an answer is: does capability increase firm performance at all times? This study sought to assess the effect of involvement capability on firm performance among service firms in an emerging economy. The study tested the quadratic effect of involvement capability on firm performance as well as the moderation effect of customer demand and marketing competition on such relationship. Service firms operating in an emerging market – Ghana – were used to test the relationships. The study estimated two nested models and found that the relationship between involvement capability and firm performance was quadratic with an inverted U-shape. This suggested that the effect of such capability rises to a point and starts declining. Both customer demand and competition were found to further reduce the effect of involvement capability on performance in high periods. While in the service environment, customer involvement is seen as a prerequisite for value creation, it must be said that such involvement must be managed to yield optimal results for the firm. Increasing customer involvement may bring about production inefficiencies. Managers of service firms can manage the possible negative effect of customer involvement by clearly stating the level of allowable involvement and the role the customer has to play in the value creation process.

ABSTRACT. Peer-to-peer (P2P) ride sharing companies actively contribute to economic activity in developing economies with low-income levels, where many citizens may not own motor vehicles. However, more guidance is needed on the recruitment and retention of service providers (drivers) and customers (riders). Extant research is silent on the extent to which customers may assist when engaging with fellow consumers on the service. Considering customer citizenship behaviour, it is plausible that customers appreciating the benefits of the P2P sharing riding service may want to reciprocate and voluntary advocate its advantageous to fellow customers, help them to use the service and provide feedback for improvement. In doing this, the P2P ridesharing company may be in a better position to recruit, retain and win back customers and service providers, as customers are more likely to listen to communication from fellow consumers than that from the service company and customer feedback may assist in service enhancement. Hence, the study focussed on obtaining further insight into customer interventions for service recruitment and retention in a sharing economy, as denoted by customer citizenship behaviours and the factors that may motivate them to perform these behaviours. A total of 611 self-administered questionnaires from P2P share riding customers in South Africa were analysed, using structural equation modelling. The findings assist P2P ridesharing companies with a cost-effective, hands-on approach to recruit, retain and win back service providers and customers, which may result in a sustainable competitive advantage in the long term from which emerging market countries may also profit.

ABSTRACT. In order to respond to the ever-changing market demands, enterprises not only have to realize the market trends and customer needs but also to combine management concept with market demands in order to create values for customers. In this vein, enterprise is supposed to have well-organized market-oriented activities aligning with its business strategy to compete in the market in order to achieve the goal of business continuity. So far, although many studies tried to examine the effect of market orientation and strategy orientation on performance, there seems to have the contradiction in the findings because of the neglect of the alignment effect. Therefore, drawing on the concept of fit, this study tried to examine the effect of strategic alignment between strategic orientation and market orientation on business. For confirming the proposed alignment model fit as covariation was used to validate the hypothesis. Empirical data for hypothesis testing are collected from top-ranked companies in Taiwan; yielding 140 valid samples. The findings showed that the holistic perspective of covariation perspective supported the alignment relationship between strategic orientation and market orientation. From the empirical data, meaningful findings and conclusions are derived.

ABSTRACT. Brand orientation and market orientation are perceived as having more similarities that inter-links them than there are differences. This has resulted in calls for the two constructs to be merged. It is in response to these calls that this conceptual paper assesses the relationship between the two orientations and their influence on firm performance. The paper then proposes a testable model on how market and brand orientation can be “hybridised” into one strategic orientation to enhance their influence on firm performance.

ABSTRACT. Current retailing business is evolving from multichannel to omnichannel. Understanding how consumers select a specific channel and migrate from one channel to another channel has been a key topic in multichannel literature. However, previous studies on multichannel are mostly conducted in a limited channel setting, which affects both the research focus and management strategy. Our study serves as an initial step in investigating consumers’ channel choice in an environment with an extensive number of channels. Using a unique data set of a fast food retailing business expanding to a total of 23 channels, we investigate how a customer’s decision to adopt a new channel is affected by both customer and retailer channel characteristics. We classify customers into multichannel users and limited channel users and find that the two type users differ significantly in terms of adopting behavior and performance measures. We discuss the implications and provide managers with channel management strategies.

ABSTRACT. By 2021, around 2.1 billion people are estimated to buy products and services online. As an increasing amount of commerce shifts from the physical to the digital marketplace, new marketing practices and strategies have also emerged to tackle the challenges and opportunities that new marketing channels pose. One important example of these strategies is individual targeting and pricing. By creating algorithms based on a consumer’s recent purchase history, retailers can come up with an estimate of how much consumers would be willing to pay for any given product or service. Focusing on pricing strategies in online retail channels, we address the question: “How effective is dynamic pricing in encouraging consumers to purchase products previously abandoned in a virtual shopping cart?” As modern consumers are bombarded with a large number of marketing communications related to pricing in online retail channels, for example about price changes and other more or less personalized discounts based on their previous purchase behavior, the question remains how effective these practices are in increasing purchase intentions. This is especially intriguing in terms of items previously abandoned in a virtual shopping cart and whether retailers can reignite the purchase intention through dynamic pricing, marketing communications, or a combination of them. For example, retailers use a wide range of marketing tools, both verbal and visual, to convey information about price changes to consumers.

ABSTRACT. Over the past decade the environmental condition of the earth has deteriorated and this has led to an increase in environmental concern as well as the promotion of green products, campaigns and conservation behaviours. However marketers still face the challenge of understanding environmentally conscious consumer behaviour and the factors that affect this behaviour, particularly in the large and rapidly growing emerging consumer markets. For example, it is unclear what specific environmental concerns have the greatest effect on the actual green behaviour of individuals in South Africa. This study investigated which particular ecological concerns have the most impact on environmental behaviours by measuring the egoistic, altruistic and biospheric values of individuals. By utilizing data obtained from a sample of 386 students from a university in South Africa, correlation tests and multiple regression analyses were employed to investigate the relationships between environmental values and behaviour. It was found that both altruistic and biospheric values have significantly positive relationships with green behaviour however only biospheric values are a significant predictor of green behaviour. Recommendations for governments, businesses, marketers and green behaviour models are made

ABSTRACT. INTRODUCTION

The organic food industry has grown continuously over the last two decades and is frequently regarded as “one of the biggest growth markets in the food industry” (Hughner et al. 2007, pg. 2) with the largest growth in the North American market (Golijan & Dimitrijevic, 2018, pg. 129). In Canada, organic markets have been steadily expanding for years with organic food retail dollar sales growing at rates of twenty percent per annum since the 1990s (Hamzaoui Essoussi and Zahaf 2009). The 2017The State of Organicsreport indicated that “the sector was estimated to be worth $4.7 billion in 2015, up from $3.5 billion in 2013” (COTA 2017, pg. 6) pointing at the strong growth perspective. Further, the number of Canadian farms producing organic products continues to grow due to growing consumer demand, reaching 4,289 in 2016, an increase of 10% since 2006 (Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada 2017). Although the Canadian organic landscape is growing strong, academic research on the subject is minimal: most country-focused studies to-date are, by and large, limited to Europe as their organic industries have been advancing at faster rates (Thogersen, 2010, pg. 172).  Studies have indicated the importance of considering differences in consumption patterns internationally when examining the case for organic food consumption (Thogersen, 2010). As the result of the effects of different market and legal factors in different countries, where the organic food market is well developed, consumers show different motives for purchasing organic products. (Golijan & Dimitrijevic, 2018, pg. 127). For these reasons, it is important to research Canadian consumers in the organic purchasing process so that we may better understand these country-specific differences in consumption. Accordingly, the aim of study is to conduct a comprehensive literature review on organic produce consumer behaviour and to propose a research model to be tested in the next stage of this study. In doing so, this study determines the motivators and barriers to organic produce consumption which leads to the development of a conceptual research model for organic produce purchasing in Canada based on Theory of Planned Behaviour (Ajzen 1991).

METHODOLOGY

In selecting the literature to be reviewed, the following process was followed. First a broad, interdisciplinary search was conducted in Google Scholar and EBSCOhost for peer reviewed research related to organic markets and organic consumption published in the last 18 years (2000-2018). Then, the focus shifted to articles based in Canada. In addition to scholarly publications, Canadian government papers (Statistics Canada, COTA and Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada) were consulted for supplementary research. Finally, studies conducted via the Theory of Planned Behaviour (Ajzen 1985) were filtered out. The final sample consists of 52 articles, which identify organic consumers in parts of Europe, Asia, and North America.

LITERATURE REVIEW

Organic in Canada

Canadian organic industries are surging. In addition to the growth of organic farms, changing societal expectations for food and agriculture, “with increasing emphasis on healthfulness, freshness, and environmental sustainability”, have contributed to exponential growth of organic demand in Canada (Wittman et al. 2012, pg. 36). Canadian respondents defined organic foods as being “natural, tasty, nutritious, colourful, fresh/stays fresh longer, and is labour intensive” (Hamzaoui Essoussi and Zahaf 2008, pg. 98). Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada stated that 41% of Canadian consumers in their study said that ‘whether food is organically grown’ is an important determining factor in their choice of food (Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada, 2010). It is also been found that Canadian consumers have a higher level of confidence in the organic products produced and offered for sale in Canada, suggesting an ethno-centric preference (Ricquart 2004).

Motivations to Purchase Organic 

The purchase of organic versus conventional produce is influenced by multiple motivators, as discussed below:

• Health Concerns:Consumers’ health concerns seem to be the primary reason for consumers’ organic preference, as consumers believe organic produce is ‘healthier’ than conventional food (Thogersen et al. 2017).
• Food Safety Concerns:Food safety—the conditions and practices that preserve the quality of food to prevent contamination and food-borne illnesses— also plays an important role for organic produce preference (Health Canada 2012).
• Environmental Concerns:Health and environmental effects of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and other non-natural substances used to increase agricultural production, have caused concerns for consumers as well as concerns over animal welfare (Basha et al. 2015; Teng and Wang 2015).
• Lifestyle:Consumer motivations have been tied to lifestyle choices, whereby consumers see a parallel between their lifestyle values and organic products, such as veganism. Purchasing organic products has been referred to as ‘fashionable’ (Rana and Paul 2017)
• Ethics: Organic produce purchasing has been associated with ethical consumerism. Ethical motives were found to affect demand for organic foods and include concerns over the environment, the threat to animals, to human life and the heightened use of genetically modified crops fed to animals(Rana and Paul 2017; Michaelidou and Hassan 2008).

Barriers to Purchase Organic

Multiple barriers (i.e., availability and affordability) have been identified as inhibiting factors in the purchase of organic produce versus conventional options.

• Availability: Availability of organic produce has a direct positive impact on the likelihood of purchase (McFadden and Huffman 2017; Dimitri and Dettmann 2012).
• Affordability: On average, organic food products are priced at premium compared to conventional products in the same categories. The premiums differ between product categories, countries, and even store locations. Price seems to be the primary barrier in the choice between organic and conventional food products (Rana and Paul 2017; Aschemann-Witzel and Zielke 2017). 

Demographic Implications

Demographic factors are important considerations when researching consumer behaviour and decision-making habits; however, research yields conflicting findings for some variables (Padel and Foster 2005; Dimitri and Dettmann 2012; COTA, 2013; Wee et al. 2014; McFadden and Huffman, 2017). While the organic consumers are primarily female (Yiridoe et al., 2005; Padel and Foster 2005) it has been noted that younger consumers are the most willing to purchase organic products as they are more trusting of organic benefits than older ones (Aertsens, J., et al. 2009). In addition it has been noted that consumers with higher levels of education are more willing and likely to purchase organic produce than those with lower levels of education as they are perceived to be more conscious of their food choices (Wee et al 2014). Other demographic attributes that play a role in organic purchase is existence of a dependent child(ren) and cultural background and ethnicity (McFadden and Huffman 2017; Thogersen et al. 2017). 

RESEARCH MODEL AND HYPOTHESES

The Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) proposed by Ajzen in 1985 is one of the most “cited and influential models for the prediction of human social behaviour” (Ajzen 2011, pg. 1113). The central idea of the TPB is the individual’s intention to perform a given behaviour (Tarkiainen and Sundqvist 2005). The model links behavioural intentions with three conceptually independent determinants: attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioural control. According to the TPB, the immediate antecedent of behaviour is intention, and it is assumed that the stronger the intention to perform a behaviour, the more likely the individual will perform the behaviour. The TPB has been widely applied to organic buying behaviour research (e.g., Basha et al. 2015; Irianto 2015; Aertsens et al. 2009; Al-Swidi et al. 2014; Arvola et al. 2008; Tarkiainen and Sundqvist 2005). The model allows for opportunities to expand and test new hypotheses off a strong, well-tested base of consumer behaviour theory. 

A consumer’s lifestyle provides a strong indication of his/her attitudes and behaviours in consumption situations; elements such as one’s diet, state-of-health and family lifecycle are discussed in research on organic consumption (Basha et al. 2015; Dimitri and Dettmann 2012). Diets, such as veganism, support the purchase of natural food as vegan consumers feel positive towards foods that align with their lifestyle and impact attitudes towards organic produce (Rana and Paul 2017). In addition, consumers who have diagnosed health issues or general health concerns are motivated to live healthier lifestyles (Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, 2010). These consumers are more inclined to pay close attention to the quality of food they intake and manage their diets with healthier options (Hughner et al. 2007; Thogersen et al. 2017; Teng and Wang 2015). Family (e.g., marital status and number of dependents) is another important element of one’s lifestyle and has been associated with heightened or lowered organic consumption depending on an individual’s situation (McFadden and Huffman 2017; Dimitri and Dettmann 2012). Therefore, one’s family lifecycle may impact attitudes towards organic produce. Thus: 

H1: Consumer lifestyle will significantly impact attitude towards organic produce purchasing.

It is widely believed that consumer attitudes are guided by what they consider as important in life (Feldmann and Hamm 2015). Some common values that organic consumers possess could include health consciousness, environmental consciousness, cultural implications, and self-identity. Consumers who value their personal health and the health of others have been reported to be examples of regular organic consumers (Basha et al. 2015). In addition, valuing the environment and choosing to consume products that cause no harm are characteristics of organic consumers (Thogersen et al. 2017; Teng and Wang 2015). It has been reported that consumers “choose organic foods in line with their broader social, health and environmental values” (COTA, 2013, pg. 5). Moreover, some studies have indicated that values deriving from ethnicity and culture play a role in organic consumption (Thogersen et al. 2017; Dimitri and Dettmann 2012). Characteristics like authenticity, ethnicity, and tradition are often tied to organic produce from around the world (Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada 2010). Self-identity – how one perceives oneself – also ties in with the above values, in the context of organic consumption. Examples of self-identity include identifying as an ethical consumer, someone who is moral, someone who lives a healthy lifestyle, or even someone who seeks to follow current trends, thus:

H2: Consumer values will significantly impact attitude towards organic produce purchasing.

Affordability is one of the primary barriers inhibiting organic produce purchases (Rana and Paul 2017; Aschemann-Witzel and Zielke 2017). In the TPB, perceived behavioural control indicates how easy or difficult the consumer feels a certain behaviour will be, and affordability can either offer perceived ease or perceived difficulty in the mind of the consumer. Elements that affect consumer’s perceived affordability include product price and whether the consumer feels they can afford the organic product (Dimitri and Dettmann 2012). Hence:

H3: Perceived product affordability will significantly impact perceived behavioural control in purchasing organic produce.

Intention, defined as a person's perceived likelihood that he or she will engage in a given behaviour, is seen as the most proximal predictor of engaging in said behaviour (Arvola et al. 2008). Consumption patterns have been reported to impact this TPB construct (Ji and Wood 2007). The process by which individuals identify, purchase, and consume products and services to fit their needs is referred to as consumption pattern (Gbadamosi 2016). The way individuals consume products can be applied to the context of organic consumption, where the way in which a consumer chooses to consume organic produce may impact their intention to purchase. Variables such as food preparation method (e.g., peeled or not peeled), food usage method (e.g., raw or as an ingredient), or frequency of physical consumption are examples of this. This involvement in organic food is defined by the level of importance of food in a person’s life (Chen 2007).Based on these findings, the following is proposed:

H4: A consumer’s food consumption methods will significantly impact intention to purchase organic produce. 

CONCLUSION

Organic industries are gaining traction across the globe, and so are consumers’ attitudes and behaviours towards the notion of organic consumption. Of the 50 literary articles, government databases and reviews consulted, it is agreed that this body of literature could benefit from further research and analysis. Next steps for this study are to test the proposed conceptual model in Canada and utilize the results to fill in the knowledge gaps associated with Canadian organic consumers. Our proposed model considers the major themes surfaced in organic produce literature consulted for this study, while building on a well-researched theoretical framework (the TPB) as the foundation. The intent is to test our model and its associated themes (e.g., health consciousness, price, self-identity, lifestyle) in the context of organic produce purchasing in a Canadian study. The result from this research will improve the breadth and depth of organic studies in Canada and will help to confirm or deny similarities between organic consumers in Canada and other countries. 

ABSTRACT. This study examined developing green consumption model and sustaining consumers’ green consumption value. In this study, we analyze the existing theory of green consumption value, identify important factors, and suggest theoretical discussion and policy implications to develop consumers’ green consumption value. To do this, we identify the theories used to explain the behavior of green consumption in previous studies and suggest the theoretical direction for sustainable behavior of green consumption. In this study, targeting young consumers is appropriate for a study wishing to examine the development and maintenance of the green consumption over the long term. This study analyzes structural relationships based on various theoretical backgrounds in order to maintain the individual 's green consumption value, focusing on consumers of green consumption. This research is strongly correlated with sustainable behavior. Based on the findings of previous studies on factors affecting sustainable behavior, we identify the green consumption value through the added value of consumers. This study establishes and confirms a new model for sustainable consumption behavior based on the theoretical basis of existing green consumption value research. Based on this analysis, factors to be considered for future development of consumers green consumption value were identified and analyzed.

ABSTRACT. Companies are increasingly responding to this growing awareness by emphasizing the integration between environmental sustainability and their business activities. The corporate commitment to natural environment (or corporate environmental commitment, hereafter "CEC") is defined as "the extent to which a company integrates ecological issues into its business strategy to reduce the harmful effects of its business-related activities on the natural environment" (Hirunyawipada and Xiong 2018, p. 22; see also Bansal and Clelland 2005; Jayachandran et al. 2013). Despite the fact that environmental imperatives motivate firms to adopt pro-sustainability activities, the impact of corporate CEC efforts on firm performance is far from consensus. Several studies report strong relationships between CEC and firm performance (e.g., Colwell and Joshi 2013; Leonidou, Katsikeas, and Morgan 2013), while others show that environmental initiatives undermine the business bottom line (e.g., Chang, Li, and Lu 2015; Cordeiro and Sarkis 1997; Gao and Bansal 2013).

Against this backdrop, we seek to reconcile the inconsistent findings and establish the generalizability of the relationship between CEC and firm performance by conducting a meta-analysis. In particular, we examine the following groups of variables that can potentially moderate the CEC-firm performance relationship: (1) CEC characteristics (i.e., how CEC is formed and organized); (2) measurement of firm performance (i.e., how firm performance is measured and what goals firms seek to achieve); (3) industry characteristics (i.e., industries in which firms compete); and (4) country-specific socio-economic characteristics. These key factors may account for the heterogeneity across the effect sizes.

ABSTRACT. The future of teaching seems to be moving towards more online delivery of courses. Many colleges and universities are migrating courses online to be delivered as a stand alone online offering or as a hybrid face-to-face/online course. It appears that a bimodal model is emerging where on one side we see the standard lecture content delivered online and on the other side deeply affecting experiential learning. Such experiential learning includes study abroad courses; which often create lasting relationships and word of mouth promotion for future study abroad trips.

Part of the message is the human brand; the instructors that deliver the program. Part of the message is the destination as a brand. In fact, place branding or destination branding is key to attracting students to a study abroad. We discuss each and invite participation by the audience.

ABSTRACT. Although scholars and practitioners have stressed the importance of engaging international customers in the design stage of the new product development, there are contrasting views regarding the performance outcomes of doing so. Existing studies lack a conceptual and empirical integration indicating when such arrangements are beneficial. Relying on the motivation-opportunity-ability (MOA) theory of behavior, this study presents and tests a theoretical model that examines factors influencing the performance outcome of customer engagement. Specifically, we suggest that the effect of customer engagement on supplier performance depends on: mutual trust, which acts as motivation, cultural similarity which is considered as opportunity, and relationship learning as the ability factor. Using 219 data points from Chinese manufacturing firms evaluating their international customers, we show that engaging cross-border customers in the design stage of new product development has a positive influence on supplier performance, and that relationship learning and cultural similarity strengthen the customer engagement-supplier performance link. Our results also indicate that firms do not benefit as much from customer engagement when there is too much inter-firm mutual trust.

ABSTRACT. Innovation capability is widely viewed as a competitive advantage. Yet literature on innovation and new product development have also recognized the existence of hurdles in the successful practice and implementation of innovation. In an uncertain and highly competitive business environment, it is not uncommon for organizations to pass on innovation tasks to supply chain partners. This is particularly so in the case of the manufacturing supply chain in which powerful OEMs often pass on innovation introduction activities to their suppliers. This research seeks to determine whether such “Innovation Pressure” is conducive to good Supplier- OEM Relationships and also how it compares with price pressure exerted similarly by OEMs. A research model is developed with overall supplier-OEM relationship as the final dependent variable. In addition to a set of intermediate relationship variables, the model has two exogenous variables - one representing price pressure and the other representing pressure to innovate. After following a detailed scale development procedure, data were collected from suppliers in the electronics industry and the automotive heavy vehicles industry. Statistical analysis shows differences in the impacts of the two initial variables on the outcome variable. Innovation pressure has substantially more positive links with the intermediate relational variables as well as the dependent variable than price pressure has.

ABSTRACT. This paper explores how firms’ servitization activities involve value appropriation (from the rest of the network), contrasting with the narrative norm for servitization: that it creates additional value. It highlights the importance of understanding the tensions that servitization activities create within networks and shows how using a territorial/spatial lens can provide additional theoretical clarity as well as managerial insight. Some firms may be able to improve servitization performance through co-operation rather than competition. Others may need to become much more aggressive, if they are to take a greater share of the ‘value’ from the value chain. Servitization activities require the development of new capabilities and the redistribution of activities between actors within networks. we explore tensions that arise as manufacturers move into spaces/territories previously occupied by the other actors affected. An exploratory qualitative approach utilizing semi-structured interviews with senior executives from manufacturers, intermediaries and customers across a range of industrial sectors was taken. Tensions relating to developing or acquiring two key sets of capabilities have been identified as servitization networks evolve.

ABSTRACT. The increased use of social media marketing (SMM) among luxury fashion brands has led to the interest in analysing the effectiveness of SMM activities. Saudi Arabia represents a lucrative market for international luxury fashion brands but a challenging one in terms of its conservative nature and governmental restrictions on media. Due to limited literature in understanding how Saudi female consumers perceive and respond to luxury fashion brands’ SMM activities, the present study serves as groundwork to explore the subject matter. Based on semi-structured interviews with Saudi female luxury fashion consumers who follow luxury fashion brands on social media, the study helps to address these gaps. Data reveal that luxury fashion brands’ SMM activities are perceived positively in terms of their trendiness and ability to support females' social role and image, but also negatively in terms of irritation and value corruption. Consumers expressed negative responses to content perceived as inappropriate to Saudi society by skipping the content, avoid purchasing from the brand, stopping following the brand on social media, or sharing negative WOM. This exploratory study contributes understanding of how SMM activities are perceived by consumers in a wealthy but extremely conservative society that prioritises female modesty. From a managerial standpoint, SMM strategies ought to consider content that is trendy and supports consumers' construction of their social role and image. Luxury fashion brands should consider whether social media content is appropriate to Saudi society and conservative consumer values to avoid a negative response.

ABSTRACT. Luxury business is one of the most important drivers of growth in many countries. One of the key factors for luxury brands’ success is their ability to elicit dream and aspiration in consumers, which is typically sustained by appropriate communication strategies, such as the presence of celebrities or the usage of specific images versus text. Also, the type of language luxury brands can use to deliver their communication messages might importantly affect their ability to fulfill consumers’ desire to dream luxury goods. In this respect, a study by Hansen and Wänke (2011) demonstrated that consumers perceive products described through abstract language as more luxurious than those described through a concrete language and attribute this result to the link between the psychological distance from consumers that typically characterizes luxury brands and abstract mental representations. Despite the relevance of these findings, we believe the effect of language abstractness on consumers’ perceptions might not always be the same. We propose and demonstrate that whether consumers perceive a luxury product described through abstract (vs. concrete) language as more luxurious may depend on the motivations driving consumers to purchase luxury products. In particular, we demonstrated that luxury consumption motivations influence the effectiveness of the type of language used in luxury brands’ communication. Abstract language is more effective than concrete language when luxury products are characterized by low versus high logo prominence and when consumers are low versus high in conspicuous consumption orientation.

ABSTRACT. The past decade has seen a steady growth in the sale of menswear fashion brands. In terms of sales, menswear is predicted to outperform that of womenswear by 2020. There is an extensive body of literature as pertains to the expansion of retailers and fashion retailers. These studies tend either to generalise around men's and womenswear companies or to focus on women's fashion companies alone. Despite the size and potential of the male fashion market therefore, there is a lack of research which focuses on the key elements of success for male fashion retailers and to date, few studies have focused specifically on men's fashion companies. This research has sought to identify the key elements of success and differentiation in men's fashion retailing to build a model of key success factors for growth and to contribute to the body of literature on men's fashion retailing.

ABSTRACT. Extant literature assumes that customers mainly serve as passive data providers and that firms take responsibilities of data analytics. In line with a current trend in real-world practice, this research, partly based on the open innovation literature, challenges this assumption and argues that customers can have more engagement in data analytics. The authors distinguish two constructs: Customer as Data Provider (CDP) and Customer as Data Analyst (CDA). The former is consistent with the mainstream view that customers serve as the data source. The latter, on the other hand, sheds light on an active role customers play in data analytics – that is, customers participate in a co-creation process where they acquire, analyze and act on big data. Using survey data of 148 Business-to-Business (B2B) innovation projects, the authors find that both types of customer involvement facilitate industrial product innovation. Furthermore, they examine moderation effects of customer need tacitness and customer need diversity. Results show that customer need tacitness negatively, while customer need diversity positively, moderates the relationship between CDP and new product performance. Customer need tacitness is also found to positively moderate the relationship between CDA and new product performance.

ABSTRACT. Digital innovations by start-ups elicit high levels of consumer uncertainty, especially at the time of initial adoption. High failure rates of digital innovations indicate that consumers’ initial trust perceptions of these innovations are make-or-break for their survival. Start-ups have to design adequate business models to manage consumers’ initial trust perceptions of digital innovations. Two experiments highlight that consumers’ initial trust perceptions affect adoption intentions and specify how start-ups can signal trustworthiness in order to overcome low initial trust perceptions. We find two specific design aspects of start-ups’ digital business models – benefit communication, and revenue model – to be effective to overcome low initial trust perceptions and to increase digital innovation adoption. In fact, initial trust mediates the relationship between these design aspects and adoption. These empirical insights help start-ups to craft business models for successful digital innovation launch.

ABSTRACT. This paper examines how social power influences entrepreneurial action. Specifically, how the complex social perception-based process of social power affects, if at all, an underlying creative entrepreneurial action. The initial findings suggest that the perceived social influence of the entrepreneur by the owner himself has a direct influence on the entrepreneurs' decision to act. This social influence can be defined as social power. There are many studies on entrepreneurial behavior in terms of economic outcomes but few in terms of social outcomes. Many scholars attempt to explain why an entrepreneur starts a business, what makes an entrepreneur successful vs. not, what is more valuable-a social network or skills or an opportunity, or which comes first, the entrepreneur or the firm (Ajzen, 1991; Aquinis, et al. 2008; Alvarez & Barney, 2005; Aldrich & Zimmer, 1986). These are very interesting perspectives, however, the behavior aspect of entrepreneurship, specifically, entrepreneurial action, related to an entrepreneur’s social power, can be an interesting addition to the literature and possibly the most valuable to experienced entrepreneurs. In this paper, we discuss entrepreneurial action through the lens of the theory of social power, widely used in social psychology, and demonstrate its applicability to the entrepreneurship domain.

ABSTRACT. This study explores B-school students’ perceptions of topical areas in international business/marketing as well as their preferred learning methods. We compared the responses of students from Peru, Guatemala, Mexico and China. In general, we found the students from the three Latin American countries mostly shared common perceptions but quite different from their Chinese counterparts. Mexican and Peruvian students preferred multi-media and case analysis learning methods. Guatemalans preferred the use of guest speakers while the Chinese students preferred lectures and hands on applications.

ABSTRACT. Experiential learning environments and learning by doing are argued to be effective methods of instruction. This study immerses students into a “real world” approach to market research in their own academic institution. Specifically, students evaluate their perceived current and future curriculum needs in their business school’s marketing department, while applying the research processes, techniques, and skills embedded in the learning objectives for the course. The approach is designed to capture students’ interest as they actively create, analyze and learn the research process while working on an authentic problem. Concurrently faculty and the marketing area learn real time from students about their preferred topics of study for curriculum planning and areas that need attention to improve learning in the course design and delivery. These methods provide an opportunity for both marketing students and faculty alike to achieve their goals using a common classroom research survey module.

Students not only collect and analyze the data, they actually take the survey so they understand firsthand the content, options, and type of questions. Because students create the information and work with it in each research phase, they know that their voice and findings will be used. They feel empowered and assume ownership of these important inputs to the curriculum.

For faculty and the marketing area the approach is an efficient and effective experiential learning methodology and a quality improvement process, as well. It fosters student and organizational learning. Multi-year improvements include new courses, minors, and concentrations and changes in outreach and informational materials.

ABSTRACT. Recent technological advancements provide instructors novel teaching techniques and capabilities that appeal to a new generation of “tech native” learners. One such technique is gamification, which is using game elements in instruction. Gamification is already popular in K-12 and it is also gaining traction in higher education. However, the impact of gamification on learners’ performance has not been studied rigorously. In this project, we focus on one aspect of gamification called Game-based Learning (GBL) and devise an experiment to test its impact. To do so, we utilize Kahoot!, which is a free online platform to create trivia-like quiz games for class discussion, in upper division marketing courses. We pretested and readjusted this instrument during the 2017-2018 academic year. We now propose a within subjects experimental design that measures the effect of GBL on learners’ engagement, enjoyment and performance. We plan to collect data in Spring 2019 from one private and one public university.

Feedback from the WMC conference at this phase, would be instrumental to the success of our project.

ABSTRACT. University students report feeling stress at unprecedented levels. Overwhelming anxiety can arise from university-based concerns about study to personal and practical issues. Instructors need to be cognizant of these and consider designing courses to reduce the impact of the university-based stressors. This research investigates the construction and use of crib sheets, aids that students create for use in exams, and how these can reduce exam stress as students see their preparation produce something tangible from their exam study efforts.

Over the last several decades, marketing and management educational researchers have investigated crib sheets’ effectiveness as a study aid, with mixed conclusions. This research answers the call for further investigation into mechanisms behind crib sheets impacting exam performance.

The method takes a mixed approach with two studies. A qualitative approach used 25 in-depth semi-structured interviews from students graduating from a marketing program. A second study is a depth analysis of crib sheet content: not only the written text, but also the style, structure, density, and other attributes which may indicate the degree of cognitive ‘rehearsal’ and subsequent exam performance.

Our preliminary interview findings are that the use of crib sheets lowers anxiety before exams. We are still in the process of analyzing the content of 197 crib sheets collected over a period of three years.

ABSTRACT. Recent marketing studies highlight that, despite legislative frameworks, such as USA’s American Consumers with Disabilities Act or the UK’s Code of Broadcast Advertising, marketplace experiences of many consumer groups can leave them feeling mistreated, restricted in their decisions, vulnerable and disempowered. This research points to the need of going beyond conceiving inclusion as a passive concept equated with the logic of ‘open doors’ – e.g., that eliminating overt discrimination of consumers will result in all consumers feeling equally catered for. At the same time, a nascent stream of research (e.g., Ho et al., 2017; Demangeot et al., 2013; Baker and Mason, 2012) aims to advance conceptualisations and models of marketing actions drawing on concepts of empowerment and resilience. Because inclusion is subjectively constructed on the individual level (Licsandru and Cui, 2018) and consistent with the 2019 AMS World Marketing Congress theme ‘Enlightened Marketing in Challenging Times’, we propose a session bringing together early findings of empirical studies that critically explore consumer responses to marketing actions exemplifying either the advancement or the inhibition of market inclusion. Through examining varied contexts and consumer characteristics, the session covers four topics: 1.Sensory Identity and Inclusion in the Marketplace (Cross and Lin) 2.Effects of multicultural integrated advertising message framing on perceived benefits of multiculturalism (Kipnis and colleagues) 3.The Role of Marketing in Intercultural Relations in Post-Colonial Contexts (Vorster and colleagues) 4.Implications of marketing (mis)representation on wellbeing of consumers with disabilities (Kearney and colleagues)