ABSTRACT. While there are many dimensions to the overall sustainability discussion, of particular interest in many narratives is the increase in food waste globally. Credible estimates suggest that one-third of all food produced worldwide is wasted or goes uneaten. Business schools worldwide are devoting increased attention to strengthening the awareness levels of the importance of sustainability in business strategy development and execution. This paper focuses on developing credible pedagogical options to incorporating the sustainability mindset of reverse supply chain development and execution in business students.

ABSTRACT. Managing reverse supply chain activities or processes such as returns, recalls, and refurbishments is an area that is becoming increasingly relevant. Given the increased frequency and cost of product returns it is important to understand how returns policy and customer behaviors may contribute to product returns. Moreover in the era of multichannel retailing it would be relevant and valuable to investigate across online and offline channels the differing impact of leniency factors on purchase and returns. This long abstract represents an overview of an ongoing research project that aims to contribute to the growing stream of returns product research within the marketing and supply chain literature, and extending the theoretical scope of offline and online business context. The purpose is also to contribute to the growing dialogue on consumer issues in supply chain management by investigating how consumers respond to the degree of return policy leniency to guide future research that encompass both the online and off-line business environment.

ABSTRACT. Employee engagement has gained much attention from practitioners and researchers in view of their abilities to generate long-term profitability. However, past research on employee engagement has mainly focused on the attitudinal perspective, such as employee’s commitment, loyalty, vigor and absorption toward the firm and the job. There has been little research investigating employee engagement from the behavioral perspective. Therefore, this research aims to fill this research gap by exploring and defining the engagement behaviors of both frontline employees and customers as well as assessing their linkage in service encounters. Integrating theories from social contagion, conservation of resources, and social exchange, we develop and empirically test a theoretical model that examines the influence frontline employee engagement behaviors (deep acting, customer orientation behavior, and customer empowerment) on customer onsite engagement behaviors (customer information sharing and attitudinal reciprocity) through the mediation of relational energy and interactional quality. Dyadic survey data collected from 278 customer-employee pairs in various service industries was examined through structural equation modeling (SEM). All hypotheses were supported and managerial implications were discussed.

ABSTRACT. The average amount donated to charities has been declining in the recent years in the UK as the pool of donors is decreasing (Chatzidakis et al. 2016). Yet, regardless of the expenses for launching celebrity-endorsed campaigns, charities are increasingly relying on celebrities to promote their causes (Littler 2016). Attitudes to donate are widespread in the UK but higher than donation behaviour, as approximately half of individuals with pro-charitable donation attitudes do not donate any money to a charity in a month (Dobbs et al. 2011). This demonstrates that attitudes are not definite proxies for donation behaviour, suggesting that a change in research focus is required. Overlooked in prior studies, celebrities’ engagement with charities could be a double-edged sword due to suspiciousness about celebrities’ motivations and authenticity (Brockington and Spensor 2014). This paper introduces new theoretical self-regulatory and self-identification constructs to adapt the Theory of Planned Behaviour for understanding the role of celebrity endorsement in reinforcing donation behaviours and intentions. The managerial implication is to investigate under what conditions celebrity endorsement is reaping returns for the charities. This insight is crucial for the charities depending on a shrinking pool of donors, yet deploying celebrity endorsed campaigns despite their expenses.

ABSTRACT. In recent years, for the rapid development of technology, many innovative goods and services have been introduced into marketplaces. Furthermore, the desire of individual has also been brought into the way beyond control. Thus, compulsive buying has become a critical issue for scholars and practitioners. Meanwhile, the Internet also serves as an enabler for online compulsive buying intention and behavior for its ease of use, timeless, and avoiding interaction with others. Therefore, we try to develop assessing Internet Compulsive Buying Tendency (ICBT) Scale to measure an online consumer’s compulsive buying tendency effectively. According to the scale development procedure, Confirmation Factor Analysis (CFA) is employed to analyze the initial 31 items. After purification of the items, finally, a revision containing 18 items for measuring Internet compulsive buying is generated. The measurement scale contains of four constructs, namely tendency to spend, feelings about shopping and spending, dysfunctional spending, and post purchase guilt. In practice, retailers may pay more intentions to these factors in evaluating consumers’ value of online shopping dumping, and these factors also make it easier to predict consumer tendency toward Internet compulsive shopping.

ABSTRACT. Today the prestigious and top 25 ranked marketing-oriented journals consistently report annual acceptance rates ranging between 7 and 16%. The low acceptance suggest a disconnect gap between conducting important, relevant quality research and ultimately publishing that research in quality journals.In an effort to begin closing this disconnect gap, the primary objective underlying this special session is one of generating meaningful discussions between journal editorial board reviewers, acknowledged as outstanding reviewers, and the audience on difficulties, critical issues, and pitfalls leading to rejection of manuscripts submitted to high-ranking journal review processes.One of the unique elements of the session is the interactive framework of using the “question and answer” format between panel members and the audience to create a meaningful dialogue and opportunities of exchanging invaluable writing, organizing, and publishing insights toward improving the journal quality factor of manuscripts submitted to journal review processes. In addition, the interactive dialogue provides invaluable insights to main as well as specific components of a manuscript that editorial reviewers use in evaluating a manuscript’s value and contribution to the body of marketing knowledge (or the literature).

ABSTRACT. Destination branding has become an important way to differentiate destinations in highly competitive holiday markets. Recent research has examined tourist’s perceptions of destination personality, but no studies were found to measure a destination's values. For the first time, we show that Australian and Chinese adult’s perceptions of New York City and London reflect Schwartz (1992) human value structure. Our results indicate that people share a common structure, but they also differ significantly in their perceptions of destination values. This has implications for destination marketers, who need to examine the ways in which people experience different destinations.

ABSTRACT. This study tends to re-investigate the effects of economic animosity by checking its impacts on both explicit/implicit attitudes and across typical/atypical products. The study was conducted in Taiwan, and South Korea was selected as the economically hostile country. Four products (i.e., smart phone, kimchi, bicycle, and beer) were used as typical/atypical stimuli in the study. 204 local students with economically hostile feelings toward South Korea participated in this research. The results show that typical products from economically hostile countries may enjoy more positive consumers’ implicit attitudes than atypical products from the same country. However, consumers do not show such enhancement effects overtly in their explicit attitudes.Social desirability may play an important role in such results. The results also help academics resolve the issue that some products from economically hostile countries gain, not loss instead, great market share in certain areas.

ABSTRACT. Five primary musical elements distinctively impact human responses and music tempo is considered one of the most important determinants of human’s cognitive and emotional responses through its effects on information processing, emotions and moods. In this article, the authors conduct two studies to investigate the effects of music tempo in the food context. The results show that faster rather than slower music tempo enhances food’s perceived taste and purchase intentions and propose a sequential affective route as the underlying mechanism.

ABSTRACT. This research investigates the influences of product temperature, and its interaction with ambient temperature on variety-seeking behavior. Results from two studies show that product temperature exert a significant influence on variety-seeking behavior, with cold products stimulating a higher level of variety-seeking behavior in participants than warm products. Moreover, the effect of product temperature on variety-seeking behavior is moderated by ambient temperature. Practical implications of these findings are included.

ABSTRACT. A decade and a half ago, Kurzweil wrote: “An analysis of the history of technology shows that technological change is exponential, contrary to the common-sense 'intuitive linear' view. So we won't experience 100 years of progress in the 21st century—it will be more like 20,000 years of progress…” (Kurzweil 2001) Many have witnessed this rise of technology while growing up, but millennials as a generation, have grown up right alongside it. These individuals born between 1982 and 2004 (Moore 2012) have learned how to leverage the tools of information and communication technology for everything from information gathering, to social interactions. This paper focuses on one quintessential facet of our lives as human beings that has been transformed through these technological advances: How we gain access and consume food. A growing body of research has focused on millennials and their tech-savvy lifestyles, but not as much research has been done on a topic so fundamental as how the multiplicity of mobile applications have transformed our food consumption habits. The purpose of this research is to understand the relationships between mobile application usage, and a transition in the level to which individuals are involved with their food and beverage consumption choices.

ABSTRACT. The advent of social media has generated vast amounts of data, mostly in text form, that marketers can use to segment and target markets, and to understand customers more effectively. Content analysis has shifted from being mostly manual to being conducted by computers, as the vast amount of data require calculation capabilities that surpass those of humans. What is lacking however is a theory of what is behind this content analysis. In this paper, we draw upon Hart’s theory of word choice and verbal tone, which begins by asking five simple questions of what frames a document or piece of text. A theoretical framework is developed that shows how Hart’s five fundamental dimensions of a piece of text, as well as four variables that can be calculated for any document, can be used to shed light on marketing phenomena, both at the individual and organizational levels. Ideas and avenues for future applications in academic marketing research are presented.

ABSTRACT. Environmental supply chain sustainability has become a critical focus for firms, yet both scholars and practitioners seem to struggle with alignment between logistics service requirements and environmental concerns. This conceptual research examines the problem as an issue in properly leveraging the cultural antecedents of both supply chain and sustainability capabilities. A synthesis of the known literature proposes that a Market Orientation-driven Resource Hierarchy View model of relationships between supply chain and environmental orientations may provide a means by which firms can increase both environmental sustainability and performance outcomes.

ABSTRACT. The idea of a strong bond between culture and health, advocated by Bourdieu and his colleagues from the 1960s, is explored in detail by investigating the role of cultural capital in internal brand building practices among leader and members working in healthcare sector. Previous studies has identified the role of leaders in implementing internal branding efforts, however limited research exists as to how Leader-Member Exchange influences internal branding outcomes, to achieve positive patient service delivery behaviour, especially in healthcare sector. It is, therefore, the focus of the present study. Drawing on interviews with 36 respondents from India, the study addresses this issue. Firstly, cultural capital (similarities/dissimilarities in age, experience and education) presents a more convincing explaining for Leader’s transformational and transactional styles exchange with employees. Secondly, the study highlights that Leader- Member cultural capital (similarities in age, experience and education) are more likely to facilitate internal branding (communication and training) efforts by ensuring positive patient service delivery. Thirdly, employee’s service delivery behaviour, in public and private health sector is influenced by the accessible resources and incentive offered by their leaders. The study offers insights in managing Leader-Member Exchange and facilitating internal branding outcomes.

ABSTRACT. In an era of rapid growth of service industries, practitioners and researchers have emphasized the role of employee performance in the success of a service brand. Indeed, customers’ perceptions of a service brand heavily rely on the behaviors of service employees. However, little research conceptually and empirically investigated the influence of employee behaviors on service brand perceptions. This study aims to fill this research gap, developing and testing anempirical model that focuses on the effects of employees’brand-building and service delivery behaviors on brand affect, brand image, satisfaction and brand loyalty. A theoretical framework was developed to explore the effects of employees’ brand-building behaviors and service delivery behaviors on brand outcomes. Dyadic survey data was collected from service employees and customers. We further tested our hypotheses using 278 customer-employee pairs of in various service industries through structural equation modeling.Results show that employees’ brand building behaviors (brand-fit behavior and brand communication behavior) and service delivery behaviors (courteous behavior and customer orientation) were positively influence brand affect and brand image, which in turns affect satisfaction and brand loyalty.

ABSTRACT. This article investigates the impact of the package design complexity on brand perception. 3 Champagne labels, representative of 3 graphic design styles observed on the market, were created and then tested among 305 consumers according to a between-subjects experiment. These 3 labels contain the same text but different graphic designs in order to manipulate the level of simplicity/complexity of the package design. The results allow the verification of different proposals from the literature. They demonstrate a significant impact of the package design’s level of simplicity on brand perception as well as on consumer’s buying choices.

ABSTRACT. Non-governmental charities operate in a competitive market and survive with funding from membership fees and donations from supporters. Knowing and motivating potential donors has become increasingly important. Advertising is one of the key means of communication used by these organizations. The goal of this research is to explore the influence of image valence in advertising on one’s attention and intention to donate. The study consists of an experiment where data processing is based on eye-tracking and an electroencephalogram. The results show that negative images get more attention as compared to text and logos. No differences were found with regard to gender and intention to donate in terms of attention paid to the advertising images. However, women do show greater willingness to make a donation. Finally, strategies adapted to charitable NGOs are discussed in the conclusions.

ABSTRACT. Organizations are unaware of which resources and capabilities are needed to initialize sustainability reporting. We propose a framework for engagement in CSR reporting. Following the resource-based view, we organize the resources into three groups – tangible, intangible, and personnel – and match them with the required capabilities. As the report is an information product, the only tangible resource required is financial capital. The intangible resources include technology, organizational knowledge and culture. Personnel resources include specific employees assigned to the task and leaders who support them. These are matched with the capabilities of data integration and communication, team building across silos, organizational learning, and internal marketing. We illustrate the framework with a case study of two US companies in the process of implementing GRI’s Guidelines – an organization in the Forest and Paper sector in the first stage of implementing a reporting process and a major Service organization in the stage of data compilation for the preparation of the final report. We map the companies’ actions to the proposed framework and discuss the gaps. We comment on the main facilitators and obstacles of sustainability reporting implementation identified by the firms. The study concludes with practical recommendations for first-time reporting organizations.

ABSTRACT. Little is known about the use of sponsorship in social marketing campaigns, especially pro- environmental campaigns. Within social marketing, sponsorship is driven by costs and often takes the form of sponsorship-linked marketing. Without the sponsor, the social marketing campaign would often not be possible. This study evaluates the impact of an externally sponsored pro-environmental campaign, by examining how individual (general environmental attitudes), organizational (skepticism toward the organization’s environmental corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives; perceived organizational behavior) and campaign-related (attitudes toward the environmental-related advertisement; attitudes toward the external sponsor) factors influence behavioral intentions. In doing so, a field experiment using a real environmental CSR campaign, taking place at a UK university, namely “Student Switch Off” (SSO; www.studentswitchoff.org), was conducted. Aside from contributing to the limited literature on externally sponsored pro-environmental social marketing campaigns, this paper contributes to the limited research on environmental campaigns within a university setting (Leitao and Silva, 2007) too. The lessons learned may play an important role in shaping future CSR initiatives targeting students/generation Y and influencing their sustainability decisions.

ABSTRACT. This study addresses explicit calls for comparative research of young voter behaviour in political marketing. Responding to this gap in the body of knowledge, this study investigates whether intermittent campaigns (such as the UK EU Referendum) have an impact on young voter engagement, participation and future voting intentions compared with periodic elections. Online questionnaires including closed and open questions were conducted prior and post the UK EU Referendum Campaign. 90 participants aged 18-24 years took part in both stages of the study. The research project presents findings on young voter engagement with political issues online and future voting intentions in periodic and intermittent election campaigns. For example, the findings indicate that the young voters in our sample were overwhelming dissatisfied with the outcome of the EU Referendum. This dissatisfaction of Brexit was consistent before and after polling day. This research provides an updated understanding on young voter participation and voting intention in the under-researched context of referenda political campaigns. In addition, this study provides guidance to re-engage young voters with political marketing campaigns.

ABSTRACT. In this study we examine transference of patronage from the traditional store channel to the online channel in the UK grocery market. An online survey is used to measure channel patronage and cross-patronage. We find that there is an imbalance in the level of patronage transfer, with the market leader (Tesco) attracting to its online channel a disproportionately higher proportion of in-store customers than its competitors. We show that the market leader has by far the highest rate of patronage transference and that rates decline with market share as predicted by the double jeopardy pattern. We find that channel patronage transference is not symmetrical and that the majority of a grocery retailer’s online customers are also its in-store customers. Our findings suggest that grocery retailers cannot expect a straightforward conversion of their current offline customer base to their online channel.

ABSTRACT. The introduction of smartphones and the mobile web are changing the paradigm of marketing and retailing research, shifting from dichotomist to ubiquitous shopping experiences. The multichannel logic is giving way to an omnichannel one (Rigby, 2011), moving towards a closer intertwining of channels. Retailers, as they are dealing with a more liquid consumer, are witnessing a new form of omnichannel: connected or phygital stores. The phygital shopping experience consists in hybridizing the physical (the point of sale) and digital components (touch screens, connected mirrors, NFC cards, etc.) at the same time and in the same place. The present inductive research presents an attempt at conceptualizing the latter, by confronting two research cases: a connected store and a screen-free store where phygital content is essentially produced by the clients. A hybridization continuum is proposed, with the related definitions. Space and time-based, social, hedonic, sensorial, and participative dimensions appear to be the most relevant. Finally, a table linking phygital objectives and the role of the retailer is presented.

ABSTRACT. Existing research on impulsive buying focuses mainly on goods displayed in physical spaces and services delivered face to face. However, the development and extended use of digital technologies have forever transformed the consumers’ decision-making process, providing new approaches to understand consumer behavior. This paper presents a theoretical approach to analyze consumers’ impulsiveness in mobile commerce or m-commerce, which is defined by the authors as any commercial transaction conducted through mobile devices. To achieve research purposes, this paper views impulsiveness in m-commerce as a holistic process encompassing consumers’ personal traits, stimulus level and product attributes to understand the motivational, emotional and cognitive factors underlying the impulse buying journey and purchase decision. Drawing from personality traits theory, motivation theory, and stimulus-response approach, this paper establishes a conceptual framework to explain the process of impulsive behavior when making electronic purchases through mobile devices. The paper comprises a discussion on its conceptual and managerial contributions, as well as interesting directions for future research.

ABSTRACT. Recent studies on the action based-view have explored the relationship between a series of actions/reactions taken by a firm in a given year and its performance. However, they have equated the different types of actions/reactions (e.g., the 4P of marketing mix) and focused only on generic factors that determine success in a series of actions/reactions. In this study, the author examine how a series of introductions of new products affects firm performance by focusing on (1) timing (early versus late) and (2) targeting (existing versus new). The sample of this study included 2198 new products introduced into four markets by thirty-five firms in the soft drink industry during the period from 2008 to 2014. The results showed that a firm is likely to achieve higher performance if it uses both early and late introductions of new products than if it specializes in either early or late introductions. Also, the results showed that a firm is likely to achieve higher performance if it introduces new products toward not only existing customers but also new customers than if it specializes in introduction toward either existing or new customers.

ABSTRACT. Sustainability has influenced many policy and strategy decisions in organizations. Stakeholders make decisions daily to be sustainable or not; yet, many are still skeptical of sustainability. Political ideology can influence stakeholders’ attitudes toward environmental spending. This mixed method study of regression and interview methods hypothesizes that stakeholders who are more liberal/Democrat (conservative/Republican) will have stronger (weaker) attitudes toward environmental sustainability; therefore, they will be more (less) likely to favor (disapprove) organizational spending money on improving and protecting the environment. However, qualitative inquiry questions those results. For most decisions, using stakeholder theory is an easy answer; however, for sustainability, a company going with/against stakeholders in favor of sustainable spending is an ethical dilemma. Therefore, this study questions stakeholder theory in certain situations, especially when (un)ethical practices (e.g. spending on sustainability) come into question. Both logistic regression models show that political affiliation (i.e. ideology) has a significant negative association to spending on improving and protecting the environment (p ≤ 0.001). The findings of the qualitative study somewhat confirm the quantitative results, yet raise many ethical questions. Introducing qualitative inquiry into this dilemma forces a business to question stakeholder theory, its stakeholders, and the ethics of always going with its stakeholders.

ABSTRACT. Sponsorship of sports, arts and events has become a mainstay in brand communications. Often the brand’s success with this communications platform is measured by the extent to which individuals can recall that they were sponsors of an event, especially when this involves large investments for mega events such as the Olympics. This research considers the use of recognition tests for event sponsors and seeks to understand the role that foils play in recognition. Findings from a study of event attendees suggest that direct competitor foils, as well as the relatedness of the sponsor to the event influence memory.

ABSTRACT. Given the lack of attention paid to the interpretation of offensive advertising by different stakeholder groups and the understanding of the actual offence caused, this study aims to explore how offence and harm have been attributed to non-profit advertising by complainants and regulators and how the associated organisations respond in light of these formal complaints and adjudications. We content analyse 9,055 consumer complaints received by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) UK in the period of 2009-2015 as well as the associated 309 complaint adjudication reports concerning offensive and harmful advertising within the non-profit sector. Our findings suggest that charities (38%) and issues related to children (46%) are most often complained about. A thematic analysis of the rulings shows certain disconnects in the discourses across the three stakeholder groups (complainants, regulators, associated organisation) with the current self-regulatory system appearing to favour the industry. The understanding of these stakeholder discourses helps to contribute to the ongoing debates on the appropriateness, ethics and application of offensive themes, formats, and imagery in non-profit advertising as well as the debates on effectiveness of self-regulation.

ABSTRACT. Brands which invest in sports sponsorships often sponsor a number of sports properties, many of which have fan bases with significant overlap. On the one hand, such investments in multiple properties may be done in hopes of achieving synergistic, positive effects for the brand. On the other hand, it could be argued that given high fan-base overlap, sponsorship investment in multiple sports properties is redundant, and therefore an inefficient investment. A survey of 1,000 Americans focused on the effects of multiple sponsorships of a major U.S. brand of antifreeze across three sports properties: NASCAR, NHRA, and the Professional Bull Riders (PBR) Tour. Awareness of one, two, or all three sponsorships was considered as a predictive variable with regard to outcomes of influence of the sponsorship toward brand preference and purchase intention. A MANOVA model revealed sponsorship awareness had positive effects on purchase intention, and that interactive effects were found in those cases an individual was aware of two sponsorships. Subsequent analysis was conducted to uncover the how fan overlap across sports properties helps explain these synergistic effects.

ABSTRACT. We examine the impact of individual and country-level characteristics on consumers’ healthcare use preferences related to . mild medical conditions. Data from 23312 individuals from 16 European countries were analysed, including emerging economies. Our findings showed that healthcare use preferences are explained by human values and trust. Socio-demographics play a minor role. In addition, the novel cultural measure of societal tightness-looseness strongly predicts healthcare use preferences on country-level. Results are of interest for governments, healthcare providers, and insurers, by showing insights into the drivers of healthcare demand i.e., cultural differences and trust, and can help practitioners to cope with patients with different personal values.

ABSTRACT. This research is designed to test the robustness of the country personality (CP) construct in an emerging country- China. It further examines the effects of CP on consumer general product attitude (GPA) through the consumer’s self-congruity and the general country image (GCI) using the structural equation modeling approach. The results reveal both the direct effect of CP on GPA and indirect effects through self-congruity and GCI with GCI showing the greatest impact followed by the CP’s rigorous dimension and self-congruity as the mediator. We ask a sample of consumers in China to evaluate four countries: USA, Japan, China and Turkey.

These results suggest significant managerial implications for international marketers. They should focus on building or promoting a more positive GCI either by improving the product or service quality of the country products or the country image as a whole, which can then be leveraged to generate a better GPA. Since self-congruity serves as an effective mediator between CP and GPA, international marketers can focus on promoting a country image to bring CP closer to the self-concept of the consumers in an emerging market. This can in turn affect the GPA indirectly.

ABSTRACT. It is crucial to better understand the meaning of socially sustainable supply chain management (SSSCM) in developing countries if research and practice are to appropriately address these types of issues. Thus the purpose of this research is to explore the meaning(s) of SSSCM from the perspective of those that would be impacted by SSSCM – the people from or having worked within various developing countries – and compare this to the perception from developed countries. Defining phenomena is the cornerstone for developing theory around them. Therefore, understanding the meaning and any differences that may exist will help shape future research in this area as well as supply chain practice.

ABSTRACT. This paper analyzes the differences in effectiveness of in-store stimuli to boost sales of utilitarian & hedonic product categories. The typical differences in purchase behavior between these product types are closely related to differences in objective and impact of different types of merchandising techniques and in-store promotions. By analyzing the relationship between category characteristics and the sales impact of specific types of merchandising techniques and promotions, we aim to obtain a better insight into which types of in-store stimuli are more appropriate for utilitarian and for hedonic products. Our results confirm that (i) in-store stimuli have a differential effect on sales of utilitarian and hedonic products, and (ii) congruency between merchandising/promotion characteristics, and categories’ decision process, reinforces in-store stimuli effectiveness.

ABSTRACT. Customer satisfaction and its impact on customer loyalty is an important competitive consideration for most organizations. Despite the importance of this area, limited research has been reported that examines the multiple dimensions of customer satisfaction and loyalty and how they may interact. This paper addresses the impact of two dimensions of satisfaction on two dimensions of customer loyalty in a retail setting. Customer satisfaction has been reported to be based on a tangible dimension as well as an intangible dimension. In this research the tangible dimension of retail customer satisfaction is measured as store satisfaction, whereas the intangible dimension of customer satisfaction is measured as service satisfaction relating to the customer’s experience with store personnel and the customer service that they receive. Loyalty has also been reported to consist of two dimensions, attitudinal and behavioral, that are modeled as outcomes of store and service satisfaction. This paper contributes to the literature by examining, for the first time, store and service satisfaction as antecedents of both attitudinal and behavioral loyalty and the complex relationships between these dimensions. The research is based on a survey of 308 Target and Wal-Mart shoppers using Partial Least Squares (PLS) to test the hypothesized research model.

ABSTRACT. Product returns are viewed by retailers as a costly but necessary customer relations element. Due to the magnitude and importance of product returns, there have been calls for further research that focuses on elements of product return behavior. A review of the literature indicates that product return behavior may differ by the category of good due to a number of issues: product and emotional dissonance; the discovery of a better product or price; customer opportunism; awareness of return policies, and the timing of the return. To address is this gap in the literature, the purpose of this paper is to investigate how product return behavior may differ by category of goods across these issues. The research is based on a survey of 283 Target and Wal-Mart retail shoppers and the results indicate that product return behavior differs by category of good on emotional dissonance, found better product, and timing of the return. Product return behaviour did not differ by category of good on product dissonance, found better price, or customer opportunism. The findings may help retailers manage and target product return policies to reduce financial losses and build stronger customer relationships.

ABSTRACT. This paper focuses on the NFL’s proposed international expansion. Specifically, the study examines fan reaction to the prospect of hosting games in Mexico City. From a theoretical perspective, we pit the generic International Marketing discourse, which projects a positive outlook on globalization, and the Sociological perspective, which takes a cynical view of globalization. Data are drawn from fan comments to a recent sports headline announcing the plans for international expansion. An analysis of fans’ comments shows that the “NFL” invokes different images including a league, a game, or a sports brand built around teams, host cities, fans, players, and the NFL Commissioner. Themes drawn from comments indicate the majority of fans are protesting the proposed international expansion followed by those bargaining (with) and denigrating it. Those shielding (i.e. supporting it) are represented to a much lesser extent. The results generally depict that fans are anti-internationalization. While the basis for the resistance can be tied to an anti-global sentiment (e.g. anti-commodification, exceptionalism, nationalism), there is clear cognitive rationale underlying some of the fans’ concerns. From the perspective of a front office executive, our results suggest the NFL has some challenges to surmount for international expansion to come to fruition.

ABSTRACT. Positioning is as important for charities as it is for traditional consumer products. This paper compares two conflicting positioning strategies, top dog vs. underdog, to determine which is more effective. Subjects were shown a photo of a charity with one of four levels of goal attainment, a measure shown to indicate top/underdog positioning. Top dog positioning was more effective in changing beliefs about, attitude toward, and intention to donate to the charity. These findings suggest that charities should have high quality marketing efforts, even if it means reaching fewer people or reducing the number of activities so it is not seen as an underdog.

ABSTRACT. Increased world trade has resulted in more multilingual packaging. Having non-native languages on the package can help or harm a brand’s image. This research examines how a non-native language on a package impacts attitudes toward the product. The impact is evaluated in the context of the Culture of Targeting (COT) effect where consumers make inferences about the target market (culture) based on the non-native language on the package. In turn, attitudes about the culture and the quality of the products typically purchased are used to make inferences about the product’s quality. Czech subjects responded to a fictitious Czech-made microwave oven with Czech-only, English and Czech, or Czech and Russian on the package. The findings fully supported the COT effect in the English-Czech condition in that subjects inferred that the product was targeting affluent, quality-seeking consumers from the U.S. and Western Europe, leading to higher product evaluations. For the Czech-Russian condition, Russian language on the package resulted in subjects believing that the product targeted Russian language speaking consumers. As predicted, subjects did not believe that Russians bought higher quality products that Czechs, and consequently they did not give the product a more favorable evaluation than the product in the Czech-only package.

ABSTRACT. Gamified digital media offers many benefits to organizations. The purpose of this research project was to investigate the motives of consuming a gamified sport team app and its influence on team involvement over time. Drawing on involvement, engagement, and motivation theory, two studies were conducted. In Study 1, quantitative data of 639 users of a gamified mobile application was examined. Paired-sample t-tests indicate a significant increase of app users’ involvement mean score over the course of one soccer season. Subsequent linear regression analysis indicated a significant relationship between engagement related to generating knowledge (i.e., trivia questions) and the involvement difference between Time 1 and Time 2 explaining 6% of the variance of respondents’ increased involvement. In Study 2, qualitative interviews with 27 users of the application revealed four themes representing consumers’ motives for using the application – monetary rewards, competition, sense of achievement, and gaining knowledge. Additionally, the interviews explained the influence of the application on consumers’ involvement changes – or the lack of changes. This research contributes to consumer behavior knowledge by examining the intrinsic and extrinsic motives that drive the consumption of a gamified application and its influence on consumer involvement with an organization.

ABSTRACT. Previous research has pointed out that if WOM (word-of-mouth) receivers are exposed to a video message in which a person tell that he/she had great effort to earn money and purchase an attractive product, they feel benignly envious and have higher WTP (willingness-to-pay) for the product; if they are exposed to another message in which a person tell that he had no effort to earn money and purchase the product, they feel maliciously envious and have higher WTP for other products. However, it may not be true in the context of e-WOM (electronic word-of-mouth) through SNS (social networking sites). The results of three laboratory experiments showed that in the context of e-WOM, unlike the context of face-to-face WOM, (1) receivers were less likely to feel maliciously envious to friends and have WTP for the competing products; (2) receivers were less likely to feel maliciously envious if they are exposed to the message as a tool for marketing; and (3) receivers were less likely to avoid the recommended product even though they feel maliciously envious if they have any other measures of retaliation. With these findings, this research contributes to a progress in the research field of e-WOM through SNS.

ABSTRACT. Technological advances and the Internet allow audiences to create and broadcast brand-related content, making this trend an important topic in academic and marketing practitioner interests. One form of UGC is user-generated-advertising (UGA): the user’s creation of advertising-like messages. The growth of consumer-created brand communications is appreciated historically in word-of-mouth and testimonials; and UGC creation and consumption has been topic of research. However, few studies attempt to analyse UGA effects in attitudes compared with firm-generated-advertising. This study aims to evaluate the effects of UGA on Ad (AAD) and brand attitudes (AB), and evaluate their relationship. A three-stage design was adopted. First, conducted a content analysis of 230 UGA to determine their characteristics. Second, 25 videos were selected, and validated by judges in terms of positive, negative or neutral valence before UGA stimuli selection. Finally, a self-completion questionnaire was conducted among university students. A mixed within-between-subjects ANOVA was used to analyse data; the findings suggest that compared to firm advertising, UGA has more impact on AAD and on AB; also, different UGA have different impacts especially negative UGA. The theoretical-practical implications may serve academics and practitioners in the understanding UGA and its attitudinal effects on consumers and potential impact on brand equity.

ABSTRACT. This proposed special session for the 2017 AMS World Marketing Congress focuses on the role of macromarketing in solving the world’s social, environmental and economic issues. George Fisk once said that “The purpose of macromarketing...is to save the world.” (Fisk 2001). This session discusses the purpose and areas of macromarketing, expanding the knowledge of those who might be unfamiliar with macromarketing but wish to contribute to the field. Panel members will provide an overview of macromarketing foundations and research areas, such as quality of life, sustainability, ethics, history, and macro-social marketing. In addition, a discussion will be held on adopting a macromarketing focus in marketing and society such as sustainable market orientation and the hierarchy of ethical consumption. Lastly, a discussion on publishing in the associations’ journal, the Journal of Macromarketing, will provide an overview to those wishing to establish scholarship in the field. Overall, this session will provide a general overview of macromarketing to the Academy of Marketing Science community.