Digital Commons Network^™

Social Media Is Bananas: The Effect Social Media Has On Rebranding And Customer Attraction And Retention, Kara Heater

Honors College Theses

The primary purpose of this study was to investigate whether social media had an impact on the rebranding of the Savannah Bananas baseball team. The study also focuses on the impact social media has had on the attraction and retention of customers. Interviews were conducted with full time staff members and customers of the Savannah Bananas. An online survey was distributed through social media to learn more about the connection between customers and the Bananas social media. The results of the study suggest that social media has had a positive affect on both the rebranding of the Savannah Bananas and …

Consumer Social Identity And Competition, Hyewon Park, Rajeev Tyagi

Association of Marketing Theory and Practice Proceedings 2019

Consumers belong to various social groups and their social identity plays an important role in their purchase decisions. By buying products that are associated with their social group, consumers can show who they are and which social group they belong to (e.g., iPhones rather than android phones for "cool" professionals, t-shirts with sports logos rather than with hipster logos for athletic teenagers, and Tesla rather than BMW for environmentally-conscious moms). Consuming a product identified with its social group yields a consumer a benefit in being able to show to both in-group and out-group consumers which group she belongs to. There …

Are Customer Reward Programs Really Rewarding?, Michael Mccall, Dave Mcmahon

Association of Marketing Theory and Practice Proceedings 2019

The concept of a customer loyalty program can be traced back over 300 years when merchants would give customers wooden coins in return for their patronage. Two points are clear: Customer reward loyalty programs are prevalent and costly aspects of most hospitality firms’ marketing strategy. From an academic viewpoint our understanding of the theoretical drivers of these programs is muddled and confused. That is, despite many years of existence there is scant research suggesting the underlying theoretical logic of a program. In this paper, we briefly review the current reward program landscape suggesting that the overwhelming presence of reward programs …

Do Perceptions Of Businesses Differ Between Higher And Lower Counts Of Social Media Post Engagements?, Tally Shaw, Melinda A. Mclelland

Association of Marketing Theory and Practice Proceedings 2019

Social media is a popular marketing tool that directly connects businesses and consumers. This is a relatively new phenomenon, which requires more understanding on the part of marketers. Understanding how consumers respond to social media posts made by the business is vitally important to the continued success of businesses utilizing social media as part of their marketing efforts. Using social metrics such as “likes” and “shares”, businesses can both measure and influence consumer attitudes and behaviors. This study features an experiment that manipulates the effects of high versus low counts of Facebook likes/shares on Facebook timeline posts. This research extends …

The Social Media Magnet: A New Paradigm In Inbound Marketing Instruction, Kyle A. Huggins, J. Elliot Cunningham

Association of Marketing Theory and Practice Proceedings 2019

Social media has changed the marketing environment in ways that traditional marketers could have never imagined just a decade ago. It has rapidly provided a mechanism to communicate on a one-to-one level, allowing marketers to tailor specific messages and content towards a fine-tuned segment of customers. Multiple philosophies on best practices in this digital landscape have provided various methodologies for targeting these customers. During this time of change, these practices have led to the refinement of digital services, including behavioral advertising, search engine optimization, pay per click, content marketing, social media marketing, and organic inbound marketing, among specialized others. In …

Hedonic And Social Drivers Of Millennials’ Engagement With And Donation To Nonprofits: A Cross-Cultural Comparison, Bela Florenthal

Association of Marketing Theory and Practice Proceedings 2019

Nonprofit organizations (NPOs) have been increasingly utilizing social media outlets to target Millennials for donations of time and money. These organizations, however, do not always take advantage of the hedonic, social, and normative factors that can influence engagement with and monetary donation to these organizations.

Because monetary donation on SMSs is a relatively new field of investigation, there is only a handful of studies that provide insight into how social, hedonic, and normative motives predict engagement with and donation to nonprofits.

To address this gap, the first aim of the present study is to propose an integrated approach to monetary …

Customer Service In The It/Social Media Marketing Era: Reverting To A Zero-Sum Game, Martin

Association of Marketing Theory and Practice Proceedings 2019

During the past 10-15 years marketers and consumers have increasingly pondered and discussed if customer service has improved or declined. During this time we’ve experienced the great marketing power of IT and social media but have also heard and/or shared many “horror stories” of poor customer service in a changing marketplace. Which is true? Has customer service declined, improved, and/or merely changed? The answer is simply, “YES - all of the above”. However, the key challenge, for both consumers and marketers, is not so much a “yea vs. nay” determination, but to better examine the what, why, and how of …

Perceptions Of Service Profession-Status Stereotyping: Comparisons Of Turkish And American Millennials, Musa Pinar, Coleen Wilder, Tulay Girard, Sinan Nardali

Association of Marketing Theory and Practice Proceedings 2019

Employment opportunities in the service industry have created jobs for both genders and raises the question about how these jobs are influenced and evaluated regarding occupational stereotyping based on prestige and gender (Gottfredson, 1981). For example, Oswald (2003) found that high prestige male occupations were rated significantly higher than high prestige female occupations. Likewise, low prestige male occupations were rated significantly higher than low prestige female occupations, which is indicative of occupational status stereotyping. A relatively small number of studies have been carried out after new service occupations were created from advancements in technology and demographic changes (Belt et al., …

Use Of Social Media By Sales Students For First Post-Graduation Job-Search: An Exploratory Study, Linda G. Mullen, Randy S. Stuart, Michael L. Thomas

Association of Marketing Theory and Practice Proceedings 2019

As students who studied/majored in professional sales approach graduation and start looking for their first post-graduation/entry-level positions, what avenues are used to pursue these opportunities? One might suspect that with the explosion of social media and the millennial generation’s prolific use of said media this would be their preferred choice for job hunting. Are sales students engaging social media and other online activities to land entry-level career positions or are they still using traditional methods (i.e. College/University Career Fairs, College/University Career Services, Internships, etc.) to find these positons? This paper looks at the avenues millennial students who studied/majored in professional …

Reverse And Questionable Responses Using The Kano Method In International Surveys, Michael Latta

Association of Marketing Theory and Practice Proceedings 2019

New product development has become an international exercise. One method of designing products is the Kano Method. Although not as popular as discrete choice or conjoint, the Kano Method is being used internationally to design products and services. The question process is not as straight forward as discrete choice or conjoint, and that raises questions of utility of the Kano Method when used internationally. This study shows results vary across countries dramatically.

Firms Beware! Your Response Matters, Nicole Dilg Beachum

Association of Marketing Theory and Practice Proceedings 2019

On April 9, 2017, security personnel dragged a doctor off United Airlines Flight #3411 when he refused to give up his seat on an overbooked flight. Another passenger videotaped the entire incident, sharing it on social media. The video went viral on Twitter with over 87,000 shares and more than 6.8 million views in less than 24 hours. The following day, the CEO of the company responded to the public’s criticism in a statement and internal email to the company (that later went public). His remarks included an apology, but he also attempted to justify how the encounter was handled, …

The Effectiveness Of Celebrity Endorsement On Purchase Behavior: Do Celebrities Raise The Bar?, Delancy Bennett, Yana Andonova, Nwamaka A. Anaza

Association of Marketing Theory and Practice Proceedings 2019

Research on the interplay between celebrity endorsers, high-low pricing, and quality has not been examined in the literature. This raises the question of whether celebrity endorsement can compensate for the effect of low prices on consumer quality perceptions. Across two studies, one using archival data and one using an experiment, we find evidence that the presence of celebrity endorsers can offset the effect that a low price has on consumer quality perceptions. Further, willingness to purchase is higher for a low-priced product endorsed by a celebrity. These findings have implications for marketing theory and practice.

Exploratory Insights Into Cross-Cultural On-Line Shopping Differences Between U.S. And French Millennials And Generation Zs, Steven M. Cox, Bradley W. Brooks

Association of Marketing Theory and Practice Proceedings 2019

Online retail sales have shown double-digit growth in the U.S. for the last decade lead by millennials and more recently generation Z. While extensive research has been done exploring U.S. online shopping behaviors of these generations, little cross-cultural work has been done. This paper explores the differences between the U.S. and French millennial and gen z online shoppers. The research focused on four questions; was there a difference in the number of times per week that individuals shopped online, the percentage of shopping funds spent online versus in store, the types of products purchased online, and the percentage of low …

Understanding And Measuring Esports Online Spectator Motivation: Development Of A Scale, Tyreal Yizhou Qian, James J. Zhang

Association of Marketing Theory and Practice Proceedings 2019

The esports industry has found itself at a critical stage in the quest for continuous growth and sustainable development, facing both tremendous opportunities and challenges. For achieving enhanced revenue generation and consumer retention, understanding esports as a spectator entertainment is essential for the inchoate yet burgeoning industry, especially in an online environment through which a majority of fans follow the competitive scene of esports. In this investigation, two studies were conducted to understand the dimensions and develop a measure of esports online spectator motivation. Integrating Sloan’s sport motivation theories (Sloan, 1989; Zhang et al., 2003) and the uses and gratification …

How Customer Engagement And Customer Participation Translate Across High-Involvement Purchases (Like Higher Education), Wendy Gillis, Douglas Johansen, Shiri D. Vivek

Association of Marketing Theory and Practice Proceedings 2019

Previous research suggested that customer participation resulted in greater customer satisfaction for the service provider. Specifically, earlier research differentiated Service Customer Engagement (CE) from Service Customer Participation (CP), where the former was ideation and the latter was practical application/execution. In other words, CE was more psychological, where customers think, feel, and trust. Conversely, CP was more behavioral, or physical, where customers act and do.

The point of this research is to translate previous learning to other high-involvement purchases. Research indicates that services high in credence, high contact, as well as high-involvement (Sharma and Patterson 1999) seem to be particularly relevant …

Role Of Sponsor-Selection In Marketing Communications Of New Local Hallmark Events: A Perspective Of Image Transfer, Jerred Jungi Wang, James J. Zhang

Association of Marketing Theory and Practice Proceedings 2019

With the rapid growth of sport popularity throughout the world, developing local hallmark events have become an emerging trend in many urban and suburban communities. Yet, the underdeveloped brand equity of new events makes marketing communications challenging. Built upon the balance theory, the schema theory, and the elaboration likelihood model, this study was designed to examine the image transfer from the sponsor-end to the event-end in the context of new local hallmark events while considering potential moderating effects of image fit (IF) and sport identification (SID) in this process.

The balance theory suggests that to achieve the cognitive consistency, people …

The For-Profit Prison As Social Enterprise: Problems With Classification And Ethical Assessment, Karen Barbee, Stephen A. Lemay

Association of Marketing Theory and Practice Proceedings 2019

This article explores the problems presented to taxonomies and definitions of social enterprise by a specific kind of organization, for-profit prisons. While these organizations are often and rightly criticized for their performance, they are fundamentally social enterprises by many of the definitions and taxonomies offered in the literature. This analysis uses a naïve matrix for classifying social enterprise to outline the problems created by these ethically and socially challenged organizations.

Digital Tipping Intimidation At The Counter, Jennifer Bechkoff

Association of Marketing Theory and Practice Proceedings 2019

Although tipping for counter service at fast casual restaurants/cafes is not expected etiquette, it seems to be headed in the direction of becoming a social norm as tip jars next to registers are now a common sighting. However, as cash becomes less prevalent of a payment method, businesses are turning to mobile digital point of sale (POS) technologies with preset tipping options for customers. Oftentimes, businesses using digital POS systems will utilize touch-based tablets for sales that the counter staff can swing around for customers to add tips and sign with their fingers. If there are other customers standing behind …

Push And Pull Factors Influencing The Level Of Participation Of Leisure Skiing In China, Xinghua Wang, James J. Zhang

Association of Marketing Theory and Practice Proceedings 2019

Traditionally, winter sports have very limited accessibility and popularity in China. In addition to the growing economy in China and increased affordability by Chinese consumers, obtaining the hosting rights for the 2022 Beijing/Zhangjiakou Winter Olympic Games has brought a heightened opportunity for China to build up facilities and related infrastructures, develop and provide programs, promote interests and participation, and advance business operations of winter sports. Although more people are participating in winter sports today, especially in skiing, many of the newly constructed facilities are often operated in financial deficit and relying on governmental subsidy. Understanding the reasons that cause and …

Employee-Based Brand Equity And Word-Of-Mouth Product Referrals., Kristy Grayson, Mee-Shew Cheung

Association of Marketing Theory and Practice Proceedings 2019

While the benefits of employee-based brand equity (EBBE) drive value to an organization, employees are often an over-looked asset in the overall marketing mix. Word of mouth (WOM) communications is one of the oldest and most trustworthy sources of advertising, yet little is known about the factors that influence employees to share WOM product referrals with their social network. Through a Grounded Theory approach, data suggests that employees who exhibit higher levels of EBBE behavior share product referrals within their social circle. Also, employees explore their personal and social identity while evaluating a referral decision. Further, they consider relationship and …

The Dual-Mediation Effect Of Perceived Accuracy And Perceived Connectedness On Consumer Attitude Toward Social Network Advertising, Tao-Sheng Chiu, Kai-Yu Wang, Wen-Hai Chih, Jaime Ortiz, Ying-Ching Lin

Association of Marketing Theory and Practice Proceedings 2019

Despite the importance of social media advertising, few studies have investigated the factors that influence its effectiveness (Jung, Shim, Jin, and Khang 2016). Because advertising on social media is a relatively new phenomenon (Okazaki and Taylor 2013), several studies are exploratory in nature and lack a solid theoretical framework (e.g., Campbell, Pitt, Parent, and Berthon 2011; Pehlivan, Sarican, and Berthon 2011; Sashittal, Sriramachandramurthy, and Hodis 2012; Waters and Jones 2011). For this reason, the present study examines the factors affecting consumers’ attitudes toward advertisements they view on social media.

This paper draws on the stimulus-organism-response (S-O-R) model to investigate the …

The Twelve Beneficiaries Of Legalized Sports Betting: An Exploratory Assessment, Sam Fullerton, Michael Mccall, Ronald Dick

Association of Marketing Theory and Practice Proceedings 2019

The 2018 ruling by the United States Supreme Court essentially legalized sports betting across the nation. Prior to that ruling, sports books were restricted by virtue of the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA). But with that landmark 6-3 decision, the opportunity door for sports betting has been opened for all 50 states. This paper focuses on two considerations regarding the opening of that door. Who are the potential beneficiaries and what benefits might they derive? A review of the literature identified twelve beneficiaries; among these beneficiaries are the teams, organizations, fans, sponsors, bettors, and society-in-general. The majority of …

Peer Evaluations For Extended Group Projects For A Sales Management Course, Joseph Chapman, Russell G. Wahlers

Association of Marketing Theory and Practice Proceedings 2019

This paper presents an evaluation process that has work well for two extended group projects in a sales management course. Students help develop the peer evaluation instrument, submit several peer evaluations over the course of each project, and are required to fill out each form completely and submit the forms on assigned due dates. Students lose points on their individual project scores for not following the evaluation process guidelines.

Are Customer Reward Programs Really Rewarding?, Michael Mccall, Dave Mcmahon

Association of Marketing Theory and Practice Proceedings 2019

The concept of a customer loyalty program can be traced back over 300 years when merchants would give customers wooden coins in return for their patronage. Two points are clear: Customer reward loyalty programs are prevalent and costly aspects of most hospitality firms’ marketing strategy. From an academic viewpoint our understanding of the theoretical drivers of these programs is muddled and confused. That is, despite many years of existence there is scant research suggesting the underlying theoretical logic of a program. In this paper, we briefly review the current reward program landscape suggesting that the overwhelming presence of reward programs …

Framework For The National Culture And User Engagement In Social Media, Ilia Gugenishvili

Association of Marketing Theory and Practice Proceedings 2019

Even though social media engagement provides numerous benefits, companies’ efforts to engage users are often unsuccessful. Despite the growing interest of scholars and practitioners, studies on engagement have been predominantly exploratory in nature. Addressing this identified literature gap this conceptual article proposes a framework, which connects the national culture to social media engagement. It synthesizes the theory of culture; reception, motivation-opportunity-ability (MOA); social identity; self-concept; and social impact theory. User attitudes act as a mediator, while individual, group and motivational variables might work as cultural amplifiers or attenuators. Situational characteristics can cause a change in the relevance of the variables …

An Investigation Into How The Modes Of Persuasion And Valence Affect Perceptions Of Online Reviews, Clinton Amos, Skyler King, Anthony Allred

Association of Marketing Theory and Practice Proceedings 2019

Consumers ubiquitously rely on assessments provided by strangers when seeking knowledge or making consumption decisions. Whether buying a car or a toaster, or choosing a restaurant, most consumers would feel lost if they attempted to make these decisions without first seeking verification via an online review. Despite the importance of online reviews in consumers’ daily lives, research on the effectiveness of online reviews is still in elementary stages and questions remain regarding how online review content style affects consumer judgments. Correspondingly, little is known about how message construction (e.g., rhetorical strategies) affects consumer judgments. Using an experimental design, this paper …

Content Analysis Of A Collegiate Athletic Twitter Account: Practical Applications For Promotion And Attendance Increase, Steve Shih-Chia Chen

Association of Marketing Theory and Practice Proceedings 2019

Twitter global usage has increased as a source of information during the past decade. This study explores different types of Twitter messages sent by a collegiate athletic department and analyzes the impact of these messages on attendance at home athletic events during the NCAA football season. The data examines five message categories: interactivity, content, promotional, information sharing, and noise. Noise accounts for any message that is not related to the studied sport season. Results suggest that while noise is prevalent, messages pertaining to the studied sport are impactful. The types of messages sent by a college athletic department can impact …

Bridging The Gap Between Public Opinion Research And Consumer Marketing Research: Insights Into U.S. Shoppers Of Organic Foods, Marilena O. Vilceanu, Olivia Grasso, Kristine Johnson

Association of Marketing Theory and Practice Proceedings 2019

The primary goal of this study embraces Hughner and team’s (2007) directive to focus new research on the growing segment of occasional consumers of organic and natural foods, rather than limit the search for consumer insights to the small, elitist groups of deeply committed consumers. Research questions address the demographics, attitudinal, and behavioral characteristics that identify organic foods as a premium product. Primary recommendations for marketing practitioners include focusing on higher income consumers, especially married individuals, who live in highly populated areas; creating a pleasant shopping experience; promoting non-food related organic items, and investing in brand presence and salience.

Best Practices In Digital Content Marketing For Building University Brands, Julie M. Pharr

Association of Marketing Theory and Practice Proceedings 2019

This paper explores and proposes the use of digital content marketing as a means of brand-building for colleges and universities. The paper reviews and synthesizes literature on the state of the art in digital content marketing in order to identify best practices. Effective techniques, some based on empirical testing, are applied to the use of digital content marketing by higher education institutions.

“Tipping Required”: Development Of A Model To Understand Customer Reactions To Non-Voluntary Tipping Systems, Ismail Karabas, Jeff Joireman

Association of Marketing Theory and Practice Proceedings 2019

This paper examines customer response to non-voluntary tipping systems as an emerging trend in the servicescape. A non-voluntary tipping system is a form of service inclusive pricing (e.g., increasing menu prices, automatically charging a percentage of tip on the final bill regardless of table size). Across four experiments, results suggest that non-voluntary tipping leads to higher customer anger than voluntary tipping, which leads to lower return intentions. The results also show a larger difference in customer response (customer anger, return intentions) to non-voluntary and voluntary tipping systems under high service quality than low service quality. The mediating role of the …