Marketing Commons^™

Making A Difference: The Impact Of Corporate Ethical Behavior On Consumers In The Beauty Industry, Paige M. Gould

Honors Theses and Capstones

Over the years, the cosmetic industry has struggled with a variety of ethical issues. This research examines the effects of these unethical practices on consumers’ perceptions and judgements. More specifically, do consumers consider ethical issues when evaluating cosmetics? Can consumers’ ethical perceptions and decision making be influenced? If so, are heuristic appeals or systematic appeals more persuasive? The results of this study indicate that unless prompted, most consumers do not consider ethical issues when purchasing cosmetics. The study also found that both heuristic and systematic appeals were effective in influencing general industry perceptions, but only the systematic appeal was successful …

Nutritional Labelling Providing Education On Its Usage Could It Impact On Patient's Food Choice Selection For Those In The Obese Classification?, Celia Lane

Theses

A build-up of too much body fat can cause significant health risks and development of medical conditions and disabilities (National Institute Clinical Excellence (NICE), 2014). The causes of obesity involve the disproportionate intake of calories that are not utilised (World Health Organisation (WHO), 2016). The rising trend towards obesity threatens to bankrupt medical systems (Heifer and Shultz, 2014). There has been a heighten awareness from the general public in the last decade of the affiliation between health and nutrition (Irish Universities Nutrition Alliance (lUNA), 2011). In light of the ever increasing obesity trend, individuals still desire to take control of …

Farm Deaths And Injuries: Changing Farmer Attitudes And Behaviour On Farm Safety, Kieran O'Connell

Theses

While the Irish agricultural sector accounts for just 6% of the working population of Ireland, it consistently has the highest proportion of fatal incidents of any sector - generally ranging from between 35% and 45% of all workplace fatalities in any given year (Health and Safety Authority, 2015). This was again evident in 2014 where 55% (30 of the 56) of the fatal workplace incidents were in the agricultural sector (Health and Safety Authority, 2015). Agriculture has an ageing workforce with the average age of an Irish farmer now standing at fifty-seven and farmers are eight times more likely to …

A Consumer-Based Brand Equity Model For The Luxury And Upscale Hotel Sector, Hairong Shan

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Luxury and upscale hotels, in common with businesses in other service industries and more broadly, seek to develop a strong brand that will contribute to a long-term competitive advantage. However, research on consumer-based brand equity in luxury and upscale hotels is limited. Therefore, the current research, based on fundamental theories of brand equity development established in the packaged goods and the service industries including hotels, has developed a consumer-based brand equity model for the luxury and upscale hotel sector.

A mixed methods research design was employed. A qualitative study was first conducted using focus groups with the data being content …

Neural Networks In Strategic Marketing: Exploring The Possibilities, Kristen Bell Detienne, David H. Detienne

Faculty Publications

A review of the literature indicates that few studies have used artificial neural networks (ANNs) for data analysis in business and marketing research, even though there are many benefits to the use of ANNs. Therefore, this article discusses neural networks (NNs) that can be used in addition to or as an alternative to linear regression for data analysis in strategic marketing. The function and layout of NNs make them ideal for research dealing with nonlinear, incomplete, unspecified, or ‘fuzzy’ data and offer several advantages over linear regression. Unfortunately, in many marketing studies, the information being modeled is far from flawless …

Marketing Strategies To Enhance Profitability Among International Oil And Gas Service Companies, Hesameddin Zafari

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

A significant drop in oil price in 2014 resulted in enormous pressure on marketing managers of international oilfield service companies to address new market expectations. In such competitive conditions, some marketing managers lack strategies to leverage profitability during downturns. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore strategies that senior marketing managers of international oilfield service companies in the Middle East successfully used to enhance sales performance, revenues, and profits during periods of declining oil prices. Theory of market segmentation, targeting, and positioning formed the conceptual framework for this study. Data were collected through semistructured interviews of 5 …

British Virgin Islands Tourists' Motives To Travel, Destination Image, And Satisfaction, Sherrine Natahsa Augustine

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The turbulent events of the world have resulted in a decline in the number of travelers since 2011. Nevertheless, approximately one billion international tourists still travel annually.Tourist activity plays an important role in the global economic activity. The purpose of this correlational study was to examine if a relationship exists between destination images, push and pull motives to travel, and tourists' satisfaction. The target population consisted of noncitizen and nonresident tourists of the British Virgin Islands (BVI) between March 2017 and April 2017. Oliver's expectancy-disconfirmation theory that the individual will act in a particular way because the expectation that a …

Integrating Consumer Feedback Into Business Marketing Strategies, Elijah G. Clark

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Consumer feedback and reviews are critical to the success of businesses because 49% of consumers trust online reviews more than other sources. The purpose of this multicase study was to explore marketing managers' strategies for using consumer reviews to improve marketing success, brand awareness, and their clients' profitability. The conceptual framework for this study was built upon organizational theory and disruptive innovation theory. The participants were recruited through local events, social media, and e-mail. Data were collected from public online records and semistructured telephone interviews using 1 marketing manager from each of 5 marketing agencies in North Texas. Thematic analysis …

Strategies For Crisis Preparedness Of Tourist Destinations, Carrine V. M. Todman-Lewis

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Billion-dollar disasters are projected to increase at a statistically significant rate of 5% annually. Crises affect the viability and lucrativeness of tourism business and implicate destinations in the process. Crisis preparedness is vital to improving outcomes and reducing consequential effects in the tourism industry-a key contributor to socioeconomic progress and infrastructural development worldwide. The study was an exploration of the strategies used for crisis preparedness to reduce business interruptions and improve the image of destinations affected by large-scale natural disasters and human-induced crises. A multiple case study was conducted based on the cycle of preparedness framework. Data were gathered from …

Style For Life: A Fashion Blog Analysis, Lynley-Love Jones

Honors Theses

Social media usage has drastically increased and has made interacting with a much larger number of people from around the world possible. Because social media has allowed increased interaction, blogging has been able to capitalize on this by building brand awareness and exposure in the market with more people as a result. This has also helped fashion blogging become a huge part of the fashion industry, with it now being viewed as a respectable facet of the industry. These people have become hugely influential in the fashion world, having been deemed the title of product influencers. Consumers become invested in …

Online Survey Respondents’ Reactions To Required Questions, Jeffrey S. Gutenberg, Seongbae Lim

AMTP Proceedings 2017

One of the most common errors committed by “amateur” online survey questionnaire designers is the improper use of “required” questions, where the survey respondent is not allowed to continue in the survey unless the question is answered. The problem with this design feature is that if a valid choice is not offered, the survey respondent must either give an incorrect answer to proceed, or terminate the survey. In order to get an empirical sense of how survey-takers respond to such situations, two studies were conducted, both employing 600+ members of a commercial online panel. Respondents were asked their opinion of …

Consuming Digital Technologies And Enacting Identities: Mothers In Mundane Daily Life, Meera Venkatraman

AMTP Proceedings 2017

This manuscript examines mothers’ consumption of digital technologies to enact their individual, relational, and familial identities. Using phemenological interviews it finds mothers purposefully consume digital technologies to negotiate, construct, and enact identities. Specifically, mothers use a repertoire of four appropriation strategies: mastering, partnering, domesticating, and avoiding. Mastery is a multi-year project in which mothers enroll in digital educational programs, qualify, and create new professional identities. In domestication, mothers assert themselves on technology managing their inclusion/exclusion in the time and spaces of family life, thereby enacting parental identities. In contrast, partnering is collaborative; mothers consume those functionalities of technologies that help …

An Exploratory Investigation Of Green Behaviors And Attitudes Towards Green Marketing Initiatives, Sam Fullerton, Tammy Mccullough, Lewis Hershey

AMTP Proceedings 2017

A sample of 205 university students provided input regarding an array of 32 issues germane to both green marketing and green consumption. A diverse array of behaviors and opinions were articulated. Respondents reported a high propensity to engage in recycling, donating used goods, and purchasing products with a longer life expectancy. They favored environmentally-friendly actions such as focusing on cleaner and more efficient energy alternatives. There was a strong belief that individuals can make a difference. A comparison of business and nonbusiness students documented significant differences on two of the 32 issues under investigation with nonbusiness students expressing greater concern …

Employee Retention In A Call Center, Angelica Pigman, Perry Haan

AMTP Proceedings 2017

One of the most important aspects of many businesses providing customer services are their call centers. These organizations employ millions of workers who are required to address customer queries and provide solutions to both existing and prospective clients. Customer service is looked at as key factor to keeping current customers. Worldwide, call centers comprise an ever-evolving and dynamic industry, yet researchers find that there is a high turnover rate among call center agents (Pierre & Tremblay, 2011). Facing customers and answering complicated queries are daunting tasks, this is made even more complicated by the fact that call center technology is …

Small Business Issue: “How Do We Avoid The Speed Trap And Not Get Hit By The Speeders?”, Dave Mcmahon, Stephen M. Rapier, Michael Mccall

AMTP Proceedings 2017

The authors examine the use of online panels, the assumptions that are being made, and the dangers of those assumptions for small business. Specifically, the authors investigate the existence and possible effects of speeders. They conclude with a discussion of the implications and how to avoid falling into the traps that this problem may create.

Internationalizing U.S. Master’S Universities: Emerging Opportunities For Marketing Faculty, Lynn W. Mcgee, Inga Poetzl

AMTP Proceedings 2017

One of the faster growing sectors of higher education in the US over the past three decades has been the master’s university. Another fundamental trend over this period has been the consistent increase in expectations of students, parents and business employers that international experiences and competencies become part of the curriculum at the undergraduate level.

Opportunities for marketing faculty from master’s universities to add international perspectives to marketing courses have expanded over the past decade. The growth and re-shaping of faculty grant programs such as the Rockefeller, Rotary and Fulbright grants reflect this opportunity. In particular, the U.S. Fulbright Commission …

A Collaborative Logo Design Project For A Startup Therapeutic Medicine Company, Tulay Girard, Luke Hallman

AMTP Proceedings 2017

A logo design project was initiated in collaboration to serve the research, teaching, and service needs of the faculty, learning experience needs of the student, and the brand recognition need of a startup company. The company for which logo was developed and tested specializes in producing an herbal supplement for Type II diabetics that is naturally derived from plants and taken orally with a well-known Type II diabetes medication.

Most literature has focused on how to design effective logos but only a few studies have focused on the methods to develop and test the associations that logos represent. Therefore, the …

Selling Fear Across Ethnic Consumers: Modeling Emotional Arousal And Validating The Impact Of Galvanic Skin Responses In Advertising, Sindy Chapa, Olivia Bravo

AMTP Proceedings 2017

The purpose of this study is to explore how fear-appeal advertising impacts young adults in a multi-ethnic society. This study combines self-reported measures and a skin-galvanic psychological test to measure the impact that fear-appeal advertising has among ethnic groups. Using a one-ad experimental design, results shows significant differences among ethnic groups indicating that the levels of arousal evoked by a “fear-appeal” advertisement were highest across Asian Americans followed by Hispanic American, African-Americans, and then Non-Hispanic Whites. Overall, a proposed model reveals emotions outweigh attitudes toward the ad on the manipulation of fear-appeal advertising.

Consumer Attitudes Toward Travel Risks By Regulatory Focus Orientation And Gender, Michael Musante, David Bojanic

AMTP Proceedings 2017

The leisure travel industry continues to thrive as consumer expenditures on travel have steadily increased. While travel has always carried with it some level of inherit risk, ever-increasing news of safety threats in tourism areas has been a troubling reality. This study sought to examine the importance of risk-related factors in leisure travel planning. A main objective of the study was to explore the role that an individual’s regulatory focus or gender may play in how one assesses various types of travel risk. Study participants, segmented based on regulatory focus and gender, evaluated a series of prospective travel risks. The …

Compromise And Attraction Effects Under Interdependent And Independent Self-Construal, Ramin Bagherzadeh, Monika Rawal, Jose Luis Saavedra

AMTP Proceedings 2017

When a new alternative introduces to a choice set, the preferences for the original alternatives will be effected (Mourali, Böckenholt and Laroche 2007). Consumers often feel uncertainty about the true values of options when they want to purchase products (Simonson 1989). Huber, Payne, and Puto (1982) defined the attraction effect as “when adding an alternative that is inferior to another alternative in the choice set increases the share of the relatively superior alternative.” Compromise effect is defined as “when adding an extreme option to the choice set shifts the choice preferences in favor of the compromise option” (Simonson 1989). The …