Sales and Merchandising Commons^™

2025 Career Guide, Morehead State University. Office Of Communications & Marketing.

Communications and Marketing Publications Archive

The 2025 Morehead State University Career Guide.

2025 January News Report, Morehead State University. Office Of Communications & Marketing.

Communications and Marketing Publications Archive

The January 2025 Morehead State University News Report.

Vino Mundo: Introducing Wines Of The World To Costa Rica, Sarah Lee, Jacob Massoud, Chang Seob Yeo

Barowsky School of Business | Case Studies

Guillermo Aguilar, owner and founder of the Costa Rican restaurant Vino Mundo, turned off his computer and stood up from his chair. Sales at Vino Mundo had slowed down following the global pandemic, and Guillermo was exploring ways to revitalize his business. The ideas he had most recently considered included a new marketing strategy for the restaurant and creating an institute to educate Costa Ricans about wine and train individuals to become sommeliers. Guillermo left his office and then walked out to the restaurant’s patio to take in the beautiful panoramic views of San Jose. He had quite a few …

2025, 2(21)

Journal of Marketing and Consumer Behaviour in Emerging Markets

Full Issue 2025, 2(21)

Diverse Bodies, Inclusive Shopping? How Representation Of Body Diversity Shapes Consumer Experiences, Javier Alejandro Martinez

2025 Fall Honors Capstones Projects - Archive

This systematic literature review aims to summarize the prior research on the impact of body diversity representation on consumer behaviors in the fashion retailing industry. Deriving from 30 peer-reviewed research articles, we explore how body diversity representation in advertisements and product assortment affects consumer self-evaluation, shopping behaviors, and the nuances within the luxury fashion sector. Consistent with self-congruence theory, findings show that diverse and natural model representation improves body image and purchase intentions. In contrast, idealized portrayals and limited size options reinforce exclusivity, deepen social divides, and harm the self-esteem of excluded consumers, a model that is utilized in luxury …

Selling Trust: The Evolution Of Relationship Selling In The Investment Industry, Kaden N. Kroslak, Frederik Beuk

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This honors research project examines how relationship selling in the investment industry, especially within registered investment advisory firms, has evolved over time. Advisor-client relationships are being shaped by technology, analytics, regulations, and a frenzy of information. This literature review explores whether the stated factors of technology, credibility, regulations, information access, and fiduciary duty, caused change in how investment advisors create, maintain, and grow client relationships within the context of trust. The project styling, in form of a literature review analyzes peer-reviewed studies on financial technology, artificial intelligence, psychological approaches, and regulatory systems. The outcome is a paper which helps fill …

Buying Green On A Student Budget: How Sustainability Shapes Gen-Z Grocery Habits, Tyler Martin, Diane R. Edmondson, Lucy Matthews

Atlantic Marketing Journal

Sustainability is increasingly prioritized by consumers, but concerns arise about whether Gen-Z college students with limited financial means translate sustainable attitudes into purchasing behaviors. This study surveyed 496 undergraduate students at a southeastern public university to assess attitudes, motivations, and actions regarding sustainable grocery shopping. Results reveal strong environmental concerns among students but a notable gap between beliefs and purchasing behaviors, attributed mainly to financial constraints. Gender, political affiliation, and religious affiliation significantly influenced sustainable behavior. Managerial implications and future research directions are discussed.

From Backlash To Brand Loyalty: How Self-Congruity And Generation Shape Consumer Intentions After A Failed Influencer Campaign, Dexter L. Purnell, Kimberly V. Legocki, Steven R. Barnes, Jessica Chapman

Atlantic Marketing Journal

This study examines consumer responses to corporate social advocacy (CSA) surrounding Bud Light’s partnership with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney. We fielded a cross-sectional survey of U.S. beer drinkers (N = 386) measuring actual and ideal self-congruity, generational cohort, and purchase intention. Using PROCESS Model 4 with bootstrap confidence intervals, we tested whether self-congruity mediates the relationship between generation and purchase intention. Self-congruity strongly predicted purchase intention, and indirect effects of generation via both actual and ideal self-congruity were statistically significant. Conditional (contrast-specific) indirect effects were observed only for Gen X, indicating cohort-specific pathways from CSA to purchase intention through identity …

Omnichannel Retailing: An Exploratory Study Of Limiting The Customer Journey In A Digital-First Context, Terence L. Holmes, Edward C. Brewer, Elizabeth Patterson

Atlantic Marketing Journal

A recent retail trend is the rise of “digital-first” firms, where their merchandise is sold primarily via online efforts. In this exploratory study we describe our investigation of the customer journey for a digital-first seller of cosmetics and personal care products. We collected qualitative and quantitative data from a customer survey and follow-up interviews. Results indicate that personal connections and actual product use are the two most important touchpoints customers consider in first discovering the seller and then building a relationship with the brand. We describe practical applications of the findings and suggest ideas for future research.

(In)Attention To Attractive Brand Alternatives, Danielle J. Brick, Veronica L. Thomas

Marketing Faculty Publications

Understanding how consumers maintain their brand relationships has important implications for marketers as committed consumers contribute significant value to firms. In the present research, we propose and test one such way consumers protect their brand relationships, namely through attentional avoidance of attractive alternative partners. Across multiple studies, we find support for our theory that committed consumers avoid attending to alternative brand partners by recalling less about and spending less time focused on attractive alternatives. We further find that this inattention occurs because consumers view the competing brand as a threat to the consumer’s current relationship. In addition, we investigate a …

The Past, Present, And Future Of Adaptive Selling: Toward An Integrative Framework, Nawar N. Chaker, Rhett T. Epler, Gabriel Moreno, Dana Amiri, Elizabeth G. Mcdougal

Marketing Faculty Publications

Adaptive selling represents a notable and influential concept in the marketing literature. Despite being discussed in scholarly research and managerial practice for over forty years and mixed findings about its impact, a comprehensive understanding of the construct of adaptive selling remains missing. To remedy this critical knowledge gap, we conduct a comprehensive review of 188 articles across twenty-seven journals. We combine three approaches in our survey of the literature, including a systematic review, a main path analysis, and a bibliographic analysis. Together, this three-prong review offers profound insights into the state of adaptive selling research by (1) mapping the key …

Confronting Indecision, Lane Allison Murray

ENGS 15.11: Design and Education

This course aims to increase students' understanding of indecision and how to confront it. The class provides insight into how the fear of the unknown holds people back from making decisions and about understanding one's values as a means to combat indecision. Students and teachers alike explore instances of indecision and evaluate their own impulses & thought processes by reflecting on the deeper reasons for their choices. Students will increase their comfort level of asking themselves and their peers questions about the values that guide them and, in doing so, strengthen their relationships with themselves and others.

Harvest Gold Distillery, Alexis Mackey, Alexander Grecco, Cole Smith, Maggie Patterson, Blake Benko

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The goal of our research project is to establish and grow Harvest Gold Distillery: a corn-based liquor distillery in Ohio that aims to produce and sell high-quality spirits while offering unique services that enhance outreach in the community. The motivation behind this business venture is rooted in one of our team member’s family traditions; Alex’s family makes homemade liquors, which has fostered an in-depth understanding of the distillation process. Alex’s firsthand experience with the craft provides a solid foundation, yet we recognize that starting a distillery involves significant challenges and requires thorough research in several functions of business. This project …

2025-2026 Craft Academy Student Handbook, Morehead State University. Office Of Communications & Marketing.

Communications and Marketing Publications Archive

The 2025-2026 Craft Academy Student Handbook.

Quota Fairness, Procedural Justice, Turnover Intentions, And Turnover: A Multi-Path Model Of Salesperson Perceptions, Support, And Trust, James Deconinck, Julie Johnson-Busbin

Atlantic Marketing Journal

This study investigates how salesperson perceptions of quota difficulty, quota fairness, and procedural justice influence perceived organizational support (POS), organizational trust, and ultimately turnover intentions. Drawing on social exchange theory and fairness heuristic theory, we propose and test a multi-path model in which quota-related justice perceptions shape salesforce attitudes and behavior through both direct and indirect mechanisms. Data from 313 business-to-business salespeople and their 142 managers reveal that perceived quota difficulty significantly predicts fairness, which in turn is positively related to POS and organizational trust. While fairness was a significant predictor of turnover intentions, procedural justice was not directly related …

Social Media Influencers’ Impact On Curated Subscription Purchases, Ker Xiong

Doctor of Business Administration Dissertations

Subscriptions gained popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic by ensuring that consumers would have access to their products without human contact. As consumers emerged from lockdown, marketers faced the challenge of whether consumers will continue to purchase subscriptions and how to attract customers now that in-store shopping has resumed. The purpose of this study is to investigate how user generated content (UGC), promotion, and trust impact the purchase intention of curated box subscriptions with social media influencers (SMI) serving as a moderating variable. The stimulus-organism-response (S-O-R) framework was used to model how UGC, promotion, and trust can impact curated subscription purchases …

Toward Charity Engagement Of Generation Z: Do Gender And Economic Standing Of Household Matter?, Sylwia Badowska, Liwia Delińska

Journal of Marketing and Consumer Behaviour in Emerging Markets

In Poland, non-profit organizations face challenges in attracting and engaging donors, especially of younger ages, in charity. The study explores factors such as gender and household economic standing of Generation Z’s representatives in order to determine charity engagement in the wake of the frequency, value, and channels of financial donations among Generation Z. A survey (CAWI method) was conducted among young people under 25 in Poland. Descriptive statistics and statistical tests were performed to analyse the primary data.

Outcomes show that young donors mostly provide financial aid donations once a year and both online platforms and traditional collection methods were …

2025-2026 Career Guide, Morehead State University. Office Of Communications & Marketing., Morehead State University Career Services.

Communications and Marketing Publications Archive

The 2025-2026 Morehead State University Career Guide from the Morehead State Career Services Office.

2025 Bold Blue & Gold: Annual Impact Report, Morehead State University. Office Of Communications & Marketing., Morehead State Universiy Foundation.

Communications and Marketing Publications Archive

The 2025 Bold Blue & Gold: Annual Impact Report from the Morehead State Universiy Foundation.

Consumer Experiences In The Secondhand Market: Finances, Frugality, Fashion, & Fun, Melissa Chasko Turner

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Secondhand apparel refers to clothing and accessories that have been previously owned, handed down, donated, or resold to others. They are a sustainable product because they are reused instead of being discarded into landfills. Consumer experience refers to the emotional and psychological responses individuals have during their interactions with products and services across all touchpoints. In the secondhand apparel market, consumer experience plays a significant role in product purchasing, and the unique aspects of retail entertainment serve as key motivators. Consumer-perceived risk refers to the uncertainty of adverse outcomes associated with purchasing a product. Purchasing secondhand apparel poses similar yet …