Business Commons^™

Esg To Brand Equity: Stake Holders, Social Media & Signaling., Sowmdeb Sen

Association of Marketing Theory and Practice Proceedings 2024

The value of the companies increasingly consists largely of intangible values such as brand equity. Intangible decisions like involvement in ESG present a considerable opportunity for different stakeholders to impact brand equity. Signaling theory suggests that firms use signals to overcome information asymmetry (Karanges et al, 2018; Grinblatt et al,1998) when firms signal achievements and ESG. How do stakeholders share and signal ESG information and achievements in social media to drive brand equity? The author argues that CEO characteristics and investor base shape the firm’s social media ESG-brand management strategy in driving brand equity.

Role Of Social Media On Travel Destination Decision-Making: Young American’S Motivation, Attitude, And Behavioral Intention, Wooyang Kim, Dale A. Cake, Hyun Sang An

Association of Marketing Theory and Practice Proceedings 2023

This study aims to examine how social media influences American Millennials’ and Gen Zers’ travel destination decision-making process in an integrative theoretical framework of the Uses and Gratification Theory and Theory of Reasoned Action. Young generations, who desire escapism and entertainment in order to relax through their everyday lives, are looking for value brought to their lives from vicarious out-of-routine experiences through social media, which engenders process gratification. This process evokes the desire to experience and explore the destination they viewed on social media, inducing vicarious pleasure that leads to affective responses toward the travel destination. Notably, a positive …

Sophisticated Vs. Rugged: Examining Gendered Brand Communication Styles And Social Media Engagement, Joanne T. Cao, Jamye Foster, Gallayanee S. Yaoyuneyong, Lacey K. Wallace

Journal of Applied Marketing Theory

Advertising and marketing managers understand that not all brands need to be on social media, but what is not clearly understood is consumers’ engagement expectations for brands that are on social media. Therefore, this study investigates the impact of brand personality, specifically sophisticated and rugged brands, and gendered communication styles on consumers’ expectations of social media engagement. A scenario-based experiment is performed to test the hypotheses using a mock brand. The main study consisted of a Qualtrics consumer panel, and a MANOVA was utilized to examine three components of social media engagement (consumption, contribution, and creation) on the two brand …

Hiring Decisions: Impacts Of Applicant Gender And Social Media Presence, Alicia Ostrowski

Honors College Theses

Studies show that hiring decisions can be influenced by an applicant’s social media profile (Broughton et al., 2013) as well as their gender (Garcia-Retamero & Lopez-Zafra, 2009). Women, compared to men, are more likely to face hiring discrimination (Garcia-Retamero & Lopez-Zafra, 2009) and many hiring managers tend to look at an applicant’s social media profiles for additional information during the hiring process (Broughton et al., 2013). There is a lack of substantial research on the combination of these two factors. This study examined the effects of gender and social media type on hiring decisions.

Slogans As Persuasive Accelerants Of Electronic Word-Of-Mouth Communication: A Preliminary Conceptual Model, Theo Lynn, Pierangelo Rosati, Charles M. Wood

Association of Marketing Theory and Practice Proceedings 2022

Brands have been conceptualized as being made up of three different components: name, logo and slogan (Keller 1993, Dass, Kumar, Kohli, & Thomas, 2014). Slogans are short, memorable phrases that are often used to sign off on advertisements. They characterize a large proportion of brand advertising and are designed to attract consumer attention, crystallize brand positioning, increase advertising memorability, and improve brand affinity (Keller, 1993). Slogans have been part of our world for millennia, and a staple in the advertising world since its inception. Less complex messages – i.e., slogans – have been associated with improved advertising effectiveness (Lowrey 1998). …

Social Media Influencers: Talk Is Not Cheap!, Antoinette Okono

Association of Marketing Theory and Practice Proceedings 2022

Social media influencers are digital opinion leaders who have amassed large followings on social media. Through their content and communication on social commerce platforms, and social networking sites, social media influencers can influence their audience's attitude towards brands and encourage purchase decisions. This paper explores the impact of social media influencers on the relationship between social commerce and purchase intention. Since the relationship between social commerce and purchase intention has been thoroughly examined by researchers, I discover through reviewing the literature how an independent entity can impact social media consumers' attitudes and purchase decisions. Specifically, I analyze the social commerce …

Exploring The Effects Of Linguistic Elements Of Social Media Corporate Apologies On Consumer Responses, Laurel Johnston

Association of Marketing Theory and Practice Proceedings 2022

In the current landscape of social media, consumers bring product and service failure complaints directly to brands daily. Whether such complaints are routine or hold potential for great consequence, social media’s viral nature means any brand-to-consumer interaction could become a public crisis if handled incorrectly. Corporate apologies are an effective strategy to mitigate negative audience sentiment and reduce online interactions that damage brand reputation. This study will manipulate previously identified but largely untested linguistic components of corporate apologies on Twitter, including personal greetings and closures and directives, to test their effects on consumers’ perceived apology sincerity, forgiveness, purchase intentions, and …

Saving Face: Comparing The Effects Of Endorsement Marketing Strategies On Millennial Americans, Alessandra Noli, Sindy Chapa, Daniela Castillo, Tim O'Hara, Anna Dean, Tyler Trobert

Association of Marketing Theory and Practice Proceedings 2022

The rapid boom of social media in the 21^st century has positioned it as a key instrument in the realm of marketing. Social media has also given rise to a new kind of endorser: the influencer. The present study tested the effects of expert influencers vs traditional celebrities on brand attitude and purchase intentions of makeup products, within a cohort of millennials. Results showed respondents tended to favor the expert influencer in terms of perceived expertise, brand attitude and purchase intention. This has important implications for marketers when it comes to deciding upon an endorser for their brand, with …

Can Marketing Content Strategies Help Promote Sustainability On Social Media?: Comparing The Effectiveness Of Owned Versus Earned Endorsement, Eilleen R. Plante

Honors College Theses

The importance of sustainability is rising as consumers make more environmentally conscious purchases (Neilson, 2018). Despite the growing demand for sustainable products, there is still a consumer attitude-behavior gap concerning sustainability. Social media has proven to be an effective way to promote sustainability (Saeed, Farooq, & Kersten, 2019), and social media influencers are more effective advertising agents compared to traditional advertising (Araujo, Neijens, & Vliegenthart, 2016). However, the best way to advertise sustainable products through social media-based advertising has not yet been studied. This study examines the different content marketing strategies on social media - owned social media posts and …

Turn The Other Cheek Or An Eye For Eye: Exploring Brand-To-Brand Dialogue On Social Media, Veronica Thomas, Kendra Fowler

Association of Marketing Theory and Practice Proceedings 2021

While popular press articles frequently highlight humorous, snarky exchanges between brands on social media, academically, this behavior is relatively unexplored. As consumers’ perceptions of the use of humor in brand-to-brand dialogue may have meaningful managerial and theoretical implications, this research examines consumers’ perceptions of brands that engage in dialogue with one another on social media. To understand the dyadic relationship between two brands who engage with one another on social media, we explore two different types of humorous comments (low aggression and high aggression) and how the type of humor employed affects consumers’ perceptions of both the brand initiating the …

Are Virtual Assistants Effective In Generating Customer-Firm Engagement? The Role Of Social Media As A Component Of Marketing Strategies., Neda Mossaei

Association of Marketing Theory and Practice Proceedings 2021

ABSTRACT

This paper examines the effects of utilizing voice assistants in addition to integrating social media in firms’ communication strategies. Many consumers are increasingly using voice assistants to communicate with companies. At the same time, the Covid-19 pandemic has impacted the way customers are interacting with companies due to social distancing, stay-at-home orders, and mental overload during this unprecedented time. Firms that provide consumers with easier ways of communication, such as utilizing a voice assistant in customer service, could benefit from higher consumer engagement. The cognitive load theory is proposed to explore its applicability in assessing whether less mental effort …

Bridging The Gap Between Customer Value And Firm Performance: Strategic Implications Of Social Media Marketing Relationships, Manisha Mathur

Association of Marketing Theory and Practice Proceedings 2021

No abstract provided.

Can Social Media Marketing Effects Be Sustained?, Manisha Mathur

Association of Marketing Theory and Practice Proceedings 2020

The social media strategies have changed the landscape of customer-firm associations. Yet, little is understood about the sustained effects of social media, particularly on firm performance. This research examines the extent to which social media plays a key role in the development of branding and marketing strategies that lead to sustained competitive advantage. We use econometric modeling to determine whether a brand’s performance remains stable with the extended implementation of social media marketing and how long the effect of social media is beneficial for a firm. The results yield significant implications for both marketing theory and practice.

The objective is …

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 …

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 …

Investigating The Effects Of Personalization On Brand Love: A Study Of Facebook, Trang P. Tran

Association of Marketing Theory and Practice Proceedings 2019

This paper investigates how personalized advertising affects customer brand relationship in social media. In particular, this paper develops and tests a conceptual model that captures the impact of perceived personalization on customer brand relationship through an online survey where respondents are free to describe a personalized ad they see on their Facebook.

Eight hypotheses are developed and tested using PLS-SEM. The results show that all hypotheses are accepted except for Hypothesis 7 (the effect of self-expressive brands on brand love). More specifically, the findings confirm that personalized advertising has an impact on consumer perceptions of a brand. Stated differently, as …

Beyond Higher Ed Marketing: Unsanctioned User Generated Content, Jordan Taylor Salvador

Honors College Theses

The impact of User Generated Content (UGC) on higher-education marketing is an entirely untouched area of marketing research, therefore the current study aims to better understand how widely disseminated this content is among students, how they perceive this content and its impact upon their university, as well as what kinds of students are drawn to participate in and consume this content. A sample of 187 university students at a large public institution were surveyed regarding their engagement with UGC content associated with their school, and the ways in which it may effect their perception of the institution.

Understanding A Mechanism To Enhance Perceived Quality And Brand Loyalty In Social Media: The Role Of Personalizatio, Tyler Shanahan, Trang P. Tran

Association of Marketing Theory and Practice Proceedings 2018

A growing number of researchers have examined the effects of personalized advertising in traditional media, but little has been developed to examine the effects of a personalized ad of a brand on social media (i.e., Facebook). The primary objectives of this research are (1) to develop a comprehensive model detailing the role personalization plays in the development of consumer perception about a specific brand; (2) test the hypothesized relationships via online survey and (3) understand the effects of personalized messages as it relates to consumer purchasing behaviours related to a particular brand. The model is tested using data collected from …

Adoption Of Social Media Marketing Among Professionals, Liana Moran

Honors College Theses

Social media marketing is the professional use of social media websites such as Facebook for marketing purposes. This thesis project examines the adoption patterns and factors behind the decision to use social media marketing among professionals. The researcher conducted in-depth interviews with business professionals from the real estate rental industry in Statesboro, Georgia, and analyzed the results and implications using thematic analysis. Everett Rogers’ diffusion of innovations theory provides the theoretical framework for the research with social media marketing being the innovation. The participants identified that observability, relative advantage and complexity/simplicity were major factors for adopting social media marketing. The …

Information Disclosure On A Chinese Social Media Platform, Lixuan Zhang, Clinton Amos, Iryna Pentina, Bj Blackwood

Association of Marketing Theory and Practice Proceedings 2014

The nature of social media encourages people to contribute voluntarily to public web and inevitably, leaving a persistent and cumulative repository of personal information. Aware of the privacy risks, about one third of the Internet users in the United States have expressed concerns of their personal privacy. However, users are often cavalier in the protection of their own data profile. There is often a discrepancy between users’ intentions to protect privacy and their actual heavier. This behavior is often terms as “privacy paradox”. The privacy paradox might arise because users balance between risks and benefits of disclosing information on social …

Consumer Empowerment: The Framework, Sanam Akhavannasab, Danilo C. Dantas, Sylvain Senecal

Association of Marketing Theory and Practice Proceedings 2014

There is mounting evidence that consumers possess more power now than they ever have before. Stories such as “United Breaks Guitars” (Tripp and Grégoire 2011) are regularly reported in the press as illustrative examples of this phenomenon. In our era of user-generated content, consumer power is an important issue for any business. For instance, an increasing number of companies are using social media monitoring tools to keep track of online conversations. However, the marketing literature on consumer empowerment is limited (Hunter and Garnefeld 2008; Kucuk 2009; Pranić and Roehl 2012). Generally adopting a conceptual approach (e.g., Kucuk, 2009); consumer empowerment …

Social Media In The Financial Services Industry, Nathaniel Gibbs, Perry Haan

Association of Marketing Theory and Practice Proceedings 2014

Innovative strategies set a company apart from its competitors. Lindsay and Hopkins (2010) said strategy is making the most of a current situation and devising a plan for the future. Likewise, if banks and other financial organizations want to enhance their brands, reduce costs, increase customer satisfaction, boost innovation, increase revenue, and maintain their competitive positions, they need to embrace social media. Social networks are used by marketers to connect and communicate with customers (Mangold & Faulds, 2009). Organizations must be receptive and flexible to remain relevant in the business environment (Bouckenooghe, Devos, & Van den Broeck, 2009). The environment …

Intensity Of Linkedin Usage By “Truly Small” Firms To Promote Business-To-Professional Interactions, Lisa Witzig, Joe Spencer, Nikole Maki

Association of Marketing Theory and Practice Proceedings 2014

LinkedIn is the largest business-oriented collaborative tool enabling Professional-to-Professional (P2P) and Business-to-Professional (B2P) connections. Regardless of organizational type, there are distinct advantages for firms to utilize LinkedIn. This research builds on previous work examining the intensity of LinkedIn usage by organizational type -- Fortune 200, INC 200, Fortune 200 Non-profits – by focusing on truly small businesses and small non-profits with revenues between $500K to $2M revenue. The study of approximately 1000 organizations finds that truly small non-profits and small businesses utilize the B2P features of LinkedIn significantly less than all three types of larger organizations. This paper applies a …

An Exploratory Research On The Use Of Social Media, Raven Clark, Melek Meral Anitsal, Ismet Anitsal

Association of Marketing Theory and Practice Proceedings 2014

Peering years into the future may seem bit hubris, but in today’s uncertain society there seems to always be room for change. Ignoring short and long-term trends of social media could be damaging to a company whose main source of reaching their target market is through social media. Consumers are using social media as part of their daily routine, so why shouldn’t companies try and reach their customers through this platform? Can companies actually keep up with the changing trends demanded by the consumers? How do consumers feel about their social media being used as an advertising strategy for companies? …

Are Qr Codes Here To Stay Or Are They A Thing Of The Past?, Monica B. Fine

Association of Marketing Theory and Practice Proceedings 2014

Quick response (QR) codes, a type of two-dimensional barcode, are a marketing tool used all around the world. Particularly, in Japan and China QR codes have been gaining popularity. Early adopters with higher education and recent promotional marketing campaigns are utilizing this mobile, information-sharing tool. QR codes are now widely used as a marketing tool by many companies. This research investigates consumers’ perception of QR codes. An increasing amount of firms and sales representatives are using QR codes as a channel to market their products/services to their customers’ mobile devices. The following questions will be the focus of this study: …

The Impact Of Social Media On The Advertising Competitiveness Of Small Businesses, Cale Robert Hall

Association of Marketing Theory and Practice Proceedings 2014

Every business, from the largest enterprise to the smallest start-up, faces the continual challenge of staying in touch with their customers and continually earning their trust and business. Social media is the catalyst that is continually changing customer relationships and making them more interactive, open and collaborative. Today’s customers have more choices than ever before in terms of how they choose to learn about new products, services, and gain insights into areas of interest. For marketers to be successful, they need to realize that their customers; preferences are changing quickly, and that agility over formal, often static processes from a …

Online Service Benefits’ Impact On Relationship Strength, Quality, & Continuation Intention, Kendra Fowler, Eileen Bridges

Association of Marketing Theory and Practice Proceedings 2014

Many service providers now use social media, both as a way to interact efficiently with their customers, and as a means of gathering customer data needed to better manage customer relationships. Thus, social media can both provide service and assist in developing better future service. In the present research, we examine in detail whether and how social media perform the first of these tasks by examining its use as a tool for online service benefit provision. Then, we consider how benefits customers receive from maintaining relationships with service providers via social media impact outcomes, including reported relationship strength, customer loyalty, …

Social Media In The Business Curriculum, Pauline Ash Ray, Jenny Swearingen

Association of Marketing Theory and Practice Proceedings 2013

Due to the prolific development of Web 2.0 tools and the growing demand for their use in business this study explores the status of their inclusion in the business curriculum. Social media use is valuable, not only to marketing students, but also to all business students as well as the ability to build a personal brand to further their careers. There is a growing consensus to include social media in the curriculum but to what extent: A course, a major or a MBA specialization? A literature review for research of social media inclusion in curriculum is conducted for the current …

The Role Of Media Richness Of Channels On Consumer Decision- Making And Channel Choice, Moutusy Maity, Mayukh Dass

Association of Marketing Theory and Practice Proceedings 2013

With the increasing popularity of multichannel strategies, many retailers actively encourage their customers to undertake purchasing activities across various retail channels. Extant literature on multichannel strategies advances our understanding of why and how consumers select channels, but our knowledge is limited on how different channel characteristics affect consumer behavior, decision-making across channels and channel choice. In this paper, we focus on one such channel characteristic, called media richness of the retail channels, and investigate the effects of media richness of channels on consumer decision-making and channel choice. Media richness, as originally described by Media Richness Theory, is a set of …

Understanding Online Brand Communities: Netnographic Study Of Apple Iphone Consumers, May Aung, Keija Wu, Laila Rohani, Khalil Rohani

Association of Marketing Theory and Practice Proceedings 2013

This study extends the concept of brand communities. The netnography approach has been applied to two online brand communities, both central to Apple iPhone consumers. This study reveals two cultural manifestations with their own passions and communal norms not detected by previous research. This study, thus, enriches the conceptual understanding of brand communities. It also offers contribution toward understanding consumers of high technology brands, an area where few studies have been conducted to date.