Business Commons^™

Who’S Got My Back? Comparing Consumers’ Reactions Topeer‐Provided And Firm‐Provided Customer Support, Lan Jiang, Matthew O'Hern, Sara Hanson

Marketing Faculty Publications

This study demonstrates that when an individual encounters a product‐related problem, fellow consumers (i.e., one’s peers) have a unique advantage in providing social support to the affected consumer. Specifically, we find that social support can be a dominant driver of consumer satisfaction when the risk of customer defection is at its highest (i.e., following an unsuccessful attempt to solve the consumer’s problem). Using real‐world data from an online support community, a pilot study finds that if the problem that a consumer faces goes unsolved, satisfaction is greater when consumers receive peer‐provided versus firm‐provided support. Study 1 replicates this finding in …

Influence Of Country And Company Characteristics On International Business Decisions: A Review, Conceptual Model, And Propositions, Kotler Philip, Lalita A. Manrai, Dana-Nicoleta Lascu, Ajay K. Manrai

Marketing Faculty Publications

This research advances four propositions and a conceptual model of country and company characteristics influencing key International Business Decisions (IBDs). The IBDs in this study are country selection and evaluation, entry mode, segmentation-targeting-positioning, and the marketing mix – the first two in the international business domain, and the latter two in the international marketing field. The conceptual model and related four propositions are advanced, based on an extensive literature review and subsequent in-depth review of 169 published research papers on major IBDs and their determinants, namely, country characteristics, including opportunities, risks, and various distances between the host country and home …

A Study Of Safari Tourism In Sub-Saharan Africa: An Empirical Test Of Tourism A-B-C (T-Abc) Model, Lalita A. Manrai, Dana-Nicoleta Lascu, Ajay K. Manrai

Marketing Faculty Publications

The competition for safari tourism in sub-Saharan Africa is intense. Aside from inter-country competition, there is also intra-country competition among game viewing lodges and resorts within each country. In this context, it is important to understand the strengths and weaknesses of each country for safari tourism. We empirically test the relationship between tourism performance and multiple tourism dimensions, namely, tourism Attractions (A), Basics (B), and Context (C). We test the Tourism A-B-C model (Manrai, Manrai, & Friedeborn, 2018) using data from Botswana, Kenya, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

The study, a first in the region, addresses tourism …

Enhancing Consumer Engagement In An Online Brand Community Via User Reputation Signals: A Multi-Method Analysis, Sara Hanson, Lan Jiang, Darren Dahl

Marketing Faculty Publications

Generating and maintaining consumers’ engagement in online brand communities is critical for marketing managers to enhance relationships and gain customer loyalty. In this research, we investigate how the type of signal used to indicate user reputation can enhance (or diminish) consumers’ community engagement. Specifically, we explore differences in perceptions of points (i.e., point accrual systems), labels (i.e., descriptive, hierarchical identification systems), and badges (i.e., descriptive, horizontally-ordered identification systems). We argue that reputation signals vary in the degree to which they can provide role clarity—the presence of user roles that deliver information about expected behaviors within a group. Across several studies, …

Society Or The Environment? Understanding How Consumers Evaluate Brand Messages About Corporate Social Responsibility Activities, Sara Hanson, Lan Jiang, Jun Ye, Nagesh Murthy

Marketing Faculty Publications

This research examines how and why consumers evaluate brand messages about corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities differently. Insights from secondary data suggest that brands may prioritize environmental activities over social activities, and vice versa, depending on the type of company. Using a field experiment and surveys, we explore whether consumers’ attitudes toward these brand decisions follow company priorities. We find that consumers perceive brands that sell goods and communicate messages about environmental sustainability activities more positively than services companies, while consumers perceive brands that provides services and communicate messages about social sustainability activities more positively than goods companies. We show …