Advertising and Promotion Management Commons^™

The Nexus Between Entrepreneurial Ingenuity Antecedents And Market Penetration Of Tanzanian Formal Retail Businessesmarket Penetration: Entrepreneurial Ingenuity: Formal Retail Business, Salum Makangila, Omari Khalifa Mbura

Business Management Review

The entrepreneurial ingenuity is a fundamental strategy employed by business proprietors and operators to navigate market penetration challenges when formal and informal retail businesses operate simultaneously in the same commercial environments. Guided by positivism research philosophy and cross-sectional design, quantitative data were collected from randomly selected sample size of 520 business proprietors and operators through structured questionnaire. The study hypothesized and tested the relationship between entrepreneurial ingenuity antecedents and market penetration of Tanzanian formal retail businesses using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM). The empirical results reveals that entrepreneurial ingenuity antecedents namely creative, innovative and open-minded behaviour positively and significantly influences market …

Strategic Distribution, Digital Marketing, And Open Innovation: Toward Integrated Capability Development For Sme Performance, Johannes Baptista Halik, Maria Yessica Halik, Septin Basongan, Jhoel Mapau

Asia Marketing Journal

This study examines the impact of Distribution Strategy on SME performance, with Digital Marketing and Open Innovation as mediating variables. Using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM), data were analyzed from 250 SMEs in Makassar, Indonesia. The results show that Distribution Strategy positively affects performance, both directly and indirectly through Open Innovation. However, Digital Marketing does not serve as a significant mediator, indicating that its use among SMEs may still be limited to tactical functions. Open Innovation emerges as the strongest contributor, highlighting its role in converting distribution capabilities into performance gains. The study enriches Resource Advantage (R-A) Theory …

Mitigating Appearance Threats: The Differential Effects Of Compensatory Consumption On Self-Control, Yi-Seo Jo, Eunice Eun-Sil Kim

Asia Marketing Journal

Appearance threats, arising from gaps between one’s appearance and societal beauty standards, weaken self-control the capacity to favor long-term goals over immediate impulses. This research explores how compensatory consumption mitigates these effects, focusing on type (within-domain vs. across-domain) and timing (near-future vs. distant-future) across two studies. Rooted in symbolic self-completion and construal level theories, Study 1 examines how compensation type affects self-control under appearance threats, with rumination as a mediator. Findings show across-domain compensation sustains self-control by diverting focus from appearance concerns, unlike within-domain compensation, which heightens rumination and impairs self-regulation. Study 2 investigates how compensation timing moderates these outcomes, …

When And Why Managerial Responseswork: A Dual-Process Model Of Linguistic Cues, Review Rating, And Usefulness, Jungwon Lee, Cheol Park

Asia Marketing Journal

This research develops and empirically tests a contingency model explaining how specific linguistic characteristics of a firm's response to an online review influence the review's usefulness. We argue that the diagnostic value of different linguistic cues is contingent upon the reader's information processing mode-systematic versus heuristic-which is triggered by the valence of the original review's rating. An econometric analysis of 41,704 review-response dyads from TripAdvisor reveals that a conceptual cue (personalization, operationalized as topical relevance) and a perceptual cue (readability) both significantly increase review usefulness. In contrast, another perceptual cue (Linguistic Style Matching) decreases usefulness, a finding we interpret as …

“It’S A Dupe, Not A Counterfeit!” An Exploration Of Motives For Dupe Consumption Motives, Jungyong Ahn

Asia Marketing Journal

This study was designed to explore consumer motives for dupe consumption and to measure the influence of these identified motives on consumer satisfaction with dupe products and intention to sharing dupe products. Through a literature review and in-depth interviews, five key consumer motives were anticipated: (1) self-protection, (2) saving money, (3) anti-materialism, (4) mimicry, and (5) enjoyment. Corresponding measurement items were developed to assess these motives. A factor analysis conducted on survey data collected from 300 respondents successfully confirmed the extraction of these five motives as expected. Moreover, regression analysis further demonstrated the statistically significant positive impact of these motives …

How Does A Consumer’S Anticipated Happiness Influence Participation In Value Co-Creation? : Focusing On Definition Of Happiness, Minsik Cho, Suna La

Asia Marketing Journal

Value co-creation (VCC) is essential for a new product development, transforming ideas into collaboratively created value-in-use, particularly under Service-Dominant Logic (S-D Logic). Recognizing that consumers engage in VCC with the goal of achieving happiness, this study investigates how anticipated happiness—arising from affective forecasting of VCC experiences—encourages customers’ participation in high-technology VCC initiatives. It also examines how individuals’ definitions of happiness—calmness vs. excitement—influence this process in VCC, using a validated temporal focus manipulation to induce these differing happiness orientations. Results indicate that future-focused individuals tend to define their happiness as excitement, while present-focused individuals associate it with calmness. Then, definitions of …

The Impact Of Sense Of Power On Consumer Click-Through Intention Under Ai Personalized Recommendation, Li Li, Dhakir Abbas Ali

Asia Marketing Journal

This study investigates how consumers' sense of power influences their click-through intentions in AI-driven personalized recommendation systems. While prior research has explored personalized marketings impact on consumer behavior, the role of perceived power remains understudied. Through scenario-based experiments, we find that a heightened sense of power enhances engagement with AI recommendations, with self-efficacy as a key mediator. However, this effect weakens when privacy concerns are high, highlighting privacy as a critical moderating factor. Specifically, empowered consumers are more likely to interact with AI recommendations, but only when privacy risks are minimal. These findings deepen our understanding of consumer-AI interactions, emphasizing …

Continuous Learning And Customer Value Creation In The Healthcare: Mediating Effects Of Innovations Adoption Value Recognition, Binto M. Binto, Omari Khalifa Mbura

Business Management Review

This research investigates the influence of continuous learning on the effectiveness of customer value creation in the Tanzania’s healthcare system, with a specific focus on the mediating effects of innovation adoption value recognition. Using a cross-sectional design, data were collected from 360 healthcare professionals across three zonal referral hospitals in Tanzania. Data analysis employed a structural equation modelling using SMART-Partial Least Squares software version 4.0. The findings indicate that continuous learning enhances healthcare customer value creation both directly and indirectly. Also, innovation adoption value recognition serves as a mediating variable of the direct causal relationship, offering partial mediation effects between …

The Flavor Of Marketing: How Food Is Revolutionizing Luxury Brand Communication, Aloisa Ruf

MA Theses

This thesis explores how food operates as a cultural, psychological, and strategic instrument within the global luxury industry. Drawing from art history, marketing theory, and sensory studies, it traces how societies across Europe, the Middle East, China, Japan, Russia, and the United States have long used food to express hierarchy, belonging, and emotion—from the banquets of seventeenth-century Versailles to the branded cafes and collaboration of the 2010s and 2020s. Through a comparative and interpretive methodology, the research connects historical visual traditions with contemporary brand strategies, examining case studies such as Gucci Osteria, Louis Vuitton’s Desert Iftar, Dior Café, Loewe’s “Tomato” …

Aura For Sale?: Art Merchandise And The Totalizing Culture Of Reproduction, Lily Paternoster

MA Theses

The art historical discipline largely excludes art merchandise from critical analysis, relegating it to being a marketing gimmick or gift shop opportunity. This failure to reconcile with the rapidly expanding enterprise for brand collaborations with fine artists has led to an overwhelming and unregulated commercial licensing industry, similar in mystique and ascend to that of the fine art market. Through the case studies of two post-humous artists and two living- Keith Haring, JeanMichel Basquiat, KAWS (Brian Donnelly), and Maurizio Cattelan- I argue that art merchandise exists on a constantly fluctuating scale between democratizing force and commodity. Despite its status on …

Emotional Localisation In Luxury Branding: Cultural Adaptation Of Western Heritage Narratives For Chinese Consumers, Yuchen Chen

MA in Luxury Business Dissertations

This dissertation examines how Western heritage luxury brands adapt their core narratives to deliver emotional value in the Chinese market. Focusing on emotional localisation, the study introduces the Cultural–Semiotic Narrative Adaptation (CSNA) framework, which analyses three dimensions: emotional translation, symbolic adaptation, and narrative tone. Through a sequential mixed-methods design, the research investigates how heritage values such as craftsmanship and exclusivity are reframed to resonate with collectivist emotional logics emphasizing harmony, relational continuity, and understated elegance. Findings reveal that effective emotional localisation requires aligning narrative tone and symbolic motifs with culturally embedded affective expectations, fostering consumer trust, attachment, and purchase intention. …

From Hand To Heart: Investigating The Future Of Luxury Through Craftsmanship, A Qualitative Research, Yiyuan Hu

MA in Luxury Business Dissertations

Propelled by converging social, cultural, and macroeconomic forces, the luxury industry has faced challenges due to plummeting profits. This contextualised research examines the shift in psychographics from logo-centric consumption to a new paradigm where authenticity and integrity are paramount. Employing an interpretivist philosophy, the study utilises in-depth, semi-structured interviews with three industry experts, respectively from design/production, retail and marketing departments, and twelve luxury consumers to approach this topic from the perspectives of different stakeholders. The interviews were analysed through a rigorous thematic analysis framework.

The findings indicate that luxury customers are becoming increasingly sceptical and critical, while craftsmanship offers a …

Athlete As The New Face Of Luxury: The Case Of Jannik Sinner And Gucci, Rania Tazi Hemida

MA in Luxury Business Dissertations

This dissertation examines the growing trend of luxury brands appointing athletes as brand ambassadors, aligning themselves with the values and expectations embodied by these figures. Exploring the case of tennis player Jannik Sinner as the face of the Italian fashion house Gucci, the study explores how athlete endorsements are leveraged to reshape consumer perceptions and expand brand reach by examining how Gucci is enlisting Jannik Sinner to refine their image. By applying luxury branding theories to the context of sports endorsements, the research investigates how athletes' images and values influence consumer attitudes toward luxury brands. Drawing on qualitative interviews with …

Art & Luxury: Perceiving Value: How Generation Z Interprets Cultural And Social Meaning In Luxury And Art Collaborations, Michele Saad

MA in Luxury Business Dissertations

Luxury and art collaborations have evolved from rare creative experiments into a familiar part of brand storytelling, yet most research still focuses on what brands want to communicate rather than how audiences perceive these projects. This study explores how Generation Z (GZ) interprets the cultural and social value of such collaborations.

A qualitative approach was adopted, using semi-structured interviews supported by visual prompts with 16 participants aged 19 to 29. The analysis is structured around six recurring themes: artistic expression and aesthetics, social engagement and philanthropy, sustainability and environmental awareness, experiential and immersive encounters, commercial and hype-driven partnerships, and architectural …

Pillpetz: A Smarter Way To Encourage Medication Adherence In Children, John H. Begley

CMC Senior Theses

Medication adherence is usually framed as a problem of patient behavior, but this thesis argues that it is equally a problem of design. Children who take daily medication face barriers that adults often do not: developing executive function, dependence on caregivers, shifting school and home routines, privacy concerns, and stigma around being perceived as different. The standard prescription bottle, by contrast, was designed primarily for dispensing efficiency, safety, and accidental ingestion prevention—not for sustained daily use by a developing child.

This thesis proposes PillPetz, a smart pill case and digital companion that uses routine, play, dose confirmation, and caregiver-connected support …

Examining Moral Susceptibility In Ai Vs. Human-Assisted Decision-Making, Seth James Fogle

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Artificial intelligence (AI) systems are increasingly integrated into decision-making contexts, yet their influence on ethical judgment remains unclear. This study examines whether advice from an AI advisor, compared to a human advisor, affects moral susceptibility in a consumer decision-making scenario. Using a 2 × 2 between-subjects experimental design (advisor type × price condition), this research tests whether personal agency, perceived objectivity, and diffusion of responsibility operate as psychological mechanisms underlying ethical decision-making.

Results indicate that advisor type did not significantly influence moral susceptibility, nor did it significantly affect the proposed mediators. Additionally, the price condition did not moderate these relationships. …

The Differential Impacts Of Internal And External Corporate Social Responsibility Activities On Consumer Trust After Covid-19, Kennadi C. Mccoy

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This dissertation explores the strategic role of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in helping small businesses recover from crises, with a specific focus on the COVID-19 pandemic. Different from many traditional studies that highlight the ethical or reputational aspects of CSR, this research will examine its practical effects: how CSR initiatives during crises influence business success by enhancing consumer trust, particularly by examining the differential impact of Internal CSR versus External CSR. The study suggests that, compared with internally focused CSR, external CSR activities will have a greater impact on consumer trust. In addition, the dissertation suggests that this effect is …

Heartbeats: Sustainable Practices In Business, Natalie Pham, Shareef Awadallah, Lily Lisco, Logan Blissenbach, Nikolaos Verginis

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

HeartBeats Co. LLC is a premier audio and software technology brand that brings renewed character and performance to a stagnant space, revolutionizing the listening experience by engineering a digital music platform and headphones that possess distinct style and exceptional performance. While our team identifies and tracks trends in the market, we strive to establish market trends rather than to follow them. We are a company founded on innovation, redefining the music streaming market by combining the importance of wellness with the latest audio and software technologies and innovative functionalities. This document outlines a ten-year plan for efficient and impactful scaling, …

Honors Project In Business Admin Group 2, Matt R. Howell, Richard W. Black, Kale R. Kochman, Anthony J. Mast

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Our team is performing a strategic analysis on Project Learn, Summit County's non-profit that provides resources to adult learners to complete their GED. Our goal is to provide recommendations for them to expand their market and improve the product that they currently offer. This includes exploring new partnerships, adding additional services, and various other initiatives that we hope will improve the organization's wellbeing.

A Strategic Analysis Of Project Learn Of Summit County, Alex Kennedy, Tyler Hutchinson, Haley Guest, Zach D. Thomas, Lizzie Sisler

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Our group is working with Project Learn of Summit County, a GED and ESL assistance program located in the Akron Public Library. Our group will be performing a strategic analysis and providing them with a strategic plan, to be presented to them at the end of the term. We aim to increase awareness for the program, point out areas of growth, and increase functionality.

Artwork Or It-Bag? How Arts-Luxury Collaborations Impact Artist Cultural Visibility, Edwina Keary

MA in Art Business Dissertations

Since Marc Jacobs’ introduction to Louis Vuitton in 1997 and experimentation with artist collaboration, art and luxury collaboration has boomed. Over the years, customer demands have shifted in the wake of postmodern consumer culture, and brands must keep up with them to maintain their competitive advantage. The nature of collaborations has therefore shifted their focus to include experiences as well as products. Different collaboration types have a unique impact on both the brand and the artists involved. This research explores the impact of product versus experience-based collaboration on the cultural visibility of the artists involved through press coverage analysis. This …

Imitation In Eastern Art Auction Markets: A Comparative Study Of Digital Strategies Under Institutional Isomorphism, Yutong Wu

MA in Art Business Dissertations

No abstract provided.

A Holistic Approach To Country Branding: Examining A Master Brand And Sub-Brand Framework, Musa Pinar, Aycan Duran Tekoglu, Tulay Girard

Atlantic Marketing Journal

Recently, nation branding has drawn the attention of policymakers worldwide, as nations recognize its strategic importance in achieving and sustaining success in the global competitive landscape. This study provides a conceptual framework based on master brand and sub-brand architecture to examine country branding holistically by integrating macro and micro perspectives, country brand equity, and their effects on consumer preferences. The specific objectives are to 1) identify the dimensions of master brand, sub-brand, and country brand equity and develop reliable and valid measurement scales for each dimension, and 2) develop a conceptual framework that integrates the master brand, sub-brand, and brand …

When Social Inflation Pushes The "Good Neighbor" Away: How Market Exit Behavior Triggers Brand Betrayal And Trust Erosion, Waros Ngamsiriudom, Mohan Menon, Mitra Devkota

Atlantic Marketing Journal

Social inflation, marked by rising litigation severity, shifting jury attitudes, and expanding third-party litigation funding, has intensified financial pressures on insurers operating in disaster-prone markets. In response, many insurers have withdrawn or restricted coverage, creating a sharp disconnect between long-standing brand promises and current market behaviors. This article examines how these systemic pressures produce “brand betrayal,” a consumer perception arising when insurers’ market exit actions contradict their relational positioning as reliable, community-oriented partners. Drawing on signaling theory, relationship marketing, and institutional perspectives, the article develops a conceptual framework linking social inflation to brand trust erosion through market exit behavior. The …

Workplace Appearance Norms And The Shame Of Baldness: Implications For Consumer Behavior, Shiyun Chen, Achira Mudiyanselage, Terry S. Damron, Jaycie Luster

Atlantic Marketing Journal

In this research, we investigate how shame can affect consumer behavior. Specifically, we examine how baldness induced shame from workplace expectation and norms can affect consumer decision making related to the purchase of hairpieces and consumers’ preferences towards packaging of the product. Drawing on self-discrepancy theory, identity theory, shame and compensatory consumption research, we investigate the direct connection of shame and purchase intention, and the mediating roles of self-efficacy and the devaluation of masculine identity in shaping consumers’ responses to shame. We tested our hypothesis using survey-based experiments. Across two studies, we demonstrate that shame associated with baldness, positioned as …

Slow Fashion Behavior In Young Consumers, Melissa Clark

Atlantic Marketing Journal

The purpose of this research is to better understand the gap between Generation Z’s (Gen Z) knowingness and attitude toward sustainable clothing and their behavior including repair and disposal. A theoretical model was created based on the known relationships among Knowledge-Attitude-Behavior (KAB), specifically considering environmental sustainability knowingness (ESK), environmental sustainability attitude (ESA), and slow fashion behavior (SFB) while extending it with the addition of repair and disposal. The data were collected via online survey of consumers identifying as Gen Z and analyzed via regression analysis in SPSS. The findings suggest that the established construct relationships (ESK, ESA, and SFB) held …

Sweet Skepticism: Health Consciousness And Consumer Resistance To Health-Oriented Gummy Products, Raghava Gundala Dr, Kathleen Mckee, Pritosh Kumar

Atlantic Marketing Journal

Health consciousness is usually modeled as a driver of demand for healthier food. This study asks what happens to that relationship when the product itself is indulgent. Survey data were collected from students at a public university in the United States, and a first-stage moderated mediation model (PROCESS Model 7) was estimated on the 231 respondents with complete data. After adjustment for perceived marketing effectiveness and demographic covariates, health consciousness was negatively related to perceptions of health-oriented gummy products and to purchase frequency, although its zero-order correlation with product perception was near zero. Part of the health-consciousness relationship with purchase …

The Power Of A Picture: Building Visual Depictions Of The Eppm Bolstering Sunscreen Application Motivation, Ansley M. George

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

This study investigates visual depictions of efficacy skin cancer health risk messages. Using Witte's Extended Parallel Processing Model (EPPM) and existing literature on fear appeals and visual persuasion as a theoretical framework, the study aims to explore how self and response efficacy imagery impacts individuals' perceptions of health risk messages in the context of skin cancer prevention when emphasizing specific principles of design. Formative research was employed via qualitative photo sorts and participants were exposed to an assortment of images depicting efficacy in the context of skin cancer prevention where they discussed why they felt they were or were not …