Marketing Commons^™

The Scent Of Change: A Case Study, William K. Foxx, Melissa C. Northam, Corlette S. Burns

Atlantic Marketing Journal

Decisions about entering into a new business venture involve a variety of considerations, despite the level of experience an entrepreneur has. This case presents the story of a business owner Bennett Gage and his decisions concerning whether or not he should enter into a business where canines are used to detect bed bugs in hotels. This case study gives the reader an opportunity to wrestle with some of the many questions that are part of entering into the creation of a new service.

Profile Interview With Faculty Mentor Lalatendu Acharya, Jill Inderstrodt-Stephens

Purdue Journal of Service-Learning and International Engagement

No abstract provided.

Reducing Uncertainty By Increasing It: How Inducing Uncertainty In Uncertainty Appraisals Of Reviewer Trustworthiness Attenuates Bias Correction And Product Devaluation, Christilene Du Plessis, Andrew Stephen, Yakov Bart, Dilney Goncalves

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

A field study and two experiments show that when elaboration makes consumers doubt the validity of their doubt, uncertainty is deemed incidental in judgment formation and product devaluation does not occur. However, when elaboration confirms the validity of their doubt, uncertainty is deemed integral in judgment formation and devaluation occurs.

Visual Brand Identity Of Food Products: A Customer’S Perspective, Panagiota Moutaftsi Ms, Panagiotis Kyratsis Dr

Journal of Applied Packaging Research

Purpose – The aim of this research is to explore the benefits of a customer based approach on food packaging design. A case study of a small production honey brand is used.

Design/methodology/approach – For the design process, a survey that involved visual elements was conducted as an online questionnaire. The final size of the sample consists of 285 questionnaires.

Findings – The research findings indicate that packaging is a great influencer for consumers and the synergy of consumers with companies can be a catalyst for the product design process resulting in package designs, which engage potential customers and drive …

When In Doubt, Elaborate? How Elaboration On Uncertainty Influences The Persuasiveness Of Consumer-Generated Product Reviews When Reviewers Are Incentivized, Christilene Du Plessis, Andrew Stephen, Yakov Bart, Dilney Goncalves

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Online consumer-generated reviews contain two types of information: core (the review itself) and auxiliary (information accompanying reviews such as details about the reviewer and the review-generating process). Prior work has focused primarily on the former, despite the latter being commonplace. In this paper, we consider how a common type of auxiliary information — disclosure statements about incentives received by reviewers — affects review persuasiveness. Disclosure likely induces uncertainty about reviewer trustworthiness, leading consumers to discount reviewers’ opinions when forming expectations about product quality. However, we show this is not always the case. Instead, the extent to which disclosing incentives affects …

Understanding On-The-Go Consumption: Identifying And Quantifying Its Determinants, Sabine Benoit, Tobias Schaefers, Raphael Heider

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Although the amount of food and beverages consumed on-the-go has been increasing, existing research has not sufficiently examined this behavior. This study uses a mixed methods design with a qualitative study to identify four determinants of on-the-go consumption: time pressure, price consciousness, health orientation, and enjoyment. Combining the qualitative results with Behavioral Decision Theory, eight hypotheses are derived about the influence of the four determinants as well as their interrelations. Hypotheses testing and predictive validity assessment are based on two large-scale consumer samples, one main study and one validation study. The results confirm a significant influence of utilitarian determinants (time …

An Alternate Functionality Reality, Harold R. Weinberg

Georgia Journal of Law & Technology

The Supreme Court last addressed trade dress law’s functionality doctrine in TrafFix Devices, Inc. v. Marketing Displays, Inc. decided in 2001. This article applies content analysis to data from post-TrafFix functionality cases to provide insights concerning the functionality doctrine. It emphasizes data from cases concerning motions for summary judgment and preliminary injunction. The analysis employs two conceptual constructs: a “useful/aesthetic continuum” and “mixed-character” design features. The article also considers data in light of a “two-bar mandate” and two principles: “useful-scarcity” and “aesthetic-abundance.” It concludes with observations concerning the post-TrafFix functionality doctrine and suggestions for improving its judicial …

Impact Of Country Personality On Attitude Toward Foreign Products : Self-Congruity As A Mediator, Murat Aktan, Paul W. Chao

Atlantic Marketing Journal

This research examines the direct effect of country personality (CP) on consumer product attitude and indirect effect through consumer self-congruity between CP and his/her own self-concept on product attitude in an emerging country- Turkey. We propose an integrated structural equation model to examine the relationships. Measurement scales for CP, self-congruity and attitude are developed whose validities and reliabilities are confirmed by exploratory (EFA) and confirmatory (CFA) factor analyses with data collected from a sample of consumers in Turkey on two countries: USA and China.

The results reveal that four out of the original six dimensions of CP remain after a …

A Further Empirical Investigation Into “Up To” Advertising Claims: The “As Low As” Claim, Jeffrey S. Gutenberg, James M. Quinn

Atlantic Marketing Journal

For many years the Federal Trade Commission has sought to prevent deceptive advertising under Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act. The FTC’s focus has encompassed not only false advertising claims, but also advertising claims that, while literally true, tend to deceive consumers. “Up to” claims fall under this scrutiny since they can be misunderstood as promising consumer benefits (e.g. “up to 50% savings”) that might not be realized by all consumers. This paper presents the results of research conducted with 600+ members of a commercial consumer panel to evaluate a variant of this type of claim, the “As …

Investigating The Ichthus (Fish) Christianity Symbol On Perceived Source Credibility Of Service Providers Under Different Service Evaluation Contexts, Jeri L. Jones, Mahmood Shandiz

Atlantic Marketing Journal

ABSTRACT

This study investigated potential consumer responses to the display of the Christian fish symbol (Ichthus) used in mock advertisements of services high in credence, experience and search attributes. Discussions from earlier research propose consumers may exhibit different reactions to Christian symbolism displayed in the marketplace and that purchase intentions and consumer perceptions of the seller may be influenced by the strength of the consumer’s religious beliefs. This study adds to previous research proposing consumers display different purchase intentions due to differing perceptions of the seller’s credibility, trustworthiness and expertise influenced by the consumers own religious beliefs which is influenced …

Consumer Preferences Among Low-Price Guarantee Offers, Stephen Baglione, Louis A. Tucci, James A. Talaga

Atlantic Marketing Journal

The competitive realities of the marketplace forces retailers to consider implementing low-price guarantees. Given that retailers will use low-price guarantees, which of the multitude of guarantees should be used? This paper examines the nature of low-price guarantees from the perspective of how consumers make trade-offs in different low-price guarantee designs. Using conjoint analysis, buyers indicate their preference for different low-price guarantee designs. Not all consumers respond to low-price guarantees the same. There are several segments of consumers with regard to low-price guarantees. The study was done with young adults (MBA students) who may be more sophisticated than the population as …

The Role Of Consumer Susceptibility To Interpersonal Influence In Predicting Green Apparel Consumption Behavior Of American Youth, Amrut Sadachar, Arpita Khare, Srikant Manchiraju

Atlantic Marketing Journal

In recent years, considering that consumers are giving more importance to their role and consequence with regards to social and environmental implication of their consumption decisions, there has been increase in ethical consumption research. However, to date, the role of individual susceptibility to interpersonal influence and other relevant factors (e.g., environmental apparel knowledge) have not been studied. Therefore, the present study explored several critical constructs related to green apparel consumption including consumer susceptibility to interpersonal influence (CSII). The present study focused on American youth (n = 1,049). Based on extant literature review, a hypothesized model was proposed. To test …

Getting Hooked On Gnarly Rods, Cody A. Nelson

Marketing Undergraduate Honors Theses

At Gnarly Rods, our objective is to supply builders and fishermen alike with the quality gear, components, and service necessary to catch everything life has to offer. From providing rod building parts, to repairs, to fully customized fishing rods, we are the destination for all things in custom fishing. Conceptualized in 2015, Gnarly Rods will be based out of Springdale, AR, and started by Robert and Cody Nelson, a father and son pair as passionate for fishing as they are family and the influence the outdoors can have in life. As of now, we will be the only two employees …

Establishing A Brand: How To Create A Household Name For A Wine Brand Through Social Media And Image, Megan Rodrigues

Journalism

This paper was conducted as a Senior Project for the Journalism Department at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, California during a 10 week quarter. This paper explores the topic of wine branding through social media and image. The research for this paper consisted of interviews with three experts that are currently working in the wine industry as well as a literature review of several articles and books that support the topic. The questions that arose about wine branding, brand recognition, social media, wine label and image during the literature review were then asked to the three experts: …

Exploring The Effects Of "What" (Product) And "Where" (Website) Characteristics On Online Shopping Behavior, Girish Mallapragada, Sandeep R. Chandukala, Qing Liu

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Understanding factors that influence online shopping and managing consumer relationships is not a trivial task for firms, considering the many pertinent factors that influence behavior, including the product being shopped (i.e., the “what”) and the context of the website itself (i.e., the “where”). This study investigates the impact of these characteristics on an online transaction’s basket value, after incorporating the role of other aspects of the browsing process including page views and visit duration. The authors estimate a multivariate mixed-effects Type II Tobit model with a system of equations to explain variation in shopping basket value, using data involving 773,262 …

Contagious Effects Of Customer Misbehavior In Access-Based Services, Tobias Schaefers, Kristina Wittkowski, Sabine Benoit, Rosellina Ferraro

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Customer misbehavior in service settings is problematic for two reasons: (1) because of the direct damage it causes and (2) because of additional negative effects that arise from the contagion of such misbehavior. The authors extend existing theory of customer misbehavior by studying its contagious effect. The investigation focuses on access-based services, defined as transactions in which multiple consumers successively gain temporal, short-term access to a good, while legal ownership remains with the service provider (e.g., car sharing and fashion rentals). Due to the nature of these services, they are especially prone to indirect customer misbehavior, which is directed at …

A Strategic Marketing And Financial Analysis Of Toys R Us, Ethan S. Thomison

Lewis Honors College Capstone Collection

The following is a strategic marketing and financial analysis concerning the highly dynamic operations of Toys R Us.

Male Breadwinner Ideology And The Inclination To Establish Market Relationships: Model Development Using Data From Germany And A Mixed-Methods Research Strategy, Michaela Haase, Ingrid Becker, Alexander Nill, Clifford J. Shultz Ii, James W. Gentry

Department of Marketing: Faculty Publications

A pattern found in many marketing systems, “male breadwinning,” is contingent upon overlapping and shared ideologies, which influence the economic organization and thus the type and number of relationships in those systems. Implementing a mixed-methods research methodology, this article continues and extends previous work in macromarketing on the interplay of markets, ideology, socio-economic organization, and family. A qualitative study illuminated the main ideologies behind male breadwinning and a model was developed to advance the theoretical analysis of the phenomenon of male breadwinning. An experiment in the form of a vignette study was subsequently designed and administered. The qualitative study and …

Women's Professional Sports: A Case Study On Practices That Could Increase Their Profitability, Danielle H. Mcardle

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Women’s professional sports leagues have often been considered a risky business endeavor. Critics cite low attendance, lack of sponsorships, lack of media rights deals, and numerous other reasons for why women’s professional sports leagues are not profitable. In analyzing the current landscape of women’s professional sport leagues, this paper uses a case study approach to develop a strategy that will highlight lessons learned from past women’s professional sports leagues, current professional sports leagues, sponsorship agreements, fans, social, digital, and mobile marketing strategies, and management practices to show how the business of women’s sports could be made into a more profitable …

Preparing And Executing An Effective Sales Call, Mackenzie Wright

Honors Theses

This thesis is written in a business document format. It will have four main sections: Introduction, Preparation, Execution, and Conclusion. Each section will include subsections. I will be discussing my involvement in the International Collegiate Sales Competition (ICSC), which was my thesis project. I will be comparing my participation in the ICSC to the knowledge I gained during my tenure as a Sales and Business Marketing student in the Haworth College of Business.

Any data or information was taken from WMU’s website, the ICSC website, and my knowledge from WMU sales classes.

Competing In The International Collegiate Sales Competition, Christina Cook

Honors Theses

The following report aims to analyze the process that is involved in competing in the International Collegiate Sales Competition. There will be an overview of the selection process and the competition itself and an analysis of the overall performance at the competition. In addition, there will also be an overview of lessons learned by competing along with general suggestions to future competitors and competition coordinators.

Before examining the details of the competition, this thesis will address the Sales and Business Marketing program at Western Michigan University. In addition, there will be models referenced within Western Michigan University’s sales program that …

Does Social Media Help Create Brand Loyalty?, Ali Russo

Honors Theses

Throughout my time at Haworth College of Business, Social Media has been a big topic of discussion. The issue has not been if companies should use it as a tool to reach consumers but how do companies effectively utilize Social Media sites. Companies have two important ways to utilize these sites: the first is to collect data from users, and the second is to create a platform where they can interact and influence purchasing decisions. I wanted to create a thesis that focused on the interaction side of Social Media. Initially, I wanted to see if Social Media would create …

Life Beyond The Like: Uses And Gratifications Of Sharing Business Facebook Page Content, Sara M. Nash

College of Journalism and Mass Communications: Theses

One of the main reasons businesses create a Facebook Page is to solidify relationships with existing customers who are Facebook users and to leverage those relationships to gain new customers. Many studies have asked Facebook users to articulate the gratifications they receive when “liking” a business Facebook Page. These studies help explain what gratifications users gain by connecting to businesses via Facebook. To expand on these findings, the current pilot study applied the uses and gratifications theory to identify Facebook users’ motivations to “share” business Facebook content within their own personal network. Understanding users’ reasons for “sharing” will help businesses …

Corporate Social Responsibility In The B-2-B Market, Susan Saurage-Altenloh, Perry Haan

Atlantic Marketing Association Proceedings

Organizations that invest in corporate social responsibility (CSR) to improve the quality of a community or population expect a return on their investment in the form of improved brand reputation and greater consideration in the competitive environment. Homburg, Stierl, and Bornemann (2013) determined that targeted CSR activities could enhance trust and identification by organizational customers, thus fostering customer loyalty. The authors confirmed that CSR influenced client trust through loyalty and that integrating instrumental stakeholder theory with social exchange theory undergirded this link between CSR and trust. Maignan and Ferrell (2004) exhorted marketers to focus beyond consumers to other stakeholder groups …

Qualitative Data Mining And Sensitivity Analysis, Brian R. Kinard

Atlantic Marketing Association Proceedings

In today’s consumer centric environment, there is no shortage of outlets for consumers to express their level of satisfaction with a company, employee, product and/or service. For instance, websites such as Amazon, Rotten Tomatoes, TripAdvisor, Yelp, and Expedia allow customers the opportunity to provide feedback specific to a product, service, and/or organization. Such feedback is vitally important to business firms, as customer reviews are shown to be more trustworthy than descriptions that come direct from manufacturers. For instance, 73 percent of people trust online reviews and 63 percent of people actively seek out online reviews when making a purchase decision. …

Business Framing For Analytics, Beverly Wright

Atlantic Marketing Association Proceedings

Both the academic and business practitioner communities are faced with the challenges of discovery, innovation, and constant learning of their field, particularly within the marketing discipline, where content, processes, and even structure are dynamic in nature, with constantly evolving interests and focus. A solid research agenda with excellent analytics to address pertinent business questions is crucial for successfully expanding our understanding of the marketing function.

Perceived Value E-Ticketing As Sports Entertainment Options, Amber A. Smith-Ditizio

Atlantic Marketing Association Proceedings

Through the advantages of online and electronic ticketing services, the sporting entertainment industry has been able to increase the production and effectiveness of their customer relation management department. While simultaneously minimizing and perfecting the current concerns of electronic ticketing such as; costs, safety measures to both consumers and companies, delivery modes, comparisons to traditional ticket services, and technological sophistication. An empirical study of business professionals in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania metropolitan area revealed that age, amount of disposable income, and education were not predictive of the degree of customer satisfaction derived from the use of e-ticketing for sports events, possibly pointing …

Dynamic Pricing In Major League Baseball Tickets: Issues And Challenges, John T. Drea, Andrew Nahlik

Atlantic Marketing Association Proceedings

A rapidly growing trend in the business of professional sports is the use of dynamic pricing as a tool for maximizing revenue generation. Dynamic pricing (DP) is defined as a system in which prices respond to supply and demand pressures in a real time (or nearly real time) manner (Sahay 2007). American Airlines is credited with the first widespread use of DP as a pricing tool to handle the mismatches in supply and demand for certain flights (McAfee & te Velde 2006). DP has spread to numerous other industries, including entertainment, hotels, manufacturing to order, and lately, to Major League …

Branding Gender In Sport: A Visual-Rhetorical Analysis Of The Branding Of Roller Derby, Tylean Coleman, Jon Littlefield

Atlantic Marketing Association Proceedings

Branding a sport has a significant effect on its reception by the public, particularly for sports that are newer or for which consumer awareness is less. Hence, how a sport is positioned to potential spectators will likely play a key role in its success. Roller derby has been a part of American cultural landscape since the 1880’s and took its modern form during the Great depression. Historically, it involved women competing for points circling a flat track, and was primarily target to working class spectators. Over the last few decades, however, roller derby has experienced a resurgence in popularity due …

Cutting The Cord: An Examination Of Changing Tv Viewership, John Crawford

Atlantic Marketing Association Proceedings

On October 2, 1925, John Baird successfully transmitted the first television image. Since the early days of the new medium, television technology has constantly changed. Similarly, as the decades have passed the means for receiving television programming has also changed. Today, programs are delivered to millions of customers via cable connections and by satellite transmissions as those technologies were chosen by consumers to replace antennas as a means for receiving signals. The newer delivery mechanisms also provided many more channels to consumers compared to the handful of channels they could access in the antenna-only days.

The television programming delivery industry …