Marketing Commons^™

When Not Belonging Means Bad News For The Planet: How A Low Sense Of Belonging Diminishes The Value Of Sustainable Products, Ainslie E. Schultz, Kevin P. Newman, Scott A. Wright

AMTP Proceedings 2019

Consumers increasingly report feeling disconnected from others. They live farther from family, belong to fewer social groups and are more likely to live alone than ever before (Pew Research Center 2015). A low sense of belonging is an aversive state for consumers, since relationships provide access to survival benefits such as resources and protection (Buss 1990). Consumers often use sustainable products to help them experience belonging since these products are typically more expensive than non-sustainable products and can signal that one is a good, cooperative group member who is willing to incur individual costs to maintain a group resource (e.g., …

The Relationship Between Retail Store Types And Consumer Price Expectations, Sua Jeon

AMTP Proceedings 2019

As consumers hold distinct belief about competing retailers, there has been considerable development in the way brands are managed in the field of retailing and firms are making significant efforts to create ever richer and more differentiated store identities (Beristain and Zorrilla 2011). Given the abundant choices of retail formats and diverse product categories and brands available to consumers, retailers use every means available to survive and compete (Kumar et al. 2017).

This study provides useful managerial insights into the roles of price expectations in consumer purchase decisions in different product categories along with both national or store brands. With …

Social Media Listening: Revealing The Indirect Effects Of User Generated Content (Ugc) On Product Adoption, Nga Ho-Dac, Ian Clark Sinapuelas

AMTP Proceedings 2019

Industry studies suggest social media listening espouses several advantages. Evidence from academic research however is lacking and the need to investigate its impact especially in the context of product development is needed. This research explores how UGC influences market outcomes indirectly via its impact on product development. Building on current findings from empowerment-product demand and new product adoption research, we propose that product improvements building on consumer social media conversations are more likely to succeed. Using a system of equations modeling in the open source software context, we verify that increasing forum posts lead to a greater number of codes …

The Effectiveness Of Celebrity Endorsement On Purchase Behavior: Do Celebrities Raise The Bar?, Delancy Bennett, Yana Andonova, Nwamaka A. Anaza

AMTP Proceedings 2019

Research on the interplay between celebrity endorsers, high-low pricing, and quality has not been examined in the literature. This raises the question of whether celebrity endorsement can compensate for the effect of low prices on consumer quality perceptions. Across two studies, one using archival data and one using an experiment, we find evidence that the presence of celebrity endorsers can offset the effect that a low price has on consumer quality perceptions. Further, willingness to purchase is higher for a low-priced product endorsed by a celebrity. These findings have implications for marketing theory and practice.

Use Of Social Media By Sales Students For First Post-Graduation Job-Search: An Exploratory Study, Linda G. Mullen, Randy S. Stuart, Michael L. Thomas

AMTP Proceedings 2019

As students who studied/majored in professional sales approach graduation and start looking for their first post-graduation/entry-level positions, what avenues are used to pursue these opportunities? One might suspect that with the explosion of social media and the millennial generation’s prolific use of said media this would be their preferred choice for job hunting. Are sales students engaging social media and other online activities to land entry-level career positions or are they still using traditional methods (i.e. College/University Career Fairs, College/University Career Services, Internships, etc.) to find these positons? This paper looks at the avenues millennial students who studied/majored in professional …

The Fall Of Sears From Within: How Customer Sentiments Refuted Retail Capital And Authority, Michael D. Harris, Ismet Anitsal, Melek Meral Anitsal

AMTP Proceedings 2019

This research aims to understand the relationship between Sears Holdings Corporation and its customers, while exploiting feedback from customers to identify reasons for Sears’ decline. The problem statement is dependent on identifying aspects that affect consumer behavior most and linking a connection to the increased number of dissatisfied Sears’ customers. In order to analyze this phenomenon, customer attitudes were compiled over the key four years of Sears history using a customer sentiment analysis. This empirical method of research was chosen because of the large impact that consumer sentiments have on spending, allowing the development of both internal and external views …

Join The Club: The Relationship Between Professional Organization Membership And Academic Performance Among Undergraduate Marketing Students, Gary Daniel Futerell

AMTP Proceedings 2019

Professional student organizations (PSOs) are often regarded as valuable learning opportunities for students and a source of distinction for students entering the job market. In addition to allowing students the opportunity to integrate classroom concepts (Hall 2012; Peltier, Schibrowsky, and Kleimenhagen 1995); active participation in PSOs has been shown to increase informal student-faculty interaction (Hall 2012), develop member’s professional attitude (Bent 1957), and aid in the acquisition and practice of leadership skills (Hall 2012).

PSOs allow students the opportunity to connect with those active in their field of study and allows them to dress the part of a professional (Munoz, …

The Dual-Mediation Effect Of Perceived Accuracy And Perceived Connectedness On Consumer Attitude Toward Social Network Advertising, Tao-Sheng Chiu, Kai-Yu Wang, Wen-Hai Chih, Jaime Ortiz, Ying-Ching Lin

AMTP Proceedings 2019

Despite the importance of social media advertising, few studies have investigated the factors that influence its effectiveness (Jung, Shim, Jin, and Khang 2016). Because advertising on social media is a relatively new phenomenon (Okazaki and Taylor 2013), several studies are exploratory in nature and lack a solid theoretical framework (e.g., Campbell, Pitt, Parent, and Berthon 2011; Pehlivan, Sarican, and Berthon 2011; Sashittal, Sriramachandramurthy, and Hodis 2012; Waters and Jones 2011). For this reason, the present study examines the factors affecting consumers’ attitudes toward advertisements they view on social media.

This paper draws on the stimulus-organism-response (S-O-R) model to investigate the …

Hedonic And Social Drivers Of Millennials’ Engagement With And Donation To Nonprofits: A Cross-Cultural Comparison, Bela Florenthal

AMTP Proceedings 2019

Nonprofit organizations (NPOs) have been increasingly utilizing social media outlets to target Millennials for donations of time and money. These organizations, however, do not always take advantage of the hedonic, social, and normative factors that can influence engagement with and monetary donation to these organizations.

Because monetary donation on SMSs is a relatively new field of investigation, there is only a handful of studies that provide insight into how social, hedonic, and normative motives predict engagement with and donation to nonprofits.

To address this gap, the first aim of the present study is to propose an integrated approach to monetary …

Are Customer Reward Programs Really Rewarding?, Michael Mccall, Dave Mcmahon

AMTP Proceedings 2019

The concept of a customer loyalty program can be traced back over 300 years when merchants would give customers wooden coins in return for their patronage. Two points are clear: Customer reward loyalty programs are prevalent and costly aspects of most hospitality firms’ marketing strategy. From an academic viewpoint our understanding of the theoretical drivers of these programs is muddled and confused. That is, despite many years of existence there is scant research suggesting the underlying theoretical logic of a program. In this paper, we briefly review the current reward program landscape suggesting that the overwhelming presence of reward programs …

Digital Tipping Intimidation At The Counter, Jennifer Bechkoff

AMTP Proceedings 2019

Although tipping for counter service at fast casual restaurants/cafes is not expected etiquette, it seems to be headed in the direction of becoming a social norm as tip jars next to registers are now a common sighting. However, as cash becomes less prevalent of a payment method, businesses are turning to mobile digital point of sale (POS) technologies with preset tipping options for customers. Oftentimes, businesses using digital POS systems will utilize touch-based tablets for sales that the counter staff can swing around for customers to add tips and sign with their fingers. If there are other customers standing behind …

Role Of Sponsor-Selection In Marketing Communications Of New Local Hallmark Events: A Perspective Of Image Transfer, Jerred Jungi Wang, James J. Zhang

AMTP Proceedings 2019

With the rapid growth of sport popularity throughout the world, developing local hallmark events have become an emerging trend in many urban and suburban communities. Yet, the underdeveloped brand equity of new events makes marketing communications challenging. Built upon the balance theory, the schema theory, and the elaboration likelihood model, this study was designed to examine the image transfer from the sponsor-end to the event-end in the context of new local hallmark events while considering potential moderating effects of image fit (IF) and sport identification (SID) in this process.

The balance theory suggests that to achieve the cognitive consistency, people …

Understanding And Measuring Esports Online Spectator Motivation: Development Of A Scale, Tyreal Yizhou Qian, James J. Zhang

AMTP Proceedings 2019

The esports industry has found itself at a critical stage in the quest for continuous growth and sustainable development, facing both tremendous opportunities and challenges. For achieving enhanced revenue generation and consumer retention, understanding esports as a spectator entertainment is essential for the inchoate yet burgeoning industry, especially in an online environment through which a majority of fans follow the competitive scene of esports. In this investigation, two studies were conducted to understand the dimensions and develop a measure of esports online spectator motivation. Integrating Sloan’s sport motivation theories (Sloan, 1989; Zhang et al., 2003) and the uses and gratification …

How Customer Engagement And Customer Participation Translate Across High-Involvement Purchases (Like Higher Education), Wendy Gillis, Douglas Johansen, Shiri D. Vivek

AMTP Proceedings 2019

Previous research suggested that customer participation resulted in greater customer satisfaction for the service provider. Specifically, earlier research differentiated Service Customer Engagement (CE) from Service Customer Participation (CP), where the former was ideation and the latter was practical application/execution. In other words, CE was more psychological, where customers think, feel, and trust. Conversely, CP was more behavioral, or physical, where customers act and do.

The point of this research is to translate previous learning to other high-involvement purchases. Research indicates that services high in credence, high contact, as well as high-involvement (Sharma and Patterson 1999) seem to be particularly relevant …

Diversity In Emerging Markets: The Case Of Latin American & The Caribbean, Neleen S. Leslie, Celia Mckoy, Everett Hyatt

AMTP Proceedings 2019

Latin America and the Caribbean encompasses over 40 countries in Central America, South America, and the Caribbean. Cultural influences in this region include Africa, the native groups, India, as well as the former colonizers from Europe - the British, Spanish, French, Dutch, and Portuguese, making it one of the most diverse markets in the world. Country populations within the region are also varied and range from as small as St. Kitts & Nevis with a population of only 52,175 to as large as Brazil with a population of 207,353,391, according to the CIA World Factbook (2017).

Despite lower incomes, the …

Customer Service In The It/Social Media Marketing Era: Reverting To A Zero-Sum Game, Jon Martin

AMTP Proceedings 2019

During the past 10-15 years marketers and consumers have increasingly pondered and discussed if customer service has improved or declined. During this time we’ve experienced the great marketing power of IT and social media but have also heard and/or shared many “horror stories” of poor customer service in a changing marketplace. Which is true? Has customer service declined, improved, and/or merely changed? The answer is simply, “YES - all of the above”. However, the key challenge, for both consumers and marketers, is not so much a “yea vs. nay” determination, but to better examine the what, why, and how of …

The Role Of Brand Personality In Setting Expectations For Engagement On Social Media, Joanne T. Cao, Jamye Foster, Gallayanee Yaoyuneyong

AMTP Proceedings 2019

In recent years, business has leapt on to the social media marketing bandwagon. However, many have learned that social media marketing is not equally beneficial for all brands, and that there is a difference between aiming for more followers versus aiming for more engagement and deeper relationships. Recently, the shift has been toward engagement as the ultimate social media goal, rather than mere followers. But just as all brands do not need to be on social media, do all brands have to aim toward high engagement? This study attempts to answer this question by considering communication based on brand personality …

The For-Profit Prison As Social Enterprise: Problems With Classification And Ethical Assessment, Karen Barbee, Stephen A. Lemay

AMTP Proceedings 2019

This article explores the problems presented to taxonomies and definitions of social enterprise by a specific kind of organization, for-profit prisons. While these organizations are often and rightly criticized for their performance, they are fundamentally social enterprises by many of the definitions and taxonomies offered in the literature. This analysis uses a naïve matrix for classifying social enterprise to outline the problems created by these ethically and socially challenged organizations.

Push And Pull Factors Influencing The Level Of Participation Of Leisure Skiing In China, Xinghua Wang, James J. Zhang

AMTP Proceedings 2019

Traditionally, winter sports have very limited accessibility and popularity in China. In addition to the growing economy in China and increased affordability by Chinese consumers, obtaining the hosting rights for the 2022 Beijing/Zhangjiakou Winter Olympic Games has brought a heightened opportunity for China to build up facilities and related infrastructures, develop and provide programs, promote interests and participation, and advance business operations of winter sports. Although more people are participating in winter sports today, especially in skiing, many of the newly constructed facilities are often operated in financial deficit and relying on governmental subsidy. Understanding the reasons that cause and …

Bridging The Gap Between Public Opinion Research And Consumer Marketing Research: Insights Into U.S. Shoppers Of Organic Foods, Marilena O. Vilceanu, Olivia Grasso, Kristine Johnson

AMTP Proceedings 2019

The primary goal of this study embraces Hughner and team’s (2007) directive to focus new research on the growing segment of occasional consumers of organic and natural foods, rather than limit the search for consumer insights to the small, elitist groups of deeply committed consumers. Research questions address the demographics, attitudinal, and behavioral characteristics that identify organic foods as a premium product. Primary recommendations for marketing practitioners include focusing on higher income consumers, especially married individuals, who live in highly populated areas; creating a pleasant shopping experience; promoting non-food related organic items, and investing in brand presence and salience.

“Not So Fast! Let’S Find Your Optimal Delivery Time!”: The Impact Of Delivery Time On Retailer Profit In A Heterogeneous Market, Saman Modiri, Scott Fay

AMTP Proceedings 2019

In order to make online shopping more attractive to consumers, many retailers have endeavored to reduce the time between when an order is placed and when it is received. The cost of delivery and logistical challenges are obvious impediments to faster delivery. In this paper, we examine how other factors, including the presence of physical channels and consumer heterogeneity (in shopping preferences and product valuations), impact the optimal delivery time. To isolate the effects of these alternative factors, we ask whether faster delivery is always profitable even if it is costless to the firm and if there is no logistical …

Analyzing True Loyalty In The Middle Eastern Market: Brand Preference And Brand Insistence, Larry P. Pleshko, Richard A. Heiens

AMTP Proceedings 2019

The purpose of this study was to investigate loyalty profiles in among consumers of western-style coffee shops within the emerging market of Kuwait. The loyalty profiles were developed based on the typology presented by Dick & Basu (1994), where buyers can be truly loyal, spuriously loyal, latently loyal, or not loyal to a specific brand. Added to these four loyalty types are the inclusion of two specific true loyalty categories, preferent true loyalty and insistent true loyalty. The study presents evidence that a large proportion of customers fall into the true loyalty category. However, only about five percent of the …

Is Marketing Science Really Scientific?, Michael Latta, Ismet Anitsal, Michael Mccall, Stephen A. Lemay

AMTP Proceedings 2019

Thirty-five years ago, there was a special issue of the Journal of Marketing in Fall, 1983 concerning whether marketing is a science and what role theory plays in a marketing science. In that issue the following articles concerned with the definition of Marketing and its role in business appeared:

• Shelby Hunt asked the question of whether a general theory of marketing is even possible and what such a theory would be like if such a theory existed.
• Robert Bartels noted that marketing has been defined as having theory and practice, specialization and generalization, as well as established interests and global …

I Will Like Your Product, But First Let Me Take A Selfie, Patrick A. Barbro

AMTP Proceedings 2019

Through the proliferation of smartphones, social media, photo sharing, and selfies, the way consumers have become used to seeing themselves has changed. This paper aims to examine the influence of image type and consumer selfie taking on image and product evaluation. More specifically, this research seeks to address the question: how does a consumer’s exposure to their own image influence their evaluation of products and self-images? The selfie phenomenon and its effect on how consumers evaluate images likely play a key role.

Through three experiments, this research examines the influence of image type and consumer selfie taking on image and …

Pleasure And Pain: The Role Of Anticipated Pleasure On Time Of Consumption And Pain Of Payment, Patricia T. Gouveia, Michelle Van Solt, Alexandra Rodriguez-Aguirre

AMTP Proceedings 2019

The pain consumers feel when paying for a product or service tends to vary depending on the mode of payment (Knutson et al. 2007; Roberts and Jones 2001; Thomas, Desai, and Seenivasan 2011; Zellermayer 1997). For instance, it has been demonstrated that the use of cards as a mode of payment, compared to the use of cash, can decrease significantly the pain of paying for products and services. Although there is plenty of research in the literature on the pain of payment, less is known about the role that pleasure plays in consumer consumption.

The focus of this research is …

Framework For The National Culture And User Engagement In Social Media, Ilia Gugenishvili

AMTP Proceedings 2019

Even though social media engagement provides numerous benefits, companies’ efforts to engage users are often unsuccessful. Despite the growing interest of scholars and practitioners, studies on engagement have been predominantly exploratory in nature. Addressing this identified literature gap this conceptual article proposes a framework, which connects the national culture to social media engagement. It synthesizes the theory of culture; reception, motivation-opportunity-ability (MOA); social identity; self-concept; and social impact theory. User attitudes act as a mediator, while individual, group and motivational variables might work as cultural amplifiers or attenuators. Situational characteristics can cause a change in the relevance of the variables …

Predicting Thrill Seeking Behavior, Matthew I. Keane

Honors College Theses

Extreme sports, sports characterized as involving speed, height and danger, have become an increasingly popular pastime around the world and have grown into a $250 billion industry. As a result of the inherent risks of taking part in these extreme sports, the most common participants are thrill seeking, risk taking, and often reckless. Known as the type-T personality type, these extreme sensation seeking individual’s constantly seek out new experiences that will stimulate their mind and frequently find their thrill by participating in extreme sports. The goal of this study is to determine various factors that will influence an individual’s thrill …

An Investigation Of Web Atmospherics In Online Luxury Branding, Emilie E. Jones

Honors College Theses

Having an online presence for a retail store has transitioned from serving as simply a new avenue through which a profit can be made, to a tool that can be harnessed to express a brand’s personality. So how do luxury brands manage to maintain a high-end, exclusive status on the highly available landscape of the internet? The intention of this research is to identify whether luxury brands are currently taking advantage of differential web atmospherics cues, in a way that significantly sets them apart from non-luxury brand websites. To do this, we measured elements including screen space, reduction of elements, …

A Model For Perceived Destination Value And Tourists' Souvenir Intentions, Wei Wang, Gallayanee Yaoyuneyong, Pauline Sullivan, Brigitte W. Burgess

Journal of Applied Marketing Theory

This research explores the influence of value perception on tourists’ souvenir purchase decisions. A convenience sample of 380 respondents from a Southeastern U.S. university completed survey instruments regarding their destination, shopping venue, and souvenirs purchased. Results revealed significant positive influences between five value perceptions (functional, emotional, novelty, value for money, and social) and tourists’ souvenir purchase intentions. These results provide valuable marketing and strategic planning insights to destination retailers.

The Relationship Between Consumer Sentiment Towards Advertising And Ad Credibility, Ad Likeability, And Attention To Ads: The Case With Visual Metaphors, Vivek Madupu, Sampathkumar Ranganathan, Sandipan Sen

Journal of Applied Marketing Theory

Popularity of ads with visual metaphors are on the rise. The present study examined the relationship between consumer sentiment towards advertising and ad credibility, ad likeability, and attention towards ads when ads contain visual metaphors. Specifically, this study tested ads which are “A is like B’” (comparison for similarity) and replacement type (only either source or the target is present while the other is absent) metaphors. Sixty-four students from a regional university in the mid-west completed surveys. Our study results indicate that when sentiment towards advertising is high, consumers find ads more credible and pay more attention to ads. However, …