Marketing Commons^™

Consumer Evaluation Of Corporate Social Responsibility: New Insights From The Expectancy Confirmation/Disconfirmation Paradigm, Roberto Saldivar

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Consumer-centric corporate social responsibility studies have focused on consumer evaluation of CSR perceptions (Stanaland, Lwin, and Murphy 2011) without addressing the consumer’s CSR expectations (e.g. Russell and Russell 2010, Schuhwerk and Lefkoff-Hagius 1995, Sen and Bhattacharya 2001). This discovery motivates this study that utilizes the expectancy confirmation/disconfirmation paradigm (Erevelles and Leavitt 1992; Oliver 1985; Tse and Wilton 1988) to offer novel insights of consumers’ evaluations of CSR information and subsequent consequences in terms of customer satisfaction, referral, purchase intention and willingness to pay premium. Two studies, each with a unique design and sample, were developed to test 13 hypotheses. In …

Who Killed John Wanamaker?, Marvin Lovett, Gerardo A. Miranda

Marketing Faculty Publications

Retailing has grown and continues to contribute significantly to the economy of the Unit-ed States, as well as to most other economies around the world. The study of retailing, as an academic field, continues to grow and evolve. The study of retail history and of its contributors provides beneficial insight. Retail commerce began to flourish in the United States well over a century ago. This study attempts to provide insight into the absence of an original and significant contributor to the field of retailing and marketing, John Wanamaker. In fact, John Wanamaker has been referred to as the “Father of …

Perceived Creative Partnership: A Consequence Of Music's Social Use, Paul Gennaro Barretta

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

As contemporary consumers interact with one another and the market in a more symbolic manner, the ways music and other products are used are changing. Scholarly research has investigated the use of music in a social manner, mostly in terms of self-identity, and practitioners have explored the sharing of music, particularly with regard to the use of technology. The present research takes a closer look at the social use of music and proposes a consequence that is termed Perceived Creative Partnership; people use music in a social manner in order to achieve a state of being where they feel as …

Toward Understanding The Subcultural Mosaic: Fragmentation Of The Culture And The Symbiotic Interplay Of The Market And Subcultures, Emre Ulusoy

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

This study brought to light the need for a more nuanced analysis and approach for understanding the observed tendency toward eclectic, fragmented, and paradoxical subcultures in contemporary society. It was critical to explore the impact of market hegemony and the response of subcultures to this hegemony leading to the development of contemporary subcultural sensibilities. The central purpose of this research was to develop a theory of subculture that accounted for the fragmentation observed in contemporary culture, and how this fragmentation influences subcultures leading to fragmentation within subcultures. To this end, using in-depth interviewing, netnography, and participant observation, I investigated the …

The Effect Of Choice And Degree Of Participation On Customer Value And Performance Outcomes, Nicholas Jason Flores

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

The importance of understanding customer value and the process of enabling the co-creation of value has advanced to the point of being considered vital for marketing and organizational success. Presently, a gap in the literature exists that pertains to understanding how the design and management of mechanisms that enable co-creation processes affect co-produced customer value and, consequently, performance outcomes. By investigating how two specific elements of customer participation enabling platforms, choice and degree of participation, impact customer value and performance outcomes in an online context, this study helps address the extant research gap. Specifically, this study examines how choice and …

Our Celebrities Our Selves: Reconstructing Ourselves As Online Personalities, Arne Baruca

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Celebrity influence on consumer behavior at the online macro level is the motivation for this study that addresses the nature of celebrity consumption and how consumers apply that consumption to develop their online self-presentation. The sample for this study is limited to consumers with active accounts at online social networks such as Facebook or Twitter. Methodology is a three-part design. A multi-factor qualitative exploratory study (n=73) reveals four celebrity-consumer relationships whose proposed measurement scales are tested in a quantitative pilot study (n=85). Finally, a large sample study (n=593) is used to test the measurement model and to test the proposed …

Consumer Participation And The Trust Transference Process In Using Online Recommendation Agents, Pratibha A. Dabholkar, Xiaojing Sheng

Marketing Faculty Publications

Online product recommendation agents (hereafter RAs) can provide important benefits to consumers. But whether consumers trust RAs and integrate an RA's recommendations into their product choices has not yet been examined. Nor has there been research on whether different levels of consumer participation in using RAs lead to different levels of trust in the RA. Using an experimental design that combined the benefits of a field study with those of a lab study, active consumer participation in using an RA was found to have increased consumers' trust in the RA, which in turn increased intentions to purchase based on the …

Consumer Experience Intensity: Towards A Conceptualization And Measurement, Ebru Ulusoy Akgun

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Experience has been accepted as a separate market offering that is increasingly being utilized by various businesses. Consequently, there is a growing need to understand the phenomenon of commercial experiences, their role in various market contexts, and the reasons of consumers’ interest in them. It is also crucial to understand the ways the consumers derive value from marketplace experiences. Yet, it would be misleading to assume that all experiences have the same significance for consumers, and consumers derive high level of value from every experience in the market. This dissertation aims to understand the experiences that consumers find to be …

La Selección De Alternativas Asimétricamente Dominadas: Una Réplica Del Efecto De Atracción En Un Contexto Culturalmente Diferente (The Choice Of Asymmetrically Dominated Alternatives: A Replication Of The Attraction Effect In A Culturally Different Context), Reto Felix, María Del Carmen Ginocchio

Marketing Faculty Publications

Decision conflicts in consumer decision making occur when product attributes are negatively correlated and consumers perceive the alternatives as having different advantages and disadvantages. Consumers may resort to some kind of avoidance choice behavior in order to attenuate the negative emotions frequently connected with such conflicts. In this research, the attraction effect is tested in the Northern part of Mexico. The results show that despite cultural differences between Mexico and the United States, the attraction effect occurred in a sample of educated, younger university students in Mexico. However, whereas the attraction effect occurred in a setting based on product choices, …

The C.A.L.M. Method Of Mass Product Distribution: An Update & Comparative Analysis, Marvin Lovett, Irma S. Jones

Marketing Faculty Publications

This paper updates the evaluation of the C.A.L.M. Method: The Consignment Auction Liquidation Marketing Method of Mass Product Distribution as well as provides a limited comparison of eBay as a form of auction product distribution. Originally developed and initiated in 1993 in response to the common need business organizations have for product liquidation outlets, the C.A.L.M method targets audiences contemplating the distribution of products, including manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers, and other entrepreneurs. General merchandise is distributed via consignment auction outlets located throughout the United States. Building on a previously published ten-year time span evaluation on the effectiveness of the C.A.L.M. method, …

Diversity Awareness Among A Diverse Business Student Population: Insights And Curriculum Implications, Marvin Lovett, Irma S. Jones, Gerald Hollier, Dianna Blankenship

Marketing Faculty Publications

This paper addresses insights gathered from business students enrolled in a Hispanic Serving University (HSU)and resulting curriculum implications related to the continued heritage of the United States to embrace cultures of others. Although awareness of the realities regarding past, current and future diversity within the United State is important for all citizens, such awareness is especially necessary for business students planning to participate in the United States marketplace. This paper provides a limited historical perspective regarding the evolution and promotion of diversity within the United States. Secondly, the current degree of diversity in the United States is presented through a …

"Spreading The Good Word": Toward An Understanding Of Brand Evangelism, Samuel K. Doss

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

The objective of this dissertation is to better understand the phenomenon of brand evangelism and the dimensions that are involved in a consumer becoming a brand evangelist. A brand evangelist is a consumer who actively “spreads the good word” of the brand while attempting to influence others’ consumption behavior. Through the development and testing of a model, this study helps to realize the concepts that are involved in a consumer becoming a brand evangelist. To date, little research has examined the dimensions of brand evangelism. It is proposed here that the attributes leading to brand evangelism include brand satisfaction, brand …

Quickulum: A Process For Quick Response Curriculum Verification, Marvin Lovett, Irma S. Jones, Paul Stingley

Marketing Faculty Publications

This paper addresses the need for a method of continual and frequent verification regarding course content taught in some post-secondary courses. . With excessive amounts of information generated within the workplace, continual change exists for what is taught in some of our business courses. This is especially true for specific content areas such as Retail Management. This paper proposes a process for verifying and updating course content in order to stay current with workplace trends which these authors have called “Quickulum: A Process for Quick Response Curriculum Verification.”

Social/Interpersonal Skills In Business: In Field, Curriculum And Student Perspectives, Marvin Lovett, Irma S. Jones

Marketing Faculty Publications

This study addresses the need for curriculum aimed at educating current Bachelor of Business Administration students regarding social/interpersonal skills required within the field of business administration. Social/Interpersonal skills will be operationally defined and include behaviors related to etiquette, professional introductions, conversing, etc. Although current Bachelor of Business Administration may offer appropriate coverage of the specific areas of study within the traditional field of business administration, graduates may lack the social/interpersonal skills needed to enhance their effectiveness.

Is Sustainable Competitive Advantage An Achievable Holy Grail: The Relevance Gap Between Academia And Business, Chiquan Guo

Marketing Faculty Publications

Competitive advantage, especially sustainable competitive advantage, is one of the most celebrated concepts in business research and strategic management fields in particular. It is a common belief that competitive advantage leads to superior performance, and sustainable competitive advantage leads to prolonged superior performance. To survive and prosper in an ever-competitive marketplace where firms operate on a global scale, businesspeople are in dire need of critical information and knowledge that will lend them a competitive edge over their rivals in search for regional, national, international, or global dominance. In fighting for their relevance, business scholars churn out volumes of research, trying …

Market Orientation And Order Of Entry Strategies: An Empirical Analysis, Anshu Saran

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

While the relationship between market orientation and business performance has been extensively investigated, the mechanisms by which market orientation contributes to performance are still not well understood. To fill this gap in knowledge of how order of entry would affect the relationship between market orientation and performance, this research provides a conceptual framework to link two disparate concepts, or research streams in the marketing/business strategy literature, market orientation and order of entry.

Timing of entry has generated great attention (Green, Barclay, and Ryans 1995). Pioneering new markets is expensive and risky, but also potentially very rewarding. If pioneers have advantages …

An Exploratory Study Of Consumer Adoption Of Online Shopping: Mediating Effect Of Online Purchase Intention, Songpol Kulviwat, Ramendra Thakur, Chiquan Guo

Marketing Faculty Publications

An exploratory study was conducted to investigate consumer adoption of online purchase using a survey data set. Based upon the theory of innovation and self-efficacy theory, risk aversion, online proficiency, shopping convenience, and product choice variety were proposed to influence consumer intention to shop online, which, in turn, affects online purchases. Results of regression analyses revealed that all but shopping convenience were significant predictors of consumer intention to purchase online. In addition, consumer intention directly determines consumer purchases online. Finally, consumer intention to purchase online mediates the relationship of risk aversion, shopping convenience, and product choice variety to online shopping. …

The Impact Of Cultural And Religious Values On Television And Newspaper Advertising Content And Appeal: A Cross-Cultural Study Of The United States And The Arab World, Morris A. Kalliny

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Standardization versus adaptation of advertising has been a subject of great controversy that has been debated for more than 50 years. Scholars have pointed out the increasing demand for more cross-cultural research on advertising content that can contribute to the standardization versus adaptation debate. Scholars have also pointed out that although the Arab world offers great opportunities for multinational corporations, the Arab world has been severely neglected in academic research. To comply with this demand, this study investigates the similarities and differences of the manifestation of cultural and religious values in the U.S. and the Arab world (Egypt, Lebanon, Kuwait, …

Bilingual Consumer Memory In The Advergaming Context: A Cross-Script Comparison, Monica D. Hernandez

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Written language is the core of culture and central to marketing communications. The differences in language processing exhibited by Eastern/Western bilingual consumers are of great concern for global and multinational companies wishing to effectively promote their products through the Internet. Advergaming is a promotional method consisting of the delivery of advertising messages through electronic games. Despite recent scholarly interest, no previous research has compared brand memory across groups of bilinguals of different writing systems or scripts in the advergaming context.

The dissertation investigated differences in brand memory of bilinguals of languages based on different scripts. Specifically, a logographic-based language (Chinese), …

The Effect Of Web Interface Features On Consumer Online Shopping Intentions, Jeffrey Sam Siekpe

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Amid the storm of hype over Internet adoption, it is observed that during the past years, organizations have taken considerable interest in eagerly acquiring computer hardware and software to implement electronic commerce (e-commerce) applications mostly to the detriment of human aspects of the information technology (IT) solutions (Freemantle, 2002; Lockwood & Lamp, 2000). Various Internet technologies, mostly the Web, have been implemented to offer online goods and services. Many credible estimates suggest that Internet buying and selling will account for close to $2 trillion of annual economic activity by 2004 (Citrin et al., 2003; Fry, 2000). While the promise of …

Breaking Up Is Hard To Do: The Dissolution Of Business Relationships In The Global Market Place, Jennifer A. Pope

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Richard Caves (1998) states that “dead business units tell no tales” (p. 8), and by extension one could argue that dead business relationships also tell no tales. However, it is the purpose of this dissertation to tell the tales of multiple dead business relationships in hope that other businesses can learn from their mistakes. Business relationships have been and continue to be a vital part of business. With the globalization of the economy, most, if not all, businesses will have some form of international contact. For businesses with limited resources or no experience often the most efficient means to expand …

An Evaluation Of Lawlike Generalizations In Relationship Marketing: Method And Application, Wolfgang Hinck

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

The purpose of this dissertation is to evaluate lawlike generalizations in relationship marketing (RM) and their contribution to the scholarly advancement of the marketing discipline. The current lack of such systematic evaluation is of significance not only because the contribution to progress constitutes a general requirement for all research streams in marketing, but also because an evaluation would solve the ongoing discussion about the substance and role of RM.

As a requirement for the evaluation, necessary and collectively sufficient criteria for lawlike generalizations have to be identified and operationalized. Because the marketing discipline lacks both a commonly agreed-upon set of …

Manipulating Ethos And Pathos: Accents, Product Complexity, And Promotional Messages In Chile, Victor Ramon Davila

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

This dissertation is motivated by fundamental questions about source effects in persuasive communications: Do receiver attributes influence perceptions about the source and about the object of the message? Do source and object cues influence receiver perceptions about the source? Do source and object cues influence receiver perceptions about the object of the message?

Traditional conceptions of receiver responses to a source have focused on character trait inferences. Of these character trait inferences, the literature on source credibility appears to converge on two categories: source expertise and source trustworthiness. A more recent stream of research has grown around the concept of …

Explicating Sex Differences In Marketing Managers' Egoist Versus Utilitarian Ethical Orientations: The Effects Of The Enactment Of Agentic Versus Communal Social Roles, Jason Blair Macdonald

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

This study examines the issue of sex differences in ethical orientations and suggests that the enactment of social roles and the associated use of information processing strategies influence the presence of sex differences in managers' ethical orientations. Managers' ethical judgments and intentions to use punishments or rewards to encourage ethical behavior are the two dependent variables in the study.

A 3 (prime: gender-role, work-role, no role) by 4 (ethical condition: positive egoist/positive utilitarian, positive egoist/negative utilitarian, negative egoist/positive utilitarian, and negative egoist/negative utilitarian) experimental design was applied in the efforts to answer the main research question: What is the role …