Marketing Commons^™

Online Learning: Best Practices And Online Technologies, Anita H. Whiting

AMTP Proceedings 2013

This session seeks to provide a forum for discussing online technologies and best practices in online learning. Session seeks to provide an opportunity for faculty to discuss what strategies have worked well in their online classes and what obstacles they have encountered while teaching online. Session will also foster discussion about online technologies that faculty prefer to use and the benefits they gain from these technologies. Overall, session will help faculty learn more about how to be successful in the online classroom.

The Relationship Between Investments In Intangible Resources And Liquidation For Financially Distressed Firms, Richard A. Heiens, Robert T. Leach, Paul D. Newsom

AMTP Proceedings 2013

Working with a sample of manufacturing and non-manufacturing firms that filed for bankruptcy protection between 1980 and 2009, the current study examines the relationship between investments in intangibles and the likelihood that the bankrupt firm will either be reorganized or face liquidation. Results for the manufacturing sub-sample show that R&D is the only significant variable associated with liquidation. Over-investment in R&D appears to increase the likelihood of liquidation. Similarly, results for the non-manufacturing sub-sample show that over-investment in advertising appears to increase the likelihood of liquidation. Our conclusion is that firms that are forced to liquidate are often guilty of …

Good Media Mix Strategies For Bad Times: Sequencing Optimizes, Marsha Loda, Barbara Carrick Coleman

AMTP Proceedings 2013

This paper summarizes an experiment which compares three commonly used marketing elements: advertising, Internet websites, and publicity. These elements are rated on two dependent variables: message acceptance (credibility and message strength), and message response (attitude and purchase intent). Direct effects of each variable are examined. Sequencing effects are also examined to see if it matters in what order potential customers encounter the marketing message. Results indicate that a website, used alone, can make a significant difference in message strength. However, to impact purchase intent, a multimedia campaign is necessary. The current study extends the authors’ 2005 research comparing only advertising …

Understanding Online Brand Communities: Netnographic Study Of Apple Iphone Consumers, May Aung, Keija Wu, Laila Rohani, Khalil Rohani

AMTP Proceedings 2013

This study extends the concept of brand communities. The netnography approach has been applied to two online brand communities, both central to Apple iPhone consumers. This study reveals two cultural manifestations with their own passions and communal norms not detected by previous research. This study, thus, enriches the conceptual understanding of brand communities. It also offers contribution toward understanding consumers of high technology brands, an area where few studies have been conducted to date.

Brand Equity And Brand Equity Scale Developments: A Literature Review, Sally Baalbaki

AMTP Proceedings 2013

Brand equity is perhaps the most important marketing concept in both academia and practice (Christodoulides and de Chernatony, 2010; Keller and Lehmann, 2006). Academics want to understand how brand equity is measured and what it means for a company, while practitioners want to understand how to influence consumer decisions with respect to different brand purchases in order to increase their brand equity. The term came into use during the late 1980’s; and the importance of conceptualizing, measuring, and managing brand equity has grown rapidly in the eyes of practitioners and academics alike (e.g. Aaker, 1991, 1996; Aaker and Keller, 1990; …

A Calculated Model Of Linkedin Feature Usage Across Organizational Types: Large, Small, And Non-Profits, Joe Spencer, Lisa Witzig, Marcella Gallegos

AMTP Proceedings 2013

Intensity of LinkedIn usage is examined by business type: Fortune 200, INC 200, and Fortune 200 Non-profit. The study of approximately 600 organizations finds, contrary to expectations, that non-profits and small businesses utilize the features of LinkedIn significantly less in intensity than large businesses. An eleven factor intensity model is presented and tested to evaluate intensity of usage among the three study groups. This study concludes that SMBs and non-profits need to better utilize the features of LinkedIn to better enable their organizational goals.

Nigerian Consumers And Their Purchase Intentions For Global Brands, Al Rosenbloom, James Haefner, Olutayo Otubanjo

AMTP Proceedings 2013

This paper presents the research findings of a global brand study conducted in Nigeria. This empirical research sought to evaluate the relative contribution of the following five constructs on global brand purchase intent: country of origin, brand familiarity, brand linking, brand trust, and weak-strong perceptions of the brand’s masculinity-femininity associations. Step-wise regression models were used for the study’s ten brands. The regression models indicated that brand liking and brand trust were the most important predictors of global brand purchase intent in the studied sample of Nigerian consumers.

Extended Consumer-Brand Relationship Theory, May Aung, Kapil Gurbani, Samuel Hip Seng Lei

AMTP Proceedings 2013

This study examines online communities for two top brands: Apple iPhone and Blackberry smartphones. A number of online brand communities (online forums) such as the iPhone business affiliated website www.apple.com, iPhone consumers’ website www.everythingicafe.com, and the Blackberry consumers’ websites www.blackberry.com and www.crackberry.com were explored. This research extends the conceptual underpinnings of the existing consumer-brand relationship theory by incorporating the concept of sharing. This study offers insights for academia in the marketing and consumer behavior field as well as professionals in the high-technology industry.

National Brands Or Private Brands? A Regulatory Focus Perspective, Trang Phuc Tran, Joan Hubbard

AMTP Proceedings 2013

Drawing on existing literature, the current research is to investigate how regulatory focus moderates the influence of two aspects of message framing, i.e., attribute framing and risky choice framing, and their interactions on customer perception measured by four components: brand attitude, attitude toward the ad, purchase intention, and willingness to pay. A conceptual model was drawn to capture four hypothetical relationships: regulatory focus and attribute framing (H1), regulatory focus and brand type (H2), brand type and attribute framing (H3), and regulatory focus, brand type and attribute framing (H4). An experiment was conducted using 430 participants and a 2 (regulatory focus: …

American Marketing Students’ Attitudes Towards Online Classes, Sam Fullerton

AMTP Proceedings 2013

A sample of 304 American marketing students from four regionally diverse universities provided insight regarding their attitudes towards online education. Positives included scheduling flexibility, opportunities to take more classes offered by their own and by other universities, and the elimination of time and cost constraints. Most disconcerting was the absence of studentteacher interaction. Traditional and hybrid offerings were generally deemed to be superior to those courses using the “delivered entirely online (DEO)” format. Students need to be made more aware of the advantages of online education from both an educational and a temporal perspective. A meaningful segment is comprised of …

Rethinking: The Understanding Of Learning And Assessment In The Millennial Generation, Joseph R. Stasio Jr.

AMTP Proceedings 2013

Much has been written and discussed about the challenges of educating members of the Millennial Generation. There is little agreement about which sentiment is more accurate; they are lazy, entitled and spoiled with little incentive to excel academically or they are different than other generations in learning styles and motivation. What does garner agreement is that changes in teaching approaches are warranted if improvement in learning is to be achieved. This paper explores some of these arguments and makes a case for a number of changes to achieve this end.

Teaching Marketing Science With Sensitivity Analysis, Samuel Wathen, Michael Latta

AMTP Proceedings 2013

In the workplace, marketing managers routinely deal with decision making. The application of Marketing Science to business decision making requires critical thinking in the form of sensitivity analysis to avoid bad outcomes. This paper deals with building quantitative analysis models that must be tested with sensitivity analysis. Two examples, one an advertising mix decision and a second a price and quality tradeoff decision. These examples are offered as illustrations of applying critical thinking thorough sensitivity analysis to make good marketing decisions.

Using Smartpls In Online Loyalty Assessment, Ali Dehghan, John Duggar

AMTP Proceedings 2013

Because of the low cost, fast expansion of the Internet and increasing demand for innovative educational systems, online learning is becoming popular and attractive (Zhang, Zhao, Zhou, and Jr, 2004). As of 2009, almost 12 million out of 20.4 million post-secondary students, within the United States, took at least one online course and this number will reach 22 million by 2014 (Nagel, 2009). The explosion of the use of online learning systems in higher education, allows students to leave the online programs quite easily (Tham and Werner, 2005). Therefore, educational institutions should try to retain their existing students. Thus, student …

A Comparison Of Faculty Perceptions Of Academic Integrity In Private And Public Universities, Anne H. Batory, Stephen S. Batory

AMTP Proceedings 2013

Public and private institutions of higher education are challenged by academic integrity. In this study, faculty from over 100 U.S. private and public universities shared their perceptions of academic integrity issues such as academic dishonesty detection, awareness of punishments, the faculty as role models, personal values and the ethical image of administrative units. Results indicate perceptions differed by type of institution but not gender or teaching experience. Administrative units were influenced in public universities (but not private) by teaching experience. The results contribute to an understanding of the academic integrity environment underlying the performance of business education. Implications for research …

Effects Of Market Orientation On University Brand Equity, Trang Phuc Tran, Charles Blankson

AMTP Proceedings 2013

Given the propensity of brand equity to act as a good information resource and performance evaluation system for market-oriented universities, the current study proposes that market orientation is positively correlated with brand equity in an academic institution where brand equity is operationalized by four dimensions: perceived quality, brand awareness, brand association, and brand loyalty. This study used open ended interviews to investigate brand equity concept in an educational environment. This method was designed to get individual observations of brand equity from the leaders of colleges and schools. Three Deans and Associate Deans were invited to participate in face-to-face open-ended discussions …

Marketing Faculty And Marketing Staff: Framework Of Shared Opportunity, Lynn W. Mcgee

AMTP Proceedings 2013

Marketing faculty and university marketing professionals are finding opportunities to collaborate that deepen research in marketing for higher education, enrich the marketing student experience and enhance marketing effectiveness at their institutions. This exploratory research brief draws on two advancement experts to describe the potential-- and the challenges--of research in higher education marketing, reviews a sample of published research to identify the types of published collaborations and uses a case study of a public comprehensive university to identify types of marketing faculty/staff collaboration. As faculty across all disciplines are asked to take more leadership in marketing their schools and departments, marketing …

Marketing Research Is Power In Negotiations To Sell A Small Business, Michael Latta

AMTP Proceedings 2013

Small firms are at a disadvantage in negotiations with larger firms and need to have something on their side of the table to give them power in the process. Primary marketing research can provide proprietary information for the smaller firm that may be used to support a forecasting model to be used in evaluating offers during negotiations. This paper describes such a negotiation supported by a proprietary forecasting simulator that created an advantage for the smaller firm over the larger firm. As a result, the smaller firm had a go-it-alone baseline revenue forecast to determine the incremental value of a …

Cognitive Dissonance And Online World Of Mouth, Kungpo Tao, Yan Jin

AMTP Proceedings 2013

A growing number of customers use online consumer review as a means to express their opinions about the purchasing experience or the products through online feedback forums. The online forum not only provides customers with a powerful communicative tool but also impacts potential customers’ intention to patronize a brand or its association by publishing compliments or complaints. It seems to be appropriate to explain the motivation of word of mouth (WOM) when customers tend to reduce post-purchase dissonance by engaging in selective exposure, attitude change, and spreading WOM. Online word of mouth (eWOM) is basically WOM communication through the Internet; …

Influence Of Atypical Choices By Dissociative And Aspirational Reference Groups On Preferences Of Consumers Varying On Social Comparison Proneness, Magdoleen Ierlan

AMTP Proceedings 2013

Using Festinger and Tesser’s work on social comparison as the theoretical framework, this study investigates how consumer spending is influenced by atypical spending in comparative reference groups. Specifically, two experiments examine how and why consumers, who exhibit either high or low tendencies to compare themselves with others, will alter their spending when they observe their aspirational (i.e., more affluent) and dissociative (i.e., less affluent) reference groups spending money in ways that are atypical. To test the strength of the influence of these comparisons, participants are asked to make consumer decisions with regard to public products (those used in front of …

The Face Of Fakes: U.S. Consumers And Counterfeit Fashion Products, Karen Edwards, Jason Carpenter

AMTP Proceedings 2013

Counterfeit products pose a serious threat to fashion product brand owners and to the world economy. While research on the demand side of counterfeiting has grown over the past two decades, few extant studies have been conducted among non-student consumers outside Asia and Europe and few studies have focused on product categories other than consumer electronic-related items. Using a sample of U.S. consumers (N=305), the current research investigates consumer attitudes in the context of fashion products. Findings suggest that gender and education are the two variables most frequently related to purchase intention for counterfeits, beliefs about counterfeit products, and ethicality. …

Identifying Key Factors Influencing Internet Shopping Behavior For E-Satisfaction, Chris A. Meyers

AMTP Proceedings 2013

With Internet shopping gaining more attention and momentum, a better understanding of the online consumer is now in the forefront of most retail strategies. The growth of online retailing or Internet shopping has provided the apparel industry with additional avenues to reach the consumer. Previous research has shown that consumers’ intent to purchase online is highly driven by their satisfaction. Studies have touted the growth of on-line shopping and the growing purchases of those with Internet access (Lin & Sun, 2009). In fact, apparel products have been consistently ranked as one of the most frequently purchased items through the Internet …

The Church Of Mac: An Initial Examination On The Loyalty Of Apple Customers, Caroline Pinson, Deborah J. C. Brosdahl

AMTP Proceedings 2013

The death of Apple’s CEO Steve Jobs left many in the business world wondering if Apple would also face a decline in health. However, the subsequent release and over-whelming demand of the new iPhone and iPad showed the world how much this product brand is loved by consumers. Yet what exactly makes Apple consumers loyal to Apple products with an array of similar, yet less expensive, products on the market? Understanding what makes Apple users loyal is important to all companies striving to replicate the kind of brand loyalty that Apple generates. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to …

Ethnicity’S Effect On Brand Loyalty Among American Consumers, Neelen Leslie, Felipe Korzenny

AMTP Proceedings 2013

The United States has one of the largest multicultural populations in the world. It is home to millions of people from varying countries, ethnicities and cultures. International migration over the years has established a foundation for what is now a cultural mosaic, comprised mainly of several generations of Americans born to people of varied ethnicities and cultures. This diversity presents a challenge for US marketers. The heterogeneity of this nation requires marketers to do more research and to cultivate an understanding of the various cultures at play in order to connect with their target consumers.

In this research, we attempted …

Relationship Of Demographic Traits And Situational Factor Determinants With The Tech Readiness Of Self-Service Consumers, Jon M. Martin

AMTP Proceedings 2013

Over the past 20 years, self-service technology (SST) has become prevalent as a service delivery option. To ensure that SST options reach full potential, firms need to understand what customer traits and situational factors are related to the propensity to use SSTs. From a subset of data and independent determinants from an original dissertation model on SST adoption, this study uses linear regression to examine: H1) the relationship between: H1) consumers’ tech readiness (TR) and the consumer demographics of age (AG), gender (GN), income (IN), education (ED), and ethnicity (ET) (H1), and H2) the relationship between consumer’s tech readiness and …

Digital Word-Of-Mouth And The Gender Implications, Deborah H. Lester, Andrew M. Forman, Dolly D. Loyd, Tyra A. Burton

AMTP Proceedings 2013

Consumers can now easily access data and exchange sentiments regarding products and services on an unprecedented scale, and often in real time, through digital connections. The Internet and mobile technologies have made sharing of information and opinions among consumers easier than ever. The capacity of online participants to inspire and transform perspectives has been touted to surpass the radical potency of television when it entered the consumer’s province during the 50’s. Men and women use social media sites to learn about new products, to become smarter shoppers and to feel good about a purchase they might have already made. College …

Putting On A Happy Face: How Emotional Labor Impacts Frontline Service Employees, Anita H. Whiting

AMTP Proceedings 2013

This study investigates emotional labor and its impact on frontline service employees (FSE). Emotional labor is defined as the stress of regulating one’s emotional displays in response to display rules (Diefendorff and Gosserand 2003). FSE experience emotional labor as they regulate their inner or felt emotions in order to display the appropriate emotions to the customer. Displaying appropriate emotions to customers is very important to service organizations because it affects customer affect and evaluation of service quality (Pugh 2001). Unlike previous research which focuses mostly on the customer’s experience during a service encounter, this paper focuses on FSE and their …

Attitude Versus Involvement: Predicting Ethically And Socially Responsible Consumption Behavior, Sacha Joseph-Mathews, Nicole Bieak-Kreidler

AMTP Proceedings 2013

Critics argue that the value gap (difference between what consumers say they care about and what they actually choose to purchase) suggests that ethical consumption is not as important as consumers imply. There is much talk about the ethical consumer “myth’ as consumers often claim to be interested in purchasing ethically and socially responsible products yet sales figures for green products often do not exceed 5% total product sales in any one category with organic fruits and vegetables being the one exception. Traditional models use consumer attitudes to the environment as a predictor of ethically and socially responsible consumption behavior …

Attributes, Ethical Attitudes And Behaviors Of Tax Evaders In A Permissive Collection Society, Yusuf M. Sidani, Abdul Jalil Ghanem, Mohammed Y. A. Rawwas

AMTP Proceedings 2013

Tax evasion remains a fascinating research topic, as it is more often committed by individuals considered by society to be “ethical.” The purpose of this study is to explore the various attitudes of tax evaders and examine them in relation to their personal moral philosophies. The results of the current study found that tax evaders possessed several attributes, and their personal moral philosophy attitudes (idealism or relativism) influenced their ethical behavior. Idealism was found to be negatively associated with self-interest tax evasion behavior while relativism had the opposite effect. Idealism was also found to be positively related to tax evasion …

Gerald Sandusky And Penn State Child Sex-Abuse Scandal: A Case Of Administrative Non-Action Leading To A Severe Crisis., Ania Izabela Rynarzewska

AMTP Proceedings 2013

Penn State/Sandusky scandal was one of the most controversial and publicized cases of 2011 and 2012. A high profile university football coach sexually abused 10 boys over period of 16 years. A problematic part of this case is that the university administration knew about coach’s behavior but did nothing to stop it. Sandusky was sexually abusing minors predominantly on the premises of The Penn State University over a period of 16 years. On June 22, 2012 Sandusky was found guilty of 45 of 48 counts of sex abuse of 10 boys while on October 9 he was sentenced to 30-60 …

An Examination Of British Charity Shop Shoppers, Robert Montgomery, Ariana Murray

AMTP Proceedings 2013

An increasing number of nonprofit organizations are developing charity shops to raise resources to support their charitable efforts. The United Kingdom currently has 9000 charity shops that take in annual revenues of 300 million British Pounds. Such stores seek donated merchandise . . . sell it . . . and use the proceeds to support philanthropic endeavors. As such, achieving a better understanding of charity shop shoppers can enhance performance of the charity shop which will, in turn, provide greater resources for helping others. The purpose of this study is to examine the processes by which charity shop shoppers: (1) …