From Concept To Creation: The Role Of Generative Artificial Intelligence In The New Age Of Digital Marketing, Andrew Smith, James Hutson

Faculty Scholarship

Artificial intelligence (AI) has been extensively used in digital marketing. Still, the recent advances in generative AI (GAI) have revolutionized social media marketing and content creation, lowering barriers that once restricted high-quality design to professionals well versed in expensive and complex software like Adobe Suite. GAI tools enable anyone, from students to marketers, to generate logos, branding, and multimedia content without extensive training. This shift has empowered more people to engage in creative expression, expanding the pool of ideas and creativity. However, the abundance of AI-generated content raises questions about the evolving definition of “art” and the emergence of a …

Beyond The Box: Delivering A New Look To Ohayo Korea, Beatrice Diaz

Graphic Communication

Ohayo Korea, a newly established business in South Korea, specializes in providing buying, packing, consolidation, and forwarding services for international customers seeking exclusive South Korean products or bulk shipments for business purposes. Despite offering valuable services, The business faces significant challenges in establishing visibility and trust in the marketplace. Currently, the business relies primarily on word-of-mouth and minimal social media presence, which restricts its reach and credibility among potential customers. In a highly competitive market, these constraints hinder Ohayo Korea’s ability to stand out and communicate its unique offerings effectively.

To address these challenges, a cohesive brand identity that resonates …

Feeling Triggered Yet? Nostalgic Triggers In Marketing, Lara Gerbino

ALL - Honors Theses

What leads people to reach out to someone that they do not talk to often? Getting back in touch with people helps make us happier, but research suggests that people reach out less than optimal (Rohrer et al., 2018). Socializing has been proven to help improve one’s overall mental health, happiness, and mood (Aknin, 2024). In two studies, we look at what features in a person’s consumption-based environment may trigger them to reach out to their loved ones. This ties back to marketing, specifically for social media companies, through people using their platforms to reach out to family/friends, which will …

Influence Of The Influencer: Decoding The Credibility Of Influencers Among College Students., Claire M. Stipsits

International Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities

As the first “digitally native” cohort, Gen Z's upbringing amidst rapid technological advancements has shaped their attitudes, preferences, and decision-making processes in unprecedented ways. In 2023, e-commerce sales accounted for 20 percent of total sales in financial markets. This increase creates an urgency for understanding the different ways in which Gen Z interacts with retail. The study aims to investigate the mechanisms through which social media influencers have emerged as influential figures by addressing the fundamental mechanisms that drive social engagement and purchase behaviours. The study investigated theoretical mechanisms such as self-determination theory, social influence theory, social comparison theory, and …

Comments From The Editors, Tulay Girard, Brian Whelan

Journal of Applied Marketing Theory

Comments from the Editors

A Comparative Analysis Of Passenger Demand For Two Airport Hubs In The United States, Selcuk Ertekin, Fassil Fanta

Journal of Applied Marketing Theory

This paper studies the passenger demand for two airport hubs in the United States using econometric time-series modeling. By focusing on the traditional determinants of demand (national income and price), this paper compares the econometric dynamics of passenger demand for a large and a small airport hub. We found that there is a sustained relationship between income, price, and revenue passenger miles over time. We also found that a shock in GDP causes a disruption that has a lasting impact on passenger demand.

Understanding Global Street Food Consumer Behavior And Experience: A Narrative Review Of Literature And Development Of Framework, Samit Chakravorti

Journal of Applied Marketing Theory

This paper explores global street food consumer behavior and consumption experience. The aim of this paper is to gain a holistic comprehension of street food consumption decision making and experience through exploring nature and sources of perceptions, attitude and expectations surrounding street food, the characteristics of the product offering and the domain within which it is served and consumed. To achieve this aim the author engages in a narrative review of academic research on consumer behavior of street food, provides a holistic picture of consumption experience of street food through consolidating and interpreting research findings, and extends the theoretical understanding …

Measuring Social Influence In Online Social Networks - Focused Literature Review On Human Behaviors, Shyamala N. Chalakudi, Gnana Bharathy, Dildar Hussain, Dakshinamurthy Kolluru

Journal of Applied Marketing Theory

Measuring an individual's social influence (SI) capability is gaining traction with the rapid growth and expansive reach of online social networks (OSN). However, most existing frameworks and methods are confined to graphical theories or the structural properties of these networks. Even behavioral investigations are often limited to a narrow set of influencing behaviors and confront significant challenges in encompassing the breadth of human psychological characteristics. This study aims to address this gap through an exhaustive and focused literature review, concentrating on the definitions of human behavior characteristics rooted in established sociology and psychology theories. Beyond providing a comprehensive overview, the …

2024 December, Morehead State University. Office Of Communications & Marketing.

Morehead State Press Release Archive, 1961 to the Present

Press releases for December of 2024.

Advancing Theory In Psychographic Market Segmentation Research, Jack A. Lesser, Suanne M. Barthol

Journal of Applied Marketing Theory

For decades, marketing research has focused on identifying psychographic segments to develop corporate strategy. However, as this article contends, psychographic segmentation research has often lacked sufficient theoretical grounding, particularly in the selection of variables and underlying theories guiding these studies. To address this gap, the present study systematically reviews a broad range of segmentation studies to evaluate their theoretical contributions and identify promising directions for future research. The analysis begins by examining the theories in a comprehensive psychographic segmentation study by Lesser and Hughes (1986a), followed by a review of 38 additional studies to uncover relevant underlying theories. The study …

The Yin And Yang Of Decision Making: Strategic Planning And Improvisation In An Entrepreneurial Culture, Anton Fenik, Ernest R. Cadotte, Helena F. Allman

Journal of Applied Marketing Theory

Only a few empirical studies examine the influence of organizational improvisation on firm performance. Further, more insight is needed regarding the coexistence of normative (i.e., planned) and descriptive (i.e., improvised) forms of decision-making. This paper contributes to the literature by filling these gaps. It investigates the moderating effect of entrepreneurial behaviors on the relationship between improvisation and firm performance. It explores whether improvisational decision-making can improve firm performance beyond planning’s effect on firm outcomes. We employ decision theory and sensemaking literature in our conceptual model. We test our hypotheses with data from a cross-sectional managerial survey and a behavioral simulation …

Trust And Reliability Of Information Sources On Facebook For Presidential Candidates: A Study Of Voter Perceptions, Kristina Harrison, Shawn Thelen, Boonghee Yoo

Journal of Applied Marketing Theory

This exploratory research, utilizing both open-ended and likert-type questions, identifies who voters trust on Facebook for information about Presidential candidates as well as the benefits of using Facebook for obtaining this information. In line with Social Identity Theory, results indicate that some sources, especially those that are respected/intimate are far more trusted than others, e.g., local media, national media, and celebrities. Findings indicate that voters, drawn from a national online sample, enjoy the social aspects of connecting with like-minded individuals, use it to source information about candidates, find the platform convenient, but express some concerns over the reliability of information …

Ecolabel Persuasion Effect Across Cultures: A Comprehensive Meta-Analysis, Franklin Velasco, Omar S. Itani, Paul Cajina

Marketing Faculty Publications

Purpose: Companies around the world have included ecolabels as a marketing strategy to convince consumers to choose products with lower environmental impact. However, the literature lacks a consensus on the effectiveness of ecolabels in persuading consumers to choose green products. The present meta-analysis addresses this gap by, first, evaluating the net persuasion effect of using ecolabels and, second, investigating the role of cultural orientations, operationalized at the country level, in this effect.

Methodology: This cross-cultural meta-analysis analyzed data from 26,116 consumers across 18 countries, encompassing 75 papers published between 1995 and 2023. Univariate and meta-regression analyses were utilized.

Findings: …

Addressing Grand Challenges Through The Bottom-Up Marketing Approach: Lessons From Subsistence Marketplaces And Marketplace Literacy, Madhubalan Viswanathan, Arun Sreekumar, Srinivas Sridharan, Gaurav R. Sinha

Marketing & Business Law Faculty Works

We present a bottom-up marketing approach as a pathway to addressing the grand challenge of poverty and inequality for the marketing discipline. We derive this approach from the research stream on radically different contexts of subsistence marketplaces. Research on subsistence marketplaces has typically explored micro-level phenomena but also traversed upward and explained aggregate phenomena at higher levels. We present a conceptual framework to encapsulate general and granular elements of the bottom-up marketing approach. Study 1 demonstrates general elements of the framework through a retrospective examination of the global diffusion of a marketplace literacy program. Study 2 demonstrates the more granular …

Perceived Risk Mediation Of Website Quality In Online Clothing Shopping In A South African Township, Khathutshelo M. Makhitha, Rodney G. Duffett

The African Journal of Information Systems

South Africa lags behind other economies regarding online shopping adoption. Extant literature has focused on the influence of risk factors on consumers’ intention to shop online. However, few studies have considered the effect that mediating factors can have on relationships between other factors related to online shopping. It is particularly important to determine the mediation effect of perceived risk factors on the relationship between perceived website quality and intentions to shop online. A quantitative survey was used to collect data from 300 online shoppers who purchase clothing online and are located in the Soweto Township in Gauteng, South Africa. Perceived …

Gen Z Attitude And Its Factors Towards Social Media Advertisements, Mecmack A. Nartea

Social Sciences and Development Review

With the radical growth of technology and the Internet of Things, social media sites rose as an essential tool in promoting products and services. The intergenerational cohorts are also rapidly growing in the e-business limelight. Various studies targeted millennial consumers and less on Gen Z. Thus, this paper will determine the factors influencing Gen Z’s attitude towards social media advertisement. The study is descriptive-causal, and to determine the 297 respondents as samples, the stratified sampling technique was used. The findings revealed that perceived usefulness and reliability have a positive effect on Gen Z’s attitude towards social media ads. Word-of-mouth is …

Micro And Nano Plastics: Contaminants In Beverages And Prevention Strategies, Chang Ma, Karna Ramachandraiah, Guihun Jiang

School of Public Health Faculty Publications

The widespread use of plastics in beverage packaging has led to the accumulation of microplastics (MPs) and nanoplastics (NPs) in beverages, which poses significant environmental and health hazards. This review explores the sources, entry pathways, and risk factors for MPs and NPs in beverages, emphasizing their toxicological profiles and harmful effects on human health and the environment. Methods for detecting MPs and NPs in beverages are discussed, highlighting the need for standardized testing protocols. Furthermore, future solution strategies, challenges, and preventive measures for mitigating MP and NP contamination in beverages are proposed, including advanced filtration systems, the development of alternative …

2024-November-22-Fall 2024 Semester Update, Bill Gatton College Of Pharmacy, East Tennessee State University, University Marketing And Communication, East Tennessee State University

ETSU News

Nov. 22, 2024

As the Fall semester winds down and we approach Thanksgiving next week, I want to share with you some college highlights and achievements that I’m thankful for this semester. I encourage each of you to reflect on this time, as well, and think about what you’re thankful for.    

The devastation in our region after Hurricane Helene was heartbreaking, but it was inspiring to see our students, faculty, and staff step up to serve our region in countless ways including through ETSU’s “Bucs Rebuild Together” campaign. There are too many stories to tell here, and many remain anonymous, …

Towards An International, Generalizable Marketing Strategy Maturity Model, Juan Manuel Harraca

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In an increasingly dynamic business environment, organizations face relentless pressure to adapt their strategies and optimize value propositions to maintain competitiveness. The formulation of effective marketing strategies has emerged as a critical factor in achieving sustainable competitive advantage and ensuring long-term success. However, many firms struggle to refine their marketing capabilities in response to evolving market demands. Addressing this challenge, the Marketing Strategy Maturity Model (MSMM), introduced by Harraca in 2023, offers a structured framework to assess and improve a firm’s marketing strategy formulation processes.

The MSMM provides a dual approach, emphasizing the enhancement of both the processes and the …

The Review Of The Book “Employer Branding – Eine Wissenschaftliche Analyse Des State-Of-The Art Empirischer Untersuchung Im Bereich Employer Branding” Written By Peter Kuhn, Anna Jędrzejczyk

Journal of Marketing and Consumer Behaviour in Emerging Markets

The review of the book “Employer Branding – Eine wissenschaftliche Analyse des State-of-the Art empirischer Untersuchung im Bereich Employer Branding” written by Peter Kuhn

Growers’ Perceptions And Strategies To Mitigate Spring Frost Injury In Grapevines, Vinicius Cervilieri, Imed Dami, Guilherme Signorini

Journal of Extension

Uncertain weather patterns raise concerns about frequent spring frosts and injury in grapevines. This article quantifies growers’ perceptions of susceptibility to spring frosts and examines their satisfaction with existing mitigation strategies. Departing from a survey with grape growers, results show that over 80% of sampled growers have experienced damage due to frosts. Over-vine sprinklers, proper site selection, and adoption of late budding cultivars are the practices with the highest satisfaction levels. None of the strategies examined reached the highest satisfaction score. In addition, 61% of respondents showed interest in sprayable products to delay budbreak and circumvent grapevine damage.

Bite-Size Market Research Tools: Micro Surveys And Usability Studies, Mark Aaron Polger

Publications and Research

Library marketing activities should always be informed with user data. When conducting market research, you don't need a large sample to see the "big" picture. Developing scalable micro assessments such as mini surveys, usability studies, interviews, and focus groups with only a few questions can add value to your library's marketing and outreach efforts. With quantitative research, you are expected to have a large sample. However, that is not the case when conducting market research. In this presentation, micro assessments will be shown to be more effective, easier to manage, and garners more responses than more lengthier surveys.

Motivating Marketing Research Respondents To Provide More Elaborated Answers, Michał Ścibor-Rylski

Journal of Marketing and Consumer Behaviour in Emerging Markets

Modern marketing research faces a challenge how to increase the respondents’ productivity and encourage them to give more elaborated answers in the open-ended questions. It’s relevant both for CAWI quantitative projects and the qualitative approaches. The initial research in this area shows that gamified tasks including storytelling enhancements might be a solution to the stated problem. The research project was aimed at the verification of effectiveness of the gamified methods, i.e., questions including a storytelling context, with the use of a bigger, quantitative sample of the regular marketing research respondents – participants of the professional research panel. The research was …

Enhancing Event Reputations: Insights And Recommendations For Secure And Engaging Experiences, Emma Carroll, Catriona Murphy Dr.

ICHRIE Research Reports

This research report presents evidence-based recommendations derived from focus group research to enhance the reputable value of events for practitioners in the industry. The study highlights the increasing pressure on event planners to prioritize attendee safety amidst external threats such as terrorism, pandemics, and ongoing conflicts. The findings emphasize the significant impact of these challenges on attendee behavior and perceptions, necessitating a balance between ensuring safety and delivering enjoyable event experiences. Key recommendations include the development of online reputation management protocols and the integration of semiotic analysis to align event messaging with audience expectations. These interventions seek to equip event …

Exploring Online Destination Brand Advocacy, Violetta Wilk, Saalem Sadeque, Geoffrey N. Soutar

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

This paper explores online brand advocacy (OBA) in a tourism destination context. Through a Social Influence Theory lens, it explores the ways in which residents and overseas tourists discuss Australia as a destination brand on social media. By analyzing a big dataset of social media user-generated content (UGC), this study sought to identify the key dimensions evident in positively valenced social media UGC, to see whether these dimensions varied between residents and overseas tourists, and to see whether the dimensions reflected OBA. The analyses found online destination brand advocacy (ODBA) had five dimensions: Destination Acknowledgement (hashtags), Destination Insights, Destination Positivity …

Perceptions Of Faculty And Students In Online Learning: Lessons From The Covid-19 Pandemic, Sumita Sarma, Sharmin Attaran, Mohsen Attaran

Marketing Department Faculty Journal Articles

The COVID-19 pandemic significantly changed how universities provide education -- teachers switched to online teaching methods, while students quickly adapted to the online learning environment. This study adopts the Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework to examine differences in student and faculty perceptions of online learning due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Student and faculty perceptions can be used to evaluate and ultimately improve the quality of education. This study used survey methods and data collection instruments with a Likert scale sample of 150 students and 150 faculty from a US university. This study’s results indicate a significant difference …

Would You Pay An Insta-Doctor A Visit? Social Media Personal Brands And Young Consumer Perception, Małgorzata Szwed

Journal of Marketing and Consumer Behaviour in Emerging Markets

Technological developments and the broad availability of the Internet provide constant access to social media for users. These platforms are used to communicate with friends as well as to follow other users and brands. Also, physicians have public social media profiles on which they publish both professional and personal content. The objective of the paper is to explore and understand customers’ perception of physicians’ social media use. To obtain the purpose, a qualitative research method was adopted that involved 12 semistructured interviews with people who followed physicians’ profiles on social media. The study identifies three consumer groups: social media enthusiasts, …

Pity The Poor Reader, Charles H. Haddad

School of Communication and Journalism Faculty Publications

I conceived my book “Pity the Poor Reader” as an un-textbook, an irreverent “Elements of style.” Like Elements, it’s designed to complement textbooks. Pity is concise, memorable and portable. Under 300 pages, Pity serves as an aspiring writer’s keepsake. Concision lies at the heart of Pity. The key concepts of writing well are distilled into irreverent, memorable lines and axioms. Many of them are organized as lists that are easily printed and taped to a wall or a computer. Indeed, in testing the book with my university students, I’ve found that many of them did print out its list of …

Facebook And Consumer Research: A Review, Ai-Driven Thematic Visualisation, And Research Agenda, Moulik Zaveri, Violetta Wilk

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

This paper explores the evolution of academic consumer research on Facebook by consolidating the existing body of literature. The study consists of 336 papers on the topic of Facebook and consumers, published in top journals between 2008 and 2023, sourced via Scopus. The data collection followed the PRISMA framework, and bibliometric analysis was conducted using descriptive and performance analyses with the aid of data tabulation software. Additionally, natural language processing (NLP) and thematic analysis of the data were conducted via text mining, topic modelling and data visualisation with Leximancer—an artificial intelligence (AI)-based programme. The results revealed that, over the 15-year …

An Examination Of Duplicates In The Fast Fashion Industry: Synthesizing Definitions And Comparing Original Designs To Duplicate Examples, Raquel Maranhao Braulino

University Honors Program Senior Projects

The business of fast fashion has expanded tremendously since the nineties (Ozdamar-Ertekin, 2016). This expansion is caused by the market’s demand for low-cost trendy items (Jin et al., 2012), the overproduction of merchandising (Joy et al., 2012), online shopping (Rosskamp, 2018), technology-facilitated designs (Peroni, & Vitali, 2017), and faster delivery processes (Moon et al., 2017). The effects caused by the expansion of the fast fashion industry can be detrimental to consumers' self-concept (Legere, & Kang, 2020), result in the amplification of mass production (Moretta et al., 2013) and can have negative consequences to the environment (Peters et al., 2021). In …