Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Two Essays On The Role Of Empathy In Consumer Response To User-Generated Content, Mohammadali Koorank Beheshti

Theses and Dissertations in Business Administration

Empathy is known to be the basis of all human interactions and an essential component of human psychology. Empathy includes a cognitive component (perspective-taking) and an affective component (e.g., emotional contagion). The two essays of my dissertation investigate how each of these components of empathy affect consumer responses to user-generated content.

Essay 1: Although both price and online review ratings are important cues in consumers’ product quality judgment, most previous studies have treated price and review ratings as separate inputs into consumer decision-making. The current research shows that the two cues are intertwined, such that consumers’ perception of the same …

Essay 1: How We Feel: The Role Of Macro-Economic Sentiment In Advertising Spending-Sales Relationship; Essay 2: It Was The Best Of Times; It Was The Worst Of Times: The Effect Of Emotional Uncertainty And Arousal On Healthy Food Choices, Leila Khoshghadam

Theses and Dissertations in Business Administration

Essay 1: Controversies regarding the advertising spending-sales relationship have spawned many studies in marketing. Previous research on macroeconomic influencers of this relationship has focused mostly on objective macroeconomic indicators such as cyclical contraction and expansion. Extending these previous studies, the current research argues that sales response to advertising is also contingent upon the pervasive feelings present in the macroeconomic environment, above and beyond the influence from objective macroeconomic factors. Specifically, it argues that future outlook negativity and uncertainty in macroeconomic sentiment can affect the ad spending-sales relationship. Analyzing sales and advertising spending data for salty snacks in conjunction with macroeconomic …

An Analysis Of The Impact Of Social Media Marketing On Individuals’ Attitudes And Perceptions At Nova Community College, Nya Gibson

OTS Master's Level Projects & Papers

Social media has become prominent in the 21st century. Companies are persistently looking for ways to utilize this new platform within their marketing strategies to increase business growth. Since social media is a networking and communication platform, it is important for companies to create a voice to humanize the business and maintain foot traffic. Although there are studies on how to use social media marketing within a business, there is minimal corroboration available of how social media marketing activities influence a consumer’s buying behavior. This study investigated the effects of social media on consumer attitudes of social media marketing and …

Analysis Off Dependent Discrete Choices Using Gaussian Copula, Arjun Poddar

Mathematics & Statistics Theses & Dissertations

A popular tool for analyzing product choices of consumers is the well-known conditional logit discrete choice model. Originally publicized by McFadden (1974), this model assumes that the random components of the underlying latent utility functions of the consumers follow independent Gumbel distributions. However, in practice the independence assumption may be violated and a more reasonable model should account for the dependence of the utilities. In this dissertation we use the Gaussian copula with compound symmetric and autoregressive of order one correlation matrices to construct a general multivariate model for the joint distribution of the utilities. The induced correlations on the …

Buying Love Through Social Media: How Different Types Of Incentives Impact Consumers’ Online Sharing Behavior, Yueming Zou

Marketing Theses & Dissertations

A key issue in social media marketing is insufficient consumer participation and engagement. Oftentimes companies have to devise tactics to encourage more social sharing of brand messages, such as through the use of incentives and rewards. Previous research has investigated incentive effects under the traditional offline context, which addresses mostly economic exchanges and fails to consider the social dynamics of the social media environment. Addressing this gap, this research aims to answer the following research question: how can companies target different consumers with different incentives to maximize consumer sharing through social media? Specifically, the present research proposes three factors that …

Measuring Consumer Expectations Of Salesperson Unethicality: A Scale Development, Amiee Mellon

Marketing Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation addresses how and what ethical expectations (prior to conducting business) affect customer trust of the salesperson. In order to do so, this dissertation achieves two things. First, a scale for measuring the consumer’s expectations of salesperson unethicality (CESU) is systematically developed and validated based on the existing ethics literature and previously developed scales. Second, the scale’s properties and potential application are examined through hypothesis testing regarding the effects of (1) word of mouth on brand equity and consumer’s expectations of unethicality, and the effects of (2) brand equity and consumer’s expectations of unethicality on trust of the salesperson. …

Relational Exchange In Nonprofits: The Role Of Identity Saliency And Relationship Satisfaction, Jennifer Anne Taylor

School of Public Service Theses & Dissertations

Research and practice in nonprofit fundraising has increasingly been focused on the benefits of relational exchange. This dissertation examines relationships between donors and nonprofit organizations and their impact on the charitable giving levels using identity salience and relationship satisfaction as key mediators of nonprofit relational exchange. Previous research has shown that there are a plethora of charitable giving motivations that contribute to supportive behaviors in the nonprofit context; however, this research does not provide a comprehensive understanding of the intervening variables. This study modified previous studies by introducing relationship satisfaction in addition to identity saliency, as mediating constructs. Results confirm …

Warranty And Price As Quality Signals: The Effect Of Signal Consistency And Unexpectedness On Product Perception, Sultan Alaswad Alenazi

Theses and Dissertations in Business Administration

This dissertation investigates the effect of signal consistency/inconsistency and signal unexpectedness on a consumer's evaluation of a product. It consists of two studies. Study One examines the effect of signal consistency/inconsistency on product quality, where consistent signals are those of the same valance. Prior research has found that a positive cue not only was unable to improve product quality perception, but also had a negative effect on perceived quality when a positive cue was combined with a negative one. The results of Study One indicate that when signals are inconsistent, consumers engage in an attribution process to explain inconsistency. If …

Remembering To Remember And The Consequences Of Forgetting: The Role Of Prospective Memory In Consumer Intentions, Eyad M. Youssef

Theses and Dissertations in Business Administration

Picking up your dry cleaning after work, returning library books before the due date, picking up a friend at the airport; all of these tasks have one underlying feature that links them together. The tasks cannot be completed when the initial intention is formed. Prospective memory can be defined as remembering to remember (Winograd, 1988). It can also be defined as either remembering to do something at a particular moment in the future or as the timely execution of a previously formed intention (Kvavilashvili and Ellis, 1996). Remembering to do things (prospective memory) is just as much a use of …

Promotion Induced Competitive Effects: Two Essays, Rajeev Airani

Marketing Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation focuses on the empirical generalizations related to retailer promotions. Two essays are developed addressing the generalizations. The first essay addresses the contradiction in the calculations of primary and secondary demand effects. A mathematical proof is developed to show that under Nested Logit modeling, competitors' gain assumption is violated. An alternative explanation is provided to calculate the primary and secondary demand effects. The second essay focuses on the empirical generalization of the neighborhood price effect. The effects of share and quality in shaping the neighborhood price effect are hypothesized and tested. Further, based on the evidence that neighborhood price …

The Impact Of Collective Animosity And Collective Guilt On The Judgments Of And Preferences For Japanese Products, Amro Maher

Theses and Dissertations in Business Administration

Collective animosity and its effects on consumers' perceptions of and preferences for foreign products from the perpetrators' country of origin has received considerable attention in the marketing literature (Ettenson and Klein 2005; Klein, Ettenson and Morris 1998; Klein 2002; Nijseen and Douglas 2005). Collective animosity however is only one possible emotion that might be experienced towards other groups (Smith 1993; Smith 1999; Mackie, Devos and Smith 2000). Collective guilt is one of these possible emotions that have received considerable attention in the social psychology literature. Collective guilt refers to the distress that one might feel due to moral transgressions performed …

A Social Relational Model For Firm-Hosted Virtual Communities: The Role Of Firm Support, Tung Duy Cu

Theses and Dissertations in Business Administration

Since the ease of participation and the usefulness of information provided by online groups continue to proliferate in the World Wide Web, people increasingly participate in different forms of virtual community (i.e. online forums, bulletin boards, message boards, chat rooms) for their purposes, such as solving problems, building social relationships, sharing passions, developing professionals.

Accordingly, an increasing number of companies are now attempting to exploit this phenomenon by hosting and supporting their own online community for commercial and non-commercial purposes, such as building relationships with their customers, getting their feedback, strengthening the brand, and reducing customer service costs by enabling …

Antecedents And Consequences Of Consumer Ethnocentrism Across Russia's Three Sub-Cultures, Shawn Thelen

Theses and Dissertations in Business Administration

Shimp and Sharma (1987) extended the concept of ethnocentrism to commercial products with the development of a 17-item Consumer Ethnocentrism Scale [CETSCALE]. Consumer ethnocentrism is the belief that purchasing imported products harms the local economy, increases unemployment, and is morally wrong (Skimp and Sharma 1987). Shimp and Sharma (1987) called for studies to determine antecedents to consumer ethnocentrism and to apply the CETSCALE across geographic and regional segments. This dissertation addresses a void in the literature by examining antecedents; Inglehart's Materialism/Post Materialism (1977) and Holbrook's Nostalgia (1993), and outcome variables; product purchase preference, of consumer ethnocentrism across sub-cultures postulated to …

Deception In Advertising: A Content Analysis Of The Legal Parameters Of Deception, E. Carla Mitchell

Theses and Dissertations in Business Administration

One of the primary attributes of a free market economy is the uninhibited flow of truthful information regarding the goods and services available in the marketplace (Azcuenaga 1995). This free flow of information, in the form of advertising, enhances market performance by informing consumers and enabling firms to compete equitably based on the attributes of their offerings. Studies reveal that, for the vast majority of marketing managers, the regulatory environment serves as the primary influence in advertising strategy development and decision-making (Davis 1994). However, in their theory development, behavioral researchers often ignore the legal aspects promulgated by the FTC. Furthermore, …

Understanding The Digital Divide As It Relates To Electronic Commerce, Franklin D. Gaillard

Theses and Dissertations in Business Administration

There exists an electronic digital divide within the United States. This digital divide concerns access to the Internet and its corresponding technologies. The U.S. government is concerned about the digital divide because it appears that certain ethnic groups and income levels are being excluded from computer technologies and the Internet. These groups include African Americans and Hispanics, who are lagging the Caucasians significantly in gaining access to the Internet. For a while the gap between majority and minority groups appeared to be widening. Since Internet access is a prerequisite to electronic commerce, an understanding of the relationship between the digital …

Sales Training Practices In Malaysia: Comparisons Of Domestic And Multinational Companies, Mohamad Asri Jantan

Theses and Dissertations in Business Administration

This dissertation expands the domestic sales training research into international settings by examining and comparing sales training practices of domestic and multinational companies (MNCs) in Malaysia. Fourteen hypotheses were proposed and examined: (1) the two groups' comparative sales training practices; (2) the two groups' sales managers' perceptions toward important sales training tasks; (3) the relationships of the different perceptions toward important sales training tasks to sales 9 managers' performance measures; and (4) the effect of two groups' demographic variables on perceived adequacy of the overall sales training programs.

Cross-sectional data were collected via self-administered questionnaires distributed to sales managers, marketing …

A Content Analysis Of Advertising In Magazines Directed At United States And United Kingdom Seniors, Ray Markham Smith

Theses and Dissertations in Business Administration

The seniors (55+) market is a growing, attractive market. While this market represents almost one-fourth of the total population in the United States and is slightly higher in the United Kingdom today, this segment is projected to grow to approximately one-third of the population over the next quarter century.

Relative to their proportion of the total population, seniors, and especially women, have historically been underrepresented as general advertising models. When seniors are portrayed, they are often used in supporting roles or in a negatively stereotyped manner. While the aging process is associated with declines in mental and physical capabilities, and …

Psychological Influencers Of A Consumer's Innovative Propensity: A Cross-Cultural Examination, Angela D' Auria Stanton

Theses and Dissertations in Business Administration

The purpose of this effort was to focus on measuring the psychological characteristics (specifically perceived risk, dogmatism, fatalism, self esteem, empathy, and cognitive complexity) of the innovative consumer. In order to assess the various relationships and interrelationships that exist in the psychological determinants of innovativeness, a structural modeling approach was employed. The model was also tested in a two country setting in order to determine its robustness cross-culturally. The innovative behavior measure focused on a single domain, the Internet, since innovativeness does not typically overlap across product categories (e.g. Gatignon and Robertson 1985).

Overall, the results of the test of …

Extreme Response Style, Irvine Clarke Iii

Theses and Dissertations in Business Administration

The objective of this research was to understand the effect of culture on Extreme Response Style (ERS) for cross-cultural marketing efforts employing Likert type scales. Growth in quantitative cross-cultural marketing research has brought alternative methodological considerations, like ERS, to the forefront of attention, since, traditional inferential statistics used in group comparisons become confounded by this systematic bias. Marketers comparing groups with differing degrees of response style may incorrectly make claims based on observed differences that are strictly attributable to cultural ERS. Therefore, the specific objective of this dissertation was to relate ERS to culture, Likert response formats and to demonstrate …

The Relationship Between Machiavellianism, Self-Monitoring, And Adaptiveness To The Performance Of Real Estate Sales Professionals, Dianne Broman Eppler

Theses and Dissertations in Business Administration

The focus of sales management is on insuring the success of the corporation by selling its goods or services. The most significant impact on the firm's success is the ability of the sales force to perform. Research to determine what makes a successful salesperson is extensive; however, the results are inconsistent and disappointing. In light of the significant financial impact the sales force has on the firm, additional research that identifies determinants of sales success is necessary.

The purpose of this dissertation was to examine the relationships between personal characteristics and sales performance. Specifically, Machiavellianism, self-monitoring, and adaptiveness were hypothesized …

Materialism And The Self, Kathleen Shirley Micken

Theses and Dissertations in Business Administration

Materialism has been called the most significant macro development in modern consumer behavior. Despite its importance, research about the construct is rather new. Two scales have been developed to measure materialism, one proposed by Belk, the other by Richins and Dawson.

The purpose of this dissertation is threefold. First, it extends the materialism research program by investigating the relationship between materialism and one's self concept. Hypotheses which drive the research posit that people who are more materialistic have lower self-esteem, are less likely to be self-actualized, are extrinsically rather than intrinsically motivated, and are likely to be high self-monitors. The …

Export Marketing Development Program Selection, Albert Phillip Bianchi Jr.

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Management

The purpose of this study was to determine if there is an arrangement of export development programs which could be utilized by state agencies to best serve the economic and social policy goals of states.

Quantitative and qualitative techniques were employed in conducting this research. Descriptive information was gathered from surveys of state export development agencies. A Delphi methodology was used to gain consensus from public managers about program goals and program effectiveness.

The research demonstrates that there are primary goals which states pursue, such as employment generation and providing exporter assistance, for which certain export promotion activities are considered …