Extending the theory of metaphor in marketing: The case of the art gallery

Abstract

This study analyses the metaphor of spirituality in the non-profit art gallery, a metaphor overlooked in previous marketing research. Using content analysis and interviews in a single depth case study, this article illustrates how spirituality has been a staple in the non-profit art gallery over time. It was found that even though the non-profit art gallery acknowledges its use of spirituality, it has a paradoxical attitude to it. Therefore this article (a) traces the historical influences that led to the extension of metaphor in the art gallery and its relationship to marketing theory, and (b) draws on Hunt and Menon (1995 Hunt, S.D. and Menon, A. 1995. Metaphors and competitive advantage: Evaluating the use of metaphors in theories of competitive strategy. Journal of Business Research, 33(2): 81–90. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) to identify deliberate and emergent strategies using metaphor in the non-profit cultural organisation.     

The antecedents and consequences of a market orientation: the moderating role of organisational life cycles

Abstract

There is widespread agreement in the marketing literature that newly founded and established mature companies have different perspectives on marketing. However, there is little comparative research in this respect. Therefore, the current research compares the antecedents and effects of a market orientation (MO) – as one major construct in marketing research – across organisational life-cycle stages, thereby integrating organisational life-cycle theory into MO research. Our hypotheses are based on the information-processing model of Tushman and Nadler (1978 Tushman, M. and Nadler, D. 1978. Information processing as an integrating concept in organizational design. The Academy of Management Review, 3(3): 613–624. [Crossref] , [Google Scholar]). In order to test these hypotheses, we conduct a survey-based empirical study of 252 new high-tech ventures. Our results show that the organisational life-cycle stage does indeed exert a moderating influence on the links between MO and its antecedents, and performance consequences. The implications for the market literature are discussed in detail. A map of possible future research topics is derived.     

Political Marketing Strategies in Africa: Expert Opinions of Recent Political Elections in Ghana

This study focuses on expert views of the importance of political marketing and electoral victory in African nations with an emphasis on Ghana. There is a particular focus in this article on understanding political marketing communication issues pertaining to the 2008 Ghanaian presidential elections. Following Peng and Hackley (2007 Peng , N. , & Hackley , C. ( 2007 ). Political marketing communications planning in the UK and Taiwan: Comparative insights from leading practitioners . Marketing Intelligence and Planning , 25 ( 5 ), 483 – 498 .[Crossref] , [Google Scholar]), we used “elite interviews,” dyadic depth interviews with highly regarded marketing and communication practitioners who were also MBA students at Ghana's premier business school. We also employed Butter and Collins' (1994 Butler , P. , & Collins , N. ( 1994 ). Political marketing: Structure and process . European Journal of Marketing , 28 ( 1 ), 19 – 34 .[Crossref] , [Google Scholar]) political marketing structure model in eliciting and analyzing the study findings. We found that all four of the themes discussed by Butler and Collins (1994) played a role in the defeat of the incumbent party—New Patriotic Party (NPP). Product factors was the key theme followed by organizational, process, and market factors, respectively. This paper is an important initial step in highlighting the significance of political marketing to the fortunes of political parties in Africa.     

Towards a history of critical marketing studies

Abstract

In this paper, I outline a history of critical marketing studies. The argument put forward that marketing lacks any substantive critical edge is questioned. In surveying our history and finding extensive engagement with a variety of critical perspectives, I connect these with appropriate literature from non-marketing sources to flesh out an account of our critical marketing heritage. I devote considerable attention to the period 1940 to 1990, as this is the historical range of critical marketing literature that most scholars will be unfamiliar with, linking this through citation and discussion to more recently published work. In this way, this paper provides a guide to sources of literature that may have passed marketing scholars by because they violate our disciplinary demands for ‘recency’ (Baker, 2001 Baker, M.J. 2001. “Introduction”. In Marketing: Critical perspectives on business and management, Edited by: Baker, M.J. 1–25. London: Routledge.  [Google Scholar]). As I document, critical marketing studies examines a variety of areas that represent consumer culture theory's (CCT) ‘next frontier’ if we accept Arnould and Thompson's (2005 Arnould, E.J. and Thompson, C.J. 2005. Consumer culture theory (CCT): Twenty years of research. Journal of Consumer Research, 31(4): 868–882. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) diagnosis. In opposition to Arnould and Thompson's assertion, CCT's new frontier, this paper contends, is a frontier that has long been of interest to critical marketing scholars whose work might usefully be re-examined.     

Same But Different—Perceptions of Integrated Marketing Communication Among Marketing Communication Partners in Australia

This article examines whether two key partners in the marketing communication process, advertising and public relations’ practitioners, perceive Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) in the same way. It compares perceptions across a wide range of implementation, organizational, and strategic issues in IMC to test if perceptions have moved past Stage 1 of IMC development (Kitchen & Schultz, 1999 Low, G. 2000. Correlates of integrated marketing communications. Journal of Advertising Research, 40(3): 27–39. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). Although both advertising and PR practitioners concur with each other and the literature on a wide range of perceptions of IMC, they still believe that advertising and public relations practitioners have dissimilar views about IMC. The PR practitioners position themselves as a separate breed of marketing communicator, requiring divergent skills from advertising practitioners and thinking differently about IMC.     

The coherence of inconsistencies: Attitude–behaviour gaps and new consumption communities

Abstract

Despite the growing success of well-marketed environmentally friendly products, there remains a gap between consumers' positive attitudes towards green issues and products, and their inconsistent and often conflicting consumption behaviour. Indeed, this is a challenge for social marketers seeking to advance the sustainability agenda. Therefore, this study problematises what has been conceptualised as attitude–behaviour gaps (Boulstridge & Carrigan, 2000 Boulstridge, E. and Carrigan, M. 2000. Do consumers really care about corporate responsibility? Highlighting the consumer attitude–behaviour gap. Journal of Communication Management, 4(4): 355–368. [Crossref] , [Google Scholar]), and explores how groups of consumers have re-construed such practices and their meanings through the formation of New Consumption Communities (Szmigin, Carrigan, & Bekin, 2007 Szmigin, I., Carrigan, M. and Bekin, C. 2007. “New consumption communities and the re-enabling of 21st century consumers”. In Consumer tribes, Edited by: Cova, B., Kozinets, R.V. and Shankar, A. 296–311. Oxford: Elsevier/Butterworth-Heinemann.  [Google Scholar]). Multi-sited ethnographic findings illustrate the social processes through which ethical and green forms of consumption are established and normalised. Findings also stress the importance of normative and habitual reframing through ‘ethical spaces’ (Barnett, Clarke et al., 2005 Barnett, C., Cafaro, P. and Newholm, T. 2005. “Philosophy and ethical consumption”. In The ethical consumer, Edited by: Harrison, R., Newholm, T. and Shaw, D. 11–24. London: Sage. [Crossref] , [Google Scholar]) in establishing and maintaining increased consistency in participants' consumption meanings, behaviours, and goals. Thus we re-frame attitude–behaviour gaps as coherent inconsistencies, which allows for a move away from solely trying to explain and change individual consumer behaviour, to identifying how suitable upstream and downstream (Verplanken & Wood, 2006 Verplanken, B. and Wood, W. 2006. Interventions to break and create consumer habits. Journal of Public Policy and Marketing, 25(1): 90–103. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) approaches and policies can be used to facilitate more sustainable forms of consumption.     

Exploring Convenience Food Consumption Through a Structural Equation Model

In this study the model of convenience orientation suggested by Scholderer and Grunert (2005 Scholderer, J. and Grunert, K. G. 2005. Consumers, food and convenience: The long way from resource constraints to actual consumption patterns. Journal of Economic Psychology, 26: 105–128. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) is applied in order to examine consumer behavior in the context of convenience food usage. The empirical results indicate that sociodemographic characteristics affect behavior both directly and indirectly through perceived time resources and convenience orientation toward meal preparation and clearing up. Findings seem to be important for all the bodies involved in the marketing of convenience food products because they describe the way various consumer characteristics interact, affecting the consumption of such products.     

The impact of perceived crowding on consumers' store patronage intentions: Role of optimal stimulation level and shopping motivation

Abstract

Past empirical studies leave open the question of whether perceived crowding has a positive or a negative effect on shopping outcomes (Eroglu, Machleit, & Barr, 2005 Eroglu, S.A., Machleit, K.A. and Barr, T.F. 2005. Perceived retail crowding and shopping satisfaction: the role of shopping values. Journal of Business Research, 58(8): 1146–1153. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]; Hui & Bateson, 1991 Hui, M.K. and Bateson, J.E.G. 1991. Perceived control and the effects of crowding and consumer choice on the service experience. Journal of Consumer Research, 18(2): 174–184. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). Based on the premise that shopping is a social phenomenon involving hedonic as well as utilitarian motivation, this study hypothesizes an inverted U-shaped relationship between perceived crowding and consumers' store patronage intentions. Additionally, past research considers the mediating role of emotions in the relationship between perceived crowding and shopping outcomes. In this research, the authors argue that consumers' cognitive evaluations of the store and its merchandise also mediate the perceived crowding?patronage intention relationship. Survey results of actual shoppers (n?=?201) in a hypermarket in India demonstrate that there exists an optimal level of crowding that maximises consumers' store patronage intentions. The effect of perceived crowding on patronage intention is mediated by the emotional dimension of pleasure and store evaluation. Further, the effect of perceived crowding on emotions and evaluations appears to be moderated by consumers' optimal stimulation level. In particular, the inverted U-shaped relationship of perceived crowding with pleasure and merchandise evaluation is increasingly manifested with increases in optimal stimulation level. The results also reveal that the effect of pleasure on patronage intention is stronger for individuals who score high on hedonic motivation than for individuals who score low on hedonic motivation. The article provides potential research and managerial implications of the findings.     

Consumers' Online Information Search: Gen Yers' Finding Needles in the Internet Haystack

There exists a paucity of research attention afforded to understanding consumer information search behavior on the Internet, vis-a-vis existing information search models such as an interactive, consumer experience in the offline realm. Thus, the present study investigates whether the factors inculcated within traditional cognitive processing models remain significant in the online information setting. Grounded in the contributions of Punj and Staelin (1983 Punj , G. N. , & Staelin , R. ( 1983 ). A model of consumer information search behavior for new automobiles . Journal of Consumer Research , 9 ( March ), 366 – 380 .[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) and Srinivasan and Ratchford (1991 Srinivasan , N. , & Ratchford , B. T. ( 1991 ). An empirical test of a model of external search for automobiles . Journal of Consumer Research , 18 ( September ), 233 – 242 .[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) in the context of offline information search, this study proffers an empirical model of consumer online information. The empirical findings reveal that Perceived Risk and Perceived Cost do not significantly contribute to the consumer online information Search Effort. Rather, both of these conventional antecedents and Enjoyment significantly impact the satisfaction of young consumers' online information search endeavors. We recommend further studies to examine consumer information search behavior in other contexts (e.g., mobile phones) across countries.     

The Internationalization Process of Online SMEs in the U.K., U.S. and Australia

ABSTRACT

Starting from a modified version of the Cavusgil and Zou (1994) Cavusgil, S.T. and Zou, S. 1994. Marketing strategy-performance relationship: An investigation of the empirical link in export market ventures. Journal of Marketing, 58(1): 1–21. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar] theoretical framework, in which the level of internationalization of online Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) is considered as an aggregated indicator of the export marketing strategy and a measurement of export performance, this paper investigates the influence of a series of internal and external factors on the internationalization of online SMEs. It expands the empirical framework used by Luo et al. (2005) Luo, Y., Zhao, J.H. and Du, J. 2005. The internationalization speed of e-commerce companies: An empirical analysis. International Marketing Review, 22(6): 693–709. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar] in an attempt to explain the internationalization of online SMEs by integrating both organizational and market factors, thus improving the explanatory power of internationalization models, and enhancing their applicability for professionals.     

Identification,Reputation, and Performance: Communication Mediation

ABSTRACT

This study focuses on a possible mediation by communication in the identification-organizational performance and identification-corporate reputation relationships. The review of the literature indicates that (a) companies with good reputations have better performances, (b) the stronger employee identification is, the better the reputation and performance, and (c) communication plays an important role in emphasizing the mode in which the organization presents itself to its stockholders. This study reveals that communication is a partial mediator in the relationships studied, suggesting that managers early on establish the form of communication, emphasize to a greater degree managerial communication, and not concentrate all their attention on marketing communication. The study involved 1,025 employees in various organizations and applied modeling of structural equations and the method proposed by Baron and Kenny (1986 Baron , R. M. , and Kenny , D. A. ( 1986 ). “The Moderato-Mediator Variable Distinction in Social Psychological Research: Conceptual, Strategic, and Statistical Considerations,” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology , Vol. 51 , No. 6 , pp. 1173 – 82 .[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) to evaluate the mediation between the variables.     

On market forces and adjustments: acknowledging consumer creativity through the aesthetics of ‘debadging’

Abstract

This paper explores the social dynamics by means of which market forces are enacted at the level of everyday consumption. In particular, it draws on Holt's (2002 Holt, D.B. 2002. Why do brands cause trouble? A dialectical theory of consumer culture and branding. Journal of Consumer Research, 29: 70–90. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) notion that as ‘unruly bricoleurs’, consumers kick-start processes of market adjustment and innovation through improvising ways to negotiate the demands of daily life. In this way, consumers can become active players in realising new possibilities for identity construction and empowerment that involve the creative re-appropriation of marketer-based meaning. To investigate those issues, we turn to a virtual community in the empirical setting of car customisation. Over an eight-month period, an internet-based methodology generated textual observations of online posting activity on five internet newsgroups attracting those interested in the particular pursuit of car modification. Participants used those web-forums to share information, passions, and enthusiasms. Analysis shows that grounded aesthetics function as vehicles for creativity and the reworking of dominant market logics (Vargo & Lusch, 2004 Vargo, S.L. and Lusch, R.F. 2004. Evolving to a new dominant logic for marketing. Journal of Marketing, 68: 1–18. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). We conclude that online discussion threads offer valuable access to the emergent interplay of discursive resources in circulation among virtual communities and that this has implications for the conduct of environmental scanning. The paper illustrates how the discursive resource-base is nurtured, sustained, and transformed through various interpellations, including performing claims to prestige and self-defining distinctions, as well as constructing narratives of personal history and social dynamics.     

Local Content Policy in the Brazilian Oil and Gas Sectoral System of Innovation

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this article is to discuss the development, goals, and format of local content public policy within the context of the Brazilian oil and gas sectoral system of innovation. The theoretical frame of reference for this article revolves around the concept of innovation systems, more specifically their sectoral focus as in Malerba (2002 Malerba , F. ( 2002 ). Sectoral systems of innovation and production . Research Policy , 31 , 247 – 264 .[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar] and 2004 Malerba , F. ( 2004 ). Sectoral systems of innovation: concepts, issues and analyses of six majors sectors in Europe . Cambridge , England : Cambridge University Press .[Crossref] , [Google Scholar]). Norwegian local content policy was considered as a reference. This article concludes that this policy has not yet come to a consensus, presents regulatory weaknesses, does not have well-defined roles, and has little potential to generate innovations.     

Commentary: Relative Presence of Business-to-Business Research in the Marketing Literature: Review and Future Directions

In this commentary we reaffirm the position taken by LaPlaca and Katrichis (2009 LaPlaca, P. J. and Katrichis, J. M. 2009. Relative presence of business-to-business research in the marketing literature. Journal of Business-to-Business Marketing, 16(1–2) [Google Scholar]) that there is an underrepresentation of business marketing research in the marketing literature. Our comments highlight the sector size of business marketing in the economy, document the degree of difference on the inherent nature of business versus consumer marketing, compare the relative representation of business versus consumer emphasis in the marketing literature with other subfields, and close by suggesting means for enhancing business marketing research.     

How Managers Handle Conflict in Supply Chain Collaborative Relationships in Ghana

To contribute to a broader understanding of how conflict impacts the emergence of collaborative relationships in the supply chain, the authors conduct a series of simulation games among supply chain collaborative teams in Ghana, West Africa. Results lend support to a theoretic proposition that managers' responses to conflict differ on the basis of their evaluative judgments about the favorability of processes and fairness of outcomes as predicted by the process and outcome discrepancy model (Kumar & Nti, 1998 Kumar , R. , & Nti , K. O. ( 1998 ). Differential learning and interaction in alliance dynamics: A process and outcome discrepancy model . Organizational Science , 9 , 356 – 367 .[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). Further, results show that most collaborative relationships are prone to only a moderate level of conflict (contentious) as opposed to being highly conflict-prone (hostile) or conflict-free (harmonious), but the incidence of contentious and hostile relationships has a greater negative impact on collaboration decisions than the incidence of harmonious relationships. These findings demonstrate the importance of the process and outcome discrepancy model and the loss aversion tenet in prospect theory to supply chain collaboration research and strategy formulation.     

Measuring Internet retail service quality using E-S-QUAL

Abstract

Despite its acknowledged importance, there are few rigorous empirical studies examining Internet retail service quality. An exception is the development of the E-S-QUAL scale by Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Malhotra (2005 Parasuraman, A., Zeithaml, V.A. and Malhotra, A. 2005. E-S-QUAL: A multiple-item scale for assessing electronic service quality. Journal of Service Research, 7(3): 213–233. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). Whilst E-S-QUAL demonstrated good psychometric properties in the original study, the scale lacks external validation. This paper presents a reassessment and validation of the E-S-QUAL in the context of the Internet grocery sector. Data were collected via a web-based cross-sectional survey using self-administered questionnaires distributed to online grocery shoppers. A total of 491 usable questionnaires were received. The results show that there are potential discriminant validity problems with the Efficiency and System Availability dimensions of E-S-QUAL. Further analysis shows that a second-order, three-factor model of E-S-QUAL, consisting of Efficiency, System Availability, and Fulfilment, provides the best fit to the data in this study. Privacy is shown to be the least important dimension for the data set in this study.     

Outward foreign direct investment,wage rigidity and unemployment: A computable general equilibrium analysis

Taiwan has started to liberalize its exchange rate and foreign investment policies since the mid 1980s. The subsequent considerable appreciation of its currency and increasing labor cost has stimulated many Taiwanese firms to actively undertake outward foreign direct investment (FDI). The possibility of the industrial hollowing-out induced by the FDI has been a great concern in Taiwan. The purpose of this paper is to establish a computable general equilibrium (CGE) model to investigate the impact of outward FDI by Taiwanese firms on its domestic economy. The efficiency wage theory is incorporated into the analytical framework. This paper first employs regression analysis to show that there exists severe wage rigidity in the labor market of Taiwan. Its simulation analysis then indicates that the outward FDI from Taiwan might reduce its income and employment to some extent. These results reveal that the outward FDI might hurt a distortion-ridden economy, which is consistent with the theoretical findings of Brecher and Choudhri (1987 Brecher, R. A. and Choudhri, E. U. 1987. International migration versus foreign investment in the presence of unemployment. Journal of International Economics, 23: 329–342.  [Google Scholar]) and Basu (1998 Basu, B. 1998. Efficiency wages, unemployment and international factor movements. Journal of International Trade & Economic Development, 7: 317–338. [Taylor & Francis Online] , [Google Scholar]). However, it seems that the outward FDI could account for only a very small part of the recent increase in Taiwan's unemployment level.     

Small Service Businesses: Advertising Attitudes and The Use of Digital and Social Media Marketing

Advertising is embraced by companies as a means of building awareness, sales, and customer loyalty. However, in recent years advertising has changed. Digital marketing and social media marketing have gained a greater prominence (Lamberton & Stephen, 2016 Lamberton, C., Stephen, A. T. (2016). A thematic exploration of digital, social media, and mobile marketing: Research evolution from 2000 to 2015 and an agenda for future inquiry. Journal of Marketing, 80(November), 146–172. https://doi.org/10.1509/jm.15.0415.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] [Google Scholar]). While megabrands spend millions of dollars on advertising, small businesses often view advertising as an expense rather than a means of generating revenue. Small service business owners are often skeptical of the value of digital marketing and social media. This study examines various digital and social media channels that can be utilized to grow their business.     

Consumer's Perception of Website Service Quality: An Empirical Study

With the increasing penetration of the Internet, service quality has become one of the key areas of concern for online shopping sites. Website service quality has become a vital factor in making e-commerce successful because comparing the features of products in the online environment is easier, practically free of cost, and saves on time in comparison to conventional offline markets. To empirically explore the critical factors that determine perceptions of the service quality of online shopping sites, researchers adopted the eTailQ scale suggested by Wolfinbarger and Gilly (2003 Wolfinbarger, M., and M. C. Gilly. 2003. eTailQ: dimensionalizing, measuring and predicting etail quality. Journal of retailing 79 (3):183–98. doi:10.1016/s0022-4359(03)00034-4.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). Web layout, web info, customer service, fulfillment, and privacy emerged as the critical factors affecting website service quality. Findings of the study are expected to provide valuable insights to academicians in better conceptualizing the constructs and also help marketing practitioners in fine-tuning their strategies by addressing the peculiar needs of the Indian online shoppers.     

“Strategic Failure” in the Financial Sector: A Policy View

Analysis of the recent financial crisis has tended to focus upon “market” and corresponding “regulatory” failures. While this provides important insights, it may neglect deeper issues at the root of recent problems. In this paper, we take a broader perspective, drawing upon the stategic choice approach to the theory of the firm (Cowling and Sugden, 1998 Cowling, Keith and Sugden, Roger. 1998. The essence of the modern corporation: markets, strategic decision-making and the theory of the firm. The Manchester School, 66: 59–86. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] [Google Scholar], 1999 Cowling, Keith and Sugden, Roger. 1999. The wealth of localities, regions and nations: developing multinational economies. New Political Economy, 4: 361–378. [Taylor & Francis Online] [Google Scholar]). We present a governance-based analysis which emphasises the process of engaging interested “publics” in corporate decision-making processes. We illustrate our arguments with respect to three UK cases – Northern Rock, Bradford and Bingley, and HBOS banks – which each required major interventions by the UK Government and whose recent history reveals significant changes in ownership, governance and corporate strategy. We argue that the current period of reform for these former building societies represents an ideal opportunity to address serious concerns over governance within the financial sector, and we propose a revised mutual solution as one appropriate way forward.