The effects of schematic memory on imaginal information processing: An empirical assessment

The relationship between verbal and nonverbal modes of processing consumer information was examined in an investigation of schematic processing, a predominantly verbal mode, and visual imagery, a nonverbal method of information processing. It was found that individuals with a schema for a marketing event exhibited both a higher incidence and greater vividness of imagery during retrieval than did subjects without a schema. No differences were observed in either the frequency or clarity of images related to actions of varying degrees of abstraction in the event schema. These results indicate interdependence between schematic and imaginal processing consistent with the Cyclical Processing Model (Hampson and Morris 1979). A number of implications, both methodological and strategic, are developed from the observed relationship between imaginal and schematic information processing.     

International student graduation ceremonies: An opportunity for local tourism services providers

This purpose of this paper is to examine the significance of travel when associated with graduation ceremonies for the international student cohort. Due to the global growth in the international student market, the perceived importance of investigating this market in relation to the impact on tourism marketing is of timely significance. A mail survey of international students who completed their studies in a large Western Australian (WA) university in the past few years was conducted in 2001. The aim of the survey was to determine the significance of the following: (a) types of accommodation facilities used by the family/friends when visiting for graduations; (b) the proportion of expenditures on various types of activities; and (c) the differences in spending patterns for various countries of origin; and (d) the overall contribution of visiting friends and relatives (VFR) to the WA tourism sector. Results indicate that at least two to three family members (mostly parents) of graduating international students attend graduation ceremonies in Perth. Results also show that 58% of the visitors use commercial accommodation facilities (mainly hotels/motels) spending $462 on accommodation for staying 5.35 nights on average, and spend $653 on shopping. At least 58% of the graduates returned to Australia since graduation mainly for holidays (54%). Results of the study are discussed and implications for both the tourism and education sectors are highlighted, in addition to future research directions.     

Towards communicating the value of volunteers: lessons from the field

As well as ministers, prominent people in particular fields have been employed as government ‘tsars’ or ‘champions’, to lead on or promote particular government policies. There needs to be greater transparency around these posts, so that their effectiveness can be effectively scrutinized.     

Consumption and nutrition: Age–intake profiles for Czechoslovakia 1989–92

This paper provides non-parametric estimates of the relation between nutrient intake and age for Czechoslovak individuals, as a function of both the characteristics of the individual and of their household, on the basis of household purchases. Results show no significant difference between the age-energy intake profiles of men and women. The decomposition of this intake between carbohydrates, lipids (i.e., fats) and proteins shows a lack of balance in the diet in Czechoslovakia, but significant progress toward a more balanced diet has taken place over the period. Finally, household characteristics such as the woman's level of education, or household income, have at most a marginal impact on these profiles.     

Assessment of university campus café service: The students' perceptions

This paper presents the results of a study conducted to examine the important attributes in food service provision on a large Australian university campus. Ten café outlets (A to J to maintain anonymity of the café outlets) positioned across a large university campus located in an urban residential area were surveyed. A total of 410 students participated in the survey. Based on the frequency of patronage to the cafés results showed that five of the ten café outlets were more frequently visited in a given week. These were Café A, Café B, Café H, Café F, and Café I; however, the focus of this paper would be on Café A, which was just recently opened for business. Results indicated that students considered quality, price and service as the most important attributes in patronizing a particular café on campus. Results also indicated that students were most satisfied with important attributes such as convenience, ambience and quality during their visit to the café. Paired samples' t-test results showed statistically significant differences between the perceived importance and level of satisfaction with all attributes except the opening hours attribute. Results are discussed with possible implications and suggestions for further research.     

Linking multiple layers of innovation-oriented corporate culture, product program innovativeness, and business performance: a contingency approach

In recent years, firms have invested considerably in programs to raise their innovativeness by inspiring employees with an innovation-oriented corporate culture. However, extant literature is inconclusive on how an innovation-oriented culture leads to increases in product program innovativeness (PPI). This study investigates this question by analyzing a multilayer model of innovation-oriented corporate culture, using data from three different informants: marketing managers, R&D managers, and customers. The effects of innovation-oriented values and norms on PPI are fully mediated by cultural artifacts. Therefore, values and norms must be transformed into specific artifacts to exert an influence on innovativeness. Furthermore, market dynamism and technological turbulence have opposite moderating effects on the relationship between innovation-oriented artifacts and PPI. Market dynamism weakens this relationship, whereas technological turbulence strengthens it.     

Consumption and the retail change process: a comparative analysis of toy retailing in Italy and France

Set in the context of a review and critique of the retail change literature, this study conceptualizes the importance of cultural diversity in consumption practices, and their dialectical interplay with retail structures. Underpinned theoretically by concepts located in Critical Theory and Bourdieu's studies of 'Distinctions', a grounded approach at a macro-level of analysis is applied to the comparison of the French and Italian toy retail sectors, which serves as an empirical illustration of the conceptual categories and relationships posited. In the comparative analysis of the French and Italian toy retail industry, the links between market structures and macro-economic and demographic factors, on the one hand, and localized consumption habits, on the other, are discussed, highlighting the interplay of the properties of the emergent retail activity and consumption categories of analysis. The impact of global sourcing and market entry of international retailers is assessed. Conclusions point to the importance of the forcefield between localized meaning and the dynamics of toy retail capital. It is argued that the commodity form of toys, together with the values attached to them and the role they play in childhood, is influencing the structures of national toy retail sectors which are also dependent on the overall retail system and broader environmental factors. In this, retail change processes take place as a result of the interactions between the different spheres and their particular expressions cannot be generalized across borders as they depend on the specific dynamics within each system.