Integrating online communities within business-to-business marketing communications: an exploratory study

The article provides a conceptual contribution by developing a framework for business-to-business (B2B) marketers seeking to implement online communities (OLCs). Furthermore, the conceptual contribution is augmented by a small-scale exploratory study comprising in-depth interviews with B2B chief marketing officers (CMOs). The findings challenge existing thinking that B2B marketers can follow generic marketing communication frameworks. This is due to the differences in B2B OLCs in terms of multiple stakeholders and two-way information flows and differences in buyer behaviour. For researchers, the contribution is an embryonic model that will facilitate future conceptual development as well as empirical testing through a series of research propositions. A sequential decision-making framework, which identifies key implementation challenges, is provided for B2B managers.     

论口碑营销及其运作与管理系统的构建

口碑营销是把口碑概念应用于营销领域并以口碑传播为途径的一种新型的市场营销策略或方式,是企业有计划、有组织、有执行、有控制的营销管理过程。随着互联网信息传播应用的不断发展,特别是微博等社交媒体的迅速普及,口碑营销受到人们的高度关注。企业在运用口碑营销这一新型的市场营销策略组织市场营销活动时,有必要构建完善的口碑营销的运作系统和口碑营销的管理系统,以保证口碑营销能真正发挥其巨大的＂正能量＂、＂正效应＂。     

Leadership marketing: an exploratory study

In an era when collaboration is the key to business prosperity, the ability to develop one truly coherent and agile brand lived by its employees and delivered to external stakeholders has become extremely challenging. Unity between the internal brand and a company’s external image, when change is the only constant, has almost ceased to exist. The marketing function is frequently underemphasised at board level and its role is often devalued in leading organisational change. This paper concerns how marketing can partner with organisational leadership for a mutually beneficial exchange of skills and capabilities to be able to reinvent organisations rapidly enough to cope with shifts in the external business environment and create a sustainable future for the business. This paper explores the concept of “leadership marketing” from an interpretivist perspective which challenges the conventional view of marketing and leadership as two separate fields and offers a holistic approach for business management and brand alignment.     

Analyzing user sentiment in social media: Implications for online marketing strategy

This article examines restaurant customers’ online activity following visits to restaurants. Differences in customers’ opinions based on gender and location are discussed. Sentiment analysis was used to analyze customers’ social media behavior in terms of liking, rating, and reviewing restaurants. User‐generated reviews and comments about experiences influence potential customers’ decisions. The results of this study show that gender and location of customers influence restaurant ratings. This article shows that sentiment analysis (using Natural Language Toolkit and TextBlob) can help marketers by providing a useful tool for big data analysis. Sentiment analysis can be used to interpret customer behavior and highlight how presales, sales, and after‐sales strategies can be improved.     

The effects of social media on brand attitude and WOM during a brand crisis: Evidences from the Barilla case

Brand crises endanger companies. Social media are a key platform where stakeholders elaborate and react to crises. This research explores whether social media audience and traditional mass media audience react differently to a brand crisis in terms of their (1) attitude towards the brand and (2) word-of-mouth (WOM). As to the brand attitude, we argue that stakeholders mainly exposed to the brand crisis via social media have a more negative reaction towards the brand compared to those who are principally exposed via traditional media. As to the behaviour, we posit that social media exposure intensifies WOM. By analysing the Barilla crisis, the findings suggest that the social media act as ‘multipliers’ of the reaction of stakeholders to a brand crisis.     

社交网络可视化分析对电商企业网络口碑营销的影响

社交网络可视化分析能够高效地对海量数据进行简化处理,从而成为帮助电商企业推进网络口碑营销的重要工具。本文以电商企业为研究对象,通过实证调查的方法来探究企业内部社交网络可视化分析对电商企业网络口碑营销的影响。调查发现社交网络可视化分析在电商企业的市场定位、营销定向、营销成本、工作效率以及经济效益等方面都有积极的作用。本文研究以期为电商企业进行优质的网络口碑营销提供理论支持。     

WOM and social media: Presaging future directions for research and practice

Word of mouth (WOM) has become the focus of growing interest among marketing practitioners and consumers. However, the promises of WOM marketing are often oversold, and various assertions about the nature of WOM, its dynamics, antecedents, and consequences at times have been misstated in mass-mediated articles and books on the topic. In this introductory paper for the special issue on WOM and social media, we survey the current state of WOM knowledge and the role of WOM in contemporary marketing, reconsider common beliefs about the WOM process in an effort to separate WOM facts from fallacies, and presage some future directions and best practices in light of evolving online channels of WOM generation and transmission.     

On electronic word-of-mouth diffusion in social networks: curiosity and influence

The rapid proliferation of social networking sites (SNSs) provides marketers with ample opportunities to explore advertising strategies based on electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM). With that in mind, this study aims to understand the influence of the eWOM diffusion process on SNSs. We propose a theoretical framework to investigate the roles of curiosity and influence in SNS users’ decisions to adopt eWOM and to pass it along to their contact groups. Two forms of curiosity, specific and diversive, are proposed to initiate specific exploration (consistency checking and knowledge-based validation) and diversive exploration (referral visit behavior), and eventually, adoption and pass-along behavior. In addition, SNS influence, formed by maven, persuasiveness, and connectivity, is proposed as a moderator affecting information diffusion. The proposed framework is empirically validated using the data collected from online surveys of 590 Facebook users. Implications for theory and practice are also discussed.     

Cause-related marketing persuasion research: an integrated framework and directions for further research

This paper presents an integrative review of the literature on cause-related marketing (CRM) persuasion research (i.e. studies of how CRM influences evaluations of the partner brand). The aim of the study was to review CRM persuasion research and to integrate the findings into a theoretical framework that could direct future research efforts in the area. Drawing on Bergkvist and Taylor's model of Leveraged Marketing Communications (LMC), a dual-path model of CRM persuasion effects was developed. According to the model, CRM affects brand evaluations along two paths: the indirect transfer path which is mediated by attribution of motives and the direct transfer path in which attitude towards the cause is transferred to the brand. The model incorporates results from extant research and provides guidance for future studies.     

Identifying the factors that influence eWOM in SNSs: the case of Chile

ABSTRACT

The factors that influence electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) in social networking sites (SNSs) in Latin American countries still need to be understood. This paper looks at factors included by prior research, as well as two new factors that have the power to influence eWOM in SNSs in the region. The study is conducted in Chile, a country which already has high Internet and SNSs penetration rates and Hofstede's scores close to the average for Latin America. The results show that tie strength, normative influence, informational influence, self-presentation, and voluntary self-disclosure are all positively directly associated with eWOM in SNSs. The results also show that homophily exerts a positive indirect influence on eWOM through the mediators of tie strength, normative influence, informational influence, and self-presentation. Additionally, the results show that trust exerts a positive indirect influence on eWOM through the mediators of tie strength, normative influence, and voluntary self-disclosure.     

Transforming visitors into members in online brand communities: Evidence from China

Using observational learning theory, this study investigates how simply viewing posts can affect visitors' intentions to join an online brand community. The study finds that the viewing of posts leads to informational value and perceived social value, which in turn increases visitors' intentions to participate in the community. For visitors with brand ownership, both informational value and perceived social value play full mediating roles; for visitors without brand ownership, both values play partial mediating roles. In addition, for visitors with brand ownership, informational value is just as important as perceived social value in shaping their participation intentions; for those without brand ownership, perceived social value is more important than informational value. The findings enrich the brand community literature and provide implications for brand community development.     

Lessons learned from renewable electricity marketing attempts: A case study

The choice of subscribing to renewable electricity has been available to Australian households for more than a decade, yet consumer uptake remains low for some green marketers. This case study uses a retailer's perspective to examine the implementation of a green marketing program for a renewable electricity retailer. Based on interviews, internal company documentation, and secondary research, findings show that effective differentiation for renewable energy is required to increase consumer involvement levels and the likelihood of consideration. While consumers lack understanding of, and interest in, renewable energy, the marketing program relied on customers to seek information. It was apparent the success of green marketing programs depends on the integration of education into a carefully targeted marketing program emphasizing functional and emotional values to differentiate renewable energy and simplify consumer decision-making processes.     

企业博客营销模型构建与实施研究

博客是一个零成本、零技术、零时差、零许可、零编辑的个人意见平台,是继 E-mail,BBS,ICO 之后出现的第四种网络交流方式,其已在政治、企业管理、新闻报道及日常生活等多个方面得以应用。本文在探讨博客及博客营销概念的基础上,提出了企业博客营销的一般模型并就模型实施中应注意的问题进行了总结。     

Linking Brand Orientation with Service Quality,Satisfaction, and Positive Word-of-Mouth: Evidence from the Higher Education Sector

Brand orientation has been recognized as having a positive impact on organizational performance in both commercial and nonprofit sectors. However, limited studies have examined the moderating effects of brand orientation in the nonprofit sector, particularly in the higher education context. This study attempts to examine the construct of brand orientation from the perspective of the students and examine its moderating role on the relationship between service quality, satisfaction, loyalty, and word-of-mouth (WOM) communication behavior. Two hundred and fifty-eight questionnaires were completed by undergraduate students of an Australian university. The study found that students’ perception of a university’s brand orientation significantly moderates the relationship between service quality, loyalty, and WOM communication behavior. Significant managerial and theoretical implications were identified.     

Consumer social voice in the age of social media: Segmentation profiles and relationship marketing strategies

Service failures, once handled quietly by customer service departments, are now played out on a highly public social media stage. These failures can result in not only the loss of a loyal consumer but also can negatively affect relationships with those watching the dialogue between disgruntled customers and organizations. The phenomenon of seeking resolution to service failures online is distinct from both traditional word-of-mouth and voice behaviors. This article introduces social voice: public complaining behavior that aims to change the behavior of the organization. A qualitative methodology defines eight dimensions of social voice and categorizes them by the strength of the relationship to the organization. Results indicate that appropriate response strategies differ based on social voice segment.     

Stakeholder theory and internal marketing communications: a framework for analysing the influence of new media

Effective two‐way communication is widely viewed as an essential component of successful internal marketing strategies, yet little research has so far been conducted on the relative merits of different communication media in an internal marketing context. Since the mid‐1990s Internet technologies have revolutionized internal communications in many organizations. However, the impact of these new forms of electronic media on internal marketing communication remains relatively unexamined. This paper draws on stakeholder and communication theories to provide a framework for understanding the dimensions of effective internal marketing communications and presents the results of an empirical study on the relationship between these dimensions and the use of new media in the workplace.     

Competition and its influence on consumer decision making in social marketing

Abstract

This paper extends the largely conceptual understanding of competition in social marketing by empirically investigating, from a consumer perspective, the nature of competition and its influence on decision making at the individual level. Two phases of qualitative inquiry in Australia, comprising 30 and 20 semi-structured interviews, respectively, examined the role of competition in young adults’ decision to adopt and maintain help-seeking for mental ill-health. The findings from thematic analysis suggest that competition operates at both the behavioural and goal level to influence consumers’ decision to perform behaviour and that the types of competition in operation may vary from the adoption to the maintenance of behaviour. The findings are integrated into a framework that social marketers could employ to identify, analyse and address competition.     

Value dimensions of gamification and their influence on brand loyalty and word-of-mouth: Relationships and combinations with satisfaction and brand love

This study examined the influence of different value dimensions of gamification on two important marketing outcomes, brand loyalty and word-of-mouth (WOM), using a mixed methods approach. A fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fs/QCA) is employed alongside structural equation modeling (SEM). These methods showcase nuances that contribute to the understanding of the effects of different value dimensions. Although the SEM results stress the mediating role of brand love, the fs/QCA results indicate that brand love is a core condition for brand loyalty, but it might be indifferent to obtaining positive WOM. Different paths can be sufficient to produce the outcomes of interest. The value dimensions of gamification can be substitutes, contingent on the presence of other conditions, thereby providing a novel perspective. These findings advance our knowledge of the functioning of gamification and can serve as a guide for practitioners seeking to employ gamification experiences to alter consumers' behavior.     

基于消费者购买决策过程的出版社网络营销策略研究

本文以消费者行为研究为基础,分析了出版社网络营销的现状,构建了网络消费者购买决策过程模型,通过对网络消费者购买出版社产品与服务六个阶段影响因素与存在问题的调查,制定出相应的网络营销策略。     

Entrepreneurial marketing and hybrid entrepreneurship: the case of JM Reid Bamboo Rods

ABSTRACT

Through the presentation of the case of James Reid, a hybrid entrepreneur that transitioned towards full-time entrepreneurship, this paper discusses a number of entrepreneurial marketing issues faced by a small business. When presented with several opportunities for business growth, Reid evaluates the extent to which growth could impact his business model, brand image and his passion. The case study demonstrates the importance of maintaining brand values and establishing a clear strategic orientation in order to create a strong brand. However, these are shown to also significantly limit the growth prospects of the business. The discussion of the case delves into these issues together with an examination of the entrepreneurial journey of a highly skilled transitory hybrid entrepreneur. This paper further introduces the concept of a comfort entrepreneur, one that willingly halts the growth of their venture, and examines the business implications thereof.