A conceptual framework for understanding and developing entrepreneurial behaviour: implications for social marketers

• Inculcating entrepreneurial behaviour is beneficial to both individuals and the society at large. The Theory of Planned Behaviour has been generally applied to understand and examine entrepreneurial behaviour. However, as the underpinnings of this theory are not adequate for understanding the entire process of the development of entrepreneurial behaviour, a more comprehensive theoretical framework is required. Combining the Theory of Planned Behaviour with the Stages of Change Theory provides such a comprehensive theoretical framework. The Stages of Change Theory is used in the social marketing field to facilitate behavioural change, which has also been recently applied in organizational‐related studies, such as change management. A methodological and analytical approach is also suggested for empirically validating the framework developed in this study. The implications of this framework for theory and practice are discussed, as are directions for future research, which would be of use to researchers and practitioners in the social marketing field.

Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Exploring the impact of self‐construal and cultural intelligence on alcohol consumption: implications for social marketing

• There is enormous cross‐cultural variation in alcohol choices and drinking behaviour. Because of the inherent differences in historical drinking culture, as well as differences in alcohol policy globally, similarities and differences in drinking patterns have long been a focus of interest among public health and social marketing researchers. Thus, the purposes of this study are (1) to explore differences between groups (Australian and non‐Australian‐born respondents) on self‐construal, cultural intelligence and alcohol consumption and (2) to investigate the impact of self‐construal and cultural intelligence on alcohol consumption in Australia. Data for this study were collected through a large public university in Australia (N = 669). The paper found that people with interdependent self‐concept were less likely to drink alcohol than people with independent self‐concept and cultural intelligence was not significantly related to hazardous alcohol use, harmful alcohol use and dependence symptoms. Variations between Australian‐born and overseas‐born groups were evident. Limitations of the current study and an agenda for future research are outlined.

Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Attracting potential blood donors: The role of personality and social marketing

Globally, society has been facing several and growing health problems, which increased the importance of efforts towards social change. In this context, using social marketing to create and implement programs that foster behavioural change has increased in the public health community. One of the health problems that society has been facing is the unceasing need for blood products, so the subject of blood donation became an important research topic in the area of social marketing, as social marketing strategies can contribute to solving this problem. It is essential to understand the factors that motivate individuals to donate blood, to enhance the recruitment and retention of blood donors. Our study aims at evaluating the key personality factors that influence blood donation behaviour to reach a higher understanding of what concerns this global issue. The method used to analyse the data is ANOVA. We conclude that the Personality of potential donors is significantly different from the non-donors' regarding Openness to Experience and Agreeableness. These results suggest that potential donors might perceive blood donation, as well as the associated barriers, differently from non-donors. Based on our findings, we suggest some perspectives for future research in this area.     

Press stories as a medium for social marketing: the publisher's perspective

Features editors in 50 UK newspapers and magazines completed a mail questionnaire concerning their use of charity infotorials, ie human interest press stories based on materials developedandsubmittedbycharityemployees. The research focused on publishers' reasons for carrying this type of article, editorial policy regarding materials submitted by charities, perceptions of the quality of the copy received, and the determinants of publishers' levels of satisfaction with outcomes. A clear dichotomy emerged between publishing firms that viewed infotorials mainly as a means for gaining a competitive advantage over titles produced by other businesses, and those that adopted a more altruistic approach to the publication of stories with a charity‐related theme. Copyright © 2000 Henry Stewart Publications     

Critical social marketing – The impact of alcohol marketing on youth drinking: Qualitative findings

• This paper presents findings from exploratory qualitative research as part of a critical social marketing study examining the impact of alcohol marketing communications on youth drinking. The findings from stakeholder interviews (regulators and marketers) suggest that some alcohol marketing might target young people, and that marketers are cognisant of growing concern at alcohol issues, including control of alcohol marketing. Focus groups with young people (aged 13–15 years) revealed a sophisticated level of awareness of, and involvement in, alcohol marketing across several channels. It was found that some marketing activities featured content that could appeal to young people and appeared to influence their, well‐developed, brand attitudes. The research demonstrates the utility of taking a critical social marketing approach when examining the impact of alcohol marketing. The implications of these findings for research, regulation and policy around alcohol marketing are also examined. The contribution that studies such as this make to the debate around marketing principles and practice, and to social marketing, is also discussed.

Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

TV viewing and physical activity: a segment analysis for social marketing

• Elevated television viewing and physical inactivity promote sedentary behavior, leading to obesity. Yet, modifying the behavior has received a limited academic investigation. Thus, the purpose of this exploratory study is to develop segments relating to such behavior, and propose TV viewing‐reduction and physical activity‐enhancing strategies for the various segments.
• Using data from a mall, the multiple regression and analysis of variance (ANOVA) led to the identification of four segments: alert, inactive, action, and ideal. Results indicate that those engaged in physical activity appear to watch less TV, and that age and gender do not have a significant impact on TV viewing. The managers can use the findings, segments, and strategies to create appeals for target social marketing.

Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Ethnic preference for the arts: the role of the social experience as attendance motivation

This paper addresses the issue of the level of ethnic group attendance at the arts, with a special emphasis on African American attendance at classical music concerts. Current attendance data will be examined to determine if there is a difference in attendance rates when the traditional determiners for attendance — education and income — are similar. The paper proposes that the lower rates of attendance for ethnic groups may not be the result of differences in levels of education or income, but are the result of these groups having their own values and tastes that affect the benefits that they desire from attendance. To explore this proposed theory, the results of a survey of an arts event successful in attracting an ethnic audience will be analysed to see if it can provide insight as to whether ethnic audiences have unique attendance motivation. This is important to marketing as these benefits must be included in the artistic event and promoted to the potential ethnic audience. Copyright © 2002 Henry Stewart Publications     

Examining public service motivation in the voluntary sector: implications for public management

Building on research about the nature of public service motivation (PSM) and its application outside the public sector, the authors provide a qualitative-based examination of PSM’s relevance to voluntary sector employees. In doing so, they explore how far their motivations extend beyond those encompassed within current conceptualizations of PSM and whether PSM research can be enriched through the adoption of qualitative methodologies. The findings suggest that PSM accounts for some, but not all, of the motives of voluntary sector employees and indicate that public sector managers involved in outsourcing public services need to be sensitive to their distinctive features.     

政府购买社会组织服务的动因、困境和策略

随着我国社会经济的发展和改革力度的加大,政府购买社会组织服务越来越成为政府提供公共服务的重要途径之一。目前,我国政府在购买社会组织服务上存在购买范围不明确、缺乏法律和制度规范、缺乏有效的监督和评估、社会组织力量薄弱等诸多问题。因此,需要建立科学的购买社会组织服务决策机制,规范相应的法律法规,加强对社会组织的培育和监督。     

Causality as validity: some implications for the social sciences

We analyse the concept of causality in the social sciences, whose development is insufficient and lesser than the methodology developed for its study. The nature of the causal process as the production of effects remains unclear and the relationships considered to be manifestations of that process cannot be taken for proof of its existence. Given these difficulties, we suggest that, aside from the inherited interpretations, the practice of the concept of causality makes reference to correctly specified relationships not confounded by others; characteristics identical to those which define validity. In that way, causality is equivalent to the validity of a relationship. Beyond merely re-understanding causality, this proposal permits the deduction that the temporal precedence of the cause is a necessary condition only for one type of causality, making it possible to consider other types, not admitted by the traditional notion, in which the cause is consequent or simultaneous to the variable to be explained. Examples and characteristics of these types of causality are presented and considered to be useful for the social sciences.     

An integrative semiotic framework for information systems: The social,personal and material worlds

The paper argues that semiotics, the theory of signs and symbols, is at the heart of the representation and transmission of information and meaning, and is thus central to communication and information systems, but especially in their contemporary, more virtualized forms. The paper is distinctive in eschewing post-structuralist uses of Saussurian semiotics, and recent theorizations of sociomateriality, instead developing an integrative framework grounded in Habermasian concepts, Peirceian semiotics and an underlying, integrating critical realist philosophy. We develop a semiotic framework to help analyze the complex interactions between three different worlds – the personal, the social and the material. Here semiosis relates to the personal world through the generation and interpretation of signs and messages. It relates to the material world in that all signs must have some form of physical embodiment in order to be signs, and must also be transmitted through some form of physical media. Semiosis relates to the social world in that the connotive aspects of sign systems are social rather than individual – they exist before and beyond the individual's use of signs. The personal, social and material worlds between them bear relationships of sociation, sociomateriality and embodiment. The framework draws on fundamental concepts of information, meaning and embodied cognition. The paper examines critically the implications of this formulation for studying information systems. It discusses commonalities with and departures from other studies, illustrates points with empirical examples, and details how the integrative framework can be utilized.     

The living product – using the creative nature of metaphors in the search for sustainable marketing

The challenge facing marketing (and business) is letting go of old assumptions and embarking on a journey of unprecedented uncertainty towards a more sustainable marketplace. Current marketing approaches are called into question in this paper and it is argued that they fail to represent adequately – and far less to confront – our relationships with products and the natural environment. This paper challenges marketing in this respect, investigating the consequences of putting marketing into an ecological context. By using the generative and creative power of metaphors we attempt to draw the sustainability debate away from the language of the mechanistic world; where matter is regarded as inert, mute, passive and exploitable. By using the ‘living product’ metaphor as a tool for change we explore the potential for a reorientation towards organizational–environmental configurations that are dynamic and flexible and provide space for dealing with uncertainty. These concepts are then illustrated in a number of practical examples, providing an insight into the potential of marketing in our search towards a more sustainable marketplace. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.     

The importance of an internal marketing orientation in social services

• The current research takes an interdisciplinary approach to examine the role of emotions in the successful delivery of social services. Survey data collected from 533 frontline social service providers were subjected to regression analyses. Findings reveal that emotional intelligence mediates the relationship between emotional labor and job stress, which in‐turn impacts job performance. The findings suggest that an internal marketing orientation is needed to better match the organization's products (i.e., jobs) with its internal customers (employees), and in‐turn improve the quality (job performance) of its offerings to its external customers.

Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The role and application of social marketing in managing water consumption: a case study

• Water shortages are an increasingly significant social and economic issue in many countries. Increasing the supply of water is one solution (e.g. desalination plants, new dams), but such measures are expensive. Using price to manage household water demand may be viewed as socially unequitable and politically contentious. Social marketing campaigns, where voluntary behaviour change is the goal, provide the potential to foster sustainable consumption of an increasingly scarce yet essential resource. This paper details a case study of successful water demand management in a drought affected region of South‐Eastern Australia. In this region, water consumption was reduced to more sustainable levels through a targeted and successful social marketing campaign. This case is of significant relevance to the field of Social Marketing where there are increasing calls for research into environmental issues in general and water consumption in particular (Kotler, 2011). The extant research literature and this case study are integrated to form several propositions about household water consumption behaviour. Consequently, this paper contributes to the literature by providing a conceptualisation of how residents respond to water conservation related social marketing campaigns. Key issues include the potential for reciprocal behaviour by consumers when a water authority is perceived to manage the water problem effectively, and linking behaviour change through structural approaches (e.g. subsidies and restrictions) and voluntarist approaches (e.g. attitudinal change).

Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Profit maximization and marketing strategies: Demand rotation and social influences

Microeconomic texts discuss alterations in industry demand curves as movements to higher or lower levels. Consider, instead, the implications for a monopolist's profit of rotating its (linear) demand curve. Where this can be done without cost by pivoting at the current price it will be profitable to continue to pivot the curve until it is horizontal or vertical. The possibility of rotating the demand curve of a ‘new’ product on an arbitrarily selected price allows us to consider the optimality of different advertising strategies (‘bandwagon’ or 'snob').     

Corporate social responsibility: The implications of cost improvement and promotion effort

We investigate the interaction of these two strategic decisions when corporate social responsibility (CSR) is incorporated into supply chain partners' decisions. Our results show that, with a noncooperative CSR scenario, the upstream manufacturer is more aggressive in investing in innovation to reduce production costs, which strategically lowers the wholesale price to retailers, and the downstream retailer is also less reluctant to engage in more promotion efforts to induce demand in comparison with a cooperative CSR scenario. Furthermore, the customer's sensitivity to promotion effort may hurt the CSR level of each party.     

Branding HIV/AIDS communication: the social marketing campaigns of MTV and Viacom

• Based on an ethnographic study of the production and reception of HIV/AIDS public service campaigns by MTV and Viacom, this paper examines the role of branding in HIV/AIDS education promotion. A main premise of the paper is that audiences for HIV/AIDS social marketing campaigns are now less addressed in terms of the classic HIV/AIDS prevention categories of ‘general public’ and ‘risk groups’ and are increasingly viewed as ‘market segments’ implicated in the campaigns in relation to the techniques of branding. Drawing on examples from research conducted amongst audiences in the North of England, the findings highlight the differing audience understandings of the branded consumer objects and icons of HIV awareness. Using a cultural materialist perspective, concerned with the relationship between the campaigns and social relations, this paper examines the process of corporate-sponsored HIV/AIDS campaigns. The findings underscore how social marketing campaigns are increasingly being related to as branded media objects and icons, closely tied to people's material experience and understandings of the aesthetics framing these branded objects and icons. The paper argues that identification and engagement with the campaigns is most evident amongst participants who shared the consumer values and the marketing discourses used by marketing managers and producers of the public service announcements.

Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Enhancing occupational health and safety in young workers: the role of social marketing

• Young workers (age 15–24) suffer work‐related injury at a much higher rate than older workers, yet research on the role and effectiveness of social marketing to influence and improve workplace safety is limited.
• A review of the relevant literature reveals that significant gaps exist in terms of effectively using social marketing to reduce young worker injury rates.
• A comprehensive, multi‐faceted social marketing approach is required to address young worker safety.
• Directing more attention toward the practice of social marketing can enhance the effectiveness of campaigns to reduce workplace injuries.

Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Values motivation and concern for appearances: the effect of personality traits on responses to corporate social responsibility

• The present research seeks to examine differences in support for corporate social responsibility based on certain personality traits. Secondary data from a nationally representative sample of 6065 respondents were examined. The results demonstrate that individuals motivated by a concern for appearances, an egoistic enhancement motivation, as well as individuals motivated by their values, make purchases in support of corporate philanthropy. However those concerned for appearances do not view CSR as a normative requirement, unlike those motivated by their values.

Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.