Consumer Decision Making Regarding a “Green” Everyday Product

One of the techniques marketers use to convert low‐involvement products into high‐involvement ones is adding an important product feature. A case in point is the common practice of adding a “green” or environmentally friendly product feature to an everyday product, something which is often assumed to elevate consumer involvement in the choice of the product. However, there is a lack of research investigating whether adding such a “green” product attribute actually makes any difference to how consumers make choices. Does the way in which consumers make decisions about groceries change when both “green” and conventional alternatives are available? Does it make them deliberate more or do they just develop another, simple choice heuristic? Based on observation and follow‐up interviews of consumers at the milk counter in two supermarkets which stock both organic (a “green” attribute) and conventional milk, it is concluded that, rather than changing the way consumers make decisions when buying this type of product, the availability of a “green” alternative seems to make “green” consumers develop a new, simple choice heuristic that allows them to do their shopping as effortless and time‐efficient as consumers buying conventional products.     

The “Ethics of Social Ideas” Versus The “Ethics of Marketing Social Ideas”

Can the public make a distinction between the “ethics of social ideas” versus the “ethics of marketing social ideas”? This question was empirically assessed via a survey research design. The evidence strongly suggests that individuals cannot totally separate the social idea from the marketing technique used to promote the idea. Also it was found that some social issues are more likely to foster strong ethical concerns than others. The implications of this research are discussed.     

Advertising “like a girl”: Toward a better understanding of “femvertising” and its effects

This paper investigates the impact of femvertising (female empowerment advertising). More specifically, it hypothesizes that femvertising (vs. traditional portrayals of females in advertising) will reduce ad reactance among a female target audience, and that this in turn will enhance ad and brand attitudes. The results of three experimental studies indicate that this is indeed the case, and that the results hold across print and digital media, for five different product categories, and for femvertising focusing on challenging female stereotypes in terms of physical characteristics as well as the roles and occupations used to portray women in advertising. Although previous studies of the effects of female portrayals tend to focus on social comparison and self‐identity, the current paper considers the role of psychological reactance to (more or less) stereotypical portrayals in explaining these effects. The results suggest that marketers have much to gain from adapting a more proactive and mindful approach to the female portrayals they use in their ads.     

Children's relationships with brands: “True love” or “one‐night” stand?

Group and individual interviews were conducted to examine relationships developed between children and brands in the family setting. Children's stories about brands suggest that they develop relationships with a wide range of brands and these relationships are imbedded in the social environment where children live and grow. Interpersonal relationship metaphors were utilized to describe different forms of child–brand relationships. The article concludes that children's relationships with brands serve important functions in their lives and have significant implications for marketers. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Financial Knowledge and “Don't Know” Response

We investigate the effect of group characteristics and educational interventions on young respondents' objective financial knowledge level. We examine six questions about personal finance and covariates selected from the 2015 National Financial Capability Study. Because these questions include “Don't Know” or “Refuse” (DK/RF) responses, a simple regression model could cause researchers to reach misleading conclusions if DK/RF responses are not random. Thus, we suggest a binomial‐latent regression model to evaluate the effect of educational interventions and group differences that are hidden in DK/RF responses. The estimation result shows that rejecting financial education opportunities is disadvantageous to obtaining proper financial knowledge. In addition, both formal and informal financial education are less effective in improving objective financial knowledge in our preferred model. We also find few or no gender, income, and age differences in young adults' objective financial knowledge level after controlling for financial education interventions.     

“What is my currency risk?”

Before a company can manage the currency risks associated with doing business abroad, it must clearly identify and define the risks to be managed. This isn't as easy as it seems. There are transactional risks, but there are also hidden risks that don't show up on financial statements.     

“Economy Size” Labels and Consumer Welfare

The main purpose of the Fair Packaging and Labelling Act (FPLA) as stated in the act is “… to promote labeling and packaging practices with respect to packaged consumer commodities which will facilitate value comparisons by consumers.” Justification and actual implementation of the portion of the FPLA dealing with economy size labels are analyzed from the consumer's point of view. Because of loopholes and the limitation of enforcement activity to the manufacturer-level, the law fails to protect the consumer. Remedies to the existing situation are presented.