The Role of Context Intensity and Working Memory Capacity in the Consumer's Processing of Brand Information in Entertainment Media

Despite the increasing use of entertainment media such as movies, sport telecasts, or video games as a way to get in touch with consumers, the understanding of the cognitive processing of brand information in these environments is still limited. This current research investigates the role of two moderating factors on brand information processing in entertainment media: Context intensity and working memory capacity. Context intensity relates to the perceived level of excitement in a communication environment, while working memory capacity indicates a consumer's ability to control his or her cognitive resources. The results of an experimental laboratory study reveal that context intensity negatively affects visual attention for brand information (i.e., intensity attention assumption), while working memory capacity has a positive influence on memory for brands (i.e., capacity memory assumption). These findings hold important implications for marketing management: First, managers should place brand information in situations where context intensity is rather low in order to facilitate the target group's visual attention. Second, the frequency and duration of brand information should be adjusted to the target group's ability to cognitively process such information.     

What Shapes Assessment of Ability to Pay for Children's College Education?

Many parents have concerns about the cost of their child's college and lack information about preparing for those expenses. Parents' assessment of ability to pay for college are likely to influence their investments in a child's education, and may in turn affect the child's educational commitment and attainment. These potential outcomes lead us to investigate what accounts for parents' assessment. We use logistic regression to analyze data collected from mothers with newborn children (N = 2,566). The findings demonstrate that the mother's assessment of ability to pay for the child's education are significantly associated with material hardship experiences, financial management skills, educational expectations, and her education level. We discuss research and policy implications of promoting positive financial assessment for college early.     

Consumers' intentions to remain loyal to online reputation systems

The implications of recent consumer research for information system usage in the e‐marketplace are still poorly understood. However, understanding consumers' intentions to continue to use these systems remains a priority in practical marketing management, as leading marketplaces such as Amazon.com have widely embraced online reputation systems as a useful tactic in online marketing. The re‐ported study proposes an approach that differs from past research on this theme by incorporating Foxall's style/involvement model, which relates innovative behavior to cognitive style and involve‐ment in the product area. Based on a sample of 387 buyers from a top e‐marketplace in Taiwan, the findings indicate that consumers' underlying style/involvement levels significantly shape their continuance use intentions toward online reputation systems. The paper argues that consumers' cognitive styles and involvement levels should be adopted by researchers as major influences on system users' decision making in virtual purchase environments. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Consumer Affairs Responses to Unsolicited Customer Compliments

Whatever their philosophical, methodological and epistemological differences, marketing academics have one thing in common. They are writers. They publish or perish. They produce books, articles, case studies and, on occasion, articles for top-notch journals like JMM. Writing, however, is rarely given much thought by the scholarly community. It is considered a chore, an obligation, a tiresome task between completing the research and seeing it published. This paper examines the often uneasy relationship between marketing and writing. Based upon a study of best academic practice, it shows that there's more to outstanding writing than many suppose. It's not simply a matter of short sentences, plain prose and setting out the facts succinctly. Writing marketing also involves an appreciation of the 3R's, all of which run counter to academic custom and scholarly practice.     

No Space – New Blood and the Production of Brand Culture Colonies

This paper explores implications for marketing education curricula of developments in marketing practice. Research from a variety of sources is drawn together and suggests that many marketing graduates are not being well equipped for 'the new marketing'. Marketing curricula should be reconsidered with respect to the nature of the learning outcomes, skills and knowledge that are required by graduates. Specifically, a range of marketing research and information issues are raised, together with implications of the new marketing metrics and the nature of marketing's wider role (via alliances and partnerships) in Knowledge Management strategies. This is furthered by the need to revisit the marketing concept itself in terms of its wider social responsibilities.     

Gender differences in the interpretation of web atmospherics: A selectivity hypothesis approach

This paper sets out to explore the role of gender as a moderator of the relationship between web atmospheric cues and virtual visitor's attitudes. In a laboratory experiment, the web atmospherics of a museum website – conceived as high and low task relevant cues – are manipulated so as to assess their impact on attitude toward the website and attitude toward the brand. The findings indicate that low task relevant cues are associated not only with higher attitude toward the website but with more positive evaluations of the brand as well. Gender has a moderating effect on both relationships of interest: In the absence of low task relevant cues, males develop less favorable attitudes toward the site and the brand, while females' attitude remains consistent across both experimental conditions. The findings are interpreted from a Selectivity Hypothesis viewpoint, which attributes gender differences in cognitive evaluations, to differences in information processing style. The study underscores the value of web atmospherics for service branding, elucidating the benefits for webpage design. It also supports the relevance of the Selectivity Model in the Internet context and highlights its significance in the sphere of online attitude development.     

The fluent online shopping experience

Consumers increasingly use various Internet-enabled devices for online shopping; thus, a critical topic for both research and practice is the visual characteristics of the information presented in this medium. This study builds on fluency theory within an environmental psychology framework. Specifically, this research examines how consumers' perceived fluency of the verbal online information affects their perceived cognitive effort and positive affect within a choice context. The experimental results show that (1) perceptual fluency affects both cognitive effort and positive affect experienced during online shopping and (2) cognitive effort and positive affect influence judgments about the perceived decision quality of the choice made. This research is notable in its simultaneous (as opposed to consecutive) examination of the relationship among the three dimensions of processing fluency (perceptual fluency, positive affect, and cognitive effort) and their impact on consumers' choice satisfaction with an online shopping task.     

CHILD CARE COURSES IN THE CURRICULUM

This paper considers the relevance of child care courses for adolescents in the light of the recent debate on the curriculum and argues that despite indications to the contrary, such courses are more important than they ever were and have a fundamental role to play in the formation of future generations. Support for this can be found in recent research into the needs of the young child. The author questions the new emphasis and the non-family role of women in relation to the child's welfare and suggests that it is a misunderstanding both of women's position and the nature of child care courses.     

Creating Shared Vision in the Marketing Channel Network

The marketing channel information network-composed of actors within the channel, activity links, and resource ties-is proposed to be a key element in creating an efficient marketing channel working environment. The shared vision for such channel networks is created by activity links between the actors, the learning mood of the channel, and by the channel's cultural foundation. Contingency-based intrachannel constraints are suggested to moderate the relationships between the channel's organizational arrangement and shared vision within the channel, and between shared vision and channel performance. To enhance theory and practice, this paper integrates the previous constructs into a marketing channel information network model and presents practical and actionable propositions.     

How Task Structure and Outcome Comparisons Influence Women's and Men's Risk‐Taking Self‐Efficacies: A Multi‐Study Exploration

To explore inconsistent findings in the perceived self‐efficacy and entrepreneurship literatures as they relate to the type of complex, risky decisions (i.e., those that commit financial resources to generate new revenue) made by marketing managers, entrepreneurs, and corporate intrapreneurs, this paper uses a series of four theoretically driven, empirical studies to investigate gender differences in risk‐taking self‐efficacies (i.e., one's perceived abilities to make financially risky, business development decisions). The results indicate the following: (1) no gender differences in risk‐taking self‐efficacies absent a task; (2) after performing a complex, risk‐laden task, the risk‐taking self‐efficacies of subjects receiving negatively valenced outcome information and women were less than those of subjects receiving positively valenced outcome information and men; (3) this effect remains for women when experience in the task domain is high and when diagnostic information about prior outcomes is provided; (4) the reason for the effect appears to be that men and women use information about their prior decision's outcomes differently when assessing their risk‐taking self‐efficacies; and (5) the effect disappears when social cues intended to facilitate accurate performance comparisons are introduced into the task environment. These findings support existing theories, identify areas needing development, and show how these effects can limit participation in both complex, risk‐laden tasks and careers that are thought to involve performing such tasks.     

It pays to pay attention: How firm's and competitor's marketing levers affect investor attention and firm value

Investors' attention to a firm's stock has been demonstrated to influence stock returns (Da et al., 2011). But does a firm's marketing information draw attention to a firm's stock? Research in finance, accounting, and marketing has investigated advertising as one potential driver of investors' attention to a firm's stock. How about other potential marketing drivers? The authors develop hypotheses related to the impact of the changes in four marketing levers: advertising, product development announcements, WOM, and customer satisfaction on the change in investor attention to a firm's stock. Furthermore, they investigate the moderating role of competitors' marketing levers in these relationships.To test the hypotheses, they compile a panel dataset with 349 firms covering the 2007–2017 period. The results suggest that the changes in the focal firm's advertising and WOM have a positive and significant impact on the changes in investor attention to the focal firm’s stock. Furthermore, these effects are amplified when there is an increase in competitors' advertising spending and WOM, respectively. For the customer satisfaction lever, the results suggest that the change in competitors' customer satisfaction enhances the impact of the change in focal firm's customer satisfaction on investor attention. Collectively, the results suggest that investors attend to the firm's and its competitors' marketing information in a much more nuanced manner than previously thought.     

Shopping Orientation and Mindsets: How Motivation Influences Consumer Information Processing During Shopping

This research examines the cognitive procedures that underlie experiential versus task‐focused shopping orientations. The authors propose that consumers with a task‐focused shopping orientation and consumers with an experiential shopping orientation apply different cognitive procedures during shopping. Studies 1, 2, and 3 show that consumers with a task‐focused shopping orientation are more likely to activate the cognitive procedures of an implemental mindset, whereas consumers with an experiential shopping orientation are more likely to activate the cognitive procedures of a deliberative mindset. Study 4 demonstrates a fit effect between activated cognitive procedures and shopping orientation. Activating a mindset that matches the shopping orientation increases the monetary value that consumers assign to a product. The studies extend previous research by linking shopping orientations to mindsets and by providing evidence for mindset fit. The findings suggest that marketers and retailers will benefit from addressing experiential and task‐focused shoppers via the mindsets that underlie their shopping orientation.     

Illusions of marketing planners

The article highlights the risks of using self‐evaluation as a substitute for primary and secondary market research when designing and monitoring marketing programs. Included is a study of 110 management teams that suggests internally dominated marketing analysis may breed illusory evaluations of a company's own marketing programs versus competitors. If acted upon, such illusions could lead to oversights in developing marketing offerings. The overriding potential implication of the study addresses the allocation of a company's substantial marketing assets—most notably, the risks of bypassing secondary market data and primary market research when developing and evaluating marketing programs. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

The Grape Escape–A FUNdraising Bike Tour for the Multiple Sclerosis Society

ABSTRACT

As the fundraising climate for nonprofit organizations becomes increasingly competitive for the public's attention and charitable giving, social marketing research can help to gather information for mutual benefit. This paper describes a study that evaluated a weekend cycling fundraising event for the Multiple Sclerosis Society to better understand participants' experiences and improve the event. Data were collected via questionnaires (n = 78) revealing perceptions of the benefits and costs of participation, as well as cyclists' ratings of self and external efficacy. Telephone interviews (n = 25) captured participants' reactions to the event's marketing materials and communication strategies. Implications for improving the event to maximize benefits and reduce costs, enhance its marketing, recruit future and retain existing participants and positioning the event are offered.     

Children's influences on in-store purchases

Relatively little is known about the influence children have on their parents’ purchases in a retail setting. This study investigates which factors affect children's purchase requests and their parents’ subsequent purchases. It was found that factors influencing the number of children's purchase requests were the freedom of a child's movements, the product's visibility, and the child's developmental stage. The latter variable together with the suitability of the good for consumption on the premises, the linguistic form of child's request, the parent's household income, and the price of the good determine the number of purchases following a child's request.     

An evaluation of the perceptions and marketing practices of nontraditional exporters in Ghana

This article evaluates the marketing practices of nontraditional exporters (NTEs) and their perceptions of the Ghanaian government's export promotional activities and prescribes a procedure for export promotion for the country. The result shows that from a sample of 92, over 73% of respondents are from woodwork, textiles, and agricultural production. NTEs account for over 24% of the country's total exports. The Ghana Export Promotions Council (GEPC) and exhibitions are perceived to be the most effective sources of information by the exporters. Evidence shows that exporters consider growth and profit opportunities that are proactive motives as the most important factors for initiating exporting. Over 50% of the respondents have no formal planning procedures or set of objectives, and about 13% achieve a turnover of over U.S.$6 million. The application of the marketing concept by the respondents is at an embryonic stage. The exporters consider high banking charges, low capacity usage, and poor technology as the major problems that affect their business operations. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Dimensional analysis of schoolchildren's food label comprehension: a pilot study

This article discusses some weaknesses in current research into young consumers’ abilities to comprehend and successfully manipulate food label information and describes the development of a research project through to an analysis of the pilot phase. The research programme identifies a method of measuring the effectiveness of state education in enabling the next generation of consumers to make informed food choices through the provision of appropriate tools and skills, both of which are necessary to fully understand a label's informational elements within a marketing context. The article also discusses the appropriateness of a quantitative questionnaire to measure the abilities and skills of individuals through the identification of some key comprehension dimensions required by modern food consumers. Finally, the article questions the appropriateness of the context in which information is provided to food consumers. Through a continuing programme of research, it is envisaged that a more appropriate context for certain elements important in the choice of a diet that is relevant to an individual's lifestyle may be proposed.     

Market Mavens in Social Media: Examining Young Chinese Consumers' Viral Marketing Attitude,eWOM Motive,and Behavior

A paper survey of 835 Chinese college students was conducted to examine young Chinese consumers' social media use, market mavenism, viral marketing attitude, and product recommendation behavior. Structural model testing results showed that young Chinese consumers' perceived pleasure, affection outcome expectation, and subjective norm of viral marketing affected their market mavenism while their subjective norm and pleasure influenced their viral marketing attitude. More importantly, young Chinese consumers' frequency of product recommendations on social networking websites was determined by their social media use, viral marketing attitude, and electronic word of mouth motive to help the company and market mavenism.     

A comparison of parents' and children's knowledge of brands and advertising slogans in the United States: implications for consumer socialization

Research in the area of consumer socialization suggests that parents act in an agent–learner relationship with their preadolescent children and have the greatest influence on their young children's purchase behaviour. The present study examines this assumption in light of changes in family roles and composition, media exposure and marketing efforts aimed at children. A cognitive recognition test of advertising slogans drawn from recent television commercials is used to determine knowledge levels of a sample of preadolescent children and their parents. Results suggest that children, beginning at age nine, have as much knowledge of advertising slogans as do their parents, even in product categories targeted at adults.     

Does Job Function Influence Ethical Reasoning? An Adapted Wason Task Application

A review of extent business ethics research uncovered well over 200 published articles that investigated the role of job functions within a business organization as an explanatory factor of ethical or unethical behavior. While an important body of work, ethical breaches are often found to cut across job functions and involve multiple disciplines embedded in a business organization. This research seeks to explore a cross-functional explanation for ethical reasoning by using an instrument new to business ethics research, the Wason selection task, but well-grounded and validated in cognitive research and evolutionary psychology, to assess an individual’s ability to detect rule-based social contract violations. A sample of 276 full-time business practitioners, enrolled in part-time M.B.A. programs, from the accounting, finance, information technology, marketing, supply chain, and human resource management job functions were compared on their ability to detect rule violators across a series of production scenarios in the Wason selection task. Rates of cheater detection were calculated to determine if substantive differences existed across job functions. This was followed by a series of pair-wise comparisons of percentages of cheater detection across the job functions using z-tests for assessing statistical significance. The data analysis showed differences in cheater detection, with most of the variance due to the marketing job function group. Insights from this study for scholars, educators, and practitioners in the business ethics field are discussed.