Experiencing atmospherics: The moderating effect of mall experiences on the impact of individual store atmospherics on spending behavior and mall loyalty

Retailers invest in atmospherics to create effective environments that engage shoppers in their shopping journey and promote business success. However, the link between store-level atmospherics and mall-level experiences remains opaque. In a quasi-experimental field study, we confirm that the quality of in-store atmospherics positively impacts in-store spending and reveal for the first time that it also positively influences loyalty intentions toward the mall as a whole. Both effects are mediated by perceived store atmosphere and moderated by mall experiences. The effects on spending are stronger for shoppers who are seeking hedonic experiences (seductive, recreational, and social) and are less interested in the functional experience. However, the impact on mall loyalty is stronger for shoppers pursuing material (functional) and avoiding social experiences. For retailers and mall owners, these findings underscore the importance of matching store atmospherics with mall experiences. Similarities and differences in the effects of atmospherics between and within the store and mall levels are discussed.     

An examination of gender role portrayals in television commercials in Romania: A gender of nations approach

This study examines gender role portrayals in Romanian television commercials. Results reveal both progressive and traditional gender role portrayals for both women and men reflecting a society and economy in a state of transition toward European Union membership. The study also involves a test of the concept of gender of nations using Hofstede's Masculinity Index (MAS). Extending a methodological approach first used by Milner and Collins (1998, 2000) gender role portrayals in Romanian commercials (moderate MAS) were compared with those appearing in Japanese (high MAS) and Swedish (low MAS) commercials. The results, which are consistent with predictions based on the relative MAS scores of the three nations, are discussed along with managerial implications.     

Gender differences in consumers’ acceptance of genetically modified foods

Research has shown that women are less accepting of genetically engineered products than men. We expect two mechanisms to be at work here. First, in consumer behaviour theory, more knowledge is assumed to lead to more acceptance. We assumed that for genetically engineered foods, this general principle does not apply since long‐term consequences are not known yet. The well‐informed consumer is likely to be comparatively more concerned with this lack of knowledge. We call this the information paradox. Theory on the topic is relatively recent. The results of this study will help to distinguish consumer behaviour with regard to new types of food as compared with traditional foods. Second, we assumed that there is a gender factor included in attitudes toward foods. In general, women still plan food and household purchases. A tentative attitude and an accompanying reluctance toward food innovation are adopted when buying food for children. We call this the gender paradox. In this exploratory study we use data from the Eurobarometer. Eurobarometer surveys have been executed since 1973 by the European Commission among the adult population of European Union member countries (n > 10 000), monitoring the evolution of public opinion. Analysis of these surveys shows that gender differences exist in the acceptance of genetically modified (GM) foods in Europe. Women tend to be less accepting toward genetically modified foods. This supports our gender hypothesis. However, no evidence was found to support the assumed information paradox. It seems that knowledge leads to acceptance, also of GM foods, but more so for men than for women.     

Gender differences in Egyptian consumers’ green purchase behaviour: the effects of environmental knowledge,concern and attitude

This study investigates the influence of three cognitive and attitudinal factors on gender differences in green purchase behaviour. Using a large sample size (n = 1093), a survey has been developed and administered across Egypt. The findings from the multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) confirm the influence of consumers’ ecological knowledge, concern and attitude on gender differences in green purchase behaviour. Consistent with previous studies, this study found that women appeared to be less aware of environmental issues compared with men. However, contrary to other studies conducted in the West, men showed more environmental concern and more positive outlook towards green purchase compared with women. The study discusses how the present findings may help policy makers and marketers alike to fine‐tune their environmental and marketing programmes.     

论20世纪初的中国翻译文学与性别

20世纪初叶的中国,翻译文学被当作启蒙和教诲的工具而得到大力提倡,与此同时,女性也被推向中国历史的前台。在这一特定历史时期,翻译文学出现了“写情”和“女性”题旨作品的广泛流行。翻译文学作为当时输入西方文化和思想的一个重要介质,引进了许多栩栩如生的异国人物形象,其中各种西方女性形象的输入激发了国人对新型性别秩序的想象和重构,翻译文学成为性别话语交锋的斗争之场。     

Global Marketing,Gender and Family Business in Asia: A Literature Review

ABSTRACT

In this article, we explore the recent trends in global marketing, gender and family entrepreneurship in Asia. Taking into account previous contributions, this article aims to provide a better portrait about research on global marketing, gender and family entrepreneurship in Asian countries and future directions. The article presents a few comparative analyses for Asian countries in terms of gender representation in the entrepreneurship sector in recent years as well as the succession in larger family businesses in Asia.     

Attitudes Towards Product Website Design: A Study of the Effects of Gender

The research of the Internet2 project has resulted in the introduction of new technologies and has set the stage for another round of Internet growth. These technologies will enhance interactivity and allow for the delivery of greater amounts of information through richer communication. With these new options, World Wide Web‐based retailers must now rethink the design of their sites, the amount of information to deliver and the degree of media richness to provide. This article sets forth an overview of the evolution of the Internet, presents relevant media richness theory, gives a review of the literature with regard to gender and the Internet and presents an empirical illustration of the effects of gender on attitudes towards website design. The results suggest that, overall, males have more positive attitudes than females with regard to both rich and lean websites. The study details the development of an experimental instrument for measuring user attitudes and discusses the impact of the results.     

Effects of the in-store crowd and employee perceptions on intentions to revisit and word-of-mouth via transactional satisfaction: A SOR approach

This study investigates the relationship between in-store social atmospherics (crowd and employees), satisfaction, and intention to revisit the store and word-of-mouth. We propose a conceptual framework based on the SOR model, considering crowd and employees as the stimuli, satisfaction as the internal response, and intention to revisit and word-of-mouth as the response. We conducted a quantitative study and surveyed 422 Abercrombie & Fitch store customers, and we used a regression method. The results show that social atmospherics positively impacts satisfaction, relational variables and satisfaction mediating effects. Our contribution is to confirm the relevance of the SOR, the positive relationships between store employees and crowd on satisfaction, and between satisfaction and intention to revisit, word-of-mouth, and the mediating role of satisfaction.     

Gender differences in evaluation of new business opportunity: A stereotype threat perspective

This study draws on stereotype threat theory to explore differences between men and women on evaluation of new business opportunities. Two controlled experiments, one with business students in Turkey and another with working professionals in the United States, were conducted. Participants were randomly assigned to specific experimental conditions and their assessment of a new business opportunity was measured after presentation of stereotypical information. As predicted, men reported higher opportunity evaluation than women when no gender stereotypical information was presented, whereas men and women evaluated the business opportunity equally favorably when entrepreneurs were described using gender-neutral attributes. Interestingly, gender differences in opportunity evaluation were exacerbated when entrepreneurship was linked to masculine stereotypical information, and reversed in favor of women when entrepreneurship was linked to feminine stereotypical information. Practical implications and directions for future research are discussed.     

An exploration of the standardization of targeting strategies and the use of promotional disciplines on the web: A cross-national study

This study examines how leading corporations standardize their regional sites from the integrated marketing communication (IMC) perspective. In terms of standardizing targeting strategies, data show that many leading brands view the online audiences as one mass. Customers and media are the two most targeted and standardized stakeholders for all brands and in each of the product categories (i.e. non-durable goods, durable goods, and service). This study also reveals that financial communities/investors, communities, and channel members are the other three most targeted and standardized stakeholders, even though their rankings are somewhat different across the product categories. Employees, government regulators, and special-interest groups are seldom targeted through corporate websites. In terms of standardizing promotional disciplines on the web, advertising is the most standardized, followed by customer relations, direct marketing, public relations, and sales promotions for all brands and each product category. As a whole, service brands have the highest standardization mean, while durable goods rank second and non-durable goods are last. The three product categories do not significantly differ in terms of the standardization of promotional tactics. A Web Standardization Model is developed to be compatible and comparable to Moriarty and Duncan's Standardization Model.     

The rise of Firefox in the web browser industry: The role of open source in setting standards

Recent years have witnessed a continuous erosion of the Microsoft Internet Explorer share in the web browser market, mainly induced by the continuous gains of Mozilla Firefox, an open source software product. This tendency would seem to contradict the well-established belief that in a standards battle ‘the strong grow stronger while the weak grow weaker’. The objective of this study is to explain the evolution of web browsers through the analysis of the competitive relationship between the main players in this ongoing battle. We examine two standards battles: first, Netscape versus Microsoft, followed by the more recent battle between Microsoft and Mozilla. The analysis contributes to the understanding of standard battles in the context of open source software. It will be argued that some characteristics of Open Source Firefox, such as the semi-open development approach and the involvement of commercial companies, partially explain the rise of this web browser. Lock-in mechanisms, which historically have been reported to be dominant factors in standards battles, seem to have little impact in the context of open source software.     

无边界职业生涯时代研发人员的就业能力——一项基于性别的研究

无边界职业生涯时代,雇主与雇员之间的心理契约,由雇员以对雇主的忠诚度换取长期或终身就业保障的心理契约,转变为雇员以工作绩效换取可持续的就业能力为核心的心理契约。研发人员在无边界职业生涯时代的就业能力包括9个维度,按其总体得分高低排序为:环境适应能力,意志力,创新能力,专业技能,团队合作能力,健康的体能,学习能力,自我意识,沟通能力。男性与女性研发人员在专业技能以及团队合作能力两个维度的认同度上存在显著差异,其他指标不存在显著差异。男性与女性关注度最高的3个维度为环境适应能力、创新能力与意志力,男性关注度最低的2个维度为自我意识与沟通能力,女性关注度最低的2个维度为学习能力与自我意识。     

Gender differences in business performance: evidence from the Characteristics of Business Owners survey

This paper compares the technical efficiency of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with that of large firms and studies the factors influencing technical efficiency for Taiwan’s electronics industry. Unlike conventional studies, we use two alternative approaches to control for the influence of size effect. One is the two-stage switching regression to correct for endogenous size effect on technical efficiency and, the other is, a metafrontier production function for firms in different groups. The main results are as follows. First, the average technical efficiency for large firms is higher than that of SMEs, without considering the size effect, and lower when considering the endogenous choice on firm size. This study cannot, therefore, conclude that there is a negative size–technical efficiency relationship. It however, sheds light on the importance of size effect on the size–technical efficiency nexus. Second, the estimates on the determinants of technical efficiency show that being a subcontractor has a statistically significant positive influence on SMEs’ technical efficiency, but the effect decreases with firm size.

Being in Someone Else’s Shoes: the Role of Gender in Nascent Entrepreneurship

Several studies have shown the existence of significant differences in the rate of new business creation between men and women. Specifically, it has been shown that women are much less likely to be involved in entrepreneurship than men worldwide. It is not yet understood, however, if such differences are the result of personal characteristics of the individual and of her economic environment or are, instead, the result of universal and, perhaps, evolutionary phenomena. Our empirical analysis is conducted using representative samples of population for 37 countries and a special form of bootstrapping that allows us to equalize individuals’ conditions and, as a result, analyze the choices of men and women put in identical economic environments and socio-economic circumstances.      

She shares,but he does not: Gender differences in the sharing of charity‐related content on social networking sites

Online social networks are widely used methods of communication. This research examines gender differences in people's tendency to post charity‐related messages. In general, compared to males, females show more empathic concerns with online charity‐related messages, which increases their willingness to post messages on their online social networking sites. However, message framing is key. Females' higher tendency only holds for charity messages that focus on benefits to others or the feelings of others, not for messages that are self‐focused. This research also identifies one way of improving men's willingness to post. Messages that are framed by focusing on negative consequence appeals can increase empathic concerns, which can increase males' willingness to share online charity messages on online social networking sites.     

Gender Differences in Ethics Judgment of Marketing Professionals in the United States

This empirical investigation reexamines the impact of gender on ethics judgment of marketing professionals in a cross-section of firms in the United States. In the study, gender differences in ethics judgment focus on decisions in the context of marketing-mix elements (product, promotion, pricing, and distribution). The results of statistical analyses indicate that men and women marketing professionals differ significantly in their ethics judgment. Overall, female marketing professionals evinced significantly higher ethics judgment than their male counterparts. Given the changing demographics of corporate America, it is conceivable that ethical decision-making in organizations stands to improve as the ratio of women in executive positions increases. The finding also bodes well with the recent emphasis of moving away from transaction-based in favor of relationship-focused conceptualization of marketing.     

Gender fatigue: The ideological dilemma of gender neutrality and discrimination in organizations

Although gender discrimination remains a feature of working life in many contexts, research on gender in organizations has shown that workplaces are often constructed as gender neutral. This poses an ideological dilemma for workers: how can they make sense of gender discrimination at work while presenting their workplace as gender neutral? This article explores that dilemma through an analysis of how information communication technology (ICT) workers talk about gender discrimination. Instead of denying gender discrimination, workers acknowledge it can happen but construct it as singular events that happened in the past and they place the onus on women to overcome such obstacles. Navigating the ideological dilemma around gender neutrality and discrimination, interviewees display what the article characterizes as gender fatigue. Copyright © 2009 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Calibrating 30 Years of Experimental Research: A Meta-Analysis of the Atmospheric Effects of Music,Scent, and Color

Atmospheric in-store stimuli have been the subject of considerable empirical investigation for over 30 years. This research presents a meta-analysis of 66 studies and 135 effects (N = 15,621) calibrating the atmospheric effects of music, scent, and color on shopping outcomes. At an aggregate level, the results reveal that environments in which music or scent are present yield higher pleasure, satisfaction, and behavioral intention ratings when compared with environments in which such conditions are absent. Warm colors produce higher levels of arousal than cool colors, while cool colors produce higher levels of satisfaction than warm colors. The estimated average strength of these relationships ranged from small to medium. Effect sizes exhibited significant between-study variance, which can be partly explained by the moderators investigated. For instance, larger effect sizes were observed for the relationship between scent and pleasure in those samples with a higher (vs. lower) proportion of females. Data also indicated a tendency toward stronger music and scent effects in service settings as compared to retail settings. The results of this analysis, based on data aggregated across the research stream, offer retailers a guide to enhance customers’ shopping experience through judicious use of in-store atmospheric stimuli.     

Gender differences in the work commitment of Chinese workers: An investigation of two alternative explanations

This study explores the differences in work commitment between Chinese male and female employees. We develop a model that specifies the major antecedents of job and organizational commitment in the Chinese workplace. We then examine whether the gender differences can be attributed to factors related to gender role ideology or unfavorable work conditions encountered by women. Several hypotheses are formulated and tested with a data set collected from 582 employees in Beijing. The findings reveal that employee work commitment is related to organizational support, job characteristics, and perceptions of gender discrimination. Further, it is found that the level of job commitment of women is lower than that of men, whereas the level of organizational commitment is the same for both sexes. The lower level of job commitment of women is due largely to their stronger perception of gender discrimination, receiving less challenging job assignments, and engaging in a low level of leader–member exchange. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.