Children's Perceived Value: Conceptualization,Scale Development,and Validation

Perceived value among children is an important concept in consumer decisions, yet surprisingly no research has operationalized value for this consumer group. To address this omission, and following the guidelines of DeVellis (2016), this investigation reports the findings of a seven-stage process to develop a valid and reliable instrument for measuring perceived value among children aged 8–14 years. Value for children is conceptualized as a multidimensional construct capturing perceptions of what is received and what is given up, which differs from adult measures in terms of its composition and complexity. A 24-item scale is developed that shows internal consistency, reliability, construct validity, and nomological validity. We also demonstrate the validity of the new scale beyond an existing adult perceived value measure. Directions for future research and managerial implications of the new scale for studying children's consumer behavior are discussed.     

Employees' Company Reputation-related Social Media Competence: Scale Development and Validation

Cases in which employees' uses of social media harm their company's reputation highlight the need for a measure to evaluate employees' company reputation-related social media competence (RSMC). Drawing on reputation and human capital theory and data from four occupationally diverse samples of employees, this study develops and validates a new, multidimensional measure of RSMC, or an employee's ability to use social media without causing harm to the employer's reputation. Exploratory factor analyses, first- and second-order confirmatory factor analyses, and structural equation modeling all provide strong evidence of the convergent, discriminant, known-group, and nomological validities of the proposed RSMC scale. The higher-order RSMC construct also relates to job demands and resources and to two behavioral outcomes: bad mouthing and positive word of mouth. The RSMC scale also exhibits test–retest reliability and ecological validity. Thus, the new scale offers both research directions and managerial implications.     

Scale Development and Validation for Measuring Online Engagement

Although the construct of online engagement has received considerable attention in the consumer behavior literature, academic research lacks clear conceptualization and rigorous measurement of the construct within social media. Further, a lack of consensus remains with regard to the conceptualization and operationalization of engagement in the marketing literature. This study develops and validates a 16-item online engagement scale comprising four factors: conscious attention, affection, enthused participation, and social connection. Strong evidence supports the reliability of the multidimensional conceptualization, as well as its convergent and discriminant validity. The scale offers a framework for future research investigations in an increasingly important area.     

Dimensions of Luxury Brand Personality: Scale Development and Validation

Both the marketing industry and academia have been paying more attention to the growth and potential of the luxury market. This research developed a theoretical framework for understanding the dimensions of luxury brand personality and a reliable and valid scale that measures these dimensions. When 30 luxury brands, ranging from fashion to automobile and retail, were assessed on a set of diverse personality attributes, six dimensions representing luxury brand personality were identified: Excitement, Sincerity, Sophistication, Professionalism, Attractiveness, and Materialism. Findings indicate that while three dimensions, Sincerity, Excitement, and Sophistication, share similar qualities with those identified in Aaker's (1997) scale for general brand personality, the other three dimensions, Professionalism, Attractiveness, and Materialism, reflect meanings unique and specific to luxury brands. Altogether, the results of this research hold the notion that luxury brands serving as consumption symbols provide both utilitarian benefits and symbolic meanings to contemporary consumers.     

Creative Strategies in Social Media Marketing: An Exploratory Study of Branded Social Content and Consumer Engagement

This study employed a content analysis of the creative strategies present in the social media content shared by a sample of top brands. The results reveal which social media channels are being used, which creative strategies/appeals are being used, and how these channels and strategies relate to consumer engagement in branded social media. Past research has suggested that brands should focus on maintaining a social presence across social channels with content that is fresh and frequent and includes incentives for consumer participation (Ling et al., 2004). This study confirmed the importance of frequent updates and incentives for participation. In addition, several creative strategies were associated with customer engagement, specifically experiential, image, and exclusivity messages. Despite the value of these creative approaches, most branded social content can be categorized as functional.     

Consumer Fear of Online Identity Theft: Scale Development and Validation

One unwelcome side effect accompanying the rise of e-commerce concerns the increase in cyber-crime, which in turn contributes to consumer fear of online identity theft (FOIT). This research details the development and validation of a FOIT scale that measures individual differences in consumers' proneness to feel negative emotions in relation to shopping online, specifically, the fear that others may illicitly use their identifying details. Based on literature insights, findings from qualitative interviews (n = 43), and three quantitative studies in Germany (n = 345, n = 539, n = 1,150) conducted in various online contexts, the authors propose a two-dimensional FOIT scale. Comprehensive validation procedures which involve relating FOIT to antecedents and consequences suggest the usefulness of the FOIT scale. Suggestions for future research and managerial implications are discussed.     

GOSIP in Cyberspace: Conceptualization and Scale Development for General Online Social Interaction Propensity

The interactive nature of the Internet has boosted online communication for both social and business purposes. However, individual consumers differ in their predisposition to interact online with others. Whereas an impressive stream of research has investigated media interactivity, the existence of individual differences in the use of different online media, that is, differences in general online social interaction propensity, has so far received less research attention. An individual's predisposition to interact online affects many important consumer behaviors, such as online engagement and participation. Thus, in this paper, we propose and conceptualize general online social interaction propensity as a trait-based individual difference that captures the differences between consumers in their predisposition to interact with others in an online environment. Based on eight studies, we develop and validate a scale for measuring general online social interaction propensity and demonstrate its usefulness in understanding diversity in levels of engagement and in predicting online interaction behaviors.     

Consumers’ Social Media Brand Behaviors: Uncovering Underlying Motivators and Deriving Meaningful Consumer Segments

The current research identifies the range of social media brand behaviors (i.e., brand touch points) that consumers can exhibit on social media, and subsequently queries a representative sample of consumers with regard to such behaviors. The analysis reveals four underlying motivators for consumers’ social media behaviors, including brand tacit engagement, brand exhibiting, brand patronizing, and brand deal seeking. These motivators are used to derive meaningful consumer segments identified as content seekers, observers, deal hunters, hard‐core fans, posers and, respectively, patronizers, and described through co‐variates including brand loyalty, brand attachment, and social media usage. The findings are critically discussed in the light of literature on the needs that consumers meet through brand consumption and on the types of relationships consumers build with brands. Not least, the managerial implications of the current findings are debated.     

Engagement with Social Media and Social Media Advertising: The Differentiating Role of Platform Type

This study examines how consumers’ engagement with social media platforms drives engagement with advertising embedded in these platforms and, subsequently, evaluations of this advertising. Our survey (N = 1,346, aged 13 and older) maps social media users’ engagement experiences with Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, Twitter, Google+, Instagram, Pinterest, and Snapchat and their experiences with and evaluations of advertising on these platforms. Our findings show that engagement is highly context specific; it comprises various types of experiences on each social media platform such that each is experienced in a unique way. Moreover, on each platform, a different set of experiences is related to advertising evaluations. It is further shown that engagement with social media advertising itself is key in explaining how social media engagement is related to advertising evaluations. The general conclusion is that there is no such thing as “social media.”     

The Influence of B to B Social Media Message Features on Brand Engagement: A Fluency Perspective

Purpose: Social media is increasingly drawing the attention and interest of business-to-business (B to B) organizations. Yet, B to B organizations remain cautious in their social media pursuits, in part based on a stated lack of understanding for best practices. The purpose of the current work is to take initial steps to address this challenge by identifying specific social media message features that influence online users’ engagement with B to B organizations.

Methodology/Approach: This work examines the Twitter feeds of the top 50 social B to B brands (as reported by Brandwatch in 2015) to examine the effects of message features (hashtags, text difficulty, embedded media, and message timing) on user engagement, captured in terms of Twitter likes and retweets.

Findings: We argue that message features that enhance fluency (e.g., images) should enhance engagement. In contrast, those that disrupt fluency (e.g., hasthags) should result in lower levels of engagement. Consistent with these predictions, we find that hashtags and text difficulty correlate to lower levels of engagement whereas embedded media in the form of images and video correlate to higher levels of engagement. Also consistent with the proposed fluency framework, we find that tweets from B to B organizations generate greater engagement on evenings and weekends.

Research Implications: This research applies a fluency lens to identify specific message features that influence online engagement. In doing so, it highlights fluency as a powerful construct for understanding the drivers of B to B social media brand engagement. More generally, this work suggests fluency as a valuable conceptual lens for developing effective B to B social media strategies. This research also speaks to the complexity of B to B social media strategies – organizations must go beyond content and platform decisions, to also consider the specific features of the message.

Practical Implications: Social media is becoming more and more important to B to B organizations and is as yet an underutilized engagement tool. The current work offers initial strategies regarding message features that business practitioners can incorporate into their content development strategies to strengthen engagement. Specifically, efforts should be made to attain high levels of fluency in B to B social media content development.

Originality/Value/Contribution of the Paper: The current work offers initial insights as to the importance of understanding not only how social media topics/content influence engagement, but also the influence of message features (e.g., hashtags, embedded media). In doing so, it highlights fluency as a novel conceptual lens for developing more effective B to B social media strategies. Finally, it draws on actual tweets from leading B to B brands to examine the proposed influence of message features on engagement.     

基于消费者持续购买的品牌安全评价指标体系研究

品牌安全及其指标体系的研究是营销工程领域中一个重要课题.很多新产品在市场进入初期靠满足消费者需求和质量要求、沟通到位赢得了市场,但接下来却不能吸引消费者持续购买,关键是没有建立起消费者对产品的品牌意识.本文从消费者角度出发,在假定消费者持续购买行为是品牌安全的外在表现的基础上,构建一个多维度的品牌安全指标体系,并利用探索性因子分析方法(EFA)和验证性因子分析方法(CFA)先后对该模型假设进行规范的实证分析.文章提出,构建品牌安全模型的最终目的是弄清新产品进入市场的过程中,品牌因素是否会成为顾客持续购买的障碍并有效地清除这些障碍,具体表现在品牌安全诊断和品牌危机预防等两个方面.     

Content Strategies for Digital Consumer Engagement in Social Networks: Why Advertising Is an Antecedent of Engagement

Advertisers need to optimize their efforts on social networks to engage consumers effectively. Existing literature on this topic has not yet explained how social network advertising (SNA) can be categorized into different content types and how to conceptualize and operationalize digital consumer engagement (DCE) in social networks. Thus, we derive seven content categories for social network advertising and a four-level model for DCE based on consumers' intermediate mind-set responses. We propose the impact of different SNA categories as an antecedent of DCE. Our results confirm a significant but unequal impact of at least four content categories on various engagement metrics. We therefore distill the successful content strategies and content attributes for specific types of engagement and confirm intermediate responses to advertising in a real market situation.     

Money Attitudes,Materialism, and Compulsiveness: Scale Development and Validation

ABSTRACT

Compulsive buying behavior is a chronic shopping disorder. Compulsive buyers purchase products to quell feelings of anxiety and depression. Past research suggests positive relationship between money attitudes, materialism, and compulsiveness. Money attitude, materialism, and compulsiveness scales have been adapted by researchers to validate their applicability in different countries. Results have revealed new factors. These scales were used to check their validity and applicability on Indian sample. CFA findings revealed that original factors and model could not be confirmed completely on the Indian sample. The study identified new factors: three money attitude factors (power-prestige, anxiety, and price sensitivity), five materialism factors (success, status, centrality, achievement, and happiness), and compulsiveness (one factor).     

A Multidisciplinary Approach to Supply Chain Agility: Conceptualization and Scale Development

Although agility has been identified as one of the most important issues of contemporary supply chain management, the theoretical basis for understanding supply chain agility is fragmented. This research addresses the gap related to the ambiguity surrounding the dimensions and definitions of firm supply chain agility by employing a multidisciplinary literature review to gain an in‐depth understanding of agility. In addition, a comprehensive measurement instrument that draws on the foundations of social and life science theory is developed and empirically validated. The results of the research indicate that firm supply chain agility is composed of five distinct dimensions including alertness, accessibility, decisiveness, swiftness, and flexibility. Based on these elements, a comprehensive definition of firm supply chain agility is developed for further theoretical testing of the concept.     

Revised Unique Selling Proposition: Scale Development,Validation, and Application

ABSTRACT

This article reports an empirical study that revisits the unique selling proposition (USP) concept by delineating the content domains based on an operational definition. A revised USP (RUSP) scale was developed and purified, resulting in five dimensions that were consistent with our theoretical conceptualization. An application study further demonstrated that a high or low level of RUSP characteristics in an ad is associated with ad effectiveness measures. Theoretical contributions, managerial applications, and future research directions are discussed.     

Branded App Usability: Conceptualization,Measurement, and Prediction of Consumer Loyalty

Despite the importance of usability assessment, few studies have taken a consumer-centric approach to conceptualize and measure the underlying dimensions of branded app usability. Addressing this gap in the literature, we developed and validated a holistic measure of branded app usability based on consumer evaluations rather than the various technical issues previously addressed in mobile marketing studies. The results indicate that branded app usability, as a multidimensional construct, consists of 13 items in five factors: user-friendliness, personalization, speed, fun, and omnipresence. Theoretical and practical implications for measuring branded app usability are discussed.     

品牌个性、消费者真实自我与品牌态度

基于FCB Grid模型视角,运用实证分析的方法研究品牌个性与消费者真实自我对品牌态度的影响。研究发现,高涉入度/认知型和高涉入度/情感型品牌的品牌个性与真实自我概念一致的群体比不一致的群体具有更高的品牌态度,在此类品牌的塑造上考虑注入品牌个性的五个维度中的"智"和"雅"的个性特征,低涉入度/认知品牌未显示出显著的品牌个性,低涉入度/情感型品牌的一致群体与不一致群体均显示出显著的品牌个性。     

Consumer Culture and Political Ideology Plots in Social Media Campaigns

A number of studies are devoted to explicating global consumer culture and political ideology plots in traditional advertising. Nevertheless, studies of these plots in social media campaigns are scarce. In order to fill this gap, our study examines consumer culture and political ideology plots utilized by global brands in social media advertisements targeted to US Millennials. Employing semiotic analysis, a series of advertisements from automotive, food and beverage, electronics, personal care products, fast food, athletics and financial sectors were evaluated and interpreted. Our findings uncovered one unique main plot labeled “identity-of-self” and three subplots: 1) successful and young living, 2) Peter Pan syndrome, and 3) purposeful connectedness. Implications for practice and directions for future work are suggested.     

Value Creation in Brand Alliances: A Dynamic Conceptualization

The objective of this article is to conceptualize the value creation process in brand alliances using a dynamic approach, based upon the literature on strategic alliances and inter organizational relationships, to explain the importance of organizational components in brand alliances. The research question is to identify the key components which allow the creation and sustaining of value: context, actors, objectives, behaviors, resources, and governance mechanisms, internal and external conditions affecting the value creation process. Then the framework is applied in case studies of brand alliances in the food market. We show that the impact of these components depends on the nature of the organizations involved, on market conditions and on the manner resources and governance mechanisms are combined together.