Mobile Advertising: A Framework and Research Agenda

Mobile advertising allows retailers, service providers, and manufacturers to provide consumers with increasingly relevant offers. The success of such campaigns depends on an ever better understanding of environmental, consumer, and technological context variables; a strong focus on advertising goals; accounting for market factors related to the nature of stakeholders and market environment; and the use of appropriate mobile ad elements to improve relevant outcome metrics. This article provides an overarching framework to synthesize current findings in mobile advertising, as well as a research agenda to stimulate additional work in this nascent field.     

Online Behavioral Advertising: A Literature Review and Research Agenda

Advertisers are increasingly monitoring people's online behavior and using the information collected to show people individually targeted advertisements. This phenomenon is called online behavioral advertising (OBA). Although advertisers can benefit from OBA, the practice also raises concerns about privacy. Therefore, OBA has received much attention from advertisers, consumers, policymakers, and scholars. Despite this attention, there is neither a strong definition of OBA nor a clear accumulation of empirical findings. This article defines OBA and provides an overview of the empirical findings by developing a framework that identifies and integrates all factors that can explain consumer responses toward OBA. The framework suggests that the outcomes of OBA are dependent on advertiser-controlled factors (e.g., the level of personalization) and consumer-controlled factors (e.g., knowledge and perceptions about OBA and individual characteristics). The article also overviews the theoretical positioning of OBA by placing the theories that are used to explain consumers’ responses to OBA in our framework. Finally, we develop a research agenda and discuss implications for policymakers and advertisers.     

Mistaken Inferences from Advertising Conversations: A Modest Research Agenda

I review the changing advertising landscape and suggest that the definition of advertising has inherently changed. Using the current advertising context, I develop research questions that consumer behavior scholars are well poised to address. This research agenda is rooted in real-world observations about advertising and can help us develop new theories about when, how, and why advertising influences and persuades consumers. A recurring theme in this article is that consumers may be misled due to information overload from multiple channels and sources. I use the advertising-as-conversation metaphor to derive hypotheses and test one such hypothesis in an experiment. I end with a summary and discussion of advertising impact measurement.     

BRAND ACTIVISM: A Literature Review and Future Research Agenda

Brand activism is a new and fragmented phenomenon that has been attracting growing attention from scholars. Research on this topic is still at an exploratory stage and in need of advancement and conceptualization. The aim of this study is to systematize the extant literature on brand activism by attempting an in-depth exploration of the antecedents that identify the construct along with the influencing and consequence factors that will need to be tested and validated by future research. This study adopts the guidelines provided by the SPAR-4-SLR protocol and considers 76 papers with no time limitation. To the best of our knowledge, this seems to be the first scientific systematization of brand activism. From the in-depth analysis of the extant literature, two conceptual frameworks were constructed that can guide both researchers, in their understanding and investigation of the phenomenon, and practitioners in their implementation strategies of brand activism. The no time restriction of the analysis has allowed an investigation of the phenomenon from its prodromes until recent years, also highlighting important gaps that will have to be filled by future research.     

Sexuality and Ethics in Advertising: A Research Agenda and Policy Guideline Perspective

Abstract

Sexuality in advertising is a major area of ethical concern, though surprisingly little is known about its effects or the norms for its use. The author suggests a framing perspective on these two issues that consists of (1) a research agenda concerning the alleged effects and morality of sexual appeals (i.e., teleological vs. deontological considerations) and (2) a set of ethics-based, policy guidelines for addressing these issues (i.e., choice enhancement vs. consumer protection). Applying this framing perspective, the author provides a basis for making ethical choices about the use of sexual appeals in advertising.     

Envisioning the Future of Advertising Creativity Research: Alternative Perspectives

To provide a future vision of alternative viewpoints moving forward in creativity research, four different perspectives are offered. The first perspective, "Wildfire 2008: Creativity with a Human Touch," offers surprising humanistic and individualistic practitioner insights from breakthrough campaigns. The second viewpoint, "Creative and Effective Advertising: Balancing Spontaneity and Discipline," emphasizes the role of discipline in developing creative advertising that is effective while still being spontaneous. The third perspective, "Defining the Necessary Components of Creative, Effective Ads," provides a functional model of how creativity works in ads. In the last viewpoint, "The Concept of ‘Imaginative Intensity’ in Advertising," an imaginative intensity concept is offered for future research consideration as the role of the consumer, agency, and clients change.     

The Journal of Advertising and the Development of Advertising Theory: Reflections and Directions for Future Research

In this article, I provide some thoughts that guided my decision making while I was editor of the Journal of Advertising (2003–2006). Specifically, I reflect on the definition of theory and how it has been and should be used in the advertising discipline. In particular, I attempt to distinguish between weaker (contextual) and stronger (universal) theories and present my views on how future research in advertising can proceed in developing useful theories within this domain.     

The Epistemology of Humane Entrepreneurship: Theory and Proposal for Future Research Agenda

This paper proposes a new theory called Humane Entrepreneurship (HumEnt) and identifies areas for future development of knowledge. The new theory integrates in the Entrepreneurial Strategic Posture (ESP) three different concepts: Entrepreneurial Orientation, Sustainable Orientation, and Humane Resource Orientation. From this perspective, HumEnt theory can be considered an extension of previous research but with a new model for consideration. The components of the HumEnt theory and their relationships are outlined in an initial panel of propositions. HumEnt theory can help address the challenges present in creating a more sustainable world. Finally, a research agenda and questions are presented for future consideration.     

A Dual-Step and Dual-Process Model of Advertising Effects: Implications for Reducing the Negative Impact of Advertising on Children's Consumption Behaviour

Children are important targets of advertising campaigns from companies. However, children have been found to be particularly vulnerable to negative effects of advertising, and protecting children from these effects is an important task of consumer policy. Two important aspects have to be considered in this task. First, advertising affects judgements and behaviour not only during ad exposure but also in delayed consumption and purchase contexts. Second, advertising operates largely at an implicit level—during ad exposure as well as in consumption decisions. The current article introduces a dual-step (ad exposure vs. purchase/consumption) and dual-process (implicit vs. explicit) model of advertising effects on children. The model is based on a review of implicit advertising effects and implicit mechanisms of self-control. It implies that consumer policies intending to prevent undesired advertising effects should support interventions that strengthen advertising and purchasing literacy and, in addition, implicit self-control mechanisms in children. As self-control in consumption decisions is largely relevant for, and learned during, shopping and consumption, such interventions should focus on educating parents or other primary caregivers because they are the most likely persons to accompany children in such situations and have a great influence on children's implicit learning.     

Science Parks and the Performance of New Technology-Based Firms: A Review of Recent U.K. Evidence and an Agenda for Future Research

Science parks were established to stimulate the formation and development of new technology-based firms (NTBFs). Despite the potential importance of these institutions as a mechanism for generating technological spillovers and employment growth, there has been little systematic analysis of their impact on NTBFs. In this paper, we review some recent evidence comparing the performance of firms located on and off U.K. science parks. This preliminary evidence suggests that the "returns" to being located on a science park are negligible. We conjecture that these results may be due to imprecise estimates of these returns and may also be masking important differences in the returns to different types of science parks. In addition, we outline an agenda for additional research on the effects of these institutions on NTBF performance.     

Young Adolescents and Advertising on Social Network Games: A Structural Equation Model of Perceived Parental Media Mediation,Advertising Literacy,and Behavioral Intention

This study tested a model in which perceived parental media mediation in social network games (SNGs) was related to adolescents' conceptual and attitudinal advertising literacies, both of which were in turn related to purchase request intention. The 780 participants, aged between 10 and 14 years, watched a video clip of SNG Habbo that included a commercial message and then completed a questionnaire. Perceived autonomy-supportive restrictive media mediation was found to be positively associated with understanding selling intention. Perceived autonomy-supportive active media mediation was positively related to understanding persuasive intention. Understanding persuasive intention was positively related to purchase request intention.     

Ethical Analyses of HRM: A Review and Research Agenda

The very idea of human resource management raises ethical considerations: What does it mean to us as humans for human beings to be managed as resources? Intriguingly, the field of ethics and HRM remains underdeveloped. Current approaches to HRM fail to place ethical considerations as their central warrant. This article, building on Greenwood (J Bus Ethics 36(3):261–279, 2002), argues for a deeper analysis of ethical issues in HRM, indeed for a differentiated ethical perspective of HRM that sets normative deliberations as its prime task. By identifying a distinct ethical approach to HRM that is unashamedly normative and socio-politically embedded, two objectives can be achieved. First, mainstream and critical approaches will be challenged to take ethical issues in HRM more seriously. Second, a dedicated forward-looking research agenda for the ethical analysis of HRM will be advanced.     

Some European Attitudes on the Advertising Transference Question: A Research Note

This article reports a portion of the findings of research conducted to determine the attitudes of select French and Dutch advertising agency leaders and German marketing executives regarding specific standardized advertising issues. These findings are compared with results obtained in earlier studies of U.S. advertising agency and corporate executives and the differences are highlighted.     

Ethics of AI-Enabled Recruiting and Selection: A Review and Research Agenda

Journal of Business Ethics - Companies increasingly deploy artificial intelligence (AI) technologies in their personnel recruiting and selection process to streamline it, making it faster and more...     

The Ethics of the Living Wage: A Review and Research Agenda

To date, business ethicists, corporate social responsibility scholars as well as management theorists have been slow to provide a comprehensive and critical scrutiny of the Living Wage concept. The aim of this article, therefore, is to conceptualize the living wage (LW) in its philosophical as well as practical dimensions in order to open up the ethical implications of its introduction and implementation by companies. We set out the legal, socio-institutional and economic contexts for the debates around the LW and review arguments for, and against, it. Key philosophical arguments from the perspectives of sustainability, capability and externality are invoked and discussed in order to demonstrate the issues and challenges involved for companies, state and civil society actors. Relevant examples from the private sector are examined to demonstrate some of the practical issues involved when the LW is introduced by employers. The article also recommends avenues for a research agenda into the LW for business ethicists, CSR and management researchers in contexts such as the UK, where a voluntary, rather than mandatory, approach to the implementation of the LW is adopted.     

The Evolution of Whistleblowing Studies: A Critical Review and Research Agenda

This study investigates the variations in the quality and comprehensiveness of 104 corporate social responsibility (CSR) reports published by the world’s largest financial institutions in 2012. Using a novel measure of CSR report quality, we examine the impact of certain national, legal, and firm-level factors that might explain differences in the overall quality and extent of coverage of various issues in these reports. Our findings show that legal factors and CSR environment in a firm’s country of headquarters play an important role in firms’ CSR reporting quality. Common law countries exhibit systematically higher overall CSR reporting quality than code law countries. Countries with higher CSR standards, policies, and regulations in place also produce significantly higher quality CSR reports. Firm size, on the other hand, has no major impact on the overall quality of CSR reports. In further analysis of the individual aspects of CSR disclosures, namely environment, philanthropy, bribery and corruption, and integrity assurance, we document that larger firms report at a higher quality on philanthropy and bribery and corruption. Bribery and corruption is reported at a higher quality in countries with common law tradition, high-quality legal regimes, and high CSR standards and regulations in place. We also observe higher quality integrity assurance in common law countries. CSR-minded countries and countries with low-quality legal environment also report on philanthropy at a higher quality. Finally, we offer guidelines for companies toward improving the quality of their reports, and suggestions for scholars and researchers for further avenues of research.     

新业态金融风险的回应性监管——以网络股权众筹平台为例

股权众筹融资模式是一种典型的新业态互联网金融模式。处于股权众筹融资产业链核心的股权众筹平台近年来快速发展,并伴随着道德风险、法律风险、投资风险和管理风险4大风险类别。基于回应性监管原理,对金融新业态的回应性监管,在行业发展初期应该采取超罚策略与鼓励强化自我监管策略同时使用的方法,使全行业树立底线思维,防止大规模道德风险的产生。同时应通过监管逐步升级、引入和加强第三方监管、倡导强化自我监管、加强与行业内发展较快企业的沟通等多种方式建立多方共治的"大监管"格局,防止严重的法律风险、投资风险发生,并改善管理风险。     

How Transdisciplinarity Can Help to Improve Operations Research on Sustainable Supply Chains—A Transdisciplinary Modeling Framework

We present a transdisciplinary modeling framework that enhances collaborative research on sustainable supply chain management (SSCM). Decision support concerning such systems is commonly provided using operations research (OR) methodologies. The quality of respective models depends on the appropriateness of both mathematical representation of the focal system and data input. Concerning this matter, OR faces severe criticism as groundwork is commonly neglected. This results in a lack of holistic understanding and in insufficient modeling of real‐world problems. Crucial characteristics of the underlying system are often over simplified due to single‐discipline assessments. Particularly, in the context of complex sustainability challenges, multiple nonacademic competencies and expertise are required. Although latest research indicates that collaborative research settings are highly beneficial regarding SSCM, a dearth of integration between disciplines exists. Therefore, we develop a conceptual framework that helps to overcome these shortcomings based on the paradigm of transdisciplinary research (TDR), which needs substantiation to enhance collaboration and to ensure applicability. Accordingly, we propose appropriate methodologies for each step within the framework. Overall, the framework enables holistic analysis of a focal system by providing a sound approach for SSCM‐oriented TDR projects. The value of the framework is eventually demonstrated by two cases that deal with SSCM issues.