“Harm or Good?”: Consumer Perceptions of Corporate Strategic Giving in Schools

This paper reports on consumer perceptions of an in‐school strategic giving initiative as a form of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) to consider its social implications and to understand the complexity of children's vulnerability in this context. Results suggest that corporate benefits are not balanced by welfare gains to the children and this creates a tension between positive perceptions of the initiative and negative concerns with its targeting of children. This raises a number of ethical issues related to corporate marketing in schools and provides empirical support for earlier theoretical work in this area. The paper contributes to CSR literature by suggesting that opinions towards corporate giving are determined both by perceptions of their underlying motives and in relation to the benefits they provide to stakeholders. Finally, we provide support for the need for policy and regulatory revision with regard to children's vulnerability to in‐school marketing.     

8th International Conference on Corpor@te and M@rketing Communications (CMC)

This article addresses self-gift giving both from a consumer perspective and from the point of view of brands' promotional messages. Self-gifts may be regarded as personal acquisitions which are distinguished from other purchases by a particular motivation and context – quite literally, gifts to oneself. Our knowledge of this phenomenon from the consumer side remains limited, despite evidence of its importance in understanding consumer decisions. Furthermore, there is no empirical research addressing the extent to which organisations make use of the concept of self-gifts in their marketing activities. This paper addresses these gaps using a two-stage methodology. First, it enhances the understanding of self-gift consumer behaviour (SGCB) by 14 in-depth interviews with consumers. Then, drawing on the self-gift themes which emerged from the interviews, it presents the results of a content analysis of marketing communications for two selected product categories. The combined methodology offers new and rich insights into the theoretical understanding of self-gift consumer behaviour and provides recommendations for practitioners differentiating their marketing communications.     

Understanding the town centre customer experience (TCCE)

This research enhances the understanding of consumer behaviour and customer experience in the context of town centres. First, it defines town centre customer experience (TCCE) as a multifaceted journey that combines interactions with a diverse range of public and private organisations, including retailers and social and community elements; this results in a unique experience co-created with the consumer across a series of functional and experiential touchpoints. Second, combining qualitative and quantitative insights, this research reveals a series of specific functional and experiential TCCE touchpoints, which underpin the consumer internal response (motivation to visit) and outward behaviour (desire to stay and revisit intentions) in the town centre. In addition to enhancing town centre and customer experience knowledge, these findings offer important new insights to those managing town centres and seeking to retain customer loyalty in the high street. Above all, these findings can help identify the touchpoints that need to be reinforced and/or improved to differentiate a town from its competing centres and to create tailored marketing strategies. Taken together, such initiatives have the potential to positively impact the revitalisation of the high street and the town centre economy.     

The effects of scent on consumer behaviour

This article presents a systematic review of extant research on the effects of scent on consumer behaviour for readers of the International Journal of Consumer Studies. Although many articles have been published on this topic in recent years, there is a need for a comprehensive summary of up‐to‐date findings in this area of research. A systematic literature review is conducted with selected Chartered Association of Business Schools‐ranked journals in the fields of marketing and psychology, covering the period between 1980 and 2015. Thematic areas include the impact of scent on consumers’ cognitive and affective responses, attitudes and perceptions, as well as memory and behaviours. Relevant mediators and moderators of the effects of scent on these variables include affect, cognition, awareness and individual or environmental stimuli. Gaps for future research are identified and include the role of consumer awareness of scent and its influence on behaviour. Although this article provides a systematic review of the literature within the fields of psychology and marketing, it acknowledges that a large body of research regarding human responses to odours exists within other disciplinary fields such as neuroscience. The potential for, as well as the ethical caveats of, using scent stimuli for marketing purposes are also considered. This article makes a significant contribution to the consumer behaviour literature given its systematic article selection and review process, encompassing the most up‐to‐date research and focusing on all key thematic areas related to scent and consumption.     

Consumer involvement and marketing in Africa: some directions for future research

Despite an ongoing debate, authors agree that factors that determine consumers' involvement in any goal object are the characteristics of the object, the characteristics of the customer involved and the situational context of the decision. With this as the theoretical background, this paper advocates the need to study African‐specific contextual factors to gain a thorough understanding of consumer involvement and successful marketing practice in this society. An extensive review of the extant literature was done to provide a relevant framework for exploring consumer involvement and African‐related issues. The paper concludes that existing postulations on the subject matter could not robustly capture consumer involvement in Africa due to pertinent influences of cultural values and mores that do not apply elsewhere in the world. Hence, empirical studies to gauge the context‐specific application of the subject in relation to Africa are suggested as imperative. This paper advocates a society‐oriented consciousness for marketing activities in relation to consumer involvement with specific reference to Africa. Therefore, it cautions against undue generalization about the existing postulations on the subject, and provides directions for future research towards updating the literature.     

Internet-Based Relationship Marketing: A Sub-Saharan African Perspective

Establishing, maintaining, and enhancing relationships over the Internet have progressively gained global attention. Nevertheless, the dawn of this modernization draws many theoretical debates and practical concerns, some of which have received little research attention, especially within the Sub-Saharan region of Africa. On this premise, we explored the contemporary practice, challenges, and benefits of Internet-based relationship marketing (RM) within the Ghanaian telecommunication industry. Expert interviews with 12 employees from four telecommunication firms elicited a wealth of experiential data analyzed thematically to understand the practice, challenges, and emerging benefits of Internet-based RM. Our findings suggest that issues of privacy concerns, erosion of face-to-face communication, and the tendency of unsolicited communication do not necessarily militate Internet-based RM within the Ghanaian telecommunication industry. We also identified emerging benefits, including online “virality,” a discovery environment, and improved firm reputation. We suggest enhancing online personalization through empathy, creating value with analytic information and managerial openness, and supporting enhanced knowledge development within the area. Directions for future studies include the possibility of comparative studies across service industries and examining the role of content marketing in Internet-based relationships. The challenge of exploring Internet-based RM was similar to hitting a moving target, as the use of the Internet for relationship marketing activities is constantly evolving. Additionally, our findings and conclusion are confined to the knowledge contribution of the experts interviewed. As one of the few studies within the Sub-Saharan region, we expand contributions from the Sub-Saharan domain. The findings of this study also bring to light new insights for establishing, maintaining, and enhancing Internet-based relationships.     

On ChatGPT and beyond: How generative artificial intelligence may affect research,teaching, and practice

How does ChatGPT, and other forms of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) affect the way we have been conducting—and evaluating—academic research, teaching, and business practice? What are the implications for the theory and practice of marketing? What are the opportunities and threats, and what are some interesting avenues for future research? This editorial aims to kick off an initial discussion and stimulate research that will help us better understand how the marketing field can fully exploit the potential of GenAI and effectively cope with its challenges.     

Understanding local food consumption from an ideological perspective: Locavorism,authenticity, pride,and willingness to visit

Extant research on local food consumption is emerging yet limited. This study aims tofill a void to test locavorism as a second-order construct and its effects on authenticity,pride, and willingness to visit. Further, the boundary condition of the effect oflocavorism is also explored. Results suggest that restaurant managers that endeavorto offer locally-sourced menus need to emphasize the characteristics of locavorism(i.e., lionization, opposition, and communalization) when marketing to locavores as atarget consumer group. This study provides valuable insights into local foodconsumption behavior within the restaurant context by examining the factors andeffects of locavorism.     

Editorial

The relationship marketing paradigm is gaining increasing credence in consumer markets. Marketers need to get close to their customers to establish exchange relationships, and this “intimacy” is achieved using database technology and direct marketing communications. However, in implementing relationship marketing in this way, the potential exists for the use of technology to result in invasions of individual consumer privacy. The literature on relationship marketing and privacy are reviewed, and the findings of six exploratory focus group discussions, conducted in the UK, are presented. The study suggests that what some consumers define as “intrusion” is similar to what has been called “intimacy” by marketers. Nine propositions are presented which reflect the implications of current approaches to relationship marketing in consumer markets. In particular, the integral elements of meaningful relationships are absent or inhibited as a result of consumer concerns over intrusions of their privacy. Thus, marketers need to adapt their attitudes, behaviours, and processes in order to accommodate the participation of the consumer in the relationship. The implications for marketers are identified, and directions are offered for future research.     

Using vignettes to study family consumption processes

The use of vignettes for qualitative consumer research is discussed in this article. More specifically, vignettes are proposed as a useful research technique for conducting systematic and rigorous studies of consumer interaction processes, in particular as these relate to family consumption issues. Following an overview of methodological and practical problems of studying consumption interaction processes in families, a discussion of how vignettes may be used to enhance knowledge of family decision‐making processes in real‐life contexts is presented. Design implications are discussed and strategies for applying the vignette method are outlined and illustrated by two recent studies of pro‐environmental consumer behavior in a family context. The paper concludes with a discussion of the benefits and the possible pitfalls of using vignettes. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

How (not) to market socially responsible products: A critical research evaluation

Growing awareness of their obligations towards society leads an increasing number of companies to produce socially responsible products (SRPs). In order to develop suitable marketing and communication strategies, it is essential to have a realistic picture of consumer priorities, and in the light of these findings, of the viability of classical academic marketing approaches, such as Kotler's societal marketing concept. This study provides a qualitative evaluation of the contradictory research literature on consumer interest in SRP and an assessment of the usability of classical marketing approaches. It contributes essential insights to the ongoing academic debate about a conceptualisation of SRP marketing approaches. Also, it will allow practitioners more ease of access to this debate. Findings show that a majority of consumers prioritise conventional product features and demonstrate low interest in SRP. Consumer research which states otherwise is revealed as methodologically flawed. Most classical marketing approaches are shown to be unsuitable for SRP marketing and communication since they fail to take into account the widespread lack of consumer interest and/or focus on consumer features irrelevant to marketing SRP. Directions for future research on SRP marketing and communication strategies are outlined.     

Who teaches them to consume: a study of Brazilian youngsters

This article is aligned with Burgess and Steenkamp's suggestion of the need for a marketing renaissance through research into emerging markets in order to advance marketing science and practice. The objective was to study the consumer socialization of pre‐adolescents and adolescents living in the city of Rio de Janeiro. The study also seeks to understand the consumer socialization process and primary influences. Being an exploratory study, it was developed through interviews with 10 participants, aged 11–13. Findings highlighted aspects not yet reported by the international literature, such as the postponement of mobility and autonomy for consumer behaviour because of parents' concerns with violence in a major urban centre. Another issue that is discussed is the probability that grandparents and domestic workers act as potential agents for children's consumer socialization.     

Setting Boundaries Rather than Imposing Bans: Is it Possible to Regulate Consumer Arbitration Clauses to Achieve Fairness for Consumers?

The benefits of arbitration as a form of alternative dispute resolution in business to business disputes, particularly international business to business disputes, are well recognized and will be discussed in this article. Concerns arise, however, where arbitration is sought to be imposed as a method of dispute resolution upon consumers, through the inclusion of arbitration clauses in consumer contracts. Whilst there is a body of literature which argues strongly against the enforceability of arbitration clauses in consumer contracts, there is little consideration in the literature as to the possible benefits of consumer arbitration which might warrant enforceability within particular regulatory boundaries. To date, the pro-arbitration stance taken by some commentators and courts is premised on freedom of contract arguments rather than consumer benefit. This article will explore whether it is possible to overcome a number of the current concerns regarding the use and enforcement of consumer arbitration clauses through constructing a regulatory framework which will give rise to a fair alternative dispute resolution mechanism for consumers. The article will begin by exploring the current context which includes limitations upon the arbitrability of consumer disputes in a number of jurisdictions. It will then go on to consider what might be the benefits of facilitating consumer arbitration as a mechanism for alternative dispute resolution, particularly in the context of international consumer disputes. The article will then outline a range of concerns regarding the perceived unfairness of consumer arbitration and will draw upon current and potential regulatory models to consider ways of addressing those concerns. The article will conclude with recommendations for a regulatory model designed to facilitate fair consumer arbitration.     

Investigating the Types of Value and Cost of Green Brands: Proposition of a Conceptual Framework

This conceptual article applies the customer value (CV) concept in the context of green marketing aiming to provide insights on the factors that motivate and/or hinder the development of consumer–green brand relationships. The article draws upon existing literature on the streams of CV, relationship marketing and environmental behaviour and synthesises relevant findings to propose an integrated conceptual framework entailing all identified types of value and cost, psychographic characteristics, as well as dimensions of relationship quality (RQ) and loyalty. Furthermore, it addresses existing questions on the links among constructs and proposes several relationships that may lead to a better understanding of consumer behaviour towards green brands. Through the here-proposed conceptual model, the article initiates the process of empirically examining the consumer adoption of and relationship development with green brands. The CV framework adopted here may provide practitioners with knowledge on the value and sacrifice factors, as well as the dimensions of RQ that are the most important in targeting green consumers and designing relationship marketing strategies. The article also fulfils an identified gap in the literature, as it is the first that brings together and applies research findings from CV and relationship marketing fields in the green marketing context and proposes an integrated approach to understanding consumer–green brands relationships.     

The Future Scope of Netnography and Social Network Analysis in the Field of Marketing

The marketing landscape has evolved to a great extent with the advent of Internet strategy integration, refined Internet marketing metrics, increase in wireless networking, rising consumer ownership of computers, the era of big data and e-commerce, influencer marketing, and the evolution of the Internet. To tap this virtual environment, newer methods of Internet research are required. This article studies the usage of two Internet research methodologies—Netnography and Social Network Analysis—and explores their potential toward the domain of marketing. An exhaustive literature review was conducted and after analyzing the previously published literature in this domain, it is seen that a clear link between these methodologies and the field of marketing has not been established. With a detailed analysis of previously published research work, using these two methodologies the authors are able to derive correlations with marketing concepts and are able to establish the future potential of the two methodologies of Netnography and Social Network Analysis as marketing research methodologies.     

I might try it: Marketing actions to reduce consumer disgust toward insect-based food

Despite the potential health- and sustainability-related benefits of insect-based food products, many consumers do not perceive them as an alternative to conventional foods. This research provides a systematic approach to explain consumer reactions to insect-based food products conducting a series of multi-method studies involving implicit, self-reported, and actual behavioral responses to real insect-based food products (provided by a partner company). The authors investigate how product type (i.e., whether the insect-based food is utilitarian or hedonic in nature) and packaging characteristics (i.e., whether the image of a real or stylized insect is present on the front packaging or not) interact with consumer-related characteristics (i.e., health consciousness and food neophobia) to affect feelings of disgust, which in turn influence willingness to try insect-based food products. A distinctive feature of this research is that a partner company used the findings to change its marketing tactics and observed an improvement in its market performance. Our research has clear implications for marketing managers trying to overcome consumer resistance to eating insect-based foods, as well as retail managers considering marketing such food products.     

Behavioural psychology,marketing and consumer behaviour: a literature review and future research agenda

Abstract

Psychology, along with a wide range of other academic disciplines, has influenced research in both consumer behaviour and marketing. However, the influence of one area of psychology – namely, behaviourism – on research on consumers and marketing has been less prominent. Behaviourism has influenced consumer and marketing research through the application of classical and operant conditioning, matching and foraging theories, amongst other frameworks, during the past 50 years. This article provides a review of research and applications of behavioural psychology in the area, as well as a brief introduction of behavioural psychology for scholars unfamiliar with the area. The article also suggests avenues for further research examining the potential development of behavioural psychology approaches for both consumer and marketing researchers.     

Consumer entitlement theory and measurement

Previous studies of personality observe that a healthy individual maintains a level of entitlement. Consumer entitlement concerns the extent to which a customer expects special treatment in retail environments. To date, marketing scholars have not investigated consumer entitlement at the buyer–seller interface. This article represents an initial attempt to examine this construct in a retailing context. The development of a scale, the consumer entitlement inventory (CEI), is reported. The scale's psychometric properties were examined, with the use of an undergraduate sample ( N = 410). Antecedents and implications for consumer entitlement are discussed. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Entertainment Marketing and Experiential Consumption

The placement of brand references within mainstream entertainment (called here ‘entertainment marketing’) is a rapidly evolving marketing communications field in its scale and sophistication. Much previous research in the field has conceptualized entertainment marketing as promotion and focused on measuring consumer attitudes, purchase intentions and brand recall in response to brand exposure. This conceptual paper suggests that there is also a need for understanding the quality of consumer engagement with brands in the context of mediated entertainment. The paper draws on phenomenological/existential research traditions in order to begin to theorize the role that entertainment marketing techniques may play in facilitating consumer self‐concepts and identity formation through brand exposure within dramatic portrayals of characters and lifestyles.