Corporate citizenship and its impact upon consumer moralisation,decision-making and choice

Abstract

Businesses are increasingly embracing corporate citizenship strategies. However, the empirical literature surrounding consumer responses to such practices features many contradictions concerning their impact. As a result, many businesses are uncertain about the extent to which they should commit resources to these activities to influence a positive response from consumers. Therefore, this paper seeks to address this gap by exploring consumers’ awareness of varying levels of corporate citizenship activities and assessing their moral responses to such efforts. Using a combination of qualitative methods and projective techniques with a broad cross-section of 20 consumers, the results help to shed light on the impact of corporate citizenship activities upon moral recognition, consumer decision-making and choice.     

Consumer decision making within a goal-driven framework

Research and theory in consumer decision making has been dominated by a perspective that assumes that a consumer knows what product category he or she needs. This limited view has resulted in equating consumer decisions with brand choice. The purpose of this article is to provide a framework for considering a wider range of consumer decision-making processes by linking them to different goals that consumers might pursue. A hierarchical goal structure consisting of four levels of goals; abstract principles or values, action programs, more concrete product acquisition, and brand acquisition goals, is proposed as the theoretical construct which ties together a wide range of consumer decision making phenomena. An experiment in which consumers think out loud in contemplating two levels of more familiar or unfamiliar goals reveals that their thoughts are constrained by the proposed goal hierarchy. The goals provide a useful framework for understanding decision-making processes involving product level consideration, set generation, and the evaluation of those self-generated sets. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Product recall,brand equity,and future choice

Abstract

The number of major product-recall incidents involving established brands have increased markedly over the last few years. Although the direct costs have been evaluated in these cases (typically in the millions), the indirect costs to brand equity and subsequent loss of market share are harder to evaluate. This paper applies a simulated multistage choice-based experiment to assess the impact of hypothetical product-recall experiences on brand-equity measures and, importantly, future brand choice. Contrary to some evidence, we find that product-recall experience has greater negative impacts for established strong brands than weaker non-established brands. Additionally, attributes of product recall such as the seriousness of the recall problem and speed of recall announcement impact on pre- and post-recall differences in consumer evaluations of brand equity. Differences in brand-equity evaluations for the established strong brand significantly affect post-recall choice.     

Sponsorship programmes and corruption in sport: management responses to a growing threat

Abstract

Sponsorship programmes are increasingly being exposed to the threat of corruption in sport. Several recent notable cases of corruption have exposed sponsors and their investments to significant perceived pressures including negative consumer associations with athletes, teams and officials that have been found guilty of engaging in corrupt activity. How sponsors respond to such instances of corruption in sport forms the basis of this paper. Drawing from an analysis of corruption cases (n = 2089), the paper initially examines the nature of corruption in sport. Through interview data (n = 21), it subsequently identifies key factors that sponsors should take into consideration when deciding upon a course of action to mitigate any potential effects of corrupt activity by a sporting property they are associated with. Finally, the paper discusses those courses of action.     

Conceptualization and Measurement of Optimal Consumer Decision-Making

The theory of optimal choice is founded on the classic principles of maximization and rationality which are developed in economics and other social sciences. The principle of maximization is applicable to the analysis of consumers' choices in contexts ranging from individual consumer decisions to efficient operation of consumer markets in aggregate. Newer and revised formulations of maximization have evolved in the related concepts of satisficing behavior, efficiency of choice, decision quality and choice accuracy. This paper reviews the evolution of these concepts, with special attention to the context of optimal consumer choice at the individual level. Empirical measures of optimal consumer decision-making are also reviewed. Finally, optimal consumer decision-making is conceptualized both in terms of 1) optimal outcomes (choices) and 2) optimality of the actual decision-making process prior to choice.     

Consumer Attitudes Important in Choosing Lawyers and Accountants According to Decision-Making Style

ABSTRACT

An empirical study, which examines the relationship between consumers' decision-making style and their attitudes toward areas considered important when selecting lawyers and accountants, is described. A scheme, which separates consumer decision-making into categories on the basis of systematic-spontaneous information-gathering and internal-external information-analysis dimensions, is proposed. The information-analysis dimension (internal-external) appears to be the decision-making dimension by which consumers choose legal and accounting services.     

How consumers use product reviews in the purchase decision process

This paper uses individual level data to examine the influence of product reviews in different stages of the consumer’s purchase decision process. Specifically, a two-stage model consisting of consideration set formation and choice is posited, where the consumer can incorporate information from product reviews in each stage. The model is estimated using an online panel survey about hotel choice. We find that (1) consumers use product reviews more in the consideration set stage and less in the choice stage, (2) Bayesian updating of prior perceived quality better explains how consumers use product reviews compared to two competing updating methods, and (3) the monetary value of a unit increase in the mean of product reviews is computed. Our results suggest that managers should make product review information (their number, average, and variance) available from the beginning of the search process and encourage satisfied customers to write reviews.     

When the purpose lies within: Maximizers and satisfaction with autotelic choices

Are maximizers less satisfied with their choices than satisficers? This research provides a novel perspective on this question by distinguishing between two types of consumer goals: autotelic, when choice is a goal in itself, and instrumental, when a choice is a means to achieving other goals. Study 1 showed that maximizers value autotelic experiences more than satisficers. Study 2 experimentally manipulated the choice goal and found that maximizers compared to satisficers experience higher choice satisfaction when the choice goal is autotelic rather than instrumental. Additionally, evidence is provided for the underlying mechanism (perceived ease of choice) as well as downstream consequences (consumers’ willingness to pay for their chosen option). These findings advance a conceptualization of maximizers as consumers seeking self-contained meaning in choice and provide new insights into the relation between maximizing and choice satisfaction. Theoretical and practical implications for consumer decision-making are discussed.     

Measuring Quality and Client Satisfaction in Professional Business Services

ABSTRACT

This paper builds on recent research into the key attributes clients use as a measure of quality and satisfaction when consuming professional services. It looks at the use of SERVQUAL as means of measuring consumer satisfaction and attempts to isolate the key factors and attributes used by decision makers to determine supplier choice. The results of the study are presented and discussed in respect to what communication action may increase awareness and loyalty in existing and potential buyers.     

Determinant factors of failures of international retailers in foreign markets

Abstract

This article seeks to identify why international retail chains (IRCs) sometimes fail to successfully establish operations in foreign markets. The study focuses on the quality of managerial decision-making as a cause of failure. Four such causes are identified relating to the quality of: (1) strategic decision-making, (2) tactical decision-making, (3) decision-making by the management of the local entity (LE), and (4) cooperation between the IRC and its LE. Based on survey data from Israel, we find that causes (1), (3) and (4) are most critical. These results highlight that to avoid retail failure, strategic decisions, such as ensuring clear, distinct and superior values adapted to local consumer preferences, should take precedence over tactical ones. Furthermore, to ensure high quality of local management and smooth cooperation with their LEs, IRCs should strive to control local management and coordination mechanisms.     

Ethnic Differences in Nigerian Consumer Attitudes Toward Foreign and Domestic Products

Abstract

This paper uses conjoint analysis to investigate ethnic differences in the importance of a product's country-of-manufacture relative to other attributes in the Nigerian consumer choice. It was found that the country-of-manufacture was more important to Yoruba than Hausa respondents, price was more important to Ibo than Yoruba respondents, and reliability was more important to Hausa than Ibo respondents. Additional analyses indicated that prestige was important to Yoruba respondents in the preference for foreign cars while it was important to Ibo and Hausa respondents in the choice of foreign TV sets. Implications for foreign marketers, domestic governments and domestic manufacturers are discussed.     

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.     

Roots of Marketing and Consumer Research at the University of Chicago1

The marketing and consumer research fields began to flourish in the late 1940s after World War II. Social Research, Inc. was founded in 1946 by members of the University of Chicago's faculty. Students at the University's interdisciplinary Committee on Human Development and the Departments of Sociology, Anthropology, and Psychology worked at Social Research, Inc., pioneering the application of behavioral methods of research to problems of business and other organizations. This paper traces the transmission of knowledge from the academic setting to the business environment. It notes especially the influence of members of the university faculty and their theories of human behavior on the emerging fields devoted to the study of consumption and culture.     

Productivity and the nature of work

It is argued that in approaching the issue of Canada's competitiveness in finished products and services internationally, a singular focus on productivity may be but a symptom of more serious underlying problems. Examples of such problems are provided and the implications and ethical concerns resulting from the probable technical solutions utilized to improve productivity are explored. Terrence H. White is Professor and Dean at the Faculty of Arts, The University of Alberta. He formerly held a Chair at the Department of Sociology, University of Alberta and was Head of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at the University of Windsor. His most important publications are: Power or Pawns: Boards of Directors in Canadian Corporations (CCH, Toronto, 1978) and Production Workers and Perceptions of Intraorganization Mobility, Sociological Inquiry 44 (2), 121–129.     

A conversational approach to consumer vulnerability: performativity,representations, and storytelling

ABSTRACT

This conceptual article provides a conversational analysis of consumer vulnerability, which unveils how vulnerability is made through conversations and interactions among actors holding different market power positions. Three types of conversations prove fruitful to pursue a transformative research agenda improving vulnerable consumers’ well-being: (1) performativity, which unpacks agency and finalism in conversations; (2) social representations, which reveal uneven power positions and normativity expressed by participants in a conversation; and (3) storytelling, which reveals alternative and more powerful persuasive mechanisms of conversations framed as stories. Illustration for these types of conversations comes from extensive review of the literature on consumer vulnerability and from a critical consideration of my life-as-researcher with consumers as varied as gays, homeless people, migrants, second-generation immigrants, and subcultures of consumption.     

Habits,Self-Control and Social Conventions: The Role of Global Media and Corporations

There has been an intellectual debate at least since the 1960s in business ethics on the role of the media in relation to consumer choice driven by either habits or rationality. If consumers are totally rational, then the global media and global corporations provide just information and knowledge. If consumers are influenced by habit then large corporations and global media can greatly influence consumer choice and create problems of self-control (Ainslie, 1992, Pico Economics: The Strategic Interaction of Successive Motivational States Within the Person, Cambridge University press, Cambridge). In this article, we provide a synthesis and integrated approach to this continuing debate. We provide a more institutional approach to consumer choice based on social conventions, rather than just on individual habits and lapses in self-control.     

Evaluation and Choice as a Satisficing Process

The question of whether individuals are rational or irrational in their decision‐making has long been an area of interest to academics and marketers, as the different decision styles require differing use of information sources and choice criteria by consumers during the buying process. As such, marketers would be required to adopt different communication strategies and stress different marketing mix or product features if they were to be successful in influencing the consumer’ s final choice.

The debate can be classified into whether or not consumers follow a formalised decision sequence of search and evaluation leading to final product choice. If consumers are not prepared to commit themselves to the cognitive and behavioural effort required by this formal process then they will satisfice their decision‐making, applying simplifying strategies to arrive at a satisfactory, although not the optimum, choice.

This paper reviews the common assumptions of search and choice, suggesting a three‐stage model which can be used to guide marketing strategy. Research into the decision process used by consumers in the acquisition of a video recorder is used to illustrate the operation of the satisficing model. Implications for marketing strategy are then discussed.     

Consumption and Production in Two Oaxacan Communities

This paper suggests that the trend towards the conceptualisation of ‘post‐modern’ forms of consumption threatens the very basis of research into consumption and consumers. Arguing that although a fascination with the symbolic aspects of consumption has much to offer, the suggestion here is that the future of consumer research is potentially undermined by a preoccupation with post‐modern rhetoric which has in turn tended to divert consumer researchers away from their object of study. Examples of post‐modern consumer research are therefore critically discussed. In this context, the continued influence of modernist guises of consumption and the need for a datadriven prioritisation of consumer meanings is emphasised. The danger inherent in being seduced by the superficial attractions of a post‐modern mind‐set is therefore said to lay in the fact that post‐modernism operates as a disabling intellectual orientation which can only fulfil its potential if used in a more flexible and imaginative fashion than is currently the case.