Engaging and marketing to stakeholders in World Heritage Site management: a United Kingdom multiple case study perspective

ABSTRACT

This research addresses the limited studies which apply stakeholder theory to World Heritage Site (WHS) management and managerial theory to heritage management. WHS management highlights a context where sites rely on numerous interests uniting through goodwill. This is intensified by the multiple-ownership patterns which characterise many WHSs, necessitating a need for collective action. This study aims to explore how managers attempt to manage stakeholders and generate involvement and support. This study adopts a multiple case study approach, exploring three United Kingdom WHSs. Data were collected through interviews, documentation and physical artefacts. The analysis found that through representation, raising awareness and support, managers were able to generate stakeholder patronage. However, this required managers to look beyond informative engagement toward participatory means. Furthermore, the findings highlight the importance of the facilitators, time and money in successful stakeholder engagement. Lastly, conclusions, limitations and future research are offered. Underpinned by stakeholder theory, this paper contributes to the understanding of stakeholder engagement within WHS management and adds to limited empirical studies on multiple sites. This investigation found that engagement is constrained by managers’ limited time and resources. Furthermore, participatory engagement is essential in fostering stakeholders’ responsibility for site management and developing relationships with managers.     

Beyond Just Being There: An Examination of the Impact of Attitudes,Materialism, and Self-Esteem on the Quality of Helping Behavior in Youth Volunteers

ABSTRACT

Young people represent a strong and growing source of volunteers for not-for-profit organizations (NPO) and are an important focus for NPO marketing efforts. Using helping behavior theory, this paper reports a study conducted with a sample of teenagers to examine influences on their decision to volunteer and their goal setting for fund-raising. The relationship between three individual variables (attitude toward the organization, self-esteem, and materialism) and the quality of helping behavior provided was found to be mediated in large part by attitude towards the actual volunteering task. Implications for NPO marketing and future research are discussed.     

A typology of organisational stakeholder engagement with place brand identity

ABSTRACT

This study explores how stakeholders engage with a place brand identity (PBI) in the context of country branding. This research extends beyond the importance and challenges of stakeholder brand engagement with place brand identity by exploring several typology of stakeholder engagement with PBI. A case study approach using semi-structured interviews with 39 senior-level representatives from national Australian organisations was adopted to explore how internal stakeholders in Australia are engaged with the current PBI initiative in Australia: Australia Unlimited (AU). A typology of stakeholder engagement with a PBI, including philosophical and concrete engagement was identified. Stakeholders’ philosophical engagement is reflected by their moral support, future engagement intention, as well as positive word-of-mouth (WOM) behaviour. Concrete engagement, on the other hand, is reflected by place brand partnership and internalisation of PBI in the organisations’ strategy. The research findings offer practical ways for place brand managing organisations (PBMO) to enhance stakeholder engagement with a PBI. The identification of multicomponent nature of PBI from the research findings allows PBMO to identify which PBI component lacks stakeholder support in order to make necessary improvements. Further, identification of the typology of stakeholder engagement with PBI provides alternative strategies of how stakeholder engagement can be managed.     

The Mediated Influence of a Traceability Label on Consumer’s Willingness to Buy the Labelled Product

Although stakeholder theory is concerned with stakeholder engagement, substantive operational barometers of engagement are lacking in the literature. This theoretical paper attempts to strengthen the accountability aspect of normative stakeholder theory with a more robust notion of stakeholder engagement derived from the concept of good faith. Specifically, it draws from the labor relations field to argue that altered power dynamics are essential underpinnings of a viable stakeholder engagement mechanism. After describing the tenets of substantive engagement, the paper draws from the labor relations and commercial law literatures to describe the characteristics of good faith as dialogue, negotiation, transparency, and totality of conduct; explains how they can be adapted and applied to the stakeholder context; and suggests the use of mediation and non-binding arbitration. The paper concludes by addressing anticipated objections and shortcomings and discussing implications for theory and research.     

The Benefits and Barriers Associated with the Use of the Internet Within the Non-Profit Sector

ABSTRACT

In the last few decades, advances in new information technologies in general and the adoption of the Internet in particular have attracted the attention of many academics and practitioners alike. Much of current research, however, is focused on for-profit organizations, and less emphasis has been placed on other organizational contexts, such as the non-profit sector. The purpose of this article is to analyze the attitude of NPO managers towards the Internet, the extent to which non-profit organizations are adopting this information technology and the perceived benefits and obstacles associated with its use. A sample of three hundred and ninety two non-profit organizations in Portugal was examined. The statistical analysis indicated that the existence of a favorable attitude towards the Internet was positively correlated with the perception of Internet benefit dimensions. Conversely, the study found no empirical evidence linking perceived Internet benefits with the various NPO fields of activity. The article concludes with a series of limitations and implications for both theory and practice.     

Towards a strategic place brand-management model

Abstract

Using earlier research into models of place branding-management processes, this paper develops a multi-level conceptual model of strategic place brand management designed to support managers in embracing a holistic approach to place brand management. The model identifies the following components for attention and activity: place brand evaluation; brand infrastructure relationships, including infrastructure (regeneration) and stakeholder engagement (management); place brand articulation; and brand communications. The model identifies the influences and action processes between these components, including brand identity and architecture, influencing brand experience. Existing place branding models take different perspectives on the branding process – respectively, relationship management, communications, and strategic planning; none of these models are comprehensive and neither are they widely adopted or tested. This paper proposes an integrative model that builds on and subsumes these earlier models and is also grounded in the wider research on branding and place branding concept and processes.     

How do consumers co-create their experiences? An exploration in the heritage sector

Abstract

Whilst the body of work around co-creation has grown, co-creation continues to be considered from a value perspective with key questions, such as what is actually being co-created, remaining unanswered. This article moves beyond value to experiences and explores co-creation of the consumption experience. The research examines the manifestations and antecedents of co-creation of the consumption experience from a consumer angle and presents a co-creation framework. Customer critic analysis with consumers from two exemplar heritage organisations is used to investigate co-creation. The findings illuminate three facets of co-creation: co-production, engagement, and personalisation. This paper addresses a gap in Service-Dominant Logic theory, arts/heritage, and broader marketing literature by distinguishing between co-creation of value and co-creation of the consumption experience and proposing a definitive conceptualisation of the latter. The proposed model progresses the co-creation discussion to an empirical level and provides a foundation for future research.     

The nonprofit case for corporate volunteering: a multi-level perspective

ABSTRACT

This article argues that the nonprofit case for corporate volunteering is complex, requiring a multi-level perspective on the outcomes for nonprofit organizations (NPOs). To develop this perspective, we adopted an inductive research approach, conducting 39 exploratory semi-structured interviews with NPO staff. We argue that NPO scholars and practitioners should disentangle individual and organizational-level outcomes resulting from interactions between corporate volunteers and NPO staff, as such micro-dynamics ultimately affect NPO services. Moreover, these outcomes are subject to conditions at the organizational level (e.g. involvement of intermediaries), as well as at the individual level (e.g. type of assignment). Our study highlights the complexity that should be considered when addressing the fundamental question of whether corporate volunteering contributes to the ability of NPOs to provide their services, and under what conditions. We therefore propose that corporate volunteer management within NPOs is inherently, albeit contingently, intertwined with the services that these organizations provide.     

A Customer Value Perspective in the Nonprofit Marketing Context: Expanding the Means-End Chain for Multiple Stakeholders

ABSTRACT

Very little of the current research on nonprofit marketing adopts a customer value perspective. This paper will (1) briefly outline the special customer value challenges faced by nonprofit organizations, such as multiple stakeholders and a lack of marketing orientation; (2) describe the innovative customer value approach developed by Woodruff and Gardial (1996); and (3) offer a model applying the Wood-ruff/Gardial approach in the NPO context, including research propositions.     

The Causal Effect of Corporate Governance on Corporate Social Responsibility

In this article, we examine the empirical association between corporate governance (CG) and corporate social responsibility (CSR) engagement by investigating their causal effects. Employing a large and extensive US sample, we first find that while the lag of CSR does not affect CG variables, the lag of CG variables positively affects firms’ CSR engagement, after controlling for various firm characteristics. In addition, to examine the relative importance of stakeholder theory and agency theory regarding the associations among CSR, CG, and corporate financial performance (CFP), we also examine the relation between CSR and CFP. After correcting for endogeneity bias, our results show that CSR engagement positively influences CFP, supporting the conflict-resolution hypothesis based on stakeholder theory, but not the CSR overinvestment argument based on agency theory. Furthermore, firms’ CSR engagement with the community, environment, diversity, and employees plays a significantly positive role in enhancing CFP.     

Volunteer Brand Equity? Exploring the Adoption of Employee Brand Equity (EBE) Dimensions to Understand Volunteers’ Contributions to Build Nonprofit Organizations’ Brands

ABSTRACT

Given the importance of volunteers as key assets of formal volunteering organizations, this paper explores the adoption and adequacy of Employee Brand Equity (EBE) models to understand volunteers’ contributions to Nonprofit Organization (NPO) brand equity. Methodologically this research embraces a mixed-methods approach by combining data from exploratory interviews with experts from the NPO context and from a survey to 227 Portuguese volunteers from 28 formal volunteering organizations. This paper adds to the literature by applying for the first time EBE dimensions to the context of formal volunteering institutions. Hence, it provides a first step to the development of a Volunteer Brand Equity Model, by characterizing each dimension and validating its importance in the context of NPOs. From a practitioners’ viewpoint, this paper calls attention to the importance of embracing internal marketing strategies to attract and retain volunteers in a sustainable way and provides a practical tool for Volunteer Brand Equity analysis in NPOs.     

The Content of Internet Advertisements and its Impact on Awareness and Selling Performance

ABSTRACT

This paper investigates the different relationships consumers build with anthropomorphised devices and how these relationships affect actual and intended future usage. An exploratory, three-week empirical study of 39 informants using voice controls on their smartphone uncovered a diversity of relationships that the informants built with such devices. We complement anthropomorphism theory by drawing on extended-self theorising to identify three primary roles that emerge from consumers’ interactions with these devices. Our findings theorise the distinct ways in which consumers perceive the object agency of anthropomorphised smart devices and how these perceptions impact the consumers’ engagement and future use intentions.     

Stakeholder Multiplicity: Toward an Understanding of the Interactions between Stakeholders

While stakeholder theory has traditionally considered organization’s interactions with stakeholders in terms of independent, dyadic relationships, recent scholarship has pointed to the fact that organizations exist within a complex network of intertwining relationships [e.g., Rowley, T. J.: 1997, The Academy of Management Review 22(4), 887–910]. However, further theoretical and empirical development of the interactions between stakeholders has been lacking. In this paper, we develop a framework for understanding and measuring the effects upon the organization of competing, complementary and cooperative stakeholder interactions, which we refer to as stakeholder multiplicity. We draw upon three forms of fit (i.e. fit as matching, fit as moderation, and fit as gestalts; Venkatraman, N.: 1989) to develop a framework for understanding stakeholder multiplicity based upon the direction, strength, and synergies of the interacting claims. Additionally, we draw upon the theory of stakeholder identification and salience of Mitchell et al. (1997), which we argue provides a more relevant and significantly more illustrative explanation of the nature and effects of stakeholder interactions upon the organization than the network approach of Rowley (1997). Furthermore, we ground our framework through reference to three stakeholder groups (i.e. governments, customers, and employees) and the stakeholder issue of concern for the natural environment. We propose a hierarchy of the multiplicity strength of influence of these three stakeholder groups. Potential measurement and implications are discussed.     

The impact of consumer local engagement on local store patronage and customer satisfaction

Abstract

This paper examines the drivers of local grocery retail patronage. Drawing on institutional and social network theory literature, we develop a framework to investigate how consumers’ personal values and engagement with local communities affect their satisfaction and local store patronage. We test our model with survey data on 1504 Finnish consumers. Our results show that the relationship between customer local engagement and local retail patronage is indirect rather than direct, and it is mediated by the vitality of local services, social interaction, and consumer satisfaction.     

Social influence and stakeholder engagement behavior conformity,compliance, and reactance

Following the proliferation of customer engagement behavior research, rising interest is observed in marketing-based stakeholder engagement behavior, which covers any stakeholder's—including a customer's, employee's, firm's, supplier's, competitor's, and so forth—behavioral engagement in his/her role-related interactions, activities, and relationships. However, despite its importance, understanding of the stakeholder engagement behavior concept remains tenuous, is therefore addressed in this paper. We first conceptualize stakeholder engagement behavior as a stakeholder's behavioral manifestation toward his/her role-related interactions, activities, and relationships, followed by an exploration of the effect of influencor-exerted social influence on an influencee's stakeholder engagement behavior. We argue this effect to manifest as stakeholder engagement behavior conformity, -compliance, or -reactance, depending on the influencee's level of acceptance of the influencor's exerted influence. In turn, we propose stakeholder engagement behavior conformity, -compliance, and -reactance to yield cooperation, coopetition, or competition in the influencor/influencee relationship, respectively, as depicted in a conceptual model and an associated set of propositions. By investigating the interface of social influence, stakeholder engagement behavior, and its prevailing relational consequences (i.e., cooperation, coopetition, and competition), our analyses offer novel theoretical acumen and actionable managerial insight.     

Defining the Content of Sustainability Reports in Nonprofit Organizations: Do Stakeholders Really Matter?

The aim of the article is to investigate the role of stakeholder engagement and participation in nonprofit organizations’ sustainability reporting, according to the literature on third sector and stakeholder theory. To verify the levels of involvement, the authors conducted an empirical survey, using content analysis, on a sample of 54 sustainability reports of nonprofit organizations included in the Global Reporting Initiative database as of September 1, 2012. In order to strengthen the results obtained from the content analysis, the authors shared their findings with the organizations of the sample. The survey showed that there were some criticisms regarding stakeholder participation in the targeted research field. These are considered in the conclusions. Questions for the future included whether stakeholder engagement is moving from being simply a way to consult and influence stakeholders to being an effective instrument for involving them in nonprofit organizations’ reporting and decision-making processes, through mutual commitment.     

Like,Share, Retweet: Testing Competing Models of the Theory of Planned Behavior to Predict Slacktivism Engagement

ABSTRACT

Token support for social causes has been increasingly studied and commented on in recent years. Campaigns such as the Livestrong bracelet, the pink breast cancer ribbons, the Kony 2012 video, the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, and the Facebook profile picture modifications for marriage equality and support for Paris after the terrorist attacks in November 2015, have been coined “slacktivism” and those who engage in such activities “slacktivists”; however, little empirical research has been done on the topic. Most of the research and commentary on slacktivism focuses on social media activity online. This research tests competing models of the theory of planned behavior in predicting an individual’s slacktivism engagement from their attitudes, norms, perceived behavioral control, and behavioral intention. The results suggest that although the theory may be a plausible representation of the data, behavioral control may not be important in the context of engaging in slacktivism.     

An empirical study of the impact of consumer emotional engagement and affective commitment in firm-hosted virtual communities

ABSTRACT

Emergent perspectives in marketing highlight new opportunities for leveraging social media as a means to build customer–firm relationships through consumer engagement. Drawing from cognitive appraisal theory and aspects of the service dominant logic, this study delineates and empirically tests hypotheses regarding the effects of key components of consumer engagement (cognitive appraisal, affective states, participation) on consumers’ affective commitment, in the context of two service companies where the firms used social media to host virtual communities. The research examines how consumers’ cognitive appraisal of the engagement experience aligned with their online interaction propensity and participation in value-creating activities drive engagement outcomes. The results confirm the need to contextualise, personalise and respond to the consumer’s engagement experience to develop this engagement.