Profiling Computer Predispositions

ABSTRACT

An exploratory study was undertaken to measure undergraduate student attitudes toward computers. A revised version of the Bath County Computer Scale (BCCAS) developed by George Bear, Herbert Richards, and Paul Lancaster was administered to a proportionality sample of 310 undergraduate students whose demographic make-up was very dissimilar to those who had participated in the original BCCAS instrument validation study.

A thirty-six item instrument was personally administered to 310 learners pursuing undergraduate studies, yielding a total of 11,160 individual responses. The data so obtained were subjected to several statistical tests of significance such as ANOVA. Through cross-classification numerous tables were generated and analyzed.

The findings indicate that demographic variables such as gender, status, GPA average, major, prior computer experience and anticipated future use of computers show significant differences in how Students feel about computers.     

Moral Development and Narcissism of Private and Public University Business Students

In this study, researchers examined the assumption that senior-level undergraduate students from private colleges universities possess higher levels of moral and ethical development than students from public institutions. In addition, the researchers sought to determine (a) if there was a relationship between narcissistic personality traits and the level of moral reasoning, and (b) there was a difference in the level of narcissistic personality tendencies of business students from private vs. public institutions based on demographic and textual variables. A cluster sampling approach was used in the sample selection. The sample was limited to students majoring in general business at seven public and six private universities in North Dakota and Minnesota. A total of 269 subjects participated in the research project: 145 at private institutions and 124 at public institutions. The Defining Issues Test version 2 (DIT-2) and the Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI) were used to collect data at seven public and six private institutions. Students from public and private universities scored similarly on the DIT-2. A significant difference between the NPI scores of the private college students and the public college students was found. No significant relationship was found between the NPI score and level of moral reasoning. Business educators should be concerned that an increase in the number of business ethics courses completed did not significantly impact students’ moral reasoning or narcissistic traits.     

Gendering the voiced complaining behavior of customers in small restaurant environments: A case of college students in Zimbabwe

ABSTRACT

Understanding gender-related nuances connected to customer complaining behavior in a valuable market segment in a low-income economy is strategically important to customer relationship management practitioners in the hospitality industry. Using customer complaining behavior taxonomies and Eagly’s social role theory, this quantitative study examines how selected demographic variables, attitude toward complaining, customer loyalty, and likelihood of success affect the verbal complaining behavior of a sample of college students in Zimbabwe in restaurants contexts. The findings revealed that all the proposed predictors had statistically significant effects on voiced complaining. In addition, the gender variable moderated the influence of the non-demographic predictors. Interestingly, the likelihood of success variable had a negative influence on the respondents’ propensity to complain verbally. Based on this evidence, it is concluded that gender is integral to how college students react to service failure in restaurant environments. Consequently, marketers of related services should implement customized gender-sensitive customer complaint handling and service recovery strategies.     

Targeting the College Market for Banking Services

ABSTRACT

College students have long been recognized as a significant market for products and professional services. Their sheer number alone, estimated to reach 15.7 million by the year 2000, makes them a viable market for many companies.

However, there are many other attractions from a marketing perspective to targeting college students. They are relatively easy to locate, concentrated in reasonably well defined geographic areas, and accessible through campus newspapers and bulletin boards. And, because they are at the beginning of their careers, firms which establish business relationships with them have long-term opportunities to maintain those links.

This study examined selected banking attributes of college students, including factors affecting patronage decisions, perceptions as to the quality of services available, and sources students use to obtain information about financial services. Surveys were conducted at a large west coast university among a diverse set of students.

Results of the study found that a sizable percent of students maintain substantial balances in their checking and savings accounts. Additionally, economic factors, such as monthly charges and interest rates on deposits, weigh heavily on decisions concerning banking patronage.

The study also found that large, state-wide banking institutions appear to have the advantage in attracting the college student market. And, while bank patronage loyalties appear to be reasonably strong, a sizable percentage of students use more than one institution. Finally, the most useful source of information for reaching the college market appears to be direct mail.     

Segmenting Subgroups of Volunteers for Target Marketing: Differentiating Traditional Hospice Volunteers from Other Volunteers

SUMMARY

The research objective was to investigate if hospice volunteers could be differentiated from other volunteers using determinant variables from multiple conceptual domains (i.e., personality variables, social/lifestyle variables, demographic variables, and terminal values). Another purpose was to determine if higher performing hospice volunteers could be differentiated from lower performing hospice volunteers.

Lifestyle, demographic, personality, social influence, and terminal value measures were obtained from a sample of 63 hospice volunteers and 950 volunteers from other organizations. Survey respondents were derived from over 40 nonprofit organizations in two Midwestern cities.

In comparing hospice volunteers to volunteers serving in other types of organizations, hospice volunteers are differentiated by 11 determinant variables. One demographic variable (age), one social/lifestyle variable (the number of organizations to which the volunteer donates time for), and one personality variable (self-esteem) were significant. The remaining eight significant predictors of hospice volunteering were values.

An aspect of performance examined in this study is the average monthly hours hospice volunteers serve in their organizations. Because volunteers may serve in either single or multiple organizations, multiple analyses were performed using three different dependent variables (time volunteered in all organizations, time volunteered in primary organization, and number of organizations for which volunteer serves).     

Segmenting Dissatisfied Restaurant Customers Based on Their Complaining Response Styles

ABSTRACT

This study attempts to segment dissatisfied restaurant customers based on their complaining response styles and to identify socio-demographic variables that discriminate those segments. Findings suggest the presence of two customer clusters with distinct response styles; namely “talkers” and “voicers.” The results indicate that all restaurant customers respond to a dissatisfactory dining experience. Most of them utilize multiple responses to dissatisfaction. Of the demographic variables examined, only dining out frequency and marital status were found to be potent variables.     

Brand Analyses of U.S. Global and Local Brands in India: The Case of Levi's

ABSTRACT

This study investigates differences between U.S. global and local brands in the Indian market. Attitudes toward American products and the brand equity of U.S. global and local casual apparel brand in the Indian market are examined. It is postulated that global and local brand influence brand equity, which is composed of brand image, brand awareness, emotional value, perceived quality, brand loyalty, and purchase intention. A total of 411 college students in India participated in the survey. Using repeated measures ANOVA, this study finds that Indian consumers perceive global and local brands differently based on brand equity.     

Internationalizing Business Education

ABSTRACT

A research effort was undertaken to study factors that would encourage and limit business school students regarding their participation in international study programs. The sample of students came from a large, urban, state university. Results indicate that personal factors were the strongest encouraging variables while financial considerations were the most limiting factor in the decision process. Subsequently, factors that would promote increased overseas study participation among the students were analyzed.     

MBA Studies in the Czech Republic

Abstract

A survey of MBA study programs in the Czech Republic is presented in this study. The authors share some of their first-hand experience gained during their own teaching in one of the MBA programs. The conclusion presented at the end of the study summarizes their views of developing trends in MBA programs in the Czech Republic. At present, MBA programs are offered by seven teaching institutions in the Czech Republic, three of which provide MBA studies of the American type, four of the European (British) type, and one of the distance-learning type.     

Ethical Issues in Credit Card Solicitation of College Students – The Responsibilities of Credit Card Issuers,Higher Education,and Students

Credit card companies aggressively solicit college students, without regardfor the consequences of high credit car debt for these customers. Theethical conflict of the sale of easy credit to college students too oftenresults in hazardous outcomes akin to the solicitation of youth by cigarettecompanies. This paper will investigate the dangers that credit card use presents to theyoung customer, the unethical manner in which the companies that issue these cards promote their products to this audience, and the role of institutions of higher education. A majority of students are not only using credit unwisely (average balances of over $1000 regardless of who reports the data) but are payingexorbitant interest (18%–22%). The credit card companies call this``responsible' use. They are collecting enough interest and fees to morethan cover losses resulting from bankruptcy. They use a variety ofmarketing techniques to lure college students – glitzy `MTV' type shows,free prizes and gifts, special interest rate offers, and now they can pretendthrough `educational services' to explain to college students why credit cards are important.This paper investigates the ethical considerations of credit card solicitationof college students as a result of research into factors that influence thenumber of credit cards held by these students. Current solicitation policiesof colleges and universities are also presented.     

Customers Perception of Service Quality in Higher Education

ABSTRACT

Intense competition in the higher education sector in New Zealand has forced a number of educational institutions to examine the need for assessments of customer-perceived service quality for differentiation purposes. Research studies in this area have mainly focused on either the administrators or the faculty's perspectives and have overlooked the other customers, namely students and employers. The instruments developed based on the Importance-Performance paradigm were administered to 280 New Zealand employers and 1,000 business graduates. The results indicate that employers and students have perceptual problems with the level of service provided by tertiary institutions. Implications and suggestions for future research are provided.     

Offensive Advertising

Abstract

Prior literature regarding offensive advertising relates mainly to western cultures. No work has been done on this area in an Asian context. The research in this article reports on a survey of Singaporean consumers. The survey aimed to identify what types of products and appeals consumers find offensive in advertising, the reasons why they find the advertisements offensive, and how this offensive advertising may affect their purchase intentions. The results found that advertisements relating to chat-line services and sexual diseases were the most offensive, followed by advertisements for dating services. Levels of offensiveness were clearly related to demographic variables such as gender and age. In terms of reasons for offensiveness, consumers were most concerned by advertisements that had a sexual connotation or evoked unnecessary fear.Levels of offensiveness also affected purchase intentions. Based on the results, the article recommends that advertisers and their agencies should think more carefully about the demographic profile of their audiences, how this profile might impact their audiences ?sensitivity“ to potentially offensive advertising, and how this sensitivity should be used as a guide when making media and message decisions     

Social Enterprise and the Capability Approach: Exploring How Social Enterprises Are Humanizing Business

ABSTRACT

This mixed-method empirical study applies the capability approach, a multidimensional framework for evaluating human development, to survey 115 social enterprises on their social activities. Findings reveal that social enterprises create services and programs that seek to meet an average of three types of human needs and are more likely to target some human needs more than others. Research implications include the creation of a model and a tool for applying the capability approach to examine social value creation in social businesses. Findings contribute to practice by introducing a tool that leaders of social organizations, consultants, or training institutions may use to design the social activities of social enterprises and other social businesses and organizations.     

Market Segmentation for Fast-Food Restaurants in an Era of Health Conciousness

Abstract

Recent societal changes toward heightened interest in health and nutrition indicate consumers' health- and nutrition-related attitudes and behaviors may be important for segmenting the market for fast-food restaurants (FFR's). This research conducted a recent survey of 387 consumers to investigate the extent to which these variables, as well as demographics, predict patronage of FFR's. Findings indicate that consumers who do not patronize FFR's have the strongest involvement with health-related issues, while frequent patrons have the weakest involvement. Thus, marketers could use a combination of general health- and nutrition-related attitudes and behaviors to supplement demographic information when plotting their marketing strategy.     

Crisis in the College/University Relationship with the Community

Abstract

Crises can arise in relationships between colleges and universities and their surrounding communities especially when campuses need to grow. If these institutions have focused strictly on sending their messages out rather than establishing two-way communication with important publics, they may suddenly find themselves embroiled in conflict and confronted with a crisis. Colleges and universities must rethink and restructure their communication and public relations function to include two-way communication and community engagement as a means of avoiding certain crisis situations.     

College Students' Perceptions of a Smoking Ban in Restaurants and Bars

Abstract

This study investigates college students' perceptions of smoking bans and their knowledge of smoking bans implemented in a college town. A total of 180 college students enrolled in two hospitality management classes participated in the study. While the majority of students were strongly supportive of smoking bans in general, results of the study indicated that significant differences were found in smoking ban perceptions based on respondents' future employment segments. The length of residency also affects how much information respondents knew about implemented smoking ban regulations.     

A Cross Cultural Analysis of the Geographical Knowledge of U.S., Irish,Israeli, Mexican,and South Korean Business School Students

ABSTRACT

Geographical knowledge about foreign countries is considered to be a significant factor related to the successful marketing of goods and services in international markets-a not insignificant conclusion by experts given the sizable trade deficits run up by the United States in 2000 ($365 billion), 2001 ($346 billion), and 2002 ($435 billion).

Unfortunately, previous research has concluded that U.S. business school students-tomorrow's executives who will make decisions that will impact their firms' international operations-have inadequate levels of international geographical knowledge.

This article compares the geographical knowledge of U.S. business school students to that of business school students in four countries: Ireland, Israel, Mexico, and South Korea. The sub-par performance exhibited by the U.S. students and the impact of six independent variables on global geographical knowledge are used to develop a number of pedagogical conclusions designed to enhance the international geographical knowledge of U.S. business school students and students in foreign business schools and overcome the antipathy toward this subject matter that apparently exists within business schools and their various external constituencies.     

Strategic brand management for higher education institutions with graduate degree programs: empirical insights from the higher education marketing mix

ABSTRACT

Intense competition for student enrollment has created a strong need for higher education institutions, especially those that offer graduate degree programs, to differentiate themselves. This article introduces the concept of strategic brand management as an avenue for higher education differentiation and discusses how higher education institutions with graduate degree programs can strategically manage their brands (i.e. corporate and product) through the higher education marketing mix (i.e. prominence, prospectus, program, price, people, premium, and promotion). Using a closed-ended survey and partial least squares structural equation modeling of a sample of students enrolled in a graduate degree program (e.g. MBA), the study finds that the utilitarian elements (i.e. prominence, prospectus, program, and price) of the higher education marketing mix have a positive direct impact on the product brand (e.g. MBA brand) and an indirect impact on the corporate brand (e.g. university brand) of these types of higher education institutions. However, hedonic elements (i.e. people, premium, and promotion) of the higher education marketing mix do not produce any significant impact on either the corporate or product brands of these institutions. Implications from these findings to theory, practice, and future research avenues conclude.