Development of a scale to measure the quality of mobile location-based services

Mobile location-based service (m-LBS) presents attractive business opportunities for various companies. Recent improvements of technologies have resulted in a dramatic growth of m-LBSs. However, development of scales for evaluating the m-LBS quality has scarcely been addressed. This study aims to develop a new scale applicable to evaluating m-LBS quality. The scale was qualitatively designed at first, and the designed scale was assessed with a total number of 281 responded survey data. As a result, an m-LBS quality scale was developed, which consists of 9 quality dimensions and 29 measurement items. The distinctive characteristic of m-LBS is captured by a newly defined dimension called “localization” and its three measurement items (namely organization, update, and inclusiveness). The proposed scale was shown to be statistically reliable and valid. The results of this study would significantly contribute to providing a valid scale for use in measuring the m-LBS quality.     

Empowerment of SME websites—Development of a web-empowerment scale and preliminary evidence

The emergence of the Internet and the World Wide Web has been argued to fundamentally reshape economic conditions and business practices of firms. It is seen as a promoter of rapid internationalisation of companies, particularly small and medium enterprises. In the aftermath of the burst of the electronic-bubble business practitioners and academics look with scrutiny on successful web-strategies, relevant dimensions of online-success and try to identify viable website practices which enable long-term rewards. The literature offers a rather patchy pattern for successful web-strategies and consumer perspectives on what is expected from websites is hardly available. Within this paper, we introduce the dimension “web-empowerment”. This is a multidimensional construct comprising of consumer views on various dimensions of relevant and successful websites. The web-empowerment scale is based on a large sample from Austria, and developed according to scale development procedures. The relevance of this construct and practical issues in the context of a cross-country sample of SME’s is empirically examined. The paper concludes by offering implications for SME practitioners and for research.     

广告代理公司工作环境的不同对广告开创性业务成果的影响——以情绪智商(EQ)和社会智能(SQ)为中心

本研究以广告代理公司中就职的员工为研究对象,对广告代理公司不同的工作环境对广告开创性业务成果的影响进行研究。所得结论为：1、综合广告代理公司和广告制作公司在社会智能的下属属性中社会性技术的心态,情绪智商的下属属性中情绪调整和活用情绪及开创性业务成果认识上都存在着差异;2、广告企划者和创作组广告人的社会智能和情绪智商及开创性业务成果认识识别上没有差异。因此,在广告代理公司中,与创意性成果有着紧密关联的广告企划者和创作组,都非常了解应重视开创性业务的重要性;3、广告人工作时间越长,社会智能和情绪智商对创意性业务成果的认识越高;4,广告人的工作时间和职位越高开创性业务成果认识越高。     

Factors affecting attitudes and behavioural intention towards social networking advertising: a case of Facebook users in South Korea

This study examined factors (e.g., ad values and social networking advertising characteristics) influencing consumers' attitudes and behavioural intention towards three types of social networking advertising (SNA) on Facebook – home page ad, social impression ad, and organic impression ad. Findings demonstrate that peer influence had the most significant impacts on attitude and behavioural intention across all types of SNA. The significant interaction term of invasiveness and privacy concern indicates that both attitude and behavioural intention were diminished, particularly when perceived invasiveness and privacy concern were high simultaneously. In addition, results suggest that attitudes towards the ad played a mediating role between SNA characteristics and behavioural intention. Lastly, among the types of SNA, consumers preferred organic impression ads that featured friends' names on their newsfeed more than paid ads located on the sidebar of their Facebook pages.     

Development and validation of an emic scale to measure ad-evoked nostalgia in France

The practice of imbuing marketing communications with nostalgic reverie is prevalent in numerous countries. However, scholarly research investigating consumer response to such communication across cultures is lacking. This inquiry follows an emic approach examining and measuring ad-evoked personal nostalgia in France. Findings from five studies (N = 699) reveal significant differences in consumer reactions in France, as compared to earlier research based on American samples. Among the French, nostalgic advertising evokes personal memories and cultural nostalgia, contrasted to reports of past imagery, physiological and positive and negative emotional reactions in the United States. Furthermore, while cultural nostalgia is an important component of the French personal nostalgic experience, it is the personal memories that are the key to the creation of positive impressions about the ad and brand (brand heritage, brand bonds, and attitudes), and driving behavioral intentions. The emic French scale was found to be superior to an etic ad-nostalgia measure, in terms of fit and variance explained of the endogenous variables. The findings contribute to cross-cultural advertising and marketing research, and can be instructive for advertisers targeting the French market.     

Retailer use of a professional social media network: Insights from franchising

The adoption and use of a professional social media network by franchise chains is the focus of this paper. We draw on resource-based theory, institutional economic theories of incentives and externalities and multidisciplinary literatures on franchising, innovation adoption and interorganizational communication to link (i) franchisor characteristics and partnering strategies to the adoption and use of a professional social media network and (ii) the extent of use of this network by a franchisor to the number of followers of its network page. Hypotheses are empirically assessed using data on 500 US franchise chains from Entrepreneur’s Annual Franchise 500 for 2011, content analysis of LinkedIn pages for 317 franchise chains in 2011 and number of followers in 2015. One key finding is that franchisor adoption of LinkedIn is positively influenced by franchise chain size, franchising fees and franchisor marketing communications and negatively affected by franchise concept complexity. A second important finding is that, among franchisors who adopt LinkedIn, the extent of use of LinkedIn is positively impacted by franchise chain size, franchising fees and negatively affected by franchise chain age. A third notable finding is that the number of followers of a franchisor’s LinkedIn page in the short term is positively impacted by the extent of information about franchise chain and recruitment. A fourth key finding is that the number of followers in the longer term (2015) is positively impacted by whether the franchisor had a presence on LinkedIn in 2011 and, for these franchisors, by the number of followers in 2011.     

The effect of affective response to corporate social irresponsibility on consumer resistance behaviour: validation of a dual-channel model

ABSTRACT

This paper delineates a dual-channel model of consumer resistance towards corporate social irresponsibility. The model assumes a conditional mediational relationship among affective response to corporate social irresponsibility and ethical judgement as drivers of consumers’ inclination towards boycotting, protesting and negative word-of-mouth. Mediation-analysis results are largely in line with the model hypotheses: Affective response to corporate social irresponsibility solely has a significant direct effect on resistance inclination of consumers with a low preference for ethical products. Moreover, contractualistic and moral equity (utilitarian) judgement mediate(s) the effect of affective response on resistance intention for consumers with high (low) ethical product preferences. Based on the empirical findings, the paper presents practical implications and avenues for future research.     

The interplay of counter-conformity motivation,social influence,and trust in customers' intention to adopt Internet banking services: The case of an emerging country

The aim of this paper is to shed light on the roles of counter-conformity motivation, social influence, and trust in explaining customers' intention to adopt Internet banking services. Data is collected from 245 respondents and analyzed using SmartPLS 2.0 M3. Results show that the intention to adopt Internet banking is mainly influenced by trust in the Internet banking services, followed by customers' counter-conformity motivation and performance expectancy. Social influence and trust in the physical bank, however, have indirect impacts on customers’ intention to adopt Internet banking. Effort expectancy has no effect on it.     

The Effectiveness of a Buzz Marketing Approach Compared to Traditional Advertising: An Exploration

Marketers are now willing to go anyplace they can find a captive audience to espouse the virtues of their products. The success of the “buzz” marketing approach is linked to the consumer being lured into doing the advertising by spreading the message to others. This study compares students’ responses to a traditional advertising and a buzz approach. Using a factor analysis to identify variables, the results show that subjects perceive a buzz approach to be more influential than a traditional advertising. However, they do not perceive a buzz approach to be authentic. This finding is consistent with practitioners’ argument that, although a buzz approach may be effective in the short-term, once consumers recognize its selling intent, the program may have a “boomerang effect.”     

The Application of Stakeholder Theory to Relationship Marketing Strategy Development in a Non-profit Organization

Non-profit (NP) organizations present complex challenges in managing stakeholder relationships, particularly during times of environmental change. This places a premium on knowing which stakeholders really matter if an effective relationship marketing strategy is to be developed. This article presents the successful application of a model, which combines Mitchell’s theory of stakeholder saliency and Coviello’s framework of contemporary marketing practices in a leading NP organization in the U.K. A cooperative enquiry approach is used to explore stakeholder relationships, dominant marketing practices, and to surface differing perceptions about the organization’s marketing strategy. Resolving these differences sets the scene for developing choices in marketing strategy for the future. Simon Knox is Professor of Brand Marketing at the Cranfield School of Management in the UK and is a consultant to a number of multinational companies including Levi Strauss, DiverseyLever, BT and Exel. Upon graduating, he followed a career in the marketing of international brands with Unilever plc in a number of senior marketing roles in both detergents and foods. Since joining Cranfield, Simon has published over 100 papers and books on strategic marketing and branding and is a regular speaker at international conferences. He is a Director of the Cranfield Centre for Brand Management Development in the School and is currently looking at the impact of Corporate Social Responsibility on Brand Management. He is the co-author of two recent books, "Competing on Value", published by FT Pitman Publishing in the UK, Germany, the USA and China, and "Creating a Company for Customers", FT Prentice-Hall, in the UK, Brazil and India. Colin Gruar is currently studying for his Doctorate of Business Administration at the School. His thesis is concerned with developing marketing strategy across stakeholder groups in the Not-for-Profit sector.Formerly Head of Marketing at a major UK medical research charity, Colin has also had senior roles in sales, marketing and operations management in a range of sectors including manufacturing, financial services and energy supply.