Exploring the impact of self‐construal and cultural intelligence on alcohol consumption: implications for social marketing

• There is enormous cross‐cultural variation in alcohol choices and drinking behaviour. Because of the inherent differences in historical drinking culture, as well as differences in alcohol policy globally, similarities and differences in drinking patterns have long been a focus of interest among public health and social marketing researchers. Thus, the purposes of this study are (1) to explore differences between groups (Australian and non‐Australian‐born respondents) on self‐construal, cultural intelligence and alcohol consumption and (2) to investigate the impact of self‐construal and cultural intelligence on alcohol consumption in Australia. Data for this study were collected through a large public university in Australia (N = 669). The paper found that people with interdependent self‐concept were less likely to drink alcohol than people with independent self‐concept and cultural intelligence was not significantly related to hazardous alcohol use, harmful alcohol use and dependence symptoms. Variations between Australian‐born and overseas‐born groups were evident. Limitations of the current study and an agenda for future research are outlined.

Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The impact of the European social fund on youth education and employment

The effectiveness of the European Union's Cohesion Policy in reducing regional socio-economic gaps remains an open empirical issue, while evidence as to how the policy is affected by specific territorial factors and which social groups benefit most from it remains sparse. This article seeks to address this gap by disentangling the impact of the European Social Fund (ESF) on youth education and employment prospects. Drawing on macro-level data for the European NUTS-2 regions, we assess the impact that this fund has on different education-specific youth population shares and employment rates. In the case of education, we find that the receipt of funding is associated with a human capital polarization of regional populations. Specifically, we identify a positive impact of the ESF on population shares with lower-secondary and tertiary education, and a simultaneous negative impact on the share of those with upper-secondary education. In the case of employment, we find a positive response for youth of all education levels. A heterogeneity analysis indicates that both the education and employment responses of the youth population to the receipt of the ESF are strongly influenced by local specialization in high-skilled activities.     

Threat appeals in social marketing: death as a ‘special case’

Death is commonly used as a threat, both by fear-appeal researchers and by social marketing and health promotion practitioners (eg ‘Quit smoking or you'll die’). Fear (or threat) appeal researchers have frequently used death to arouse fear, and particularly in the ‘high’ fear condition. It is argued here that death is a ‘special case’ threat, and that the introduction of death in high fear conditions is a confounder in that death is a qualitatively different negative outcome from the non-death negative outcomes used in low fear conditions. The use of death in threat appeals requires attention in its own right for a number of reasons. First, death will occur eventually regardless of the message recipient's behaviour. Hence, messages that threaten death may arouse defensive responses in the target audience (eg ‘you've got to go sometime’), and unresolvable anxiety in the general population. Secondly, death can vary on a number of attributes (eg age at death, sudden versus prolonged, etc), and, while most threat appeals imply premature death, few studies have made this point explicit. Thirdly, the fear of death is multidimensional and some dimensions are more readily acknowledged as fearful than others. For example, a threat specifying the effect of one's death on loved ones might have more impact than a threat of death to oneself. Fourthly, people may fear death differently, or, for religious or other reasons, may not fear death at all. Furthermore, there may be age and gender differences in response to threat appeals using death. It is concluded that systematic research is required to determine whether and for whom death threats are effective. Copyright © 1999 Henry Stewart Publications     

An environmental marketing system – a proposed model based on Indian experience

This paper is based on a study conducted in India on venvironmental marketing practices of Indian companies. The study was set in the backdrop of a new environmental‐friendly culture in India in the early 1990s, primarily due to the complex environmental problems encountered in different parts of the country. The increased awareness and interest shown by Indian companies in respect of environmental management and marketing was evident in the sharp increase of ISO14001 certified companies in the country. However, an important question at this context was how effectively Indian companies were practicing environmental marketing for the benefit of their customers and other stakeholders. The present paper is an attempt to trace the extent and nature of environmental marketing practice in india and to propose a model for guiding the practice. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.     

The Quantification of Qualitative Survey Data: A Critical Assessment

Abstract.  Data obtained from business and consumer surveys are often used in forecasting models and in testing different expectation formation schemes. Their use, however, requires a previous step of transformation of the qualitative data into quantitative figures. This paper contains a critical review of the different quantification methods, highlighting the limits of their use in macroeconomic modelling.     

The housing market impact of state-level anti-discrimination laws, 1960–1970

This paper measures the housing-market impact of state-level anti-discrimination laws in the 1960s using household-level and census-tract data. State “fair-housing” laws were the direct antecedents of the federal Fair Housing Act of 1968, and policy variation across states facilitates estimates of the laws' impact. During the 1960s, Blacks' housing-market outcomes improved relative to Whites', and the proportion of exclusively White census tracts declined markedly, but there is little evidence that the fair-housing laws contributed to those changes. There is some evidence that Black renters may have benefited from the laws, but the bulk of the evidence suggests insignificant effects on Blacks' housing-market outcomes, the level of residential segregation, and the value of property in predominantly Black neighborhoods.     

The living product – using the creative nature of metaphors in the search for sustainable marketing

The challenge facing marketing (and business) is letting go of old assumptions and embarking on a journey of unprecedented uncertainty towards a more sustainable marketplace. Current marketing approaches are called into question in this paper and it is argued that they fail to represent adequately – and far less to confront – our relationships with products and the natural environment. This paper challenges marketing in this respect, investigating the consequences of putting marketing into an ecological context. By using the generative and creative power of metaphors we attempt to draw the sustainability debate away from the language of the mechanistic world; where matter is regarded as inert, mute, passive and exploitable. By using the ‘living product’ metaphor as a tool for change we explore the potential for a reorientation towards organizational–environmental configurations that are dynamic and flexible and provide space for dealing with uncertainty. These concepts are then illustrated in a number of practical examples, providing an insight into the potential of marketing in our search towards a more sustainable marketplace. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.     

Charities marketing — more focus on the beneficiary

Academic literature on the marketing of charities is almost always associated with fundraising or the publicising of socially worthwhile causes. Little attention has been paid to the marketing of charitable services to their intended beneficiaries, for traditionally demand always exceeded supply. However, today many charities rely increasingly on fees for services for a substantial part of their income, which the authors believe must lead to more emphasis being placed on reaching potential beneficiaries and their financial supporters. This paper explores the case of a charity that had insufficient demand for its services. It shows that a lack of understanding of buyer behaviour was a principal cause of the problem. The analysis also shows that the decision process is a complex one that resembles industrial rather than consumer models. The paper goes on to demonstrate that this complex purchase behaviour applies to a large group of charities and that an understanding of it will increase in importance as charities seek new sources of income.     

Attracting potential blood donors: The role of personality and social marketing

Globally, society has been facing several and growing health problems, which increased the importance of efforts towards social change. In this context, using social marketing to create and implement programs that foster behavioural change has increased in the public health community. One of the health problems that society has been facing is the unceasing need for blood products, so the subject of blood donation became an important research topic in the area of social marketing, as social marketing strategies can contribute to solving this problem. It is essential to understand the factors that motivate individuals to donate blood, to enhance the recruitment and retention of blood donors. Our study aims at evaluating the key personality factors that influence blood donation behaviour to reach a higher understanding of what concerns this global issue. The method used to analyse the data is ANOVA. We conclude that the Personality of potential donors is significantly different from the non-donors' regarding Openness to Experience and Agreeableness. These results suggest that potential donors might perceive blood donation, as well as the associated barriers, differently from non-donors. Based on our findings, we suggest some perspectives for future research in this area.     

企业社会责任对企业绩效的影响研究

以2013-2015年高新技术企业的数据为样本,研究企业社会责任对企业财务绩效和经营绩效的影响.研究结果表明:企业积极承担社会责任能够直接促进企业的经营绩效提升,但对财务绩效的提高没有显著影响.最后,根据分析结果,提出了促进企业转变履行社会责任的意识,积极履行企业社会责任相关建议.     

The impact of group incentives on performance of small firms: Hausman–Taylor estimates

This paper investigates the impact of group incentives on firms' performance. It shows that group incentive raises firms' performance. This result empirically validates the implication of the theoretical literature that performance‐related pay can potentially improve firms' performance, in the context of a developing country, and indicates the importance of group incentives in small firms. It also shows that partnership firms perform better than private limited companies and labour unions have a negative impact on firms' performance. It employs the Hausman–Taylor random effects estimator in order to isolate the effects of time‐invariant covariates and also to tackle potential endogeneity problem. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Entrepreneurial versus cooperative social capital: The impact on operational performance

Research has extensively focused on how firms can become more competitive, by discovering new knowledge domains while exploiting current ones. Prior research has shown the positive impact of social capital on performance; however, there have been no empirical studies that distinguished between the architectures of social capital and how they impact the operational performance dimensions. Building upon the knowledge-based theory, we propose a model to examine the effects of the two architectures of social capital (entrepreneurial and cooperative) on individual dimensions of operational performance (quality, delivery, flexibility and cost). The hypotheses are tested using structural equation modelling and data collected from 182 companies in Ireland. The results show that the cooperative social capital archetype supports the operational performance dimensions, while the entrepreneurial social capital archetype only impacts the cost dimension. The findings extend the current understanding about the complex relationships among the architectures of social capital and provide guidance for managers on how to leverage their investments in social capital to enhance specific operational performance dimensions.