Enablers and inhibitors of permission-based marketing: A case of mobile coupons

Permission-based marketing is a unique marketing practice that requires consumers' overt consent. Previous studies examined only either positive or negative predictors of adoption of permission-based marketing practices. Thus, the current study proposes and tests both enablers and inhibitors that determine consumers' adoption decision of permissionbased marketing in a context of mobile coupons and aims to provide insights on relative importance of antecedents. A national survey of US consumers (N=611) supported the proposed model. Perceived risk and subjective norm are particularly important for consumers who have never used mobile coupons. Moderating effects of prior experience was also examined. Finding of moderating effects of prior experience in mobile service adoption suggests research implications for future studies.     

A study of the structural integration of the marketing and PR functions in the C-suite

Recently, a number of firms have structurally integrated the distinct yet related functions of marketing and public relations (PR), under the leadership of a single corporate-, or C-level, executive. Such actions, as well as turf wars between the functions over social media ownership and related stakeholder management conflicts, have reignited the debate over whether marketing and PR should be separated or unified. By drawing on the pros and cons of integration, as suggested by prior conceptual research on integrated marketing communications, and using secondary data for a set of Fortune 500 firms, this study empirically tests this issue for multiple outcomes and contingencies. Results show that the integration of marketing and PR has positive benefits for firm reputation, an effect that is weakened as firm size increases, and positive effects for firm profitability in service-oriented firms.     

A contextual perspective on consumers' perceived usefulness: The case of mobile online shopping

This research aims to study the origins of consumers' usefulness perceptions through the example of mobile online shopping adoption in Europe. The results of an empirical study, which is grounded in technology acceptance theory, reveal the pivotal role of consumers' beliefs about the quality of mobile online stores in the formation of usefulness perceptions prior to adoption. While this study identifies that consumers form their usefulness evaluations depending on the respective shopping tasks, the results of a moderation analysis yield usefulness predictors that differ in relevance across product categories and shopping touchpoints. This contextual perspective has implications for both adoption and (online) channel research. It also helps managers to identify starting points on how to promote (mobile) online shopping adoption.     

Towards a Mobile App Diffusion of Innovations model: A multinational study of mobile wallet adoption

Demand for contactless payments has increased worldwide, but adoption varies by country. We propose a more parsimonious Diffusion of Innovations model (i.e., complexity is dropped and compatible advantage replaces relative advantage and compatibility) to investigate mobile wallet adoption, but with context-relevant extensions of security, privacy and ubiquity. The model is empirically tested for Canada, Germany and the United States. The findings support the proposed model. Furthermore, we find ubiquity, privacy concerns and security risks vary by country, and ubiquity plays a mediating role. This model can be utilized in future mobile app studies and provides country-specific guidance to practitioners.     

Exploring the acceptance of technology for mobile shopping: an empirical investigation among Smartphone users

In this work, we evaluate the phenomenon of asymmetric perception of some nonverbal stimuli located in an aisle of a virtual store. In a stimulus detection experiment, with a number of potentially confounding variables held under control, it was found that the nonverbal stimuli utilized (belonging to the color, size, and shape families) were perceived more rapidly when placed on shelves on the left rather than on the right of the observer. This response pattern was constant regardless the nature of stimulus and the gender of observer. The experiment also showed the following sequence, in descending order of perception rapidity: color–shape–size. Our results appear consistent with the predictions of the brain laterality theory. Overall, our article provides an initial contribution to extend the results of Rettie and Brewer (Journal of Product and Brand Management 2000; 9, no. 1: 56–70) pioneering work obtained by reference to specific problems of package design to the positioning of items with respect to in-store traffic flow. Limitations and managerial implications of our work are discussed.     

A comparison of online and offline consumer behaviour: An empirical study on a cinema shopping context

The main objective of this study is to analyse online vs. offline differences in consumer behaviour. To this end, through a proposal applied to cinemas in shopping centres, this study considers values and lifestyles as major factors that influence behaviours and intentions. The partial least squares (PLS) approach is used to evaluate the model. A multi-group analysis is conducted to compare consumers who buy tickets online with those who do so at a box office. We consider 391 valid cases. The results obtained show a link between the use of technology and its effects on behaviour. The relationships between values and behaviour as well as between behaviour and future intent are stronger among online consumers than the effects of lifestyles on behaviour. We consider relevant theoretical and empirical perspectives and offer critical recommendations of use to shopping centre managers, movie theatres, and intermediaries of this sector.     

Standing up for or against: A text-mining study on the recommendation of mobile payment apps

Mobile payment systems offer enormous potential as alternative payment solutions. However, the diffusion of mobile payments over the years has been less than optimal despite the numerous studies that have explored the reasons for its adoption. Consequently, there is an increased interest in exploring alternative actions for promoting its diffusion, especially user recommendation of the technology. This is because positive recommendations can enormously influence the decisions of potential consumers to use the technology while negative recommendations can increase resistance to it. The few extant studies in this domain have followed the traditional survey approach with hypothetic-deductive reasoning, thus limiting an understanding of factors outside their conceptual models that could influence recommendations. To address this shortcoming, this study uses a qualitative text-mining approach that explores themes from user reviews of mobile payment applications (apps). Using 5955 reviews from 16 mobile payment apps hosted on the Google Play store, this study applied the latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA) text-mining method to extract themes from the reviews that help to explain why users provide positive or negative recommendations about mobile payment systems. A total of 13 themes (i.e. ease of use, usefulness, convenience, security, reliability, satisfaction, transaction speed, time-saving, customer support, output quality, perceived cost, usability and trust) were generated from the LDA model which provides both theoretical and practical insights for advancing mobile payments diffusion and research.     

Rethinking cross-border mobile payment ecosystems: A process study of mobile payment platform complementors,network effect holes and ecosystem modules

This study investigates how and why the Cross-Border Mobile Payment (CBMP) platform complementor develops complementary CBMP ecosystems. Drawing on research into platforms and ecosystems, platform complementor, CBMP, and International Business (IB), we propose that the evolution of CBMP platform complementors follows a modular process driven by transaction costs and network effects. Data from a research setting of a CBMP platform complementor’s international expansion between 2016 and 2020 suggest that the positive and persistent network effect holes provide an economic incentive for the CBMP platform complementor to create ecosystem modules. However, the mechanism by which ecosystem members participate in the module and co-create value is that they create full chain accountability, absorbing the network effect holes and lowering the module’s transaction costs. We propose a modularized process model that explains the CBMP platform complementor’s evolution based on our findings. We believe that our study contributes to the IB studies and operations by exploring the new phenomenon of CBMP platform complementors, adopting innovative research methods by integrating modularization and process patterning analysis, and extending the traditional transaction cost theory to the digital realm by incorporating the mechanism of network effect holes to its application in the formation of CBMP task modules.     

Digital marketing communication in global marketplaces: A review of extant research,future directions,and potential approaches

Digital marketing communication, that is, communication through digital or electronic media among businesses and consumers, is growing rapidly, especially during the COVID-19 era. We propose a framework for analyzing digital marketing communication along four major dyads, business-to-consumer (B2C), business-to-business (B2B), consumer-to-consumer (C2C), and consumer-to-business (C2B). We review and summarize, for researchers and practitioners, the literature during 2000–2021 in these dyads along four major components: goals; channels, media, and platforms; content; and responses. We find that extant research in digital marketing communication pertains mostly to a specific, national level rather than a global level, despite the porousness of national boundaries for digital marketing. We derive important insights, identify key research gaps and questions in each of the dyads along these dimensions. We suggest approaches to address these research questions under three major components: substantive issues, data, and methods. These approaches can offer the insights that managers need to better formulate digital marketing strategies in local and global contexts.