Attributes Versus Benefits: The Role of Construal Levels and Appeal Type on the Persuasiveness of Marketing Messages

When should marketers emphasize attributes or benefits in their communications? Grounded in construal-level theory, the results of four studies suggest that when a purchase is planned for the distant future or when construal levels are high, benefit-based appeals are more persuasive than attribute-based appeals. By contrast, when a purchase is planned for the near future or when consumers are predisposed to low construal levels, attribute-based appeals are equally as persuasive as benefit-based appeals. However, when low construal levels are temporarily induced using a mind-set manipulation, attribute-based appeals are found to be more persuasive than benefit-based appeals. Moreover, we demonstrate how these effects occur only when processing fluency is uninhibited. This research establishes an important link between these appeal types and construal levels, subsequently demonstrating when marketers should use these appeals.     

The Influence of Repetitive Health Messages and Sensitivity to Fluency on the Truth Effect in Advertising

Although merely repeating a product claim does not influence the objective validity of the claim, it often increases the subjective validity of the claim (the truth effect). Research notes that the truth effect plays an important role in health advertising. The present research investigates the moderating role of sensitivity to feelings of fluency (or processing ease) on the truth effect. The truth effect was more pronounced when the need for affect was high rather than low (Study 1) and when consumers were primed to trust their feelings (Study 2). Finally, Study 3 and Study 4 replicate these findings using advertising appeals. Advertisements that encourage consumers to focus on their feelings increase susceptibility to the truth effect.     

Greening the environment: National and local economic issues

Friends of the Earth (UK), 1989: The Environmental Charter for Local Government. London: Friends of the Earth, no price stated.

Association of Metropolitan Authorities, 1989: Action for the Future - Priorities for the Environment. London: AMA, £10.00.

Local Government Training Board, 1990: The Environmental Role of Local Government. Luton: LGTB, no price stated.

SEEDS (South East Economic Development Strategy), 1990: Green Plan — Interim Report. Stevenage: SEEDS, no price stated.

The Local Authority Associations, 1990: Environmental Practice in Local Government. London: Association of District Councils, £20.00 (£15.00 to local authorities).

Opschoor, J.B. and Vos, H.B. 1989: Economic Instruments for Environmental Protection. Paris: OECD, no price stated.     

Corporate Policy and Market Value: A q-Theory Approach

In this paper, we show that Tobin's q has a significant predictive power in explaining valuation consequences of major corporate policy variables. Our empirical results reveal that, depending upon whether a firm is overinvesting or underinvesting, financial markets respond quite differently to its capital structure, dividend payout, financial slack, and R & D decisions. Overall, the empirical results suggest that both high debt ratios and greater payouts are favorably viewed by the market when firms are overinvesting. For firms with growth opportunities, however, large debt is unfavorably viewed by the market. In addition, financial slack and R & D expenditures are favorably received by the market for growth firms but not for overinvesting firms.     

The ethical challenge of management buy-outs as a form of privatisation in Central and Eastern Europe

There has been a growing debate about the ethics of management buy-outs (MBOs). One possible criticism of the MBO is that it serves the interests of incumbent management at the expense of shareholders. In this paper we develop the general arguments concerning the ethical aspects of the MBO to include other forms of buy-out beyond “going privates” and apply the analysis to MBOs as a mode of privatisation in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). MBOs are justified in this context postperestroika as a means of incentivising economic activity by giving managers an ownership stake in former state enterprises. The actual mode of privatisation, though, raises issues of social justice and the criticism that MBOs are at the expense of the broader social good. The ethical problem for the CEE is to balance the economic gains of a move to markets with the ethical risks to the agents of these markets.     

The Collapse of Compulsory Unionism? Collective Organization in Highly Unionized British Companies, 1979–1991

This paper examines compulsory union membership in 50 highly unionized companies between 1979 and 1991. One hundred per cent membership has collapsed among non-manuals. Post-entry 100% membership remains in the majority of manual units, as does the pre-entry closed shop among craft workers. Fewer written union membership agreements, and more unwritten verbal agreements and unofficial understandings, were evident. This pattern is accounted for by the interplay of four factors: product market competition, managerial indulgency, workplace collective organization and labour turnover.     

Applying Foucault to a future-oriented layered analysis in a post-bubble Japanese community

In this paper I argue that a hybrid research methodology that integrates Foucauldian post-structuralist approaches and concepts enhances future-oriented layered analyses. This hybrid application of post-structuralism in conjunction with Causal Layered Analysis to a real-world problematic facilitated greater depth of understanding of and insight into the specified futures problematic, augmenting the repertoire of identifiable preferred futures. Using this approach I present a retrospective account of an actual case study within the context of a post-bubble Japanese community revitalisation program and the community’s struggle to articulate and communicate preferred images of the future. I conclude with a post-investigation critique scrutinising this research methodology and offer suggestions for the futures of layered analyses.