Reframing gender and feminist knowledge construction in marketing and consumer research: missing feminisms and the case of men and masculinities

Abstract

Gender has been theorised and studied in many ways and across different disciplines. Although a number of these theorisations have been recognised and adopted in marketing and consumer research, the significance of feminism in knowledge construction has largely remained what we would call ‘unfinished’. Based on a critical reframing of gender research in marketing and consumer research, in dialogue with feminist theory, this article offers theoretical and practical suggestions for how to reinvigorate these research efforts. The analysis highlights dominant theorisations of gender, relating to gender as variable, difference and role; as fundamental difference and structuring; and as cultural and identity constructions. This reframing emphasises various neglected or ‘missing feminisms’, including queer theory; critical race, intersectional and transnational feminisms; material-discursive feminism; and critical studies on men and masculinities. A more detailed discussion of the latter, as a relatively new, growing and politically contentious area, is further developed to highlight more specifically which feminist and gender theories are mainly in use in marketing and consumer research and which are little or not used. In the light of this, it is argued that marketing and related disciplines have thus far largely neglected several key contemporary gender and feminist theorisations, particularly those that centre on gender power relations. The potential impact of these theoretical frames on transdisciplinary studies in marketing and consumer research and research agenda(s) is discussed.     

Interpersonal Relationship,Service Quality,Seller Expertise: How Important Are They to Adolescent Consumers?

Drawing upon social capital theory and psychosocial development theory, this paper argues that a true buyer–seller relationship is a key determinant of favorable consumer behaviors for adolescent consumers of hairstylist services. Other important determinants include quality of the service delivery process (i.e., service quality as measured by the five SERVQUAL factors) and quality of the core service (in this case, the hairstylist's expertise). A survey of 350 adolescent consumers confirms these predictions. It shows that a true interpersonal relationship negatively moderates the positive effects of service quality on consumer satisfaction with, and overall assessment of the hairstylist. This negative moderating effect is labeled resource substitution benefit and the argument made that this is the fourth social capital benefit. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Managerial Commitment to Sustainable Supply Chain Management Projects

Most companies are under pressure to improve the environmental sustainability of their supply chains. However, there is considerable variance in companies' ability to successfully deploy environmental management projects. One important factor, according to articles in the academic and business press, is the ability of champions of sustainable supply chain management (SCM) projects within organizations to gain the commitment of colleagues (e.g., other managers from a variety of functions) to help these projects succeed. Therefore, this paper examines variables that affect a project champion's ability to gain this commitment from colleagues. In particular, building on existing research, this research employs a video‐based experimental design to examine the effect of the influence approach that the project champion employs, the values of the person the champion is trying to influence, and the organizational climate. The results suggest that organizational climate and certain individual values directly affect commitment. There are also interactions between values and influence tactics. The research adds to the field's growing knowledge on the antecedents of sustainable SCM within companies while providing valuable guidance for environmental champions and for top managers.     

Aligning employees through “line of sight”

Aligning employees with the firm's larger strategic goals is critical if organizations hope to manage their human capital effectively and ultimately attain strategic success. An important component of attaining and sustaining this alignment is for employees to have a “line of sight” (LOS) with their organization's strategic objectives. In this article, we illustrate how the translation of calculated firm goals into tangible results requires that employees not only understand the organization's strategy, but also accurately appreciate what actions are aligned with realizing that strategy. Using recent empirical evidence, theoretical insights, and tangible examples of exemplary firm practices, we provide thought-leaders with a comprehensive view of LOS by showing how it can be created, how it can be enhanced or stifled, and how it can be effectively managed. Further, we integrate LOS with current thinking on employee alignment to help managers more effectively benefit from understanding human capital potential.     

Do Traditional Chinese Cultural Values Nourish a Market for Pirated CDs?

On one hand, Chinese consumers are well known for conspicuous consumption and the adoption of luxury products and named brands. On the other hand, they also have a bad reputation for buying counterfeit products. Their simultaneous preferences for two contrasting types of product present a paradox that has not been addressed in the literature. This study attempts to present an explanation of this paradox by examining the effects of traditional Chinese cultural values and consumer values on consumers’ deontological judgment of pirated CDs and the amount of social benefits they perceive they gain from them. We interviewed 300 Hong Kong Chinese consumers, and found that face consciousness increased materialism and risk aversion, thereby producing a favorable deontological judgment of pirated CDs. Face consciousness also has a direct effect on the amount of social benefits perceived in pirated CDs. Both favorable deontological judgment and perceived social benefits contributed to a strong intention to buy pirated CDs. The results are discussed in a cultural perspective.     

Transfer of Marketing Knowledge Within Business‐Nonprofit Collaborations

Companies often develop collaborative joint ventures with nonprofits, and sometimes help their nonprofit partners with the marketing activities associated with these projects. Often, the assistance furnished is embodied in a transfer of knowledge from a firm to a nonprofit and involves knowledge about marketing techniques, strategies and methods. This article presents the results of a survey concerning the extents, natures and effectiveness of marketing knowledge transfers taking place between 291 UK enterprises and their nonprofit partner organisations. The survey covered the knowledge transfer methods that companies employed, the scope of the knowledge communicated, the factors that encouraged or impeded marketing knowledge transfer, and the considerations that determined which partner completed most of the marketing tasks associated with a project. It emerged that knowledge transfers occurred mainly through face‐to‐face communications, though with little formal teamworking. Both the extent and the effectiveness of transfers depended on the degree of marketing knowledge within the nonprofit partner, on levels of knowledge specificity and project complexity, and on the financial importance of the collaboration. The extent of knowledge transfer was additionally influenced by cultural and organisational distance. Similar considerations affected commercial partners' decisions to do most of the marketing work required by a collaboration. Such decisions were especially likely if anti‐marketing bias existed within the nonprofit organisation and if the nonprofit's staff knew little about marketing.     

Hear nothing,do nothing: The role of word of mouth in the decision-making of older consumers

Abstract

In some product categories, older consumers (aged 65+) tend to be more brand loyal, have smaller consideration sets and defer purchase more than younger consumers. This conservative behaviour may arise, in part, because older people are more socially isolated and thus receive less social influence relating to product options. In this multi-study research, the volume of word of mouth (WOM) is used as an indicator of social influence. The WOM received by men and women falls substantially beyond age 65, indicating that a deficit in advice may be part of the explanation for conservative decision-making. To test this proposition, the duration of customer tenure of the current brand (how long the respondent has been a customer) is used as a measure of purchase deferral and, as predicted, tenure is longer when less WOM is received. This evidence indicates that some older consumers experience a degree of social isolation, which affects their decision-making. In marketing and social policy, there is a need to promote procedures, technologies and institutions that help older people to connect with others.     

Initial Steps in High-Frequency Modeling of China

This paper presents the first step in building a forecasting model of Chinas GDP. Being constrained by a statistical history that effectively begins in 1993, it uses high frequency data and principal components analysis to construct a single-equation model that generates elasticities and is applied to two-quarter-ahead forecasts. Initial results suggest a gradual deceleration of growth, consistent with Chinese government policy.A version of this paper was presented as part of Lawrence R. Kleins Adam Smith Award Address at the NABE Annual Meeting, October 4, 2004. The Adam Smith Award Address was sponsored by Global Insight.JEL Classification C5,O53     

Sustainable Entrepreneurship and B Corps

Sustainable entrepreneurship contributes to solving social and environmental problems through the means of successful for‐profit businesses. This paper contributes to understanding how sustainable entrepreneurship is implemented by exploring an emerging new form of business, ‘B Corps’, that employs market tactics to address social and environmental issues. Through interviewing 14 B Corps, the exploratory research study found that B Corps treat profit as a means to achieve positive societal ends, they regard the B Corp model as a tool for change, the B Corp model provides a common collective identity for internal and external validation, they are focused on societal impact rather than maximizing profits and they attempt to legitimate this form of sustainable entrepreneurship by influencing the business community and government officials. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment     

Aligning employees with the organization's strategic objectives: out of ‘line of sight’, out of mind

This research focuses on the strategic alignment of a firm's human resources. Specifically, I investigate employee ‘line of sight’ to an organization's strategic objectives. Line of sight is conceptualized as an employee's understanding of an organization's objectives and how to contribute to those objectives. Line of sight was expected to vary across individual characteristics (e.g. hierarchical level, tenure) and relate to important work outcomes (e.g. work attitudes, turnover). Results of a field study confirmed many of the hypotheses, supporting the importance of this construct to research and practice.