React to the future: political visualization,emotional reactions and political behavior

Abstract

This study explores the mediating role political visualization – the process of imagining future political scenarios – plays in determining how political advertising affects voting behaviour. Specifically, we theorize that when partisans are exposed to political ads that are narrative (compared to non-narrative) in nature, they will engage in more political visualization. Partisans will then experience emotional reactions to these imagined futures – specifically, enthusiasm for the in-group candidate and anger towards the out-group candidate. These emotional reactions, in turn, will make a partisan more likely to vote for the in-group candidate and less likely to vote for the out-group candidate. We test this model by employing an experimental design where American partisans were presented a political ad (in the form of an email) that is either narrative or non-narrative. Results provide support for most of our expectations and suggest that visualization may play an important role in determining the influence of a political ad.     

The effect of strike militancy intentions and general union attitudes on the Organizational Citizenship Behavior of university faculty

Using a sample of unionized faculty, this study investigated whether faculty members' militancy intentions and general union attitudes affected their level of organizational citizenship behavior (OCB). OCB was divided into three dimensions (OCB-teaching, OCB-faculty, and OCB-university), and separate predictions were made for each. Results indicated weak relationships at best between the predictor variables and OCB, suggesting that unionization is not likely to affect this important aspect of job performance.     

美国、欧盟、日本对转基因作物的态度与政策比较及对我国的启示

自1996年转基因作物全球商业化种植以来,其种植面积不断增加,已增长到现今的1亿公顷以上,有效地解决了粮食安全问题.然而随之而来的关于转基因作物及其产品安全性的争论越发激烈,使各国(地区)政府的政策取向产生了很大的差异,其中以美国、欧盟、日本最具代表性.本文比较分析了美国、欧盟、日本对待转基因作物及其产品的不同态度和政策取向,并针对我国转基因作物发展中存在的问题,提出了几点建议.     

What is sustainable agriculture? Empirical evidence of diverging views in Switzerland and New Zealand

Public debates on sustainable agriculture tend to be shaped by dominant political stakeholders with a particular political agenda. They simultaneously contribute and respond to the formation of public opinion. In this paper, we investigate to what extent stakeholder attitudes and interests help explain national conceptions of sustainable agriculture and how these conceptions diverge between countries with different agricultural policies.For that purpose, we conducted two stakeholder perception surveys in Switzerland and New Zealand. The data analysis revealed that there are significant differences in perception between the two countries. While Swiss respondents felt that Swiss agriculture is already quite sustainable and that international trade and new technologies are likely to render it less sustainable, New Zealand respondents generally thought that economic and technological change is necessary to make agriculture more sustainable. The conservative Swiss attitude is in accordance with the country's defensive agricultural policy while the more progressive New Zealand attitude is clearly linked to its need to reconcile agricultural sustainability with national competitiveness.     

Attitudes about EU expansion and zero‐sum thinking

EU expansion can be seen as a positive‐sum process benefiting all countries by creating larger markets that stimulate more productive economies through increased specialization and economies of scale, implying that the general public in all countries should favour expansion. Contrarily, expansion can be perceived as zero‐sum. Capital and production relocate from higher to lower wage regions while labour does the opposite, possibly raising unemployment and reducing wages in the higher wage regions. The general public in these countries may come to oppose EU expansion attributing any deterioration in their work situation to the gains of new citizens of the European Union. Analysis of changes in Irish attitudes towards EU expansion in 2002, 2007 and 2009 finds no evidence of a link from lowered economic conditions to increased opposition to EU expansion. The only evidence for zero‐sum thinking is that diminished economic circumstances are associated with increased opposition to immigration, but this is not associated with increased opposition to further EU expansion.     

Global Advertising Practices

Abstract

This empirical study of European, Japanese and U.S. multinational companies provides a cross-sectional investigation on the degree of standardization practiced in advertising strategy and message elements, objectives and types of content of standardized advertising and ways of using adapted strategy. Based on the sampled data, no statistical difference was found for any of the analyses at the 0.05 significance level. However, it can be concluded from the data that global marketers are moving toward standardization in their advertising. The contributions of this research can be significant for both academicians and practitioners. Managerial implications and future research directions were also provided.     

Effectiveness of Absurdity in Advertising Across Cultures

This paper examines the effect of absurd advertising on memory and persuasion across cultures. Drawing on Hofstede's cultural dimensions, it is hypothesized that the effect of absurdity on recall is culturally invariant, whereas the effect on attitude toward the ad is contingent on the recipients’ cultural orientation. The assumptions are tested using a between-subjects experimental design, in which we manipulated type of absurdity and used the cultural dimensions as blocking variables. Data was collected from 274 students in the United States, Germany, Russia, and China. We discuss theoretical and managerial implications of these findings as well as guidelines for further research.     

Examining Polish Market Mavens and Their Attitudes Toward Advertising

Abstract

In this paper, we offer some insights about Polish consumers with varying levels of general marketplace expertise, their role in diffusing product information, and their views of advertising. Market mavens are consumers who exhibit heightened interestin and knowledge about the marketplace. Because of their interest in communicating with others about the many aspects of the marketplace, these consumers can play an integral role for companies interested in diffusing marketing information. Our study results indicate that market mavens do indeed exist in Poland and they exhibit similar characteristics to market mavens identified in the U.S. They have more favorable attitudes toward advertising than other consumers. Additionally, they consider advertising as an important source of product and social image information. Although Polish mavens are less critical of advertising being misleading and confusing, they are concerned about advertising promoting materialistic values. Our findings imply that firms doing business in Poland would be well advised to target market mavens because they pay attention to advertising, have favorable attitudes toward advertising, and like to talk about marketplace phenomena with others.     

Advertainment

Abstract

This essay explores the issues implicated by entertainment vehicles created solely to spotlight specific advertisers. From the contemporary exemplar of this paradigm in the highly successful 1990-1998 “Sophisticated Taste” campaign for Taster's Choice(r) instant coffee, in which viewers watched the sparks fly between the characters of Tony and Sharon in a continuing series of ads that functioned as television programming across multiple media platforms, to the most recent incarnation in advergames, online computer games that promote brands, this study considers the nature and implications of perhaps the ultimate evolution of product placement and blurring of the lines between entertainment and commercial persuasion.     

Ads That Attack the Tobacco Industry: A Review and Recommendations

ABSTRACT

While traditional anti-tobacco social marketing campaigns have focused on prevention and cessation, a new breed of anti-tobacco message has arisen during the last decade, which focuses on attacking the tobacco industry and its tactics. This type of anti-tobacco program has been termed a tobacco industry manipulation campaign in the United States, where it was introduced in the early 1990s. The objective of a tobacco industry manipulation campaign is to point out negative traits of the tobacco industry, including manipulative marketing strategies and tactics. Evaluations of tobacco industry manipulation campaigns have found that these ads are effective in redirecting the guilt that smokers often feel, channeling it instead into anger at being manipulated. Guidelines are provided for how social marketers can incorporate this approach within their tobacco control campaigns.