Editorial

Citation

Young, B.M. (2012), "Editorial", Young Consumers, Vol. 13 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/yc.2012.32113daa.001

Editorial

Article Type: Editorial From: Young Consumers, Volume 13, Issue 4

Welcome to the last issue of 2012 and I hope you are all enjoying the winter holiday whether it is in snow, or on the beach or – as is common in the UK – in rain. Our papers in this international issue are from the US, Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong, and Iran. James and Camille Roberts from the US were interested in charitable giving and their paper provides us with a fascinating insight into the role of money in donating. I have chosen this paper as our lead article as it is academically interesting, integrating the psychology of priming using a money salience manipulation with consumer theory of market pricing decision to provide an exciting exploration of this field. It is also valuable for practitioners who are considering strategies for marketing in this area with young consumers.

Research from Iran is not widely known outside that country and we have a paper that looks at the behavioural intentions of young consumers there in the context of what the authors describe as “fast-casual” restaurants, a niche one up from fast food. Mehran Nejati, based in Malaysia, with Parnia Parakhodi Moghaddam in Iran discovered that hedonic values (pleasure) as well as utilitarian values held by young consumers drove decisions of restaurant choice in Tehran.

May O. Lwin and her colleagues from Singapore and the US were interested in preteens going online, the various ways they were motivated to consume and satisfy different needs and how these related to privacy concerns which are particularly important for children. Although the study is exploratory with a relatively small sample, the results are valuable and future research possibilities are described.

Kara Chan and her colleagues in Hong Kong have explored gender representations in that culture. Their method was ingenious – asking respondents to record images that they thought reflected gender stereotypes from media they encountered in everyday life which were then analysed qualitatively into themes. As smartphones with photo facilities are common in every part of the world, this methodology is useful. Results from advertisements are reported here and add to the cross-cultural literature on gender stereotyping in advertising.

Linden Dalecki from Kansas has produced a paper that is an interesting case study blending together a cultural studies analysis of a subgenre of film with a perceptive analysis of the strictly commercial business model used to market them to youth. This refreshing approach would interest film buffs and business oriented marketers alike.

Meryl Gardner and her colleagues in the US were interested in two aspects of toy marketing to parents. One was the extent to which the toy claimed to promote structured or unstructured play and the other was the message – did it refer to the design being influenced by an expert in child development or in brain development (as parents seem be more influenced by the latter). These imaginative hypotheses were tested in an experiment but the results were not simple and led into a valuable discussion.

David Tong and his colleagues from Malaysia using sophisticated and detailed data analysis investigated soft drink usage, in particular infused beverages, which have a particular social role to play with young consumers in that country. Their conclusions are valuable for practitioners and also inform our basic understanding of the taste, mood and health parameters involved in consuming this drink

And finally we have our regular paper looking at regulatory aspects of advertising to children on a country-by-country basis. This quarter we have a review of the legal framework and industry-specific codes of practice in Australia by Peter Le Guay and Lai Lynn Choong. As usual these are coordinated by GALA, the Global Advertising Lawyer’s Alliance and I am grateful to Stacy Bess from their New York office for all the help and assistance she provides with each issue.

I hope you enjoy these papers and many thanks to all our reviewers and contributors without whom these regular issues would not be possible.

Happy reading!

Brian M. YoungEditor, Young Consumers