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To enhance the understanding of entrepreneurial communication strategies in the start-up phase of the business, a resource dependence perspective is presented. Resources can be categorized in several ways. Penrose (1959), one of the pioneers in the resource-based view, and the subsequent work of, for example, Wernerfelt (1984) and Barney (1991), have brought the individual, the entrepreneur and especially resources within the business into focus. The process school of the resource-based view focuses on processes and activities and internal strategic capabilities (Tucker, Meyer, & Westerman, 1996). Furthermore, capabilities are based on developing, carrying and exchanging information through the business's human capital (Tucker et al., 1996). Grant (1991, p. 122) defined such capabilities as ‘complex patterns of coordination and cooperation between people, and between people and (tangible) resources’. Baum, Locke, and Smith (2001) and Lee, Lee, and Pennings (2001) found that new businesses’ internal capabilities are the primary determinants of the businesses’ performance. One of the intangible resources could be a business reputation (Deephouse, 2000). A positive reputation creates advantages in order to obtain, for example, financial capital.

This study aims to examine how the partnership between StubHub and MLB affected consumers' perceptions of StubHub. The case of StubHub and MLB was selected based on their partnership history and the reputation of StubHub.

A Qualtrics survey panel was used to collect the survey data. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the relationships between sponsor congruence, brand equity and purchase intention.

Sponsor congruence plays a significant role in consumers' perceived quality of StubHub. Additionally, brand equity significantly influenced purchase intention. More specifically, brand loyalty was the strongest indicator of intent to purchase tickets from StubHub. Brand loyalty and perceived quality indirectly affected the relationship between sponsor congruence and consumers' purchase intentions of StubHub.

Sponsor congruence between secondary ticket markets and sport leagues can provide a competitive advantage, helping create revenue generation and leverage for partnerships. Perceived quality can help facilitate this relationship and increase revenue generation.

An unconventional article based on an unfinished manuscript from the late Alan Smithee (“one of the great Hollywood directors”) and completed by his successor in Hollywood, Tommy Lee. Offers some perspectives on what the future of marketing may hold based on past metamorphic successes and makes some critical suggestions for review. Considers a range of metaphors and associated (rather humorous) terminologies. Notes some key questions for marketing theorists, such as: what are the appropriate relationships between business disciplines and their philosophies; and how can marketing academia develop better relationships with practitioners to the mutual benefit of both parties? Points out that unless marketing academics address some of these key questions “significant contributions to knowledge” will continue to be viewed by practitioners as shifts in language rather than substance.

Pricing studies have largely focused on sellers' pricing strategies and price determinants. To expand earlier work on sellers' pricing decisions, this study considers time as a major factor driving sellers' ticket prices in the secondary market. Specifically, because most secondary market transactions occur in the last moments before a game, this study considers how resellers adjust ticket prices within a few days prior to a game day including an actual game day.

To examine the impact of time on secondary market ticket prices for Major League Baseball (MLB), ticket prices were collected from StubHub (one of the largest secondary ticket markets) four times per game: from 3 days to 1 day prior to a game day and on the actual game day. Additionally, 10 control variables were obtained from previous research on price determinants (N = 19,155). A multiple regression model was created based on the extant literature regarding secondary market ticket prices.

Results indicate the number of days before a game negatively influenced ticket prices: resellers decreased ticket prices consistently during the last few days prior to a game's first inning. Specifically, secondary market ticket prices decreased relatively dramatically on an actual game day. Time had no significant effects on ticket prices 2 days prior to a game day. In addition to the role of time, league affiliation and the number of all-star players were identified as key price determinants in the secondary market. Moreover, changes in weather forecasts and the home team starting pitcher's ERA played significant roles in price changes.

Despite containing a relatively high number of data observations compared with prior pricing studies, this study's findings were limited to certain teams. Additionally, as only MLB secondary market ticket pricing was considered, different outcomes and implications may apply in other major sport ticket markets (e.g. NBA, NFL, NHL and MLS) featuring distinct league structures, policies and demand.

This study offers practical guidance for sellers' pricing decisions. Most secondary ticket market sellers lowered their ticket prices relatively dramatically on an actual game day. Reducing ticket prices prior to a game day can lead to greater chances to avoid unsold tickets that compromise revenue management. This study's results also afford professional sport organizations and secondary ticket market consumers a clearer understanding of the factors resellers consider when setting ticket prices.

Although previous studies have uncovered essential elements influencing ticket prices and consumer demand in the secondary ticket market, little work has examined how time affects sellers' pricing decisions within a few days prior to a game day. Little is known about the elements that significantly influence sellers’ decisions to adjust (i.e. increase or decrease) ticket prices in the secondary market as well. This topic deserves ongoing attention, as new outcomes can supplement previous studies' findings due to changing market environments.

The librarian and researcher have to be able to uncover specific articles in their areas of interest. This Bibliography is designed to help. Volume IV, like Volume III, contains features to help the reader to retrieve relevant literature from MCB University Press' considerable output. Each entry within has been indexed according to author(s) and the Fifth Edition of the SCIMP/SCAMP Thesaurus. The latter thus provides a full subject index to facilitate rapid retrieval. Each article or book is assigned its own unique number and this is used in both the subject and author index. This Volume indexes 29 journals indicating the depth, coverage and expansion of MCB's portfolio.

The Dictionary of National Biography (or DNB as it is commonly called and as it will be referred to in this paper) is a classic. Depending on whether a library owns an original edition published by Smith, Elder and Company or a reprint edition published by Oxford University Press, sixty‐three brown volumes or twenty‐two blue volumes and supplements loom bulkily from the shelves. It would be an odd, ill‐trained reference librarian, historian, or scholar of English literature who has never heard of the DNB, let alone used and perused it. But mere bulk does not explain the lasting fame and staying power of this reference work, whose first volume appeared in January 1885 over a century ago.

This paper aims to investigate the experience of darkness on people’s evaluation of humorous taboo-themed ads and their willingness to share these ads digitally with others.

Multiple studies are conducted to demonstrate the connection between darkness and humor. Another experiment was conducted to investigate people’s willingness to share taboo-themed ads.

The results demonstrate that people in dark settings (vs light) found controversial, taboo-themed ads to be more humorous. Three studies demonstrate that people in the dark (vs light) condition found taboo-themed ads to be more humorous. More importantly, despite finding taboo-themed ads to be more humorous, people in dark settings (vs light) were less inclined to share these ads on social media platforms.

When using humorous taboo-themed ads, advertisers are encouraged to show these ads in dark settings. If the physical environment is uncontrollable, marketers may still benefit by cueing consumers about darkness (e.g. through their products) or reminding them of nightly activities which may also yield similar effects. However, the cautionary tale is that, although people in the dark may enjoy these ads, they may not be willing to share it with others.

Marketers utilize taboo-themed ads to increase consumer interest. Despite its controversial content, darkness enhances people’s evaluation toward these taboo-themed ads. However, if one of the goals of advertisers is to create an ad that is amenable to sharing, developing a humorous taboo-themed ad may not be the most rewarding strategy.

This study examines perceived transparency of direct-to-consumer (DTC) genetic testing communication and measures its impact on consumers' trust, attitudes, and the intention to recommend the test to others.

An online survey of US–based adults (over 18 years of age) (N = 271) was administered by the online panel company Qualtrics Panels. The sample consisted of participants who have taken a DTC genetic test previously because only existing consumers could provide insight into companies' transparency about the entire genetic testing process (including the communication before, during, and after) as they experienced it. Participants were asked questions that measured intention to recommend DTC genetic tests to others, trust, attitude toward the DTC testing, and perceptions of transparency of the DTC companies' communication.

Results indicated that consumers who perceive DTC genetic testing companies to be transparent in their communication tend to trust the genetic testing process more, have more positive attitudes toward DTC genetic tests, and are more likely to recommend the tests to others.

This study integrates corporate communication and science communication through the theoretical framework of transparency. It empirically demonstrates that message transparency is key to increasing the publics' trust, attitude and behavioral intentions toward companies that involve sensitive health information or online privacy.

This paper answers previous calls to explore the organizational approach of science communication in the context of the under-examined companies in the science and health sectors, specifically the DTC genetic testing industry.

The purpose of this paper is to develop a desire to interact with a salesperson scale and to explore possible tools for replacing salespeople on e-commerce websites.

For the exploratory phase of this paper, Study 1 used in-depth consumer interviews. Quantitative surveys were conducted for Studies 2 and 3.

A two-dimensional (instrumental and autotelic) eight-item scale for desire to interact with a salesperson was developed. The results of Study 3 suggested that e-tailers can increase customer satisfaction by implementing effective customer-based information (e.g. customer reviews) and e-contact features (e.g. live chatting with a salesperson).

Although the current study validated the scale, a future study should further validate this scale in different contexts.

The present research was the first attempt to develop a desire to interact with a salesperson scale. This new scale now makes it possible to acknowledge differences in a desire to interact with a salesperson across demographics, product types, shopping purposes, etc., which should improve customer experience management.

Mobile loafing, or non-work-related mobile computing, is deviant workplace behavior that can reduce productivity and increase cybersecurity risks. To thwart mobile loafing, organizations often adopt formal controls that encompass rules and policies. These formal controls can serve as a phase-shifting event. Phase shifting is a process where individuals reevaluate and revise their perceptions of the regulation of deviant behaviors. Despite the importance of understanding this process, little research has examined the announcement of formal controls as an impetus for phase shifting. The primary objectives of this study were to induce a phase-shifting perception in an organizational setting and explore its determinants and moderating role in the context of mobile loafing.

The authors proposed and tested a model using two-wave data collected from 231 Amazon Mechanical Turk workers. To test the research hypotheses, they used covariance-based structural equation modeling and logistic regression.

The authors found that peer's mobile loafing and neutralization positively influence mobile-loafing intention before and after the announcement of formal controls. This research also shows that the higher an employee's neutralization, the likelier they perceive the announcement of formal controls as phase shifting. Also, the authors found that the moderating effect of phase-shifting perceptions functions in such a way that the relationship between T1 and T2 mobile-loafing intention is weaker when employees perceive the announcement of formal controls as a phase-shifting event.

The authors’ results provide managers with useful insights into effectively using formal controls to mitigate employees' deviant behavior. To effectively use formal controls, managers should articulate formal controls that can trigger employees to revise their perceptions of counterproductive workplace behavior policies.

This study is one of the first in information systems research to empirically examine the announcement of formal controls as a phase-shifting event and explore its antecedents and moderating role in the context of deviant workplace behavior in general and mobile loafing in particular.