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The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between psychological climate, catharsis, organizational anomie, psychological wellness and ethical procurement behaviour in Ugandaʼs public sector, in order to understand better the conditions that foster or diminish procurement ethics in a developing country. Data for this study were collected from a sample of 1100 respondents out of which 460 usable questionnaires, representing a 42% response rate were received and analyzed. Results reveal that psychological climate, procurement planning and organizational anomie were significant predictors, accounting for 64% of the variance in ethical procurement behaviour. These results have both policy and managerial implications which we present and discuss in this paper.

This study employed the responses of 237 subjects to questions regarding the emotions they experienced while complaining about products or organizations to test a neo‐Freudian catharsis hypothesis concerning the consequences for repeat purchasing of angry customer complaints. Aggressive complaining frequently led to the psychologically gratifying relief of frustration, and hence to higher post‐complaint levels of regard for the product or supplying firm. Identifies sub‐groups of customers possessing specific personal characteristics (extreme type‐A, type‐B personalities, low self‐esteem, guilt‐propensity); examines disparities in the patterns of complaining behavior of the various categories; and assesses the implications of the differences observed. Of the respondents who reported having complained angrily, 82 percent continued to buy the products (or use particular suppliers). Some even increased purchasing levels. Concludes that firms should actively encourage assertive complaining by customers so that the beneficial consequences of catharsis may be obtained.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact that theatre can have on its audiences, both immediately and over time.

The article evaluates the existing literature on impact and critically reviews a number of benefits models. Through a textual analysis of 42 semi‐structured depth interviews, the paper deconstructs the concept of impact and rearticulates it in audiences’ terms.

Impact emerges as a personal construct articulated by audiences in terms of emotion, captivation, engagement, enrichment, escapism, wellbeing, world view and addiction. Impact is ultimately described as a relative concept, dependent on audience typology and perceived by audiences in holistic terms, incorporating both intrinsic value and instrumental benefits. While catharsis is confirmed as a key enabler of impact, flow emerges as both an enabler and a benefit in itself.

As this is a qualitative study with a sample of 42, the results are not representative of theatre audiences in general. Future research might test the findings of this study in a larger, quantitative survey, which might also test the relationships between the emerging variables.

There are significant implications here for theatre‐makers and venues. From a marketing perspective, more sophisticated segmentation of audience databases could uncover ‘value ambassadors’ to spread positive word of mouth about the impact theatre has on their lives. Venues and touring companies could also consider how to prepare audiences for impact more effectively and how to minimise distraction and facilitate audience interaction with artists and theatre‐makers. Obvious solutions here are mood enhancing atmospherics and well trained front‐of‐house staff.

The originality of this study lies in its audience‐focussed approach. Impact has tended to be constructed from the perspective of producers, marketers and academics, whereas this study invites audiences to describe it in their own, authentic vernacular. These authentic insights are of value to academics, producers, policy advisors, funders and marketers working in the arts, because they help shed light on why people attend the arts and the benefits they derive from them.

Despite the importance of online word-of-mouth (WOM) communication to senders, receivers and concerned companies alike, a surprisingly limited amount of research exists on the impacts of online WOM participation on the senders themselves. Motivated by an attempt to fill this significant gap in the literature, this paper aims to investigate the sender outcomes of online WOM participation.

The authors draw on insights from focus group studies and psychological theories of emotions, catharsis and regret and the signaling theory to develop a conceptual model linking the drivers and content characteristics of online WOM participation and sender outcomes.

The findings show that sender outcomes from online WOM transmission differ by the types of drivers stimulating the online sharing activity and the level of exaggeration in the senders’ self-generated contents. Specifically, online WOM triggered by emotions leads to catharsis and emotional homeostasis among the senders, while that stimulated by motivational drivers such as altruism, reciprocity, self-enhancement and belongingness leads to sender happiness. Exaggeration in self-generated WOM contents by the senders, in turn, leads to delayed outcomes of sender regret and reduced sender trust in general online WOM contents.

The most important contribution to online WOM research lies in the study of the outcomes of WOM transmission from a sender’s point of view. By drawing on our exploratory findings and psychological theories of emotions, catharsis and regret and the signaling theory, the authors develop a conceptual model linking the drivers and the exaggeration nature of online WOM participation and sender outcomes.

Managers should realize that the most fundamental way of ensuring positive consumption experiences is to listen to customer voices, including even the most negative of feedback shared privately or publicly, and use that information to improve essential customer experience aspects. The finding on the effects of online WOM exaggerations on sender regret suggests that companies and consumers alike should work on ensuring producing more accurate and complete online customer reviews. The finding on the negative effect of online WOM exaggerations on sender trust raises an important question on the meaning of high quality reviews from the company’s perspective. To pursue high quality reviews, merchants should not only aim at receiving the highest possible numeric ratings but also encourage most truthful accounts of purchase and usage experiences. In turn, online platforms such as Amazon should also factor the quality of online ratings more effectively into their product recommendation algorithms.

In further consideration of consumer welfare implications, online WOM transmissions should be more recognized as a tool for allowing consumers to cleanse their emotions associated with marketing stimuli.

Overall, the qualitative study and proposed conceptual model contribute to a more thorough and deeper understanding of individual-level sender outcomes of online WOM participation.

This is a comparison of the emotions we have in watching a movie with those we have in everyday life. Everyday emotion is loose in frame or context but rather controlled and regulated in content. Movie emotion, in contrast, is tightly framed and boundaried but permissive and uncontrolled in content. Movie emotion is therefore quite safe and inconsequential but can still be unusually satisfying and pleasurable. I think of the movie emotions as modeling clay that can symbolize all sorts of human troubles. A major function of movies then is catharsis, a term I use more inclusively than usual.

Throughout I use a pragmatist approach to film theory. This position gives the optimal distance to the study of ordinary, middle-level emotion. In contrast psychoanalysis is too close and cognitive theory too distant. This middle position is similar to Arlie Hochschild’s symbolic interactionist approach to the sociology of emotions, which also mediates between psychoanalysis and cognitive theories.

The point that I wish to make is that we must be constantly aware of Shakespeare's “whining school-boy”, employ our pedagogy in the framework of its power, and be very humble while preaching our ideas, hoping to find the right way to bring a smile to the faces of our children. It is in this context that I wish to suggest a theatrical framework for teacher training, that is to say – theatrical representations of teaching as performance.

The purpose of this commentary is discuss how musical intervention and imagined interactions can be used to deal with conflict. Music has been called the universal language because of its tonality and rhythm. It affects conflict and aggression and helps people to deal with stress. Research is reviewed showing physiological arousal with background music. The effects of music on aggression are summarized in terms of emotional regulation, catharsis and empathy, and the use of mental imagery in the form of imagined interactions, including relational maintenance catharsis and conflict linkage, is discussed. The incremental sound organizer (ISO) principle of music therapy is discussed as a mechanism to affect emotions while listening to music. Finally, a tool to measure the emotional effect of music on listeners is discussed in terms of the musical mood wheel.

This is a commentary on the effects of background music on reducing aggression.

Music can reduce aggression, depending on how it is used. Music affects how we manage our emotions, reduces stress, provides catharsis and can be a distracting element. Music can enhance empathic feeling; induce positive moods, social bonding, physiological changes and neurobiological changes; and affect our arousal.

Music therapy and musical intervention can be applied to conflict resolution.

The ISO principle of music therapy is designed to deal with changing a person’s emotions as they listen to a medley of music. The mood of the person is measured using a series of scales reflecting a continuum of sadness to happiness, and the music is designed to match the mood of the patient to the music being played and/or listened to, which in turn fosters the achievement of an altered state of consciousness. For example, if you are angry, start with music that is loud and gradually switch to a more tranquil piece of music. “The vectoring power of music is that we change the mood or emotion of persons from one affective pole (joy) to its opposite (anger) through small incremental changes in the rhythm and intensity of the music” (Honeycutt, 2003, p. 82).

Background music in music psychology literature is often referred to as musical intervention. Background music can help us recall positive and negative scenes as the music triggers endorphins in the brain (Salimpoor et al., 2011). Background music is intended to enhance the surrounding context without drawing significant attention. It is often played in spaces such as restaurants, stores, offices or public places to create a certain mood or ambiance.

It is important to note that the effectiveness of musical intervention in reducing aggression can vary based on individual preferences, the specific type of music used, and the context in which it is applied. Additionally, while music intervention can play a role in aggression reduction, it is often most effective when used as part of a comprehensive therapeutic approach.

For centuries, death has proved itself a well-spring of inspiration for artists and musicians. In particular, an artist's own experiences with death and bereavement often overflow into their creative process, giving birth to artworks which channel grief and embodied experience. Morning Heroes by the British composer Sir Arthur Bliss (1891–1975) is a paradigm of such praxis.

Morning Heroes (1930) was written in memory of Bliss's brother, Kennard, who was killed in action during the First World War. Using an anthology of texts, the work aims to enshrine a universal experience of war for both soldier and civilian and maintains its connection with the British War Requiem through its use of musico-funerary rhetoric. Bliss, who converted to Catholicism during the war, wrote several times in his later life about the spiritual nature of music, specifically its ability to heal and bring peace. It is significant, therefore, that Morning Heroes was to act as a catharsis for Bliss, sublimating his recurring nightmares of the war.

Adopting Douglas Davies' (2017) ‘words against death’ idea, this chapter considers Sir Arthur Bliss's Morning Heroes as ‘music against death’ through an examination of Bliss's use of text and music to craft a requiem in sound. It explores Bliss's use of death rhetoric and embodied experience to create a vehicle for grief and situates this process within the context of his own spiritual philosophies.

The purpose of this paper is to examine why theatre‐business links are relevant to management. The focus is on two types of links: using theatre techniques as a training method for managers, and using corporate theatre as a change management tool. The paper seeks to share an experience and tries to explicate the processes involved in order to explain the success of these two kinds of courses, both training theatre and corporate theatre (specifically, action theatre in this case).

This is a case study. Theatre has been taught for ten years at the Grenoble Graduate School of Business under the author's responsibility, and also the corporate theatre method is taught to initial students and to continuing training managers. This paper is based on those teaching experiences. To explain the relevance of both of theatre as a training tool and corporate theatre as a management tool, the author relates to both theories of body memory from neuroscientists and to the catharsis phenomenon.

The goal was to make hypotheses from the above theories which explain the process that takes place inside the manager undergoing training and to open further research.

Main limitations come from the lack of established empirical and relevant measures of the effects of such theatre processes on participants’ management abilities and from the lack of tools to measure the long‐term effects of theatre.

The most important implication is that practitioners could make more relevant use of such techniques when designing training sessions or utilizing corporate theatre interventions.

Social implications come from how the “human” face of theatre can help the personal development of managers, improving or changing their views on the world and other people.

Although theatre and business links are more than 20 years old, nobody has previously tried to understand the inner processes involved.