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Article
Publication date: 10 March 2022

Catherine Nickerson, Effrosyni Georgiadou and Anup Menon Nandialath

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether including an Islamic appeal in a culture-neutral product advertisement has a positive effect on consumer attitudes to the…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether including an Islamic appeal in a culture-neutral product advertisement has a positive effect on consumer attitudes to the advertisement leading to higher purchase intentions while considering religious affiliation and religiosity as moderating factors of the relationship.

Design/methodology/approach

Conditional process analysis was applied to examine the mediation of the relationship between ad version and purchase intention through attitude to the advertisement as well as the moderating role of religious affiliation and religiosity among 819 consumers within the Dubai market.

Findings

The analysis in this paper revealed that including an Islamic appeal in an advertisement does not have a positive effect on attitude to the advertisement or purchase intention, neither for Muslim consumers in general nor for Muslim consumers with high levels of religiosity. Conversely, including an Islamic appeal has a significant negative effect on the purchase intentions of Christian consumers within the Dubai market, as well as on those consumers who did not state their religious affiliation.

Research limitations/implications

Marketers should reconsider the use of Islamic appeals in product advertising, especially in relation to the promotion of culture-free products within diverse expatriate populations such as that represented by the Emirate of Dubai.

Originality/value

This study sheds light on the underexplored role of religious affiliation and religiosity in relationship to consumer behavior within the field of Islamic marketing in a major retail hub in the Middle East.

Details

Journal of Islamic Marketing, vol. 14 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1759-0833

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 5 November 2018

Catherine Nickerson and Valerie Priscilla Goby

This paper aims to present a conceptual account of how organizational members collectively contribute to establishing workable communication models in contexts of linguistic and…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to present a conceptual account of how organizational members collectively contribute to establishing workable communication models in contexts of linguistic and cultural diversity.

Design/methodology/approach

The study draws on existing theory and empirical studies related to cultural diversity and workplace communication to analyze how meaning is continually co-negotiated.

Findings

The pressure to interact efficiently with team members with different language and cultural backgrounds leads to the foregrounding of certain strategies and organizational dynamics that facilitate viable communication.

Research limitations/implications

The ways in which language and cultural diversity can be transcended through the use of appropriate communication strategies, resulting in organizational unity and consistency, should be a central concern in the scholarly research agenda on organizations.

Originality/value

Workforces worldwide, including virtual workforces, are increasingly required to work in culturally diverse teams and in a dominant language not shared as a first language by all employees; the preliminary study of one highly diverse workforce reveals issues that are generalizable to other geographical contexts.

Details

International Journal of Organizational Analysis, vol. 26 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1934-8835

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 7 August 2024

Catherine Nickerson and Effrosyni Georgiadou

This study aims to investigate the evolution of sustainability reporting in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) against a backdrop of changing legislation. It uses qualitative content…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to investigate the evolution of sustainability reporting in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) against a backdrop of changing legislation. It uses qualitative content analysis within the corporate social responsibility (CSR) communication framework proposed by Kotler and Lee (2005) to investigate how corporations in the UAE disclosed information on their CSR activities in 2018 and 2023.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors refer to the CSR communication framework proposed by Kotler and Lee (2005), which puts forward a set of marketing communication strategies that can be used to promote a corporation. The authors identify the strategies used by the top 14 companies operating in the UAE in their CSR disclosure in the fall of 2018 and the spring of 2023, respectively. The authors note any changes that have occurred over time and differences between the distinct business sectors.

Findings

The findings indicate a continuing reliance on the marketing communication strategies associated with corporate philanthropy, cause promotion and being a good corporate citizen. All of the corporations in the study showed evidence of engaging in an increasing diversity of CSR initiatives and a corresponding diversity in the marketing communication strategies they used to promote them.

Practical implications

Corporations wishing to promote themselves through their CSR activities and build a positive reputation would do well to select a diverse set of CSR activities communicated in a variety of ways.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first longitudinal, comparative study examining the CSR marketing strategies of the top corporations in the UAE. As such, it contributes to the ongoing debate on CSR in the Middle East in general and to understanding more about the approach as well as the changes in approach to CSR in a Muslim-majority Middle-eastern and secular developing economy, the impact of CSR legislation and government regulation on CSR disclosures in different business sectors and the promotional opportunities afforded by effective CSR disclosure within the UAE in particular.

Details

Journal of Islamic Marketing, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1759-0833

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 February 2021

Effrosyni Georgiadou and Catherine Nickerson

This paper aims to explore the online corporate social responsibility (CSR) communication by domestic and global banks operating in the United Arab Emirates.

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to explore the online corporate social responsibility (CSR) communication by domestic and global banks operating in the United Arab Emirates.

Design/methodology/approach

Through a qualitative content analysis, the study examines the strategies banks use to market their CSR initiatives on their corporate websites. CSR marketing strategies are classified with reference to Kotler and Lee’s (2005) categorization.

Findings

The analysis indicates that overall, all CSR marketing strategies, as proposed by Kotler and Lee (2005), are used by the domestic UAE banks with the most frequently used being cause-promotion, philanthropy and socially responsible business practices. Government owned and conventional banks display patterns congruent to the communications observed in the global sample. Islamic banks have a less diversified approach relying mostly on philanthropy with only one Islamic bank using four of the six strategies.

Originality/value

The present study provides insight into how CSR is communicated within one of the largest industries in the fast-growing economy of the UAE. The observations reported here could help corporate communication practitioners and managers in domestic corporations that contribute to the Islamic economy to understand how to benchmark better and to communicate more effectively about their CSR.

Details

Journal of Islamic Marketing, vol. 13 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1759-0833

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 3 September 2019

Catherine Nickerson and Anup Menon Nandialath

The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of religious salience on consumer purchase intentions in the multicultural environment of the UAE, more specifically on the…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of religious salience on consumer purchase intentions in the multicultural environment of the UAE, more specifically on the willingness of a Muslim consumer to purchase a product labelled or packaged to include an Islamic appeal, i.e. an appeal with a heightened religious salience. While some attempts have been made in the literature to examine the impact of religious salience on purchase intentions, research amongst Muslim consumers remains under-explored.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors used a randomized survey experiment administered to 148 Emirati educated female nationals. The survey consisted of pairs of advertisements, where each advertisement promoted the same product and the same brand, varying on whether they included an Islamic appeal or not in the labelling, packaging or slogan. The respondents were asked about their attitude to the different versions of the advertisements, as well as their willingness to purchase the product. The authors used causal mediation analysis to explore the mechanisms through which causal effects on purchase intentions are determined.

Findings

This study shows that including an Islamic appeal, and therefore increasing the religious salience in product promotion, leads to higher purchase intentions amongst Muslim consumers. The authors also identified a number of additional moderating factors that influenced the consumer’s purchase intentions, such as product and/or brand awareness and the type of product being promoted, as well as the nature of the artefact that was included in the ad as the Islamic appeal. Finally, the causal mediation analysis suggests that Islamic appeals increases product attractiveness, which in turn leads to higher purchase intentions.

Originality/value

This paper investigates the effect of religious salience on consumer behaviour and their purchase intentions. This paper makes an empirical contribution to understanding consumer behaviour with particular relevance to retail hubs with a majority Muslim population.

Details

Journal of Islamic Marketing, vol. 11 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1759-0833

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 14 November 2016

Catherine Nickerson and Valerie Priscilla Goby

This paper aims to investigate the potential effectiveness of using corporate social marketing (CSM) as part of an advertising campaign targeting local Muslim consumers in Dubai…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate the potential effectiveness of using corporate social marketing (CSM) as part of an advertising campaign targeting local Muslim consumers in Dubai. It aims to assess whether Dubai’s local Muslim community’s construal of corporate commitment has evolved beyond philanthropy toward receptiveness to a more embedded corporate societal engagement.

Design/methodology/approach

The examination is based on the framework of corporate social responsibility (CSR) communication that postulates a relationship between internal outcomes, such as the awareness of a cause, and external outcomes, such as the likelihood that a consumer will purchase a product. The authors designed a questionnaire using authentic advertisements for the same product, one with a CSM message and one without, and queried respondents’ opinions of the advertisements, their willingness to purchase the product and their perceptions of the company. Complete responses were collected from 245 Emirati women.

Findings

Significant differences in response to the CSM versus the non-CSM advertisement emerged. The product advertised via the CSM strategy engendered enhanced perceptions of the company among respondents, coupled with a heightened willingness on their part to purchase the product. This indicates that Emirati consumers have gone beyond the simple expectation of philanthropy, which is frequently associated with Muslim consumer loyalty, and value more evolved corporate social commitment.

Originality/value

While Muslim groups have been investigated extensively from various marketing perspectives, the present study is the first to investigate the impact of incorporating CSR into an authentic advertising campaign targeted at Muslim consumers.

Details

Journal of Islamic Marketing, vol. 7 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1759-0833

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 14 May 2020

Effrosyni Georgiadou and Catherine Nickerson

Communicating CSR through corporate websites is one of the most effective ways for organizations to inform and engage stakeholders, earn legitimacy and reap the intangible and…

Abstract

Purpose

Communicating CSR through corporate websites is one of the most effective ways for organizations to inform and engage stakeholders, earn legitimacy and reap the intangible and tangible benefits of practicing CSR. However, in emerging economies in the Middle East, online CSR disclosure remains limited while corporate websites are not used effectively as strategic tools. This study explores online CSR communication (CSRC) by banks in the dynamic, emerging economy of the United Arab Emirates.

Design/methodology/approach

The study uses an adaptation of the analytical framework used by Chaudhri and Wang (2007) to examine the prominence and extent of the CSR information on the corporate websites of domestic and global banks in the UAE. It further compares domestic and global banks' CSRC patterns as well as domestic/government-owned versus private banks and conventional versus Islamic banks.

Findings

About 70% of the domestic banks in the UAE provide information about their CSR activities. CSR information is moderately to highly prominent for the majority of the domestic banks, but the extent of the information presented is minimal (1–2 pages). Domestic/government-owned and conventional banks communicate their CSR more prominently and extensively than private and Islamic banks. Domestic/government-owned banks tend to follow the CSRC patterns observed in global banks.

Originality/value

Despite the increasingly important role of the United Arab Emirates within the Middle East as well as on the global business arena, very little is known about whether and how companies in the country approach CSR. This is the first study focusing on CSRC within the entirety of a single business sector within the United Arab Emirates.

Details

Corporate Communications: An International Journal, vol. 25 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1356-3289

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 24 July 2019

Payal Mehra and Catherine Nickerson

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the communication preferenc;s reported by different generations in the Indian workplace, as well as investigating the relationship…

1352

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the communication preferenc;s reported by different generations in the Indian workplace, as well as investigating the relationship between communication preferences, communication climate and employee satisfaction with the organizational communication. The authors therefore examined managers’ preferences for different communication media across two different generations, as well as their perceptions of the communication climate and their overall satisfaction with their organizations’ communication.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors tested an interaction model comprising ease of use of communication medium, communication climate and communication satisfaction, on 822 Indian managers belonging to two different generations. In doing so, they used a survey to investigate managers’ preferences for different media, their perceptions of the communication climate within their organizations and their overall satisfaction with the communication that takes place. The authors drew on studies on media richness theory, on communication climate and on inter-generational differences.

Findings

The findings show that while communication satisfaction in general was low across both generations, Generation Y employees recorded the lowest levels of satisfaction. In addition, a manager’s generational category does not moderate the relationship between media use and communication satisfaction, but it does moderate the relationship between communication climate and communication satisfaction. In terms of the ease of use associated with different types of media, the differences between the generations were largely stereotyped, although moderate media (VC, chat, voicemail) were preferred over rich media (face-to-face meetings) or lean media (fax, memos and emails), by all managers.

Practical implications

Senior management in India must shed their bureaucratic mind-set to promote openness in the communication choices that are considered acceptable, leading to more effective decision-making and problem solving. Mobile phones, chats, wikis, podcasts, video-conferencing and email should be officially embedded into the organizational communication culture to facilitate state-of-the-art knowledge management practices. More multi-generational teams and mentorship programmes need to be implemented to make a wider variety of media acceptable to all managers, which will in turn improve communication satisfaction.

Originality/value

This study is original in that it unpacks the influence of media use and communication satisfaction across Gen X and Gen Y, who will be moving into more senior positions in India in the next decade. In doing so, it provides a snapshot of organizational communication in an important emerging economy and provides recommendations as to how organizational communication may be made more effective in the future. Organizations in India and elsewhere can improve their organizational communication by enhancing transparency and by making a wider variety of media accessible, and therefore acceptable, to different generations of managers.

Details

International Journal of Organizational Analysis, vol. 27 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1934-8835

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 3 January 2019

Payal Mehra and Catherine Nickerson

The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of the generational category that managers in India belong to on their job satisfaction and on their satisfaction with…

4653

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of the generational category that managers in India belong to on their job satisfaction and on their satisfaction with organizational communication; the authors defined organizational communication as the communication that occurs in interactions between employees. The authors wanted to see whether there would be differences between the generations in the attitudes to and expectations of organizational communication, and whether this, in turn, would influence their job satisfaction.

Design/methodology/approach

A total of 400 managers working in public and private listed companies in India were surveyed using a questionnaire over the period of a year, from August 2016 to July 2017. This resulted in 334 responses. The questionnaire measured the respondents’ choice and comfort with communication media, their satisfaction with the communication at their workplace and the type of interactions that took place. It also measured the respondents’ job satisfaction. The study was inter-disciplinary in nature, in that it drew on several theories of communication, e.g. accommodation theory and media richness theory, alongside the findings from empirical studies that have looked specifically at intergenerational differences.

Findings

The authors found that organizational communication was positively related to job satisfaction, and also that generational category moderated the relationship between these two factors. In addition, the results show that Gen Y managers in particular were the least satisfied generation at work, and that they frequently used avoidance while communicating with older adults. The conclusion is that job satisfaction may be enhanced, by focusing on the development of a positive communication environment; in addition, employees who belong to different generations may define what constitutes a positive communication environment in very different ways.

Originality/value

Despite receiving some attention in other contexts, such as in the family, the impact of intergenerational differences in the workplace has not been widely investigated. A few studies do exist on the influence of generational differences on work outcomes and on attitudes and behaviors, but much still remains to be done. In addition, while there have been many studies on job satisfaction, as well as on levels of attrition in workplace settings, very few have looked specifically at non-Western contexts such as India. The present study attempts to contribute to this debate, by providing a comparison of the workplace communication preferences and experiences within multi-generational organizations in India.

Details

International Journal of Organizational Analysis, vol. 27 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1934-8835

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 23 March 2010

Avinandan Mukherjee and G. Shainesh

The purpose of this paper is to look back at the first year of publication of the Journal of Indian Business Research (JIBR) and to provide details of the current issue.

379

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to look back at the first year of publication of the Journal of Indian Business Research (JIBR) and to provide details of the current issue.

Design/methodology/approach

It is time to look back at the first year of launch of the JIBR. After all, it is widely believed in the academic publishing world that the first year of a new journal is the most crucial one. This editorial gives details of the current issue, paper by paper.

Findings

Filling a much‐felt gap for a high‐quality publishing outlet on Indian business research, JIBR has attracted the attention of leading scholars in the discipline in the very first year of its existence. Renowned scholars such as Jagdish Sheth, Alok Chakrabarti, Raj Aggarwal, Madhukar Angur, G.K. Kalyanaram and Rajendra Sisodia have published their research and/or viewpoints/commentaries in JIBR in its very first year. This issue begins with “Corporate social responsibility communication in the Indian context” wherein Brigitte Planken, Subrat Sahu, and Catherine Nickerson report on research, which investigates the CSR platforms and the communication surrounding those platforms in India. In the second paper titled “Effectiveness of integrated marketing communications: empirical analysis of two brands in India,” Mehir Baidya and Bipasha Maity utilize quarterly, time‐series data over 2000‐2005 for two competing brands in packaged goods business to assess the impact of marketing communication on sales. Pramila Rao, in the third paper titled “A resource‐based analysis of recruitment and selection practices of Indian software companies: a case study approach” enhances our understanding on senior‐level staffing practices of Indian software companies. The next paper by Federica Collato is a case study titled “Is Bangalore the Silicon Valley of Asia? Analysis of the evolution and the structure of this Indian local economy organization.” The final paper of this issue is a viewpoint article on “Overcoming decision flaws from framing” by V.N. Bhattacharya.

Originality/value

The Editorial provides an overview of the inaugural volume of JIBR.

Details

Journal of Indian Business Research, vol. 2 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1755-4195

Keywords

1 – 10 of 36