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– The purpose of this paper is to investigate entrepreneurs’ network evolution in the start-up phase.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate entrepreneurs’ network evolution in the start-up phase.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on the case studies of six fashion start-up firms, this study uses a three-dimensional perspective on social capital (structural, relational, cognitive) to investigate entrepreneurs’ network evolution (i.e. initiation of new relationships) in the start-up phase so as to acquire resources and support for firms’ goals. The study focuses particularly on the understudied cognitive dimension of social capital. The fashion industry provides a relevant research setting because it is characterised by changes in demand, which generate opportunities for entrepreneurship.
Findings
The findings show that the display of cognitive attributes is important for the creation of structural social capital (the establishment of new relationships). The findings also indicate that relationships initiated based on the cognitive dimension have a high probability of developing into embedded relationships, thereby becoming high in the relational dimension and providing access to private information containing referrals to other actors. Thus, these relationships also promote the continued development of the structural dimension.
Originality/value
The findings imply that the entrepreneurs’ sets of cognitive attributes constitute an important asset in the creation of social capital. They also point to the importance of signalling these values to potential resource holders. Relationships initiated through the display of cognitive attributes can provide resources without requiring immediate economic remuneration.
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This study aims to investigate the theoretical limitations of the social network theory applied on employee creativity.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate the theoretical limitations of the social network theory applied on employee creativity.
Design/methodology/approach
By combining the social network theory and componential model of creativity, this study studies the possible impact of social capital through its three dimensions (structural, relational and cognitive dimension) on individual creativity, to explore then the moderating effect of cognitive style as individual characteristic on the structural dimension of social capital such weak ties and employee creativity.
Findings
The results show that, on a sample of 95 employees belonging to four companies in the IT sector, predictions based on the social network theory are only weakly verified. Indeed, the relational and cognitive dimensions of social capital do not have a significant impact on individual creativity.
Originality/value
Based on Kim et al.’s (2016) call for future research, this study extends the assumptions of the social network theory announcing that social capital through its structural dimension may have an identical impact on individual creativity in all circumstances.
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Luciana Brandão Ferreira, Janaina de Moura Engracia Giraldi, Vish Maheshwari and Jorge Henrique Caldeira de Oliveira
This paper aims to verify the brand image effects of holding a sport mega-event by investigating the host city's influence on the country's branding, as a tourist destination.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to verify the brand image effects of holding a sport mega-event by investigating the host city's influence on the country's branding, as a tourist destination.
Design/methodology/approach
This research considered the Rio 2016 Olympic Games and uses quantitative methods: exploratory factor analysis and regression. Data were collected by structured questionnaires with a sample of (n = 274) international respondents with high international travel experience.
Findings
Rio de Janeiro's 2016 host city image positively predicted Brazil's tourist destination image. Both cognitive and affective image dimensions of Rio as a host city predicted Brazil's destination image, but the cognitive image dimensions demonstrated more impact.
Practical implications
Even in a mega-event context, city marketing strategies should be planned and executed with a focus on the country's destination image.
Originality/value
The study contributes by focusing on presenting the importance of the host city image dimensions to the host country destination image in a sports mega-event context. The study investigated a new approach, the impacts of affective and cognitive dimensions in the overall destination image considering two connected destinations and the hosting of a sport mega-event, a condition not found in the literature thus far.
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Luciana Brandão Ferreira and Janaina de Moura Engracia Giraldi
This paper aimed to verify the most important factors (cognitive and affective dimensions) perceived in Rio de Janeiro’s image as the host city of the 2016 Olympic Games and to…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aimed to verify the most important factors (cognitive and affective dimensions) perceived in Rio de Janeiro’s image as the host city of the 2016 Olympic Games and to identify the factors that predict better the overall city image and its affective image dimension in this particular context of a sports mega-event.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper employs exploratory factor analysis to define intervening factors in each dimension of Rio de Janeiro’s image. By parting from the initial diagnostic analysis, multiple regression analysis was applied to measure how the intervening factors predicted the overall image of the host city, as well as to whether its cognitive dimension was able to predict the affective dimension. Data collection was conducted by applying structured questionnaires with a sample of international respondents (n = 274).
Findings
Rio’s image as a sports mega-event host city presented two intervening factors for each dimension. For image composition, the most important cognitive factor diagnosed was “Services and Attractions.” For the affective dimension, the most important factor diagnosed was “Positive Feelings.” The investigation concluded that the cognitive dimension was capable of predicting the affective dimension, as “Positive Feelings” was the factor that better predicted Rio’s overall image as the host city of the 2016 Olympic Games, while the “Services and Attractions” factor was not significant in predicting the host city’s image.
Research limitations/implications
The main focus of the investigation was the host city’s international image as presented by primary sources. The sample for investigation was therefore composed exclusively of foreign students, nonresidents in Brazil, who did not participate in said events. Although this approach provides a partial diagnostic of the host cityvs image, for an overall and accurate image diagnostic it is also relevant to investigate the national residents’ point of view, which is beyond the scope of this investigation.
Practical implications
The findings suggest that destination marketers would obtain better results investing in the affective dimension, employing actions that stimulate positive feelings about the host city, especially when relating to sports mega-event. Investment in general infrastructure is also presented as a relevant factor.
Social implications
The host city’s image can guide policies to improve local capacity to attract investments and new events that contribute to change in urban areas, as well as to reinforce positive aspects of that image. Investment in general infrastructure, again, is presented as a crucial issue.
Originality/value
The value and originality of the presented investigation lie in a lack of specific studies on Rio’s image as a travel destination, despite its being the most important touristic city in Brazil and the host for the 2016 Olympic Games. A separate analysis of individual image dimensions and the examination of intervening cognitive factors in the affective dimension are also not common in a sports mega-event context.
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Mohammadali Zolfagharian, Roberto Saldivar and Jerome D. Williams
The purpose of this paper is to examine the cognitive and affective dimensions of COO and the owned-by/made-in cue combinations in first-generation immigrant markets.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the cognitive and affective dimensions of COO and the owned-by/made-in cue combinations in first-generation immigrant markets.
Design/methodology/approach
The cognitive and affective dimensions were manipulated in a scenario-based experiment administered on 261 Mexican Americans in three product categories.
Findings
The cognitive and affective dimensions each have a distinct impact. When the two dimensions combine, the effect is stronger within the specialty product category, followed by the shopping product category, and, to a lesser extent, in the convenience product category.
Research limitations/implications
The cognitive dimension was represented by the country’s degree of political, economic and technological development, whereas the affective dimension was traced by examining immigrants who identify with the emotional and symbolic meanings associated with countries involved in the country of origin (COO) message.
Practical implications
Managers should pursue emerging COO research whose concepts and designs are congruent with today’s global consumer culture. The authors find support for the stand-alone effects of made-in and owned-by COO cues, as well as the effects of the cognitive and affective dimensions of COO. When COO messages combine both made-in and owned-by cues, the cognitive and affective dimensions may work synergistically, depending on the product category.
Originality/value
This study adds to the nascent literature that recognizes the multiplicity of consumer identities, and bridges the gulf between the conventional COO research and the increasingly multicultural nature of the marketplace.
Brands are investing heavily in content marketing within digital communication channels, yet there is limited understanding of the effectiveness of this content on consumer…
Abstract
Purpose
Brands are investing heavily in content marketing within digital communication channels, yet there is limited understanding of the effectiveness of this content on consumer engagement. This paper aims to examine how consumer engagement with branded content is created through consumer-initiated online brand communities (OBCs) and brand-initiated digital content marketing (DCM) communications. Self-brand connections are examined as an important antecedent to the cognitive, affective, behavioural and social dimensions of consumer engagement and the subsequent impact of engagement on loyalty is explored across these two channels.
Design/methodology/approach
A survey approach was used with two consumer samples for one focal retail brand, namely, a consumer-initiated OBC (Facebook) and email subscribers of the retail brand’s DCM communications. A multi-group analysis of structural invariance procedure was used to comparatively examine the formation of engagement for consumers within the OBC and DCM channels.
Findings
This study demonstrates the different ways in which engagement forms across different digital communication channels. Self-brand connection (SBC) was found to strongly drive behavioural, cognitive, affective and social engagement. The cognitive, affective and behavioural engagement was found to mediate the self-brand connection and consumer loyalty relationship. Overall, this relationship was most strongly and significantly mediated by affective and cognitive engagement within the OBC channel when compared to the DCM channel.
Research limitations/implications
The findings of this study should be interpreted with several limitations in mind. First, the research was conducted within the confines of one OBC, within one social networking site platform characterised by self-selected membership based on a passion and immersion with the brand. This means that consumers within the OBC were highly connected to one another and the retail brand and highly socialised in-group norms and mores. This type and intensity of connection may not be the case for all forms of OBCs. Second, this study was limited to one retail brand, from one brand category. Future research should examine OBCs across a range of utilitarian and hedonic brands to comprehensively contextualise the dimensions of engagement. Third, the data for this study was cross-sectional. The use of netnographic analysis and qualitative interviews across a range of OBCs would support the triangulation of the findings of this research, especially with regard to the narrative that consumers’ express when discussing how their SBC manifests through the dimensions of engagement. Fourth, this study explored a single antecedent of engagement, namely, self-brand connections. Future research may consider how SBC operates in conjunction with other complementary factors to enhance consumers’ affective, cognitive, social and behavioural engagement such as brand awareness, satisfaction and participation/interactivity. In addition, future research could examine an expanded array of engagement outcomes such as purchase intention, the share of wallet and reputation. Finally, future research should examine the operationalisation and validation of the dimensions of engagement using multiple competing scales to assess the suitability of these engagement scales across multiple brand categories and contexts.
Practical implications
Given the increasing investment in branding within social media and the fragmentation of brand communications across multiple communications platforms, the management of effective brand communications remains a significant challenge. This study found that the relationship between self-brand connections, affective, social, behavioural and cognitive engagement and loyalty was context-specific and moderated by a digital communication channel (OBC vs DCM email marketing), thus providing insights as to the effectiveness of OBCs and DCMs as two tools for enhancing consumer loyalty.
Originality/value
This study makes a novel contribution to the engagement literature by examining the antecedent role of self-brand connections in predicting consumers’ engagement; the moderating role of digital communication platforms (OBC vs DCM) on the formation of cognitive, affective, behavioural and social engagement; and the mediating effect of these dimensions on loyalty.
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This study aims to examine the relationship between four dimensions of organizational justice (distributive, procedural, interpersonal and informational) and the three facets of…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine the relationship between four dimensions of organizational justice (distributive, procedural, interpersonal and informational) and the three facets of job engagement (physical, cognitive and emotional).
Design/methodology/approach
A cross-sectional approach was used to survey a sample of 281 professionals in information technology who resided in the southern part of India and varied on experience, age and gender. Data was analyzed by employing the partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) approach.
Findings
The result emphasizes the individual role of each justice dimension on three job engagement facets, which suggests that all four dimensions of organizational justice have positive effects on physical, cognitive and emotional job engagement.
Originality/value
The current study contributes to the literature by examining all three job engagement dimensions and provides evidence that distributive, procedural, interpersonal and informational justices are significant predictors of physical, cognitive and emotional job engagement.
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Naeem Gul Gilal, Jing Zhang and Faheem Gul Gilal
In the modern era, the significance of product design has increased because customers’ priorities in the evaluation of products have changed from product price to product design…
Abstract
Purpose
In the modern era, the significance of product design has increased because customers’ priorities in the evaluation of products have changed from product price to product design. Companies consider product design to be one of the most important sources of competitive advantage and standards for evaluating their performance. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to develop and validate a new scale to measure product design along with its dimensions.
Design/methodology/approach
An extensive literature review and consumer interviews and surveys were conducted to generate an initial item pool. Exploratory factor analysis was used to reduce the initial item pool, and confirmatory factor analysis was performed for measurement validation. A total of four separate studies were conducted for the conceptualization and operationalization of a product design scale.
Findings
Using data from three samples, the authors develop and validate a new scale to measure product design along affective, cognitive, ergonomic and reflective dimensions. Furthermore, the results provide strong evidence of the reliability, discriminant validity, measurement invariance and nomological validity of the four product design dimensions. Finally, the effects of these product design dimensions on harmonious and obsessive brand passion were assessed. The results show that the affective and reflective dimensions appear to be prominent for capturing the obsessive brand passion, whereas the cognitive and ergonomic dimensions are capable of increasing harmonious brand passion.
Originality/value
This is the first study that develops and validates the measurement of product design as a four-dimensional construct that can be transferred to a scale and applied across a wide range of product categories.
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Mamoun N. Akroush and Bushra K. Mahadin
The purpose of this paper is to examine a multidimensional model of customer perceived value (CPV), customer satisfaction (CS) and loyalty from internet subscribers’ perspectives.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine a multidimensional model of customer perceived value (CPV), customer satisfaction (CS) and loyalty from internet subscribers’ perspectives.
Design/methodology/approach
In total, 1,297 out of 2,000 online surveys were valid for the analysis. Confirmatory factor analyses were performed to assess the research constructs’ unidimensionality, validity and composite reliability. Structural path analysis was used to test the hypothesized relationships of the research model.
Findings
CPV positively affects functional and technical satisfaction as well as cognitive loyalty. Functional satisfaction positively affects technical satisfaction and attitudinal loyalty. Attitudinal loyalty positively affects cognitive and behavioral loyalty, and the latter positively affects cognitive loyalty. In total, 53 percent of variation in cognitive loyalty was caused by behavioral, attitudinal loyalty and perceived value path.
Research limitations/implications
Future research could investigate other outcomes of CS dimensions, such as customer lifetime value, customer retention, profitability, return on investment and market share, and their effects on customer loyalty (CL). Future research can also examine the effect of other dimensions of perceived customer value on CS and loyalty dimensions simultaneously. Other future research areas are also outlined.
Practical implications
CPV acts as a cornerstone to developing a successful multidimensional program of CL through functional and technical satisfactions. Marketing directors need to focus on building CL schemes and strategies that should take into consideration the long-term and short-term loyalty.
Originality/value
Theoretically, using an intervariable perspective, this paper has responded to important calls for conducting research on the chain of perceived value, CS and loyalty chain. Practically, this paper is the first empirical research devoted to developing an intervariable approach to the chain of perceived value, CS and loyalty in the internet service market.
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Caroline Lacroix, Lova Rajaobelina and Anik St-Onge
This article proposes two studies to demonstrate the impact of three dimensions of perceived experiential advertising – cognitive/affective/sensory advertising, relate advertising…
Abstract
Purpose
This article proposes two studies to demonstrate the impact of three dimensions of perceived experiential advertising – cognitive/affective/sensory advertising, relate advertising and behavioural advertising – on consumer behaviour (brand credibility, affective commitment and emotions) in the banking sector.
Design/methodology/approach
For study 1, a total of 506 online panellists of a recognized Canadian research firm were asked to evaluate a local bank advertisement using an online self-reported questionnaire. For study 2, a total of 65 Canadian respondents recruited through Facebook and Google adverts were asked to watch two video advertisements (one more experiential and the other less experiential). After viewing the advertisements on a computer equipped with FaceReader software by Noldus, participants completed a short online questionnaire.
Findings
Using structural equations modelling, the first study shows that brand credibility explains the positive impact of perceived cognitive/affective/sensory advertising (complementary mediation) and perceived behavioural advertising (indirect mediation only) on affective commitment. The second study illustrates that the cognitive/affective/sensory dimension is more important for experiential advertising than experiential advertising. Employing FaceReader facial expression recognition software results indicate that the bank advertisement with a higher score of perceived cognitive/affective/sensory advertising produces a higher level of happiness among respondents.
Originality/value
Both studies provide new insights into perceived experiential advertising and the impact of the latter on consumers. Benefits to scholars and practitioners include an enhanced understanding of advertising effectiveness in the banking sector.
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