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1 – 10 of 78Chedia Dhaoui, Cynthia M. Webster and Lay Peng Tan
With the soaring volumes of brand-related social media conversations, digital marketers have extensive opportunities to track and analyse consumers’ feelings and opinions about…
Abstract
Purpose
With the soaring volumes of brand-related social media conversations, digital marketers have extensive opportunities to track and analyse consumers’ feelings and opinions about brands, products or services embedded within consumer-generated content (CGC). These “Big Data” opportunities render manual approaches to sentiment analysis impractical and raise the need to develop automated tools to analyse consumer sentiment expressed in text format. This paper aims to evaluate and compare the performance of two prominent approaches to automated sentiment analysis applied to CGC on social media and explores the benefits of combining them.
Design/methodology/approach
A sample of 850 consumer comments from 83 Facebook brand pages are used to test and compare lexicon-based and machine learning approaches to sentiment analysis, as well as their combination, using the LIWC2015 lexicon and RTextTools machine learning package.
Findings
Results show the two approaches are similar in accuracy, both achieving higher accuracy when classifying positive sentiment than negative sentiment. However, they differ substantially in their classification ensembles. The combined approach demonstrates significantly improved performance in classifying positive sentiment.
Research limitations/implications
Further research is required to improve the accuracy of negative sentiment classification. The combined approach needs to be applied to other kinds of CGCs on social media such as tweets.
Practical implications
The findings inform decision-making around which sentiment analysis approaches (or a combination thereof) is best to analyse CGC on social media.
Originality/value
This study combines two sentiment analysis approaches and demonstrates significantly improved performance.
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Jasmina Ilicic and Cynthia M. Webster
– This study aims to explore consumer brand associations and values derived from a corporate brand and a celebrity brand endorser prior to their endorsement.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explore consumer brand associations and values derived from a corporate brand and a celebrity brand endorser prior to their endorsement.
Design/methodology/approach
This study uses both hierarchical value mapping and brand concept mapping (BCM) to identify brand attributes that translate to personal meaning for consumers and then to identify whether these attributes are encompassed by a specific brand.
Findings
Results from brand concept maps and hierarchical value maps show consumers value accessibility and customer service in financial corporate brands. Consumers value expertise in celebrity brands and respect success in both corporate and celebrity brands. A central finding is the importance of brand authenticity. Corporate brand authenticity establishes a sense of security and assists in the development of brand relationships. Celebrity brand authenticity creates consumer attention and enhances celebrity trustworthiness aiding in the development of a consumer – celebrity brand relationship.
Research limitations/implications
The findings have implications for corporate brands utilizing celebrity endorsers. In terms of strategic positioning, corporate brands need to center their marketing communications on desired brand associations at the core of both the corporate and celebrity brand that translate to personal meaning for consumers.
Originality/value
This study uses a combined theoretical and methodological approach, drawing on associative network theory and means-end chain theory, and BCM and hierarchical value mapping methods, respectively, to understand and uncover personal meaning or value derived from brand associations.
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Cynthia M. Webster, Richard Seymour and Kate Daellenbach
To thrive in today's competitive marketplace, businesses constantly need to search for opportunities to develop and be tuned into consumers as innovators. With this in mind, the…
Abstract
Purpose
To thrive in today's competitive marketplace, businesses constantly need to search for opportunities to develop and be tuned into consumers as innovators. With this in mind, the purpose of this paper is to further understandings of the ways in which consumers transform ordinary products to serve their everyday needs; and broaden appreciation of the role observational research plays in opportunity identification.
Design/methodology/approach
A hermeneutic approach to observational research is adopted, incorporating both subjective personal introspection (SPI) and videography to discover one family's unusual usage behaviours.
Findings
Analysis, following Holbrook's typology of consumer value, reveals examples of innovative behaviours for the four active consumer value types of efficiency, status, play and ethics, while identification of the reactive value types of aesthetics, esteem, excellence and spirituality proves more difficult.
Research limitations/implications
This research suggests alternative approaches for future research into opportunity identification, making use of videography and SPI. Moreover, the current work emphasises that innovation and the creative require consideration of the relational rather than just self‐seeking behaviours, needs or events.
Originality/value
This paper illustrates two research methods infrequently used, SPI and videography, positioning both as valuable tools for opportunity identification.
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Cynthia M. Webster and Jacqueline Kenney
The purpose of this paper's novel, research‐oriented approach is to embed research‐based activities in a core second‐year course of a university business degree program to support…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper's novel, research‐oriented approach is to embed research‐based activities in a core second‐year course of a university business degree program to support and develop student research capabilities.
Design/methodology/approach
The design draws on Boud and Prosser's work to foster participation in a learner‐centred, discipline‐based approach. Activities rely on technology supports and mixed delivery modes to combine diverse theoretical perspectives and research methodologies.
Findings
The initial implementations of the design generated improved student learning experiences compared to the previous year. Voluntary participation was high and informal evidence suggested that research activities were a core‐contributing element to positive student outcomes.
Research limitations/implications
A formal evaluation study is required to measure precisely the extent to which research activities like those described in this paper have an effect on students' learning experiences.
Practical implications
The research activities embedded in the course curriculum enriched learner participation and experiences without overtaxing resources and, with minor modification, are transferable to different courses and disciplines.
Social implications
The technology‐supported environment described in this study allowed for online viewing of submitted research activities and provided students the opportunity to continually review, reflect and share their insights.
Originality/value
Learner‐focused research activities offer students a novel opportunity to experience research firsthand as informants, inventors and interpreters of knowledge. The adoption of research activities within the curriculum structure is a creative and multifaceted effort to extend students' research understanding.
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Cynthia M. Webster and Vanessa A. Rennie
Some consumption activities are inherently interesting, pleasurable, gratifying and potentially important to consumers' lives. The primary aim of this paper is to further…
Abstract
Purpose
Some consumption activities are inherently interesting, pleasurable, gratifying and potentially important to consumers' lives. The primary aim of this paper is to further understanding of the role pleasurable consumption plays in consumers' lives.
Design/methodology/approach
To explore consumer value in pleasurable consumption experiences, the consumer value typology in conjunction with the subjective personal introspection (SPI) approach, is applied to experiences captured in travel photographs.
Findings
Analysis identifies all eight consumer value types with play, aesthetics and, surprisingly, spirituality the most evident. Pleasure is shown as much more than immediate, self‐gratification. Issues of competency, both active effort and appreciation of others' abilities, individual growth and development as well as sharing and feelings of relatedness are all important components of pleasure.
Research limitations/implications
The use of consumer value as a conceptual framework in combination with a reflective tool such as SPI suggests not only alternative approaches for future research into pleasurable consumption, but also indicates some innovative strategies to put into practice.
Practical implications
Communicating the different value types prior to consumption and incorporating active reflection, possibly could assist in improving consumers' enjoyment of their experiences which, in turn, could reduce post‐purchase dissonance. Besides being used as a promotional tool to increase customer satisfaction, the consumer value framework could facilitate product bundling and possibly expand product benefits.
Originality/value
The paper illustrates the multidimensional nature of pleasure through two research methods infrequently used, SPI and the photo essay, positioning both as valuable tools for exploring and enhancing pleasurable consumption.
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Nathan A. Vincent and Cynthia M. Webster
Relationship marketing (RM) studies have produced a range of conclusions that are attributed to the different exchange contexts, strategies and constructs used for analysis. This…
Abstract
Purpose
Relationship marketing (RM) studies have produced a range of conclusions that are attributed to the different exchange contexts, strategies and constructs used for analysis. This study aims to explore RM within the context of a membership association to gain insights into membership maintenance, customer advocacy and association performance.
Design/methodology/approach
The exploratory, qualitative research conducted draws on existing relationship marketing constructs. Six focus groups with current and former members of an Australian wine club provide insights regarding factors that influence their membership experience.
Findings
The results show that satisfaction of membership benefits and confidence in the association's expertise are essential in strong relationships. Moreover, member commitment to the relationship appears to be multidimensional, with affective commitment in particular leading to member retention and advocacy. The results also indicate that trust, satisfaction and commitment can be combined as an overall assessment of relationship quality. Desire for recognition, the social nature of wine and product involvement all emerge as important to the membership context.
Research limitations/implications
This research provides valuable insights into relationships in membership associations and is a strong foundation for future confirmatory research regarding relationships between associations and their members.
Practical implications
Membership maintenance is vital to the survival and profitability of membership-based associations. By determining the benefits and factors that foster strong relationships, management can create marketing strategies and programs aimed specifically at influencing the key drivers of strong relationships.
Originality/value
Although relationship marketing has gained prevalence in recent times across a number of industries, research into membership contexts is limited.
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Notes that current thinking places an appropriate culture near thetop of the list of important ingredients for successfully marketingservices. Examines the concept of marketing…
Abstract
Notes that current thinking places an appropriate culture near the top of the list of important ingredients for successfully marketing services. Examines the concept of marketing culture in detail. Provides a method for assessing the marketing culture of a service firm. Outlines the details of the audit together with possible applications.
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A relevant, timely issue in the professional services area is that of marketing. Should professional service providers actively market their services? And, if so, how? Many…
Abstract
A relevant, timely issue in the professional services area is that of marketing. Should professional service providers actively market their services? And, if so, how? Many professionals have already stepped into the marketing arena, but without first understanding the nature of their target market(s). This article concentrates on one area of the user market that should be known and understood by all professional service marketers: What level of consumer interest or perceived personal importance typifies the purchase of a professional service?
Cynthia Leung, Matthew Sanders, Francis Ip and Joseph Lau
This study examined the effectiveness of the Triple P‐Positive Parenting Program in a government child health service delivery context with Chinese parents in Hong Kong…
Abstract
This study examined the effectiveness of the Triple P‐Positive Parenting Program in a government child health service delivery context with Chinese parents in Hong Kong. Specifically, the study sought to identify pre‐intervention variables that might predict programme outcomes such as level of clinical improvement and programme completion. Participants were 661 parents of pre‐school and primary aged children participating in a group version of the Triple P‐Positive Parenting Program. There were significant decreases in disruptive child behaviours, levels of parenting stress, general stress and anxiety and an increase in parenting sense of competence. Greater change in reports of child behaviour problems was related to lower levels of family income, new immigrant family status, and higher pre‐intervention levels of parenting stress. The present study provides a profile of parents who are most likely to benefit from parent training programmes.
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