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Article
Publication date: 1 April 2024

İrem Taştan and Zeynep Ozdamar Ertekin

This study aims to explore how a postmodern tribe enacts and re-interprets ideologies as a part of consumers’ collective experience, to enhance our understanding of consumer…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to explore how a postmodern tribe enacts and re-interprets ideologies as a part of consumers’ collective experience, to enhance our understanding of consumer communities in conjunction with ideological capacities.

Design/methodology/approach

The community of “presenteers” is conceptualized as a self-organized tribe with heterogeneous components that generate capacities to act. Netnographic observation was conducted on 18 presenteer accounts and lasted around six months. Real-time data were collected by taking screenshots of the posts and stories that these users created and publicly shared. Data were analysed by adopting assemblage theory, combining inductive and deductive approaches. Firstly, a qualitative visual-textual content analysis of the tribe’s defining components was conducted. Then, the process continued with the thematic analysis of the ideological underpinnings of the tribe’s enactments.

Findings

Findings shed light on the ways in which consumer communities interpret the entanglement of religious, political, and cultural ideologies in shaping their experiences. In the case of the presenteers tribe, findings reflect a novel ideological interplay between neo-Ottomanism, post-feminism and consumerism.

Research limitations/implications

The study offers a deep dive into a unique tribe that is being organized around the consumer-created practice of “presenteering” and investigates consumer communalization in alignment with the ideological turn in culture-oriented interpretative research on consumers, consumption, and markets. This exploration helps to bridge the research on the communalization of consumers with the recent discussions of ideology in the postmodern market.

Originality/value

The study offers a deep dive into a unique tribe that is being organized around the consumer-created practice of “presenteering” and investigates consumer communalization in alignment with the ideological turn in culture-oriented interpretative research on consumers, consumption, and markets. This exploration helps to bridge the research on the communalization of consumers with the recent discussions of ideology in the postmodern market.

Details

Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1352-2752

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 13 September 2023

Dong-Jin Lee, Grace B. Yu and M. Joseph Sirgy

The purpose of this paper is to reflect on the construct of phygital experiences and provide ideas that may spur future research on phygital consumer experiences in relation to…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to reflect on the construct of phygital experiences and provide ideas that may spur future research on phygital consumer experiences in relation to consumer well-being using qualitative research methods.

Design/methodology/approach

With the increase in consumers’ online and offline interactions, there is a greater need for marketers to prompt integrated consumer experiences (i.e. integrated customer experiences through online and offline interactions). The authors developed this essay based on a literature review of phygital experiences and consumer well-being.

Findings

This commentary provides suggestions on how to expand the conceptual boundaries of phygital experiences by examining the effects of consumer phygital experiences in relation to consumer need satisfaction, consumer happiness and benefits to the firm. The commentary also includes several methodological suggestions that can guide future qualitative research.

Originality/value

The value of this commentary involves insights about research methods stimulated by the current research on consumer well-being.

Details

Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1352-2752

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 24 October 2023

Todd Morgan, Wesley Friske, Marko Kohtamäki and Paul Mills

This paper aims to examine how customer participation in new service development (NSD) and customer relationship management (CRM) technology can improve the NSD performance of…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to examine how customer participation in new service development (NSD) and customer relationship management (CRM) technology can improve the NSD performance of manufacturing firms. Additionally, the paper examines CRM technology usage to understand how it impacts new service performance both individually and jointly with customer participation in NSD.

Design/methodology/approach

This study is a survey of 216 manufacturing managers who are overseeing the development of new services at their organizations. For the analysis, structural equation modeling is used with Amos 22.0. Measures of all latent variables in the analysis pass the traditional tests for reliability, convergent validity and discriminant validity. Furthermore, the results of a common latent factor test for common method variance and Harman’s one-factor test indicate that common method bias is not a source of endogeneity in the model.

Findings

Customer participation has a positive effect on NSD performance. CRM technology usage also has a positive effect on NSD performance. The effect of customer participation on NSD performance is enhanced by CRM technology. The results of a post hoc analysis suggest that the usage of CRM technology has the most benefit for managing the technical aspects of customer participation.

Research limitations/implications

This study has methodological limitations that may impact the generalizability of results. For instance, it is based on cross-sectional self-reported survey data, which is more subjective than longitudinal secondary data. Survey research lacks the depth and nuance of qualitative research designs, which are commonly employed to study NSD. In addition, this study focuses on large US manufacturing firms. The authors do not include small firms or international organizations in the sample. Despite these limitations, they believe the findings can provide significant contributions to the NSD literature.

Practical implications

Although prior research has shown that customer participation and CRM technology can individually influence new product development (NPD) performance, the results indicate they are equally effective factors in the development of new services. Furthermore, the authors show that customer participation can be enhanced via the use of CRM technologies. The interaction is more pronounced within the technical aspects of NSD.

Originality/value

This study contributes to the NSD literature, and it also has implications for managers leading NSD efforts in traditional tangible-product industries. The findings provide additional evidence that customer participation is an effective NSD strategy for manufacturing firms (Morgan et al., 2019). Furthermore, CRM technology is integral to NSD performance. CRM technology not only has a direct effect on NSD performance, but the interaction term of customer participation by CRM technology also has a positive effect on NSD performance.

Details

Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0885-8624

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 24 October 2023

Chad S. Seifried, Milorad M. Novicevic and Stephen Poor

This study aims to use a theoretical-based case study of two distinct ownership groups of the Jack Daniel’s brand to explore how rhetorical history (i.e. malleability of the past…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to use a theoretical-based case study of two distinct ownership groups of the Jack Daniel’s brand to explore how rhetorical history (i.e. malleability of the past for strategic goals) may evoke and capitalize on different forms of nostalgia. Within, the authors configure four forms of nostalgia (i.e. personal, historical, collective and cultural) from the individual or collective interaction and level of direct experience one has with the past as lived or happened.

Design/methodology/approach

This study uses an historical research approach which involved the identification of primary and secondary sources, facility tour, source criticism and triangulation to create themes of rhetorical history infused with nostalgic narratives using compelling evidence through rich description of this fusion.

Findings

The findings reveal how nostalgia-driven narratives reflecting different collective longing for the re-creation of an American Paradise Lost used by Jack Daniel (i.e. the man) and later but differently by Brown-Forman. This study uncovers how the company’s inherited past was used rhetorically throughout its history, beginning with the nostalgic story of Jack Daniel and the distillery’s nostalgically choreographed location in Lynchburg, Tennessee. This study delves into this setting to highlight the importance of symbols, details, emotional appeals and communications for collective memory and identity development and to showcase the ways in which they are influenced by different types and forms of nostalgia.

Originality/value

This study adds to a limited number of studies focused on understanding the impact of founders on an organization’s brand and how that is malleable. This study responds to scholarly calls to study the influence of sequenced historical rhetoric on an organization and highlight the relevance of social emotions such as nostalgia for rhetorical history. Finally, the theoretical contribution involves the advancing and construction of a theory typology of nostalgia previously proposed by Havlena and Holak in 1996.

Details

Journal of Management History, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1751-1348

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 12 September 2022

Adah-Kole Onjewu, Razieh Sadraei and Vahid Jafari-Sadeghi

In spite of wide civic and academic interest in obesity, there are no bibliometric records of this issue in the marketing corpus. Thus, this inquiry is conceived to address this…

Abstract

Purpose

In spite of wide civic and academic interest in obesity, there are no bibliometric records of this issue in the marketing corpus. Thus, this inquiry is conceived to address this shortcoming with a bibliometric analysis of Scopus indexed articles published on the subject.

Design/methodology/approach

The analysis followed a five-step science mapping approach of study design, data collection, data analysis, data visualisation and data interpretation. R programming software was used to review 88 peer reviewed journals published between 1987 and 2021.

Findings

A sizable stream of literature exploring obesity has accrued in the marketing area as authors have drawn parallels between the influence of persuasive communication and advertising on human wellbeing and child health. The United States of America is found to be by far the country with the highest number of publications on obesity, followed by Australia and the United Kingdom. The topic dendrogram indicates two strands of obesity discourse: (1) social and policy intervention opportunities and (2) the effects on social groups in the population.

Research limitations/implications

This review will shape future enquiries investigating obesity. Beyond the focus on children, males and females, an emerging focus on cola, ethics, food waste, milk, policy-making and students is highlighted.

Originality/value

This is the first bibliometric review of obesity in the marketing literature. This is especially timely for weighing up the utility of research aimed at understanding and reporting the trends, influences and role of stakeholders in addressing obesity.

Details

EuroMed Journal of Business, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1450-2194

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 28 December 2023

Johannes Hogg

The paper covers the topic of power strategies between actors and the interplay between the service ecosystem and the actor(s), and vice versa. The paper addresses the lack of…

Abstract

Purpose

The paper covers the topic of power strategies between actors and the interplay between the service ecosystem and the actor(s), and vice versa. The paper addresses the lack of conceptual development concerning power considerations beyond dyadic, rigid and role-based models found in general marketing literature. Further, the paper opens the area of power relationships, using the service ecosystem as conceptual framework.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper has a systemic and sociological view on service-ecosystems using mainly Giddens' structuration theory. Service-dominant logic literature from 2004 to 2021 is systematically reviewed for power issues and qualitatively analyzed. Mayring's step model of, firstly, inductive and, secondly, deductive category development is applied. Subcategories were identified, subsumed and finally grouped into five categories to increase the level of abstraction.

Findings

The article investigates power considerations and enables marketers to create power through (1) imbalance, to find strategies and counterstrategies for (2) actor's behavior, to understand the (3) actor's embeddedness within a service ecosystem and its dynamic nature, to learn about (4) institutions and actor's institutional work. A set of seven propositions is presented for the conceptualization of power strategies in a service ecosystem.

Research limitations/implications

The consideration of power on different levels supports both the zooming-in and zooming-out to observe and understand the power phenomena in a service ecosystem. Seven propositions about episodic as well as systemic power relations are presented. Power is conceptualized in service ecosystem as transformative capability of an actor to intervene on institutions and in some way alter them, recognizing that power relations are co-created, dynamic and context-dependent.

Practical implications

The article recognizes different levels (micro-meso-macro) of power considerations and helps practitioners and marketers to create power through (1) imbalance, find strategies and counterstrategies for (2) actor's behavior, understand the (3) actor's embeddedness within a service ecosystem and its dynamic nature, learn about (4) institutions and actor's institutional work. This enables managers to find an appropriate choice of action in their specific context to transform the service ecosystem(s) they are embedded in.

Social implications

As all social systems are power systems, a service ecosystem can only be fully understood by integrating the elementary concept of power. As such, power considerations within actor strategies and the service ecosystem are relevant to improve the understanding of transformation of the service ecosystem. Power, in the sense of the transformative capability of actors, changes the social and material world.

Originality/value

Power issues are important to understand the “hows” of resource integration in service ecosystems and its transformation or stability.

Details

Journal of Service Theory and Practice, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2055-6225

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 25 April 2024

Linda Brennan, David Micallef, Eva L. Jenkins, Lukas Parker and Natalia Alessi

This study aims to explore the use of a double diamond design method to engage the industry in a sector-wide response to the issues of food waste as constructed by consumers. This…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to explore the use of a double diamond design method to engage the industry in a sector-wide response to the issues of food waste as constructed by consumers. This particular design method is achieved by an exploration of a collective intelligence-participatory design (CIPD) project to engage industry participants in understanding and responding to consumers’ perceptions of the role of packaging in reducing food waste.

Design/methodology/approach

Using the UK Design Council’s double diamond design method as a guiding conceptual principle, the project recruited industry participants from medium to large food businesses across various food categories. Two scoping workshops with industry were held prior to the initiation of a 12-stage project (n = 57), and then two industry workshops were held (n = 4 and 14). Eighty participants completed an online qualitative survey, and 23 industry participants took part in a Think Tank Sprint Series. The Think Tanks used participatory design approaches to understand barriers and opportunities for change within food industry sub-sectors and test the feasibility and acceptability of package designs to reduce consumer waste.

Findings

For CIPD to work for complex problems involving industry, it is vital that stakeholders across macro- and micro-subsystems are involved and that adequate time is allowed to address that complexity. Using both the right tools for engagement and the involvement of the right mix of representatives across various sectors of industry is critical to reducing blame shift. The process of divergence and convergence allowed clear insight into the long-term multi-pronged approach needed for the complex problem.

Originality/value

Participatory design has been useful within various behaviour change settings. This paper has demonstrated the application of the double diamond model in a social marketing setting, adding value to an industry-wide project that included government, peak bodies, manufacturing and production and retailers.

Details

Journal of Social Marketing, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2042-6763

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 30 January 2024

Tony Yan and Michael R. Hyman

This study examines how informal business networks achieve marketing goals in socially uncertain contexts. Drawing from multiple historical sources, Shangbangs, a type of business…

Abstract

Purpose

This study examines how informal business networks achieve marketing goals in socially uncertain contexts. Drawing from multiple historical sources, Shangbangs, a type of business network that thrived in pre-1949 China, are analyzed.

Design/methodology/approach

The Critical Historical Research Method (CHRM) undergirds a study of Shangbangs’ historicity (i.e. their socio-historically embedded multiplicity, including organizational forms, activities and connotations.

Findings

As informal regional, professional, project-based, special-product-based or mixed marketing networks, Shangbangs relied on “flexible specialization” and coupled multiple business needs to market goods and services, business organizations, specific social values and, when necessary, to debrand business rivals.

Research limitations/implications

This analysis extends theories about marketing networks by probing their subtypes, diverse marketing activities, multipronged channels and relationship building with social entities (including underground societies, business associations and guilds) in response to pre-1949 China’s market uncertainties. Substantiating an alternative approach to “flexible specialization” and marketing innovations within the pre-1949 Chinese economy shows how a parallel theoretical framework can complement western-based marketing theories.

Originality/value

This first comprehensive analysis of Shangbangs, an innovative historical Chinese marketing network outside the conventional market-corporate dichotomy, can inform theory building for marketing strategy-making and management conditioned by social contexts.

Details

Journal of Historical Research in Marketing, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1755-750X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 19 April 2024

Tahira Javed, Ali B. Mahmoud, Jun Yang and Zhao Xu

This study aims to investigate the ecological awareness of Chinese consumers towards fast fashion and examine the effect of social sustainability claims on green brand image and…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to investigate the ecological awareness of Chinese consumers towards fast fashion and examine the effect of social sustainability claims on green brand image and purchase intentions in China, considering China’s unique environmental policy landscape and its significant role in the global fast fashion industry. The study explores the role of altruistic values in promoting sustainability within the well-known fast fashion brand “H” and how they shape brand image, consumer satisfaction and brand equity.

Design/methodology/approach

The study collected data from 257 Chinese participants and used a serial mediation model through the PROCESS macro in SPSS to analyse the correlation between green brand image, created through sustainability claims and consumer purchase intentions. The model also assessed the intermediary effects of brand image, satisfaction and equity.

Findings

The findings of the research indicate a direct and positive relationship between green brand image and consumer purchase intentions, emphasising the need for clothing and textile industry marketers to strategically promote altruistic values in their sustainability efforts and highlighting the importance of ecological awareness in shaping consumer behaviour in the Chinese context. This approach enhances green satisfaction and green brand equity and ultimately leads to higher green purchase intentions.

Originality/value

This study provides significant insights into the effectiveness of incorporating social sustainability claims in advertising to improve a brand’s green image and influence consumer behaviour. It emphasises the importance of altruistic values in sustainability strategies, offering valuable guidelines for marketers in enhancing green satisfaction and brand equity, thereby boosting consumer purchase intentions in the context of green branding and sustainability advertising. Focussing specifically on the Chinese market, this research sheds light on the impact of ecological awareness among Chinese consumers within the fast-fashion industry. Given China’s substantial role in shaping global fast-fashion production and its evolving environmental policies, this focus adds significant depth to our understanding of sustainability claims’ influence within this crucial consumer base.

Details

Corporate Communications: An International Journal, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1356-3289

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 29 February 2024

Suyash Khaneja and Shahzeb Hussain

The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of physical environment design (PED) and its antecedents on consumers’ emotional well-being (EWB). Drawing on place identity…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of physical environment design (PED) and its antecedents on consumers’ emotional well-being (EWB). Drawing on place identity and emotional theories, the study aims to provide a new perspective to retail store experiences.

Design/methodology/approach

A survey of 800 respondents was conducted in London, out of which 764 responses were constructively used. The data was collected from international retail outlets, and structural equation modelling was used to analyse the data.

Findings

The empirical results show that PED has a positive effect on consumers’ EWB. Among the antecedents, visual identity does not have any significant effect on PED and EWB. In contrast, communication had a significant effect on PED but did not have any effect on EWB, and further, cultural heritage had a positive effect on both PED and EWB. Further, moderator analysis identifies the boundary conditions under which specific theories hold.

Practical implications

The value of this paper lies in its potential to be used for creating the perfect design planning in retail stores. Significant implications for managers and researchers are highlighted.

Originality/value

This paper presents an innovative approach to develop the principles of retail store’s PED to support the EWB of consumers.

Details

Journal of Asia Business Studies, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1558-7894

Keywords

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