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1 – 10 of over 3000J. Lukas Thürmer, Maik Bieleke, Frank Wieber and Peter M. Gollwitzer
This study aims to take a dual-process perspective and argues that peer influence on increasing impulse buying may also operate automatically. If-then plans, which can automate…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to take a dual-process perspective and argues that peer influence on increasing impulse buying may also operate automatically. If-then plans, which can automate action control, may, thus, help regulate peer influence. This research extends existing literature explicating the deliberate influence of social norms.
Design/methodology/approach
Study 1 (N = 120) obtained causal evidence that forming an implementation intention (i.e. an if-then plan designed to automate action control) reduces peer impact on impulse buying in a laboratory experiment with young adults (students) selecting food items. Study 2 (N = 686) obtained correlational evidence for the role of norms, automaticity and implementation intentions in impulse buying using a large sample of high-school adolescents working on a vignette about clothes-shopping.
Findings
If-then plans reduced impulse purchases in the laboratory (Study 1). Both reported deliberation on peer norms and the reported automaticity of shopping with peers predicted impulse buying but an implementation intention to be thriftily reduced these links (Study 2).
Research limitations/implications
This research highlights the role of automatic social processes in problematic consumer behaviour. Promising field studies and neuropsychological experiments are discussed.
Practical implications
Young consumers can gain control over automatic peer influence by using if-then plans, thereby reducing impulse buying.
Originality/value
This research helps understand new precursors of impulse buying in understudied European samples of young consumers.
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This study investigates whether corporate executives, who are university alumni, influence each other's firm corporate social responsibility (CSR) performance.
Abstract
Purpose
This study investigates whether corporate executives, who are university alumni, influence each other's firm corporate social responsibility (CSR) performance.
Design/methodology/approach
Drawing on social network theory, the authors hypothesise that a firm's CSR performance is positively associated with its peer firms' average CSR performance when the executives of the firm and its peer firms are university alumni. The study employs data from 1,685 listed firms and 4,906 executives who graduated from 585 different universities in China and runs multivariate regressions.
Findings
The results reveal a sizeable university peer influence on CSR performance. Such influence is even stronger for executives who graduated from elite universities (e.g. 985 or 211 universities), and universities or programmes that provide more opportunities for alumni reunions or networking (e.g. MBAs/EMBAs). Executives who are more influential in making firm decisions (e.g. CEOs/CFOs), as well as firms that are more likely to mimic the behaviour of others, also show higher degrees of university peer influence.
Practical implications
The results highlight the role of education in ethical decision-making.
Originality/value
This study documents evidence on a new determinant of firm CSR performance. The study sheds light on the impact of non-institutionalised personal ties, for example, university alumni networks, on CSR performance.
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The study aims to investigate how the presence and absence of institutional equivalents (interaction of industry peers and local peers) affect the earnings management practices of…
Abstract
Purpose
The study aims to investigate how the presence and absence of institutional equivalents (interaction of industry peers and local peers) affect the earnings management practices of firms.
Design/methodology/approach
The study uses discretionary accruals to operationalize earnings management. A sample of 18,744 Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) listed firm years spanning over 12 financial years (March 2010–March 2021) has been considered and analyzed through panel data regression models.
Findings
The author’s results show that the earnings management practices of a firm's institutional equivalents and the firm's own earnings management are positively associated, implying that firms closely follow their institutional equivalents. This association is found to be more pronounced among focal firms when the difference between the earnings management levels of industry peers and local peers is greater. Further, the author find that large firms aggressively imitate their industry peers and local peers, whereas profitability does not influence their imitation behavior.
Practical implications
The author’s findings have implications for understanding peer imitation processes, particularly when firms face increasingly multifaceted institutional environments. It suggests auditors and analysts take into account the earnings management practices of local and industry peers while analyzing the client's financial statements and making forecasts, respectively.
Originality/value
The study is among the pioneering attempts to explore the domain of earnings management from the lens of institutional equivalence and provides compelling evidence that the interaction of industry peers and local peers impacts the earnings management practices of firms.
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Yin Li, Leiju Qiu and Baowen Sun
In studies related to education, sociology and economics, the relationship between students’ social relationships and their academic performance is one of the most important…
Abstract
Purpose
In studies related to education, sociology and economics, the relationship between students’ social relationships and their academic performance is one of the most important research topics; a large number of research studies have focused on it. This study aims to analyze the previous studies about social interaction and academic performance and attempts to reveal the underlying mechanism.
Design/methodology/approach
This study uses CiteSpace to analyze 1,843 articles on social relationships and academic performance from 2001 to 2019. According to the co-cited literature network results in CiteSpace, this study proposes an adapted conceptual framework of the relationship between social relationships and academic performance. This paper further examines more studies about the two most-cited articles in the co-cited literature network for better understanding.
Findings
From the results of the co-cited literature network, this study determines that school engagement is an important mediator between social relationships and academic performance. This paper further examines studies on school engagement and determine that, along with the self-determination theory, school engagement is influenced by multiple components of self-determination theory: autonomy, competence and relatedness.
Originality/value
According to the visual result in CiteSpace, this study examines a research trend in which researchers scholars start to conduct micro and detailed empirical research on the impact of the specific social networks on academic performance because of the progress of information technology. Therefore, based on the previous literature that we have analyzed, this study predicts that the trend of using information technology, such as data mining or data analysis, in this academic field will become a mainstream practice in the future.
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Riane Cherylise Dalziel and Natasha De Klerk
The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of two potentially important antecedents of female Generation Y consumers’ attitudes towards beauty products. In particular…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of two potentially important antecedents of female Generation Y consumers’ attitudes towards beauty products. In particular, the impact of the media and groups is analysed through their influence on subjective norms.
Design/methodology/approach
Structural equation modelling analysis of moment structures was used to propose and test a research model by means of data from a substantial size of female Generation Y consumers.
Findings
The study’s results confirm that female Generation Y consumers have a favourable attitude towards beauty products and that this attitude is influenced by their subjective norms. Furthermore, the findings suggest that group influence, which includes the opinions of friends, family and peers and media influence both predict female Generation Y consumers’ favourable attitude towards beauty products via their influence on this segment’s subjective norms.
Practical implications
These results emphasise the strategic importance of incorporating subjective norms, together with media and group influence into beauty product marketing communication campaigns targeting female Generation Y consumers. Given that this generation is known to be prevalent users of social media and often consult online peer product reviews, such strategies should also be extended beyond traditional media platforms to include social media, particularly social media influencers and online product review platforms, thereby tapping into subjective norms and group influence.
Originality/value
This study contributes to understanding female Generation Y consumers’ attitudes towards beauty products, especially the combined influence of subjective norms and media and group influence on such attitudes.
Propósito
El propósito de este trabajo es examinar la influencia de dos antecedentes potencialmente importantes de las actitudes de las consumidoras de la Generación Y hacia los productos de belleza. En concreto, se estudia la influencia de los medios de comunicación y de los grupos a través de su influencia en las normas subjetivas.
Diseño/metodología/enfoque
Se empleó el análisis de modelos de ecuaciones estructurales de estructuras de momento para proponer y probar un modelo de investigación mediante datos de un tamaño considerable de consumidoras de la Generación Y.
Resultados
Los resultados del estudio confirman que las consumidoras de la Generación Y tienen una actitud favorable hacia los productos de belleza y que esta actitud está influenciada por sus normas subjetivas. Además, los resultados sugieren que la influencia del grupo, que incluye las opiniones de amigos, familiares y compañeros, y la influencia de los medios de comunicación predicen la actitud favorable de las consumidoras de la Generación Y hacia los productos de belleza a través de su influencia en las normas subjetivas de este segmento.
Implicaciones prácticas
Estos resultados enfatizan la importancia estratégica de incorporar las normas subjetivas, junto con la influencia de los medios de comunicación y del grupo, en las campañas de comunicación de la comercialización de productos de belleza dirigidas a las consumidoras de la Generación Y. Dado que se sabe que esta generación es la usuaria habitual de los medios sociales y suele consultar en línea las revisiones de los productos, esas estrategias también deberían ampliarse más allá de las plataformas de los medios de comunicación tradicionales para incluir los medios sociales, en particular las personas que ejercen influencia en los medios sociales, y las plataformas de revisión de productos en línea, aprovechando así las normas subjetivas y la influencia del grupo.
Originalidad/valor
Este estudio contribuye a comprender las actitudes de las consumidoras de la Generación Y respecto de los productos de belleza, especialmente la influencia combinada de las normas subjetivas y la influencia de los medios de comunicación y los grupos en esas actitudes.
研究目的
摘要
本文旨在研究两个重要的潜在因素,对Y世代女性消费者对美容产品态度的影响。具体来说,是通过媒体和群体对主观规范的影响来进行分析。
研究方法
本研究采用结构方程模型分析力矩结构,结合相当规模的Y世代女性消费者的数据,提出并检验研究模型。
研究结果
研究结果证实,Y世代女性消费者对美容产品持积极态度,而且这种态度受到她们主观规范的影响。此外,研究结果表明,群体影响(包括朋友、家人和同伴的意见)和媒体影响都能通过对Y世代女性消费者主观规范的影响来预测她们对美容产品的好感度。
实际意义
本文的研究结果强调了将主观规范和媒体、群体影响纳入针对Y世代女性消费者的美容产品营销传播活动的战略重要性。由于Y世代是社交媒体的普遍用户,并且经常查看其他用户评价,因此这种策略应该超越传统媒体平台,将社交媒体,特别是社交媒体网络红人和在线产品评论平台纳入其中,利用他们对消费者主观规范和群体的影响力。
研究价值
本研究有助于了解Y世代女性消费者对美容产品的态度,特别是主观规范和媒体、群体对这种态度的综合影响。
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Blessing Chiparausha, Omwoyo Bosire Onyancha and Ifeanyi Jonas Ezema
This study aims to examine the use of social media by academic librarians at universities in Zimbabwe with particular focus on the application of the four key constructs of the…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine the use of social media by academic librarians at universities in Zimbabwe with particular focus on the application of the four key constructs of the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology model. This study assesses the degree to which academic librarians in Zimbabwe believe that using social media enhances service delivery, the extent to which academic librarians perceive social media as easy to use, the influence of peers on social media use among academic librarians and the extent to which facilitating conditions influence social media use.
Design/methodology/approach
A pragmatist worldview in which both quantitative and qualitative methods were adopted, this multiple case study used face-to-face interviews, self-administered questionnaires and content analysis for collecting data.
Findings
Academic librarians in Zimbabwe perceive social media tools to be useful and easy to use in the provision of services. Social influence had a moderate effect on academic librarians’ use of social media for service delivery at universities in Zimbabwe, but they feel that their supervisors do not provide enough help for them to use social media.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, no similar study has been done previously in Zimbabwe. This multiple case study presents useful findings on the acceptance and use of social media by academic librarians in Zimbabwe.
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Friedner Wittman, Douglas Polcin and Dave Sheridan
Roughly half a million persons in the USA are homeless on any given night and over a third of those individuals have significant alcohol/other drug (AOD) problems. Many are…
Abstract
Purpose
Roughly half a million persons in the USA are homeless on any given night and over a third of those individuals have significant alcohol/other drug (AOD) problems. Many are chronically homeless and in need of assistance for a variety of problems. However, the literature on housing services for this population has paid limited attention to comparative analyses contrasting different approaches. The paper aims to discuss these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors examined the literature on housing models for homeless persons with AOD problems and critically analyzed how service settings and operations aligned with service goals.
Findings
The authors found two predominant housing models that reflect different service goals: sober living houses (SLHs) and housing first (HF). SLHs are communally based living arrangements that draw on the principles of Alcoholics Anonymous. They emphasize a living environment that promotes abstinence and peer support for recovery. HF is based on the premise that many homeless persons with substance abuse problems will reject abstinence as a goal. Therefore, the HF focus is providing subsidized or free housing and optional professional services for substance abuse, psychiatric disorders, and other problems.
Research limitations/implications
If homeless service providers are to develop comprehensive systems for homeless persons with AOD problems, they need to consider important contrasts in housing models, including definitions of “recovery,” roles of peer support, facility management, roles for professional service, and the architectural designs that support the mission of each type of housing.
Originality/value
This paper is the first to consider distinct consumer choices within homeless service systems and provide recommendations to improve each based upon architecture and community planning principles.
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This study aims to examine Saudi female students' attitude toward peer feedback activity in writing classes with a list of questions for the students to follow during the…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine Saudi female students' attitude toward peer feedback activity in writing classes with a list of questions for the students to follow during the activity, and to investigate the challenges that may prevent the use of such activity in Saudi EFL classes.
Design/methodology/approach
This study used a mixed-methods to ensure the credibility of the data and obtain clear descriptions about the topic. The study instruments are (1) Writing Essays, (2) Writing Checklist, (3) Questionnaire and (4) Semi-structured interview. The data were analysis with SPSS and o 10 software.
Findings
The study results indicated that students had a positive attitude toward peer feedback with a checklist in EFL writing class. For instance, their second written essay (post) has improved and has fewer mistakes than the first one. Also, most of the participants stated that peer feedback has improved their writing quality and has enhanced their writing awareness of their weaknesses and mistakes. Moreover, the interview had highlighted the main challenges that could affect using peer feedback in writing class. Finally, the results indicate the efficiency of peer feedback with a checklist in similar teaching contexts.
Research limitations/implications
The study focused on a small number of participants (30 students). Besides, the study dealt with students at university level only and the study focused on female students.
Practical implications
Based on the study finding, it is recommended that peer feedback should be integrated in all EFL writing classes at all levels. Based on the study finding, it is recommended that peer feedback should be incorporated in all EFL writing classes at all levels. Using checklist can help the students to become more independent learners and in time they will be able to correct their own mistakes.
Originality/value
This paper fulfills an identified need to identify how integrating peer feedback activity in writing class can improve the students' writing performance and help them to be independent learners.
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Kavya Satish, Abhishek Venkatesh and Anand Shankar Raja Manivannan
This research aims to study the recent changes in consumer behaviour and purchase pattern during the Covid-19 pandemic. Covid-19 pandemic has forced consumers to stockpile, which…
Abstract
Purpose
This research aims to study the recent changes in consumer behaviour and purchase pattern during the Covid-19 pandemic. Covid-19 pandemic has forced consumers to stockpile, which has its own consequences. The article proposes the importance of “minimalism in consumption” to avoid greed in consumer behaviour.
Design/methodology/approach
The data are collected from consumers across India using an online survey during the first lockdown from March 2020 to May 2020. A simple random sampling technique is used for data collection, and the collected data are analysed using SPSS version 26.
Findings
The study states that there will be a shift in the purchase pattern of the consumers if lockdowns are imposed in the future or during any other crisis. However, at present, consumers have developed a stockpiling mentality fearing the unavailability of essentials.
Research limitations/implications
Pandemic has stimulated a drastic change in consumer behaviour, which is a situational effect. Each crisis affects consumer behaviour in a different way. In this research, we have considered only fear, greed and anxiety in the light of Covid-19. On the other hand, the research intends to draw realistic conclusions based on consumers' experiences during the lockdown.
Practical implications
The study proposes solutions that will help marketers frame exclusive strategies for a future crisis. Analysing the change in consumer behaviour and the shift in purchase patterns will emphasize the importance of market research to know consumer expectations during a crisis situation in order to cater to their new demands.
Social implications
Consumers who stockpile should realize the unavailability of goods to other consumers who are in need. They also have to understand the importance of “minimalism in consumption” during a crisis.
Originality/value
The data are collected during the most taxing crisis, the Covid-19 pandemic. Data are collected at the peak time of the first wave of Covid-19 in India, during a major shift in consumers' behaviour and purchase pattern. The article brings to the larger consciousness and also preaches a life lesson to all consumers to execute their responsibilities in consumption without over-demands and expectations.
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Cannabis as a recreational drug is prohibited in Nigeria. Consequently, the open use of cannabis attracts both formal and informal sanctions. As such, there is much stigma on…
Abstract
Purpose
Cannabis as a recreational drug is prohibited in Nigeria. Consequently, the open use of cannabis attracts both formal and informal sanctions. As such, there is much stigma on users' faces across social spaces. This has led to innovations in drug use. Recently, non-medical use of tramadol has been rising across each of the gender categories. This study aims to understand (1) tramadol use prompts, (2) the sudden surge in gendered recreational use of tramadol and (3) the gendered challenges of recreational tramadol use among Nigerian university students.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected between December 2021 and October 2022. The researcher conducted 20 semi-structured interviews, with participants chosen purposefully from acquaintances and others selected through chain referral. The selection criteria included knowledge of a particular tramadol tablet and willingness to participate. This study got ethical approval from the Anambra State Ministry of Health (Ref: MH/AWK/M/321/354) and oral consent was obtained before the interviews. The participants were assured of confidentiality. The interviews were conducted in English (the formal Nigerian language) and lasted between 30 and 65 min. The data collected were transcribed and coded manually, and themes generated.
Findings
Findings suggest that peer pressures accounted for entry-level drug use. However, cannabis-related stigma is attributed to the surge in tramadol use across gender categories. Furthermore, academic pressure and sexuality are major reasons for tramadol use. The challenges associated with tramadol use include headaches and addiction.
Originality/value
This study, to the best of the author’s knowledge, presents alternative data on the surge in tramadol use among Nigerian university students.
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