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1 – 10 of over 101000Femke Hilverda, Manon Jurgens and Margot Kuttschreuter
The purpose of this paper is to examine the word associations that consumers have with organic food, organic meat or organic vegetables, and how these associations differ between…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the word associations that consumers have with organic food, organic meat or organic vegetables, and how these associations differ between food type and consumer groups. Construal-level theory was used as a theoretical framework to interpret the associations. In addition, consumer groups were compared on psychological distance, values, age, and gender.
Design/methodology/approach
Two studies were performed. In Study 1, a sample of 154 participants filled out the words that came to their mind when thinking of organic food, organic meat or organic vegetables, and psychological distance and values were measured. In Study 2 these words were rated on centrality by an independent sample (n=52).
Findings
Consumers think of animal welfare, price, health, pesticides, and naturalness the most when thinking of organic. The environment, health, honesty, pesticides, sustainability, quality, natural, additives, origin, certification, and taste were central across organic food, organic meat, and organic vegetables. Thinking of organic meat showed consumers’ concern for animal welfare, while thinking of organic vegetables showed concern for human health. Consumer groups differed regarding psychological distance, values, gender, and age. Consumers who frequently bought organic food were more positive about organic food products compared to consumers who occasionally or hardly ever bought organic food products.
Originality/value
This research extends the scope of current consumer research about organic food and provides new insight in the word associations consumers have with organic food products.
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Ramzi A. Haraty and Rouba Nasrallah
The purpose of this paper is to propose a new model to enhance auto-indexing Arabic texts. The model denotes extracting new relevant words by relating those chosen by previous…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to propose a new model to enhance auto-indexing Arabic texts. The model denotes extracting new relevant words by relating those chosen by previous classical methods to new words using data mining rules.
Design/methodology/approach
The proposed model uses an association rule algorithm for extracting frequent sets containing related items – to extract relationships between words in the texts to be indexed with words from texts that belong to the same category. The associations of words extracted are illustrated as sets of words that appear frequently together.
Findings
The proposed methodology shows significant enhancement in terms of accuracy, efficiency and reliability when compared to previous works.
Research limitations/implications
The stemming algorithm can be further enhanced. In the Arabic language, we have many grammatical rules. The more we integrate rules to the stemming algorithm, the better the stemming will be. Other enhancements can be done to the stop-list. This is by adding more words to it that should not be taken into consideration in the indexing mechanism. Also, numbers should be added to the list as well as using the thesaurus system because it links different phrases or words with the same meaning to each other, which improves the indexing mechanism. The authors also invite researchers to add more pre-requisite texts to have better results.
Originality/value
In this paper, the authors present a full text-based auto-indexing method for Arabic text documents. The auto-indexing method extracts new relevant words by using data mining rules, which has not been investigated before. The method uses an association rule mining algorithm for extracting frequent sets containing related items to extract relationships between words in the texts to be indexed with words from texts that belong to the same category. The benefits of the method are demonstrated using empirical work involving several Arabic texts.
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The purpose of this paper is to assess the brand image of Cape Town as a tourist destination using a progressive method of unstructured and structured techniques such as word…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to assess the brand image of Cape Town as a tourist destination using a progressive method of unstructured and structured techniques such as word association and free association.
Design/methodology/approach
A mixed method study was designed incorporating two phases. Phase one involved in‐depth interviews with a convenience sample of 85 international visitors to Cape Town. Phase two consisted of a survey, which resulted in 585 useable questionnaires that incorporated both open and closed‐ended questions.
Findings
The results indicate the strengths and weaknesses of each technique used. For example, word association is effective at eliciting positive images and holistic impressions but weak at identifying affective images. The free‐choice technique offers a more balanced perception of positive, negative, cognitive and affective images of a brand.
Research limitations/implications
It is possible through the use of unstructured and structured techniques together to identify commonality in image perceptions but also differences in such perceptions on the basis of visitors' demographic and travelling characteristics.
Practical implications
The findings highlight the strengths and weaknesses of techniques such as word association and free association. The results indicate that some image attributes may not always adequately differentiate the brand from its competitors.
Originality/value
The paper contributes to understand the relationship between three components of brand knowledge namely, image, differentiating attributes and choice factors in the context of an African city brand.
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Maija Kontukoski, Harri Luomala, Bruno Mesz, Mariano Sigman, Marcos Trevisan, Minna Rotola-Pukkila and Anu Inkeri Hopia
This paper aims to extend current understanding concerning the cross-modal correspondences between sounds and tastes by introducing new research tools and experimental data to…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to extend current understanding concerning the cross-modal correspondences between sounds and tastes by introducing new research tools and experimental data to study associations and their reflections between music and taste.
Design/methodology/approach
The experiment design addresses the multidisciplinary approach by using cultural, chemical and statistical analysis methods.
Findings
The paper provides further evidence that exposure to the “sweet” or “sour” musical pieces influences people’s food-related thinking processes and behaviors. It also demonstrates that sweet or sour elements in the music may reflect to actual sweetness (as measured by sugar content) and sourness (as measured by organic acid content) of foods developed in association with music carrying similar taste characteristics.
Research limitations/implications
The findings should be replicated and expanded using larger consumer samples and wider repertoires of “taste music” and dependent variables. Also, the level of experimental control should be improved; e.g., the “sweet” and “sour” music were produced using different instruments, which may have an influence to the results.
Practical implications
Ambient “taste music” that is congruent with the basic flavors of the dishes can be played in restaurants to highlight guests’ sensory experience.
Social implications
By carefully considering the symbolic meanings of the music used in different social situations, it is possible to create multimodal experiences and even subconscious expectations in people’ minds.
Originality/value
Cross-modal associations are made between the tastes and music. This can influence on perception of food and provide new ways to build multimodal gastronomic experiences.
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Linzi Wang, Qiudan Li, Jingjun David Xu and Minjie Yuan
Mining user-concerned actionable and interpretable hot topics will help management departments fully grasp the latest events and make timely decisions. Existing topic models…
Abstract
Purpose
Mining user-concerned actionable and interpretable hot topics will help management departments fully grasp the latest events and make timely decisions. Existing topic models primarily integrate word embedding and matrix decomposition, which only generates keyword-based hot topics with weak interpretability, making it difficult to meet the specific needs of users. Mining phrase-based hot topics with syntactic dependency structure have been proven to model structure information effectively. A key challenge lies in the effective integration of the above information into the hot topic mining process.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper proposes the nonnegative matrix factorization (NMF)-based hot topic mining method, semantics syntax-assisted hot topic model (SSAHM), which combines semantic association and syntactic dependency structure. First, a semantic–syntactic component association matrix is constructed. Then, the matrix is used as a constraint condition to be incorporated into the block coordinate descent (BCD)-based matrix decomposition process. Finally, a hot topic information-driven phrase extraction algorithm is applied to describe hot topics.
Findings
The efficacy of the developed model is demonstrated on two real-world datasets, and the effects of dependency structure information on different topics are compared. The qualitative examples further explain the application of the method in real scenarios.
Originality/value
Most prior research focuses on keyword-based hot topics. Thus, the literature is advanced by mining phrase-based hot topics with syntactic dependency structure, which can effectively analyze the semantics. The development of syntactic dependency structure considering the combination of word order and part-of-speech (POS) is a step forward as word order, and POS are only separately utilized in the prior literature. Ignoring this synergy may miss important information, such as grammatical structure coherence and logical relations between syntactic components.
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The age‐old question of “what's in a name?” is analysed from a marketing standpoint. The author studies the manifold effects of different names upon us, in a general context, and…
Abstract
The age‐old question of “what's in a name?” is analysed from a marketing standpoint. The author studies the manifold effects of different names upon us, in a general context, and isolates two opposing principle's for evaluating brand nomenclature: the Juliet principle, in which a name is justified by its traditional associations; and the Joyce principle, where names depend on their phonetic symbolism to communicate an idea. Certain groups of letters have been shown, by experiment, to possess qualities of “darkness” or “lightness”, “largeness” or “smallness”, etc., to a concensus of people. A word can also have a symbolic function arising from the associations it produces in the minds of consumers. The author proceeds from these suggestions to evolve guidelines for those engaged in the creation of new brand names. He discusses the evaluation of not only “traditional” names, but also apparently meaningless names like “Omo” or “Kleenex”, and shows how certain names work, or might be expected to work, in the market situation. The name is the one unchangeable part of the marketing mix. This psycholinguistic approach helps to put the question of the “naming of brands” into perspective, giving criteria for a “good” name, and elucidating the stages of arriving at it. Finally, the author points out that wholeness of approach is necessary —the felicity of the name chosen will be conditioned by the depth of involvement of relevant personnel concerned with the new product.
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Valentina Mazzoli, Laura Grazzini, Raffaele Donvito and Gaetano Aiello
This paper aims to provide scholars and practitioners with an innovative method of analyzing luxury brand associations in social media (i.e. Twitter). To do so, authors…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to provide scholars and practitioners with an innovative method of analyzing luxury brand associations in social media (i.e. Twitter). To do so, authors investigated the alignment between luxury brand identity and luxury brand image in online communication, taking into consideration firm- and user-generated content (UGC) in the form of bloggers’ contents. This paper introduces new tools that luxury brand managers could use to manage and adapt the way they communicate and interact with their customers.
Design/methodology/approach
The study adopts a qualitative approach based on a content analysis of Twitter posts of six luxury fashion brands (1,334 posts) and the related Twitter electronic word-of-mouth of fashion bloggers (329 tweets).
Findings
The results show a match between luxury brand identity and luxury brand image on Twitter. Specifically, the findings indicate that both brands and bloggers stress the same dimensions of luxury (aesthetic, desirable, symbolic, restricted accessibility and hedonistic experience) confirming that the ways they communicate luxury brands to consumers are aligned. Moreover, the results suggest that luxury brands could reinforce their brand value by making more use of words that are semantically related to luxury.
Originality/value
This study approaches the relationship between social media and luxury brands in a novel way and provides scholars and managers with a tool for monitoring the gap between desired and perceived brand associations.
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Ou Wang, Xavier Gellynck and Wim Verbeke
The purpose of this paper is to explore Chinese consumers’ perceptions in relation to both Chinese traditional and European food.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore Chinese consumers’ perceptions in relation to both Chinese traditional and European food.
Design/methodology/approach
A web-based free word association test was administered to 302 consumers in China. They were asked to give the first three words that came into their minds when they were presented with each of two stimulus words, “traditional food” and “European food”. Three researchers grouped the elicited words into classes and then into dimensions. χ2 association tests were used to assess and identify statistically significant differences in the frequencies of classes and dimensions for the two food concepts between socio-demographic groups.
Findings
The findings show that Chinese consumers define Chinese traditional food and European food through ten similar dimensions: Sensory appeal, Health, Origin, Marketing, Safety, Variety, Heritage, Symbolic meaning, Simplicity and Mood. Additionally, they associate Chinese traditional food with the dimensions Elaboration, Celebration and Habit, as well as link European food to the dimensions Convenience and New. Although ten dimensions are the same, obvious differences can be identified by comparing the classes for the two food concepts. Further, there are significant differences in the class associations for European food between age groups and in the dimension associations for Chinese traditional food between gender groups.
Originality/value
By using an online qualitative research method, this study is one of the first to address how Chinese consumers define both European food and their own traditional food in China, the largest East Asian country. The findings are particularly useful for the future development of traditional food products and for the future export of European food products onto China and even other countries in East Asia.
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Duarte Xara-Brasil, Kavita Miadaira Hamza and Percy Marquina
The purpose of this paper is to analyze customers’ perceptions about brand personality in different cultural environments, checking if the archetypal framework of Mark and Pearson…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyze customers’ perceptions about brand personality in different cultural environments, checking if the archetypal framework of Mark and Pearson (2001) applies to different brands across countries.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors measured consumers’ perceptions in different cultural contexts through a survey, and received 537 valid questionnaires from Portugal, Brazil, Colombia and Peru, countries that have some similar indicators of cultural proximity. The authors wanted to verify if the words and sentences that respondents related to each brand were coherent with the archetype/brand, and the homogeneity of the results in different cultural contexts.
Findings
Empirical evidence shows that there is proximity between the literature review and the associations – words and sentences – that consumers from different countries make with those brands. This consistency of results is significantly higher for word associations.
Originality/value
Regardless of the results, the perceptions of consumers expressed through the selected words were often diverse and heterogeneous among countries. This could possibly indicate insufficient efforts from global brands toward a coherent brand personality/global-archetypal approach. Therefore, managing brand personality deserves more attention and marketers must understand consumer behavior patterns in different markets.
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Christiano França da Cunha, Maurilio Barbosa de Oliveira da Silva and Thelma Lucchese Cheung
Edible insects are increasingly recognized as great food resources of the future. Entomophagy, the practice of eating insects, has a predicted market by 2030 of nearly $8 billion…
Abstract
Purpose
Edible insects are increasingly recognized as great food resources of the future. Entomophagy, the practice of eating insects, has a predicted market by 2030 of nearly $8 billion. But this market could grow even more with the acceptance of insects as food by Western consumers, as an alternative to conventional protein sources. In this context, the authors aim to collect and analyze information about consumers' perception of insects as food in Brazil, through the word association task.
Design/methodology/approach
In total, 751 participants agreed to complete the word association task in relation to entomophagy through an online questionnaire. They had to write down the first five words or terms that came to their minds when they thought of eating insects.
Findings
Individual mentions were categorized according to their similarities and/or proximity. Based on this grouping the authors identified six dimensions, with emphasis on “hedonic attitudes and feelings”, “cultural aspects” and “exotic”. The study concludes that Brazilians see insect consumption as belonging to another culture, not Western.
Originality/value
Few studies have explored the association of words in relation to entomophagy, especially in Brazil. This article aims to fill this gap, using this methodology applied to the Brazilian public.
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