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1 – 10 of over 104000Virginia Minogue, Jean Boness, Ann Brown and John Girdlestone
There are many examples of consumer involvement in NHS research but few studies have examined the impact of this on service development or the research process. This study…
Abstract
Purpose
There are many examples of consumer involvement in NHS research but few studies have examined the impact of this on service development or the research process. This study, involving service user and carer researchers working alongside professional researchers, aimed to examine the development of one service user and carer research group in a mental health Trust.
Dersign/methodology/approach
The research involved a review of existing literature on consumer involvement in research, a review of user involvement in research in South West Yorkshire Mental Health NHS Trust, a survey of consumers and NHS staff in the Trust, and a skills audit and training needs analysis of consumers.
Findings
The study identified the range and extent of consumer involvement and the impact of this on consumers and the Trust. Service users and carers were involved in a range of projects, mainly on the level of consultation or collaboration. The benefits for consumers were principally on a personal level and included gaining knowledge and experience, improved sense of well‐being, self esteem, and confidence. The benefit for the Trust was in having a service user perspective and focus. However, there is a tendency to omit service users from planning and setting priorities.
Practical implications
The study pointed to the need to build the evidence base on consumer involvement in research, particularly in terms of how consumers can impact on setting research priorities and selecting appropriate methods. It identifies the need for more training for consumers and for NHS staff and for a more coherent strategy.
Originality/value
This article will be of value to anyone who is at the start or in the early stages of their journey of consumer involvement. It identifies some of the practical issues faced by consumers and staff in working collaboratively, but also points to the benefits for all the stakeholders.
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Examines the need to carryout international consumer research, the importance of first hand, experience of consumer behaviour in foreign markets, and the design of consumer…
Abstract
Examines the need to carryout international consumer research, the importance of first hand, experience of consumer behaviour in foreign markets, and the design of consumer research studies. Suggests that the nature of international consumer behaviour and the requirements for international marketing decisions requires two components understanding of behavioural science in relation to consumer behaviour; and knowledge of modern marketing research techniques, their assumptions, limitations and advantages. Proposes that correct usage of these components will advance the quality and utility of consumer research.
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Avers that consumer research has been criticized for its preoccupation with empirical issues (Ryan, 1986) and its neglect of the experiential perspective of consumers as…
Abstract
Avers that consumer research has been criticized for its preoccupation with empirical issues (Ryan, 1986) and its neglect of the experiential perspective of consumers as individuals (Belk, 1984; Fennell, 1985). Additionally, alleges that consumer research has been traditionally subject to gender bias (e.g. Bristor and Fischer, 1993) and that dominant ideologies have been masculine in nature (Hirschman, 1993). Reviews developments in consumer research in the light of current thinking and explores ontological and methodological issues in the study of consumer behaviour. Develops a feminist framework which goes beyond the rejection of positivist approaches towards a holistic, experiential understanding of consumer behaviour.
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The purpose of this study is to conceptually integrate business to consumer (B2C) into business to business (B2B), with a holistic consumer-centric, technology-reinforced…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to conceptually integrate business to consumer (B2C) into business to business (B2B), with a holistic consumer-centric, technology-reinforced, long-term vision for tourism industries and companies to survive and succeed in the era of new technologies 4.0. The research suggests that the tourism-marketing-new technologies decision-making involves customers as the center of the design and decision process.
Design/methodology/approach
The research design includes a qualitative study with 94 in-depth interviews, a literature analysis and a conceptual proposition. The qualitative study follows the tourism consumer desire data analysis, from categorization to integration. The literature analysis applies a systematic literature review approach based on the 29 most up-to-date new-tech papers from peer-reviewed journals. The analysis compares qualitative research findings and literature analysis results and matches the new technology applications with consumer desire understanding. The conceptual framework of tourism marketing/advertising is proposed based on qualitative research and literature analysis.
Findings
The qualitative research deciphers that consumers, based on their imagination and memorization, desire therapy and sceneries and connect such desires to the empathetic and resonating advertising messages. The literature analysis synthesizes the new tech applications in tourism and matches the qualitative research findings with the deciphered desires in tourism. The conceptual model proposes that B2C should be integrated into B2B to provide value for both consumers and businesses and opens avenues of research on this topic.
Research limitations/implications
This research has made the following theoretical contributions: it offers an in-depth understanding of consumer desire, often hidden or subconscious, in the field of tourism. Consumer desires regarding tourism are mostly subconscious and exist long before consumers are exposed to advertising messages. These desires reflect the search for therapy and sceneries and become “embodied” – they exist on multisensorial levels and become part of the body and life and will lead consumers into positive perceptions when marketing communications/advertisements resonate with them. In the latter case, they will subjectively judge advertising as “good,” regardless of the advertising design quality. The research also connects consumer research with a new technologies research review and proposes a conceptual framework to integrate business to consumer (B2C) with business to business (B2B). As such, the research makes theoretical contributions to the integration or the “boundary blurring” between B2C and B2B research and practical suggestions that involved industries and consumers may all benefit from such integration. Conceptually, there is a lack of discussions of the pitfalls of new technologies, a dearth of empirical verification of the applications of new technologies in the proposed fields and a shortage of discussions about ethical issues. Qualitative methods, offering an efficient tool for understanding consumer desires in the tourism industry, have their own limits, as discussed in previous research. The sample is limited to the state of New York population and may be influenced by geographic, demographic and psychological characteristics related to the region.
Practical implications
This research provides advertising practitioners, new technology innovators and tourism industries with a framework to face the combined challenges of understanding hidden consumer desires and applying adequate technologies that resonate with consumer desires to tackle relevant issues. The conceptual proposition of this research fills the gap between qualitative consumer research without concrete practical resolution and new technologies applications without in-depth consumer understanding. Through the conceptual framework, the author provides insights into how industries may benefit from consumer understanding. The business relationships among the industries of marketing, tourism and new technologies should be centered around consumers. Thus, B2C and B2B should be naturally integrated into business practices.
Social implications
Social implications of this research include three major points: first, the understanding of consumer desire for therapeutic power in tourism, which invites more attention to tourism as part of social well-being design instead of a purely for-profit business. Second, a profound comprehension of what consumers need and desire, without which the applications of new technologies may cause severe societal problems. Third, a way to tailor to consumers’ individuality and desires for advertising/marketing that may be considered abusive, stressful and socially destructive if applied in a nonpersonal manner.
Originality/value
Conceptually, this research adds consumer desire, an originally B2C concept, to the B2B context regarding the new technology applications in tourism marketing/advertising. It contributes to the B2B literature by proposing a strong consumer-centric approach, especially the consumer desire understanding, that is not yet investigated in the B2B literature; and a combination of empirical study and literature analysis and the matching of the two for better practice of advertising/marketing, tourism and new technologies applications.
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Wolfgang J. Weitzl, Clemens Hutzinger and Udo Wagner
The study of shame has a long tradition in intra- and inter-personal psychology. This paper aims to investigate whether consumers can experience brand shame after self-relevant…
Abstract
Purpose
The study of shame has a long tradition in intra- and inter-personal psychology. This paper aims to investigate whether consumers can experience brand shame after self-relevant consumption incidents. Specifically, this research proposes that consumers follow a complex shame-inducing process in the aftermath of unpleasant experiences involving their favorite brand. The moderating role of relational tie strength between consumers and their favorite brand existing prior to symbolic failures is examined.
Design/methodology/approach
A scenario-based, online survey (n = 660) among consumers who have recently experienced a self-relevant failure with their favorite brand was conducted. Confirmatory factor analysis ensured the reliability and validity of the measurement model. For testing the conceptual model, data was analyzed by means of a moderated mediation analysis. The proposed model was tested against, among others, common method bias and alternative models. The findings were cross-validated with a scenario-based online experiment (n = 1,616).
Findings
Results show that brand shame is a key mediator between customer dissatisfaction and brand anger when self-relevant, symbolic failures happen. Moreover, strong consumer-brand identification triggers brand-detrimental effects. It is shown to influence the connection between consumers’ inward- (i.e. brand shame) and resulting outward-directed (i.e. brand anger) negative emotions on brands, which lead to consumer vengeance.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this research is the first to introduce the concept of situational brand shame to the literature on favorite brands. Furthermore, it shows that consumer-brand identification moderates the direct and indirect (via brand shame) unfavorable effects of failure-induced dissatisfaction on brand anger. This research adds insights to the investigation of the “love-becomes-hate” effect arising after self-relevant failures involving consumers’ most preferred brand.
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Michael A Jones, Kristy E Reynolds, Mark J Arnold, Colin B Gabler, Stephanie T Gillison and Vincent Myles Landers
The purpose of this study is to explore consumers’ overall attitude toward relationship marketing and to determine the influence of consumers’ overall attitude on consumers’…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to explore consumers’ overall attitude toward relationship marketing and to determine the influence of consumers’ overall attitude on consumers’ intentions and behaviors. Many services companies practice relationship marketing and customer relationship management. Although the benefits and drawbacks of relationship marketing for consumers have been established, little is known about whether consumers have a relatively positive or negative attitude toward relationship marketing practices.
Design/methodology/approach
This research investigates consumers’ attitudes toward relationship marketing using a national survey of 245 consumers and a survey of 417 consumers living in the southern region of the USA.
Findings
Although approximately 70 per cent of our national consumer sample had a somewhat positive attitude toward relationship marketing, about 30 per cent had a somewhat negative or neutral attitude. Furthermore, approximately 39 per cent of consumers in the study would choose a company that does not engage in relationship marketing over a company that does. The results also indicate that consumers’ overall attitude toward relationship marketing impacts their likelihood to respond favorably to specific relationship marketing tactics.
Research limitations/implications
Some limitations should be noted. First and not uncommon to most survey research in marketing, the relationships between constructs in this study may be inflated because of common methods bias. Second, this research reports the results from two studies. Although one of the studies represents a national sample, additional research using the scales developed in this research is needed.
Practical implications
This research indicates that consumers’ attitudes toward relationship marketing impacts their willingness to engage in relationships with service companies and their response to specific relationship marketing tactics. Because consumer attitudes toward relationship marketing vary, companies should consider segmenting their customer base using this information.
Originality/value
This study extends previous research by using quantitative techniques to measure consumers’ overall attitudes toward relationship marketing and assessing the influence of those attitudes on intentions and behaviors.
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Christian Boris Brunner, Sebastian Ullrich, Patrik Jungen and Franz-Rudolf Esch
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of symbolic product information (symbolic product design) on consumers’ perceived brand evaluations. In an experimental…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of symbolic product information (symbolic product design) on consumers’ perceived brand evaluations. In an experimental setting, the authors consider as key factors the congruence between symbolic product design and product category, the level of product involvement as well as brand strength.
Design/methodology/approach
In an experiment of 490 participants, consumers are confronted to different symbolic product designs connotations. Based on the cognitive process model “SARA” (selective activation, reconstruction and anchoring), the authors examined how symbolic product design associations are used as heuristics in the working memory when making brand judgement.
Findings
The results show that product design associations are used in consumers’ information processing as anchor for brand evaluations. This effect is stronger if symbolic design associations are incongruent to the product category because of consumers’ deeper elaboration process. Furthermore, the impact of symbolic product design is higher for weak compared to strong brands.
Research limitations/implications
This research supports the cognitive process model “SARA” being an appropriate foundation explaining the effects of symbolic product design. Further research should extend this experiment, using a field study in a more realistic setting and/or a choice situation between different alternative product designs at the point of sale. Furthermore, the consumers’ elaboration process should be manipulated differently, e.g. in a mental load condition.
Practical implications
Symbolic product design is important to enhance brand association networks in the consumers’ mind, particularly if the brand is weak. Marketers should use incongruent symbolic product information to differentiate from competitors who use “stereotype” product designs.
Originality/value
Research about product design in the marketing discipline is still limited. The authors analyse the impact of symbolic product design on brand evaluations in an experimental setting of 490 respondents in four product categories. The findings support that consumers use product design as heuristics to evaluate brands.
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Consumers' ethical shopping habits are of increasing interest, but there has been little discussion and development of the methods used to research them. The purpose of this paper…
Abstract
Purpose
Consumers' ethical shopping habits are of increasing interest, but there has been little discussion and development of the methods used to research them. The purpose of this paper is to reflect on the methodology employed for an empirical study of consumers' ethical concerns in buying clothes.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper adopts an interpretivist epistemology and interactive approach with the data collection and analysis rooted in grounded theory. More specifically, the study takes an ethnographic approach in the form of existential‐phenomenological interviews coupled with accompanied shopping.
Findings
The paper reflects on the use of observational methods in researching the role of ethics in consumer clothing choices and finds that they are invaluable in dealing with the challenges of defining ethics, social desirability bias and the problems involved with consumers translating their stated beliefs or intentions into action.
Research limitations/implications
As a pilot study, the research is only conducted with six respondents. Future research should seek to investigate ways to overcome the challenges outlined in this paper; particularly that of social desirability bias.
Practical implications
There is a need for academics and marketing researchers to adopt innovative observational research methods to investigate ethical consumer behaviour.
Originality/value
Provides a reflection on a unique, emergent approach to researching ethical consumer behaviour. The findings of the research will be of value to anyone researching consumer ethics or buyer behaviour in retail, grounded theorists or those interested in qualitative interactive research techniques.
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The purpose of this study is to present a taxonomical classification of literature on consumer perspectives toward corporate social responsibility (CSR) along with a comprehensive…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to present a taxonomical classification of literature on consumer perspectives toward corporate social responsibility (CSR) along with a comprehensive bibliography and future research agenda.
Design/methodology/approach
A range of online database was searched to collect research papers from various journals. Hundred articles were identified from the source of 61 journals that have been reviewed thoroughly. The papers were classified under different categories.
Findings
The results show that most of the studies in this context have been conducted in developed countries, and there is a dearth of studies that have been done in a developing economy. This study reveals a growth pattern of research during the time studied and has identified major gaps in the existing literature, and they may be exploited for further research.
Research limitations/implications
This study is limited to full-text articles in English that are available in the selected database. The findings are generalized only to the specific population of selected databases for a given time period. This paper will be useful for academicians to analyze the current nature of academic research in this area and will provide an added advantage to managers for understanding the impact of CSR activities on consumer behavior.
Originality/value
This is the first academic literature review on consumer perspectives toward CSR, and it provides a bibliography of academic literature from 1997 to 2013, covering 61 journals.
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Aimee Riedel, Dana Messenger, David Fleischman and Rory Mulcahy
The purpose of this paper is to provide a state-of-the-art review of research on consumers experiencing vulnerability to describe the current situation of the consumers…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide a state-of-the-art review of research on consumers experiencing vulnerability to describe the current situation of the consumers experiencing vulnerability literature and develop an up-to-date synthesised definition of consumers experiencing vulnerability.
Design/methodology/approach
This systematic review, guided by the PRISMA framework, takes a multi-disciplinary approach to identify 310 articles published between 2010 and 2019 examining consumers experiencing vulnerability. Descriptive analysis of the data is undertaken in combination with a thematic and text mining approach using Leximancer software.
Findings
A definition of consumers experiencing vulnerability is developed- “unique and subjective experiences where characteristics such as states, conditions and/or external factors lead to a consumer experiencing a sense of powerlessness in consumption settings”. The findings reveal consumers experiencing vulnerability have often been classified using a uni-dimensional approach (opposed to a multi-dimensional), focussing on one factor of vulnerability, the most prevalent of these being economic and age factors. A lack of research has examined consumers experiencing vulnerability based upon geographical remoteness, gender and sexual exploitation.
Originality/value
This paper is one of the first to examine consumers experiencing vulnerability using a systematic approach and text mining analysis to synthesise a large set of articles, which subsequently reduces the potential for researchers’ interpretative bias. Further, it is the first to generate a data-driven definition of consumers experiencing vulnerability. It provides targeted recommendations to allow further scholarly, policy and practical contributions to this area.
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