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Purpose: This paper aims to investigate the interrelated role of relational commitment and dependence as drivers of key performance outcomes. Specifically, the authors provide a conceptual model of the impact of commitment on relationship value dependence and switching cost dependence. The authors further investigate how these dimensions of dependence offer differing noneconomic and economic paths to strategic and financial performance. Design/methodology/approach: Survey data was collected from 296 purchasing agents across multiple industries located in the USA. The conceptual model and accompanying hypotheses were tested via partial least squares structural equation modeling. Findings: The results show that the relational path is driven by affective and normative commitment, which are related to relationship value dependence. Conversely, calculative commitment is related to switching cost dependence. This economic path is related to both strategic and financial performance, whereas the relational path is more closely related to strategic as opposed to financial performance outcomes. Research limitations/implications: This study extends research on Business-To-Business (B2B) relationships by leveraging social exchange theory to examine the interrelated roles played by two forms of dependence on performance outcomes. Thus, the authors answer Scheer et al.'s (2015) call for research into the two distinct types of dependence – relationship value and switching cost dependence – and their roles in determining B2B relationship outcomes. The findings contribute to the literature by integrating social exchange and relationship marketing concepts to develop a dual pathway approach to B2B partnerships. Practical implications: The results suggest that dependence is not necessarily negative for firms. Specifically, buyers can and do still exhibit positive performance, both strategic and financial, in relationships with suppliers even when dependent on the relationship. Regardless of whether buyers are dependent due to a relationship or economic factors, both can, in different ways, lead to positive strategic and financial outcomes. Together, the authors contribute to the understanding of B2B partnerships by offering guidelines for both buyers and suppliers in the dyad. Originality/value: The authors derive a comprehensive model depicting primarily relational and economic paths to performance through different types of commitment and dependence. The authors contribute to the literature by demonstrating that relational and economic paths to success are not the same, highlighting how firms could influence performance even when the relationship is not necessarily characterized by generally positive relational benefits and behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose This research advances current knowledge about art infusion, which is the ability of art to favorably influence the assessment of consumer products. In particular, the research aims to investigate the effectiveness of artworks that evoke their creators’ most recognizable style in luxury advertising.Design/methodology/approach The research encompasses three studies – two conducted online and one in a real consumption situation. The first study explores the effect that a recognizable vs non-recognizable painter’s style has on consumers’ judgments about luxury products. The second and third studies explore the moderating roles of desire to signal status and desire for distinction, respectively, which are relevant to advertisers interested in targeting these individual differences.Findings Advertisements that incorporate artworks that evoke a painter’s most recognizable style enhance the advertised products’ perceived luxuriousness. Consumers with a higher desire to signal status exhibit greater purchasing intention in response to recognizable artworks. By contrast, consumers with a higher desire for distinction exhibit greater purchasing intention when the painter’s style in the featured artwork is less recognizable.Practical implications The results provide marketers with suggestions on how to select and incorporate visual artworks into luxury brand communication: they could focus on recognizable vs non-recognizable artworks based on whether their main goal is to communicate status or distinctiveness.Originality/value This research offers novel insights into the practical value of art infusion by showing when and for whom the beneficial effects of pairing art with luxury products are more likely to occur. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose This study aims to distinguish two regret conditions, other-blame regret (O-regret) and self-blame regret (S-regret), and investigate the underlying mechanism and boundary conditions of the relationship between regret and negative word of mouth (NWOM).Design/methodology/approach Four experiments and one survey study test hypotheses regarding how O-regret and S-regret influence NWOM through mediating mechanism of anger and sadness and how the impact of regret on NWOM is moderated by boundary conditions.Findings The results show that consumers who experience O-regret transmit more NWOM than those who experience S-regret. Anger is a dominant emotion when consumers experience O-regret and mediates the impact of regret on NWOM, and sadness is a dominant emotion when consumers experience S-regret and mediates the impact of regret on NWOM. In addition, purchased price (full vs discount price), regret context (private vs public context) and return policy (strict vs lenient policy) are found to moderate the effect of regret on NWOM.Research limitations/implications This study was conducted in China, which has a unique business environment that may differ from other countries. Therefore, this research opens a new avenue to further examine such a phenomenon in countries where a more lenient return policy is a standard business practice. Cross-nation studies comparing how different return policies and other business environment conditions are warranted in future research.Practical implications The study provides several insights for marketers considering the management of NWOM by understanding consumer O-regret and S-regret in either online or offline retailing situations.Originality/value This paper contributes to the extant literature by distinguishing different outcome regrets. The theoretical conceptualization and empirical findings shed further lights on the relationship between regret and other negative emotions and how O-regret and S-regret lead to different impacts on NWOM through different paths of mediation mechanism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose This study aims to investigate how a firm’s uncertainty avoidance – as indicated by the headquarters’ national culture – impacts firm performance by affecting exploratory (product innovation) and exploitative (brand trademark protection) activities. It aims to show that firms characterized by high levels of uncertainty avoidance may be less competitive in the exploratory product development stage, but may be more competitive in the exploitative commercialization stage by producing more durable brands.Design/methodology/approach The study uses data from US Software Security Industry (SSI) trademarks, registered by firms from 11 countries during 1993–2000, that provide 2,911 trademarks and a panel of 18,213 observations. It uses the SSI database to identify the number of product innovations introduced by firms.Findings Results show that uncertainty avoidance lowers the rate of product innovation, but helps firms to appropriate more value by greater protection of their brands. Uncertainty avoidance thus creates an exploration–exploitation trade-off.Practical implications This study provides useful insights for managers regarding where to locate a firm’s front-end development (product innovation) activities and commercialization (brand trademarking protection) activities.Originality/value This is the first study to demonstrate the influence of a cultural trait on both explorative and exploitative stages simultaneously. As a methodological contribution, it shows how objective, longitudinal brand trademark data can be used to analyze the long-term impact of marketing activities on firm performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to raise awareness of the mobilities paradigm by exploring the role of tourist mobilities in destination marketing. This is important as studies that explore the impact of modes of transport on the development of destinations, or compare the transportation experience with the destination experience are lacking.Design/methodology/approach The study uses the context of the Jacobite steam train, which runs in the Scottish Highlands. It draws on multiple qualitative methods including participant observation, interviews and netnography.Findings The study explores the spatial, temporal and social mobilities associated with the journey and the destination, reveals how a rail journey becomes a “destination-in-motion” and, in turn, transforms what might otherwise be a neglected destination.Practical implications The study demonstrates how modes of transport that offer rich embodied experiences to visitors can present an important differentiation strategy and become core to a destination’s product and service portfolio.Originality/value By approaching destination marketing from a mobilities perspective, this paper recognises the significance of human and objects mobility to tourist experiences and offers a new perspective to existing research which biases a geographically bounded understanding of destinations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose This study aims to examine whether companies’ donations to political parties can impact product experience, specifically taste.Design/methodology/approach Research design consists of four studies; three online, one in person. Participants were shown a cookie (Studies 1-3) or cereal (Study 4) and told that the producing company donated to either the Republican Party or the Democratic Party (Studies 1-3) or an unspecified party (Study 4).Findings Participants rated food products as less tasty if told they came from a company that donated to a party they object to. These effects were shown to be mediated by moral disgust (Study 3). Effects were restricted to taste and willingness to buy (Study 4), with no effects on other positive product dimensions.Research limitations/implications The studies provide a first piece of evidence that political donations by companies can negatively impact product experience. This can translate to purchase decisions through an emotional, rather than calculated, route.Practical implications Companies should be careful about making donations some of their consumers may find objectionable. This might impact both purchase and consumption decisions, as well as post-consumption word-of-mouth.Originality/value Companies’ political involvement can negatively impact subjective product experience, even though such information has no bearing on product quality. The current findings demonstrate that alterations in subjective product quality may underlie alterations in consumer decision-making because of ideologically tinged information, and reveals moral disgust as the mechanism underlying these effects. In this, it provides a first demonstration that even mild ideological information that is not globally bad or inherently immoral can generate moral disgust, and that such effects depend on consumers’ own attitudes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose The aim of this paper is to consider place as a value proposition, in the context of Resource-Advantage Theory, by analysing the concept of terroir, including its antecedents and consequences.Design/methodology/approach The authors conceptually analyse the role of place in marketing by contrasting terroir to three other approaches: “in the style of […]”; “made in […]” and Protected Designations of Origin. They explore the impact of terroir on a range of products, offering a series of terroir value propositions.Findings Versus other place links, terroir offers a more specific Resource-Advantage, operating at environmental, philosophical and commercial levels. It offers a unique form of value to both consumers (e.g. identity, authenticity, cultural rootedness) and producers (e.g. irreproducibility, potential legal protection).Research limitations/implications Propositions address the antecedents and consequences of the terroir designation, the impact of consumer engagement, perceived authenticity and the added value offered to other regional goods. Additionally, how terroir may form a barrier to market entry, the relationship it has with the territorial brand, whether it offers greater product longevity and how it can be used as leverage for other related place-based brands and tourism are examined.Originality/value This is the first paper to address terroir as a marketing concept and to situate it within other forms of place marketing. It provides a definition, outlines the ways in which terroir creates value and provides a research agenda for future engagement with the concept. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to benchmark the progress of integrated marketing communication (IMC) education, by replicating and extending a study on IMC education by Kerr (2009). It documents progress, examines the impact of digital disruption and concludes with an agenda for change.Design/methodology/approach Using the Delphi technique, this study recruited leading IMC educators and thought leaders internationally to find consensus on an important range of IMC issues, including its place within the university, the IMC brand, curriculum, impact on practice, the incorporation of digital and future challenges.Findings IMC has strengthened its place within the university and also within the minds and understanding of academics, students and industry. Digital disruption provides many challenges including updating curriculum and up skilling staff. It is vital, however, that IMC thinking be positioned as the integrator and digital as the facilitator, providing platforms to actualise IMC strategy such as content, customer service and cross-functional planning.Practical implications This study shows what IMC education has achieved since Kerr’s (2009) study. Further, it outlines what needs to be achieved in the future by providing a “To do” list for IMC educators.Originality/value It is vital that the development and progress of this important new area of study is tracked to ensure industry challenges are met, such as digital disruption, and the right education for IMC managers of the future is provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose Drawing on the resource-based view, this paper aims to investigate how a firm’s integrated marketing communication (IMC) as a capability is influenced by the organisational antecedents of learning orientation (LO), market orientation (MO) and brand orientation (BO). Further, the research examines how an IMC capability influences brand performance and whether these relationships are influenced by brand size.Design/methodology/approach Based on survey data from 187 managers responsible for brand communications, this paper applies structural equation modelling using SmartPLS3 to assess hypothesised relationships.Findings IMC capability is directly influenced by BO but not by MO and LO; these have important indirect effects. Size does not moderate key relationships but directly affects IMC capability.Research limitations/implications Organisational antecedents play an important role in shaping IMC capability and ultimately brand performance. Future researchers should consider a larger sample of brands and firms, IMC capability building in small firms and longitudinal design to evaluate the effects of IMC capability.Practical implications BO is nested in and complementary to learning and MO, and thus cannot stand alone. Developing an IMC capability is critical for translating the benefits of organisational orientations into performance outcomes. IMC capability links MO and BO to firm performance. Appropriate resourcing is critical for success, as it has implications for developing other resources and capabilities.Originality/value This study empirically establishes for the first time a relationship between critical organisational antecedents of LO, MO and BO, their influence on IMC capability and subsequently on brand performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore how community involvement can support the authors who are guided by the following research questions: how do community residents contribute to heritage marketing strategies that represent their local area? How does community involvement in heritage marketing encourage place identification? How can organisations facilitate community participation in heritage marketing?Design/methodology/approach The authors draw on an ethnographic study of the adopted railway stations in Scotland. They use in-depth interviews and participant observation alongside visual and archival data.Findings The authors present and discuss three themes: community involvement in heritage activities, community heritage marketing and place identification, facilitating community participation through Adopt a Station.Research limitations/implications Initiatives that empower residents should be prioritised to capitalise on their latent knowledge, skills and expertise. The authors suggest that bringing heritage outside the museum space into key places used by local residents will support the increased accessibility of heritage.Originality/value While there are often strong arguments in favour of local community involvement in place marketing, it is much less common to find successful reports of this working in practice. Research either questions the capabilities of local residents to make meaningful contributions or hints at a tokenistic form of involvement. The authors contribute by offering insights into successful heritage-based community activity. Unlike previous research which focuses on the economic impact of place marketing, this paper focuses on place identification for local residents. The authors also observe how offering a sense of ownership and freedom allows community management of the heritage message to flourish. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – This paper aims to contribute to the marketing literature and practice by examining the effect of product placements on the host brand. The declining effectiveness of traditional advertising has prompted increasing interest in strategies for placing products in media programming. Most existing research adopt the perspective of the brands embedded in media products, with limited attention to the impact that product placement has on the media product that serves as a host brand for the embedded brands. The authors investigate this effect in the context of motion pictures and develop a theory-driven conceptual model. Design/methodology/approach – The authors test their hypotheses with two experiments in which randomly assigned participants view one of seven versions of a custom-made, seven-minute short film that differ in their level of placement prominence. Findings – The results from a mediation analysis indicate that, after controlling for audiences’ general attitudes toward the embedded brand, greater placement prominence heightens consumers’ reactance to persuasion attempts and negatively affects their evaluations of the host brand. A post hoc experiment confirms that even very low levels of placement prominence can worsen host brand evaluations. Originality/value – This research is among the first to investigate the effects of product placement from a host brand perspective. It issues a warning to producers of entertainment content: a product placement strategy may generate additional earnings, but it also can lower audiences’ evaluations of the focal entertainment product. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to extend sponsorship literature by investigating the role of the fit construct and perceived sponsorship portfolio size for event sponsorship success. To analyze the sponsor–event fit in more detail, the authors draw on the network perspective and, as a consequence, split the sponsor–event fit into two constructs: the sponsor–artist fit construct and the sponsor–event organizer fit construct. Then, a model is developed and tested that examines the effect of these two constructs and perceived sponsorship portfolio size on sponsorship success. Design/methodology/approach – The model is tested with data from 330 visitors to two different concerts in Switzerland. Real events with non-student samples are examined. The data are tested using Mplus 6.0 structural equation modeling. Findings – Results report that the sponsor–artist fit, the sponsor–event organizer fit and perceived sponsorship portfolio size are important drivers of attitude toward the sponsor. Moreover, sponsorships that cause positive attitudes toward the sponsor are found to enhance willingness to pay a price premium and purchase intention. Practical implications – This paper reveals that it is important for sponsorship managers to correctly consider the fit construct and perceived sponsorship portfolio size for sponsorship success. Additionally, the tested model provides an instrument for measuring sponsorship effectiveness. Originality/value – The current paper reveals new results by investigating the impact of the sponsor–artist fit and the sponsor–event organizer fit on sponsorship success. Furthermore, the current research paper is the first to analyze the effects of a sponsorship portfolio which is not limited to one sponsorship category on sponsorship success. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – This paper aims to show the effect of brand equity, marketing investment and product differentiation on price in small and medium enterprises (SMEs), multinational companies (MNCs) and retailers (private labels). Academics have been researching brand equity, return on investment and effects of product differentiation for many years, but there has been little work that has taken a holistic view. Design/methodology/approach – The author studied an aggregate data set for 735 fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) brands, taken from Nielsen (10,282 households). Regression analysis was used in the first step, a cluster analysis in the second step of modeling procedure. Findings – The study suggests that brand equity, marketing investment and product differentiation are closely associated with price. Using a cluster analysis, the authors found that the premium price is significantly associated with product differentiation based on innovation and company type. Practical implications – The managerial implications of the models estimated by regression analysis are discussed as well as the results of the cluster analysis and possible research enhancements. Originality/value – The role of the value in brand performance output has not been investigated in the financial context, only in consumer or marketing mix context. Little is known about how price strategy depends on brand equity, product innovation activities or marketing investments intended to improve brand performance, neither how this strategy improves brand performance among different players in the market (retailers, SMEs and MNCs). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - This paper aims to examine how the motivation and ability of individual employees to sell influences their units' capability to align their service delivery with sales in a way that satisfies customers. It also addresses the potential influence of employees' confidence in their supervisor's ability to sell, such that they predict a joint influence of personal and proxy agency. Design/methodology/approach - This study uses hierarchical linear modeling to address the research issues. Findings - Employees' learning orientation has a positive influence on service-sales ambidexterity, but the impact of a performance-avoidance goal orientation is negative, and a performance-prove orientation has no influence. Proxy efficacy enhances the positive impact of learning orientations due to the manager's ability to lead by example, facilitate knowledge sharing and provide advice. However, it attenuates the impact of self-efficacy on service-sales ambidexterity, because skilled supervisors tend to take over and eliminate opportunities for employees to build their own skills. It also confirms the positive influence of service-sales ambidexterity on branch performance. Originality/value - To examine the emerging service-sales ambidexterity issues raised in frontline service units, this study adopts a motivation and capability paradigm. It is among the first studies to address service-sales ambidexterity issues by considering both individual and branch contextual factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to understand how small to medium-sized enterprise (SME) retailers adopt and implement a loyalty card programme as a marketing management decision-making tool. Design/methodology/approach - A qualitative and longitudinal case study research design is adopted. Data were collected from multiple sources, incorporating semi-structured interviews and analysis of company documents and observation within a retail SME. Findings - The findings presented focus on the loyalty card adoption process to reflect both the organisational issues and impact upon marketing management decision-making. Research limitations/implications - This research is restricted to one region within the UK, investigating loyalty card adoption within a specific industry sector. Practical implications - SME retailers operate in an industry environment whereby there is a competitive demand for loyalty card programmes. SME retailers need to carefully consider how to match the firm's characteristics with customer relationship management (CRM) operational requirements as highlighted in this case. Originality/value - The evidence presented extends current knowledge of retail loyalty card programmes beyond the context of large organisations to encompass SMEs. The study also illustrates the value of a structured, formal CRM system to help SME retailers compete in a complex, competitive and omni-channel marketplace, adding new insights into the retail literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to assess the effectiveness of field sponsorship through sponsor recall and recognition across two environments that differ on the degree of felt presence they trigger among viewers: on-site and television. A series of research hypotheses concerning the interaction effects of viewing environment, event - sponsor congruence and arousal intensity were developed. Design/methodology/approach - To test the effect of the viewing environment, a field experiment was conducted where 44 ice hockey fans attended a professional ice hockey game in the local team's arena, whereas 44 others saw the same game, at the same time, on television. The participants were randomly assigned to one of the two game viewing conditions. Findings - A higher level of arousal was detrimental to sponsor identification in a manner consistent with the intensity of the processing principle according to which arousal polarizes attention resources on the arousing stimulus (the event) while diverting resources away from the peripheral stimuli (the sponsors). In addition, because the event congruent sponsors are more superficially processed in comparison with the incongruent ones, this negative impact was more pronounced in the former group. This was qualified by a three-way interaction with the type of environment; the on-site, direct, audience was less affected by the processing intensity principle and exhibited better recall and recognition than the television audience as arousal and congruency increased, whereas, at lower levels of arousal, higher event - sponsor congruence hampered on-site sponsor identification in comparison with television. Research limitations/implications - The findings were obtained in the context of a single sports event; additional studies need to be conducted using different sports. In addition, the comparison of on-site audience with other types of media audiences (e.g. on-line broadcasting) is warranted. Practical implications - Arousal intensity results from the game's drama, which is a function of game importance and game outcome uncertainty. Hence, except for low-stakes games (e.g. pre-season matches, exhibitions), initiatives that promote a leveled playing field such as salary cap, financial fair play and open leagues are likely to jeopardize sponsor identification, particularly for congruent sponsors. With respect to the impact of the viewing environment, congruent sponsors should reap superior benefits from the television audience when the stakes are low. However, when the stakes are high, their benefits will accrue to a greater extent from on-site spectators. Originality/value - This is the first study to offer a rigorous comparison of sponsorship's impact on direct (on-site) versus indirect (television) audiences through a field experiment. This is also the first research to provide a framework based on the processing intensity principle that encompasses predictions related to arousal and its interaction with event - sponsor congruence and the viewing environment. Within this perspective, the degree of sponsor integration in the viewing environment is instrumental in predicting sponsorship outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to contribute knowledge regarding the nature of successful and unsuccessful value co-creation processes between firms and brand communities and the strategies used to address the latter. Design/methodology/approach - The paper draws on a netnographic study of the online collaborative platform known as Alfisti.com, which carmaker Alfa Romeo launched to enhance co-creation with its most devoted consumers, the "Alfisti". Findings - The findings identify three groups of collaborative practices: interacting, identity and organizing practices. The paper details how firm and brand community members enact the elements - procedures, understandings and engagements - of collaborative practices and how the alignment of these enactments impacts value co-creation. Research limitations/implications - The paper suggests that co-creation of value succeeds when the enactment of collaborative practices aligns, i.e. when firm and brand community members enact practices in a similar way, and that co-creation fails when the enactment of practices misaligns. Firms and brand communities use three realignment strategies - compliance, interpretation and orientation - to address the misalignment and failure of co-creation. The fact that the research draws on a single qualitative case study is a limitation. Practical implications - Managerial implications include using realignment strategies to manage firm-brand community co-creation. Originality/value - Creating an empirical-based framework regarding successful and failing co-creation and how the latter is addressed in the context of brand community makes the paper original. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of the chosen specific internationalization pathway on the relationship between internationalization and firm performance. Design/methodology/approach - This paper analyses the internationalization pathway among small- and medium-sized enterprises which internationalize through exporting and are more limited in terms of the resources they can leverage across markets. Findings - Empirical evidence obtained from a sample of wineries in La Rioja shows that the internationalization - export performance relationship is characterized by a U-shaped curve for firms with a gradual internationalization pathway, and an S-shaped curve for firms with an accelerated internationalization pathway. Research limitations/implications - This empirical study on the impact of export intensity on performance has acknowledged the importance of costs caused by the liability of foreignness and the transaction and coordination costs involved in each market expansion process. However, it has not examined the effect of differences in absorptive and coordination capabilities at the firm level. Practical implications - The findings about the role of the specific internationalization pathway in driving export intensity and performance appear to be relevant from a public-policy perspective. Local policies aimed at promoting exports have been widely based on the argument that firms can improve their performance through increasing their level of international sales. However, empirical evidence shows that these efforts may not work as well as was thought, unless combined with the right market expansion pathway and the optimal level of exports associated with this international market expansion. Social implications - Most studies on the effect of international market expansion on firm performance have not considered the influence of the specific market expansion pathway chosen. In taking this factor into account, this paper contributes to the existing body of work by developing an integrative theoretical framework that explores how the pathway of internationalization impacts on firms' performance. Originality/value - Most studies on the effect of international market expansion on firm performance have not considered the influence of the specific market expansion process chosen. In taking this factor into account, this paper contributes to the existing body of work by developing an integrative theoretical framework that explores how the process of international market expansion impacts on firms' performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to investigate the influence of organizational controls, both formal and informal, over the goal orientations of frontline employees. The goal orientations of employees, namely, in frontline settings, have been associated with a number of positive outcomes for organizations. Not surprisingly, past research has identified several personal characteristics with an influence on goal orientations. However, the contextual variables that influence employees' goal orientations remain unspecified. Design/methodology/approach - The authors distributed approximately 1,350 questionnaires through the frontline employees of a Brazilian bank and obtained 296 usable responses. The questionnaire relies on previously validated scales. The final confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) obtained a good fit and provided evidence of scale validity. Findings - Overall, our results suggest that both formal and informal control mechanisms play a significant role explaining employees' goal orientation. However, informal control mechanisms were found to play a more significant role explaining employees' goal orientation. Research limitations/implications - This paper relies on employees from a single organization. In addition, it has a cross-sectional nature. The procedural and statistical remedies employed in this study suggest that method variance is not a concern. Practical implications - The results show that managers may resort to control mechanisms to influence the goal orientations of frontline service employees in a manner that is consistent with organizational objectives. Originality/value - To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study that examines the impact of control mechanisms on employees' goal orientation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose -- The main aim of this paper is to examine the role of brand reputation on the impact of value product on perceptions of a premium product from the same brand. As a secondary goal, it tests and extends existing findings from judgment tasks to a choice task. Design/methodology/approach -- Two online experiments are presented. In Study 1 (1a and 1b), participants provided quality and price judgments to products. Brand reputation was manipulated by comparing common store brands to non-store brands (Study 1a) and to upscale store brands (Study 1b). In Study 2, we examined whether findings indicating a positive effect of a value store brand on a premium store brand extends to a choice context. Participants made choices between a premium store brand and a national brand in the presence of either a value store brand or a value national brand. Findings -- It was found that brand reputation plays an important role in the interplay of products in line extensions. While the positive impact of a value brand on a premium brand is at its strongest level for a regular store brand, it still has a moderate size for a non-store brand without a defined reputation, as well as for an upscale store brand. Second, using a choice task, we reject an important rival explanation for the impact of a value store brand on a premium store brand observed in previous research. Research limitations/implications -- The authors have focused on consumers' expectations of products. While research has shown that these expectations play an important role in evaluations, future research may directly examine perceptions after consumption. The findings also offer an opportunity for future research to examine the differences in perceptions between store and non-store brands at different positioning levels, as well as other factors that affect brand reputation. Practical implications -- The findings have two practical implications. First, our results indicate that when a manufacturer produces two products in the same category at different levels of quality, there is some benefit in letting consumers know about this relationship. The authors consistently found no negative impact on the brands and often a positive impact on the premium brand. While effects are stronger for common store brands, they are likely to emerge for any type of brand, albeit weaker. Originality/value -- This paper contributes to the nascent literature on multi-tier brands and vertical extensions in several ways. First, the role of brand reputation was examined and how it interacts with positioning in line extension context. Second, we show that the effect of a value brand on a premium brand is stronger for store brands, but still existent for non-store brands. These results offer implications for practice and open opportunities for future research on multi-tier store brands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose -- The purpose of this paper is to extend the conclusions of a previous synthesis of attraction effect research (1995), focusing on the influence of background and design variables on the magnitude of the effect, and to identify additional factors that question the effect's practical market relevance. Design/methodology/approach -- Meta-analysis and moderator analysis (meta-regression) are used to summarize the findings and assess the explanatory power of background variables on the magnitude of the attraction effect. Findings -- Analyses indicate significant effects for procedure and the pre-entrant target percentage in addition to decoy type and decoy location found in previous synthesis. These factors explain 16 per cent of the variance. Previous findings that between-subject designs result in stronger attraction effects are not substantiated. Viable decoys led to a reversal of the attraction effect. Research limitations/implications -- This research contributes conceptually by demonstrating that the attraction effect is sensitive to research design factors which in some cases reverse the effect. This suggests that the underlying theory needs qualification and that generalizability may be limited. Given the constraints of meta-analysis, design factors that are idiosyncratic to a single study or are constant across studies could not be tested. Practical implications -- This research suggests that for the attraction effect to have practical relevance, knowledge of the effect needs updating because critical realities in the marketplace have been somewhat ignored by researchers in building theories regarding this effect. Originality/value -- By focusing on background variables that can moderate the magnitude of the attraction effect, the authors open a venue to expand the theoretical understanding and the practical relevance of the attraction effect in marketing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose -- This paper aims to introduce brand identity (BI) fit as an important factor that influences co-branding success. Based on motivated reasoning theory, the authors propose consumer-brand (C-B) identification moderates the effect of BI fit on co-branding attitudes. In addition, they investigate the role of consumer coping and perceived BI fit on consumers' attitude toward co-branding. Design/methodology/approach -- Two experiments were conducted to test the research hypotheses. Findings -- Study 1 results reveal that when C-B identification is low, consumers' co-branding evaluations and the loyalty of the focal brand are higher in the low BI fit condition than those in the high BI fit condition. When C-B identification is high, such effects are not observed. Study 2 results reveal that when the BI fit is low, decoupling is more effective than biased assimilation at defending the positive evaluations of the focal brand. Research limitations/implications -- First, while the authors focus particularly on BI fit, it may be fruitful for marketers to combine BI fit with other types of fit such as functional dimension fit and product category fit. For example, while the results suggest marketers should co-brand with low BI fit pairs when targeting at low C-B identification consumers, this recommendation should be taken in conjunction with how consumers respond to other co-branding fit strategies. Second, the authors encourage future researchers to explore deeper into the consumer coping in other contexts. As these elements are critical to consumers' attitudes, it will be beneficial to see how decoupling or biased assimilation strategies differ in other co-branding fit contexts. Practical implications -- The authors advise marketers to consider both the level of BI fit and the level of C-B identification when looking for a co-brand partner. When targeting low C-B identification consumers, it is better for marketers to find a co-branding partner with a low BI fit than high BI fit. This is a counterintuitive finding given that higher fit (e.g. product category fit and brand image fit) is often associated with positive evaluations. For high C-B identification consumers, BI fit does not adversely affect consumer attitudes (and loyalty). Thus, these consumers are safer targets for marketers in terms of maintaining attitudes. Second, the authors find that when perceived BI fit is low, decoupling strategy is more effective than biased assimilation strategy at defending the positive evaluations of the focal brand. However, when perceived BI fit is high, the two coping strategies have little difference in influencing co-branding attitudes. Thus, the authors advise marketers to encourage their consumers to cope using a decoupling strategy to garner higher attitudes. Originality/value -- The authors introduce BI fit as an important abstract dimension of brand image fit when facing co-branding decisions. Overall, our results demonstrate C-B identification moderates the effects of BI fit on co-branding attitudes. Counter-intuitively, the results suggest that low BI fit co-branding can also generate higher attitudes depending on consumers' level of brand identification. Moreover, marketers must also be wary of how consumers cope with co-branding, as coping explains the underlying mechanism of how consumers deal with high or low perceived BI fit. Specifically, our findings suggest that consumer coping moderates the relationship between perceived BI fit and co-branding attitudes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose -- This paper aims to investigate the influence of economic and cultural factors, separately and combined, on international country segments and to reveal the stability of factors and country segments over time. Design/methodology/approach -- Principal component analysis is used to develop three economic factors and two cultural factors borrowed from the World Value Survey. Cluster analysis is used to form country clusters based on the economic and cultural factors, separately, and then combined, to detect whether both economics and culture need to be included as bases for macro-country segmentation. Further, the authors look at these issues across time, the beginning of the decade (1990) and then at the end of the decade (1999). Findings -- Results support the hypotheses that economics and culture are both necessary for country-level segmentation but reject the hypothesis of cultural convergence as a consequence of technological development and industrialization. The authors confirm that cultural values and beliefs, although persistent, may change gradually under the influence of environmental forces such as economic development. The results support the instability of country segment membership when analyzed over one decade. Economic changes in some countries lead to their movement across segments. Practical implications -- Results suggest that managers concerned with international segmentation should include both economic and cultural variables and reevaluate country segment membership continuously rather than relying on results obtained in a single period. Originality/value -- Many international segmentation studies have used macro-level, secondary data to identify country clusters based on similarities in political, economic, geographic or cultural variables for a single period. This study extends existing international segmentation models by examining economic and cultural variables (separately, and then combined), and segment membership over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose -- The purpose of this study is to investigate the differential influences of economic nationalism (EN) and cosmopolitanism (COS) on consumer behaviour, and how the two concepts are underpinned by different (normative versus informational) interpersonal influences. Design/methodology/approach -- Surveys took place in two countries, South Korea (n = 257) and Taiwan (n = 258). Both are rapidly developing economies with a cosmopolitan consumer base. Two products, one representing conspicuous and one representing non-conspicuous categories, were used in each country's survey. The data were subjected to exploratory and confirmation factor analyses and fitted using structural equation modelling. Findings -- Contrary to past studies, EN and COS were unrelated. Economic nationalism was strong and biased towards domestic products. The results also suggest that COS may be related to bias against domestic products. EN related strongly to normative influence, whereas COS rested on informational influence. The results were similar across the countries and the product types. Research limitations/implications -- Economic nationalism and COS may coexist as consumer dispositions and their relative salience may vary across individuals. Foreign firms should not overlook consumers' nationalistic sentiment, just as domestic firms may capitalise on it. Both foreign and domestic firms can capitalise on consumer nationalism by highlighting benefits such as domestic employment and wealth creation. Practical implications -- EN and COS may coexist as consumer dispositions, and their relative salience may vary across individuals. When managing their brand portfolio, foreign firms would benefit from considering consumers' nationalistic sentiment, just as domestic firms may capitalise on it. Both foreign and domestic firms can capitalise on consumer nationalism by highlighting social benefits such as domestic employment and wealth creation. Originality/value -- This study brings research on EN and COS from a macro/country level to a micro/individual level. It provides theoretical and empirical insights on the differential influences of EN and COS on consumer behaviour and sheds light on their psychological underpinnings. Paper type Research paper [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose -- The purpose of this study is to contrast athlete endorsement vs athlete sponsorship from a power imbalance perspective when a scandal strikes the athlete. Design/methodology/approach -- A first study was conducted with a probabilistic sample of 252 adult consumers where the type of brand -- athlete relationship (endorsement or sponsorship) and the level of congruence between the two entities (low or high) were manipulated in a mixed experimental design. A second study with a probabilistic sample of 118 adult consumers was conducted to demonstrate that consumers perceive that the balance of power between the brand and the athlete is not the same in endorsement and sponsorship situations. Findings -- The results of the first study showed that when an athlete is in the midst of a scandal, the negative impact on the associated brand is stronger in the case of an endorsement than in the case of a sponsorship. However, this occurs only when the brand -- athlete relationship is congruent. The results of the second study showed that the athlete's power relative to the brand is greater in an endorsement than in a sponsorship context. Research limitations/implications -- The findings suggest that a company that worries about the possibility that the athlete with whom it wants to build a relationship be eventually associated with some negative event (e.g. a scandal) should consider sponsorship rather than endorsement as a strategy. Originality/value -- This study is the first to compare the athlete endorsement and sponsorship strategies in general and the first to put forward the notion of power imbalance in brand -- athlete partnerships, its impact on how the two entities are represented in consumers' memory networks and the consequences on brand attitude when the athlete is associated with a negative event. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose -- The purpose of this study is to examine whether consumers demonstrate a multi-dimensional understanding of sustainability in their decision-making and addresses the situational influence of confidence and compromise on sustainable product choices. Design/methodology/approach -- Using three choice-based conjoint experiments the authors examined the importance of sustainability, compromise and confidence to consumers across two contexts. Two-step cluster analyses were used to segment consumers based on the importance scores. Findings -- Data indicates that the environmental dimension of sustainability is the most influential followed by economic and social. The responses suggest three distinct segments identified as self-focused, trend motivated and reality driven that demonstrate significantly different characteristics in their approach to sustainable products. Research limitations/implications -- Current research tends to focus on the environmental dimension, while paying little heed to the economic and social dimensions. This research indicates that consumers consider all three dimensions when making sustainable product choices and highlights that differences may emerge with respect to product utility. Practical implications -- Firms must be aware that consumers differ in the importance they place on sustainability. The reality-driven segment is the most attractive segment, as they are highly engaged and are willing to invest time in understanding the complexities of sustainability. The trend-motivated segments are more fickle with superficial knowledge, and the self-focused segments are self-serving in their orientations and use price as a key decision variable. Originality/value -- The paper addresses an important oversight in the sustainability literature. It provides both a theoretical contribution to advance marketing research and a practical contribution that may be of interest to those trying to market sustainable products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose -- This paper aims to consider decision speed's role in the largely neglected decision area of product elimination. Design/methodology/approach -- Drawing on an inter-disciplinary theoretical background (e.g. organisational, decision speed and product elimination theories), the authors develop and test a framework for decision speed's effects on the market and financial outcomes of a stratified random sample of 175 consumer product eliminations. Findings -- In contrast to decision speed research that hypothesised (and often failed to confirm) linearity, results show inverted U-shaped decision speed-to-decision outcomes relationships, with curvatures moderated by product importance, environmental complexity and turbulence. Research limitations/implications -- Findings are suggestive of several implications for the above theories (e.g. contribution to the dialogue about performance-enhancing value of rational vs incremental decision-making; evidence that excessive decision speed may become too much of a good thing). Certain design limitations (e.g. sampling consumer goods' manufacturers only) point at avenues for future inquiry into the product elimination decision speed-to-outcomes link. Practical implications -- Managerially, the findings suggest that product eliminations' optimal market and financial outcomes depend on a mix of speed and search in decision-making and that this mix requires adjustments to different levels of product importance, interdependencies with other decision areas of the firm and environmental turbulence. Originality/value -- The paper makes a twofold contribution. It enriches decision speed research, by empirically addressing speed's outcomes in relation to a decision area that is not necessarily strategic and represents the first explicit empirical investigation into outcomes of decision speed in product line pruning decision-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose -- The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to investigate the role of perceived risk as a moderator of the key relational mediators of satisfaction and trust, and second, to test the influence of perceived product value and social bonding as antecedents of brand satisfaction and brand trust to understand their effectiveness under different risk conditions. Palmatier et al. (2006) call for the study of moderators of relational mediators, such as trust and satisfaction, which may determine the effectiveness of different relationship marketing strategies. Design/methodology/approach -- This study investigates business-to-consumer relationships between a car brand and its customers, applying structural equation modeling. Findings -- Results show that perceived risk moderates the mediating role of both brand trust and brand satisfaction on relationship outcomes. When perceived risk is low, brand satisfaction alone determines brand loyalty, whereas when perceived risk is high, brand trust exclusively determines brand loyalty. Thus, the effectiveness of social bonding tactics as a prime determinant of trust is contingent on consumers' risk perceptions. Research limitations/implications -- A limitation of the present research is its focus on one product category. Further investigations should be conducted to expand the findings' generalizability. Practical implications -- The often-recommended social bonding between boundary spanner and customers is only an effective relationship marketing strategy in situations of high perceived risk. Originality/value -- This study clarifies the role of perceived risk in marketing relationships by testing alternative models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose -- This paper aims to determine whether intentionality attributions have an effect on the customer's complaint and switching behavior after a service failure, after accounting for the effects of the traditional dimensions of attribution (stability and controllability), and to examine whether intentionality attributions give rise to humiliation and to what degree this negative emotion enables us to understand the customer's complaint and switching behavior after a service failure. Design/methodology/approach -- A contribution of this investigation is that it studies real complaint and switching behaviors, as the few studies that focus on understanding customers' complaint and defection behaviors mostly analyze customers' intentions. Findings -- The results of the study indicate that intentionality attributions have an effect on the customer's switching behavior after a service failure, in addition to the impact of the traditional dimensions of attribution. The findings also show that humiliation is the emotion that mediates the relationship between intentionality attributions and switching behavior, opposite to other emotions that may also be related to attributions. Finally, the results also support that the effect of attribution of intentionality on complaint behavior is indirect; it only exists because attribution of intentionality influences negative emotions like humiliation, which in turn influences complaint behavior. Practical implications -- To understand what makes customers complain after a service failure or switch service providers without giving them first the possibility of recovering the failure may help managers reduce the damage caused by the failure and increase the company's profits. Originality/value -- This study will try to contribute to the service failure research by analyzing the role of two variables that have not been analyzed before in this context: intentionality attribution and humiliation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose -- The purpose of this research is to explore the product-agency benefits that emerge as consumers interact with products, and how these benefits shape consumer experiences and marketing-related outcomes. Design/methodology/approach -- Sixty-one depth interviews were conducted, and 78 written narratives were collected from informants, which explored how products had changed consumers' lives. The authors applied the tenets of grounded theory in the analysis of their text, creating abstract categories or tropes that reflected consistent patterns in their consumers' experiences. Findings -- The findings support that the conceptualization of agentic benefits should be broadened. The research identifies five salient product-agency benefits: regulation, clarification, transcendence, discovery and growth. Research limitations/implications -- Prior conceptualizations of agency in marketing focus almost solely on control, yet the authors find that multiple product-agency benefits emerge, supporting the need for a broader understanding of product-related agency. The authors also find these benefits can be anticipated or unanticipated. It is also important to note that the benefits can be paradoxical, in that while they often yield positive outcomes, at times they can produce unintended and even negative consequences. Practical implications -- Incorporating consumers' (vs researchers') benefit perceptions into theory building and preference models will enhance understanding of consumer behavior and improve predictive power of preference and choice forecasts. The five salient product-agency benefits provide mechanisms for segmentation and building meaningful relationships with consumers, can propel product development and assist in creating more effective marketing -- communication strategies. Originality/value -- The paper offers a broader, more nuanced conceptualization of agency beyond control. It identifies five types of product-agency benefits that reflect a wide spectrum of consumers' lived experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose -- The purpose of this article is to argue that consumers experience conflict not only when in identity transitions or social status transitions but also in-between these two, and that the relationship between these two is becoming increasingly important to address. First, this is done by identifying how status transitions (vertical movements) overlap but differ in some important respects from identity transitions (horizontal movements), and second, the consumption strategies used by people when these movements lead to an experience of conflict between one's (new/old) identity role and (new/old) status position have been demonstrated. Design/methodology/approach -- In this multi-sited, qualitative data collection, the phenomenological and ethnographic interviews have been conducted with 35 urban middle-class consumers in their homes at three culturally and historically different sites (Sweden, Turkey and the USA). Findings -- The importance and kind of a consumption strategy to resolve the status-identity incongruence relates if it is mainly a vertically or horizontally determined transition. To consumers with a main focus on status change -- characterised by hierarchical and competitive dimensions that identity role transitions are free from -- the engagement in consumption becomes more important and intense. Practical implications -- Marketers have historically mainly been engaged in static categorisation and segmentation of consumer lifestyles. By instead emphasising consumers' life transitions and their accompanying status-identity conflicts, marketers may consider the implications for market communication. Social implications -- Given that liquid modernity (Bauman, 2001) and its loose social structures forces the middle-class to become increasingly socially mobile, matches and mismatches between identity and status positions ought to become more common and the resulting consumption strategies more sophisticated. This research offers a first, tentative framework for understanding these conflicts in relation to consumption. Originality/value -- Although lifestyle transitions have often been elaborated on in consumer research, the differences between social status transitions and identity transitions, and especially the conflict in-between these two, have not been paid its deserved attention. Based on multi-sited, qualitative data collection, concrete consumption strategies following the experience of status-identity incongruence have been identified. The results also contribute to a better understanding of the growing uncertainty and volatility of social status positions in contemporary middle-class consumer culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose -- The purpose of this paper is to seek to enhance the understanding of non-profit marketing and consumer identities by exploring volunteering as a form of symbolic consumption. Specifically, it seeks to examine how young people -- both volunteers and non-volunteers -- understand and relate to volunteer stereotypes, and how they manage stigma in negotiating their social identities in relation to volunteering. Design/methodology/approach -- Grounded in consumer culture theory, the study uses mixed qualitative methods, incorporating focus groups, paired and individual interviews and a projective drawing task. Findings -- Five volunteering-related stereotypes were identified: the older charity shop worker, the sweet singleton, the environmental protestor, the ordinary volunteer and the non-volunteer. Participants related to positive and negative attributes of these stereotypes in different ways. This led volunteers and non-volunteers to engage in a range of impression management strategies, some of which bolstered their own identities by stigmatising other groups. Research limitations/implications -- The sample was drawn from 39 individuals aged 16-24 years and living in Scotland. Practical implications -- Because stereotypes are acknowledged as a major barrier to volunteering, particularly among young people, a greater understanding of how these stereotypes are understood and negotiated can assist non-profit marketers in recruiting and retaining volunteers. Originality/value -- This paper draws on theories of consumer culture and stigma to explore volunteering as a form of symbolic consumption, examines volunteering stereotypes among both volunteers and non-volunteers and uses multiple qualitative methods to facilitate articulation of young people's experiences in this area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose -- The purpose of this paper was to develop a framework linking the concept of nostalgia and experiential consumption, articulating the transformation of a mundane activity to a special experience, using the context of the small business and afternoon tea. Design/methodology/approach -- The methodology is based on a grounded theory approach and draws on multiple methods of data collection including participant observation, in-depth interviews with afternoon tea room managers, researcher introspection and consumer interviews. Findings -- By employing nostalgia cues through product, ritual and aesthetics, an idealised home can be constructed emphasising belonging and sharing. The small business owner can be effective in transforming an ordinary activity to an experiential event. Contemporary tea rooms do not replicate tradition; they use it as a cultural resource to construct something novel. Research limitations/implications -- This paper demonstrates how the careful configuration of the retail space can be a key success factor, not only for marketers in large flagship brand stores, but also for smaller, independent and local businesses. The essential interplay between product, ritual and aesthetics creates positive moods of belonging and sharing and may increase satisfaction. Practical implications -- Understanding the emotional value of everyday experiences is a point of differentiation in a crowded marketplace and may directly influence consumer loyalty. Staging experiences is a key competitive strategy. Originality/value -- This paper is one of the few to empirically assess links between the nostalgia paradigm and experiential consumption. Existing research has emphasised large retail spaces; in contrast, the authors demonstrate how consumer experiences can be staged in smaller, independent and local businesses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – This paper extends the sales literature by moving beyond salespeople's role as knowledge gatherers to their role as knowledge sharers with personnel outside the sales unit. The aim is to develop and test a conceptual model to establish how pay-for-performance (economic factor) affects knowledge sharing behaviour under the contingency roles of coworker relationship quality (social psychological factor) and knowledge sharing norms (sociological factor). Design/methodology/approach – Using the Dun & Bradstreet database, the authors collected responses from 374 salespeople in 51 Canadian industrial firms through an on-line survey. The authors used hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) as multiple salespeople were nested within the organization and the data were comprised of individual- and organizational-level constructs. Findings – When there is misalignment between rewards and knowledge sharing behavior, motivational loss hampers knowledge sharing. However, when employees are provided with an environment that fosters high coworker relationship quality and consensual knowledge sharing norms, the motivational loss resulting from the incongruence between pay-for-performance and knowledge sharing behavior is mitigated. Research limitations/implications – Implications regarding how salespeople's knowledge sharing contributes to relationship marketing along with practical ramifications for how sales managers can encourage knowledge sharing are discussed. Originality/value – This study contributes to the sales literature (e.g. control, key account management, expanding role of sales) by testing a model that integrates different theoretical perspectives to examine what types of control mechanisms and which combinations of these controls affect salespeople's engagement in knowledge sharing behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this research is to help better understand the impact of online user reviews on sales of search goods. Design/methodology/approach – This research is based on digital camera sales data collected from amazon.com and two studies are included in this research. The first study is based on a static model and sample data from one time stamp. The second study is based on two sample data collected from two different time stamps, and a dynamic model is proposed. Findings – The results from the first study reveal that the average online customer review, the number of online reviews, the price and the camera's physical properties such as the number of pixels and the optimal zoom number (but not LCD screen size) have significant influence on digital camera sales. The results from the second study show that the sales from the previous period are an important indicator for future sales. In addition, change in price, change in average online review rating and change in the total number of online reviews are all significantly associated with future sales. Research limitations/implications – The research reveals that there is a significant relationship between the online user review and sales of search goods, and the influence of online user reviews on search goods sales is different from that on experience goods. It also recognizes that the product specifications influence the sales of search goods. In addition, the research on search goods shows that price at the specific time and price changes are significant factors affecting sales. Practical implications – The research indicates that retailers should provide channels for, and encourage, customer online reviews for search goods to improve sales. It is also beneficial for online retailers to provide detailed product attributes to help their customers make the purchase decision. Carefully designed and executed price promotions could also be effective ways to improve sales of searchable goods. Originality/value – This study is one of the first attempts to investigate the impact of online user reviews on sales of search goods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – This study seeks to examine the effect of pricing as a marketing instrument to stimulate word-of-mouth (WOM) by comparing the influence of two pricing strategies (i.e. a low-complexity vs a network-effects tariff) on the referral behaviour. Design/methodology/approach – Using customer data from a German mobile network operator (including information on customer characteristics, referral behaviour, and service usage), the authors develop a logit model. Findings – Surprisingly, the results indicate that it is the low-complexity tariff that increases the likelihood of referrals and leads to an overall higher referral activity. Despite the lower referral activity, however, the network-effects tariff generates higher revenues. Research limitations/implications – The results show that companies can use pricing schemes to influence referral behaviour and strongly indicate the need of further research on manageable tools to stimulate word-of-mouth marketing. Practical implications – The findings show not only that pricing has an impact on customers' referral behaviour but also that it is the low-complexity tariffs that trigger referrals. Furthermore, the results underline the importance of considering the monetary value of referrals. Originality/value – In contrast with many previously conducted studies on customer referrals, the paper explicitly analyses the impact of pricing on referral behaviour and empirically shows that firms are able to actively manage WOM among customers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – This paper seeks to explore how market orientation facilitates the strategic flexibility of business models grounded in open innovation. The authors suggest that the new paradigm of open innovation may impact a firm's adaptability and responsiveness under conditions of environmental flux. However, extending innovation capacity by opening the innovation process poses major challenges for firms. The aims of this study are to explore the characteristics of open innovation activity and to contemplate the role of strategic flexibility in the design of business models based upon open innovation. Design/methodology/approach – The study draws upon a qualitative research approach through a longitudinal case study in the field of open source software (OSS). The empirical case illustrates how an OSS firm utilizes signals in its environment to flexibly alter its business model. Findings – A business model that embodies open innovation raises dilemmas between open and closed innovation paradigms. However, the authors' case highlights that an ambidextrous approach that combines market orientation with the principles of open innovation increases profitability, shortens time to market through effective market access, and enhances innovation capability. Research limitations/implications – The results have profound implications for industrial marketers, managers, management consultants and business educators. They can use the insights gleaned from this research to guide the development of business models that involve open innovation. The results indicate that firms involved in open innovation need reactive strategic flexibility to cope with the environmental diversity and variability. However, this study analyzes a single case in the field of OSS and one should be cautious when generalizing the findings. Originality/value – This paper improves the understanding of the relationship between flexibility and market orientation. It combines two areas that have previously been discussed separately, i.e. market orientation and open innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – In this paper the authors aim to introduce the perspective of shared meanings as a prerequisite for the formation of market-focused strategic flexibility. Design/methodology/approach – The authors apply the ideas of co-creation of meaning, which derive from research into the narrative process of strategy and the practice turn of strategy. The authors' view is illustrated with a case example from a Finnish property rental company. Using action research methodology, data were collected through interviews and workshops from the company, from its clients and from its subcontractors. Findings – The case presented here shows that the lack of common understanding may lead to poor service quality even though the provider aims at meeting clients' needs. On the other hand, the results confirm that developing a shared understanding is possible in business practice. A common lexicon and the conscious use of human narrative capability facilitate the achievement of this goal. Research limitations/implications – Since the empirical results are based on one case, the possibility for generalisations is limited. However, the study highlights important aspects of strategic flexibility that are worthy of further research. Practical implications – The study shows that flexible market orientation needs shared meanings between all the relevant actors in a service chain. The study also suggests some ideas on how the co-creation of meaning can be promoted in practice. Originality/value – Linking the perspectives of co-creation of meaning and market-focused strategic flexibility is a new approach. The paper illustrates these topics in a subcontracting chain, whereas earlier studies have usually focused on companies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to study the formation of a consumer's attitude towards a supplier, given the identification of the key indicators of perceived relationship quality, and their links with one another and with the perceived value of a purchase. Design/methodology/approach - Three cities were chosen, in different regions of Spain, and of different sizes. A total of 402 valid interviews were carried out in two industries: tile manufacturing and tourism. The selection procedure was random. Findings - The results show that the consumer's satisfaction is the main basis for perceived relationship quality. The paper likewise verifies the importance of transaction-level evaluations for perceived relationship quality. The automatic affective reactions generated in the consumer in the first moments, and the social impact of the purchase, are aspects that determine perceived relationship quality. The paper also looks at the importance of considering commitment as an attitude. Research limitations/implications - The intention to repurchase should be incorporated, together with the social norms identified, in the model of Fishbein and Ajzen. Practical implications - To gain a customer's loyalty it is necessary to achieve his/her satisfaction. A supplier must pay attention to customers' trust and commitment throughout all transactions. Suppliers must take care of the quality of their products and the attention given by the contact personnel, paying special attention to certain emotional aspects relating to customers' enjoyment of the product and to their stay in the sales outlet during the process of deciding to purchase. Originality/value - The paper clarifies two new concepts, perceived value and the quality of the relationship, and empirically verifies the causal relationship between them, in two different industries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the embodied dimension of marketing pedagogy. The author envisions professional marketing pedagogy as a deeply personal meaning-making experience of self-telling in the performance of which one draws on the discourses which one finds most useful. There are economic, psychological and political implications to the acuity with which one detects and assimilates prevailing discourses from the multi-paradigm marketing heteroglossia. One's choices in dealing with the ideological dilemmas of marketing pedagogy betray one's need to feel a sense of location, of positioning, in the social order of a university and an academic profession. The author feels that now, post-everything that everybody has grown up, as marketing academics, the vacuous mouthing of Kotlerite platitudes, "marketing in a political vacuum" courses, bovine assumptions that one controls the text and the text controls practice, assumptions that the text constructs a mini marketing world which is just like the real marketing world in a sort of ontological "land of the giants," the moribund marketing curriculum of analysis, planning, implementation and control, is not for all of them.

The problems of diffusion and adoption of technology have been approached by various authors from diverse perspectives. On one side, there exists a body of research at the macro level which focuses on the economic impact and, less frequently, on the socio-political aspects including dependence on foreign technology. On the other side, there are a number of studies at the micro level which analyse the mechanisms and problems of technology transfer between organisations and between different departments within the same organisation. Basically, a firm's purchase of foreign technology is in reality a flow between organisations, albeit in different countries, and not between countries, and thus it can be approached by the micro approach. The micro approach to the problem of choice between national and foreign technology suggests at least two distinct methods. The first of these consists of analyses of specific purchase decisions through the method of case studies; the second is the study of decision-maker perceptions in relation to the technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]