Search

Purpose: In marketing research, it is widely acknowledged that customer engagement leads to higher reputation, lower costs and increased revenues for firms. However, there are still open questions on how sport sponsorship can drive customer engagement. It is hypothesized that sponsors' activations correlate with customer engagement toward the sponsor. Specifically, the roles of sponsorship authenticity and attitudes toward the sponsor have received little attention in this context. Accordingly, this study aims to test the effects of sponsors' activations on customer engagement disposition (CED) and customer engagement behavior (CEB) by considering the roles of sponsorship authenticity and attitudes toward the sponsor. Design/methodology/approach: An online experiment with a factorial between-subjects design with 529 total participants was conducted. Data were analyzed through analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) and binary regression analysis. Findings: Sponsors' activations can lead to positive or negative CEB, depending on how sport consumers evaluate the activation. Sponsorship authenticity reduces or enhances CEB following a sponsor's activation. Moreover, consumers' prior attitudes toward the sponsor influence the relationship between sponsors' activations and CED. The findings further showed that CED leads to CEB. Originality/value: This research contributes to the sport sponsorship literature by empirically proving that sponsors' activations increase customer engagement toward the sponsors. Moreover, this is the first study testing consequences of sponsors' activations in relation to sponsorship authenticity and consumers' attitudes. Furthermore, the authors enrich the customer engagement literature by discussing the sponsors' activations as a marketing strategy to increase customer engagement and consequently firms' performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This research investigates the novel questions of whether and how specific forms of shopping channels (online vs offline) influence consumers' decision-making. Moreover, this research investigates marketing firms' proper marketing strategies across different shipping channels. Design/methodology/approach: The authors conducted three studies using a large sample (N = 703) recruited from a diverse pool (students and adults) that examined multiple products (camera and car) across different shopping channels (online vs offline). Study 1a (n = 251) and Study 1b (n = 252) examined the effect of an online versus offline channel on consumers' decision-making using a one-factor (shopping channel: online vs offline) between-subjects design. Meanwhile, Study 2 (n = 200) investigated the effective strategies that firms should employ across different shopping channels using a 2 (shopping channel: online vs offline) × 2 (mental simulation: outcome vs process) between-subjects design. Participants in the online condition evaluated the product on a computer screen, whereas participants in the offline condition evaluated the real product assuming a real-world retail store setting. Findings: The three studies supported the predictions that shopping channels (online vs offline) affect consumers' psychological distance and, in turn, affect their decision process. Specifically, results reveal that the online (offline) channel increases (decreases) psychological distance and leads consumers to pay more attention to a product's desirability (feasibility) aspects. Originality/value: Given that many firms sell the same products through multiple channels, the findings of this research offer insightful theoretical and practical implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Today, social media is counted as an integral part of marketing strategies, which has led to a paradigm change in this field. As reported, social media marketing has been growing over the recent five years and is predicted to be exponentially growing in the future. However, despite the huge promise and intention to adopt social media marketing strategies by organisations, there remain challenges regarding the successful implementation of these new marketing programmes. Accordingly, marketing managers' awareness of the success factors of social media marketing is essential to return investment in this area. Due to the little research been accomplished in this field, this paper aims to identify the success factors of social networks' marketing and to rank the factors by using of interval best-worst method (BWM). Design/methodology/approach: To serve the research aims, an extant literature review is accomplished and a focus group approach is conducted to identify the main success factors and sub-factors. To analyse the focus group discussions, a qualitative content analysis approach is applied. Interval BWM is used to calculate the weights of each identified factor. Findings: In the final framework, six main success criteria, including strategy, process, technology, content, performance evaluation and people are identified, for each sub-criteria are developed. The interval BWM results suggest the content criterion as the most important success factor in developing a social media marketing strategy. Research limitations/implications: First, this research provides a comprehensive insight into the success factors and best practices of social media marketing. This is the first to draw on the critical factors affecting the success of social media marketing, considering people in the organisation such as top management, employees and customers, strategy, process and performance evaluation focussing on the change management requirements for applying social media marketing and technology as the technical factor of the adoption process, simultaneously. Identifying critical success factors of social media marketing will help marketing managers to avoid falling into the trap of developing social media strategies based on less important areas and ignoring the critical ones. Besides, owing to the limited resources of organisations in implementing social media marketing strategies, prioritising and weighing the success factors will lead to a focus on more important areas. Originality/value: Whilst the related studies have mostly concentrated on the capabilities and activities required to conduct social media marketing and the few research investigated the critical success factors most concentrated on the customer and the content-related factors, the finding of this research goes beyond that and suggests technical, process and human aspects simultaneously in the implementation process in a holistic view. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the reasons for the discontinuation of sports sponsor–sponsee relationships and categorize them. Despite the negative outcomes of a sponsorship dissolution, research on this topic is rather scarce. Design/methodology/approach: The paper relies on an analysis of 24 historical cases and 19 in-depth interviews focusing on the Dutch soccer league. Several sponsorship disruptors are identified and clustered into four categories. Findings: The four categories for sponsorship dissolution are the following: sponsor-related factors, sponsee-related factors, inter-relational factors and external factors. In total, ten sponsorship disruptors are identified: insufficient value creation, objectives achieved, sports results, signal to society, exclusivity, negativity, personal relationship, changed marketing strategy, financial situation and legislation and regulation. Research limitations/implications: This study primarily investigates soccer sponsorship cases. Future research could investigate other sponsorship areas, which could yield different reasons for sponsorship termination. Practical implications: Practitioners are advised to view the sponsorship relationship as a strategic alliance, rather than a resource, from the beginning of the sponsorship. A solid relational framework is needed, which is built around the elements of trust, commitment and collaborative communication. If such a foundation does not exist or has eroded, the sponsorship relationship is fragile and can be endangered by various factors. Originality/value: This study uses inductive reasoning to devise a framework that enables sponsees to anticipate when sponsors are likely to discontinue their sponsorship such that the sponsees can take actions accordingly. Apart from validating existing reasons for sponsorship dissolution, this research also presents novel and previously undiscovered sponsorship disruptors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to understand how two online marketing orientations of land-based retailers in product category and price could change retail brand attitude when retail brand familiarities differ.Design/methodology/approach This paper proposes a research model with two orientations in product category and price as antecedents of retail brand attitude change and retail brand familiarity as a moderator. Empirical data were collected from 684 shoppers across three land-based retailers to test the research hypotheses.Findings Both orientations in product category and price can improve customers' retail brand attitudes. Retail brand familiarity plays a significant moderator in some of the situations. Online-offline product category congruence and online-prototypical price congruence have significantly positive effects on retail brand attitude change whether retail brand familiarity is high or low. The effect of online-offline price congruence is significant only among high-familiarity customers, while the effect of online-prototypical product category congruence is found to be significant only among low-familiarity customers.Research limitations/implications The study identifies the moderating effects of retail brand familiarity on the relationships between two online marketing orientations in product category and price and retail brand attitude change. Based on the moderating effects, this study will help researchers to better understand the effectiveness of two online marketing orientations subject to varying degrees of retail brand familiarity in a multichannel retailing context.Practical implications The findings of this study can guide land-based retailers to focus on the right orientations in product category and price to improve customers' attitudes toward the retail brand when existing or new customers are targeted.Originality/value This study provides a first study to empirically assess the change in retail brand attitude prompted by homogenous and prototypical orientations in product category and price and subject to varying degrees of retail brand familiarity. Overall, the results offer insights of how land-based retailers could manage their overall performance by designing more effective online product category and pricing strategies for existing or new customers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to identify the location of sport brands in sport consumers' minds using a perceptual map of multiple positions; and examine whether there is congruence between the sport brands' purported images and the targeted consumers' perception of the brands' images. Design/methodology/approach - A mixed method was used. Four steps of data collections (i.e. face-to-face, focus group interviews, and questionnaires) and analyses (i.e. content analysis, MDS analysis, PROXSCAL analysis, multiple regressions analysis, frequency analysis, and congruence score) were performed. Findings - Four positioning typologies (i.e. great quality equipment, equipment for professionals, innovation, and tradition) were identified; each brand's positions in consumers' minds were distinctly portrayed in the perceptual map; and the congruence between intended and perceived positions was found in two brands - Titleist and Ping - implying they established a high position-congruity and providing evidence of positioning effectiveness. Practical implications - The findings will aid practitioners and scholars in positioning and its effectiveness: the results provide information for managers to select, implement, and manage effective positioning strategies and the study provides initial evidence about whether companies and their brands are well-positioned in the sport consumer's perception. Originality/value - The authors attempt to examine how consumers perceive brands and how effectively brand positions are portrayed in consumers' minds. The effectiveness and competitiveness of positioning strategies were examined via a perceptional map. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - Using the context of Rio Olympic games, the purpose of this paper is to investigate attitude toward sponsorship outcome as it relates to purchase behavior, gender, sponsor patronage, sports enthusiasm, and social media consumption. Design/methodology/approach - Data were collected using an online survey of 265 participants. Questions regarding demographics, viewing habits, sports participation, enthusiasm, attitude toward Olympic events were included in the survey. The four sub-scales were sponsorship attitude, sponsor patronage, social media consumption, and sports enthusiasm. Findings - The findings of the study showed that social media consumption is positively related to attitude toward event and sports patronage. There was a significant gender difference on attitude toward event, social media consumption, and sports enthusiasm. Predictors for making a purchase as a result of seeing a social media advertisement were gender, playing competitive sport, and social media consumption. Practical implications - This study will add to the body of academic and practitioner research on sponsorship outcomes, and provides an opportunity for marketers to leverage social media networks for sponsorship communication. Originality/value - As the use of social media networks has increased over the past few years, no previous study has investigated association of sports enthusiasm, gender, or social media consumption toward sponsor patronage which relates to consumers seeking out sponsors and being influenced to make a purchase as a result of marketing communication of sponsors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide insight to practitioners who wish to forecast market returns based on event occurrences.Design/methodology/approach Using 64 distinct events that reoccurred from 2007 to 2016 in six different nations of both developing and developed economies, this study used an event study methodology to test whether or not sentiment impacted market returns.Findings This study found that investor sentiment did impact market returns. Furthermore, events that were in developed economies or were negative impacted the market returns more than events that are in developing economies or positive. The study also provides important information on the speed of price adjustment to new information. The events selected include festive holidays, bombings, natural disasters and sports matches, among other events which had been found to alter mood. This paper also found no empirical difference between using the statistical mean and economic capital asset pricing models. However, the Wilcoxon rank test did provide more significant events than the more conservative Corrado rank test.Originality/value Most comprehensive investor sentiment impact on market returns paper using an event study methodology. The results have implications for those who wish to forecast market returns based on event occurrences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - Endorsement deals are a key contributing factor for companies to gain brand recognition and positive brand associations from consumers. However, endorsement relationships can be risky for firms in the event of an endorser's bad behavior or involvement in scandals. The purpose of this paper is to examine how brands can use endorsement exit strategies to minimize and even benefit from negative situations involving its endorser. Design/methodology/approach - After a review of celebrity endorsement literature, the paper investigates the Rio Olympic Games robbery scandal involving American swimmer Ryan Lochte as a detailed case. By studying the timeline of sponsor-related activities, relevant theories and brand outcomes through Google Trends, indications of a calculated and strategic exit from the endorsement relationship emerge. Findings - The case analysis establishes that sponsors can successfully leverage the negative associations toward a disgraced endorser. Based on the process of meaning transfer, this case proposes that sponsors can benefit from its public dissociation from the endorser and gain awareness from this separation. Originality/value - This paper is the first study to examine the positive impact of a celebrity endorsement scandal. It highlights the need for managers to actively prepare endorsement exit strategies in the event of negative associations or endorser actions. The timing and scope of the exit strategy can both limit negative meaning transfer, and leverage the situation creating positive perceptions of integrity and ethics for the sponsor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to determine if the star power of an athletic endorser influenced consumers' consumption of the advertised product. Specifically, does the amount of star power an athlete is thought to have impact consumers' direct consumption of the advertised product and media consumption of the athlete? Moreover, the components of star power, along with congruency measures, were examined to determine which components of star power influenced both direct and media consumption. Design/methodology/approach - Four advertisements were created that used an athlete with high star power and an athlete with low star power. Respondents viewed two of the advertisements, but did not know which athlete had high star power or low star power. They were asked to answer a questionnaire that contained questions pertaining to the components of star power (source attractiveness, source credibility, professional trustworthiness, likeable personality and character style), congruency of the athlete and product, direct consumption of the advertised product and media consumption of the athlete. Findings - Results indicated that overall star power increased the direct consumption of the advertised product and the media consumption of the athlete, however not each component was found to be significant. Character style was the only component that was consistently significant across all four advertisements. The congruency between the athlete and product was also found to be significant across all four advertisements. Research limitations/implications - First, this study only looked at two athletes; others may generate different results. Second, the products used in the study were fashion related; other categories of products may also generate different relationships. Third, only two brands were used. It was also assumed that the respondents knew the athlete in the advertisement. Finally, the questions used to measure direct consumption did not distinguish between buying the brand in the store or online. Originality/value - This study has the potential to contribute theoretically by analyzing how and which components of star power affect consumption of endorsed products, as well as which components influence consumers. Moreover, adding a congruency measure will aide in strengthening the measurement of endorser effectiveness. The justification of the present study lies in the need to determine how the dimensions of star power an athlete possesses contribute to the consumption behaviors of consumers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose Strategy and organizational culture are indispensable for success within a business. Both behavioral scientists and practitioners have shown keen interest in understanding the association between culture and strategy; however, no strong consensus has been formed about this relationship. This paper aims to shed light on this relationship by answering the following questions: Is organizational culture separable from its strategies? Is there an association between organizational culture and strategy?Design/methodology/approach Using a sample of 496 service managers, this study empirically examines the relationship between culture and strategy. Due to the nature of the data, cross-tabulation research method was used for analysis and to check the association between organizational culture and strategy.Findings Results indicate that successful firms with a bureaucratic and innovative culture may demonstrate any of the four examined strategies (command, rational, transactive and generative). The results also suggest that successful firms with a supportive culture will likely use a transactive or generative strategy. Overall, the results found that all four strategies are associated with each of the three corporate cultures, except for the supportive culture-command strategy and supportive culture-rational strategy dyads.Originality/value There are diverse views about the organizational culture-strategy relationship; however, no strong consensus has been formed about this relationship. Using managerial data collected from service industry, this study examines the relationship between three organizational cultures, namely, bureaucratic, supportive and innovative, and four different types of strategies, namely, specially command, rational, transactive and generative. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to first bring to light the essential digital strategies to study organizations. Second, how businesses can improve their strategic capabilities by using the information gathered from internet sources or networks. Third, this study investigates how employees in an organization tend to engage in positive and/or negative gossip and how gossips affect coworker-rated informal influence in organization and supervisor-rated performance. Social network analysis is used to find the underlying relationships between gossips, coworker-rated influence and supervisor-rated performance.Design/methodology/approach This research paper is divided into two parts. The first study based on profound synthesis of literature. Major digital sources to study organizations are identified. The strategies requirement for each channel is identified. Suggestions are given to managers to improve strategic decision-making based on big data. The second study is a cross-sectional study where questionnaires (survey) are used to elicit data. Social network analysis is used to analyze the data using ucinet 6 software.Findings The findings of the study pinpoint the skills required to analyze large data, available in organizations. The second study finds out that close friends are more engaged in gossips than coworkers who have only working relationships. The friends having high structural embeddedness are more likely to be involved in negative gossips. Coworker perceives those employees who are engaged in negative gossips as having high informal influence. However, there is negative relationship between negative gossips and supervisor-rated influence.Research limitations/implications The research study is cross-sectional in design; however, longitudinal design can be used to gain more insights about negative gossips and their effects. Second, a very small sample is used in this study.Practical implications This study can be used to understand informal communication network in the organization. Managers can use this channel to pass information quickly, as informal channels are faster than formal communication channels. This research can be used to understand the underling relationships between the coworkers in organizationsOriginality/value This paper provides guidelines to organizational life and information on how the informal networks within organization can be studied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to first suggest scanning focal areas in new product development (NPD) by comparing with design thinking and, second, to uncover what people in different occupations expect of NPD based on future scenarios.Design/methodology/approach Authors place scanning and design thinking into a matrix of product-market strategies. In addition, this study adopts several open-end-type questionnaire surveys of employees at Japanese companies who have taken part in idea generation workshops that take a medium- to long-term perspective.Findings Authors found that innovations generated through scanning can cover the most difficult and uncertain areas in practice compared with design thinking. This manuscript also reveals occupational categories can be divided into two groups according to different expectations of NPD: the rapid-fire NPD expectation group and late-bloomer NPD expectation group. The former group which consists of marketing and engineering experts tends to expect that NPD is simply a response to existing needs and that profit will be gained expeditiously through NPD, while the latter, which comprising design and research experts, tends to expect that NPD will realize future innovations.Originality/value This study shows some common and different points between scanning and design thinking by using a theoretical framework of product-market strategies. Also, this study reveals who will lead innovation based on foresight in business. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - In the highly saturated sports industry where sport teams represent a complex offering loaded with intangible and tangible attributes, it is important to implement appropriate marketing strategies that will ultimately contribute to the development of strong brand equity. In this paper, the authors focused on the relationship between brand variables and marketing activities on the development of brand equity. More specifically, the purpose of this paper is to study the impact of brand personality on the evaluation of marketing promotional activities and the impact on the brand equity. Design/methodology/approach - Respondents (2,400) were recruited through an online survey and data were analyzed using structural equation modeling. Findings - The survey revealed that the congruence between the brand personality and the promotional activities has a positive impact on its evaluation and on brand equity. In addition, the results showed that consumers who consider the financial strength of the team as an important factor evaluate more positively the value of congruent and incongruent promotional activities. Practical implications - Brand managers should maintain consistency between their brand personality and their promotional activities in order to maintain and increase their brand equity. Originality/value - The results contribute to the literature by investigating the impact of brand personality on the evaluation of promotional activities. Also, it examines an important factor (financial consciousness) that could influence how fans react in front of an incongruent promotional activity. This research brings a better understanding of the impact of brand personality on marketing strategies and brand equity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose-The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of analysts in providing information to support business model innovation. Design/methodology/approach - This paper is based on initial research by two of the co-authors on business models (Stott et al., 2016), to which is added the experience of members of the team in working in strategic analyst firms or inworking closely with clients of business analyst firms and further secondary data. Findings - The findings of this paper show that analysts could do more to help their clients capture the opportunities and meet the threats of business model innovation, but this may require business leaders and analyst firms to think differently about their mutual relationship, particularly the briefs that clients provide analysts and how analysts aggregate information to provide a clearer picture of business model choices and their likely consequences. Research limitations/implications - This paper needs confirmation of views by primary empirical research. Practical implications - This study identifies the need for firms to brief their analysts to provide much enhanced information concerning business model opportunities and threats, and for teachers and researchers in marketing to becomemore closely acquaintedwith the business model literature and analyst reports and processes. Social implications - As the idea of business model change becomes a more acceptable part of the strategic armoury of firms, the understanding of the information requirements to support such change to become more widely understood, and business model change to be consequently more common can be expected. This paper contributes to the understanding of the information requirements involved in such changes. Originality/value - This study highlights the gap in the discussion of information provision to business leaders concerning business model innovation requirements and threats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of Chinese youth's attention to and involvement with Chinese soccer and its professional league, the Chinese Super League (CSL), on their level of satisfaction. Design/methodology/approach - A survey study was employed to test the hypotheses. Research participants (n¼948) were students from five major universities that represented each of the five main geographic regions of China. Data were randomly assigned into two halves: one half for CFA (n¼474) and the other half for structural equation modeling (SEM) (n¼474). Mplus 7.0 was used to conduct both the CFA and SEM. Findings - The findings of this study indicated an overall lack of attention to and involvement with Chinese soccer and CSL among Chinese youths. Discussions have been presented on the causes of the lack of youth passion for Chinese soccer and suggestions have been articulated to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of policy formulation, business operation and marketing strategy. Originality/value - The present study built on the extant sport management literature, demonstrated the complexity of consumers' cognition and conation in the professional soccer setting, and revealed counterintuitive relationship between attitudinal traits and behavioral patterns, which in turn provided unique insights for Chinese professional soccer marketers, managers and administrators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - Building upon the framework of glocalization, the purpose of this paper is to summarize the development of National Basketball Association (NBA) in Chinese market, explore its successful and unsuccessful places, and propose strategies of glocalization for the NBA as well as other overseas sport leagues. Design/methodology/approach - The current case study was organized by summarizing the developmental history of NBA in China, analyzing its current promotional practices, investigating into its marketing strategies, and extrapolating practical references for other sport leagues aiming to penetrating into the Chinese marketplace. Findings - The current case study concluded that when facing the current challenges, the NBA needs to bring authentic American cultural commodities while adding Chinese characteristics to accommodate local fans. Meanwhile, the NBA management needs to continue seeking ways to work out and through the differences in government models and cultural contexts between China and USA. In addition, this study suggested that the research framework of glocalization would be an ever intriguing inquiry needed for other sport organizations or leagues seeking expansion to overseas markets. Originality/value - A thorough case study with the NBA that has achieved huge successes in Chinese markets will provide valuable implications for sport leagues to broaden their overseas markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose Along with traditional marketing channels, social media outlets are integrated as a part of the marketing mix. Social media has changed the dynamics of interaction between companies and consumers that foster this relationship. Managing brand fan pages on social networking sites is a specific way the companies are using. Customers can become brand fans on these pages and indicate that they like the brand posts, share on their wall or simply comment. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the impact of cultural differences on the effectiveness of social media metrics and scientifically tested brand engagement in terms of commitment, loyalty and brand recommendations.Design/methodology/approach The authors analysed 1,922 brand posts from five different brands of a single product category in three different countries. Ordinary least square and hierarchical moderation regression was used to test the hypotheses.Findings Results show that all determinants are not equally suitable for enhancement of number of likes, comments and shares. More specifically, vivid and interactive brand post determinants enhance the number of likes. Furthermore, interactive brand posts enhance the number of comments while vivid brand posts enhance number of shares. Moreover, impact and intensity vary across different cultures.Originality/value Brand fan page moderators can obtain guidance from the research in formulating their social media marketing strategies in order to decide which post determinants to place on the fan page. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to examine the marketing journey of a professional baseball team in South Korea (the SK Wyverns), from the conception of a new "green" campaign to the resulting environmental, social and economic gains of the local community and of Korean baseball in general. Design/methodology/approach - The investigator interviewed 12 constituents of the SK's green marketing campaign, participated as an observer at seven separate field trips to the SK stadium and meetings, and collected and analyzed corporate documentation and physical artifacts. The role of the researcher as an advisor to the Wyvern's green marketing initiative from the onset provided rare access to these multiple and different sources of evidence, which helped to establish the trustworthiness of the results (Yin, 2003). Findings - By taking unconventional steps to find new funding opportunities, the team managed to achieve a triple benefit-of environmental, social and economic gains from green marketing. In the big picture, one will recognize that the SK Wyverns' story is less about the opportune timing of its funding strategy, and more about its capacity for innovative thinking to address the big issue of meeting up-front costs. Originality/value - The significance of the SK Wyverns' green marketing program is that it shows how even a team in a non-major baseball market like South Korea can accept a big challenge and deliver the desired results by solving the cost issue in a proactive, creative way. The hope is that other sport franchises around Asia, in other regions faced with growing environmental concerns, may regard this case as a benchmark and find inspiration for their own creative solutions in going green. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the correlations among entrepreneurial environment, market-oriented strategies, and entrepreneurial performance. Design/methodology/approach – Entrepreneurial environment is measured by institutional environment and industrial environment. A survey of 176 large Chinese automobile firms is conducted. The structural equation model is applied to perform analysis. Findings – The uncertainty of the institutional environment is positively related with market-oriented strategies and market-oriented strategies are positively related with firms’ performance. The stronger the uncertainty of the industrial environment is, the larger impact that market-oriented strategies have on firms’ performance will be. There is no distinct positive relationship between the uncertainty of industrial environment and firms’ market-oriented strategies. The hypothesis, that the stronger the uncertainty of institutional environments is, the larger the impact that market-oriented strategies will be on firms’ performance, is not supported. Research limitations/implications – In terms of research design, this paper does not select survey samples randomly. This paper only takes institutional and industrial environments into consideration while the environmental characteristics are omitted. Originality/value – This paper expands entrepreneurship research by integrating previous studies. Findings in this paper are helpful for firms in emerging countries to implement “going abroad strategies,” to start up new businesses in other countries, and to achieve the goals of improving competitiveness and integrating with international firms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The transition economies of Eastern Europe present both the opportunities and challenges for companies operating in these markets. On one hand, these countries have a large number of technology savvy young consumers, and on the other, the markets must also take into consideration the macro-environment of a country and market conditions which make the use of certain market technologies more feasible and attractive compared to others. It is certainly true in terms of the timing for introduction of various technologies in a country. Drawing analogy for the "IDITAROD RACE" we develop three different "Sled Dog Team layouts" for market characteristics and technologies for three Eastern European countries, namely, Slovakia, Bulgaria, and Albania. The ten market characteristics included in our research are: digital connectivity divide, economic power, demand type, privacy laws, demographics, and competitive conditions, attitude towards technology, institutional maturity, corporate social responsibility, and corruption. The ten marketing technologies included in our research are: digital profiling, segmentation, websites, and search engines marketing, campaign management, content management, social media, mobile application, digital collaborations, and analytics. Company case studies are analyzed and reported for each of these three countries which support the three models presented in our research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The key to success in the internet business lies in how you carry out the integration between virtual and physical channels. The purpose of this paper is to aim at defining the solution to the integration. Design/methodology/approach – Channel coordination is grounded on a new governance of integration strategy which bridges the channels. This study proposes a novel research model with three stages: first, click-and-brick strategies; second, channel coordination for three purchase stages; and third, synergy realizations. A survey was conducted for collecting empirical data. PLS was used for path analysis. In total, three separate statistical analyses were performed for three defined integration strategies. Findings – Click-and-brick strategies have different degrees of impact on channel coordination in different purchase stages and in turn, different degrees of impact on synergy benefits. Specifically, the in-house division strategy is more important in determining channel coordination in the three purchase stages. Practical implications – Customers initially perceive online services with a nature of low trust and view them as highly risky. This integration is useful for a firm to successfully start a new online business. Further, it provides insight into allocating a firm's resources to critical multi-channel activities to realize synergy benefits. Originality/value – Multi-channel marketing is dynamic and complex in nature. Existing theories provide limited insight into effectively defining them. This study attempted to define a strategy-based implementation model. This model demonstrated the capability to effectively reduce the complexity of defining channel integration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to theoretically analyze and empirically test the business value of firm web visibility, including its relationship to advertising efficiency and long-term financial performance (i.e. shareholder value). Design/methodology/approach – A conceptual framework is established to analyze firm value of web visibility through its market effects. Hypotheses on the associations between firm web visibility and advertising efficiency and shareholder value are tested by cross-sectional analysis of 1,331 firms in six industries and four industry sectors. The authors control for several firm- and industry-level factors. Findings – The results consistently support the two hypotheses, i.e., first, a positive and significant relationship between firm web visibility and advertising efficiency; and second, a positive and significant relationship between firm web visibility and shareholder value. Practical implications – In addition to increasing web traffic, firm web visibility has business value and helps to enhance advertising efficiency and shareholder value. Managers can use the web references as a valuable tool for marketing success when the use of traditional advertising reaches saturation. Managers should actively monitor and use web visibility as a web management measure in practice. Originality/value – This research provides convincing evidence to support both short-term and long-term business value of web visibility and suggests that web visibility be recognized and managed as a market-based asset. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the factors examining the determinants of users' mobile commerce (m-commerce) usage activities. Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected from 402 users in Malaysia, and structural equation modelling analysis was employed to test the research model. Findings – The results showed that different demographic, motivation and security perceptions variables have different relationships with the types of m-commerce usage activities. Practical implications – The results from this study will be useful for m-commerce companies in formulating appropriate marketing strategies, as well as developing appropriate applications that will attract more consumers. Originality/value – Although past literatures have focused on technological aspects of m-commerce, few studies have examined the applications and strategies of m-commerce. Furthermore, most studies on m-commerce adoptions have focused on the relationships between technology adoption factors and behavioural intentions of users. There are few studies which have investigated the actual m-commerce usage activities of users. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Purpose -- Today a large variety of printed circuit board (PCB) base materials exists on the market and new ones are added frequently. The base material suppliers, having good original equipment manufacturer (OEM) marketing, usually present the materials in an early development stage to the end customers. The customers, on the other hand, expect from their PCB suppliers that the materials are fully characterized and that qualification samples are available immediately. In many cases, the process recommendations given to the PCB manufacturers are very generic ("like FR4"), insufficient, or not practicable ("8 hours baking time"). However, optimized processing ensures the reliability of the finished PCBs, starting from general leadfree compatibility to CAF testing. This demonstrates the importance of thoroughly verified process parameters and of very specific process recommendations to minimize the number of costly and time-consuming iterations, and to be able to meet the goal of submitting qualification samples and functional PCBs in minimum time. The purpose of this paper is to show the minimum required PCB processing recommendations, and why these have to be fixed by the material supplier before commercialization of a new base material. Design/methodology/approach -- The paper examines the base material suppliers' situation, customer expectations and reality and the PCB manufacturers' expectations. Findings -- The paper gives the reasons and consequences of early base material marketing. Originality/value -- The paper analyses today's PCB base materials market and shows the reasons and consequences of early base material marketing. Also, the minimum requirements by PCB fabricators concerning processing recommendations are given. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – This study focuses on how brands participate in social network sites (SNSs) and investigates both the different strategies they adopt and the factors that influence these strategies. Design/methodology/approach – The activities of top brands in SNSs were investigated through a content analysis of brand web sites in three countries, measuring two primary dimensions: presence in SNSs and level of engagement which the brand hoped to establish with stakeholders. The study then built logistic regression models to understand which factors drive brands to adopt and use SNSs, using insights from previous studies related to internet innovation adoption cycles. Findings – The study confirmed that SNS adoption follows a general path of Internet innovation adoption by brands. Industry markets exert influence, with technology and consumer intensive brands being more likely than all other industry segments to be present in SNSs and to participate at higher engagement levels, while brands targeting younger audiences also engage at higher levels than brands targeting generic audiences. The country in which the brand operates plays a significant role in a brand's likelihood of adopting SNSs: web sites in the USA are more likely to use SNSs than other countries, even after controlling for factors such as pre-existing web operations or the headquarters being in the same country. It was also found that top brands operate in a global world, as shown by their preference for SNSs with global coverage compared to local SNS, even when the penetration rates of these local SNSs were higher. Originality/value – The paper advances research on SNS adoption by brands from an organizational standpoint, at a time when the majority of the top global brands actively promote such services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the discussion related to the antecedents of the extent of e-business use and the effect of this level on changing strategy, management and marketing. Design/methodology/approach – The authors use data from 691 retailers in seven European countries. Information is obtained from the survey of the "e-Business W@tch". Data analysis was performed using biprobit estimation. The sample is divided into two groups depending on the level of e-commerce of the countries. Findings – Results suggest that the e-business use implies changes in the firm's strategy, management and marketing in all the countries studied. Differences between the two groups of countries are minimal. The main factors that influence the level of e-business use are IT expertise and perceived benefits. Research limitations/implications – The limitations are related to the nature of the data and concretely the main limitation lies in the consequences construct. The data provided are very general and it would be useful to specify what kind of change is generated. Practical implications – Antecedents of the level of use are similar for all the countries, so there might be additional factors that explain why, in some countries, retailers have adopted a different level of e-business. Managers have to take into account that the adoption and use of a higher level of e-business requires changes in all the functional areas. The decision of adopting and using e-business should be taken seriously. Originality/value – Most research has focused on analyzing the antecedents of e-business use in a single country. However, this paper presents some new evidence on the factors that influence the extent of e-business use for two groups of countries. Furthermore, previous research has suggested that changes might be necessary within the firm due to the e-business use but there is little empirical evidence on the internal impact of e-business use. This paper provides a first approximation to the general areas in which managers had to made changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study advances brand association research into participatory sports (i.e. fitness) by examining health club related dimensions and extending research into the United States (US). Data were collected from health club members (n=148) at a branded US fitness facility. Factor and regression analyses used specified brand association dimensions and revealed a predictive model of brand loyalty. Findings and discussions will assist fitness managers in brand-building, marketing strategies and member retention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the global economy expands, it would seem to be in the interests of the major professional sport leagues of the US to move into new markets, especially China, one of the fastest growing and largest in the world. In order to sell effectively in this market, it is vital to gain an understanding of the potential fan base. To explore national differences in fandom, a survey was completed by sports fans in both China and the US to assess which sports participants followed and which media they used, to identify fan motives and their feelings about expansion. This study determined that there are clear differences between Chinese and Americans. While many of the Chinese were fans of American sports, they tended to follow individual athletes rather than teams and had relatively low fan identity but high levels of fan motivation. Motives also varied by country, with aesthetics and affiliation the primary motives among the Chinese sample. These distinctions can be utilised to create marketing strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this research is to examine an empirical model of marketing strategy and shareholder value through customer satisfaction and financial performance by using a value-based marketing approach on organisations listed in Amman Stock Exchange Market operating in Jordan. Design/methodology/approach – A quantitative methodology was employed through conducting two surveys targeting Jordanian organisations' marketing managers and their customers as well as utilising hard measures for financial performance and shareholder value data analysis. A total of 218 marketing managers were involved in the managers' survey and 1,200 customers were involved in the customers' satisfaction survey. A series of exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were used to assess the research constructs dimensions, unidimensionality, validity and composite reliability. Structural path model analysis was also used to test the hypothesised research model. Findings – The empirical results indicate that external and internal marketing orientations (IMOs) exerted a positive and significant effect on marketing strategy components, namely: product, price, promotion and distribution strategies. Marketing strategy components exerted a positive and significant effect on customer satisfaction. The findings also indicate that product and price strategies are the strongest drivers of customer satisfaction. Customer satisfaction has a positive and significant effect on financial performance. More importantly, financial performance has a strong positive contribution to shareholder value measured by market value added and earning per share. Originality/value – This is the first empirical research paper that has investigated a model of marketing strategy and shareholder value through customer satisfaction and financial performance especially in developing countries, e.g. Jordan. This research offered executives and marketing directors empirical evidence on drivers of shareholder value maximisation and how to enhance marketing's strategic influence on strategic decisions which were not available to them before. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - Given the growing importance of e-coupons as promotional devices, predicting consumers' e-coupons redemption intention is essential to the evaluation of this promotion strategy. This paper aims to address this issue. An extended theory of planned behavior (TPB) research model which further includes consumers' e-coupon proneness as a mediator is built in this study to predict consumers' usage intentions of e-coupons. Design/methodology/approach - This research collected research data on a questionnaire collection web site, because most e-coupon users are also internet surfers. There were 626 valid surveys returned as the data input for structural equation model (SEM) analysis. Findings - The results from this empirical study reveal that failure to include e-coupon proneness as a mediator in the extended TPB model can lead to an inability to explain consumers' usage intentions of e-coupons well. Moreover, given such a totally new environment, the direct influences of consumers' perceived behavioral control of using e-coupons and consumers' past behavior of using e-coupons are strong predictors and cannot be ignored. Research limitations/implications - The main limitation of this study is that the measures of the independent and dependent variables in the present study are based on self-reported methods. It is likely that the relationships among some of the variables may be somewhat inflated, and a common method variance must be considered. Practical implications - The empirical results and findings from this study are helpful to online marketers if they can identify those consumers who have e-coupon proneness and tailor the promotion campaigns to these consumers, raising the e-coupon redemption intentions. Originality/value - To the best of the authors' knowledge, this study is among the first to provide analytical insight into e-coupon usage intention with e-coupon proneness as a mediator by building an extended TPB model in computer-mediated environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to find out whether LibQUAL+TM can account for student loyalty to the library of an institution of higher education. LibQUAL+TM is a marketing tool that is used to measure perceived service quality of libraries, and the present analysis aims at validating this service quality instrument within a more comprehensive theoretical satisfaction-image-loyalty framework. Design/methodology/approach – The data source is a survey among students at the bachelor's level of a university college in Norway. The analysis is based on structural equation modelling. Findings – The three LibQUAL drivers (information control, affect of service and library as a place) account for 85 per cent of the variation in student loyalty. Research limitations/implications – This research has been applied to a specific university college. The research should be expanded to other institutions offering higher education. Practical implications – The study gives practical insight to managers regarding drivers of student loyalty for decision making and strategic control. The library as a place has the greatest impact on loyalty in this study. Originality/value – Relationship marketing and management have become increasingly important for higher education managers. By identifying drivers of student loyalty regarding image building and satisfaction creation, and by allocating resources to activities that are important for students regarding these two processes, managers may obtain increased student retention, thus helping to ensure future public funding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate empirically the influence of six key contextual determinants upon the degree of standardization for firms who enter a new market directly. In the context of international business market entry, much research emphasis has been placed upon the issues of standardization versus modification. Generally, however, this research focuses on promotion and advertising. Design/methodology/approach – This paper investigates the research variables that influence standardization/modification decisions in a framework comprising "firm or company context" and "host country context". The research, undertaken with a sample of 700 UK-based for-profit organizations, adapts and further develops Hofstede's study. Findings – It identifies that the elements of competition and political risk are negatively significant in relation to the degree of standardization. In addition, economic development and international experience are positively significant in relation to the degree of standardization. Firm size and culture differences have no impact upon the degree of standardization. Research limitations/implications – Research is only conducted among British companies operating cross border. Originality/value – This paper's originality is in providing specific types of elements as risk reducers in a firm's market entry strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – This paper aims to present an assessment framework which captures the essential characteristics and holistic success factors for disruptive innovation based on the original theory of Christensen, a number of clarifications as reported in the literature and a study of known, successful cases in the literature.Design/methodology/approach – The framework was designed based on the improved understanding of disruptive innovation challenges and on the holistic consideration of innovation as a dynamic process. It consists of structured questions which could be used to guide detailed data collection and analysis needed to answer the key questions which constitute the assessment framework. They are grouped under market positioning, technology and other favourable drivers.Findings – A simple yet comprehensive assessment framework for disruptive innovation has been developed. Two of the known successful cases, namely the steel minimill of Nucor and the 3.5 inch disk drive of Conner/Seagate, were presented in more detail to illustrate the use of this systematic framework in assessing the success potential of these cases of disruptive innovations in either the low-end or new markets. A third and fairly new example, that of the limited mobile phone system/product of UTStarcom, was then presented to illustrate a case where the framework revealed reasons for potential failure. A fourth example of Google's web-based office applications then illustrated how the framework might be used to study the disruptive potential of a new product.Originality/value – This paper enables a more accurate and systematic assessment of disruptive innovation. The framework also has the potential to be further developed into a systematic tool for answering the question of whether the disruptive innovation theory could indeed be used to provide ex ante prediction of the success of a new disruptive innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to construct and validate an e-lifestyle scale. Design/methodology/approach – Through a two-step approach of exploratory factor analysis (EFA), the generated two EFA solutions reveal the adequacy of the generated seven components underlying the 1,135 responses. By using the other 793 respondents sampling from the same population, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) examines and supports the fitness of the overall structure. Findings – The empirical results show that the 39 items of the e-lifestyle scale were grouped into seven distinct components. These components represented seven principal factors that significantly influence and shape individual e-lifestyles. Research limitations/implications – This investigation merely represents a starting point in e-lifestyle research. To enhance the validity and generalization of the scale proposed in this study, further cross-cultural validation is necessary. Practical implications – Beyond constructing and validating an e-lifestyle instrument, this study could provide marketers with insights about how to integrate e-lifestyles into marketing strategies. Originality/value – This research contributes to advance current knowledge on what factors influence e-lifestyle and relative influences of main factors shaping e-lifestyle, and pave a way for marketers to execute more elaborate marketing research with the proposed e-lifestyle scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated whether the 2008 summer Olympic Games improved the country image of China among foreign consumers. It examined the extent to which the changed country image contributed to its product image. A quasi-experimental research design was used, with surveys taken two months before and two months after the event. The results showed that hosting the Olympics significantly improved the country image of China but did not affect the image of its products in a positive way. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – This paper aims to investigate the balance of power between a giant manufacturer in the air conditioners market (i.e. Gree) and a giant retailer in the home appliances market (anonymity preserved). Both companies are operating in the rapidly growing Chinese home appliances market. In order to access the balance of power, the paper studies their channel power conflicts and examine's which party is influenced, as a result of the inherent conflicts, to comply with the other party's marketing and channels of distribution policy. Design/methodology/approach – This is an exploratory type of study which adopted a case research methodology. Since the focus was on channel power and power is a function of company strength, the biggest/strongest manufacturer of the air conditioner industry and the biggest/strongest retailer in the home appliances market were selected for the study. Primary data were collected through personal in-depth interviews of senior sales and management personnel of both Gree and the giant retailer (fictitiously called Z-retail). Findings – The findings of the study suggest that the Chinese manufacturer possesses higher power over the Chinese retailer. While it cannot be denied that each of the giants is dependent on the other, the study results indicate that Z-retail is more dependent on Gree than Gree is on Z-retail. This lays out the groundwork to generate some tentative research propositions that are believed testable by future quantitative (conclusive) type of channels of distribution research. Originality/value – Studies of how channel power and/or conflict affect the relationship between suppliers and retailers and their performance level are abundant, but studies of who possesses higher power over the other are few. The few studies of the past have been conducted in the context of the Western developed country markets. It appears that even fewer studies have been conducted in a market of an emerging economy like China. The current study attempts to investigate if the suppliers, or the retailers, in the Chinese market have a higher power over the others. It is discovered that the channel power traditionally held by the suppliers would still be retained mostly on the supplier side. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this research was to develop the Sports Consumer-Team Relationship Quality Scale (SCTRQS). In Study I, content validity was established through a comprehensive review of literature and tests of content validity, including expert review. Based on the assessment of psychometric properties, theoretical relevance of the items and parsimoniousness of the scale, items were refined for two following studies. Results indicated that the SCTRQS would be a valid tool for marketers and managers to assess relationship quality with their consumers for marketing strategies, effectiveness of advertising campaigns, sponsorship value and value for stakeholders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - As a type of electronic commerce, online C2C markets have experienced a rapid growth in both sales volume and user numbers. Buy-it-now (BIN) auction is a mechanism to facilitate online auctions, and is adopted by the major online C2C marketplaces. This study aims to investigate consumers' purchase and adoption of risk relief service in BIN auctions in the online C2C market from the perspective of perceived risk. Design/methodology/approach - A research model is developed based on relevant theory. Data are collected from American and Chinese consumers through a web-based experiment system that simulates the transaction process on online C2C markets. The proposed hypotheses are tested with logistic and multiple linear regressions. Findings - The results show that buyer's purchase behavior and usage of risk relief service for a transaction in BIN auctions are determined by the perceived risk, which is influenced by the buyer's risk attitude, seller online reputation, and the product price and type. Practical implications - This study provides an in-depth understanding of consumers' behaviors on online C2C markets at transaction level, and makes implications for online marketplace operation and business strategy making. Originality/value - The primary value of this paper lies in providing a better understanding of consumers' behaviors on online C2C market, and investigating the factors that influence the consumers' purchase and adoption of risk relief service in online BIN auctions from the perceived risk perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose -- This study seeks to evaluate the impacts of land rental arrangements on crop insurance and grain marketing decisions. Design/methodology/approach -- The analysis is conducted in an Illinois corn-soybean setting in which optimal marketing and crop insurance decisions are estimated for a risk-averse producer under typical cash rent and share rent agreements using numerical simulation methods. Findings -- Results indicate that the availability of crop insurance impacts the intensity of use of put options under both cash and share rent arrangements. Similar to previous work in this area, revenue insurance is found to cause a substitution away from marketing using put options, while yield insurance is complementary to price risk management alternatives. However, while insurance and marketing play a role under both types of land tenure arrangements, shifting from a cash rent to a share rent agreement provides a relatively greater degree of risk reduction. Practical implications -- The results suggest that additional research is needed to explain trends in land rental contracts. Crop insurance and other federal programs may provide incentives to switch from share leases to cash rent arrangements. Changes to the design of these programs could facilitate risk management for producers more efficiently. Originality/value -- The unique contribution of this study is the comparison of insurance and marketing decisions under both cash rent and share rent agreements for crop land. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - The paper, based on the concepts of means-end chain (MEC) theory and high versus low-context cultures, aims to understand whether the differentiation of culture connotations is directly reflected in the design of web advertisements and whether the text content of web ads is a reliable indicator of different context cultures (e.g. implicit and explicit). Design/methodology/approach - Changing consumer attitudes toward the use of credit provides huge business opportunities for credit card issuers. Obviously, credit card issuers have continued their efforts to persuade large numbers of people to obtain and use the cards. Credit cards can thus be considered a successful intercultural marketing case of product internationalisation. Therefore, this paper used web ads for credit cards as research subjects. This paper adopts MEC theory and the distinction between high- and low-context cultures to identify whether the cultural context directly affects the design and content of web advertisements. Findings - Through examining the advertising copy of credit card web sites, this study found that the higher the cultural context, the more complicated the cognitive attribute-consequence-value structures of web ad design. Thus, web design analysis reveals that marketers living in countries with high-context cultures normally communicate indirectly with their target audience, leading to highly complex attribute-consequence-value linkage structures with many layers. Originality/value - This is the first study to integrate the concepts of MEC theory and high versus low-context cultures for understanding the impact of culture on web advertising. By understanding the differentiation of web ad designs across various cultures it is possible to provide marketers with valuable insights for developing advertising strategies in global markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose |!|#8211; The paper aims to explore the experience of graduates in the workplace. The aim is to study how these experiences differ from the expectations of the graduates and the aspirations of their academics. Design/methodology/approach |!|#8211; The research involved two phases: first, a survey was conducted of marketing academics. This survey examined how the academics conceived the relevance of their teaching strategies to the work environment in small-to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Second, marketing graduates who are employed by SMEs were interviewed. The interviews explored the experience of graduates in the SME workplace environment. Findings |!|#8211; The findings from this paper indicate that a graduate|!|#39;s perception of the skills and competencies they will use in the workplace are different to the reality of working in an SMEs. Practical implications |!|#8211; Graduates need to be cognisant that although academic theory and principles have value in the planning of workplace activities their employers will focus appraisal on the outcomes/outputs of their actions rather than the theoretical basis for these actions. Furthermore, the reality of the workplace is that the application of theory and subject-specific knowledge is only one element of the activities required by SMEs. Originality/value |!|#8211; The paper focuses on research that seeks to enhance the understanding of the experience of graduates in the workplace. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - This paper seeks to contribute to the internet marketing literature by examining the impact of flow on consumers' satisfaction, aroused feelings, website loyalty and word-of-mouth behaviours. Design/methodology/approach - A self-administered online questionnaire was used for data collection through a market research firm which randomly selected individuals of its online panel. Participants were asked to recall a recent encounter with their preferred professional sport website and refer to that website regarding their answers. Data were gathered from 400 consumers from a variety of professional sporting teams. The variables under investigation in the study were measured using established scales from the marketing literature and adapted to the context of the study. Findings - The results indicate that a compelling online experience related to sporting team websites as represented by flow experiences appears to be a driver of positive aroused feelings, higher satisfaction levels, as well as website loyalty and positive word-of-mouth of sport consumers. Research limitations/implications - The sample of the study is restricted to consumer evaluations from a specific website-service context being the professional sport sector. The empirical relationships between flow, aroused feelings, consumer satisfaction, website loyalty and word of mouth reported in the study are tentative in the sense that they are based on cross-sectional data. Practical implications - The study provides important implications for flow theory development and implications for internet marketing strategy, especially for professional sporting teams. Originality/value - The paper adds to the literature by investigating the relationship between flow and consequent outcomes of encounters and experiences of sporting team websites. Little research has addressed flow, and its effect on aroused feelings, consumer satisfaction and website-related loyalty intentions, especially in the domain of professional sport websites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Why has the reporting of scandal in sport been increasing? This paper focuses on the commercialisation of sport and changes in the media landscape. A case study of the Australian Rugby League competition and its long-running series of scandals concludes that scandal is inevitable in sport, and that marketing strategies must incorporate this. The authors propose a new strategy - embracement - as an effective way of mitigating scandal and leveraging for sponsor market position. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study which examines the weather and calendar effects on the patterns of tourism web site usage citing the data from the Korea Tourism Organisation and the Korean Meteorological Administration in South Korea. It analyses weather factors including rain, snow, and cloud cover, and calendar factors including seasons and holidays from a yearlong log in the Korean tourism web site. It shows that the number of visitors to the tourism web site increases during rainy and cloudy weather conditions or during workdays or summer seasons. It suggests that tourism managers should set up appropriate marketing strategies with considerations on the weather and calendar variables and run their web sites efficiently with updated information.

Consumer loyalty has long been recognised as a key consideration of marketing strategies focused on customer retention. While the importance of the loyalty construct is widely recognised, the conditions and variables that foster consumer loyalty for a specific service may vary. This paper explores the variables that influence fan attendance at a professional sporting event. It extends prior research by conceptualising both a behavioural and an attitudinal component of loyalty, as well as considering fan involvement with the sport and attraction to the sport. The findings suggest that psychological commitment and resistance to change mediate the effect of fan attraction and involvement on behavioural loyalty in a professional sports context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study which aims to examine the role of signal quality in the quality of Master of Business Adminstration (MBA) education in Vietnam. It notes the use of structural equation modeling in a sample of 457 MBA students in both local and international MBA programs in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam in order to examine the relationship between signal quality and service quality. The result of the study suggests that signal quality has a positive impact on program quality. It also adds that program investments impact both the signal quality and program quality. The study found no significant difference in between local and international programs.