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Individuals exist within an environmental context that strongly influences their overall health and welfare. Environmental context refers to the context in which a person lives, works, and socializes. This paper presents a social marketing strategic planning model which begins by analyzing the micro, meso, and macro environments to identify causes or influences of a target social issue or problem. Contributors to the social problem are prioritized with respect to the degree to which they exert influence or causality. Next, stakeholders (those who have some interest in the social problem) are identified. Stakeholder perceptions and values are examined in order to develop an effective coalition of stakeholders who can work collaboratively at the various environmental levels to ameliorate the target social problem. As social marketing has evolved in order to develop more effective solutions to complex social problems, integrating a systems approach is useful to understand the dynamics influencing the social problem. Individuals are not targeted myopically but placed into an environmental context to understand and respond to influences on unhealthy behaviors and living conditions. Engaging a coalition of stakeholders who are motivated to alleviate the causes of the social problem must be skillfully managed by social marketers but offers promise in addressing complex social problems.

This study investigates the influence of university brand image, satisfaction, and alumni’s university identification on positive word-of-mouth (WOM) intentions. The model is tested using data coll...

This research makes three contributions to the literature on brand strength. First, it examines a variety of antecedents that influence brand strength. Second, it investigates the inter-dimensional influences among brand strength's three dimensions. Third, it examines the influence of brand strength on word-of-mouth (WOM) behavior, and how brand preference mediation influences this relationship. Data were collected using an online survey approach and analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM) methods. The results reveal that all but one of our proposed antecedents had a significant influence on our target brand strength dimensions. We found that brand familiarity has an antecedent influence on brand attitude and brand remarkability, and that the influence of brand strength on WOM is partially mediated by brand preference.

The field of nonprofit marketing has progressed considerably. However, the field has often been discordant and fragmented. Progressive streams of research in nonprofit marketing, in which connected incremental increases in our knowledge have been lacking. To provide a unifying framework which researchers can use when planning a research program, this paper presents a holistic model of research knowledge development. The purpose of this paper is to help researchers find useful research topics and to develop research programs that will make meaningful contributions to the field. Developing a nomological net is presented as a foundational means of establishing the proposed study’s contribution to the extant literature. It is key in depicting the inter-construct influences acting on the focal outcome variables. The goal is to develop research that has greater theoretical significance and practical implications.

This case focuses on the development of a cause-related marketing (CRM) program from the perspective of the business partner. A business has multiple stakeholders, groups that can have conflicting interests. A business may have multiple motivations for initiating a CRM program. Various motivations may create conflicts in the development of CRM programs.

This study contributes to the literature on brand strength in three ways. First, it examines a variety of antecedent influences on brand strength. Second, it examines the inter-dimensional influences among brand strength’s three dimensions. Third, it examines brand strength’s influence on word-of-mouth (WOM) behavior, and brand preference’s mediation influence on this relationship. To attain these contributions, an empirical research study was conducted. Data were collected using an online survey approach (N = 449) and analyzed using a structural equation modeling (SEM) methods. The results reveal that all but one of our proposed antecedents had a significant influence on our target brand strength dimensions. We found that brand familiarity has an antecedent influence on brand attitude and brand remarkability, which covary. We found that brand strength’s influence on WOM is partially mediated by brand preference.

We contribute to the nonprofit marketing and branding research streams by, treating a charity as a brand, investigating the influence of a brand attribute, brand authenticity, on a bundle of import...

Hotels are becoming increasingly oriented towards developing relationships with their consumers (patrons/guests), giving rise to a heavy focus on consumer-brand relationships in tourism and hospitality research. This study examines the extent to which consumers’ perceived relationship orientations of hotel brands (i.e., PBRO) influences their identification with and anticipated emotions towards hotel brands, which in turn drives desirable performance outcomes for hotels such as the share of wallet, consideration set size, and revisit intention. To test our hypotheses, we recruited 376 respondents via Amazon Mechanical Turk (Mturk). We found that consumer-brand identification and anticipated emotions mediate the relationship between perceived brand relationship orientation and all performance outcome variables. These mediating effects are moderated by consumer involvement with hotel choice. Specifically, consumer involvement positively moderates the link between PBRO and consumer-brand identification and negatively moderates the effects of PBRO on anticipated emotions.

This paper investigates the mechanisms through which brand identity affects brand performance. The study proposes that brand identity influences brand preference and affective brand identif...

PurposeThis commentary presents a theoretical model with a special emphasis on developing social marketing strategies and tactics that account for industry involvement. The overall goal is to enhance social marketing effectiveness. Design/methodology/approachA planning model is presented which helps the social marketer account for industry involvement in the social or public health problem. FindingsThe paper finds that conducting an analysis of the causal influences of the social or public health problem helps to inform strategy development. Originality/valueThe paper presents a planning mode that can be useful in identifying industry contributions to social problems and in anticipating industry opposition to social change. The model is particularly appropriate for developing social marketing programs in which industry involvement is present.

The conceptualization of brand authenticity as evidenced from the extent literature is examined for validity issues. The body of literature on brand authenticity has produced a fragmented and varied theory of the construct and the value of knowledge produced from this research stream is questionable. This is problematic for researchers working on nonprofit marketing topics that investigate brand authenticity as a construct of interest. In the literature, brand authenticity has been defined in a variety of ways, typically as a multidimensional construct. As many as 40 different dimensions were found in our literature search. At the conclusion of our analysis, we present brand authenticity as a unidimensional construct that refers to the degree to which a brand object is perceived to be the quintessential exemplar of its type. This definition of brand authenticity is most consistent with the denotative meaning of the term and is suited to all types of brand objects including nonprofit organizations.

A theoretical understanding of Brand Authenticity (BA) could not reach its full potential because of a disjointed body of research that has produced a wide variety of conceptualizations, which this study seeks to address. In order to help scholars converge on a unified understanding of BA, we conducted a thorough literature review which identified forty purported dimensions of BA. Our critical analysis resulted in a two-dimensional (i.e., originality and genuineness) conceptualization of the construct. Brand authenticity is defined as the extent to which a brand is considered unique, legitimate, truthful to its claims, and lacking falsity. This study conceptualizes BA as a second-order reflective–formative construct. A new scale for BA was proposed and then tested on data collected about Goodwill using Mechanical Turk. SmartPLS (PLS-SEM) was used to analyze the data using the two-stage approach. This study found that BA formatively comprises two theorized dimensions, and the proposed BA scale is valid and reliable. The major contribution of this study will be in improving the conceptualization of BA by unifying the fragmented literature and also presenting a scale developed and tested for the further study of BA.

This paper discusses how researchers can improve the quality of their work, clarify the theoretical contributions of their work, and reduce the probability of having their journal submissions rejected. The main emphasis in this paper is on improving the quality of the theory construction (the theoretical contribution) of studies and the measurement of focal constructs.

This research investigates the moderating role of perceived risk in the relationship between satisfaction, loyalty, and willingness to pay premium price (WTP). A total of 364 respondents were recruited from Amazon's Mechanical Turk panel. Financial, social, performance, and psychological risks have significant negative effects on the relationship between satisfaction and WTP, whereas only financial risks have significant negative effects on the relationship between loyalty and WTP. Using moderated mediation analysis, we found that the mediating effects of loyalty diminish significantly in high social risk conditions and diminish completely in high financial risk conditions.

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between perceived external prestige (PEP), the student experience, attitude, and behaviour in the context of higher education institutions.Design/methodology/approach– A comparison of the relationships between prestige perception, the student experience, WOM, and loyalty is examined within a one highly prestigious institution and one mid-ranked institution. Multigroup structural equation modelling was employed to examine data obtained from 948 respondents at the two institutions.Findings– While respondents from the top-ranked institution exhibit a significantly higher perception of university prestige than mid-ranked university respondents, no significant differences were found between the two groups of respondents in terms of the strengths of relationships between constructs. The analysis revealed that students’ perception of their university experience performed a full mediating effect on the relationship between PEP and WOM, as well as a partial mediating effect on the relationship between PEP and loyalty.Practical implications– Student perceptions of the university experience is a strong indicator of attitude and behaviour. For university administrators, enhancing the student experience is just as important as managing a university’s reputation with respect to engendering loyalty and positive WOM.Originality/value– This is the first study to link PEP with student attitude and behaviour. The findings provide interesting theoretical insights as well as useful managerial implications to enhance consumer experience which in turns affect their attitude and behaviour towards the organisation.

This study explores the importance of psychographic characteristics as potential segmentation bases in the higher education sector. In particular, we develop a taxonomy of university students based on their achievement orientation and prestige sensitivity. The study analyses the survey data obtained from 948 respondents using cluster analyses and multiple analysis of variance (MANOVA), indicating interesting findings. Three distinct clusters emerge, namely Strivers, Modest Achievers and Prestige-seeking Innovators. Findings reveal that Prestige-seeking Innovators have a more positive attitude towards the university, whereas Strivers have the strongest sense of regret over their decision to enrol at their current university and would seize the opportunity to enrol in a more prestigious university. The taxonomy is highly relevant to marketers of higher education institutions as it gives insights into potential bases for segmentation, positioning and communication strategies targeting the specific ch...

The authors examine the course offerings of undergraduate business programs in Canada to better understand the depth and breadth of this educational system’s inclusion of ethics and social responsibility courses. Methodology involved analyzing online programs, curricula, and course descriptions on university websites. Results indicate that only a small proportion of universities are providing a substantial depth and breadth of course coverage in their course offerings. Additionally, barriers to educating ethical managers are discussed and a model of social responsibility concepts is presented.

Nonprofit brand strength is conceptualized as the degree to which a nonprofit brand is well known to a target group, is perceived favorably by a target group, and is perceived to be remarkable by a target group. Hence, the authors conceptualize nonprofit brand strength as a priori having three dimensions: familiarity, remarkability, and attitude. The authors report the development of a nonprofit brand strength scale, using a series of charity brands, in three separate studies, supporting the scale’s reliability and validity. The scale’s ability to differentiate charities based on their respective nonprofit brand strength levels is demonstrated. Moreover, nonprofit brand strength is shown to be antecedent to a target group’s affective dispositions and behavioral intentions toward the nonprofit brand.

The authors evaluate the potential of green marketing and its limitations in solving society’s environmental problems. The streams of research in the green marketing area are reviewed and their assumptions and efficacies are discussed. While green marketing has some positive societal outcomes, on its own it is an insufficient solution to societal environmental problems in general and to humanity’s existential threat from climate change in particular. The authors analyze and discuss the roles and responsibilities of business, citizen-consumers, and government in contributing environmental solutions.

In this article three generations of research addressing the marketing construct in nonprofit organizations are critically analyzed: (a) market orientation in nonprofit organizations, (b) societal orientation, and (c) research contributions aiming to close the existing practice–theory gap on this topic. A qualitative study among 24 nonprofit marketers is conducted in Canada and Germany to develop a construct labeled nonprofit marketing orientation. It includes the dimensions of brand orientation, supporters’ orientation, commercial orientation, and service orientation. Furthermore, the authors describe the nomological net of nonprofit marketing orientation to present interconstruct relationships and to inform future research.

The reason for existence of business is to increase ownership wealth. Hence, managers’ primary responsibility is to ensure that activities and decisions are aimed at increasing ownership wealth. This responsibility is actualized by continuously working to: (1) increase revenues, (2) reduce costs, and (3) reduce or remove competition.

Society is scrutinizing business schools, perhaps believing they should be educating good citizens and not just good managers. Society believes there is a widespread failure of a business education system that is demonstrated in the continuation of corporate crimes and scandals (Holland, 2009). Critics of business schools believe they have encouraged students to go to practically any lengths to increase corporate profits and short-term shareholder return. Alsop (2006) argues that “universities have a critical role to play in preparing leaders to create an ethical and socially responsible climate in the world’s business enterprises” (p. 12).

We conceptualize supporter loyalty, evaluate a scale for its measurement, and examine which organizational facets are most suitable to serve as loyalty objects. We conducted a survey-based research ( N = 306) to examine the influence of supporter loyalty on donation behaviors (four types), volunteering behaviors (three types), organizational citizenship behaviors (four types), and bequest intentions. The effect of supporter loyalty was significant for one type of donation behaviors, all three volunteering behaviors, three of four organizational citizenship behaviors, and bequest intentions. Evaluating the effect sizes indicates that the strength of supporter loyalty’s influence is relatively modest. The organization’s mission and the people served by the organization were the most important loyalty objects.

We compare the relative influence of different celebrity endorser attributes on respondents’ intentions to donate to a fictitious charity. The celebrity endorser attributes we modeled are expertise, admirability, likeability, trustworthiness, and attractiveness. We examine the moderating effects of audience sex, and general attitudes toward charities. Finally, we examined the mediating effects of perceived endorser fit with the endorsed charity. Our results find that endorser expertise and admirability are significant predictors of audience donation intentions. Audience general attitudes toward charities are a significant moderator of the influence of endorser expertise and admirability on donation intentions. We discuss the implications of our findings for researchers and practitioners.

Companies’ desire to demonstrate their social responsibility values, the need of nonprofit organizations (NPOs) to seek new sources of fundraising, and consumer concerns about responsible consumption have led to different types of collaborative relationships between the business and nonprofit sectors. Cause-related marketing (CRM) is the most common type of relationship between a business and a NPO. The main objective of this research is to analyze the consumer attitudes towards CRM and their consequences. Results showed that more favorable attitudes towards CRM could influence in a higher consumer’s satisfaction after the purchase of a product linked to this type of campaigns; in turn, greater satisfaction would influence a greater loyalty to the company that develops these programs. Thus, company credibility and company commitment to the cause or NPO play an important role in satisfaction and loyalty, respectively.

We describe a set of recommended practices for scale development research in nonprofit management and marketing. General process issues are described followed by recommendations for EFA and CFA components of scaling research. Implications for researchers, journal editors and reviewers are discussed.

The authors report a content analysis on scale development studies in nonprofit management and marketing. The authors analyze and discuss characteristics of the procedures used in these studies with respect to construct conceptualization, the relationship between construct and measurement model, item generation and refinement, sampling, analysis, and reporting. A variety of practices in this body of research were at variance with the current scale development literature. The authors include recommendations for best practices in further research.

Construct validity problems in prior research have stimulated concept fragmentation in some marketing areas. Weaknesses in prior brand research and sources for construct invalidity are discussed. To bring greater clarity and understanding to the brand-related constructs, major brand concepts are described and defined in order to differentiate them from proximate constructs in their nomological net. Managerial implications are discussed.

This paper reports the results of a study that examines gender differences relating to social influences and norms when individuals are making the decision to volunteer. Specifically, this paper examines gender differences in reciprocity and collaboration in initiating volunteer service. An online questionnaire was used to collect data (N = 742). The results were significant and supported the hypotheses. Females are more likely than males to expect reciprocation in volunteer recruitment by individuals within their social networks. Females are more likely than males to seek social support when initiating volunteer service. Managerial implications and suggested areas of future research are discussed.

Given the continuing need for professional nonprofit managers, a trend toward more businesslike models for administrating nonprofits seems likely. However, the level of business school involvement in the education of future nonprofit managers is largely unknown. Given direction from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB; the premier accreditation body for U.S. business schools) for an education that not only enhances a student's ability to contribute to an organization but to the greater society as well, it seems likely that an increased attention to a curricular focus on business educations that aids the training of future professional nonprofit organization managers might be likely. This study examines the status of nonprofit management, marketing, finance, accounting, social entrepreneurship, social marketing, fundraising courses, programs, and faculty in a sample of U.S. AACSB-accredited business schools. The perceptions of these business schools' leaders with regard to offe...

PurposeThe reason for this paper is to better understand why many social marketing campaigns produce poor results and to propose a model to guide social marketing strategic planning to improve program outcomes.Design/methodology/approachThis is a conceptual paper which discusses a new social marketing model to remove upstream causes of target social problems.FindingsIt appears that social marketing planning may be limited by over‐reliance on commercial marketing tactics and an over‐emphasis on individual behavior change. Finding upstream sources of social problems is a first step. However, social marketers must be willing to employ tactics to ameliorate structural, upstream causes of social problems.Research limitations/implicationsThe social marketing field needs to further its developmental progress by reducing its use of commercial marketing concepts and increasing its use of concepts from other fields like public health, political science, and social movements.Practical implicationsPracticing social marketers can improve their outcomes if they identify upstream causes of social problems and find ways to reduce their harmful effects.Social implicationsThere are major social implications because removing upstream sources of social problems will invoke opposition from powerful interests. A new array of complexity is involved in using activism as a tactic, which may be needed. Conflicts will have to be dealt with and responded to effectively.Originality/valueThe value of this paper is to enhance awareness of the self‐imposed limitations on social marketing strategies and to propose a means of removing these limitations and improving the ability to improve social well‐being.

This study explores the relationship between sex differences and preferences for volunteer roles, organizations, and supervision. A series of hypotheses were developed from prior research on sex differences from the fields of biology, neuroscience, and psychology to determine whether such preferences can be predicted. An online survey panel of over 700 individuals comprised the sample. Many of the hypotheses were supported. Implications of the findings on future research and on volunteer recruitment and retention are discussed.

The purpose of this study was to determine if sensation seeking and consumer innovativeness are useful characteristics in identifying a productive target market for volunteer tourism offerings. Sensation seeking and consumer innovativeness are trait characteristics describing needs for new experiences, risk taking, simulation, and consumer willingness to integrating these needs into their consumption of products and services. Extreme sports enthusiasts, thought to be high sensation seekers, were surveyed. Chain-referral methods were used to recruit the sample. Findings indicate that respondents were high in sensation seeking and consumer innovativeness. Many also expressed a desire for future volunteer work. Findings indicate that respondents would be a potential target market for volunteer tourism experiences and suggest that certain individual traits can be useful in identifying other individuals that would be a productive target market for volunteer tourism offerings. A better understanding of the bene...

Consumer perceptions of the information content contained on prescription drug websites was of interest in this investigation. Twenty branded prescription drugs were selected because they were evaluated as being poor consumer choices for safety reasons or because better alternatives existed. Study participants visited each of 20 websites for the selected drugs, and then they answered a series of questions for each website, in order to evaluate each website's information content. Participants, without knowing the selected prescription drugs were selected because they were problematic, reported that the drug company information was complete, fully presenting benefit and risk information, without being false or misleading in any respect. Pricing information was generally not provided by drug companies. Alternative medicines, treatments, and behavioral approaches for dealing with an illness or health condition were generally not part of the information provided by drug companies. Public policy implications are also discussed.

In some areas of public health concern, corporate marketing activities may negate social marketing messages targeting individuals. Traditional social marketing campaigns may be ineffective when commercial marketing activities create an environment that encourages and maintains unhealthy behaviors. This article explores the role of social marketing in these instances.

Hotels are increasingly sponsoring social marketing programs to encourage voluntary reduction of towel and linen use. These programs reduce water usage thus benefiting the environment. They also reduce hotels' laundering costs. Two controlled experiments were conducted to assess behavioral intentions and attributions as a result of such programs. Results demonstrate that response is most positive when savings from the program are donated to charity. When evidence is provided suggesting that a majority of hotel guests participate (social proof), the impact of how savings are used is reduced. This is especially pronounced for those traveling on business. Fit between the charity and the reuse program is inconsequential. The authors discuss implications.