Showing papers by "Sara Dolnicar published in 2009"
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined the Australian banking sector, which engages in and promotes its corporate social responsibility activities, to help fill this gap and found that consumer understanding of many of the social issues banks engage with is also low.
Abstract: As a reflection of the values and ethics of firms, corporate social responsibility (CSR) has received a large amount of research attention over the last decade. A growing area of this research is the CSR–consumer relationship. Results of experimental studies indicate that consumer attitudes and purchase intentions are influenced by CSR initiatives – if consumers are aware of them. In order to create this awareness, business is increasingly turning to ‹pro-social’ marketing communications, but such campaigns is met with scepticism and their effectiveness are therefore uncertain. Consequently, researchers in the field (for example, Maignan, 2001; Mohr et al., 2001) have called for empirical studies to determine the level of actual consumer awareness of CSR initiatives. This study examines the Australian banking sector, which engages in and promotes its CSR activities, to help fill this gap. Results from our qualitative study with bank managers, and our quantitative study with consumers, indicate low consumer CSR awareness levels. Consumer understanding of many of the social issues banks engage with is also low. While CSR is effective in eliciting favourable consumer attitudes and behaviour in theory, CSR has not proven its general effectiveness in the marketplace. The low consumer awareness of the various social issues in which firms engage with their CSR programs suggests that firms may need to educate consumers, so they may better contextualise CSR initiatives communicated. However, better context may amount to little if claimed CSR initiatives are perceived as inconsistent with other facets of the business that reflect its values and ethics.
481 citations
TL;DR: This study is the first to conduct a comparative analysis of knowledge, perceptions, and acceptability, and determine segments of residents who are more open-minded than the general population toward the use of recycled and desalinated water.
298 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined the systematic heterogeneity of behavior with environmental consequences and found that individuals differ systematically in their patterns of behavior and behavioral patterns systematically differ between contexts/environments.
Abstract: The study of behavior with environmental consequences (recycling, water conservation, etc.) has received significant attention from social scientists over the past few decades. However, few studies have closely examined the systematic heterogeneity of behavior with environmental consequences. This study tests two specific hypotheses about such heterogeneity: that individuals differ systematically in their patterns of behavior with environmental consequences and that behavioral patterns systematically differ between context/environments. Both hypotheses are investigated empirically in the home and vacation environment. Results support the assumption that systematic differences in behavioral patterns exist across individuals. With respect to context/environment dependence, some groups of individuals do not change their behavior much between contexts/environments. The majority, however, tend to engage in fewer proenvironmental behaviors in the vacation context. These findings have significant implications fo...
188 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the extent and nature of survey bias resulting from survey format-specific respondent self-selection was examined in the tourism context, and it was shown that neither pure online surveys nor pure paper surveys administered through regular mail are unbiased.
Abstract: The popularity of online surveys is rising, yet the validity of survey data collected online is frequently questioned. This study compares online surveys versus paper surveys administered via regular mail in the tourism context, and examines in detail the extent and nature of survey bias resulting from survey format-specific respondent self-selection. Results suggest that (1) both online and mail samples deviate from census data population statistics regarding sociodemographics to the same extent (but differ in nature), (2) no differences exist in the contamination of data by response styles, (3) online respondents have a lower dropout rate and produce less incomplete data, and (4) responses to tourism-related questions differ significantly, indicating that survey format can dramatically influence results of empirical studies in tourism. Our findings show that neither pure online surveys nor pure paper surveys administered through regular mail are unbiased. Format-specific self-selection of respondents to...
156 citations
TL;DR: The model informs the social-research agenda for water policy and identifies a number of research needs including: the exploration of actual adoption of water-related behaviours (rather than behavioural intentions); and to widen the scope of water behaviour enquiry to include more demand-side solutions.
138 citations
01 Jan 2009
TL;DR: This article conducted a survey with non-profit managers in the UK, USA, and Australia to test three hypotheses: non-profits follow a customer-centered approach to marketing; marketing is run by marketing-trained staff; and cross-continental differences in the adoption of marketing in UK, the USA and Australia exist due to difference in the operating environment.
Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to tests three hypotheses: non‐profit organizations follow a customer‐centered approach to marketing; marketing is run by marketing‐trained staff; and cross‐continental differences in the adoption of marketing in the UK, the USA, and Australia exist due to differences in the operating environment.Design/methodology/approach – A survey study was conducted with non‐profit managers. The sample contains 136 respondents; 36 from the UK, 33 from the USA and 67 from Australia.Findings – Non‐profit managers indicated that the most important marketing activities are promotional in nature. The importance of market research and strategic marketing was acknowledged only by a small proportion of non‐profits, supporting Andreasen and Kotler's assertion that non‐profit organizations have an “organization‐centered” mindset. Only one fifth of marketing staff are trained in marketing. Non‐profit organizations in the UK, the USA, and Australia did not differ in their use of marketing a...
129 citations
TL;DR: This paper conducted a survey with non-profit managers in the UK, USA, and Australia to test three hypotheses: non-profits follow a customer-centered approach to marketing; marketing is run by marketing-trained staff; and cross-continental differences in the adoption of marketing in UK, the USA and Australia exist due to difference in the operating environment.
Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to tests three hypotheses: non‐profit organizations follow a customer‐centered approach to marketing; marketing is run by marketing‐trained staff; and cross‐continental differences in the adoption of marketing in the UK, the USA, and Australia exist due to differences in the operating environment.Design/methodology/approach – A survey study was conducted with non‐profit managers. The sample contains 136 respondents; 36 from the UK, 33 from the USA and 67 from Australia.Findings – Non‐profit managers indicated that the most important marketing activities are promotional in nature. The importance of market research and strategic marketing was acknowledged only by a small proportion of non‐profits, supporting Andreasen and Kotler's assertion that non‐profit organizations have an “organization‐centered” mindset. Only one fifth of marketing staff are trained in marketing. Non‐profit organizations in the UK, the USA, and Australia did not differ in their use of marketing a...
127 citations
TL;DR: Key results indicate that while people hold both positive and negative beliefs about water from alternative sources, nearly all of them are willing to drink it if the water crisis were to deteriorate further.
81 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a large proportion of managers lack a fundamental understanding of market segmentation methodology, thus over-interpreting the validity of solutions, and 60% of managers indicated that to them, segmentation is like a "black box", and they have difficulties interpre...
Abstract: A theory/practice divide exists in market segmentation. The main reasons are the focus of academic studies on statistical techniques, and managers' lack of understanding of fundamental segmentation basics (Dibb 2005; Greenberg and McDonald 1989). To date, only one study has explored methodological reasons for the theory/practice divide: Dibb and Simkin 1994. We extend their work by: (1) detailing key methodological aspects likely to cause difficulties in translating segmentation findings into managerially useful information, and (2) empirically investigating specific research questions about methodology-induced reasons for the theory/practice divide derived from both theory and the propositions of previous studies. Results indicate a large proportion of managers lack a fundamental understanding of market segmentation methodology, thus over-interpreting the validity of solutions. More than 60% of managers indicated that to them, market segmentation is like a "black box", and they have difficulties interpre...
75 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors identify significant differences between the characteristics of high and low-contribution volunteers, and find that high contributors exhibit distinctive sociodemographic characteristics, have a greater number, and broader range, of motivations for volunteering, and initially get involved in volunteering in different ways to low contributors.
Abstract: Growing competition in the third sector has resulted in nonprofit organizations making more sophisticated use of marketing techniques to attract volunteers. Not only are organizations attempting to attract more volunteers but increasingly the focus is shifting to attracting the right type of volunteers, or those who will contribute the most hours. This study segments the volunteering market by number of hours contributed in the past 12 months, and identifies significant differences between the characteristics of high‐contribution and low‐contribution volunteers. High‐contribution volunteers are found to (a) exhibit distinctive sociodemographic characteristics; (b) have a greater number, and broader range, of motivations for volunteering; and (c) initially get involved in volunteering in different ways to low‐contribution volunteers. Findings are important because they provide practitioners with a description of those individuals most likely to contribute more hours, which can be used to increasingly attra...
51 citations
01 Jan 2009
TL;DR: The data suggest that universities need to improve the quality of lectures to achieve better attendance levels, and include a range of factors that potentially affect lecture attendance simultaneously by accounting for possible interactions between factors.
TL;DR: The authors used a survey among all students of an Australian university to compute a regression model with the probability of lecture attendance as the dependent variable and found that only four of the factors previously investigated are significant for marketing students (i.e., the difficulty of the subject, the quality of the lecture as perceived by the student, the QoE of the student as indicated by his or her average mark, and the format of lecture), which leaves little opportunity for Australian universities to improve attendance with simple measures.
Abstract: Lectures are a central element of traditional university learning, but Australian lecturers increasingly face very low levels of lecture attendance. A significant amount of research exists that investigates the drivers of lecture attendance. However, those studies typically study single factors in an isolated manner, thus overestimating the importance of individual factors. This study contributes to the understanding of lecture attendance (and nonattendance) by including a range of factors that potentially affect lecture attendance simultaneously, thus accounting for possible interactions between factors and identifying the key drivers of lecture attendance. The study uses a survey among all students of an Australian university to compute a regression model with the probability of lecture attendance as the dependent variable. Results indicate that only four of the factors previously investigated are significant for marketing students (i.e., the difficulty of the subject, the quality of the lecture as perceived by the student, the quality of the student as indicated by his or her average mark, and the format of the lecture), which leaves little opportunity for Australian universities to improve attendance with simple measures. Instead, the data suggest that universities need to improve the quality of lectures to achieve better attendance levels.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigate differences in attitude, social norm and perceived behavioral control regarding an important social marketing issue: changing the volunteering behavior of individuals in a multi-cultural society.
Abstract: The purpose of this qualitative investigation is to help nonprofit organizations which rely heavily on the support of volunteers increase the effectiveness of their marketing by accounting for differences in cultural background among community members. It was conducted in the multi‐cultural Australian context and included 79 participants from different cultural backgrounds. Findings indicate that as a whole, cultural groups differ significantly with respect to their attitudes, social norm and perceived behavioral control over volunteering. Nonprofit organizations are unlikely to be successful in attracting volunteers from a range of different cultural backgrounds unless they account for heterogeneity among volunteers and customize marketing messages. To the authors' knowledge this is the first study that investigates differences in attitude, social norm and perceived behavioral control regarding an important social marketing issue: changing the volunteering behavior of individuals in a multi‐cultural society.
01 Jan 2009
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigate whether there is a segment of tourists who are willing to pay for environmental initiatives taken on by their tour operator, and if so, how can it be characterized and thus marketed to.
Abstract: Ashift of attention from the dominant product orientation in environmentally sustainable tourism to a demand orientation has been suggested as a way of minimizing the effects of the inherent trade-offs the tourism industry faces between maximization of profits and investment in environmental sustainability. The success of such an approach depends on the existence of a class of tourists who are not only motivated to take care of the natural surroundings of the host destination, whether they are traveling in an ecotourism or general tourism context, but also represent an economically attractive market segment. The aim of this study is to investigate whether there is empirical evidence for the existence of such a segment among the wider tourism population and, if so, how can it be characterized and thus marketed to. Willingness to pay is used as a criterion to define this segment, as it implicitly accounts for the trade-off that suggests environmental protection comes at a price. Results from the empirical survey study conducted in Australia indicate that environmentally responsible tourists who are willing to pay for environmental initiatives taken on by their tour operator can be characterized by a distinct profile with respect to travel information seeking, destination preferences, travel behavior, and willingness to pay—indicating that targeting such a segment of tourists in the general tourism context represents an attractive supplementary strategy to traditional supply-sided measures of sustainable destination management.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigate whether there is a segment of tourists who are willing to pay for environmental initiatives taken on by their tour operator, and if so, how can it be characterized and thus marketed to.
Abstract: Ashift of attention from the dominant product orientation in environmentally sustainable tourism to a demand orientation has been suggested as a way of minimizing the effects of the inherent trade-offs the tourism industry faces between maximization of profits and investment in environmental sustainability. The success of such an approach depends on the existence of a class of tourists who are not only motivated to take care of the natural surroundings of the host destination, whether they are traveling in an ecotourism or general tourism context, but also represent an economically attractive market segment. The aim of this study is to investigate whether there is empirical evidence for the existence of such a segment among the wider tourism population and, if so, how can it be characterized and thus marketed to. Willingness to pay is used as a criterion to define this segment, as it implicitly accounts for the trade-off that suggests environmental protection comes at a price. Results from the empirical survey study conducted in Australia indicate that environmentally responsible tourists who are willing to pay for environmental initiatives taken on by their tour operator can be characterized by a distinct profile with respect to travel information seeking, destination preferences, travel behavior, and willingness to pay—indicating that targeting such a segment of tourists in the general tourism context represents an attractive supplementary strategy to traditional supply-sided measures of sustainable destination management.
01 Jan 2009
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigate whether cross-cultural response styles affect the validity of student evaluations and propose a simple method to check for response style contamination in student evaluation data and discuss some practical implications.
Abstract: Student evaluation surveys provide instructors with feedback regarding development opportunities and they form the basis of promotion and tenure decisions. Student evaluations have been extensively studied, but one dimension hitherto neglected is the actual measurement aspect: which questions to ask, how to ask them, and what answer options to offer to students to get the most valid results. This study investigates whether cross-cultural response styles affect the validity of student evaluations. If they do, then the student mix in a class can affect an instructor's evaluation, potentially producing biased feedback and prompting inappropriate decisions by university committees. This article discusses two main response styles, demonstrates the nature of the bias they can cause in student evaluation surveys using simulated artificial data, and illustrates three cases based on real student evaluation data in which marketing instructors' teaching quality assessments may be heavily biased because of response styles. The authors propose a simple method to check for response style contamination in student evaluation data and they discuss some practical implications.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigate whether cross-cultural response styles affect the validity of student evaluations and propose a simple method to check for response style contamination in student evaluation data and discuss some practical implications.
Abstract: Student evaluation surveys provide instructors with feedback regarding development opportunities and they form the basis of promotion and tenure decisions. Student evaluations have been extensively studied, but one dimension hitherto neglected is the actual measurement aspect: which questions to ask, how to ask them, and what answer options to offer to students to get the most valid results. This study investigates whether cross-cultural response styles affect the validity of student evaluations. If they do, then the student mix in a class can affect an instructor's evaluation, potentially producing biased feedback and prompting inappropriate decisions by university committees. This article discusses two main response styles, demonstrates the nature of the bias they can cause in student evaluation surveys using simulated artificial data, and illustrates three cases based on real student evaluation data in which marketing instructors' teaching quality assessments may be heavily biased because of response styles. The authors propose a simple method to check for response style contamination in student evaluation data and they discuss some practical implications.
TL;DR: In this paper, the impact of New Public Management (NPM) practices, particularly competitive grant funding, on Bushcare New South Wales (NSW), an Australian environmental volunteering organisation, was investigated.
Abstract: This paper first investigates the impact of New Public Management (NPM) practices, particularly competitive grant funding, on Bushcare New South Wales (NSW), an Australian environmental volunteering organisation Secondly, identifying such local volunteering organisations as repositories of valuable social capital, it explores the link between volunteering and social capital Using mixed methods and institutional theory, the study reveals that an increased level of professionalism and accountability is required of Bushcare groups, and that local coordinators face a challenge in balancing local, regional and national priorities without sacrificing Bushcare's mission These dynamics, it is proposed, have potentially serious social capital implications
TL;DR: This work proposes that the suitability of answer formats depends on the construct measured, and supports the notion that no single answer format is optimal for all research problems, but that some constructs are naturally more suitable for certain answer formats than others.
Abstract: Survey research is used to investigate a variety of different constructs, such as beliefs, behavioural intentions, perceptions, preferences and so on. Despite the wide range of constructs studied b...
TL;DR: The world is facing an environmental crisis as discussed by the authors, and long-term environmental sustainability requires social change: individuals need to take personal responsibility for the environment and change their behavior to improve it.
Abstract: The world is facing an environmental crisis. Long-term environmental sustainability requires social change: individuals need to take personal responsibility for the environment and change their beh...
01 Jan 2009
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigate the relationship between offering or not offering a don't know option and the verbalisation of scale points, and show that using the typical Likert scale verbalization of the middle point (neither agree not disagree) is often misinterpreted as a Don-t know option by respondents, thus increasing the risk of data contamination.
Abstract: The aims of this study were to (1) understand the extent to which offering or not offering a Don’t know option has the potential of contaminating survey data, and (2) investigate the interaction between offering a Don’t know option and the verbalisation of scale points. Results from an experimental study with 196 online panel members confirm that substantial proportions of empirical data sets can be contaminated if Don’t know options are not offered to respondents who do not feel competent to assess an object under study due to lack of familiarity. The maximum extent of data contamination could not be determined because only one product category was examined. But the contamination for the less known fast food restaurant under study amounted to almost 20% of the data. Furthermore results show that using the typical Likert scale verbalisation of the middle point (“neither agree not disagree”) is often misinterpreted as a Don’t know option by respondents, thus increasing the risk of data contamination that cannot be corrected retrospectively. Practical recommendations for market researchers are derived from these results.
01 Jan 2009
TL;DR: In this article, the impact of New Public Management (NPM) practices, particularly competitive grant funding, on Bushcare New South Wales (NSW), an Australian environmental volunteering organisation, was investigated.
Abstract: This paper first investigates the impact of New Public Management (NPM) practices, particularly competitive grant funding, on Bushcare New South Wales (NSW), an Australian environmental volunteering organisation. Secondly, identifying such local volunteering organisations as repositories of valuable social capital, it explores the link between volunteering and social capital. Using mixed methods and institutional theory, the study reveals that an increased level of professionalism and accountability is required of Bushcare groups, and that local coordinators face a challenge in balancing local, regional and national priorities without sacrificing Bushcare's mission. These dynamics, it is proposed, have potentially serious social capital implications.
01 Jan 2009
TL;DR: According to self-congruity theory, people prefer brands that they associate with a set of personality traits which are similar to their own as mentioned in this paper, and this notion is widely accepted by consumer researchers and has beenempirically tested in a number of commercial product and service contexts.
Abstract: According to self-congruity theory, people prefer brands that they associate with a set of personality traitswhich are similar to their own. This notion is widely accepted by consumer researchers and has beenempirically tested in a number of commercial product and service contexts. It has not, however, been tested inthe context of the third sector, particularly in relation to volunteering organisations. This study findspreliminary support for two hypotheses: (1) volunteers who prefer a specific volunteering organisation overothers differ significantly in their self-concept; and (2) the self-concept of volunteers who prefer a specificvolunteering organisation most closely matches the perceived brand image of that volunteering organisation.Practical and theoretical implications are discussed and a future research agenda proposed. Keywords theory, congruity, volunteering, self Publication Details Randle, M. J. & Dolnicar, S. (2009). Self-congruity theory in volunteering. 38th EMAC Conference (pp. 1-8).France: Audencia Group.
01 Jan 2009
TL;DR: In this article, the authors used segmentation techniques to identify significant differences in managerial beliefs and then associate these belief segments with e-CRM performance, and found that three distinct types of managers can be identified based on the heterogeneity of their eCRM beliefs: mindfully optimistic, mindfully realistic, and mindfully pessimistic.
Abstract: Most sectors of industry, commerce, and government have reported variation in the performance payoff from electronic customer relationship management (e-CRM). In this paper we build on a surprisingly sparse literature regarding the importance of managerial discretion, to show that the heterogeneity of beliefs held by managers about e-CRM execution matter when explaining e-CRM success. Drawing on a data sample comprising 50 interviews and 293 survey responses we utilise segmentation techniques to identify significant differences in managerial beliefs and then associate these belief segments with eCRM performance. Results indicate that three distinct types of managers can be identified based on the heterogeneity of their e-CRM beliefs: (1) mindfully optimistic, (2) mindfully realistic, and (3) mindfully pessimistic. Further, our results imply that there are far less homogeneity at the individual firm level than is normally assumed in the literature, and that heterogeneity in managerial beliefs is systematically associated with organisational performance. Finally, these results serve to remind practitioners that e-CRM performance is dependent upon the right balance between managerial optimism and realism.
01 Jan 2009
01 Jan 2009
TL;DR: Vocino et al. as discussed by the authors studied the relationship between store names and product brand names as brand signals and obtained a Highly Commended Award at the Literati Network Awards for Excellence 2009.
Abstract: Andrea Vocino is Lecturer at the School of Management and Marketing at Deakin University, and PhD candidate in the Department of Marketing, at Monash University. His thesis is on the relationships between store names and product brand names as brand signals. His research interests also include marketing research methods and marketing science with particular emphasis to applications making use of covariance structure analysis. He has published in the Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, Marketing Intelligence & Planning and Journal of Database Marketing & Customer Strategy Management. He is a Highly Commended Award Winner at the Literati Network Awards for Excellence 2009. More information about the author can be found on his webpage http://andrea.vocino.name.
01 Jan 2009
TL;DR: In this article, the authors proposed a novel strategy for attr acting vacation tourists to destinations, especially destinations that are not in the favorable position of having a strong positive brand image as a tourism destination.
Abstract: The aim of thi s paper is to propose a novel strategy for attr acting vacation tourists to destinations, especially destinations that are not in the favourable position of having a strong positive brand image as a tourism destination Thi s involves the conversion of involuntary fir st time visitors, such as business travellers, to tourists who spend leisure time at the destination An empirical study was conducted to investigate if this proposed strategy is practically viable Results indicate that involuntary fir st time visitors with a high intention to return as tourists in their leisure time have distinctly diffe rent characteristics in terms of how they perceive the destination as well as their vacation preferences, which makes them a distinct market segment that could actively be targeted by tourism destinations as well as accommodation businesses and attr actions
01 Jan 2009
TL;DR: Results indicate (1) the proposed indicators discriminate between different market segments, thus guiding destination managers, and (2) weighting of indicators can help destinations with specific aims select segments in line with their priorities.
Abstract: Market segmentation has been widely employed to give tourism destination planners market understanding, identify attractive target segments, and develop a marketing offer customised to their needs. While a number of authors have proposed general criteria for assessing the attractiveness of segments, measurable indicators of attractiveness have not been proposed to date. This study uses a set of indicators to make “Segment Attractiveness” measurable and illustrate the usefulness of the proposed measure in the context of a generic tourism destination and a destination focusing on reachability. Results indicate (1) the proposed indicators discriminate between different market segments, thus guiding destination managers, and (2) weighting of indicators can help destinations with specific aims select segments in line with their priorities.