Showing papers in "The Marketing Review in 2014"

The dark side of brand attachment: a conceptual framework of brand attachment's detrimental outcomes

Abstract: Brand attachment recently has received great attention among practitioners and academics alike. Scholars consider brand attachment a key requisite in consumer-brand relationships that create favourable consumer behaviours such as positive brand attitudes and brand loyalty. Few studies, however, examine the detrimental outcomes of brand attachment. In this paper, we develop a conceptual framework that explores how brand attachment may explain detrimental consumer behaviours, such as oppositional brand loyalty and antibrand actions. We investigate consumers' trash-talking and schadenfreude in brand communities and their subsequent outcomes. Our framework reveals that the link between brand attachment and oppositional brand loyalty is driven by consumers' social identity and sense of rivalry. Furthermore, we put forward that brand attachment leads to anti-brand actions when relationships deteriorate. We identify two factors behind the deterioration: (1) companies' opportunism activities, and (2) incongruity between consumers' values and the brand's values. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed arising from our emerging 'dark side' brand attachment framework.

Reflecting on Experiential Learning in Marketing Education

Abstract: © Westburn Publishers Ltd 2014. This is the preprint (pre peer-review) version of an article which has been published in its definitive form in Marketing Review, and has been posted by permission of Westburn Publishers Ltd for personal use, not for redistribution. The article was published in [Marketing Review, Vol.14, No.1, pp.97-108, http://dx.doi.org/10.1362/146934714X13948909473266"

Consumer-brand identification: A social identity based review and research directions.

Abstract: Consumer-brand identification (CBI) has gained increasing attention in the marketing literature over the past decade as a determinant of consumers’ in-role and extra-role behaviour. Despite the growing interest, there are a number of problems with the conceptualisation and operationalisation of the construct in the marketing literature. In this paper, we explore this gap in the literature by presenting a critique of how consumer identification has been defined and highlight the distinction between CBI and other conceptually similar constructs ranging from self-brand connection to self-image congruence. We present a review of the current operationalisations of consumer identification construct and raise some key problems with existing measurements. A review of the antecedents and consequences of consumer identification is also undertaken. The paper provides a valuable contribution to the marketing field by integrating a wide body of research on an important topic and by offering several insights and broad avenues for future research.

Consumer-to-consumer value within social networks

Abstract: The value literature emanating from within the marketing discipline consistently refers to value as a complex construct, not well understood (Arvidsson, 2011; Chang & Dibb, 2012; Gallarza, Gil-Saura, & Holbrook, 2011; Karababa & Kjeldgaard, 2014; Sanchez-Fernandez & Iniesta-Bonilla, 2007). Two clear streams of value literature are capturing the attention of marketing scholars at present. Firstly, the role of the consumer in the creation of value is fundamental to much of the recent value literature (Gronroos, 2011; McColl-Kennedy, Vargo, Dagger, Sweeney, & van Kasteren, 2012; Prahalad & Ramaswamy, 2002, 2004; Schau, Muniz, & Arnould, 2009;

Employability Skills: Maintaining relevance in Marketing Education

Abstract: Employability is an important outcome of education and particularly so with vocationally orientated degrees such as Marketing. Supporting this there is a wide range of literature discussing the variety of skills that should be developed within students in general and those on business and marketing courses in particular (Bennett, Dunne, & Carre, 1999, Hillage & Pollard, 1998, Zinser, 2003) however, with increasing competition for graduate placements and jobs it is important to ensure that the skills under discussion remain relevant to the conditions of the job market and that any new requirements are identified that will help to give students an ‘edge’. This study that was undertaken to explore the meaning, purpose and relevance of the employability skills. Qualitative and quantitative research was undertaken amongst employers of marketing and business graduates to examined how they rated the importance of the ‘employability’ skills that the university strives to develop in its students and sought to identify other traits that they looked for in ‘would be successful’ candidates. The objectives of this research study were to explore the range of employability skills that are offered to students, investigate the relevance and desirability of the current employability skills amongst current graduate employers, identify whether employers have other decision making criteria which are being overlooked by the university and assess the implication for learning and teaching in respect of LSBU marketing courses.

Suggestions for international research using electronic surveys

Abstract: The experience portrayed in this paper on the use of electronic surveys is based on a study that aimed to quantify the influence of several constructs, such as trust and risk perceptions, on the satisfaction with a specific international marketing relationship. In order to obtain the data needed, an electronic survey was conducted. The objective of this paper is to present some useful suggestions on how to plan, set up and execute an internet-based survey based on the experience obtained. Specifically, we try to highlight some suggestions to be followed and some pitfalls to be avoided in similar studies that involve, simultaneously: the use of a survey, the administration of the survey through the Internet, the difficulties associated with obtaining responses, and the administration of the survey to a sample of firms with partners from different countries.

The interplay between prior knowledge, perceived risk and the tourism consumer decision process: a conceptual framework

Abstract: When potential tourists engage in the decision-making process, there are a range of factors that can play a role in influencing their destination choice and the final travel outcome. This paper proposes a framework on how tourists' cognitive/ psychological factors play a role in their behavioural decision process. More specifically, this paper incorporates tourist risk perceptions, their prior knowledge and sensation seeking propensity as important psychographic attributes, and explains their possible interplay in various stages of the tourist decision-making model. This paper proposes a relationship between tourist prior knowledge, risk perceptions and subsequent information search behaviour, which has been overlooked in previous tourist decision-making models. Theoretical and practical implications are presented.

The effects of information at tourism destinations : a model proposal

Abstract: Tourist behaviour at chosen destinations is influenced by the information they may receive during their stay. Many decisions, such as visiting attractions, events, car rental, booking restaurant services, prolonging their holiday stays, etc., are made during their stay, with increased booking of activities leading to higher revenues for the destinations. The information-behaviour interaction also creates a mind-set in tourists that combines experiences, emotions, prior image of the place and satisfaction, which favours tourists' predisposition to return to the destinations and recommend them to friends and relatives. This paper proposes a theoretical model relating the effects derived from efficient information at tourism destinations. The model can help researchers, tourism marketers and managers at Destination Management Organisations (DMOs), Visitor & Convention Bureaus (VCBs) and Visitor Information Centres (VICs) understand the beneficial effects of efficient information at tourism destinations.

Conceptualising the role of innovation: Attributes for examining consumer adoption of mobile innovations

Abstract: Services across different consumer markets are being introduced as mobile phones applications for them to be usable on-the-go. Mobile wallet and Mobile ticketing are two such applications that have been recently introduced in the Indian context. For achieving an increased adoption rate of these innovations, it is important to understand the behaviour of the factors that help consumers form positive intentions about such innovations, in turn leading to the acceptance and use of those innovations. This paper, thus aims at developing a theory-based conceptual framework for examining the user adoption of mobile innovations using the innovation-attributes that have been shown in the recent literature to have considerable influences on the acceptance of innovations. Innovation-attributes from Rogers’ diffusion of innovations theory, Tornatzky and Klein’s meta-analysis, and Moore and Benbasat’s perceived characteristics of innovating theory will be used in developing the conceptual framework for examining the adoption of mobile innovations.