Girl power and word‐of‐mouth behavior in the flourishing sports market

2005 ◽  
Vol 22 (5) ◽  
pp. 257-264 ◽  
Author(s):  
Victoria D. Bush ◽  
Alan J. Bush ◽  
Paul Clark ◽  
Robert P. Bush

PurposeTo investigate the influence of word‐of‐mouth (WOM) behavior among the growing teenage female market segment in the flourishing sports market.Design/methodology/approachA sample of 118 teenaged girls, aged 13‐18, participated in the study. The theory of consumer socialization and interpersonal influence was used as the conceptual foundation to generate hypotheses concerning female teens' susceptibility to interpersonal influence, self‐esteem, and WOM behavior. Female teens' ethnicity and media habits were also investigated.FindingsAll hypotheses were either supported or partially supported, suggesting that female teens' susceptibility to interpersonal influence and self‐esteem are related to athlete WOM behavior. Additionally, African‐American teenaged girls had significantly higher media habits than Caucasian teenaged girls.Research limitations/implicationsThe research is based on a small sample of teenaged girls from one region of the USA. However, the sample is from a diverse socioeconomic group of teenagers, and represents a relatively unexplored, yet extremely important, consumer market segment.Practical implicationsThe study provides insights for managers who want to learn more about the WOM behavior of one of the largest and most powerful market segments in the USA. Implications and applications are given to consumer marketers to help better serve this segment.Originality/valueThis paper fills a gap in the literature on female teens and what influences their WOM behavior in the enormous and growing sports market. Additionally, the paper looks at ethnicity and media habits and how these variables may impact on WOM behavior.

2018 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 54-64
Author(s):  
Angela Gazey ◽  
Shannen Vallesi ◽  
Karen Martin ◽  
Craig Cumming ◽  
Lisa Wood

Purpose Co-existing health conditions and frequent hospital usage are pervasive in homeless populations. Without a home to be discharged to, appropriate discharge care and treatment compliance are difficult. The Medical Respite Centre (MRC) model has gained traction in the USA, but other international examples are scant. The purpose of this paper is to address this void, presenting findings from an evaluation of The Cottage, a small short-stay respite facility for people experiencing homelessness attached to an inner-city hospital in Melbourne, Australia. Design/methodology/approach This mixed methods study uses case studies, qualitative interview data and hospital administrative data for clients admitted to The Cottage in 2015. Hospital inpatient admissions and emergency department presentations were compared for the 12-month period pre- and post-The Cottage. Findings Clients had multiple health conditions, often compounded by social isolation and homelessness or precarious housing. Qualitative data and case studies illustrate how The Cottage couples medical care and support in a home-like environment. The average stay was 8.8 days. There was a 7 per cent reduction in the number of unplanned inpatient days in the 12-months post support. Research limitations/implications The paper has some limitations including small sample size, data from one hospital only and lack of information on other services accessed by clients (e.g. housing support) limit attribution of causality. Social implications MRCs provide a safe environment for individuals to recuperate at a much lower cost than inpatient admissions. Originality/value There is limited evidence on the MRC model of care outside of the USA, and the findings demonstrate the benefits of even shorter-term respite post-discharge for people who are homeless.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Camila Lee Park ◽  
Mauro Fracarolli Nunes ◽  
Alessio Ishizaka

Purpose This study aims to examine the extended effects of corporate (ir)responsibilities in supply chains. More specifically, the authors compare the impact of social and environmental initiatives and failures in the reputational capital of supply chain partners. The authors investigate how (and if) companies’ decisions to prioritize different sustainability dimensions in their supplier selection processes (i.e. sustainability trade-offs) affect consumers’ perception of corporate image, corporate credibility-expertise, attitude towards the firm and word-of-mouth. Design/methodology/approach The authors conducted three behavioural vignette-based experiments with 562 participants from the USA, relying on analysis of variance and t-tests analyses. Findings Results show that consumers perceive social irresponsibility cases as more severe than environmental ones in suppliers’ operations, penalizing buyers’ corporate image, corporate credibility-expertise and word-of-mouth. Corporate image, attitude towards the firm and word-of-mouth also have significant differences between social and environmental trade-offs. Statistically significant differences were also found between scenarios that portrayed the discovery of an irresponsible action and ones that reinforced the previous irresponsible practice in companies’ suppliers. Practical implications When types of irresponsibility practices are presented, the discovery of child labour and modern slavery conditions in suppliers damage how consumers perceive the company on corporate image and their attitude towards the organization and how they will spread word-of-mouth, reinforcing the importance of considering sustainability issues when making supplier selection decisions. Originality/value The study contributes to the understanding of how companies are perceived by their consumers regarding irresponsible practices and their impact on firms’ supplier selection decisions. Furthermore, data suggests that consumers might hierarchize sustainability dimensions, perceiving social irresponsibility cases as more severe than environmental irresponsibility ones.


2019 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 125-146 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Howard ◽  
Warren Maroun ◽  
Robert Garnett

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the possibility of South African companies listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) using adjusted earnings as a part of an impression expectation management strategy focused on demonstrating how reported earnings measures meeting or beating analysts’ earnings forecasts. Design/methodology/approach A multiple response analysis approach is used. Earnings adjustments are coded according to a defined typology and assessed for their status as either valid or invalid. The number of occurrences of adjusted earnings measures over a five year period (2010-2014) meeting or beating analyst forecasts is calculated. Findings The use of adjusted earnings by JSE listed companies is a common occurrence. There is evidence to suggest that this is used part of an impression expectation management strategy. Most of the adjustments are invalid. When otherwise valid adjustments are used in a particular year, these are frequently repeated, and when adjusted earnings are reported, these normally exceed analysts’ forecasts. Research limitations/implications The paper is based on a relatively small sample from a single jurisdiction and limited time period. Nevertheless, the findings point to the need to revisit how financial performance is measured and reported, evaluate additional regulation to protect investors and understand in more detail exactly how and why companies use adjusted earnings as an impression expectation management tool. Originality/value The paper adds to the limited body of research on performance reporting outside of the USA and Europe. It also examines the use of adjusted earnings in a unique setting where, in addition to IFRS numbers, companies are required to report a mandatory adjusted earnings figure (headline earnings).


2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 50-65 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip Xie ◽  
Andy Sinwald

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to focus on: first, what major impacts do organizers perceive special events to create, and how do they measure an event’s success? second, do these perceived impacts align with the major themes of economic benefits, social impacts, and community cohesiveness revealed in the existing literature? and third, why do event organizers perceive these major impacts? Design/methodology/approach – In order to gain a better understanding of the types of community impact event organizers anticipate from, and attempt to solicit through special events, this study makes use of a survey with open-ended questions. Such questions enable a broader discussion between interviewees and interviewers, giving interviewees greater response leeway and generating more material for the researcher’s analysis. Findings – Findings suggest that bringing the community together, producing economic benefits for local businesses, and creating socializing and educational opportunities for visitors are the primary impacts anticipated by interviewed event organizers. In particular, providing a positive experience by getting the community involved proves to be the key element to the success of any special event discussed. Research limitations/implications – There are a couple of limitations to the study. First, the study presented a relatively small sample. Second, these results may relate to the institutions located along Lake Erie where parks and recreation have long been viewed as an integral part of community life. Originality/value – This study represents a first attempt to complement the quantitative data in the former research with a qualitative study. Through in-depth interviews, it sets out to create a dialogue from the event organizers along Lake Erie in the USA to help better understand the impacts of special events prepared by Parks and Recreation Departments.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Elaine Wallace ◽  
Isabel Buil

Purpose This study aims to present a typology of Facebook followers of charities, drawing on theories of value co-creation, impression management and conspicuous donation behavior. Design/methodology/approach Data from 234 students based in an Irish University and 296 adults in the USA were subjected to cluster analysis. Findings Four segments were identified, common to both samples. Quiet donors are less likely to engage with a charity on Facebook, yet they may donate to the charity. They follow a charity if it offers intrinsic meaning, and they quietly donate money. Facebook expressives mention charities on Facebook to impress others, but have low intention to donate. Following the charity on Facebook is a means to virtue signal, but it helps to spread word of mouth. Friendly donors are active on social media and engage with charities on Facebook when there is personal meaning, and they will donate. Following the charity offers them intrinsic value, and their Facebook mentions promote the charity online. Finally, dirty altruists are motivated by a desire to help, but also to impress others. They will donate, but they will ensure to highlight their good deed on Facebook, to virtue signal. Originality/value The study contributes to the literature investigating individuals’ motivations to connect with charities through social media and suggests value co-created by types of charity followers on Facebook.


Kybernetes ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 45 (7) ◽  
pp. 1052-1071 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kadir C. Yalcin ◽  
Ekrem Tatoglu ◽  
Selim Zaim

Purpose Based on a thorough review and synthesis of the literature in behavioral finance, the purpose of this paper is to develop three measures of heuristics that tend to influence investment decisions of individual investors. Design/methodology/approach Using perceptual data collected from a sample of 167 individual investors in the USA, the reliability and validity of heuristics measures are assessed by confirmatory factor analysis with structural equation modeling. Then, the second-order model is executed in order to indicate the paths among the study’s constructs. Finally, a multiple-group analysis is conducted to analyze the moderating effects of demographic factors on the relationship between the perceived level of heuristics and their constituent dimensions. Findings Of the three groups of heuristics, salience is found to be the most important followed by mental accounting, while representativeness features as relatively less important. Regarding the moderating effects, only investment experience is noted to have a significant moderating impact. Research limitations/implications The data utilized for testing and validating this instrument was acquired from a relatively small sample of individual investors in the USA, which makes the generalization of findings somewhat limited. Practical implications Both researchers and practitioners in behavioral finance can use these measurement scales to better understand the impact of heuristics on individual investment decisions and also to develop models that relate the critical factors of heuristics to the performance of individual investment decisions. Originality/value To date, there has been no systematic attempt in the extant behavioral finance literature to develop a valid and reliable instrument on heuristics which would aid to improve the quality of decision making in investment analysis.


2019 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
pp. 792-804
Author(s):  
Jessica K. Simon ◽  
Megan McDonald Way ◽  
Lidija Polutnik ◽  
Jeremy Albright

Purpose Leaders at higher education institutions (HEIs) in the USA experience substantial pressure to contain costs while advancing their educational missions. The purpose of this paper is to explore the association between publicly stated academic cost-containment objectives found in HEI’s strategic plans and mission statements, which help to unify stakeholders and link strategy to an organization’s purpose. Design/methodology/approach This paper analyzes mission statements and strategic plans of 57 small, private HEIs in the Northeastern USA. HEIs in this sample published strategic plans with an explicit cost-containment goal. Mission statements were analyzed for readability. Thematic analysis was conducted using the balanced scorecard approach. Associations between a stated academic cost containment goal and mission statement themes are presented using logistic regression. Findings Mission statements of HEIs focused on academic cost containment are wordier and more varied. They tend not to mention “liberal arts,” a potential signal of a high-quality, high-cost school; less selective schools may be more likely to emphasize academic cost cutting. Research limitations/implications This paper contributes to the literature demonstrating mission statements’ role in goal setting. Further, it considers college costs from college administrators’ perspectives. Given the small sample size, future work should expand the sample and use case studies to explore how mission shapes or constrains strategic objectives. Originality/value This is the first paper using qualitative and quantitative analysis to explore the association between the mission statements of small HEIs and academic cost containment goals in strategic plans, documents intended to support differentiation in a crowded market.


2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 48-73 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Khalilur Rahman ◽  
Suhaiza Zailani ◽  
Ghazali Musa

Purpose The World Islamic Tourism Mart in Malaysia has been attracting Muslim tourists from all over the world to choose Malaysia as their Islamic tourism destination. This paper aims to implement the concept of the travel career ladder (TCL) with the main purpose of the antecedents of travel motivation toward Malaysia for Islamic tourism destination (MMITD). Design/methodology/approach The theoretical model was tested using the structural equation modeling technique with partial least squares. A self-administered questionnaire was designed, distributed and collected from 180 effective participants who had visited Malaysia. Findings The findings revealed that the Islamic compliance with self-esteem needs, the Islamic compliance with relationship needs and the Islamic compliance with physiological needs have significant effects on Malaysia My Islamic tourism destination. Research limitations/implications The scope of this research paper is limited to TCL including the Islamic compliance issues with self-fulfillment, self-esteem, relationship, safety and physiological needs. A small sample size was obtained with participants from the Muslim countries. A future study should be comprehensively conducted on larger and diverse sampling methods with participants from the Muslim and the non-Muslim major countries, as this paper particularly discusses the theoretical and managerial implications for the anticipated future studies. Originality/value The study yet attempts on the part of academicians in Malaysia, what travel motivational factors influence Islamic tourists to travel MMITD. Based on the previous literature and researcher’s experience, it is a new phenomenon and investigation on MMITD.


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