Picture this: the role of mental imagery in induction of food craving – a theoretical framework based on the elaborated intrusion theory

2019 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-42
Author(s):  
Elmira Shahriari ◽  
Ivonne M. Torres ◽  
Miguel Angel Zúñiga ◽  
Nourah Alfayez
Keyword(s):  
Mental Imagery ◽  
Food Product ◽  
Food Craving ◽  
Unhealthy Food ◽  
Healthy Foods ◽  
Food Cravings ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Future Studies ◽  
Perceived Availability

Purpose This paper aims to explore the influence of four types of imagery stimuli (i.e. visual, olfactory, gustatory and auditory) on food craving intensity based on the Elaborated Intrusion theory and the central role of mental imagery in the food craving experience. The roles of overall perception of sensory imagery attributes and perceived availability in moderating this process were also tested. The aim is to extract the positive aspects of food cravings by increasing them and shifting them toward healthy foods. Design/methodology/approach In an online experiment, 314 participants were randomly primed with each imagery condition. After being exposed to either healthy or unhealthy food pictures, participants completed a questionnaire measuring their craving state, trait food craving, imaging ability, BMI, dietary restraint, hunger and mood. At the end, the impact of food craving intensity on marketing outcomes (i.e. willingness to pay, price sensitivity and food intake) were tested. Findings As predicted, visual imagery was found to be the strongest stimulus inducing food craving followed by olfactory, gustatory and auditory stimuli. Furthermore, the results indicate that perceived availability of food is the only important variable moderating this process. Additionally, the results show that hunger makes consumers more susceptible to food cravings than mood. Moreover, food craving intensity showed significant impact on the two marketing outcomes: willingness to pay and food intake. Research limitations/implications First, the authors used a cheeseburger as unhealthy food and salad as healthy food, future studies can increase the generalizability of the findings by using other types of food. Second, physiological and psychological disorders should be considered and studied as influential factors on food cravings in future studies. Third, future studies should include some behavioral measures besides the analysis of state and trait craving. Fourth, although the main objective of this study was to compare the effect of different imagery stimuli on consumers’ food craving, there was no control (no-stimulus) condition. Practical implications Marketing strategists may benefit from the fact that encouraging consumers to visualize some specific type of food product along with informing them about its availability will elevate their craving for that food product. Hence, using this strategy in shopping environments could be beneficial. In the context of improving people’s diet, our results showed that encouraging people to visualize healthy foods (e.g. fruits and vegetables) might be more helpful than priming them with the benefits of eating healthy. Originality/value There has been a recent enthusiastic interest in identifying the role of food related mental imagery and stimuli in consumers’ decision making and their final consumption (Christian et al., 2016). Nevertheless, very few studies in marketing have paid attention to these underpinning stimuli driving food craving and the significant influence of this food craving phenomenon on marketing outcomes.

Marketing and family-related factors affecting food label use: the mediating role of consumer knowledge

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Daleen Van der Merwe ◽  
Hanli de Beer ◽  
Marli Nel ◽  
Susanna M. Ellis
Keyword(s):  
Food Choices ◽  
Healthy Food ◽  
Objective Knowledge ◽  
Food Label ◽  
Healthy Foods ◽  
Related Factors ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Mediating Role ◽  
The Relationship

PurposeThis study investigated the influence of marketing- and family-related factors on consumers' in-store usage of different types of food label information. Furthermore, the authors determined the mediating role of consumers' knowledge about healthy foods between these factors and their label consultation.Design/methodology/approachThe authors conducted a survey among 223 purposively selected South African working female consumers via social media. Subjective and objective knowledge about healthy foods, the importance of marketing- and family-related factors and the extent of food label usage were determined. Structural equation modelling served to test the mediating effect of knowledge in the relationship of the marketing and family-related factors with food label usage.FindingsMarketing-related factors demonstrated a strong direct effect on food label usage. Subjective knowledge about healthy foods mediated the relationship between family members' dietary needs and food label usage. However, objective knowledge was not a mediator.Practical implicationsRespondents' firm reliance on marketing-related factors (instead of knowledge) during food label usage is not in the best interest of consumers' healthy food choices. Healthy food choices based on factual knowledge rather than marketing efforts are necessary to establish long-term healthy food habits, hence the need for retailers' response in supplying healthier food options. Role players in consumer education should focus on increasing consumers' healthy food knowledge.Originality/valueIn the context of rising awareness of public health concerns, healthy food choice among consumers is essential. This study contributes to the complexity of consumers' need to make healthy food choices within an economic-driven marketing environment.

Consumer decision-making in a retail store: the role of mental imagery and gender difference

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jung-Hwan Kim ◽  
Minjeong Kim ◽  
Jungmin Yoo ◽  
Minjung Park
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Mental Imagery ◽  
Decision Making Process ◽  
Consumer Decision Making ◽  
Consumer Decision ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Perceived Ownership ◽  
Decision Satisfaction ◽  
The Relationship

PurposeThe purpose of the study is to investigate how mental imagery evoked from sensory in-store experience influences consumer anticipatory emotion, perceived ownership and decision satisfaction which eventually impact positive consumer responses such as behavioural intent. In this study, gender difference is proposed as a moderator to completely understand the role of mental imagery in the in-store decision-making process.Design/methodology/approachUsing a market research agency in South Korea, an online survey was employed to collect data. A total of 455 useable respondents (men = 224 and women = 231) largely living in the two most populous provinces in South Korea (i.e. Seoul and Gyeonggi provinces) completed the survey. A number of path analyses were conducted to test hypotheses.FindingsThe results of the study showed that mental imagery evoked from sensory product experience played a critical part in facilitating the consumer decision-making process by influencing anticipatory emotion and perceived ownership. The relationship among anticipatory emotion, perceived ownership, decision satisfaction and behavioural intent was significant except for the relationship between perceived ownership and behavioural intent. This study further indicated that the way mental imagery influences the in-store decision-making process differs between men and women.Originality/valueThe effect of mental imagery in a physical retail context is largely ignored. This study addressed the crucial role of mental imagery in a physical apparel retail setting and examined its impact on consumer decision-making processes. By exploring how to enhance consumers' in-store sensory shopping experiences through mental imagery to influence their positive shopping outcomes, this study offers vital insights into how retailers operating physical stores can successfully utilize their stores.

scholarly journals Institutional discrimination of women and workplace harassment of female expatriates

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 40-58 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin Bader ◽  
Sebastian Stoermer ◽  
Anna Katharina Bader ◽  
Tassilo Schuster
Keyword(s):  
Job Satisfaction ◽  
Boundary Condition ◽  
Job Stress ◽  
Gender Discrimination ◽  
Gender Harassment ◽  
Host Countries ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Institutional Level ◽  
Future Studies

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate workplace gender harassment of female expatriates across 25 host countries and consider the role of institutional-level gender discrimination as a boundary condition. Further, the study investigates the effects of workplace gender harassment on frustration and job satisfaction and general job stress as a moderator. Design/methodology/approach The sample is comprised of 160 expatriates residing in 25 host countries. The authors test the model using partial least-squares structural equation modeling. Findings The results show that female expatriates experience more workplace gender harassment than male expatriates. This effect is particularly pronounced in host countries with strong institutional-level gender discrimination. Moreover, the authors found significant main effects of gender harassment on expatriates’ frustration and job satisfaction. Further, the authors identified a significant association between frustration and job satisfaction. No significant moderation effect of general job stress was found. Research limitations/implications The study’s data are cross-sectional. Future studies are encouraged to use longitudinal research designs. Further, future studies could center on perpetrators of harassment, different manifestations of harassment, and effective countermeasures. Practical implications The study raises awareness on the challenges of harassment of female expatriates and the role of the host country context. Further, the study shows the detrimental effects of gender harassment on female expatriates’ job satisfaction which is a central predictor of variables crucial to international assignments, for example, performance or assignment completion. Originality/value The study is among the first endeavors to include institutional-level gender discrimination as a boundary condition of workplace gender harassment of female expatriates, and therefore puts the interplay between macro- and micro-level processes into perspective.

scholarly journals Network analysis: emergence, criticism and recent trends

2019 ◽  
Vol 54 (4) ◽  
pp. 533-547 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles Kirschbaum
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Network Analysis ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Social Ties ◽  
Research Area ◽  
Organizational Studies ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Future Studies ◽  
Recent Trends

Purpose Network analysis is a well consolidated research area in several disciplines. Within management and organizational studies, network scholars consolidated a set of research practices that allowed ease of data collection, high inter case comparability, establishment of nomological laws and commitment to social capital motivation. This paper aims to elicit the criticism it has received and highlight the unsettled lacunae. Design/methodology/approach This paper sheds light on Network Analysis’s breakthroughs, while showing how its scholars innovated by responding to critics, and identifying outstanding debates. Findings The paper identifies and discusses three streams of criticism that are still outstanding: the role of human agency, the meaning of social ties and the treatment of temporality. Originality/value This paper brings to fore current debates within the Network Analysis community, highlighting areas where future studies might contribute.

Crisis communication in key account relationships

2014 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 234-246 ◽  
Author(s):  
Satu Nätti ◽  
Suvi Rahkolin ◽  
Saila Saraniemi
Keyword(s):  
Crisis Communication ◽  
Communication Strategy ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Future Studies ◽  
Account Management ◽  
Key Account ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Business To Business ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose – A deliberate and planned crisis communication strategy is an important part of key account management. The purpose of this paper is to draw links between key account managers (KAM) and crisis communication and explore the elements critical to crisis communication in key account relationships. Design/methodology/approach – The approach is qualitative. Data were gathered from people experienced in crisis communication and responsible for strategic accounts. The paper analysed managers’ stories of crisis processes and related communication in relationships. Findings – Successful crisis communication requires an open and active crisis communicator, one willing to solve problems, and also the company being a partner worth trusting and the retention of the relationship being worthwhile for the customer. Research limitations/implications – The present study focuses on the managerial view, and therefore a dyadic approach is suggested for future studies. Practical implications – The role of the KAM as a crisis communicator and primary identifier of the crisis is emphasized. Originality/value – Existing crisis communication discussions have been very media focused. This study focuses on the key account relationship and the related crisis communication. In addition, although earlier studies examine the influences of crises on business relationships (e.g. Salo et al., 2009; Thiessen and Ingenhoff, 2010; Tähtinen and Vaaland, 2006), research on crisis communication in business-to-business key account relationships is still scarce. The results will help to understand the characteristics of crisis communication in key account relationships and enhance communication with strategic accounts.

Citing and referencing habits in medicine and social sciences journals in 2019

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Erika Alves dos Santos ◽  
Silvio Peroni ◽  
Marcos Luiz Mucheroni
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Information Science ◽  
Descriptive Representation ◽  
Functional Requirements ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Future Studies ◽  
Bibliographic Records

PurposeThis article explores citing and referencing systems in social sciences and medicine articles from different theoretical and practical perspectives, considering bibliographic references as a facet of descriptive representation.Design/methodology/approachThe analysis of citing and referencing elements (i.e. bibliographic references, mentions, quotations and respective in-text reference pointers) identified citing and referencing habits within disciplines under consideration and errors occurring over the long term as stated by previous studies now expanded. Future expected trends of information retrieval from bibliographic metadata was gathered by approaching these referencing elements from the Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records (FRBR) entities concepts.FindingsReference styles do not fully accomplish with their role of guiding authors and publishers on providing concise and well-structured bibliographic metadata within bibliographic references. Trends on representative description revision suggest a predicted distancing on the ways information is approached by bibliographic references and bibliographic catalogs adopting FRBR concepts, including the description levels adopted by each of them under the perspective of the FRBR entities concept.Research limitations/implicationsThis study was based on a subset of medicine and social sciences articles published in 2019 and, therefore, it may not be taken as a final and broad coverage. Future studies expanding these approaches to other disciplines and chronological periods are encouraged.Originality/valueBy approaching citing and referencing issues as descriptive representation's facets, findings on this study may encourage further studies that will support information science and computer science on providing tools to become bibliographic metadata description simpler, better structured and more efficient facing the revision of descriptive representation actually in progress.

Exploring the relationships among tacit knowledge sharing, communities of practice and employees’ abilities: The case of KADDB in Jordan

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Orsan Alzoubi ◽  
Ala’aldin Alrowwad ◽  
Ra’ed Masa’deh
Keyword(s):  
Communities Of Practice ◽  
Knowledge Sharing ◽  
Tacit Knowledge ◽  
Research Model ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Future Studies ◽  
Mediating Role ◽  
Tacit Knowledge Sharing ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose This study aims to assess the relationships among tacit knowledge sharing, communities of practice (CoPs) and employees’ abilities to solve problems, customer’s satisfaction and innovation. Design/methodology/approach This quantitative research aims to examine the causal relationships among the key study variables. A questionnaire-based survey was developed to evaluate the research model by drawing a convenience sample that includes 219 employees working in the King Abdullah Design and Development Bureau which is located in Amman, Jordan. Surveyed information was examined following the structural equation modelling procedures. Findings Results revealed that sharing tacit knowledge in defence organizations had no direct effect on employees’ abilities to solve problems, customer’s satisfaction and innovation, while there was an affirmative effect to CoPs on employees’ abilities in those areas. Also, this study showed that CoPs had a significant mediating role to play in the relationship between sharing knowledge and employees’ abilities in terms of solving work problems, customer’s satisfaction and innovation. Research limitations/implications Findings of this study have laid the basis for future studies related to examining the effect of tacit knowledge sharing and the CoPs on improving employees’ abilities as preconditions for organization performance. These findings can be supported by conducting further research studies to examine the large samples of defence companies to give deeper meanings and insights to the relationship among the key study variables. The authors recommend expanding future studies and examine the mediating role of other social learning methods such as mentoring and storytelling on the relationship between sharing tacit knowledge and employees’ abilities. Practical implications The research model may enable managers and practitioners to make decisions related to the improvement of collective learning by encouraging employees’ engagement in the process of tacit knowledge sharing. The model also helps managers to understand the role of CoPs as a knowledge sharing tool that contributes to increasing employees’ abilities and organizational competitiveness. Furthermore, the research model can be a step forward for further research studies on the relationships among tacit knowledge sharing, CoPs and employees’ abilities. Social implications The suggested model can act as the promising step for continuous improvement to the defence industry in terms of producing high-quality products and services that protect national security, humans’ lives and society at large from enemies and terrorist groups. Originality/value In spite of the fact that most academic studies on knowledge management show a positive relationship between tacit knowledge sharing and organizational performance, a few studies have examined the effect of mediating the CoPs on relationships between sharing tacit knowledge and employees’ abilities as preconditions for raising the performance of the organizations working in security and defence industry. Hence, this research attempts to fill these gaps and gives a new direction for future research.

scholarly journals Strategic improvisation and HEIs performance: the moderating role of organizational culture

2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 212-230 ◽  
Author(s):  
Najafi Auwalu Ibrahim ◽  
Rosli Mahmood ◽  
Muhammad Shukri Bakar
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Culture ◽  
Organizational Factors ◽  
Individual Characteristics ◽  
Academic Leaders ◽  
Inconsistent Result ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Future Studies ◽  
The Difference ◽  
The Impact

PurposeThis study aims to explore the relationships between strategic improvisation, organizational culture and higher education institutions (HEIs) performance. The dynamic nature of today’s environment, increased population and demand and budget cuts have created a lot of pressure on HEIs around the world. Hence, the need for effective human resource capable of providing advanced policies for efficiency and sustainability of these institutions.Design/methodology/approachA total of 229 questionnaires were filled and returned by academic leaders from HEIs in Kano state, Nigeria. The study used partial least squares path modelling to test the hypotheses postulated.FindingsThe major findings indicate that both strategic improvisation and organizational culture dimensions have direct relationship with HEIs performance. However, only innovative culture moderates the relationship between strategic improvisation and HEIs, while bureaucratic culture and supportive culture fail to support the proposed hypothesis.Research limitations/implicationsMore studies are needed to further validate the impact of strategic improvisation (SI) on other public sector performance. Also, future studies should use longitudinal approach to establish at which stage SI has more impact on performance. Also, future studies should identify the difference that exists between units, department and faculty leaders, as some are more likely to engage in SI due to the nature of their specialization.Practical implicationsIt is obvious that HEIs performance is not only limited to organizational factors but also individual characteristics such as ability to improvise. Hence, HEIs should consider SI ability during employment to ensure efficiency, performance and sustainability. Moreover, organizational culture of HEIs needs to be updated and to be more flexible in accommodating new initiatives or failure to encourage display of such ability.Originality/valuePrevious studies especially in the for profit sector have demonstrated the role of SI and organizational culture on performance. Thus, the present study is one of the early studies in the non-profit sector, specifically the HEIs. Moreover, the inconsistent result of the previous findings necessitates the study to test the moderating effect of organizational culture.

scholarly journals Novel Mutations Associated with Clofazimine Resistance inMycobacterium abscessus

2018 ◽  
Vol 62 (7) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuanyuan Chen ◽  
Jiazhen Chen ◽  
Shuo Zhang ◽  
Wanliang Shi ◽  
Wenhong Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Molecular Basis ◽  
Regulatory Protein ◽  
Mycobacterium Abscessus ◽  
Pulmonary Infections ◽  
Mechanisms Of Resistance ◽  
Novel Mutations ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Future Studies ◽  
Transcriptional Regulatory

ABSTRACTMycobacterium abscessusis a major nontuberculous mycobacterial (NTM) pathogen and is responsible for about 80% of all pulmonary infections caused by rapidly growing mycobacteria. Clofazimine is an effective drug active againstM. abscessus, but the mechanism of resistance to clofazimine inM. abscessusis unknown. To investigate the molecular basis of clofazimine resistance inM. abscessus, we isolated 29M. abscessusmutants resistant to clofazimine and subjected them to whole-genome sequencing to identify possible mutations associated with clofazimine resistance. We found that mutations in the MAB_2299c gene (which encodes a possible transcriptional regulatory protein), MAB_1483, and MAB_0540 are most commonly associated with clofazimine resistance. In addition, mutations in MAB_0416c, MAB_4099c, MAB_2613, MAB_0409, and MAB_1426 were also associated with clofazimine resistance but less frequently. Two identical mutations which are likely to be polymorphisms unrelated to clofazimine resistance were found in MAB_4605c and MAB_4323 in 13 mutants. We conclude that mutations in MAB_2299c, MAB_1483, and MAB_0540 are the major mechanisms of clofazimine resistance inM. abscessus. Future studies are needed to address the role of the identified mutations in clofazimine resistance inM. abscessus. Our findings have implications for understanding mechanisms of resistance to clofazimine and for rapid detection of clofazimine resistance in this organism.

The phenomenology of food cravings: The role of mental imagery

Appetite ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 45 (3) ◽  
pp. 305-313 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Tiggemann ◽  
E. Kemps
Keyword(s):  
Mental Imagery ◽  
Food Cravings
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