scholarly journals Unlocking the potential of branding in social marketing services: utilising brand personality and brand personality appeal

2016 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 48-62 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ross Gordon ◽  
Nadia Zainuddin ◽  
Christopher Magee

Purpose This paper aims to demonstrate the utility of branding theory for social marketing services. Specifically, this is to our knowledge the first to investigate brand personality (BP) and brand personality appeal (BPA) in a single study as predictors for consumer attitudes and intentions to engage with a service. Design/methodology/approach The associations between BP and BPA and their subsequent associations with attitudes and intentions are tested in two service types, i.e. a commercial marketing service (banking) and a social marketing service (health screening). This involved a cross-sectional dual online survey administered to a sample of 395 women 50-69 years old in Queensland, Australia. This sampling criterion represented the primary target audience for the social marketing service, which was breastscreening and was maintained for the banking services sample. Multiple mediation analysis using a bootstrapping approach was conducted using Mplus 6.11. Findings BP and BPA perform similarly across the two service types. BP and BPA are related and have direct and indirect associations with consumer attitudes and behavioural intentions towards both commercial and social marketing services. Specifically, the BP traits of responsibility and activity were found to have significant direct and indirect relationships with attitudes and behavioural intentions towards both commercial and social marketing services. The relationships for the emotionality and simplicity traits were non-significant. The results also suggest that the attractiveness, favourability and clarity BPA traits had the strongest associations with consumer responses. Originality/value This study demonstrates the utility of using branding in social marketing services, which to date has been under-utilised. It also offers originality by combining BP and BPA in the same empirical inquiry, which to date has been examined separately. A new and alternative factor structure for BPA is provided, and future research is recommended to further examine BPA in this and other contexts.

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Asphat Muposhi ◽  
Brighton Nyagadza ◽  
Chengedzai Mafini

PurposeFashion designers in South Africa remain ambivalent in embracing sustainable fashion. This study examines the role of neutralisation techniques on attitude towards sustainable fashion. The study was conducted in South Africa, an emerging market known for water scarcity and pollution emanating from the textile industry.Design/methodology/approachA structured questionnaire was used to collect cross-sectional data from a sample of 590 fashion designers using a web-based online survey. Study constructs were drawn from the neutralisation theory and theory of planned behaviour.FindingsStandard multiple regression analysis results identified denial of injury, appeal to higher loyalties and external locus of control as the major rationalisation techniques influencing South African designers' negative attitudes towards sustainable fashion.Research limitations/implicationsResearch was conducted in South Africa where the concept of sustainable fashion is still at developmental stages. The generalisation of the study findings may be enhanced by extending the study to other markets with a fully developed market for sustainable fashion.Practical implicationsThe study results underscore the necessity of reducing social, structural and institutional barriers associated with the adoption of sustainable fashion. This study provides input towards efforts to develop attitude change strategies to stimulate designers to embrace sustainable fashion.Originality/valueThe research study contributes to theory, practice and future research.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kojo Kakra Twum ◽  
Daniel Ofori ◽  
Gloria Kakrabah-Quarshie Agyapong ◽  
Andrews Agya Yalley

Purpose This study examines the factors influencing intention to vaccinate against COVID-19 in a developing country context using the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) and health belief model (HBM). Design/methodology/approach Through a cross-sectional survey design, the study adopted a quantitative approach to data collection and analysis. The study used an online survey to collect data from 478 respondents eligible to take the COVID-19 vaccine in Ghana. Findings Attitude, social norm, perceived behavioural control, perceived susceptibility and cues to action were found to be predictors of COVID-19 vaccination intention. The results also showed that perceived severity, perceived benefits and perceived barriers did not predict COVID-19 vaccination intention. Practical implications To enhance the effectiveness of COVID-19 social marketing campaigns, social marketing theories such as the TPB and HBM can aid in assessing the intention of the target population to take the vaccines. An assessment of vaccination intention will help understand disease threat perception and behavioural evaluation. The consideration of the effect of demography on vaccination intention will aid in developing effective campaigns to satisfy the needs of segments. Originality/value This study adds to the limited research on understanding citizens’ intention to vaccinate against COVID-19 by combining the TPB and HBM to predict vaccination intention. The study contributes towards the use of social marketing practices to enhance the efficacy of vaccination campaigns.


2014 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 105-123 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Seyr ◽  
Albert Vollmer

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to address both the socio-moral climate and how teams process debate and decision comprehensiveness as pre-conditions for team innovation. Design/methodology/approach – A total of 67 teams comprising 413 participants were surveyed. Data were analyzed with a multiple-step multiple-mediation procedure. Findings – The socio-moral climate was positively related to innovation. The positive relation between the socio-moral climate and innovation was mediated stepwise through debate and decision comprehensiveness. Research limitations/implications – To overcome the limitations of a cross-sectional design, future research opportunities exist in the longitudinal evaluation of participatory socio-moral climates and comparisons between organizations. Debate and decision comprehensiveness can be further studied using behavior-based methodological designs, such as observation. Practical implications – From this study, practitioners can learn of the needs and opportunities for participative approaches when managing innovation in teams. Promoting a socio-moral climate of cooperation, communication, openness, appreciation, trust and respect and leaving open the possibility that debating can help integrative decision comprehensiveness and thus innovation. Originality/value – This paper expands the literature on organizational climate, debate, decision comprehensiveness, and innovation. On the one hand, the results empirically linked the socio-moral climate, a theoretically well-founded climate construct, to process variables. On the other hand, the literature on debate and decision comprehensiveness was expanded by adding the socio-moral climate as a pre-condition of debate and decision comprehensiveness. Furthermore, both were linked to a crucial outcome variable, innovation.


2015 ◽  
Vol 25 (5) ◽  
pp. 707-733 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mutaz M. Al-Debei ◽  
Mamoun N. Akroush ◽  
Mohamed Ibrahiem Ashouri

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine consumer attitudes toward online shopping in Jordan. The paper introduces an integrated model which includes trust, perceived benefits, perceived web quality, and electronic word of mouth (eWOM) along with their relationships in order to examine their effects on consumer attitudes toward online shopping. Design/methodology/approach – A structured and self-administered online survey was employed targeting online shoppers of a reputable online retailer in Jordan; i.e. MarkaVIP. A sample of 273 online shoppers was involved in the online survey. A series of exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were used to assess the research constructs, unidimensionality, validity, and composite reliability. Structural path model analysis was also used to test the hypothesized relationships of the research model. Findings – The empirical findings of this study indicate that consumer attitudes toward online shopping is determined by trust and perceived benefits. Trust is a product of perceived web quality and eWOM and that the latter is a function of perceived web quality. Hence, trust and perceived benefits are key predictors of consumer attitudes toward online shopping, according to the results. Further, the authors also found that higher levels of perceived web quality lead to higher levels of trust in an online shopping web site. Perceived web quality was found to be a direct predictor of trust, and the former positively and significantly influences perceived benefits. Also, the authors found that 28 percent of the variation in online shopping attitudes was caused by perceived benefits and trust. Research limitations/implications – The research sample included only early adopters who are usually described as personal innovators and risk takers. Future research is encouraged to focus on other groups such as non-adopters to understand their online shopping attitudes. Another limitation is derived from the geographical context of the current study; that is Jordan. The findings are not necessarily applicable to other Arab countries and the rest of the world. Therefore, replications of the current study in different countries would most likely strengthen and validate its findings. Also, the study is cross-sectional which does not show how attitudes of consumers may change over time. The authors encourage future studies to employ a longitudinal design to understand the changes in consumers’ attitudes toward using online shopping over time. Finally, this study examined only one case in point and thus findings cannot be generalized to other online shopping web sites. Future research is highly encouraged to examine consumers’ attitudes toward other online shopping web sites inside and outside Jordan. Practical implications – The paper supports the importance of trust and perceived benefits as key drivers of attitudes toward online shopping in emerging markets like Jordan. It further underlines the importance of perceived web quality contribution to perceived benefits and trust as well as the key role of the later in forming online shoppers’ attitudes. Online retailers’ executives and managers can benefit from such findings for future e-marketing strategies and acquire new customers to achieve long-term performance objectives. Originality/value – This paper is one of the very few attempts that examined attitudes toward online shopping in the Arab world. Importantly, it revealed the drivers of online shoppers’ attitudes in Jordan. National and international online retailers planning to expand their operations to Jordan or to the Middle East Region have now valuable empirical evidence concerning the determinants of online shopping attitudes and online shoppers’ behavior in Jordan upon which e-marketing strategies can be formulated and implemented.


2015 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 438-453 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francisco Crespo Casado ◽  
Sharyn Rundle-Thiele

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to investigate children’s school lunchboxes and explore the influence of carer’s perceived benefits and barriers towards healthy eating on the food contents packed for lunch. Design/methodology/approach – Drawing on exchange theory, the study explores the relationship between carer’s perceived benefits and barriers towards healthy eating and the lunchbox contents a carer packs for their child. An online survey was completed by 876 parents and carers. Statistical analysis techniques, including one-way ANOVA and exploratory factor analysis (EFA) were used to analyse the data. Findings – The analysis revealed that perceived benefits and barriers towards packing healthy foods had a significant impact on the reported contents packed for lunch. Results indicate the segment with the highest perceived benefits and the lowest perceived barriers towards packing healthy lunches reported packing healthier foods than the remaining three segments. Practical implications – Social marketers should develop interventions to promote the benefits of healthy eating, while overcoming the perceived (and real) barriers that prevent healthy lunches from being packed. Study limitations and future research directions are outlined. Originality/value – Drawing on exchange theory, the current study demonstrated how simultaneous measurement of benefits and barriers that are later divided into high and low groups impacts lunchbox packing behaviours (Nelson et al., 2010). This study contributes to the literature providing further empirical evidence that use of commercial marketing theories in social marketing is warranted and that theoretically derived segmentation approaches are available for social marketing practitioners.


2016 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 435-452 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chanmi Hwang ◽  
Youngji Lee ◽  
Sonali Diddi ◽  
Elena Karpova

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of anti-consumption advertisement on consumers’ attitudes and purchase intentions (PIs) of an apparel product. Design/methodology/approach An experiment was conducted with a sample of college students (n=1,300) who were randomly assigned to view either a traditional advertisement for a Patagonia jacket or an anti-consumption advertisement of the same jacket. After that, consumer attitudes toward buying the jacket and PIs were measured employing online survey. In addition, consumer environmental concern (EC), perceived intrinsic brand motivation and extrinsic brand motivation (PIBM and PEBM) were measured to test a proposed research model. Findings Participants exposed to the anti-consumption advertisement reported less positive attitudes toward and lower PIs to buy the jacket than participants who viewed the traditional advertisement. Participants’ EC, PIBMs and PEBMs were found to be important predictors of the attitude and PI. Research limitations/implications This study provides a foundation for future research on consumer attitudes and PIs in the context of anti-consumption behavior and the effects of anti-consumption advertisement. Limitations of the present study include convenience sampling. Practical implications Anti-consumption advertising might be used effectively to raise consumers’ awareness on their spending habits on clothing and reduce the clutter of consuming culture. Originality/value The research findings contribute to the corporate social responsibility literature in the apparel context, specifically socially responsible marketing, by focusing on the nascent topic of anti-consumption. This was the first study that examined how anti-consumption advertisement might affect consumer attitudes toward buying products displayed in this advertisement.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathryn Krase ◽  
Leina Luzuriaga ◽  
Donna Wang ◽  
Andrew Schoolnik ◽  
Chantee Parris-Strigle ◽  
...  

PurposeRepercussions to everyday life caused by the COVID-19 pandemic disproportionately impacted certain segments of the population, including older adults, communities of color and women. The societal response to reduce the impact of the pandemic, including closing schools and working from home, has been experienced differentially by women. This study explored how individual challenges and coping mechanisms differed for women as compared to men.Design/methodology/approachThis study used an anonymous, cross-sectional, online survey early in the COVID-19 pandemic. Convenience, snowball and purposive sampling methods were used. Data were collected in June 2020 targeting adults living in Canada and the USA, with a total of 1,405 people responding, of which, the respondents were primarily women, White and with high education levels.FindingsThe results of this study confirm previous research that women struggled more to adapt to the pandemic and felt less prepared than men during the COVID-19 pandemic. Further, this study found significant differences in the sources of information and support used by women as compared to men.Originality/valueThe findings of this study not only confirm past research but also highlight that practice and policy responses to this pandemic, and future research on national level crises need to be targeted by gender, so that different needs are effectively addressed. Additionally, this article also identifies sources or challenges, as well as support, in order to inform and strengthen such responses.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Keo Mony Sok ◽  
Phyra Sok ◽  
Yelena Tsarenko ◽  
Jason Thomas Widjaja

Purpose Service industries increasingly have a need for frontline employees (FLEs) who are both adept and versatile at providing excellent customer services whilst exploring cross-/up-selling opportunities, known as service-sales ambidexterity (SSA). However, engaging in SSA poses various challenges. The purpose of this paper is twofold: First, the authors argue that the resilience of FLEs is a critical factor of their SSA and its effect is mediated by cognitive flexibility. Second, the authors propose a boundary condition – leadership humility – that affects this indirect relationship. Design/methodology/approach Survey data was drawn from two independent studies (N = 547). Study 1 was conducted via an online survey of FLEs involved in both service and sales roles in the insurance industry in North America. Data for Study 2 was collected from FLEs working in several branches of a commercial bank operating in Southeast Asia. The data was analysed using Hayes’ PROCESS Macro and SPSS. Findings Results from these studies reveal that resilience fosters cognitive flexibility, which, in turn, drives SSA. Additionally, leadership humility was found to moderate the indirect effect of resilience on SSA through cognitive flexibility. Research limitations/implications The sample for this study is cross-sectional. Further research could replicate this study using longitudinal data to extract more in-depth information on developmental changes in FLEs. Additionally, the scope of this research is limited to an analysis of employees. However, the phenomenon of SSA is essentially a multi-level subject. Future research could extend the findings of this research by testing other organisational factors that would present a more inclusive framework to explain the SSA phenomenon. Practical implications The findings offer managers a new perspective of achieving the alignment between the service and sales goals of their operations. Originality/value This study contributes to the growing stream of literature on FLE’s resilience and SSA in particular and shows the role resilience plays in FLEs’ dealing with and navigating a constantly changing workplace where SSA has become a norm rather than an exception.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Juhyung Sun ◽  
Sun Kyong Lee

PurposeDuring the digital media era with an explosion of messages, the prevalence of what is known as “message fatigue” has grown. However, there is a lack of understanding toward message fatigue in using instant messengers. Based on the stressor-strain-outcome framework, this study provides a theoretical model to explore possible predictors and consequences of instant messaging fatigue.Design/methodology/approachThe hypothesized model includes communication overload, social overload, instant messaging fatigue, technology and behavioral intention to use instant messaging. Three hundred and eleven responses are collected using an online survey. The authors conduct structural equation modeling to evaluate the hypothesized model and test the hypotheses.FindingsThis study reveals that (1) communication overload and social overload are positively associated with instant messaging fatigue and technostress; (2) higher levels of instant messaging fatigue and technostress are also related to a higher level of intention to discontinue usage; (3) technostress significantly mediates the relationship between instant messaging fatigue and intention to discontinue usage of instant messaging.Research limitations/implicationsThis study is limited to collect data from one university in the United States with a cross-sectional design. Future research should include other countries, different age groups and longitudinal methods to examine instant messaging fatigue.Originality/valueThis study extends existing findings on fatigue in using mobile communication by applying the stressor-strain-outcome framework to IM fatigue and improves the understanding of the potential negative aspects of instant messaging.


2015 ◽  
Vol 20 (5) ◽  
pp. 446-463 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wilmar B. Schaufeli

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to integrate leadership into the job demands-resources (JD-R) model. Based on self-determination theory, it was argued that engaging leaders who inspire, strengthen, and connect their followers would reduce employee’s levels of burnout and increase their levels of work engagement. Design/methodology/approach – An online survey was conducted among a representative sample of the Dutch workforce (n=1,213) and the research model was tested using structural equation modeling. Findings – It appeared that leadership only had an indirect effect on burnout and engagement – via job demands and job resources – but not a direct effect. Moreover, leadership also had a direct relationship with organizational outcomes such as employability, performance, and commitment. Research limitations/implications – The study used a cross-sectional design and all variables were based on self-reports. Hence, results should be replicated in a longitudinal study and using more objective measures (e.g. for work performance). Practical implications – Since engaged leaders, who inspire, strengthen, and connect their followers, provide a work context in which employees thrive, organizations are well advised to promote engaging leadership. Social implications – Leadership seems to be a crucial factor which has an indirect impact – via job demands and job resources – on employee well-being. Originality/value – The study demonstrates that engaging leadership can be integrated into the JD-R framework.


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