Using a social marketing approach to develop a pro-diversity intervention

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Markus Brauer ◽  
Anissa Dumesnil ◽  
Mitchell Robert Campbell
Keyword(s):  
Social Marketing ◽  
Academic Research ◽  
Target Audience ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Target Behaviors ◽  
Positive Attitudes ◽  
Discriminatory Behavior ◽  
Small Set ◽  
Targeted Messages ◽  
Marketing Approach

Purpose Despite more than half a century of academic research, relatively few methods have been shown to reliably improve intergroup relations in the real world. This paper aims to use a social marketing approach to design a pro-diversity intervention in a university setting. Design/methodology/approach We conducted extensive qualitative, quantitative and observational background research to identify elements that would increase the effectiveness of the intervention. Focus groups and surveys allowed us to identify a target audience, target behaviors and the relevant barriers and benefits. Findings The background research suggested increasing inclusive behavior would have a greater impact than reducing discriminatory behavior. Based on this research, this paper determined an optimal target audience was students who had relatively positive attitudes toward diversity but engaged in few inclusive behaviors. This paper used relevant theories from the behavioral sciences to design an intervention that promoted a small set of inclusive behaviors and that addressed the relevant barriers and benefits. The intervention took the form of a single page of targeted messages that instructors can add to their course syllabi. The page communicates injunctive and descriptive norms, highlights the benefits of behaving inclusively and provides concrete behavioral advice. Originality/value The research applies the social marketing approach to a novel domain. This approach represents a new way to advance diversity, equity and inclusion through promoting inclusive and reducing discriminatory behavior.

Midstream social marketing intervention to influence retailers’ compliance with the minimum legal drinking age law

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 104-120 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tanja Kamin ◽  
Daša Kokole
Keyword(s):  
Social Marketing ◽  
Post Intervention ◽  
Excessive Alcohol Consumption ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Social ◽  
Drinking Age ◽  
Quasi Experimental ◽  
Minimum Legal Drinking Age ◽  
Marketing Intervention ◽  
Marketing Approach

Purpose Alcohol availability is strongly related to excessive alcohol consumption. This study aims to examine social marketing’s response to concerns about retailers’ noncompliance with the minimum legal drinking age (MLDA) law by proposing and evaluating a social marketing intervention directed at sellers in off-premise stores. Design/methodology/approach The study is based on a non-randomized quasi-experimental design, focusing on an evaluation of the implementation of the “18 rules!” intervention in four cities in Slovenia. Two waves of underage purchase attempts were conducted pre- and post-intervention in 24 off-premise businesses, following a mystery shopping protocol. Findings The initial rate of retailers’ noncompliance with the MLDA law in off-premise establishments was high. After the social marketing intervention, an increase with compliance with the law was observed; the proportion of cashiers selling alcohol to minors after the intervention decreased from 96 to 67 per cent. Qualitative insight suggests an existence of retailers’ dilemma in complying with the MLDA. Research limitations/implications A social marketing approach could contribute to a better understanding of the social working of the MLDA law. Practical implications A social marketing approach could complement the usual enforcement strategies and contribute to a better understanding of the social working of the MLDA law, and encourage deliberate retailers’ compliance with it while developing valuable exchanges among people and stakeholders. Originality/value The paper conceptualizes retailers’ dilemma in complying with the minimal legal drinking age law and offers social marketing response to it. Results of the study show that also solely non-coercive measures have the potential in increasing retailers’ compliance with regulations.

Investigating the relevance of the traditional marketing mix across different stages of change: Empirical evidence from household recycling

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Blaise Issock Issock ◽  
Mercy Mpinganjira ◽  
Mornay Roberts-Lombard
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Behaviour Change ◽  
Social Marketing ◽  
Stages Of Change ◽  
Marketing Mix ◽  
Target Audience ◽  
Household Waste ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Traditional Marketing ◽  
The Impact

Purpose This study aims to provide empirical evidence and a different perspective on the relevance of the traditional marketing mix in social marketing programmes. This is a response to the ongoing debate about the (in)compatibility of the traditional marketing mix (the 4Ps) in the field of social marketing. In doing so, this study examines the important role that the stages of behaviour change play in influencing the effectiveness of traditional marketing mix elements in the context of recycling in South African households. Design/methodology/approach This study follows a quantitative method, relying on a survey of 699 heads of households in South Africa. Multigroup analysis and structural equation modelling were applied to test the impact of stages of changes on the potential effect of marketing mix elements on the intention to recycle household waste. Findings The results established that although the traditional marketing mix elements have a marginal effect on the intention to recycle household waste, further analyses revealed that this impact of the marketing mix is contingent on the stage of change in which the target audience is found. Thus, the findings indicated that the marketing mix elements significantly influence the intention to recycle when the target audience is at the contemplation and preparation phases. Originality/value Whilst both critics and proponents of the adoption of the traditional marketing mix in social marketing initiatives have provided relevant arguments, the debate had remained largely theoretical. This study discusses the limitations of the traditional marketing mix in behaviour change programmes and the need for a segmented approach based on the stages of behaviour change when using the 4Ps. However, given the hegemony of the 4Ps in the social marketing literature, this study sheds light on the appropriate “Ps” to activate to influence recycling behavioural intention at different stages of change.

Social marketing to improve healthy dietary decisions

2014 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 239-263 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lorena Carrete ◽  
Pilar Arroyo
Keyword(s):  
Social Marketing ◽  
Public Health Problem ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Emerging Economy ◽  
Theoretical Background ◽  
Overweight And Obesity ◽  
Severe Problem ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Positive Attitudes ◽  
Sensorial Attributes

Purpose – The purpose of this research is to improve the understanding of drivers and inhibitors of healthy diet behaviors in the context of an emerging economy, such as Mexico, with a severe problem of overweight and obesity. The theory of planned behavior (TPB) and protection motivation theory (PMT) provided the theoretical background for this study. Design/methodology/approach – A qualitative approach was used, given the limited amount of information available on consumers’ motivations to change behavior. In-depth interviews with experts in nutrition and four focus groups with consumers from two segments were performed to collect information. Thematic analysis was used to analyze information. Findings – PMT provided a better explanation of current dietary behavior; the positive attitudes that, according to TPB, are the immediate antecedent of behavior offered a poor explanation for autoreported behaviors. Results indicate that perceived low self-efficacy and high costs prevent change of behavior. Meanwhile, low vulnerability and severity among younger consumers adds to the low intention to adopt a healthier diet. In general, sensorial attributes of products, such as texture, flavor, color, smell and appearance, prevail over nutritional attributes. Practical implications – The outline of a social marketing program is suggested after the research findings. This program emphasizes prevention and is intended to complement governmental policies designed to modify the environment to facilitate access to healthy food. Originality value – Social marketing principles have been developed and applied mainly in the context of developed countries. This work contributes to the extension of such principles to an emerging economy with a public health problem related to overweight. Results of the research provide the basis to mold an appropriate intervention.

Reckless driving promotion and prevention: priming effects

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 220-236 ◽  
Author(s):  
Linda Lemarié ◽  
Jean-Charles Chebat ◽  
François Bellavance
Keyword(s):  
Social Marketing ◽  
Road Safety ◽  
Young Male ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Safety Message ◽  
Positive Image ◽  
Young Drivers ◽  
Targeted Messages ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Reckless Driving

Purpose This paper aims to examine how reckless driving scenes in action movies affect young male drivers’ perception of reckless drivers and proposes a targeted social marketing strategy to counteract this effect. Design/methodology/approach The hypotheses were tested through a 2 (reckless driving scenes vs control) × 2 (road safety advertising vs control) online experiment with 151 young male drivers. Findings Reckless driving scenes in action movies prime a positive image of reckless drivers which impacts young male drivers’ attitudes and reckless driving intention. However, a road safety message specifically addressing the positive image of reckless drivers efficiently counteracts this effect. Research limitations/implications A few studies have experimentally tested the impact of reckless driving promotion on young drivers’ attitudes and intention, but none have analysed this impact in terms of the development of a positive image of reckless drivers. In addition, this study emphasises that a targeted message based on social norms can cancel the effect of reckless driving promotion and have a beneficial impact on the most risk-prone drivers. Practical implications Social marketers working in the field of road safety can improve the efficacy of their social marketing programmes by taking into consideration the positive image of reckless drivers promoted by the media. Social implications Practitioners should develop interventions and targeted messages that help young drivers cultivate a less idealised and masculine social image of reckless drivers. Originality/value This paper enhances the awareness of the effect that the media’s positive depiction of reckless drivers can have on the youth and proposes a strategy to counteract this effect.

Sustainability endeavors and sustainable development in Spanish public hospitals

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 215-242
Author(s):  
Rocio Rodriguez ◽  
Carmen Otero-Neira ◽  
Göran Svensson
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Social Marketing ◽  
Health Care Organizations ◽  
Public Hospitals ◽  
Public Healthcare ◽  
Healthcare Organizations ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Marketing Approach

Purpose The research aims to describe the foundation of healthcare organizations’ past and present sustainability endeavors; describe the direction of a health-care organizations’ sustainable development; reveal and characterize what determines the foundation and direction in a public health-care sector; and provide some insights into social marketing for sustainability endeavors. Design/methodology/approach Based on a semi-inductive approach, judgmental sampling was applied to select relevant health-care organizations. Informants were identified according to their knowledge of their organizations’ sustainability initiatives. Findings Offer insights into the foundation of sustainability endeavors and the direction of sustainable development for upstream social marketing in the studied public sector. The social marketing perspective is a common factor of relevance for the studied public hospitals. Research limitations/implications The foundations of sustainability endeavors undertaken across the studied health-care organizations have not so far been homogenous. The direction of sustainable development has also varied across the studied public healthcare organizations and there is a need to move beyond individuals and shift from a micro to a macro/structural environment of sustainable development, so as to observe the effectiveness of any social marketing intervention. Practical implications This study highlights the importance of applying an upstream social marketing approach and programs, as part of a social marketing strategy, to promote and stimulate sustainable change in health-care organizations. Social implications Contrary to the common sense predominating in many societies nowadays regarding sustainability endeavors and sustainable development, we conclude that neither the foundation of such endeavors nor the direction of sustainable development has progressed adequately in the studied public healthcare sector. As social marketing is intended to benefit society and foster social change, the macro level of intervention of the upstream approach clearly reveals its usefulness in the public health area. Originality/value Reveals two axes based on a social marketing approach. One is of micro and macro determinants characterizing the direction of sustainable development in a public sector. Another is of homogeneous and heterogeneous foundations of sustainability endeavors.

Enhancing cyber security behavior: an internal social marketing approach

2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 133-159
Author(s):  
Hiep Cong Pham ◽  
Linda Brennan ◽  
Lukas Parker ◽  
Nhat Tram Phan-Le ◽  
Irfan Ulhaq ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Marketing ◽  
Cyber Security ◽  
Marketing Mix ◽  
User Engagement ◽  
Product Price ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Compliance Behavior ◽  
Security Compliance ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Marketing Approach

Purpose Understanding the behavioral change process of system users to adopt safe security practices is important to the success of an organization’s cybersecurity program. This study aims to explore how the 7Ps (product, price, promotion, place, physical evidence, process and people) marketing mix, as part of an internal social marketing approach, can be used to gain an understanding of employees’ interactions within an organization’s cybersecurity environment. This understanding could inform the design of servicescapes and behavioral infrastructure to promote and maintain cybersecurity compliance. Design/methodology/approach This study adopted an inductive qualitative approach using in-depth interviews with employees in several Vietnamese organizations. Discussions were centered on employee experiences and their perceptions of cybersecurity initiatives, as well as the impact of initiatives on compliance behavior. Responses were then categorized under the 7Ps marketing mix framework. Findings The study shows that assessing a cybersecurity program using the 7P mix enables the systematic capture of users’ security compliance and acceptance of IT systems. Additionally, understanding the interactions between system elements permits the design of behavioral infrastructure to enhance security efforts. Results also show that user engagement is essential in developing secure systems. User engagement requires developing shared objectives, localized communications, co-designing of efficient processes and understanding the “pain points” of security compliance. The knowledge developed from this research provides a framework for those managing cybersecurity systems and enables the design human-centered systems conducive to compliance. Originality/value The study is one of the first to use a cross-disciplinary social marketing approach to examine how employees experience and comply with security initiatives. Previous studies have mostly focused on determinants of compliance behavior without providing a clear platform for management action. Internal social marketing using 7Ps provides a simple but innovative approach to reexamine existing compliance approaches. Findings from the study could leverage proven successful marketing techniques to promote security compliance.

Consumers’ evaluation toward tobacco companies: implications for social marketing

2015 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 276-291 ◽  
Author(s):  
Denni Arli ◽  
Sharyn Rundle-Thiele ◽  
Hari Lasmono
Keyword(s):  
Social Marketing ◽  
Corporate Social Performance ◽  
Social Performance ◽  
Daily Basis ◽  
Marketing Practice ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Positive Attitudes ◽  
Company Identification ◽  
Corporate Social ◽  
The Impact

Purpose – Given the well-documented outcomes of corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities, tobacco companies that exhibit CSR may be trusted and consumers may hold positive attitudes towards tobacco companies further contributing to and reinforcing smoking behaviours, which is a highly undesired and addictive behaviour. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to understand smokers and non-smokers views of CSR activities by Indonesian tobacco companies. Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected from a large private university in Surabaya, Indonesia. There were 191 usable questionnaires with 91.7 per cent male and 8.3 per cent female. The number of smokers and non-smokers were evenly split, 49 per cent smokers and 51 per cent non-smokers which is slightly lower than the 67 per cent of male smokers in Indonesia. Of the 94 smokers in the sample, 69 per cent reported smoking on a daily basis. Findings – The results of this study suggest that CSR activities are able to cultivate favourable images of the tobacco companies especially for those who are currently smoking. CSR in the domain of the tobacco industry increases people’s favourable association with the company. Moreover, the findings show that consumer-company identification does not affect company evaluation (CE) and consumer sensitivity towards corporate social performance becomes a motivator which positively affects CE among smokers. Practical implications – This study has important implications for social marketing practice and research where the dominant focus remains on the downstream. In the case of smoking in Indonesia social marketing efforts directed towards mid and upstream may be more effective than downstream social marketing interventions which have to compete with global tobacco corporations. Originality/value – This is one of the first studies to explore the impact of CSR and one of the first studies to examine Indonesia, the world’s fourth most populous country which exhibits a very high male smoking rate.

Consumers’ decision to boycott “unethical” products: the role of materialism/post materialism

2020 ◽  
Vol 48 (10) ◽  
pp. 1121-1138 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonia Delistavrou ◽  
Athanasios Krystallis ◽  
Irene Tilikidou
Keyword(s):  
Perceived Control ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Academic Research ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Positive Attitudes ◽  
The Social ◽  
Retail Products ◽  
Practical Implications

PurposeAlthough boycotting campaigns have been increasing, a limited amount of academic research has been focussed on the antecedents of consumers’ participation in the retail field. This paper presents an examination of consumers’ intentions to boycott the “unethical” supermarket products by a Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) application. Materialism/Post-materialism was incorporated in the research as a moderating variable.Design/methodology/approachPersonal interviews were taken in a sample (420) selected by a probability sampling method. Structural equation modelling was performed to analyse the data.FindingsTPB was found powerful to explain boycotting intentions. Consumers, who more strongly intent to boycott, are affected more by social norms than by attitudes and perceived behavioural control. Those consumers believe more strongly that boycotting “unethical” retail products will generate valuable outcomes, will comply with their referents’ expectations and will not be obstructed by any barriers. Post-materialists were found to hold stronger intentions than materialists. Materialists are mostly influenced by their attitudes and their perceived control over participation in boycotting. On the contrary, post-materialists are solely influenced by their feelings regarding social pressure to boycott.Research limitations/implicationsControl for social desirability should be included in future research. National or multinational samples more effective for generalization. The ability of other psychographics or demographics to moderate TPB relationships could be further investigated.Practical implicationsRetailers, who try to avoid potential boycotts, should primarily aim to diminish the social influence towards boycotting. Secondarily, they should aim to decrease the consumers’ positive attitudes and perceived controllability over participation in boycotting. On the other side, consumers’ groups or associations when designing a boycott campaign should address their call targeting to post-materialist consumers. Messages for a boycotting call should enhance the important referents’ pressure towards a friendlier society in which people’s action is able to ethics in the market.Originality/valueIn this study, TPB was expanded by the incorporation of values, namely Materialism/Post-materialism, as a moderating factor.

scholarly journals An academic perspective on the entrepreneurship policy agenda: themes, geographies and evolution

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 65-93 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alberto Arenal ◽  
Claudio Feijoo ◽  
Ana Moreno ◽  
Cristina Armuña ◽  
Sergio Ramos
Keyword(s):  
Text Mining ◽  
Research Agenda ◽  
Academic Research ◽  
Policy Research ◽  
Policy Agenda ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Entrepreneurship Policy ◽  
Research Activity ◽  
Content Type ◽  
And Shifts

Purpose Academic research into entrepreneurship policy is particularly interesting due to the increasing relevance of the topic and since knowledge about the evolution of themes in this field is still rather limited. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the key concepts, topics, trends and shifts that have shaped the entrepreneurship policy research agenda during the period 1990–2016. Design/methodology/approach This paper uses text mining techniques, cluster analysis and complementary bibliographic data to examine the evolution of a corpus of 1,048 academic papers focused on entrepreneurship-related policies and published during the period 1990–2016 in ten relevant journals. In particular, the paper follows a standard text mining workflow: first, as text is unstructured, content requires a set of pre-processing tasks and then a stemming process. Then, the paper examines the most repeated concepts within the corpus, considering the whole period 1990–2016 and also in five-year terms. Finally, the paper conducts a k-means clustering to divide the collection of documents into coherent groups with similar content. The analyses in the paper also include geographical particularities considering three regional sub-corpora, distinguishing those articles authored in the European Union (EU), the USA and South and Eastern Asia, respectively. Findings Results of the analysis show that inclusion, employment and regulation-related papers have largely dominated the research in the field, evolving from an initial classical approach to the relationship between entrepreneurship and employment to a wider, multidisciplinary perspective, including the relevance of management, geographies and narrower topics such as agglomeration economics or internationalisation instead of the previous generic sectorial approaches. The text mining analysis also reveals how entrepreneurship policy research has gained increasing attention and has become both more open, with a growing cooperation among researchers from different affiliations, and more sophisticated, with concepts and themes that moved the research agenda forward, closer to the priorities of policy implementation. Research limitations/implications The paper identifies main trends and research gaps in the field of entrepreneurship policy providing actionable knowledge by presenting the spectrum of both over-explored and understudied research themes in the field. In practical terms the results of the text mining analysis can be interpreted as a compass to navigate the entrepreneurship policy research agenda. Practical implications The paper presents the heterogeneity of topics under research in the field, reinforcing the concept of entrepreneurship as a multidisciplinary and dynamic domain. Therefore, the definition and adoption of a certain policy agenda in entrepreneurship should consider multiple aspects (needs, objectives, stakeholders, expected outputs, etc.) to be comprehensive and aligned with its complexity. In addition, the paper shows how text mining techniques could be used to map the research activity in a particular field, contributing to the challenge of linking research and policy. Originality/value The exploratory nature of text mining allows us to obtain new knowledge and reveals hidden patterns from large quantities of documents/text data, representing an opportunity to complement other qualitative reviews. In this sense, the main value of this paper is not to advise on the future configuration of entrepreneurship policy as a research topic, but to unwrap the past by unveiling how key themes of the entrepreneurship policy research agenda have emerged, evolved and/or declined over time as a foundation on which to build further developments.

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