One step closer to the field: visual methods in marketing and consumer research

2014 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 300-318 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laila Shin Rohani ◽  
May Aung ◽  
Khalil Rohani
Keyword(s):  
Research Methods ◽  
Consumer Research ◽  
Marketing Research ◽  
Text Messages ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Visual Methods ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Visual Method ◽  
Visual Research ◽  
Visual Research Methods

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to examine the use of visual research methods in the area of recent marketing and consumer research. Design/methodology/approach – Content analysis was used to investigate visual method in articles from Journal of Consumer Research; Journal of Marketing; Journal of Marketing Research; Journal of Marketing Management; Consumption, Markets, and Culture and Qualitative Market Research. Abstract, key words and methodology sections of all articles published in these six journals from 2002 to 2012 were scanned to identify which of them applied visual methods in their studies. The selected articles were then closely analyzed to discover how visual research methods were used and in what manner did they contribute to the marketing and consumer behavior discipline. Findings – This study found that a growing number of marketing and consumer researchers utilized visual methods to achieve their research goals in various approaches such as cultural inventories, projective techniques and social artifacts. Visual method is useful when research deals with children who are not fully developed and able to comprehend text messages and also advantageous when investigating informants’ metaphorical thoughts about a subject or the content of their mind. Originality/value – This paper examined how visual methods have assisted marketing and consumer researchers in achieving their goals and suggests when and how researchers can utilize the visual methods for future research.

scholarly journals Seeing information: Visual methods as entry points to information practices

2018 ◽  
Vol 50 (3) ◽  
pp. 229-238 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alison Hicks ◽  
Annemaree Lloyd
Keyword(s):  
Research Methods ◽  
Detailed Examination ◽  
Photo Elicitation ◽  
Visual Methods ◽  
Spatial Constraints ◽  
Visual Research ◽  
Visual Research Methods ◽  
Information Practices ◽  
Entry Points ◽  
Temporal And Spatial

Recognising the importance of exploring multimodal experiences of information, this paper provides a detailed examination of the scope of visual research methods within information practices research. More specifically, the paper will use the examples from one completed study (Lloyd and Wilkinson, 2017) and one ongoing study (Hicks, in progress) to discuss and provide a detailed examination of the use, affordances and limitations of two research methods that centre upon participant-created photographs: photo-elicitation and photovoice. Demonstrating that the use of photographs helps to evoke and communicate complex meaning as well as to mediate between linguistic, temporal and spatial constraints, this study highlights the continuing need to develop research methods that privilege participants’ understandings and perspectives.

Can visual methods actually challenge hierarchies? A case study from Papua New Guinea

2017 ◽  
Vol 54 (3) ◽  
pp. 371-388
Author(s):  
Laura Simpson Reeves ◽  
Lauren Leigh Hinthorne
Keyword(s):  
Community Development ◽  
Research Methods ◽  
Papua New Guinea ◽  
Local Community ◽  
New Guinea ◽  
Visual Methods ◽  
Power Structures ◽  
Visual Research ◽  
Visual Research Methods

Abstract Visual research methods continue to be explored as a viable tool within community development, particularly amongst advocates for participatory approaches. It is widely agreed that visual research methods can assist participants in externalizing abstract concepts and create spaces for reflective dialogue. However, these methods are frequently used across the sector with little theorizing or critical reflection. Moreover, visual research methods and participatory processes are often conflated. There is also an assumption that visual research methods, particularly when used in development contexts, can disrupt power structures. This research draws on a case study from Papua New Guinea (PNG) to modestly challenge this assumption and, in doing so, argues for more critical and reflexive practice across community development. The article critically analyses a workshop held in rural PNG in 2013 that employed a visual multimethod approach. The workshop took place over four days with the aim of creating a local community development plan. Perhaps unsurprisingly, we found that while the visual research methods used in PNG demonstrated evidence of shifting some power structures, this was not necessarily because of the method or methods themselves, and was actually more closely linked to the locale in which we facilitated the method(s).

Internet marketing research in hospitality and tourism: a review and journal preferences

2015 ◽  
Vol 27 (7) ◽  
pp. 1556-1572 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xi Yu Leung ◽  
Lan Xue ◽  
Billy Bai
Keyword(s):  
Literature Review ◽  
Correspondence Analysis ◽  
Marketing Research ◽  
Internet Marketing ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Research Topics ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Customer Perspective ◽  
Hospitality And Tourism ◽  
Hospitality Managers

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to provide a progress review of published Internet marketing research within the top eight hospitality and tourism journals and to provide suggestions on future research directions. Design/methodology/approach – The study collected 331 Internet marketing-related articles published in the top eight hospitality and tourism journals during the period of 1996-2013. Using content analysis, the study analyzed and discussed research topics, research methods and industry sectors of selected articles. The study period was broken into three sub-periods and used correspondence analysis (CA) to examine the significant changes of topical areas over time. A follow-up CA was conducted to compare the topical and methodological preferences of the selected eight journals. Findings – In all, 5-category and 27-subcategory classifications of research topics were identified in the study. The two-dimensional perceptual map indicates that Internet marketing research in the hospitality and tourism fields experienced introduction, growth and maturity stages. The research focus changed from business perspective to customer perspective and then to both business and customer perspectives. The eight top hospitality and tourism journals were grouped into four journal sets that share similar article characteristics and preferences. Research limitations/implications – Due to the sample size, the classifications and trends generated in this study may not be generalized to all Internet marketing research in hospitality and tourism disciplines. The process of identifying topic and method categories might be biased, especially in identifying new topics. Future research may apply CA method in literature review studies on other research topics. Practical implications – The study analyzed published research in Internet marketing in the hospitality and tourism fields and provided topical and methodological recommendations to academia for future research. This study may also give hospitality managers new insights into Internet marketing applications in the industry. Originality/value – This study is one of the few attempts to provide a comprehensive review of Internet marketing research in the hospitality and tourism fields. This study uses CA in literature review study, opening up a new way to easily analyze and visually display the literature trends. This study also creatively compared the publication preferences among eight top-tier hospitality and tourism journals using correspondence analysis.

Book Review: The Sage Handbook of Visual Research Methods

2015 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 243-248
Author(s):  
Dylan Yamada-Rice ◽  
Eve Stirling ◽  
Lisa Procter ◽  
Maram Almansour
Keyword(s):  
Research Methods ◽  
Visual Research ◽  
Visual Research Methods

scholarly journals Building tourism-resilient communities by incorporating residents’ perceptions? A photo-elicitation study of tourism development in Bruges

2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 127-143 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katarzyna Janusz ◽  
Sofie Six ◽  
Dominique Vanneste
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Context ◽  
Current Trend ◽  
Tourism Industry ◽  
Photo Elicitation ◽  
Quality Data ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Visual Methods ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Resilient Communities ◽  
Historical Center

Purpose In a current trend of a growing amount of short city trips, it becomes crucial to understand how local residents perceive the presence of tourists and tourism in their cities and how their socio-cultural context influences those perceptions. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to this understanding which will enable the city planners to take actions to create the well-balanced and resilient communities in which the needs of residents and tourists are equally met. Design/methodology/approach To understand residents’ perceptions’ about tourism in Bruges, this research applied photo-elicitation interviews with 28 residents who lived in various locations in the historical center to understand socio-cultural background of residents, their tourism-related concerns and whether they are in line with what is commonly perceived as problematic in Bruges. Findings Results show that as long as residents can benefit from tourism and tourism-related infrastructure, they support tourism. On the other hand, tourism decreases the liveability of the historical center due to supersession of infrastructure serving the residents by tourist-oriented amenities. Practical implications To build a sustainable and resilient city in the future, the authorities of Bruges should cease further “museumification” of the historical city by breaking the hegemony of tourism industry, providing affordable housing and rethinking the concentration model of tourism. Originality/value The photo-elicitation method proved to produce rich content and good-quality data by stimulating respondents’ memories and evoking experiences and emotions. Thus, this paper recommends that future research about residents’ attitudes is developed around visual methods as they give voice to the residents and are able to uncover issues which are difficult to capture with other methods.

scholarly journals Islamic marketing as macromarketing

2014 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 2-19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Djavlonbek Kadirov
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Marketing Research ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Present Discussion ◽  
Domain Specific ◽  
Means And Ends ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
Separate Discipline ◽  
Field Of Inquiry

Purpose – The purpose of the article is to propose and develop a distinct perspective in Islamic marketing research through fusing the Islamic paradigm and the macromarketing theory. Design/methodology/approach – This is a conceptual article that is based on intellectualising and reflecting on differences in understanding what marketing is and what role it plays in society. Findings – The article reveals some commonality of purpose between the macromarketing discipline and Islamic macromarketing, while the latter field of inquiry offers a unique outlook to a number of domain-specific issues. Research limitations/implications – The characterisation of Islamic macromarketing will open new avenues for future research and will make researchers more theoretically sensitive to ontological and epistemological assumptions that underlie marketing investigations. The limitation of the present discussion is that Islamic macromarketing may not have yet emerged as a separate discipline. Additionally, research on genuinely macromarketing issues in Islamic contexts is very sparse. Practical implications – Muslim practitioners and managers are to realise that the means and ends of marketing are better understood if viewed from a broader perspective of marketing's impact and consequences on society. By adopting the Islamic macromarketing perspective, public, societal institutions, business stakeholders, and managers will find a better platform to cooperate on maximising the realisation of hasanah (excellence) for all. Originality/value – This article contributes to the discipline by introducing and characterising a potentially new field of marketing inquiry.

Off-price versus price-off

2014 ◽  
Vol 42 (10) ◽  
pp. 902-928 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ronald L. Hess Jr ◽  
Lawrence Ring
Keyword(s):  
Marketing Research ◽  
Extreme Points ◽  
Department Store ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Department Stores ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Store Attributes ◽  
The Us ◽  
Retail Format ◽  
Retail Formats

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to better understand the unique competitive positioning characteristics of off-price retailers and how they compare to other types of retailers. The authors compare off-price and upscale off-price retailers with four major formats of retailers: first, discount department store/warehouse club retailers; second, moderate department store retailers; third, department store retailers; and finally, specialty department store retailers. Design/methodology/approach – The paper employs a representative sample that was randomly drawn from four primary metropolitan cities in the USA. The data were collected using telephone interviews by a prominent, marketing research firm. A series of discriminant analyses were conducted to examine the data. Findings – The findings of the paper indicate that the off-price formats were consistently positioned at extreme points along the price/value continuum, signifying the strongest value-orientation among the other retail formats. The authors also found that while the upscale off-price format followed the specialty department stores in terms of fashion. The results point to an important disadvantage of the off-price format – although strong on price/value, they often fall short on fashion and many other store attributes that may be important to luxury-oriented customers. Research limitations/implications – The paper employed a sample from several cities collected using a telephone interview methodology within the US. Due to these limitations, the findings of this paper may be hampered by this methodology and not generalize to regions outside of the US. Future research should examine how the demise of most of the upscale off-price retailers and growth of flash web sites have changed the competitive structure of retailing. Practical implications – The results demonstrate that the positioning of the off-price retail format is unique from other formats. The retail formats occupy distinct positions. The off-price retail format is strongly associated with the price/value position but only moderately fashionable to customers, especially when compared with the department and specialty department store formats. In contrast, the upscale off-price format, while also strongly positioned along the price/value continuum, is considered much more fashionable than the off-price retail format. In fact, the upscale off-price retail format only trails the specialty department store format in terms of fashion. Originality/value – The unique characteristics of the off-price retail format and growing interest from upscale department stores underscores the need for a comprehensive understanding of the motives of the off-price shopper. This paper provides retailers with a more complete understanding of the store attributes that differentiate the off-price retail format from other major retail store formats. The overall objective of this study is to offer a comprehensive view of the positioning of off-price retailers compared with many alternative retail formats.

Retrospective: “culture shocks” in inter-cultural service encounters?

2016 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 377-383 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bernd Stauss
Keyword(s):  
Marketing Research ◽  
Research Field ◽  
Scientific Development ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Service Encounters ◽  
Cultural Encounters ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Scientific Discussion ◽  
Open Questions ◽  
Cultural Service

Purpose The article “Culture shocks” in inter-cultural service encounters was published in 1999. The purpose of this paper is to analyze how the scientific discussion about this issue has developed and which open research questions are still awaiting solutions. Design/methodology/approach The main contributions of the original article are evaluated in the light of the current state of research. Simultaneously, the scientific development is commented on the basis of the original theoretical and empirical insights. Findings The original article belongs to those that initiated an extraordinary development of the research field. Aspects of inter-cultural encounters have found increasing attention in service marketing research. However, some fundamental problems of inter-cultural studies are still unresolved, and some of the theoretical and management oriented stimuli of the 1999 paper still seem worthy of consideration. Originality/value The retrospective analysis gives insight into the scientific development of the research on inter-cultural service encounters. It identifies relevant development lines, new perspectives and open questions for future research.

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