Who to find to endorse? Evaluation of online influencers among young consumers and its implications for effective influencer marketing

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Wai Sing Tsen ◽  
Benjamin Ka Lun Cheng

Purpose This study aims to identify the dimensions used by young consumers to evaluate effective online influencers; determine the impact of demographic segmentation – that is, gender, behavioral segmentation and whether young consumers often follow the advice of online influencers to make a purchase – on the evaluative dimensions. The results will inform advertisers regarding the types of online influencers that they should feature to endorse their products to create desirable promotion effects. Design/methodology/approach This study adopted a multistage method. This study first conducted eight focus groups with 48 participants between 18 and 24 years of age to explore their evaluation of online influencers. This study then conducted a survey with a questionnaire developed from the focus group results. This study used convenience sampling and administered the questionnaire to 475 participants (mean age, 19.5 years). Findings The results of factor analysis revealed seven dimensions used by young consumers to evaluate online influencers. The most salient dimensions were credibility, appearance and content production techniques. The results of t-testing also show that gender and behavioral segmentation variables had an impact on these evaluative dimensions in the four tested product categories. Practical implications This study provides advertisers with a set of criteria to select appropriate online influencers in various advertising settings, such as the promotion of gender-specific products, and in various product categories that target young consumer markets. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to examine the dimensions used by young consumers to evaluative online influencers in relation to product endorsement.

2020 ◽  
Vol 48 (8) ◽  
pp. 845-863
Author(s):  
Jason Ian Pallant ◽  
Sean James Sands ◽  
Carla Renee Ferraro ◽  
Jessica Leigh Pallant

PurposeThis paper investigates the degree to which self-selection explains the apparent higher purchase value of research shoppers.Design/methodology/approachAn online survey was administered to 594 retail shoppers. The purchase value of research shoppers and single-channel shoppers was compared before and after propensity score matching to account for self-selection effects.FindingsPrior to matching, research shoppers spend significantly more than single-channel shoppers. This difference persists after accounting for self-selection but is reduced by 25%. The impact of self-selection differs across product categories and channels, with the online channel most likely to lead to higher purchase value.Practical ImplicationsThe findings build on existing literature on the value of omni-channel retail strategies and provide insights for retailers to determine the likely impact of encouraging research shopping among their customers.Originality/valueThe research provides important insights into the role that self-selection plays in the value of multi-channel shoppers, and the likely value to retailers of omni-channel strategies.


2020 ◽  
Vol 37 (5) ◽  
pp. 579-590
Author(s):  
Jessica Keech ◽  
Maureen Morrin ◽  
Jeffrey Steven Podoshen

Purpose The increasing desire of consumers for socially responsible luxury products combined with fluctuating supplies in consumer markets are leading various industries to seek alternative sources to be able to meet the needs of its customers. One possible solution that may meet the demands of the future is lab-grown products. Because these products confer multiple benefits, this study aims to investigate the most effective ways to appeal to consumers by aligning the benefits of the products with their values as marketers seek to find effective promotion for these items. Design/methodology/approach We examine the effectiveness of an ethical positioning strategy for two types of luxury lab-grown (synthetic) products among high versus low materialism consumers in three experiments. Findings Findings suggest that a positioning strategy stressing product ethicality is more effective for low materialism consumers, whereas the strategy is less effective, and may even backfire, for high materialism consumers. The impact on social status consumers perceive from a lab-grown product explains why this effect occurs among low materialism consumers. Therefore, marketers should take caution and use specific appeals for different segments based on values such as consumers’ materialism levels. Originality/value If lab-grown products represent the wave of the future, it is important to understand how consumers will respond to this emerging technology and how promotion strategies may enhance their evaluation.


2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 319-328
Author(s):  
Ian Pepper ◽  
Ruth McGrath

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the impact of an employability module, the College of Policing Certificate in Knowledge of Policing (CKP), on students’ career aspirations, their confidence and wish to join the police along with the appropriateness of the module. This will inform the implementation of employability as part of the College of Policing-managed Police Education Qualifications Framework (PEQF). Design/methodology/approach A three-year longitudinal research study used mixed methods across four points in time to evaluate the impact on students studying the employability module. Findings The research suggests that the employability-focussed CKP was useful as an introduction to policing, it developed interest in the police and enhanced the confidence of learners applying to join. Lessons learnt from the CKP should be considered during the implementation of the PEQF. Research limitations/implications The ability to generalise findings across different groups is limited as other influences may impact on a learner’s confidence and employability. However, the implications for the PEQF curriculum are worthy of consideration. Practical implications As the police service moves towards standardised higher educational provision and evolution of policing as a profession, lessons can be learnt from the CKP with regards to the future employability of graduates. Originality/value Enhancing the employability evidence base, focussing on policing, the research identified aspects which may impact on graduates completing a degree mapped to the PEQF. The research is therefore of value to higher education and the professional body for policing.


2014 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-37 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amira Galin

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to obtain insight into court-referred mediation in the Israeli Labor Courts, by analyzing its processes and outcomes, as a function of tactics used by both the disputants and the mediator. Design/methodology/approach – Observation of 103 court-referred mediations, for each of which a detailed process and outcome were documented. Data on disputants' refusal to participate in the mediation was also collected. At the end of each mediation case, disputants were given a questionnaire in which they expressed their satisfaction with the outcome and their evaluation of the mediator's contribution. Findings – A low rate of refusal to participate in court-referred mediation was found. Also, the higher the ratio of soft tactics to pressure tactics employed (by all parties involved) during the process, the higher the rate of agreements. Mediators use significantly more soft tactics than disputants, and are more active in using tactics. The two significant variables that predict the mediation's agreement are the ratio between soft tactics to pressure tactics used by all parties, and mediator contribution to the process. Practical implications – The significant role of soft tactics in the process, outcome, and satisfaction of court-referred mediation may serve as a guideline for disputants and mediators. Originality/value – This unique research, which examines the impact of tactics on court-referred mediation, may provide added and significant theoretical insight into its process and outcome, as well as a better understanding of other “hybrid” (compulsory at the beginning, voluntary at the end) mediations.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Jonsson ◽  
Jan Pettersson ◽  
Christian Nils Larson ◽  
Nir Artzi

Purpose This study aims to measure the impact of the Non-Cooperative Countries and Territories, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and US PATRIOT Act Section 311 blacklists on external deposits from blacklisted jurisdictions into BIS reporting countries in 1996–2008, a period when anti-money laundering-related actions were consistently less stringent than post-2010, to see whether they had an effect even absent the threat of sizable financial fines. Design/methodology/approach The study uses descriptive statistics and bivariate and multivariate regressions to analyze the probable impact from blacklists on non-bank external deposits. The country sample is divided into offshore financial centers (OFCs) and non-OFCs and includes 158 non-listed countries. The impact of the blacklists is tested both jointly and individually for the respective blacklists. Findings The authors find mixed impact from jurisdictions being blacklisted on the growth rate of stocks of deposits into BIS reporting countries. Effects are often zero, negative in several cases and positive in some cases. This is consistent with the “stigma effect” and the “stigma paradox” in the literature. An overall impact from blacklisting is difficult to discern. Different blacklists had different effects, and the same blacklist impacted countries differently, illustrating the importance of disaggregating the analysis by individual countries. Research limitations/implications Interpretation of these data is limited by the absence of comparable data on non-resident deposits in blacklisted jurisdictions. Practical implications The impact of a blacklist depends in part on the structure of the listed jurisdictions’ economies, implying that country-specific sanctions may be more effective than blacklists. Originality/value This is one of the very few papers to date to rigorously test the impact of blacklists on external deposits.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xujia Wang ◽  
Billy Sung ◽  
Ian Phau

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to investigate how exclusivity and rarity (natural versus virtual) influence consumers' perceptions of luxury. Further, it examines whether exclusivity and rarity can function as distinct marketing strategies in today's luxury market environment.Design/methodology/approachOnline questionnaires were administered by adapting developed scales from prior research. Research stimuli were chosen from three luxury categories including bags, wine and cruise. Confirmatory factor analysis and multiple regressions were used to test the hypotheses.FindingsThe results confirmed that exclusivity, natural rarity and virtual rarity were perceived as relatively distinct constructs among our sample. Findings also highlighted that perceived natural rarity (PNR) has consistently emerged as a positive and significant contributor to consumers' perceptions of luxury across all three luxury categories. The influence of perceived exclusivity (PE) on perceptions of luxury has also shown to be significant for two product categories (luxury bag and luxury wine), whereas perceived virtual rarity (PVR) did not show any significant effects across all three categories.Practical implicationsThe results indicate that consumers perceive natural rarity, virtual rarity and exclusivity as relatively distinctive marketing strategies. This suggests that luxury businesses can adopt each strategy independently to achieve desired marketing outcomes.Originality/valueThis study offers theoretical support for the proposition that exclusivity and rarity may have different functions in luxury marketing implementations. It provides empirical evidence showing the distinctiveness of perceived exclusivity and perceived rarity, which have not be done in previous research.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Buell Hirsch

Purpose This paper aims to examine the challenges to sustaining corporate culture in a world of hybrid working. Design/methodology/approach This paper is a review of current literature on the impact of remote and hybrid working on white-collar employees. Findings There is little consensus on whether remote/hybrid working will harm or strengthen corporate culture. Research limitations/implications The viewpoint is a subjective assessment of a limited number of articles on the subject Practical implications It is not entirely clear how those responsible for corporate culture can act on the findings. Social implications In a world in which corporations are experiencing a shortage of talent, how they handle corporate culture will be increasingly important. Originality/value While much has been written on the impact of remote working, this viewpoint takes the original view that strong corporate cultures rely more on the attitudes and actions of individual employees that company programs or initiatives.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Khudejah Ali ◽  
Cong Li ◽  
Khawaja Zain-ul-abdin ◽  
Muhammad Adeel Zaffar

PurposeAs the epidemic of online fake news is causing major concerns in contexts such as politics and public health, the current study aimed to elucidate the effect of certain “heuristic cues,” or key contextual features, which may increase belief in the credibility and the subsequent sharing of online fake news.Design/methodology/approachThis study employed a 2 (news veracity: real vs fake) × 2 (social endorsements: low Facebook “likes” vs high Facebook “likes”) between-subjects experimental design (N = 239).FindingsThe analysis revealed that a high number of Facebook “likes” accompanying fake news increased the perceived credibility of the material compared to a low number of “likes.” In addition, the mediation results indicated that increased perceptions of news credibility may create a situation in which readers feel that it is necessary to cognitively elaborate on the information present in the news, and this active processing finally leads to sharing.Practical implicationsThe results from this study help explicate what drives increased belief and sharing of fake news and can aid in refining interventions aimed at combating fake news for both communities and organizations.Originality/valueThe current study expands upon existing literature, linking the use of social endorsements to perceived credibility of fake news and information, and sheds light on the causal mechanisms through which people make the decision to share news articles on social media.


2019 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-14
Author(s):  
Saikat Chakraborty ◽  
Sushmita Chakravarti

Purpose The purpose of this study is to understand the teamwork of temporary employees by taking into consideration the impact and role of the management’s perspective, temporary employee’s perspective and contextual perspective. Design/methodology/approach Based on reviews of workplace literature pertaining to temporary employments, conversations with managers and temporary and permanent employees of organizations engaging temporary employees on a perennial basis have been thematically analyzed. Findings Multiple perspectives of teamwork of temporary employees exist in organizations. However, one rarely finds the interaction and collective treatment of these perspectives, which are critical to understanding teamwork of temporary employees. The paper reports on these perspectives. Practical implications With rise in temporary employments in organizations and teamwork being crucial to participative work cultures, organizations need to consider multiple perspectives of the phenomenon before making an informed decision. Originality/value There is limited research that delves into teamwork of temporary employees despite the phenomenon becoming increasingly significant in organizations. This paper offers an approach to look at teamwork of temporary employees through multiple perspectives.


2018 ◽  
Vol 39 (5) ◽  
pp. 22-30
Author(s):  
Aaron Gazley ◽  
Hamish Simmonds

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of outsourcing and offshoring on brand loyalty in a service recovery context. In addition, the effect that consumer ethnocentrism has on these relationships is examined. Design/methodology/approach An experiment was designed using a series of service recovery scenarios that manipulated whether the recovery effort was conducted by an in-house/outsourced or local/offshored party. Findings The study shows that while outsourcing service recovery within the home country has no effect on loyalty, outsourcing to an offshore location does. In addition, the effect of offshoring of loyalty is greater for consumers who hold ethnocentric tendencies. Practical implications This research suggests the need to consider the delivery channel of service recovery to recover a service failure and retain customer loyalty. The results show that outsourcing within a local country may be effective, but the risks associated with offshoring are much greater. Originality/value Despite previous attempts to understand outsourcing and offshoring in a range of service scenarios, their role in service recovery is not well understood. Similarly, the impact that ethnocentrism might have on this process is overlooked. This paper therefore responds to calls within business theory, practice and consults for further study in this under-researched area.


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