Social Media Marketing, Quality Signaling, and the Goldilocks Principle

Embraced by a rapidly increasing number of companies, social media marketing has become an integral part of companies' business strategies. However, not all the firms plan on a big spend on social media marketing. Our stylized model investigates the strategic effects of social media marketing spending (SMM spending) with the presence of exogenous quality revelation through sources over which firms have no direct control. Unlike traditional advertising, social media marketing has two roles: awareness enhancement and information revelation. Consumers are heterogeneous in their awareness of the product (e.g., whether they know the existence of the product). Our results suggest that the high-quality firm gets enough quality transparency from background user-generated discussions, and the cost of maintaining a social presence outweighs the benefits. The low-quality firm avoids social media marketing because quality transparency is broadly detrimental, whereas the mid-tier firm is “just right” to benefit from social media discussions they encourage. Our model provides a first step toward framing social media marketing spending as a strategic investment. We recognize that social media marketing, although capable of increasing consumer awareness and improving the realized perceptions of a firm's true quality, also has strategic signaling effects.

Survey of consumer perceptions of alternative, or novel, sources of protein

This report provides an executive summary of a recent consumer poll conducted on alternative proteins. In December 2021, the FSA commissioned Ipsos MORI to conduct an online survey to understand consumer awareness and perceptions of alternative proteins. The survey was conducted with 1,930 adults aged 16-75 living in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Data was collected between 9th – 11th December 2021 via Ipsos MORI’s online omnibus. The data was weighted to be representative of the adult population aged 16 – 75 living in England, Wales and Northern Ireland on key demographics: age, gender, region, working status and social grade.

Changes in consumers’ awareness and interest in cosmetic products during the pandemic

This research investigates the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on consumers’ perspectives of beauty and individual cosmetic products. Since the first confirmed case of COVID-19 was announced on December 31st, 2019, the search volumes of Google News have been updated and information on confirmed cases of the disease has been collected. This study used Python 3.7, NodeXL 1.0.1, and Smart PLS 3.0 to analyze consumer awareness of cosmetic products during the pandemic. The results reveal that consumers’ perspectives of beauty are impacted by a pandemic. Global consumers perceive skincare as an important aspect during the pandemic, while the importance of makeup fell after the outbreak. The awareness of skincare and makeup products has changed. The spread of the pandemic (SOP) has a positive impact on skincare products, but a negative impact on makeup products, except for eye makeup products, which was positive. Finally, the SOP was not significant in terms of consumers’ interest in masks. Fifth, interest in masks showed a positive relationship with interest in skincare products, such as cleansing products, while a negative relationship was observed with interest in makeup products. Overall, this study concludes that pandemics certainly have an impact on global consumers’ perspectives. As a pandemic spread, interest in skincare products increases, while interest in makeup products decreases. This study has academic significance in that it investigates the effects of consumption of cosmetic products during the stay-at-home rules. It can be used as standard information for setting marketing strategies in pandemic-like situations in the future.

Application of Blockchain in the Saffron Industry

In the era of tech-driven globalization, supply chains are becoming increasingly complex, with an increasing number of stakeholders spread across continents. A complex supply chain requires complex management systems. Supply chain management digitalization and information technology have advanced simultaneously in time, but a more technological and connected society calls for more information, uncovering the limits of supply chain management tools available today, which, while providing efficiency, automation, and organizational capabilities, are quite scarce in providing transparency. Consumer awareness on sensible issues such as climate change, human rights, or counterfeiting is increasing.

Consumers’ Awareness on Organic Food: Case of Urban Sri Lanka

The organic food market is rapidly expanding all over the world with the recent rise of concern in food safety and environmental protection. Thus, examining information about consumers’ awareness on organic food is one of the inspiring areas for producers and marketers to capture a greater market share successfully. Therefore, this study aimed at analyzing the consumer awareness towards organic food products while addressing socio-demographic factors affecting consumer awareness on organic food, knowledge of consumers about organic food, and their purchasing pattern. A sample of 600 consumers was selected from the main cities of six urban districts in Sri Lanka for the study. Data were collected via a consumer survey using a pre-tested questionnaire, from November 2018 to May 2019. The data analysis was carried out using frequencies, percentages, and multiple linear regression analysis. According to the results, the majority of the respondents were married females. The results revealed that Sri Lankan consumers have a better awareness on organic food. The results of the regression analysis highlighted that the consumers’ awareness is significantly affected by factors such as gender, marital status, education, and monthly income. Although most respondents have a good level of awareness on organic food, their buying trend is at a lower level. The findings of the study play an important role in promoting the organic food market and are essential for food marketing planners, researchers, and policymakers to enhance the organic food industry in the country in the future.

FINANCIAL EDUCATION FOR WELFARE BENEFICIARIES IN POLAND. NECESSITY OR REDUNDANT ACTIVITY?

Article discusses issue of professionalization of welfare assistance institutions in Poland in topic of financial education service for beneficiaries. Supporting welfare beneficiaries in making financially reasonable decisions is common practice among developed countries, where massive consumption favors consumer habits, that contribute to fall into poverty trap. Actions taken in aim to raise consumer awareness won’t replace social security institutions but may have positive impact as a preventive measure. Article is based on experiences from the project “Potentials – new forms of social capital in city Przasnysz”.

Food fraud: A menace to public health

Food is a basic requirement of people that helps in providing proper nutrition and energy for growth and repair of tissues. However, food which provides numerous health benefits now comes in adulterated form. Some of the most frequent products to be fraudulent are common to many households – olive oil, cheese, honey, herbs and spices etc. The greed of industries to gain higher profits within short period of time makes them to indulge in malpractices such as food fraud and involves such techniques for food fraud which go undetected even after using laboratory techniques. There are manifold analytical techniques to detect food fraud in laboratory but consumers are not able to detect it at home scale. Moreover, no one bothers to do that after buying it. Consuming a fraudulated food product can prove harmful for human body as it may have short term or long-term effects. It is only consumer awareness that can protect them from food fraud. The purpose of this review is to study the food fraud that is deliberately affecting the health of consumers.

Reasons to counterfeit: Supply, demand and distribution of counterfeit goods

This research empathizes with the opportunities that drive demand for counterfeit goods. Governments, organizations and rights holders struggle to regulate the distribution and consumption of counterfeit products, so that consumer awareness has emerged as to what goods people counterfeit, and most importantly, why people intentionally buy counterfeit items. This article illustrates the incentives that inspire buyers to purchase counterfeit products, tactics that brand owners use to fuel their interest. It involves the development of demand, marketing tactics, and the implementation of consumer approach strategies by brands. It also reveals the complicated logistics and transporting routes creating manufacturing and transit hubs for counterfeiting,; it also demonstrates the lack of government intervention as well as the desperate need for policy revision. This article shows counterfeiting is phenomenon that governments, organizations, and most importantly, consumers all have equal interest in fighting against.