Previous research has conceptualized and modeled customer orientation (CO) in one of two ways: as a psychological phenomenon antecedent to critical job states (i.e., stress and engagement) or as ...frontline employee behaviors that are caused by these same job states. Building on meta-analytic data, this study finds greater support for the causal relationships implied by a psychological construal of the construct and reveals that CO influences frontline employees'job outcomes through its effects on stress and engagement. Moderation analyses also indicate that CO's influence on model variables is stronger when frontline employees' customer workloads increase and is weaker as the need for customer persuasion increases. These findings contradict widely held assumptions rooted in a behavioral view of CO—namely, that CO is a consequence of job states, a proximate determinant of job outcomes, and most beneficial when ample opportunity for customer engagement exists. Overall, the results support a broadened perspective that recognizes that CO improves job outcomes because it enhances frontline employees' psychological welfare in addition to being good for business. These findings suggest that managers should consider CO an important criterion in frontline employee decisions, recognize CO as beneficial when limited opportunity for customer engagement exists, and avoid efforts to curtail CO's costs at the frontline employee level.
As a motivational factor, uniqueness drives individuals to seek and choose unique goods or experiences. The act of wearing masks obscures individuals' facial features and influences their desire for ...uniqueness. This study aims to explore how wearing masks promotes individual uniqueness- seeking behavior. Three experiments were performed using various product categories (Starbucks coffee cups, sweatshirts, suitcases, and baseball caps) and sample types (college student and adult samples). Experiment results show that wearing masks obscures individuals' facial features and weakens their self- perceived uniqueness, thereby increasing their willingness to actively purchase unique products. This study is the first to examine the effect of wearing masks on individuals' choice of unique products. Practically, the results suggest that customized products can compensate for the lack of self-perceived uniqueness brought about by facial occlusion, thus providing valuable guidance for companies and retailers that offer customized services in formulating and designing marketing strategies.
The significance of online advertising as a primary revenue stream for digital media cannot be understated. However, the rising adoption of ad-blocking software by users has adversely affected these ...revenues. In response to this challenge, digital publishers are exploring various strategies not only to maintain their revenues, but also to enhance them through online advertising, in addition to paid subscriptions. We discuss three potential strategies to overcome ad-blocking. The first is the subscription fee strategy, termed the benchmark strategy in the paper, wherein users pay a subscription fee to access content without encountering any ads. The second strategy is whitelisting, which involves publishers seeking users’ consent to display acceptable ads that support the website. The third approach is ad-recovery, which employs a third-party service to continue displaying ads even to users employing ad-blocking software. We utilize a duopolistic game-theoretical framework and identify conditions under which digital publishers might adopt either symmetric or asymmetric strategies to counter ad-blocking usage. We find that both firms tend to opt for whitelisting when the advertising revenue parameter is relatively low, and the proportion of consenting ad-block users is relatively high. On the other hand, when the advertising revenue parameter is high, and the proportion of consenting ad-block users is low, both firms benefit from an ad-recovery strategy. Further, under some conditions, firms utilize asymmetric strategies. The analysis suggests that a number of consumer- and firm-level factors represent important determinants of the digital marketing strategies of media firms.
•We study the relative profitability of three strategies to combat adblocking.•We link strategic choice to profitability: which strategy is more profitable.•We identify conditions in which symmetric firms might prefer asymmetric strategies.•Showcases interplay of multiple drivers in determining firms’ digital strategies.
Using qualitative studies involving executives and customers, this study explores the nature and scope of customer engagement (CE), which is a vital component of relationship marketing. We define CE ...as the intensity of an individual's participation in and connection with an organization's offerings and/or organizational activities, which either the customer or the organization initiate. We argue that it is composed of cognitive, emotional, behavioral, and social elements. Finally, we offer a model of CE, in which the participation and involvement of current or potential customers serve as antecedents of CE, while value, trust, affective commitment, word of mouth, loyalty, and brand community involvement are potential consequences.
How do people approach marketing in the face of uncertainty, when the product, the market, and the traditional details involved in market research are unknowable ex ante? The authors use protocol ...analysis to evaluate how 27 expert entrepreneurs approach such a problem compared with 37 managers with little entrepreneurial expertise (all 64 participants are asked to think aloud as they make marketing decisions in exactly the same unpredictable situation). The hypotheses are drawn from literature in cognitive science on (1) expertise in general and (2) entrepreneurial expertise in particular. The results show significant differences in heuristics used by the two groups. While those without entrepreneurial expertise rely primarily on predictive techniques, expert entrepreneurs tend to invert these. In particular, they use an effectual or nonpredictive logic to tackle uncertain market elements and to coconstruct novel markets with committed stakeholders.
•Consumer purchases of suboptimal foods can be influenced by positioning strategies.•Sustainability positioning works best when combined with a moderate price discount.•Authenticity positioning ...increases suboptimal food choices and quality perceptions.•Positioning strategies work better for suboptimal products than price discounts.•Positioning effects are independent of demographics and personality.
In the societal change towards a more sustainable future, reducing food waste is one of the mostly discussed topics. One significant source of food waste is the reluctance of supply chains and consumers to sell, purchase, or consume products that deviate from optimal products on the basis of only cosmetic specifications. Yet, it is currently unclear how consumers can be motivated to purchase such suboptimal products. The present research suggests that presenting suboptimal products with a sustainability positioning or with an authenticity positioning can positively affect consumers’ purchase intentions and quality perceptions of suboptimal products. Two studies (total N = 1804) presenting suboptimal products with a sustainability positioning, an authenticity positioning, or no positioning under varying price levels reveal that especially authenticity positioning can increase purchase intentions for and quality perceptions of suboptimal products independent of the prices of suboptimal products. A sustainability positioning appears to work best when combined with a moderate price discount. Moreover, the findings show that respondents have lower intentions to waste suboptimal foods when a clear positioning is provided compared to when this is not provided. Together, these findings provide a constructive first step towards a more sustainable solution for the suboptimal product waste problem.
Abstract
Introduction
For cigars sold individually without packaging, including many premium cigars, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) proposed that retailers display six warning statements ...on a sign at the point-of-sale (POS).
Aims and Methods
To examine the potential effectiveness of cigar warning signs, we conducted a between-subjects online experiment. Participants were 809 U.S. adults who reported using cigars (78% ever large cigar use, 49% past 30-day large cigar use) recruited from a probability-based panel. Participants viewed an image of a cigar store countertop with randomization to one of four conditions: (1) no warning sign, (2) a sign with six FDA proposed text-only warnings, (3) a sign with six novel text-only warnings, or (4) a sign with six novel text + image warnings. We used analysis of variance (ANOVA) models and post hoc Tukey tests to examine the results.
Results
The FDA-proposed text-only warning sign was perceived as less effective in discouraging participants from smoking cigars (M: 3.26, SD: 1.39; scale range: 1–5, where five indicates higher discouragement) compared with the novel text-only warning sign (M = 3.38, SD = 1.40) and the novel text + image warning sign (M = 3.65, SD = 1.34). The novel text + image warning sign increased discouragement from smoking cigars versus the FDA-proposed text-only warning sign (p = .02) and decreased the perceived satisfaction of smoking cigars versus no warning sign (p = .04). In a sensitivity analysis, the novel text + image warning sign decreased the perceived satisfaction of smoking cigars (p = .01), decreased cigar purchase intentions (p = .03), decreased the urge to smoke (p = .03), and increased discouragement from smoking cigars (p = .006) compared with all other study conditions.
Conclusions
Results provide new evidence that policymakers, such as the FDA, could use when proposing POS warning signs for cigars.
Implications
The US FDA proposed that retailers display a warning sign at the POS for cigars sold individually without packaging. We conducted an online experiment concerning the potential effectiveness of this regulatory policy with people who use cigars recruited from a probability-based panel. Results provide the first evidence that the FDA-proposed text-only warning sign was perceived as less effective than other types of warning signs and that adding images could potentially increase the effectiveness of warning signs. These findings are particularly relevant for premium cigars, which are often sold individually in brick-and-mortar retail settings.
The emergence of 24/7 cable news channels within the US revolutionized news consumption, offering viewers accessibility beyond fixed broadcast schedules. While the phenomenon began with CNN, ...competitors quickly emerged, targeting different political ideologies and mirroring the heightened polarization that has altered American society. Cable news channels must market themselves effectively to their audiences through distinctive product differentiation strategies. Understanding these approaches provides insights into information dissemination, political communication, and audience engagement dynamics. This paper aims to conduct a formal media analysis of current self-promotional advertisements across the big three cable news networks within the US to derive insights into contemporary differentiation strategies crucial for monitoring the industry’s technological transition. As the rest of the world has begun to wrestle with increased polarization, this analysis will be relevant to anticipating how non-US news sources use ideology and values to position themselves within highly competitive markets.
