Rhetorical figures are frequently used in English-Chinese advertisement translation, but their impact on consumers is an under-studied issue. This research aims to explore Chinese…
Abstract
Purpose
Rhetorical figures are frequently used in English-Chinese advertisement translation, but their impact on consumers is an under-studied issue. This research aims to explore Chinese consumers’ perception of two categories of rhetorical figures in bilingual advertising, namely schemes and tropes, via an eye-tracking experiment.
Design/methodology/approach
It takes rhyme and antithesis as representative examples of schemes and takes metaphor as an example of tropes. Eighty-six native Chinese speakers with satisfactory English proficiency participated in the experiment. Thirty English slogans without rhetorical figures were selected for the experiment. Two parallel Chinese versions were prepared, one with rhetorical figures and the other without. Participants were randomly assigned to read the English version and one Chinese version.
Findings
Data analyses show that the translations with rhetorical figures generally involve higher fixation duration or count, smaller saccade amplitude and higher subjective ratings. In particular, the impact of metaphor is more prominent than that of rhymes and antitheses. Still, English texts receive higher ratings than Chinese translations except for cases where metaphors are used in translations.
Practical implications
The results suggest that incorporating rhetorical figures particularly tropes into Chinese translations is effective in increasing Chinese consumers’ attention and processing depth and to present English advertisements together with Chinese translations can be helpful for affecting their attitude.
Originality/value
It applies the eye-tracking approach to explore Chinese consumers’ perception of rhetorical figures. It provides empirical evidence for the effectiveness of tropes.
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Lijie Guo, Daricia Wilkinson, Moses Namara, Karishma Patil and Bart P. Knijnenburg
The paper aims to develop and validate an instrument to measure users’ perceptions of online personalized advertising.
Abstract
Purpose
The paper aims to develop and validate an instrument to measure users’ perceptions of online personalized advertising.
Design/methodology/approach
First, we identified 12 different aspects of online personalized advertisement and formulated candidate items through a literature review. A card sorting study and expert review were conducted to generate the initial scale items. We then conducted one survey (n = 308) to create a reliable measurement instrument and another (n = 296) to validate the instrument. Finally, we tested how the dimensions of the OPAD-Perception Framework can be used to differentiate between different levels of ad sensitivity, control/no control over the ad personalization process, and different levels of granularity of ad explanation.
Findings
The resulting OPAD-Perception Framework contains 49 Likert-formatted questions measuring ten distinct dimensions of online personalized advertising: reliability, usefulness, transparency, interactivity, targeting accuracy, accountability, creepiness, willingness to rely on, self-actualization, and persuasion.
Originality/value
The OPAD-Perception Framework can serve as a powerful tool to measure users’ attitudes toward online personalized advertising. This will enable advertisers and social media platforms to better support users’ privacy expectations and provide user-friendly interfaces for controlling the ad personalization process.
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Leif Runefelt and Lauren Alex O’Hagan
The purpose of this paper is to provide the first comprehensive examination of the early cannabis-based food products industry, using Sweden as a case study. Drawing upon…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide the first comprehensive examination of the early cannabis-based food products industry, using Sweden as a case study. Drawing upon historical newspaper articles and advertisements from the Swedish Historical Newspaper Archive, the authors trace the short-lived development of the industry, from the initial exploitation of fears of tuberculosis in the late 19th century, followed by the “boom” in hempseed extract products and the widening of its claimed effects and, finally, increased skepticism and critiques of such products across the popular press in the early 20th century.
Design/methodology/approach
A rigorous search of the Swedish Historical Newspaper Archive was conducted to gather newspaper articles and advertisements on cannabis-based foods. The collected resources were scrutinized using critical discourse analysis to tease out key discourses at work, particularly around the concepts of health, nutrition and science.
Findings
The authors find that central to the marketization of cannabis-based foods was the construction of disease based on scientific and medical discourse, fearmongering to create a strong consumer base and individualization to place responsibility on consumers to take action to protect their family’s health. This demonstrates not only the long historical relationship between science and food marketing but also how brands’ health claims could often be fraudulent or overstated.
Originality/value
It is important to cast a historical lens on the commercialization of cannabis-based food products because demand for similar types of products has rapidly grown over the past decade. Now, just as before, manufacturers tap into consumers’ insecurities about health, and many of the same questions continue to be mooted about products’ safety. Paying greater attention to the broader and problematic history of commercial cannabis can, thus, serve as a reminder for both consumers and policymakers to think twice about whether hemp really is for health and if the claims it espouses are a mirage rather than a miracle.
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Jingxuan Li, Yong Ye and Runmei Luo
Labor-related risks resulting from layoffs may pique auditors’ scrutiny. Although previous research has enriched the understanding of the economic consequences of layoffs, the…
Abstract
Purpose
Labor-related risks resulting from layoffs may pique auditors’ scrutiny. Although previous research has enriched the understanding of the economic consequences of layoffs, the authors know relatively little about the relationship between layoffs and audit fees. This study aims to investigate whether auditors are concerned about corporate layoff events and their pricing decisions under the influence of the events.
Design/methodology/approach
This study examines the effect of layoff storms on audit fees using news reports from mainstream financial and economic media in China about layoffs in listed companies. Based on whether the company is reported to have layoffs by the media in a fiscal year, this study collects data on 204 layoff storms in A-share listed companies from 2008 to 2022. Then, this study uses propensity score matching to reduce the interference of basic company characteristics.
Findings
This study finds that audit fees are higher after firms experience layoff storms. Higher internal control quality and pay advantage in the industry weaken the positive relationship between layoff storms and audit fees, while higher political uncertainty strengthens this positive relationship. Further tests show that companies with proactive layoffs, persistent layoffs and media disclosures of layoff numbers face more audit fees, but the type of corporate response to the layoff does not influence audit pricing.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the literature on audit pricing and the economic consequences of layoffs by emphasizing the impact of labor-related risks on audit fees.
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Karwan H. Sherwani, Ahmet Demir and Lubna Maroof
The primary aim of the current study is to validate the theoretical model presented by Demir (2021a, b, c) via empirical evidence. In this respect, the study intends to offer a…
Abstract
Purpose
The primary aim of the current study is to validate the theoretical model presented by Demir (2021a, b, c) via empirical evidence. In this respect, the study intends to offer a holistic pathway for obtaining both external and internal advantages from the implementation of ISO 9001, with a particular emphasis on developing countries.
Design/methodology/approach
The research utilized an empirical methodology to investigate the research objective. Data were collected from various sources, including employees and managers of the various companies. In this context, a model was developed, and 170 data points were collected from businesses in the Kurdistan region of Iraq in order to test the hypotheses in this model.
Findings
After the collected data passed the reliability and validity test, the hypotheses designed were tested by applying the partial least squares method. When the results were examined, it was observed that organizational culture and organizational learning variables were the two key antecedents that these factors would emerge after applying ISO 9001 practices with discipline for a certain period of time and that organizational benefits could be obtained only as a result of them. Detailed results and suggestions were given to managers and theorists as a result of the analysis.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the literature as an empirical application of the theoretical work written by Demir in 2021. Demir's work, which produced a theoretical concept based on many empirical and theoretical studies done before, still needs much more empirical work in developing countries.
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Xiaoming Yang, Jianxin Ge, Vijaya Baskar Masilamani and Zhihao Yu
This paper aims to examine the impact of visualization tools on the financing ratio of crowdfunding platforms projects of social enterprises, and to sort out personal quality…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine the impact of visualization tools on the financing ratio of crowdfunding platforms projects of social enterprises, and to sort out personal quality signals and project quality signals based on signaling theory. This paper also divides the emotions and feelings brought by the visualization tools into persuasive and informative styles, showing the functions of different tools on the crowdfunding performance of social ventures.
Design/methodology/approach
Linear regression and binary regression are applied to analyze data on social entrepreneurship projects from two internationally authoritative crowdfunding platforms, Kickstarter and Indiegogo.
Findings
In social entrepreneurship projects, the number of emotionally persuasive images has a significant positive impact on the financing ratio. Among them, the financing target has a negative regulatory effect.
Research limitations/implications
The study has not fully explored how different visual aspects (such as color and composition) impact investor perceptions. Future research should address these variables for a more accurate understanding of how visualization affects financing performance.
Practical implications
This paper summarizes the factors that affect the crowdfunding ratio and provides a visualization tool from an innovative perspective. The application provides reference value for all types of crowdfunding projects on the crowdfunding platforms.
Social implications
Social entrepreneurs should use the crowdfunding model to raise funds and deepen their understanding of crowdfunding investors, so that more people can participate in social entrepreneurship and thereby generate greater social value.
Originality/value
This paper provides a new perspective for the classification of visualization tools. This paper divides the emotions and feelings brought by the visualization tools to the information recipients, and classifies them into persuasive and informative styles, showing the functions of different tools.