Clifford J. Shultz and Alexander Nill
Observes that variances in standards for and interpretations of intellectual property rights (IPR) around the globe remain one of the great challenges for marketers and…
Abstract
Observes that variances in standards for and interpretations of intellectual property rights (IPR) around the globe remain one of the great challenges for marketers and stakeholders of the marketing paradigm. Attempts to distil the issues surrounding IPR and its protection, and to examine the phenomenon of IPR violations within a framework of social dilemmas. In so doing, describes and provides examples for some of the problems associated with IPR violations. Contends that much work is still to be done, if it is hoped to implement a global system for IPR protection that serves the best long‐term interests for the largest number of society’s stakeholders. Concludes with opportunities for further research.
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John A. Schibrowsky, James W. Peltier and Alexander Nill
The purpose of this study is to examine the internet marketing literature to determine how internet marketing research has evolved in terms of quantity, content, and publication…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to examine the internet marketing literature to determine how internet marketing research has evolved in terms of quantity, content, and publication outlets. In addition, the paper identifies important trends in the internet marketing literature and provides a view of the research gaps and expected topical areas of interest.
Design/methodology/approach
A content analysis was performed on approximately 1,400 internet‐related marketing articles identified by searching the ABI/INFORM database. A total of 902 peer‐reviewed internet marketing articles appearing in nearly 80 different journals were identified. The study revealed that 60 percent of the internet research had been published in the last three years. The three most researched internet marketing areas were consumer behavior, internet strategy, and internet communications. The topics with the highest growth over the past two years were research issues and consumer search. Over the past 15 years, 14 articles appeared in the top three marketing journals.
Findings
The article identified important trends in the internet marketing research to provide future direction, particularly in terms of research gaps and expected topical areas of interest. The three major research areas that are likely to grow in the next few years are: consumer trust pertaining to the internet, the use of the internet by consumers for marketing related activities, and where is the internet headed in terms of integrating strategies?
Originality/value
The study provides both academics and practitioners with an updated review of the internet marketing literature along with a sense of how internet marketing research is evolving.
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Shannon Cummins, James W. Peltier, John A. Schibrowsky and Alexander Nill
– The purpose of this article is to review the consumer behavior and social network theory literature related to the online and e-commerce context.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this article is to review the consumer behavior and social network theory literature related to the online and e-commerce context.
Design/methodology/approach
To conduct the review, the authors draw on a sample of 942 articles published from 1993 to 2012 addressing consumer behavior or social network issues in the online or social media context. The sample is analyzed by both era (incubation, expansion and explosion) and primary topic.
Findings
Eight categories of online consumer behavior research are described. In the order from largest to smallest, these are: cognitive issues, user-generated content, Internet demographics and segmentation, online usage, cross cultural, online communities and networks, strategic use and outcomes and consumer Internet search.
Originality/value
The literature has been summarized in each category and research opportunities have been offered for consumer behavior and social network scholars interested in exploring the online context.
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James W. Peltier, John A. Schibrowsky and Alexander Nill
The purpose of this study is to empirically test a hierarchical model of the antecedents of nurse job satisfaction and loyalty based on the internal marketing literature…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to empirically test a hierarchical model of the antecedents of nurse job satisfaction and loyalty based on the internal marketing literature. Specifically, the study aims to investigate the degree to which structural, social, and financial bonding activities influence nurses' job satisfaction and retention.
Design/methodology/approach
Following a review of the literature, the model was tested via a survey of 200 nurses from three US health care institutions.
Findings
The study resulted in key findings pertaining to the hierarchical nature of structural, social, and financial bonding activities and their impact on job satisfaction and loyalty.
Practical implications
Service industries that depend on front‐line employees to deliver high quality services are provided with innovative suggestions to improve job satisfaction and loyalty of their employees by employing an internal marketing approach. The study provides organizations with empirical evidence regarding the synergistic effects of bonding activities.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first time a hierarchical/sequential model of the impact that relationship bonds have on satisfaction and retention of health care staff has been empirically tested. The findings that structural bonds have both a direct and indirect impact on job satisfaction and loyalty are of value for interested academics working in this area and are relevant for companies trying to improve job satisfaction and loyalty of their employees.
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Nadia Pomirleanu, John A. Schibrowsky, James Peltier and Alexander Nill
The 20‐year review of marketing and selected business journals examines the internet marketing literature to determine how the literature has evolved in terms of quantity…
Abstract
Purpose
The 20‐year review of marketing and selected business journals examines the internet marketing literature to determine how the literature has evolved in terms of quantity, content, and publication outlets. This article aims to provide a comprehensive review of the internet marketing literature. It offers a big picture view of the current state of the internet marketing literature and gives readers a sense of the quantity of internet marketing articles published, the scope of this research, and how this research has evolved in terms of content.
Design/methodology/approach
Consistent with Schibrowsky et al., a content analysis was performed on 1,957 internet‐related marketing articles identified by searching the business source premier database. The paper reviews the internet marketing literature that has been published in the time period 2005‐2012 in marketing journals.
Findings
The study revealed that 68.5 percent of the internet marketing research had been published in the last eight years. The findings suggest the number of internet marketing articles finding their way into the top marketing journals has increased, and that there is a wider array of journals publishing internet marketing articles. Areas of research that maintained high interest included consumer behavior, internet strategy, and internet communications; new areas included social media and networks. Three major research areas are likely to grow in the next few years: mobile internet, social media and networks, as well as internet analytics.
Practical implications
The paper reviews the internet marketing literature that has been published in the time period 2005‐2012 in marketing journals.
Originality/value
The study provides both academics and practitioners with an updated review of the internet marketing literature along with a sense of how internet marketing research is evolving. This review provides marketing academics and practitioners a macro overview of the topics and placement of articles that compose the internet marketing literature. It is an extension of Schibrowsky et al.
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Supreet Kaur and Satinder Kumar
The present study investigates the antecedents of sharenting, underlying strategies to mitigate the privacy risks of sharing children's personally identifiable information (PII…
Abstract
Purpose
The present study investigates the antecedents of sharenting, underlying strategies to mitigate the privacy risks of sharing children's personally identifiable information (PII) and majorly explores the relationship between sharenting activities of the parents and their buying behaviour. The study corroborates the previous studies in an advanced manner and adds a new construct “sherub marketing” as an effective marketing tool to impact the buying decisions of the parents.
Design/methodology/approach
Following interpretative phenomenological analysis, semi-structured personal interviews were conducted towards actively engaged parents on social media. For inferential analysis, responses of 23 parents were analysed with the help of theoretical thematic analysis
Findings
The findings uncover the multifaceted reasons persisting behind sharenting activities of the parents and observe a strong relationship between sharenting and buying behaviour of parents. The study results into exploration of sherub marketing as an effective marketing tool to influence the actions of the sharenters.
Practical implications
The study will be of use to both the practitioners and the society as a whole as it indicates the ramification of parental sharing and the role of marketers in influencing the purchasing decisions of the sharenters.
Originality/value
The present study is a novice and untapped area in the literature of interactive marketing and sheds light on sherub marketing as an effective marketing strategy.
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Ethical issues surround and permanently reside in the discipline of marketing and have been examined within multiple schools of thought. However, despite the prevalence of the…
Abstract
Purpose
Ethical issues surround and permanently reside in the discipline of marketing and have been examined within multiple schools of thought. However, despite the prevalence of the topic and significant scholarly attention and theoretical development since the 1980s, the Hunt–Vitell general model has not been subject to a substantial revision in decades. This paper aims to undertake the significant task of augmenting and advancing the general theoretical framework of marketing ethics through a number of revisions.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper synthesizes the conceptual and empirical work on marketing ethics to date to extend the seminal Hunt and Vitell (1986, 2006) model of marketing ethics.
Findings
The revised model expands upon the Hunt–Vitell model by incorporating additional factors that influence ethical decision-making in marketing. Key additions include cultural orientation, socialization, individual characteristics (relativism, demographics, goals, position), means, contracts, consumer sovereignty, self-respect, respect from others and context. These additions create a more comprehensive framework for understanding ethical behavior in marketing, enhancing the model’s validity and applicability.
Research limitations/implications
The paper offers numerous research avenues, including: 1. Examining how marketers and entrepreneurs make decisions, focusing on the alignment of their processes with ethical principles. 2. Revisiting research on gender and ethics, exploring the interplay of various social identities in ethical decision-making. 3. Developing new measures for personality traits like idealism and relativism within marketing and entrepreneurship contexts. 4. Investigating the impact of information availability and different types of information on consumer perceptions and ethical behavior. 5. Exploring the disconnect between ethical orientations of marketing managers and consumers. 6. Examining the influence of socialization processes on ethical orientations. 7. Incorporating psychological constructs like self-respect and desire for respect into models of ethical decision-making. 8. Conducting context-specific research to understand the relationship between ethical judgment and action. 9. Empirical testing using both vignettes and structural equation modeling to validate the model and explore its implications for both marketers and consumers, especially in the context of brand activism and public relations crises.
Practical implications
Practitioners should be mindful of how their actions and intentions influence ethical judgments. They should integrate ethical considerations into all aspects of business, including CSR initiatives and training. Promoting diversity and transparency fosters ethical decision-making and builds trust with consumers. Entrepreneurs should model ethical behavior, create an ethical culture and provide clear information about their practices.
Social implications
The revised model highlights the significant social implications of ethical decision-making in marketing and entrepreneurship. By considering not only the outcomes but also the means used to achieve them, businesses can avoid negative impacts on society. This includes prioritizing transparency, fairness and responsible practices. Understanding the influence of cultural, individual and contextual factors on ethical behavior can lead to more ethical business practices, ultimately contributing to a more just and sustainable society.
Originality/value
The revised model constitutes a meaningful improvement to the seminal Hunt–Vitell general model of marketing ethics. Seven new research propositions, a simplified measurement model, research and practitioner implications and an Appendix that offers an overview of four decades of marketing ethics research are also provided.
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Jamid Ul Islam and Zillur Rahman
To understand how customer engagement has been researched in the last decade, the purpose of this paper is to provide a systematic review of customer engagement research in the…
Abstract
Purpose
To understand how customer engagement has been researched in the last decade, the purpose of this paper is to provide a systematic review of customer engagement research in the existing literature, derive a comprehensive definition of customer engagement and summarize few important and basic issues that future research should address.
Design/methodology/approach
An extensive literature review was carried out on customer engagement spread over 38 journals identified from online academic databases of Scopus, Emerald, EBSCOS and Science Direct. A total of 66 conceptual and empirical articles on customer engagement research spanning from 2005 to 2015 were analyzed based on different classification schemes.
Findings
Customer engagement is becoming a key concept in marketing. Customer engagement is a multi-dimensional concept comprising of cognitive, emotional, behavioral and social dimensions. The theoretical foundations of this concept predominantly lie with relationship marketing and service-dominant logic. Research on customer engagement has gained a significant pace in the last six years (2010-2015) but most of the articles on customer engagement have come from developed countries.
Research limitations/implications
By providing the distribution schema of customer engagement articles based on different criteria and by highlighting the future research avenues, this study is believed to serve as a valuable tool for researchers to understand the current scenario of customer engagement research in the marketing discipline and take this research area forward. This study acknowledges limitations with respect to its exclusive search criteria, which might affect its generalizability.
Practical implications
This study exhibits the favorable outcomes organizations can derive by building and managing an engaged customer base. The more an organization knows about how to engage its customers, the better adept it will be to enact so. Therefore, understanding customer engagement is imperative in that regard; this review will help organizations comprehend that better.
Originality/value
This is the first systematic review of customer engagement that provides a detailed understanding of the current state of customer engagement research on a single platform and also draws a comprehensive customer engagement conceptualization.
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Xi Liu, Bu Mi, Fei Li and Deqiang Zou
This study aims to explore how the ideal employee effects of internal marketing are created and sustained. It aims to reveal the role that outbound marketing activities play in…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explore how the ideal employee effects of internal marketing are created and sustained. It aims to reveal the role that outbound marketing activities play in the reproduction of a brand-centric employee culture.
Design/methodology/approach
From an organizational ritual perspective, this study conducts a qualitative study of a Chinese department store’s anniversary celebration, which is a multi-day annual sales event. Data were collected through in-depth interviews, supplemented with corporate documents and field observation.
Findings
This study reveals that the focal event remains a success because the well-managed coordination of its onstage and backstage activities serves to reproduce an employee culture of espousing and voluntarily enacting corporately mandated role norms, values and beliefs.
Practical implications
For the management of retail events with the aim of building organizational culture, this study points to the importance of emphasizing the symbolism of the sales promotion aspects of an event and paying as much attention to employees’ backstage experiences as to the public execution of a consumer event.
Originality/value
This study shows that external marketing could set the stage for internal marketing, with the ideal effects of internal marketing actually constructed and institutionalized during activities and procedures comprising outbound marketing. This suggests that a more nuanced view of the practice of internal marketing is warranted.