Catharine M. Curran and Jef I. Richards
Over the past 30 years the United States has grappled with the regulation of children's advertising in various media. The same debate that occurred in the 1970's in the US over…
Abstract
Over the past 30 years the United States has grappled with the regulation of children's advertising in various media. The same debate that occurred in the 1970's in the US over banning children's advertising is heating up in the EU today. As with other regulatory issues the regulation of children's advertising involves trade‐offs. In the US, the First Amendment rights of the advertisers must be balanced with the government interest in protecting children. The regulation of children's advertising also involves balancing the competing interests of advocacy groups, legislators, broadcasters and advertisers. Advocacy groups have been very effective in focusing public attention on the issues of children's advertising. One of the most vocal and impactful groups was Action for Children's Television (ACT), whose efforts culminated in the passage of the 1990 Children's Television Act. Once that was accomplished, ACT was disbanded. In more recent years, however, the Centre for Media Education (CME) has replaced ACT in calling for regulation of children's advertising. CME was instrumental in pushing the 1996 FTC investigation related to 900 telephone numbers directed at children, and is now behind the Child Online Protection Act (COPA). The same questions raised nearly 30 years ago by ACT are now being cast in the US in terms of the Internet, otherwise little has changed. Each new innovation in media and technology ushers similar questions to the table, and the same balancing act must again be employed to answer the basic question: how far do we go to protect our children? The US's answer to this question offers insights for other countries seeking answers to similar questions.
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Addresses the question of advertising to children whilst they are in school. Debates the ethical issues surrounding this new marketing strategy. Claims there is an information…
Abstract
Addresses the question of advertising to children whilst they are in school. Debates the ethical issues surrounding this new marketing strategy. Claims there is an information asymmetry in the market, as corporations are well informed of the schools’ need for revenue, yet school administrators are ill informed about the value of exclusive access to the children.
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Catharine M. Curran and Jef I. Richards
Invasion of privacy is a serious, and sometimes frightening, concept for many people. It can evoke images of big brother, in the form of big business, knowing your most intimate…
Abstract
Invasion of privacy is a serious, and sometimes frightening, concept for many people. It can evoke images of big brother, in the form of big business, knowing your most intimate secrets and even selling those secrets to others. Laws to guard against these personal violations have been slow in coming from the US government. A combination of consumer fears and sluggish federal response is nothing particularly new, but as with other such situations it has provided state and local officials a lever with which to pry public attention out of the hands of their federal counterparts.
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Catharine M. Curran and Jef I. Richards
Questions the US Government’s (Office of National Drug Control Policy) legislation which encouraged broadcasters to run anti‐drug story lines in their programmes. By doing so, the…
Abstract
Questions the US Government’s (Office of National Drug Control Policy) legislation which encouraged broadcasters to run anti‐drug story lines in their programmes. By doing so, the broadcasters were allowed to reduce the number of legally required obligations to run anti‐drug commercials. The decision was made in response to the unpopular 1997 legislation which provided $1 billion to purchase anti‐drug commercials on the stipulation that broadcasters donate one time slot for every one bought. Asserts that messages supplied in story lines have not been measured in terms of their effectiveness in persuading the audience whereas targeted commercials have. Questions the motivations of the White House.
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Elizabeth Jane Wilson, Anders Bengtsson and Catharine Curran
The purpose of this paper is twofold. First, propositions in an existing conceptual framework are empirically explored to note whether and how brand meaning gaps exist for…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is twofold. First, propositions in an existing conceptual framework are empirically explored to note whether and how brand meaning gaps exist for internal and external stakeholders of a focal brand. Second, a typology of brand meaning gaps, characterised by meaning assonance and valence, offers new insight for brand management strategy.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors use case study methods to explore the research propositions about brand meaning gaps among stakeholder groups. The focal firm is The Black Dog Company of Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts in the USA. Data from brand owners (internal stakeholders) and consumers (external stakeholders) are collected using in-depth interviews, observation, document analysis, and an online survey that includes a picture association task. Further inductive analysis of secondary data helps develop the typology of brand meaning gaps and dynamics.
Findings
The research propositions are supported. Brand meaning gaps exist between internal and external stakeholders, and they exist among two external stakeholder groups. Brand meaning for owners, primarily defined as family heritage, is largely unknown to consumers. Among consumers, brand meaning for stakeholder group 1 is “coastal New England”; brand meaning for group 2 is “dog lovers.” Although multiple brand meanings exist for stakeholders, the meanings are relatively assonant (harmonious) and positively valenced. The findings regarding the polysemic nature of brand meaning are useful to brand managers seeking to leverage offerings to multiple target markets. These findings, along with additional secondary data, serve as the basis for a typology of brand gaps and dynamics characterized by assonance and valence. Four types of meaning gaps may lead to situations where brands are beloved, on-the-cusp, hijacked, or facing disaster.
Originality/value
This work addresses calls from the literature to empirically explore brand meaning among multiple stakeholder groups.
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Paige Haber-Curran, Adrian L. Bitton and Natasha T. Turman
This chapter focuses on the concept of genderwashing in the context of higher education (HE) in the United States. Using intersectionality as a framework, the authors critically…
Abstract
This chapter focuses on the concept of genderwashing in the context of higher education (HE) in the United States. Using intersectionality as a framework, the authors critically examine gender-based affinity groups, which are used in HE as a common strategy to support diversity and equity efforts. The authors discuss how such efforts often fall short in facilitating meaningful organizational or systemic change and provide questions and considerations for addressing genderwashing that are informed by an intersectional lens.
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The purpose of this research is to present the results of a recent interpretive study of 11 small Central Vancouver Island firms in British Columbia, Canada, which yield new…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this research is to present the results of a recent interpretive study of 11 small Central Vancouver Island firms in British Columbia, Canada, which yield new interpretations of the nature of problem‐solving processes within the wider context of managerial capability as a critical contributor to small business survival.
Design/methodology/approach
The methodological approach taken is positioned within an emergent body of research in the field of small business and entrepreneurship that applies an interpretive paradigm to uncover the complex facets of how individuals develop their capabilities and management practices with a particular emphasis on the small business owner‐manager. More specifically, the critical incident technique method, along with an approach to data analysis and coding that draws from grounded theory, is combined and applied as a qualitative research strategy to yield new understandings of problem solving in small firms.
Findings
Research findings reveal the intuitive, improvised and non‐linear nature of how problems are actually solved in the sample of small firms studied, in contrast with a number of well‐known theoretical research frameworks that propose well‐defined and delineated steps in the problem‐solving process.
Research limitations/implications
The small sample size and the methods chosen to conduct the research do not allow for the generalization of findings to all firms, yet do allow for the emergence of themes among the businesses that participated in the study. Research could be expanded by applying a similar research design to small firms in other regions of Canada to determine whether significant differences or similarities exist and to identify the implications for research in the area of problem solving in small firms.
Originality/value
The identification of problems as critical incidents represents a primary focus of the research and provides a more explanatory account of problem solving from the perspective of small firm owner‐managers involved in the process. The analysis of these highly subjective interpretations represents valuable research findings that provide a basis for the development of theory on problem solving in small firms.
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Andreawan Honora, Kai-Yu Wang and Wen-Hai Chih
This research investigates the role of customer forgiveness as the result of online service recovery transparency in predicting customer engagement. It also examines the…
Abstract
Purpose
This research investigates the role of customer forgiveness as the result of online service recovery transparency in predicting customer engagement. It also examines the moderating roles of timeliness and personalization in this proposed model.
Design/methodology/approach
An online survey study using retrospective experience sampling and a scenario-based experimental study were conducted to test the proposed hypotheses.
Findings
Customer forgiveness positively influences customer engagement and plays a mediating role in the relationship between service recovery transparency and customer engagement. Additionally, timeliness and personalization moderate the positive influence of service recovery transparency on customer forgiveness. The positive influence of service recovery transparency on customer forgiveness is more apparent when levels of timeliness and personalization decrease.
Practical implications
To retain focal customers' engagement after a service failure, firms must obtain their forgiveness. One of the firm's online complaint handling strategies to increase the forgiveness level of focal customers is to provide a high level of service recovery transparency (i.e. responding to their complaints in a public channel), especially when the firm is unable to respond to online complaints quickly or provide highly personalized responses.
Originality/value
This research provides new insights into the underlying mechanism of customer engagement by applying the concept of customer forgiveness. It also contributes to the social influence theory by applying the essence of the theory to explain how other customers' virtual presence during the online complaint handling influences the forgiveness of focal customers in order to gain their engagement. Additionally, it provides insight into the conditions under which the role of service recovery transparency can be very effective in dealing with online complaints.
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Ali B. Mahmoud, V. Kumar, Alexander Berman, Samer Elhajjar and Leonora Fuxman
This study aims to explore blockchain potential for digital marketing (BlkChn-Mk-KAP) by developing and validating a measurement model for assessing the constructs of knowledge…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explore blockchain potential for digital marketing (BlkChn-Mk-KAP) by developing and validating a measurement model for assessing the constructs of knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) related to blockchain technology in digital marketing.
Design/methodology/approach
A four-study process was used. The first study reviewed the literature to develop a pool of possible measurement items. Using exploratory factor analysis and reliability assessments, Study 2 (n = 162) investigated the dimensionality of the items developed in Study 1. The factorial structure from Study 2 was validated in Study 3 (n = 204), and the measurement model invariance was assessed using covariance-based structural equation modelling (CB-SEM). Finally, in Study 4 (n = 203), the predictive validity of the BlkChn-Mk-KAP was tested using a CB-SEM approach, testing its constructs correlations with the perceived usefulness of blockchain for digital marketing.
Findings
The findings indicate that the BlkChn-Mk-KAP measurement model comprises three-dimensional multi-item scales: knowledge, attitude and practice.
Research limitations/implications
This study introduces a promising BlkChn-Mk-KAP model to examine blockchain’s role in digital marketing. The authors acknowledge the sampling limitation in this research. To enhance the generalisability of the findings, future research should expand to different groups, including generation, gender and age. In addition, further exploration of the explicit links between blockchain knowledge, attitudes and subsequent digital marketing performance is warranted.
Practical implications
Educating employees about blockchain technology’s unique features can shape favourable attitudes and stimulate the utilisation of blockchain-enabled technologies in digital marketing practice. BlkChn-Mk-KAP can offer a reliable and valid instrument to benchmark marketers’ KAP of blockchain-powered digital marketing as they implement blockchain technology to gain a competitive advantage.
Social implications
This study helps to adopt sustainable practices ensuring the wellbeing of the key stakeholders.
Originality/value
This research introduces the first validated conceptualisation and measurement model, BlkChn-Mk-KAP, to evaluate blockchain KAPs among digital marketing professionals.
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Erum Ishaq, Usman Raja, Dave Bouckenooghe and Sajid Bashir
Using signaling theory and the literature on psychological contracts, the authors investigate how leaders' personalities shape their followers' perceptions of the type of…
Abstract
Purpose
Using signaling theory and the literature on psychological contracts, the authors investigate how leaders' personalities shape their followers' perceptions of the type of psychological contract formed. They also suggest that leaders' personalities impact their followers' perceived contract breach. Furthermore, the authors propose that power distance orientation in organizations acts as an important boundary condition that enhances or exacerbates the relationships between personality and contract type and personality and perceived breach.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected through multiple sources in Pakistan from 456 employees employed in 102 bank branches. Multilevel moderated path analyses provided reasonably good support for our hypotheses.
Findings
The leaders' personalities impacted the relational contracts of their followers in the cases of extraversion and agreeableness, whereas neuroticism had a significant relationship with the followers' formation of transactional contracts. Similarly, agreeableness, neuroticism and conscientiousness had significant relationships with perceived breach. Finally, the power distance of the followers aggregated at a group level moderated the personality-contract type and personality-perceived breach relationships.
Research limitations/implications
This research advances understanding of psychological contracts in organizations. More specifically, it shows that the personality of leader would have profound impact on the type of contract their employees form and the likelihood that would perceive the breach of contract.
Originality/value
This research extends existing personality-psychological contract literature by examining the role of leaders' personalities in signaling to employees the type of contract that is formed and the perception of its breach. The role of power distance organizational culture as a signaling environment is also considered.