L.W. Turley and Douglas L. Fugate
Notes how service encounters have tended to be viewed as aninteraction between service providers and service customers. Examinessituations where the main encounter is the…
Abstract
Notes how service encounters have tended to be viewed as an interaction between service providers and service customers. Examines situations where the main encounter is the interaction between the facility and the customer. Considers different perspectives for planning service facilities – operational, locational, atmospheric/image, consumer use, contact personnel. Argues that congruent facilities are those that can succeed in integrating these competing perspectives.
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Applies four market segmentation criteria to the homosexualpopulation. Determines that the homosexual community does not yetsufficiently satisfy these expectations in many product…
Abstract
Applies four market segmentation criteria to the homosexual population. Determines that the homosexual community does not yet sufficiently satisfy these expectations in many product markets and that it is unlikely that any marketing changes will occur in the near future. Yet suggests that marketers should consider homosexuals as part of their contingent marketing strategy.
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The use of humor is quite prevalent in the promotion of US goods and services. Estimated expenditures on humorous advertisements are in the billions and a majority of…
Abstract
The use of humor is quite prevalent in the promotion of US goods and services. Estimated expenditures on humorous advertisements are in the billions and a majority of advertisements may contain some humorous elements. Unfortunately, not much attention has been focused specifically on the role of humor in the advertising of services. By using the available humor‐related literature and synthesizing it with services marketing literature, a set of logically supported propositions was determined. Specifically, propositions are offered regarding the ability of humor to attract attention, increase comprehension, effect source credibility, and enhance liking. In addition, audience factors, the nature of the service product, the superiority of humor over non‐humor, the relatedness of humor to the product and the extension of humor into the international marketplace are examined.
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Douglas L. Fugate and Joanna Phillips
The purpose of this paper is to replicate and extend earlier work on product gender perceptions.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to replicate and extend earlier work on product gender perceptions.
Design/methodology/approach
The methodology tested six hypotheses, using nearly 500 respondents. The hypotheses were investigated using a survey approach with validated scales. Likert‐type data were analyzed using appropriate statistical measures.
Findings
Analysis of the data demonstrated that product gendering is still prevalent. In addition, males were more likely than females to purchase gender‐congruent products; that individuals with a greater desire for product‐self‐congruence used products as a form of self‐concept; that individuals reared in non‐traditional households were less focused on gender congruence; that less traditional individuals were less focused on gender congruence; and that those who sought gender congruence were more likely to seek gender cues in the marketing mix.
Research limitations/implications
The product selection was based on a previous study and the sample was non‐random. Both of these decisions could be questioned.
Practical implications
These research results will allow one to understand whether social change during the past decade has altered product gender perceptions and to explore the degree to which consumers seek congruence between their own gender orientations and perceived product gender. This knowledge could be very important to consumer goods marketers making product design and promotional decisions.
Originality/value
The paper examines gender congruence in a maturing Generation Y, a generation second in size only to the Baby Boomers and one of significant market importance. It also provides the first substantive new data on this subject in over a decade.
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The purpose of this paper is to alert services marketers that a new methodology exists for researching many of the components of the consumer decision making process.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to alert services marketers that a new methodology exists for researching many of the components of the consumer decision making process.
Design/methodology/approach
This methodology involves the use of real‐time measurements of neural (brain) activity associated with the presentation of various marketing stimuli. Instead of relying on traditional inferential associations to explain consumer behavior, this approach provides direct correlational associations.
Findings
The ability to examine what specific brain function or functions are activated during various stages of the consumer's decision‐making process should help service marketers improve their efficiency and effectiveness. While neuromarketing has applications to all forms of product marketing, it is of particular interest to services marketers because of the intangible nature of services; thus making conventional research more difficult and speculative.
Research limitations/implications
Information for this paper was gathered from a variety of literature resources because the use of neural imaging has been used in many different physical and social sciences such as medicine, economics, political science, marketing, and psychology. While a few specific examples of using neuromarketing for the marketing of services exist, most are proprietary. This limits the generalizability of this paper currently but hopefully does not diminish interest in an area of research that has great potential for helping to answer many difficult questions.
Originality/value
Services marketers are encouraged to follow the technique as it evolves from medical procedure to marketing procedure.
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The purpose of this paper is to briefly cover the origins of neuromarketing, explain the process in layman's terms, enumerate some of the findings in anecdotal form, and suggest…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to briefly cover the origins of neuromarketing, explain the process in layman's terms, enumerate some of the findings in anecdotal form, and suggest future consumer behavior research directions based on these findings.
Design/methodology/approach
The discussion of neuromarketing in this paper is based on reports of both a theoretical and applied nature. Their contents have been synthesized and placed into context by showing how they relate to traditional marketing research approaches and assumptions.
Findings
While there are no concrete findings, preliminary assessments suggest that traditional, inferential assumptions about consumer behavior might be less powerful and explanatory than once believed. Combining neural activity images with conventional tools may produce more effective marketing practices.
Research limitations/implications
Because this is an emerging field and still controversial, some of the key information is proprietary and/or fairly presumptive at this time. Cautions and criticisms have been included to counterbalance that point.
Practical implications
Understanding what is happening in this emerging field of inquiry is essential for anyone who believes that marketers can change the probability of a favorable response from consumers. The use of neuromarketing, if proven through use, has the capability of fundamentally changing how we design, promote, price, and package our products.
Originality/value
The marriage of cognitive neuroscience and marketing practice is a new field of inquiry. This paper provides a useful, non‐technical introduction.
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Lucette B. Comer and Tanya Drollinger
For the past several decades women have been moving into the United States workforce in greater numbers and they have been gaining access to the types of jobs that were…
Abstract
For the past several decades women have been moving into the United States workforce in greater numbers and they have been gaining access to the types of jobs that were, traditionally, performed exclusively by men. Despite this progress, they are still having difficulty penetrating the so‐called “glass ceiling” into upper management positions (Alimo‐Metcalfe 1993; Tavakolian 1993). Many reasons have been advanced, but the most compelling of these concerns the “glass walls” that support the “glass ceiling”. The “glass walls” refer to those invisible barriers that limit the ability of women and minorities to gain access to the type of job that would place them in a position to break through the “glass ceiling” (Townsend 1996). If women are to gain parity with men in the workforce, they need to succeed in the positions that lie inside the “glass walls” that will enable them to rise through the “glass ceiling” to upper management.
This “viewpoint” article aims to chronicle the history and evolution of the Journal of Services Marketing from 1987 through 2011, from the vantage point of Professor Charles L…
Abstract
Purpose
This “viewpoint” article aims to chronicle the history and evolution of the Journal of Services Marketing from 1987 through 2011, from the vantage point of Professor Charles L. Martin, who served on the journal's Editorial Advisory Board from 1987‐1990 and as Editor from 1990 to the present day.
Design/methodology/approach
The article summarizes the events and publisher's philosophy leading up to the founding of the journal, and discusses the policies/practices and content of the journal from 1987 through 2011.
Findings
The journal has evolved as the field of services marketing has evolved – from many conceptual, “how to” and idea articles to those more empirically‐based and theory‐driven. However, the journal's commitment to managerial implications or other implications continues.
Practical implications
Understanding the history and evolution of the journal promises to help service researchers better understand the field's archives, identify gaps in the literature and position their research for the future. The paper promises to help service researchers and business practitioners alike to understand that the field of services marketing is not static; rather it has evolved and developed over the years and will continue to do so in the future.
Originality/value
It is useful for any organization – including journals – to periodically document and reflect on its history in order to set its sights on the future.
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Paul Harvey, James K. Summers and Mark J. Martinko
We review past research on the relationship between attributional perceptions, emotions, and workplace aggression and develop a conceptual model that extends this research in two…
Abstract
We review past research on the relationship between attributional perceptions, emotions, and workplace aggression and develop a conceptual model that extends this research in two ways. First, we consider the influence of controllability attributions on the type (otherdirected, self-directed, hostile, non-hostile) and likelihood of aggressive responses to negative workplace outcomes and situations. Second, we consider the extent to which discrete negative emotions might mediate these attribution-aggression relationships. Implications for anticipating and preventing workplace aggression based on this conceptual model are discussed.