Benjamin Rosenthal and Eliane Pereira Zamith Brito
The purpose of this paper is to propose a framework for brand meaning co-creation between brands and fans on Facebook.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to propose a framework for brand meaning co-creation between brands and fans on Facebook.
Design/methodology/approach
A case study methodology was applied. Brand posts in the form of text, pictures, videos and fan comments of three brand pages – Nike Run, Mizuno and Jack Daniel’s – were collected and analyzed in a netnographic manner. Seven influential fans of the Nike Run brand page, who were identified in the data, and one marketing manager of each brand were interviewed.
Findings
This paper shows how brand meanings are orchestrated by brand managers and co-created through a process in which the brand leads the dialog through several types of brand actions. It also shows how fans engage in this dialog through multiple forms of reactions. A brand page’s content should be curated by its manager based on the role of the content on fans’ lives and their potential reactions and not merely on the meanings that the brand desires to communicate.
Research limitations/implications
This paper proposes a conceptual framework for understanding brand meaning co-creation at the micro-level of brand-fans daily interactions. Nevertheless, this study analyzed only three brand pages in two product categories – alcoholic beverages and running. Therefore, the authors do not claim that one can extrapolate from their findings.
Practical implications
The brand meaning co-creation process that is identified here provides a useful frame of reference for brand managers who seek to understand how they can best influence fans to co-create brand meanings in directions that benefit their companies.
Originality/value
This paper evolves with the co-creation of brand meanings literature by proposing a framework of brand meaning co-creation on Facebook. This framework can help brand managers to fine tune their content strategy in social media.
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Isabela Carvalho de Morais and Eliane Pereira Zamith Brito
This study aims to investigate consumer enchantment through everyday consumption, focusing on how individuals seek virtue, reason and a sense of purpose in their consumption…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate consumer enchantment through everyday consumption, focusing on how individuals seek virtue, reason and a sense of purpose in their consumption practices.
Design/methodology/approach
This seven-year study was performed using a multimethod approach. Data collection involved netnography, participant observation, introspection and in-depth interviews with consumers and technical experts, resulting in extensive qualitative data analysis of craft beauty product consumption.
Findings
Despite external constraints, consumers exercise discretion in their choices, seeking to achieve their ideal selves and full potential through their consumption practices. They prioritise personal health and sustainability, rather than pursuing material satisfaction, leading to enchantment. Craftsmanship plays a significant role in offering unexpected outcomes, symbolic meaning and fostering an affective connection with materials and processes.
Research limitations/implications
This research contributes to consumption studies by distinguishing between hedonic consumption, rooted in sensory pleasure, and eudaimonic enchantment, which emphasises personal fulfilment and ethical engagement. This study expands the understanding of consumer enchantment associated with everyday consumption practices.
Practical implications
Organisations should prioritise transparency in production processes, ingredient sourcing and formulations to align with consumer demands for ethical consumption and sustainability. By incorporating elements of craft consumption into their offerings, businesses can enhance consumer experiences, support consumer well-being and foster enduring relationships with those who value authenticity and sustainability.
Originality/value
By exploring consumer values, aspirations and involvement in the craftsmanship of everyday products, this study uncovers an underexplored path to consumer enchantment. The authors show how individuals, in their pursuit of self-development, achieve states of enchantment by engaging with the eudaimonic aspects of life, particularly in the consumption of crafted products.
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Traditionally, research into supply chain management has focused on increasing the availability of products and reducing the cost of doing so by concentrating on coordination…
Abstract
Traditionally, research into supply chain management has focused on increasing the availability of products and reducing the cost of doing so by concentrating on coordination between supply chain members. Significant improvements have been made in improving the effectiveness and efficiency of supply chains. In this paper we compare the relative costs of different supply chains for grocery products. There appear to be fewer opportunities for improvement in supply chain management by improving availability or reducing logistics costs and more in examining the internal costs of individual supply chain members. Data on one product type, margarine, is used to illustrate the substantial differences in supply chain costs for similar products depending upon the type of manufacturer and type of retail format in competing supply chains.
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Eliane Pereira Zamith Brito, Ricardo Luís Beneduzzi Aguilar and Luiz Artur L. Brito
This paper investigates the determinants of customer choice of a car maintenance service provider after the warranty period. It focuses on the alternative of using branded car…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper investigates the determinants of customer choice of a car maintenance service provider after the warranty period. It focuses on the alternative of using branded car dealers, who provide this service during the warranty period, or independent garages.
Design/methodology/approach
A comprehensive list of 30 service attributes is developed drawing on the service quality literature, specific previous studies on car maintenance services, and including other purchase behaviour determinants such as perceived value. Simple random sampling with replacement is used to collect data from 400 car owners using the actual choice of a service provider as the dependent variable. A quantitative analysis using a set of logistic regressions links directly customer choice to the service attributes.
Findings
Service attributes that determine customer choice are the ones consumers simultaneously consider important and perceive differences in performance between the service providers. The branded dealers service operation proved to be relatively weak, having only one of these attributes, while being better evaluated in less important ones. Independent garages have a much better offer justifying their gain in market share.
Research limitations/implications
Only economic cars (1,000 cc) were analysed. Convenience and location were only partially controlled and could play a more significant role in some decision settings. Logistic regressions could effectively predict customer choice in close to 90 per cent of the cases demonstrating the adequacy of including other service attributes beyond the ones covered in the service quality literature.
Practical implications
Directions for improvement in the operations of both branded dealers and independent garages could be derived and some recent moves by both types of players could be supported by the results.
Originality/value
Investigation of the Brazilian setting and the methodological approach of linking actual customer choice to the extended set of service attributes by the combination of logistic regressions and the importance rating of the attributes.
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The selling prices to consumers of similar products vary considerably within the same retail outlet and between different types of retail outlet. Applying a value systems…
Abstract
The selling prices to consumers of similar products vary considerably within the same retail outlet and between different types of retail outlet. Applying a value systems framework, the cost structures behind the selling prices of products in five product categories are identified using primary and secondary data. The quality of the competing products is also compared using conjoint analysis of the ratings given by consumers for the edible products and available chemical analysis in the case of detergents. The main explanation for the differences observed in selling prices and cost structures of competing value systems lay not in the interface costs between value chains such as logistics, as expected, nor only in advertising costs, but in the internal costs of individual value system members. In particular, the internal costs of brand manufactures are shown to be the main source of their cost disadvantage against own brands. Only in one product category was there a quality justification for the higher prices charged by the leading manufacturer brand.
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Ronan Torres Quintão and Eliane P. Zamith Brito
Consumption ritual has been used to understand the meanings of consumption and consumer behavior, however less attention has been focused on the role of ritual in connoisseurship…
Abstract
Purpose
Consumption ritual has been used to understand the meanings of consumption and consumer behavior, however less attention has been focused on the role of ritual in connoisseurship consumption and how consumption rituals can transform the consumer’s tastes. What is the role played by consumption ritual in connoisseurship taste?
Methodology/approach
Drawing on key concepts from ritual and taste theories and a qualitative analysis of the North American specialty coffee context, the authors address this question introducing the idea of connoisseurship taste ritual which is based on novelty coffee consumption practices that are opposite of the traditional or regular practices. The data collection set in the United States and Canada includes 15 consumer in-depth interviews, participant observation in 36 independent coffee shops in Canada and the United States, a Specialty Coffee Association of America event, and three barista coffee competitions. The body of qualitative data was interpreted using a hermeneutic approach.
Findings
The authors introduce the connoisseurship taste ritual which has several dimensions: (1) variation in the choices of high-quality products, (2) the place to perform the tasting, (3) the moment of tasting, (4) the tasting act, (5) perseverance, and (6) time and money investment.
Originality/value
This research paper extends the notion of consumption ritual introducing the connoisseurship taste ritual and also extends the theories of taste by explaining how, regarding a specific aesthetic category of product, people develop different tastes through ritualistic consumption.
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Peter Milley and Éliane Dulude
A variety of problematic administrative, organisational and institutional behaviours exist in the internationalising higher education sector globally. These vexing behaviours need…
Abstract
A variety of problematic administrative, organisational and institutional behaviours exist in the internationalising higher education sector globally. These vexing behaviours need to be addressed to fully realise the desired outcomes of the internationalisation movement. Encapsulating these behaviours under the concept of maladministration, we describe problems with respect to administrative commitment and competence, institutional integrity, academic integrity, abuse of authority and financial control. We then outline a hypothetical educational administration curriculum that could be used to equip higher education administrators to identify and mitigate problems with maladministration in internationalisation processes and contexts. This proposed curriculum has two dimensions: educational governance and institutional, academic and administrative integrity; and human relations, organisational culture and dysfunctional behaviour.