Focuses on editorial coverage in terms of two elements, volumes and themes. Uncovers themes from editorial articles in order to document who speaks and constructs such ideas. Uses…
Abstract
Focuses on editorial coverage in terms of two elements, volumes and themes. Uncovers themes from editorial articles in order to document who speaks and constructs such ideas. Uses contact analysis attempts to reveal hidden messages within the texts. Suggests that the findings demonstrate the influence of the press in terms of policy decision‐making and provides implications for public policy.
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Grace J. Yoo and Barbara W. Kim
As an ethnic group, Korean Americans have one of the highest uninsured rates in the U.S. (Brown et al., 2000). Through in-depth interviews (n=14) and surveys (n=268), this study…
Abstract
As an ethnic group, Korean Americans have one of the highest uninsured rates in the U.S. (Brown et al., 2000). Through in-depth interviews (n=14) and surveys (n=268), this study found that one-third of the sample was uninsured. High premiums prevented the uninsured from purchasing health insurance. Although health insurance has been a strong predictor of health services utilization, this study also found that when examining the utilization of various health services by health insurance status, there were no major significant differences with the exception of Korean traditional health services. High deductibles prevented insured persons from utilizing health services.
Mary V. Alfred, Ph.D. is an associate dean for Research and Faculty Affairs and professor of Adult Education and Human Resource Development in the College of Education and Human…
Abstract
Mary V. Alfred, Ph.D. is an associate dean for Research and Faculty Affairs and professor of Adult Education and Human Resource Development in the College of Education and Human Development at Texas A&M University. Her research interests include learning and development among women of the African Diaspora, socio-cultural contexts of immigration, welfare reform and women's economic development, and issues of equity and social justice in higher education and in the workplace. She received her Ph.D. in Educational Administration with a focus in Adult Education and Human Resource Development Leadership from the University of Texas at Austin.
Donald Cunnigen and Robert Newby
Barack Obama has had considerable support among scholarly circles since his win in the Iowa primary in early 2008. A segment of the Association of Black Sociologists (ABS), “Black…
Abstract
Purpose
Barack Obama has had considerable support among scholarly circles since his win in the Iowa primary in early 2008. A segment of the Association of Black Sociologists (ABS), “Black and Progressive Sociologists Obama Working Group (BPSOWG),” was particularly active during the 2008 campaign. The purpose of this chapter was to determine if the level and type of activism among this group differed from other progressive groups of sociologists.
Methodology/approach
The data for this study were collected from a web-based survey administered to approximately 800 professional sociologists in the United States. The survey consisted of items that focused on the extent to which respondents supported the Obama campaign for the presidency and the extent to which they were satisfied with and/or agreed with his policies during first two years of his presidency.
Findings
The response rate for the survey was 40% (N=305) and 96% of respondents (N=293) submitted surveys with complete information. Over two-thirds of participants were members of the American Sociological Association Section on Race and Ethnic Relations and 5.5% of respondents identified themselves as members of the BPSOWG. A slight majority (53.6%) of study participants were females and the largest two racial groups making up the study population were whites (47.1%) and African Americans (36.1%). Most of the respondents provided support for President Obama during his first campaign, including financial contributions (66%).
Originality/value
Sociologists who responded to the survey were generally positive about Barack Obama as a candidate and a President. However, the subtle differences between groups about Obama administration policies and the use Presidential power highlighted key areas in which diverse coalitions for progressive change are needed.
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The objective of this paper is to develop a conceptual model to examine the relationships among e‐service quality, consumer satisfaction, attitudes towards the web site and…
Abstract
Purpose
The objective of this paper is to develop a conceptual model to examine the relationships among e‐service quality, consumer satisfaction, attitudes towards the web site and behavioural intentions in the context of content‐driven web sites.
Design/methodology/approach
Data from an online survey of 518 consumers were collected with the partial least squares (PLS) structural equation modelling technique used to empirically test the model.
Findings
Findings suggest that positive evaluations of e‐service quality influences positive levels of consumer satisfaction, consumer attitudes towards the web site and behavioural intentions within the specific service context of content‐driven professional sports web sites.
Research limitations/implications
The study specifically focuses on content‐centric web sites within a single service domain being professional sport. Future research can apply the framework to other service sectors on the internet, as well as to other cultural settings.
Practical implications
The study suggests that practitioners can use the model developed in this study to assist in allocating resources to the essential, or under‐performing, e‐service quality attributes needed to drive positive consumer satisfaction, attitudes and behavioural intentions.
Originality/value
The paper proposes and empirically supports the idea that e‐service quality influences consumer attitudes as well as consumer satisfaction and behavioural intentions in the context of content‐driven (professional sports) web sites. Moreover, the results of this study provide managers with a useful framework to manage content driven e‐services, as well as for researchers interested in the issue of managing e‐service quality.
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Martina G. Gallarza, Maria Eugenia Ruiz-Molina and Irene Gil-Saura
Consensus on how value dimensions are drivers of overall perceived value is a widespread reality in consumer behaviour literature. But scanty research has been done on which of…
Abstract
Purpose
Consensus on how value dimensions are drivers of overall perceived value is a widespread reality in consumer behaviour literature. But scanty research has been done on which of these value dimensions best predict customer loyalty. The purpose of this paper is to propose a causal model that examines how PERVAL dimensions of value affect customers’ loyalty, through both cognitive and affective satisfaction.
Design/methodology/approach
The model is tested on a sample of 820 Spanish retail customers and the findings suggest that product quality and value for money (cognitive) impact customer loyalty through emotional and social value (affective), with significant direct and indirect effects through both cognitive and affective satisfaction.
Findings
Notably, the results highlight the mediating role of shoppers’ emotional and social value on the linkages between satisfaction and loyalty. Therefore, this study has proved the embedded impact of value dimensions on overall satisfaction and behavioural intentions in a cognitive-affective-behavioural framework.
Practical implications
Managerially, retailers who intend to build long-term relationships with their customers will benefit by investing in emotional factors along with cognitive factors, on the assumption that cognitive factors lead to emotional factors, and that both affect loyalty to the service provider through cognitive and affective satisfaction.
Originality/value
This work can be said to have made two substantial contributions to previous literature. First, the old but constantly renewed dichotomy between utilitarian and hedonic attributes in retailing has emerged in the work, in the sense that different value dimensions (two utilitarian, one hedonic and one social) have been proved to be differently related to customer satisfaction (both cognitive and affective), and indirectly to customer loyalty. And second, this work has also proved the existence of a chain of effects between value dimensions: product quality and value for money to emotional value, and this to social value.
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June-Hyuk Kwon, Seung-Hye Jung, Hyun-Ju Choi and Joonho Kim
This study aims to empirically analyze the effects of marketing communications, such as advertisement/promotion and social network service (SNS) content, on consumer engagement…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to empirically analyze the effects of marketing communications, such as advertisement/promotion and social network service (SNS) content, on consumer engagement (CE), brand trust and brand loyalty.
Design/methodology/approach
The study’s participants were 230 US and 376 Korean consumers who have used (i.e. contacted) a food service establishment (i.e. family restaurant) at least once before and who continue to use an SNS (e.g. Facebook and Instagram). This study conducted a hypothesis test using structural equation modeling analysis. In addition, hierarchical analysis was performed to further generalize and support the statistical analysis results.
Findings
Advertisement/promotion and SNS content have a statistically significant positive effect on CE. Advertisement/promotion has a statistically significant positive effect on brand trust, and SNS content has a statistically significant negative effect on brand trust. CE has a statistically significant positive effect on brand trust, and CE and brand trust have a statistically significant positive effect on brand loyalty. No statistically significant differences were shown between the US and Korean consumer groups (critical ratios for difference of path coefficient < ± 1.96). The hypothesis test results of the structural equation model analysis and hierarchical analysis were the same for the entire group.
Originality/value
The findings indicate that the overall mediating role of CE is important. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to investigate which marketing communication channels are most effective in the restaurant sector.
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This chapter advances understandings of emotion work by examining how “doing gender” and “doing health” are implicated in the pursuit of emotional tranquility. The study examines…
Abstract
This chapter advances understandings of emotion work by examining how “doing gender” and “doing health” are implicated in the pursuit of emotional tranquility. The study examines the role of hair loss in women’s illness narratives of cancer using in-depth interviews with 16 white women in the US Northwest who vary in age, marital status, diagnoses, and treatments. The absence of women’s hair presents an appearance of illness that prevents them from doing femininity, which calls into question their health status because of Western beauty standards. To overcome this barrier, the women use emotion work to manage the effects of their appearance through necessarily co-occurring bodily, cognitive, and expressive strategies (Hochschild, 1979). The required emotion work during women’s hair loss makes explicit the symbolic linking of the healthy body with the feminine body through women’s head hair. Pursuing treatment for cancer is often seen as a “fight” or a “battle” against the disease and the bodily assaults of such treatments, including unwanted visible bodily changes. A substantial body of empirical work has established the complex web of social psychological problems associated with breasts and breast cancer, but less attention has been given to the side effect of hair loss that is common across cancer types and treatments.
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María Eugenia Ruiz-Molina and Laure Lavorata
Brand equity has been highlighted as a crucial element in differentiating products and achieving competitive advantage. Recent studies reflect the gradual rise in interest in the…
Abstract
Brand equity has been highlighted as a crucial element in differentiating products and achieving competitive advantage. Recent studies reflect the gradual rise in interest in the importance of building brand equity linked to the store. However, empirical evidence about the antecedents of store brand equity is still scarce, particularly on the retailer’s corporate social responsibility behavior. This chapter aims to analyze the influence of the retailer’s commitment to sustainable development (RCSD) and the credibility of the retailer’s communications on the overall store brand equity. Focusing on two samples of hypermarket customers in France and Spain, the findings provide evidence on the importance of the RCSD regarding employees, society, and environment, as well as the effectiveness of credible communications to generate store brand equity. Results are consistent for France and Spain.