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This article has been withdrawn as it was published elsewhere and accidentally duplicated. The original article can be seen here: 10.1108/eb008195. When citing the article, please cite: Paul Hugstad, James W. Taylor, Grady D. Bruce, (1987), “THE EFFECTS OF SOCIAL CLASS AND PERCEIVED RISK ON CONSUMER INFORMATION SEARCH”, Journal of Consumer Marketing, Vol. 4 Iss: 2, pp. 41 - 46.

The hypothesis that broadly defined managerial functions can be subdivided on the basis of their members′ internal and external task orientations, and that the resulting subfunctions are, respectively, predominantly “adaptive” or “innovative” in terms of Kirton′s adaption‐innovation theory, was tested. Data from samples of British (N = 115), Australian (N = 123) and American (N = 131) mid‐career managers undertaking MBA programmes who completed the Kirton Adaption‐Innovation Inventory (KAI) and provided employment histories displayed the expected patterns of task orientation and cognitive style. Implications for adaption‐innovation theory and the management of organisational change are briefly discussed.

The interaction between social class and perceived risk on the way that consumers use various sources of information is examined in this article. The conclusions reached here suggest that perceived risk explains a great deal about the way that information is acquired and that social class explains relatively little. The results of the study indicate that marketing managers may well be able to improve the effectiveness of their budgets by reexamining the way they use newspapers and word‐of‐mouth communications.

Product enthusiasts, increasingly prevalent in American society, represent significant marketplace forces because of their high levels of information seeking, opinion leadership, and innovativeness. For marketers to best serve these consumers, many commonly used marketing strategies must be altered or adapted. In this article, marketing mix elements serve as a framework to discuss strategic issues relevant to this category of consumer.

Considers which interactive marketing behaviours will result in the broadest word‐of‐mouth or the largest volume of new client referrals. Suggests that the intensity and variety of client participation during the service delivery process is predictive of positive word‐of‐mouth and referrals. Reports on a study examining participation during service delivery which highlighted four key factors – tangibility, attendance, empathy and meaningful interaction. Maintains that these results support interactive marketing management in the field of complex services and can help the creation of a specific service delivery system.

Reports on a study designed to explore the effects of religion and religiosity on perceived risk in purchase decisions. Asserts that religious values represent the most basic element of a consumer′s cognitive world, and can be meaningfully related to lifestyles. Concludes that religious individuals tend to perceive higher risks in their purchase decisions.

Eradicating Ebola from West Africa was struggled with from 2014 through 2016. While at first inefficient and ineffective, undeniable progress was made in responding to the outbreak once countries and organizations steeled themselves for the task at hand. A separate outbreak occurred concurrently in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) during this period. This episode marked the seventh time that DRC had dealt with the virus over a roughly 45-year span. In 2017, there was an eighth occurrence. Moreover, in 2018, DRC faced its ninth and tenth outbreaks. Comparing the experiences of countries in West Africa facing the disease for the first time, with a state that has a long history addressing its impact, is offered here as a means of better understanding successful disease management where public health epidemics are concerned. Results indicate that early investment in cultivating disease-specific practices, combined with establishing cooperative networks of actors across levels of political response, enables improved mitigation and response during outbreaks.

To examine how public relations practitioners define influence and where they find influence.

Depth interviews with 162 public relations practitioners.

Public relations professionals defined influence in terms of shaping decisions, having access, and being heard. They said they were most influential in crisis situations and when preparing communication messages or plans. They are least influential in strategic decision making, when they are perceived as technicians, and in interactions with senior executives. The most common influence tactic used by these professionals was rational influence.

The authors suggest eight tenets regarding influence for public relations practitioners.

Practitioners have long noted the need for increased influence across the organization. But, there is little scholarship that examines just how public relations pracitioners should increase their influence and ascent to organizational decision making circles.

A number of approaches have been developed in recent years to try effectively to engage service users in the process of planning and delivering health‐care services. The consumerist methodology for the strategy described in this paper was designed to maximise staff involvement in capturing user views, in order to develop services at a district general hospital. This strategy – the Patient Care Development Programme (PCDP) – provides a framework for both staff and patient involvement in shaping and influencing the development of health‐care services. Uses the findings from applying the strategy to modify care packages, roles, skills, layouts, protocols and procedures, in response to both the “shortfalls” and the service strengths that the patient’s view uncovers. Discusses the results of an evaluation of the programme which has been replicated in another part of the UK. The PCDP now forms part of a clinical governance framework and is being used to develop multi‐agency integrated care pathways.