Thomas H. Stevenson and Linda E. Swayne
Comparative advertising has been viewed as an aggressive advertising tactic that is useful in selected situations. However, because of the risks involved, many advertisers are…
Abstract
Comparative advertising has been viewed as an aggressive advertising tactic that is useful in selected situations. However, because of the risks involved, many advertisers are skeptical of using comparative advertising as a long‐term strategy.
Advertisers have been criticized for underrepresenting the elderly in print ads and television commercials. What critics often overlook, however, are audience and product…
Abstract
Advertisers have been criticized for underrepresenting the elderly in print ads and television commercials. What critics often overlook, however, are audience and product considerations along with the effectiveness of older spokespersons in influencing intent to purchase among elderly and younger consumers. This article examines what is currently known about the use of older persons in advertising and extends these findings by reporting the views of advertising agency executives on this topic. From the results of these studies, an audience‐product matrix with examples is provided to help put the advertiser's position into perspective. According to the literature reviewed and the perceptions of advertising agency executives, the use of elderly spokespersons tends to work best when the product or service can be targeted to elderly consumers and the products or services themselves are elderly‐oriented. There is some evidence to suggest that elderly persons are used in advertisements not because advertisers want to represent the elderly, but rather when these spokespersons can sell the product.
Sabine Benoit, Katrin Scherschel, Zelal Ates, Linda Nasr and Jay Kandampully
The purpose of this paper is to make two main contributions: first, showcase the diversity of service research in terms of the variety of used theories and methods, and second…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to make two main contributions: first, showcase the diversity of service research in terms of the variety of used theories and methods, and second, explain (post-publication) success of articles operationalized as interest in an article (downloads), usage (citations), and awards (best paper nomination). From there, three sub-contributions are derived: stimulate a dialogue about existing norms and practices in the service field, enable and encourage openness amongst service scholars, and motivate scholars to join the field.
Design/methodology/approach
A mixed method approach is used in combining quantitative and qualitative research methods while analyzing 158 Journal of Service Management (JOSM) articles on several criteria such as their theory, methodology, and main descriptive elements (e.g. number of authors or references) and then using automated text analysis (e.g. investigating the readability of articles, etc.).
Findings
The results show that the JOSM publishes a large variety of articles with regard to theories, methods of data collection, and types of data analysis. For example, JOSM has published a mixture of qualitative and quantitative articles and papers containing firm-level and customer-level data. Further, the results show that even though conceptual articles create the same amount of interest (downloads), they are used more (citations).
Research limitations/implications
This paper presents many descriptive results which do not allow for making inferences toward the entire service research discipline. Further, it is only based on one service research journal (JOSM) through a five-year span of publication.
Practical implications
The results have a number of implications for the discipline that are presented and discussed. Amongst them are that: the discipline should be more open toward conceptual articles, service research shows an imbalance toward theory testing, there is more potential to work with transactional data, and writing style should be more accessible (i.e. readable).
Originality/value
This paper is the first to conduct an in-depth analysis of service research articles to stimulate dialogue about common publishing practices in the JOSM and to increase the openness of the field.
Details
Keywords
The purpose of this paper is to explore the challenges and opportunities of collaboration in interpretive consumer research.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the challenges and opportunities of collaboration in interpretive consumer research.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper reviews literature on research teamwork, particularly on qualitative and international projects. It also provides an account of research collaboration on an interpretive research project across four countries, involving eight researchers.
Findings
Despite the cult of individualism in academic life, most articles in leading marketing journals are now written by multi‐author teams. The process and implications of research collaboration, particularly on qualitative and international projects, have received little attention within the marketing literature. Qualitative collaborations call for another layer of reflexivity and attention to the politics and emotions of teamwork. They also require the negotiation of a social contract acceptable to the group and conducive to the emergence of different perspectives throughout the research process.
Originality/value
While issues surrounding the researcher‐research participant relationship are well explored in the field, this paper tackles an issue that often remains tacit in the marketing literature, namely the impact of the relationships between researchers. The paper draws on accounts of other research collaborations as well as authors' experiences, and discusses how interpersonal and cross‐cultural dynamics influence the work of interpretive research teams.