Rico Piehler, Michael Schade, Ines Hanisch and Christoph Burmann
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of explanation and compensation, as specific accommodative management responses to negative online customer reviews, on…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of explanation and compensation, as specific accommodative management responses to negative online customer reviews, on potential customers.
Design/methodology/approach
The scenario-based online experiment with 306 participants investigates the effects of explanation and compensation on potential customers’ purchase intentions in the hotel segment of the hospitality industry.
Findings
The results reveal that combining an explanation with compensation is the most effective management response; providing neither an explanation nor compensation is the least effective. The effects of management responses that entail providing only an explanation or compensation do not differ significantly.
Research limitations/implications
Continued research should investigate the effects of specific accommodative management responses in other service industries and other cultural settings and consider different kinds of explanations and compensation.
Practical implications
Hotel managers in the hospitality industry should reply to negative online customer reviews by combining an explanation with compensation. Service providers that currently lack structures and procedures to identify service failures and their causes or that cannot take corrective actions should provide compensation. Service providers that currently have limited financial resources should provide explanations.
Originality/value
This study analyses the effects of explanation and compensation on potential customers’ purchase intentions. In addressing the effects on potential customers, instead of on complainants, the conceptual framework represents a novel combination of management responses from service recovery research with signalling theory, the search-experience-credence framework and risk reduction methods.
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Michael Schade, Rico Piehler, Andreas Müller and Christoph Burmann
The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of city brand benefits (cost efficiency, job chances, social life, recreation and self–brand connection) on highly skilled…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of city brand benefits (cost efficiency, job chances, social life, recreation and self–brand connection) on highly skilled, potential residents’ attitudes toward the city brand.
Design/methodology/approach
A literature analysis and qualitative study inform a conceptual model, which is tested with structural equation modelling using 354 evaluations of the six largest German cities by 294 highly skilled, potential residents, in terms of their perceptions of city brand benefits and attitudes.
Findings
Social life and self–brand connection positively affect the city brand attitudes of highly skilled, potential residents. In contrast, cost efficiency, job chances and recreation do not affect these attitudes.
Research limitations/implications
The relevance of city brand benefits might be specific to a country or culture, so further research should test the conceptual model in other settings, including smaller cities. Further studies might compare the relevance of the effects for actual and potential residents.
Practical implications
Social life emerged as the most important city brand benefit, so cities must ensure they offer and communicate a rich social life. Cities also should identify and communicate congruent characteristics between the city and the self-concepts of relevant target groups.
Originality/value
This study identifies relevant and irrelevant city brand benefits for highly skilled, potential residents. In addition, it establishes self–brand connection as symbolic benefit that previous research into potential residents has not considered.
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Michael Schade, Rico Piehler, Claudius Warwitz and Christoph Burmann
This study aims to investigate the influence of advertising value and privacy concerns on consumers’ intention to use location-based advertising. It also explores if brand trust…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate the influence of advertising value and privacy concerns on consumers’ intention to use location-based advertising. It also explores if brand trust toward location-based advertising providers and consumers’ privacy self-efficacy reduce privacy concerns.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on the privacy calculus and expectancy theory, a conceptual model is developed and empirically tested through structural equation modeling using cross-sectional data of 1,121 actual smartphone users from Germany.
Findings
Advertising value positively and privacy concerns negatively affect consumers’ intention to use location-based advertising. As expected, brand trust and consumers’ privacy self-efficacy can reduce consumers’ privacy concerns.
Research limitations/implications
Further research should test and validate the proposed framework in other cultures to gain insights into the culturally specific relevance of privacy concerns and their antecedents. The current study includes sociodemographics as potential moderators; additional studies could investigate other potential moderators (e.g. personality, values).
Practical implications
To reduce consumers’ privacy concerns, location-based advertising providers should make their offers transparent and give consumers control, to increase their privacy self-efficacy. They also should work to strengthen their brand, monitor brand trust trends and avoid any trust-damaging behavior.
Originality/value
This study introduces brand trust toward location-based advertising providers and privacy self-efficacy as factors to reduce consumers’ privacy concerns. It also encompasses a broader, general sample of consumers, which increases the generalizability and practical relevance of the results and supports an initial investigation of sociodemographic factors as potential moderators in this context.
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Patrick Roßmann, Michael Schade and Christoph Klaus Burmann
To further improve the branding strategies between single-brand-retailers and multi-brand-retailers, the paper investigates the influence of multiple manufacturer brand images on…
Abstract
Purpose
To further improve the branding strategies between single-brand-retailers and multi-brand-retailers, the paper investigates the influence of multiple manufacturer brand images on retailer brand image. It considers the moderating role of the number of offered manufacturer brands.
Design/methodology/approach
The research is conducted in the automotive retail context. Based on an online survey (383 respondents), a Partial-Least Squares Modeling, estimated using SmartPLS 3 and a classic partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) algorithm, is used to validate the hypotheses.
Findings
The results reveal that manufacturer brands did not influence the retailer's brand image in all cases since it is only influenced by the manufacturer brand when the retailer offers only one manufacturer brand.
Practical implications
For retailers offering only one manufacturer brand, the most extensive possible adoption of the corporate identity (CI) specifications prescribed by the manufacturer brands is the prerequisite for a positive image effect. Retailers offering more than one manufacturer brand should create their image based on the retailer's identity. In this context, it is essential to position the retailer brand independently in the market.
Originality/value
This is the first study focuses on retailers with a small or limited number of offered manufacturer brands to answer the question of whether the number of provided manufacturer brands moderates the impact of manufacturer brand images on the retailer's brand image.
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Rico Piehler, Michael Schade, Barbara Kleine-Kalmer and Christoph Burmann
This paper aims to investigate word of mouth as a consequence and information, entertainment, social interaction and remuneration motivations as antecedents of consuming…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate word of mouth as a consequence and information, entertainment, social interaction and remuneration motivations as antecedents of consuming, contribution and creating behaviours as consumers’ online brand-related activities (COBRAs).
Design/methodology/approach
As an empirical test of the proposed conceptual model, the quantitative research features an online survey of a sample of 359 German Facebook users.
Findings
Word of mouth benefits from consuming behaviour but not contributing or creating behaviours. Therefore, brand-related outcomes can be realised solely through the consumption of brand-related content. Consuming behaviour is positively affected by social interaction and entertainment motivations.
Research limitations/implications
Further research could investigate the conceptual model in other social networks, as well as validate the findings in other cultural settings. Potential moderators also should be considered in further research.
Practical implications
In addition to tracking contributing and creating behaviours, brand managers should measure consuming behaviour. This paper provides new insights into how consumer motivations influence different COBRA types.
Originality/value
This study is the first to analyse the distinct effects of consuming, contributing and creating behaviours of SNS brand page followers on word of mouth as an offline brand-related consequence. It also represents the first study to investigate the unique effect of creating behaviour on an offline brand-related outcome. Furthermore, this study is the first to analyse the effects of all four types of motivations on any COBRA type quantitatively with an appropriate statistical analysis that allows distinguishing relevant from irrelevant motivations.
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Andreas Mueller and Michael Schade
The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the discussion about how to develop a common identity of local stakeholders of places (e.g. politicians, local companies, residents)…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the discussion about how to develop a common identity of local stakeholders of places (e.g. politicians, local companies, residents). Such a common identity is regarded as an essential aspect to market a place consistently to external target groups (e.g. tourists, companies, qualified workers, students).
Design/methodology/approach
The paper follows a conceptual approach by transferring semiotic (symbolism) and sociological concepts (symbolic interactionism) to the concept of place branding. Moreover, a practical example of how to identify potential place symbols of cities is presented within the case study of the German town of Bremen.
Findings
Symbols are identified to be of special importance for the development of group identity of local stakeholders of places. Moreover, symbols are presented as essential aspects of a feeling of belonging to a place (place commitment).
Research limitations/implications
As semiotic theory has not yet been transferred to the context of place branding this paper is opening up a new subject and needs to be understood as a first approach to constitute a theoretical framework. An empirical analyses needs to be carried out in order to proof the theories in the place branding context.
Practical implications
The paper explains that symbols can be established by the arrangement of public discourses like, e.g. competitions for place logos, place mascots or place songs. Moreover, it is pointed out, how already established place symbols which are not yet part of branding strategies can be identified in order to strengthen place identity.
Social Implications
Following the semiotic concept of symbolism the paper explains a high participation of residents as a necessity to establish and negotiate the meaning of symbols in order to strengthen place identity.
Originality/value
Because of being the first paper putting the semiotic theory of symbolism in the focus of the interdisciplinary discussion of branding the originality of the paper can be regarded as high.
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Tom Aabo and Nicklas Bang Eriksen
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the association between CEO narcissism and corporate risk taking.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the association between CEO narcissism and corporate risk taking.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors provide a novel and unobtrusive measure of CEO narcissism based on LinkedIn profiling. The authors investigate the relationship between CEO narcissism and corporate risk taking (stock return volatility) for a sample of 475 US manufacturing firms in the period 2010-2014.
Findings
The authors find an inverse U-shape relationship between CEO narcissism and stock return volatility. The inverse U-shape relationship (the “humpback”) is caused by the paradoxical nature of the narcissistic personality in which the self-esteem is high but at the same time fragile with a combination of self-admiration and a constant need of having this positive self-view confirmed. The results are robust to alternative specifications of CEO narcissism and corporate risk taking. The results are economically meaningful. Thus, a moderate degree of CEO narcissism – as compared to a very low or a very high level of CEO narcissism – is associated with an increase in corporate risk taking of approximately 12 percent.
Originality/value
Previous literature provides multiple analyses on the association between managerial overconfidence and corporate decisions. As opposed to overconfidence, narcissism is a personality trait having both cognitive and behavioral dimensions. This paper provides a novel contribution to the growing literature on the association between managerial biases/traits and corporate decision-making.