Jessica Vredenburg, Sommer Kapitan and Sharon Jang
This paper aims to formally conceptualize service mega-disruptions as any far-reaching and unforeseen general environmental stressor or threat that impacts a service…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to formally conceptualize service mega-disruptions as any far-reaching and unforeseen general environmental stressor or threat that impacts a service organization’s ability to provide a desired level of service. The authors differentiate sudden large-scale general environmental threats from traditional service failures in scope and scale of impact via number of customers and sectors affected and duration and speed of the disruption.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper draws from service recovery theory to build a conceptual model of service mega-disruptions. The resulting conceptual model maps service failure recovery strategies against a service mega-disruption recovery approach to examine consumer response to changes in service value. This work further articulates additional research needs including conceptualization, measurement and methods as traditional drivers of service recovery and the value of the service experience change in response to service mega-disruptions.
Findings
This work proposes a research agenda to investigate whether service mega-disruptions can bypass the need for service recovery due to a consumer self-moderating process. As past research shows, the less control a service provider has over a failure, the more customers attribute fault to the situation and transfer blame away from an organization. This paper suggests that this self-moderating process disrupts the need for service providers to court forgiveness for a failure with perceptions of similarity and controllability providing an alternate pathway to customer forgiveness. Similarly, it is suggested that service mega-disruptions play a role in transforming service ecosystems into tighter, more contractual systems with less agency for service providers and poorer ability to adjust to market conditions. The duration and longevity of effects on service providers’ control, agency and ability to adjust following a service mega-disruption must be researched further.
Originality/value
This paper builds theory to develop a conceptual model of service mega-disruptions and their role in customer engagement and reshaping the service ecosystem. This paper culminates in the proposition of a research agenda that aims to build research capacity among services marketing scholars as service providers’ coordination and market conditions are challenged by service mega-disruptions.
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Spencer M. Ross and Sommer Kapitan
This work aims to use equity theory to explore how consumers assess prosocial actions as part of a mental portfolio of purchases and behaviors in a broader marketplace, seeking…
Abstract
Purpose
This work aims to use equity theory to explore how consumers assess prosocial actions as part of a mental portfolio of purchases and behaviors in a broader marketplace, seeking balance in market exchanges. Conceptualizing marketing exchange as both an exchange of perceived value and a balance between self- and collective-interest allows for segmentation by consumer sensitivity to equity and sheds light on why prosocial consumption might occur.
Design/methodology/approach
Two studies validate and segment consumers via their equity sensitivity. Between-subject designs with samples of consumers and marketing managers validate an equity sensitivity index that segments how people balance self- and collective-interests in marketplace exchange and predicts prosocial consumption choices.
Findings
The results indicate that Entitled decision makers are more willing to exchange collective-interest for self-interest and emphasize choices that maximize lower prices for consumers or greater profits for firms in lieu of prosocial outcomes. Benevolent decision makers, however, are more willing to exchange self-interest for collective-interest and support prosocial outcomes.
Originality/value
This work moves beyond research that focuses on attitudes, values and situational factors, instead using equity theory to uncover broader marketplace motivations for prosocial consumption. The research reveals that a motivating force behind prosocial consumption is how much consumers perceive they have given to, and gotten, from, the marketplace. Segmenting the market according to how consumers balance gains and losses provides an alternate approach to studying prosocial consumption, as well as a practical approach to developing targeted marketing strategies.
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Ann-Marie Kennedy, Sommer Kapitan, Neha Bajaj, Angelina Bakonyi and Sean Sands
This paper aims to use systems thinking, systems theory and Camillus’ framework for responding to wicked problems to provide social marketers with a theoretically based framework…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to use systems thinking, systems theory and Camillus’ framework for responding to wicked problems to provide social marketers with a theoretically based framework for approaching strategy formation for wicked problems. The paper treats fast fashion as an illustrative case and takes a step back from implementation to provide a framework for analysing and gaining understanding of wicked problem system structure for social marketers to then plan more effective interventions. The proposed approach is intended as a theory-based tool for social marketing practitioners to uncover system structure and analyse the wicked problems they face.
Design/methodology/approach
Following Layton, this work provides theoretically based guidelines for analysing the black box of how to develop and refine strategy as first proposed in Camillus’ (2008) framework for responding to wicked issues.
Findings
The prescription thus developed for approaching wicked problems’ system structure revolves around identifying the individuals, groups or entities that make up the system involved in the wicked problem, and then determining which social mechanisms most clearly drive each entity and which outcomes motivate these social mechanisms, before determining which role the entities play as either incumbent, challenger or governance and which social narratives drive each role’s participation in the wicked problem.
Originality/value
This paper shows that using systems thinking can help social marketers to gain big picture thinking and develop strategy for responding to complex issues, while considering the consequences of interventions.
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The international tourism options have been enriched due to several factors: new transport technology, more flexible legislation, the globalization process, and political openness…
Abstract
The international tourism options have been enriched due to several factors: new transport technology, more flexible legislation, the globalization process, and political openness regarding some areas dominated by dictatorship regimes. Antarctica is one of the new possibilities for adventure and ecological travel. It is the wildest, most well‐preserved and most isolated continent on the planet. About 10,000 tourists can appreciate its dazzling landscapes each austral summer and tourism operations have increased considerably in the region during the 1990s. This article presents a history of travel to Antarctica, an analysis of the tour operators and of the Antarctic Treaty on tourism, and reports an experience on board one of the cruise ships in the Antarctica Peninsula.
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Fashion marketers are adopting attractive virtual personalities to replace human influencers on social media, but the impact of consumer bias against virtual influencer acceptance…
Abstract
Purpose
Fashion marketers are adopting attractive virtual personalities to replace human influencers on social media, but the impact of consumer bias against virtual influencer acceptance is not fully understood. Drawing upon match-up hypothesis, attribution theory and speciesism against artificial intelligence (AI), this research investigates how speciesism shapes the influencer-product attractiveness transference in AI-powered influencer marketing for fashion products.
Design/methodology/approach
Three studies were conducted (N = 1,385) to test the influencer-product attractiveness transference, the moderating role of influencer type and the moderated moderating role of speciesism against AI.
Findings
Our studies validated the attractiveness transference and revealed that influencers’ attractiveness promotes purchase intention via perceived product attractiveness. The adoption of virtual (vs human) influencers weakens the attractiveness transference and attenuates the mediating effect. Low speciesism boosts the effectiveness of virtual influencers, such that attractiveness transference disappears only when high-speciesism consumers react to virtual influencers.
Originality/value
Our findings clarify how influencers’ physical appearance, AI application and speciesism together impact interactive fashion marketing, offering practical insights into successful influencer strategies on social media.
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Sony Kusumasondjaja and Fandy Tjiptono
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the differences in consumer pleasure, arousal and purchase intention when consumers encounter food advertising on Instagram using…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the differences in consumer pleasure, arousal and purchase intention when consumers encounter food advertising on Instagram using different endorsers and visual complexity levels.
Design/methodology/approach
An experimental design was conducted involving 180 undergraduate students from several universities in Surabaya, Indonesia. The participants had actively used Instagram for at least one year.
Findings
Food ads endorsed by a celebrity generate more pleasure and arousal than those endorsed by food experts. Food advertising using high levels of visual complexity cues generates more pleasure and arousal than less complex advertising. However, less complex food ads using food experts create greater pleasure than those endorsed by celebrities. Consumer pleasure and arousal were significant mediators of the impact of endorser type and visual complexity on consumer purchase intentions.
Practical implications
As celebrities and higher levels of visual complexity result in more favorable responses to Instagram ads, food marketers need to consider increasing visual complexity when using celebrities in advertising by adding more objects, using more colors, objects, or textures and incorporating asymmetric elements in the advertisements.
Originality/value
This is one of the few studies comparing the effectiveness of celebrity and expert endorsers in Instagram advertising. Also, this research extends the existing knowledge about visual complexity in the context of social media advertising.
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Vina Paramitha, Ser Zian Tan and Weng Marc Lim
Amidst growing concerns about environmental sustainability, brands face the challenge of upholding authenticity in their green marketing efforts. While existing research primarily…
Abstract
Purpose
Amidst growing concerns about environmental sustainability, brands face the challenge of upholding authenticity in their green marketing efforts. While existing research primarily focuses on understanding and preventing greenwashing, there is a critical need to explore its consequences and mitigation strategies. This study aims to investigate the effects of greenwashing across varying levels of severity on consumer forgiveness and brand attitude, with growth beliefs and apology sincerity serving as moderators.
Design/methodology/approach
This study conducted a between-subjects online experiment in two phases: Phase 1 examined the effects of greenwashing severity on brand attitude, mediated by consumer forgiveness and moderated by their growth beliefs, whereas Phase 2 tested the moderating role of apology sincerity.
Findings
This study identifies different types of greenwashing and reveals that higher perceived severity of active greenwashing worsens brand attitude through reduced consumer forgiveness. However, consumers with stronger growth beliefs show greater forgiveness, moderating the negative impact of greenwashing severity. Crucially, a sincere apology effectively mitigates the detrimental effects of greenwashing severity on brand attitude.
Research limitations/implications
This study offers actionable insights for brand managers, highlighting that fostering growth beliefs and offering sincere apologies can mitigate the negative impacts of greenwashing.
Originality/value
This study advances the greenwashing literature by highlighting the negative consequences of greenwashing on consumer forgiveness and brand attitude, and underscoring the role of growth beliefs and apology sincerity as effective mitigation strategies.