Sonia Dickinson‐Delaporte, Michael Beverland and Adam Lindgreen
Managing the corporate reputation of hybrid firms (organizations that act commercially to pursue social agendas) involves particular challenges because of competing stakeholder…
Abstract
Purpose
Managing the corporate reputation of hybrid firms (organizations that act commercially to pursue social agendas) involves particular challenges because of competing stakeholder interests. With reference to the Trappist beer market, the paper seeks to identify the value of message ambiguity in reducing stakeholder tension, while simultaneously achieving a clear market positioning.
Design/methodology/approach
In total, 25 in‐depth interviews were conducted with brand marketers, owners, channel buyers, industry representatives and consumers.
Findings
The findings demonstrate how ambiguous communications minimize tension between stakeholders. One form of ambiguous message strategy is identified – i.e. the deliberate use of “authenticity” as a positioning device. This positioning allows stakeholders to ascribe conflicting meanings to the Trappist brand, resulting in increased reputation and decreased stakeholder tension.
Research limitations/implications
The use of authenticity and message ambiguity represents one means of balancing stakeholder interests, while achieving a clear market position. The paper believes the findings are particularly relevant for social marketers and managers of highly symbolic brands.
Originality/value
Marketers can reduce stakeholder conflict through the use of brand images that emphasize normative as opposed to performance‐based commitments. Such commitments need to be broad enough to allow different stakeholders to ascribe their own meaning to the brand without diminishing the strength of the firm's market position.
Details
Keywords
Gayle Kerr, Kathleen Mortimer, Sonia Dickinson and David S. Waller
The purpose of this study is to examine the concept of consumer power, in particular the power or bloggers in the online environment and how this might be applied to the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to examine the concept of consumer power, in particular the power or bloggers in the online environment and how this might be applied to the regulation of advertising.
Design/methodology/approach
Utilising Denegri‐Knott's (2006) four on‐line power strategies, a content analysis of weblogs of Tourism Australia's “Where the bloody hell are you?” advertising campaign is undertaken. Blogger behaviour towards this controversial campaign is documented and consumer power strategies are examined.
Findings
This study reveals that bloggers are circumventing the traditional self regulatory process by distributing information, opinion, and even banned advertising material, thereby forming power hubs of like‐minded people, with the potential to become online pressure groups, augmenting the traditional powers of consumers in the self regulatory process.
Research limitations/implications
Limitations include a single case context and its exploration of a single media tool (weblogs). Also, bloggers are not representative of the general public, but do provide an alternative to the general category of complainants.
Practical implications
The paper provides evidence that bloggers are defacto regulators in the online environment providing judgements on advertising campaigns, supporting those with like‐minded views and disciplining others, and even making banned advertisements publicly available. Advertisers should be mindful of this activity in developing campaigns, especially in formulating controversial campaigns aimed to be disseminated online.
Originality/value
The paper is the first to relate consumer power in the online environment to self‐regulation. It is also first to study a new group of advertising complainants – the bloggers.
Details
Keywords
Donna Louise Gill, Sonia Jane Dickinson and Arno Scharl
The purpose of this research is to determine firms' sustainability efforts through triple bottom line reporting on the World Wide Web. Sustainability reporting can assist in brand…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this research is to determine firms' sustainability efforts through triple bottom line reporting on the World Wide Web. Sustainability reporting can assist in brand differentiation to stakeholder groups and ultimately lead to a positive corporate reputation.
Design/methodology/approach
Automated web content analysis was used to determine and differentiate 39 oil and gas firms' reporting of economic, social and environmental disclosures across Europe, North America and Asia. Firms were benchmarked for their disclosures against key terms derived from the Global Reporting Initiative.
Findings
North American firms disclose the greatest amount of TBL information for both environmental and economic indicators. European firms are the most prevalent reporters of social indicators. Asian firms displayed the most positive bias to their sustainability reporting.
Research limitations/implications
Future research would benefit from linking firms' TBL reporting with firm performance as well as including a greater range of countries and industries for comparative purposes.
Practical implications
Firms should demonstrate a greater completeness of information across the three TBL indicators to effectively manage their relationships with their key stakeholders. Information should be unbiased and honest for firms to successfully legitimacy.
Originality/value
This paper uses automated content analyse to differentiate disclosure levels of TBL indicators across three different geographical regions.
Details
Keywords
Kathy Hamilton and Matthew Alexander
The purpose of this paper is to raise awareness of the mobilities paradigm by exploring the role of tourist mobilities in destination marketing. This is important as studies that…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to raise awareness of the mobilities paradigm by exploring the role of tourist mobilities in destination marketing. This is important as studies that explore the impact of modes of transport on the development of destinations, or compare the transportation experience with the destination experience are lacking.
Design/methodology/approach
The study uses the context of the Jacobite steam train, which runs in the Scottish Highlands. It draws on multiple qualitative methods including participant observation, interviews and netnography.
Findings
The study explores the spatial, temporal and social mobilities associated with the journey and the destination, reveals how a rail journey becomes a “destination-in-motion” and, in turn, transforms what might otherwise be a neglected destination.
Practical implications
The study demonstrates how modes of transport that offer rich embodied experiences to visitors can present an important differentiation strategy and become core to a destination’s product and service portfolio.
Originality/value
By approaching destination marketing from a mobilities perspective, this paper recognises the significance of human and objects mobility to tourist experiences and offers a new perspective to existing research which biases a geographically bounded understanding of destinations.
Details
Keywords
Sonia Cointet, Jean Alexander, Margaret Campbell and Lorna Hunter
This is a locality case study which starts with a detailed overview of an inter‐agency process to study the feasibility of integrating occupational therapy services, and concludes…
Abstract
This is a locality case study which starts with a detailed overview of an inter‐agency process to study the feasibility of integrating occupational therapy services, and concludes with a brief description of the model proposed.
Rafael Clua-García, Lidia Puig Garcia, Sonia Mellado, Maite Serrats, Xenia Rue Queralt, Mireia Llopart, Adrian Jacas, Dario Lopez Gallegos and Elena Yela
This study aims to learn about the experiences of inmates who experienced long periods of isolation due to a COVID-19 outbreak in the Brians 1 penitentiary centre. This approach…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to learn about the experiences of inmates who experienced long periods of isolation due to a COVID-19 outbreak in the Brians 1 penitentiary centre. This approach is relevant, as it sought to understand the experiences from the perspective of the prisoners during periods of isolation. The aim was to gain in-depth knowledge, based on the idiosyncrasies of this population, of their emotions and coping strategies in the prison context. This information that may be useful to prison institutions and prison primary healthcare teams to guide the organisation in future health emergencies involving the isolation of prisoners.
Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative interpretative phenomenological study was conducted. Face-to-face semi-structured interviews were conducted with a sample of 30 people who had undergone a period of isolation due to a COVID-19 outbreak in one or two of the last two outbreaks at the Brians 1 (Barcelona) prison in 2022, in the days following periods of social isolation. The interviews were transcribed and analysed using the content analysis approach, and were coded using the NVivo 12 qualitative software. The credibility and validity of the data analysed were increased through triangulation at different levels. In this study, data was collected from a heterogeneous sample of prisoners, capturing different views among the prison population.
Findings
This research gave us the opportunity to collect prisoners’ accounts of isolation due to COVID-19, in which it became clear that it conditioned the management of time and space in daily prison life. The restrictions amplified negative emotions such as anxiety, stress and restlessness and led to disruptions in communication with the outside world, daily prison activities and judicial processes. Despite these changes, the prisoners understood the imperatives of isolation and the need to adapt to the new situation for a limited period of time. Faced with the detrimental effect on their well-being, the prisoners employed coping strategies focused on emotional management, social supports and occupational engagement.
Research limitations/implications
This study is subject to several limitations related to the characteristics of the sample. No women participated in the study as the modules studied were exclusively for men. People with impaired cognitive abilities, were not included. With regard to the method, it is understood that conducting the interviews in the days after the isolation may have influenced the content and enthusiasm of the participants. Despite these limitations, we are confident that the data triangulation may have given us reliable insight that will further our knowledge of prisoners’ experiences in this type of situation.
Originality/value
The issue of the negative impact of restrictive measures in the prison environment has rarely been studied from the perspective of prisoners. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to provide qualitative data on the experiences of prisoners during periods of social isolation due to COVID-19 outbreaks in prisons in Catalonia (Spain). The narratives allowed the authors to determine what impact the restrictions had on the emotional well-being and daily life of the prison population, information that can help prison institutions and healthcare teams understand how prisoners experienced this type of situation. The authors were also able to carry out an in-depth study of the coping strategies used by the prisoners to deal with negative emotions during the COVID-19 outbreaks, which may serve to guide the organisation of material and human resources in future emergencies or regimented situations involving social isolation.
Details
Keywords
States that there has been a recent explosion in the publication of reference works in the field of African American studies which indicates the mature field of scholarship being…
Abstract
States that there has been a recent explosion in the publication of reference works in the field of African American studies which indicates the mature field of scholarship being achieved in this area. Provides a bibliographic guide for those wishing to identify and use research tools for studying African American literature.