Nitika Garg, J. Jeffrey Inman and Vikas Mittal
Choice deferral (making no choice at all) is a common phenomenon, especially when individuals face a difficult decision. This is further exacerbated in the presence of negative…
Abstract
Purpose
Choice deferral (making no choice at all) is a common phenomenon, especially when individuals face a difficult decision. This is further exacerbated in the presence of negative incidental emotions which can have a wide-ranging influence on various aspects of decision-making. Previous research suggests that process (vs outcome) accountability might be more effective at mitigating the effect of irrelevant factors. This paper aims to examine whether accountability attenuates emotion effects on choice and examines the differences in the efficacy of the two accountability types.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper uses the appraisal tendency framework to propose differences between same valenced emotions on choice deferral and predicts the moderating role of process versus outcome accountability. Two experiments are conducted to test the predictions and the results analyzed using logistic regression.
Findings
The authors find that outcome and process accountability have different moderating effects on emotion and choice deferral relationship: under outcome accountability, angry individuals are more likely to defer choice while under process accountability, differences in choice across emotion conditions are attenuated. As predicted, differences between anger and fear on the certainty appraisal and thereby information processing, mediate the effects of emotion on choice deferral in the outcome (but not process) condition.
Originality/value
This research studies the intersection of two developing research streams, affect and accountability, by focusing on specific affective states (anger and fear) and specific accountability types (outcome and process) in the important context of decision avoidance in consumer behavior. Thus, theoretical understanding in both domains is advanced and the benefits of specific accountability types clarified. Key implications for consumers and future research directions are also discussed.
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A.U. Chaudhry, Vikas Mittal, M.I. Hashmi and Brajendra Mishra
Inorganic oxide addition can be synergistically beneficial in organic coatings if it can impart anti-corrosion properties and also act as an additive to enhance physical and/or…
Abstract
Purpose
Inorganic oxide addition can be synergistically beneficial in organic coatings if it can impart anti-corrosion properties and also act as an additive to enhance physical and/or chemical properties. The aim of this study was to evaluate the anti-corrosion benefits of nano nickel zinc ferrite (NZF) in the polymer film.
Design/methodology/approach
The time-dependent anti-corrosion ability of NZF (0.12-1.0 per cent w/w NZF/binder), applied on API 5L X-80 carbon steel, was characterized by electrochemical techniques such as open circuit potential, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, linear polarization resistance and potentiodynamic. Characterization of corrosion layer was done by removing coatings after 216 h of immersion in 3.5 per cent w/v NaCl. Optical microscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction techniques were used to characterize the corroded surface.
Findings
Corrosion measurements confirm the electrochemical activity by metallic cations on the steel surface during corrosion process which results in improvement of anti-corrosion properties of steel. Moreover, surface techniques show compact corrosion layer coatings and presence of different metallic oxide phases for nanocomposite coatings.
Originality/value
The suggested protection mechanism was explained by the leaching and precipitation of metallic ion on the corroded surface which in turn slowed down the corrosion activity. Furthermore, improvement in barrier properties of rubber-based coatings was confirmed by the enhanced pore resistance. This work indicates that along with a wide range of applications of NZF, anti-corrosion properties can be taken as an addition.
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Vikas Mittal, Jerome M. Katrichis and Pankaj Kumar
Firms measure the importance of an attribute’s performance in determining overall satisfaction to allocate resources to optimize profitability. However, most firms assume that an…
Abstract
Firms measure the importance of an attribute’s performance in determining overall satisfaction to allocate resources to optimize profitability. However, most firms assume that an attribute’s importance in determining overall satisfaction is temporally invariant. We report results from two studies showing that the importance of an attribute in determining overall satisfaction varies over time. Interestingly, we find that the relationship between overall satisfaction and behavioral intentions also changes over time. These results have important implications for managing customer satisfaction programs among firms.
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Gábor Nagy, Carol M. Megehee and Arch G. Woodside
Firm’s operating contexts and asymmetric perspectives of success versus failure outcomes are two essential features typically absent in research on firms’ implemented strategies…
Abstract
Firm’s operating contexts and asymmetric perspectives of success versus failure outcomes are two essential features typically absent in research on firms’ implemented strategies. The study here describes and provides examples of formal case-based models (i.e., constructing algorithms) of firms implemented strategies within several of 81 potential context (task environments) configurations – large vs small, service vs production orientation, low vs high competitive intensity, low vs high technological turbulence, and ambiguous settings for each. The study applies the tenets of complexity theory (e.g., equifinality, causal asymmetry, and single causal insufficiency). The study proposes a meso-theory and empirical testing position for solving “the crucial problem in strategic management” (Powell, Lovallo, & Fox, 2011, p. 1370) – firm heterogeneity – why firms adopt different strategies and structures, why heterogeneity persists, and why competitors perform differently. A workable solution is to identify/describe implemented executive capability strategies that identify firms in alternative specific task environments which are consistently accurate in predicting success (or failure) of all firms for specific implemented capabilities/context configuration. The study shows how researchers can perform “statistical sameness testing” and avoid the telling weaknesses and “corrupt practices” of symmetric tests such as multiple regression analysis (Hubbard, 2015) including null hypothesis significance testing. The study includes testing the research issues using survey responses of 405 CEO and chief marketing officers in 405 Hungarian firms. The study describes algorithms indicating success cases (firms) as well as failure cases via deductive, inductive, and abductive fuzzy-set logic of capabilities in context solutions.
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COREX, a new technology brought by Mr. Jindal, froze before going into live operations resulting in 10 month delay. This case discusses the project management monitoring methods…
Abstract
COREX, a new technology brought by Mr. Jindal, froze before going into live operations resulting in 10 month delay. This case discusses the project management monitoring methods used by them. Their use of Microsoft Project in place of Primavera is interesting. Before this, India did not have expertise in COREX. The case also discussed how to build project team when the local expertise is not availble. The case also shows how much of monitoring methods discussed in books are practicable.
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![Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad](/insight/static/img/indian-institute-of-management-ahmedabad-logo.png)
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Michael F. Walsh, Karen Page Winterich and Vikas Mittal
This research aims to explore how consumer responses to logo redesign (from angular to rounded) are contingent on brand commitment and self‐construal. The authors aim to explore…
Abstract
Purpose
This research aims to explore how consumer responses to logo redesign (from angular to rounded) are contingent on brand commitment and self‐construal. The authors aim to explore two issues. First, what is the role of brand commitment on response to logo redesign and underlying brand attitude? Second, how does situational accessible self‐construal influence brand commitment in situations like this?
Design/methodology/approach
This research uses two field experiments; one using the general public via mall intercepts and the second with undergraduate college students.
Findings
In two studies the authors show that brand commitment negatively influences evaluation of inconsistent information (i.e. rounded logo), and this negative logo evaluation mediates the impact on brand attitude. They also find that motivated reasoning may be at play showing that when faced with inconsistent information brand commitment not only increases thought generation but, specifically, negative thoughts about the logo. Study 2, using more realistic stimuli shows that the deleterious effect of inconsistent information (i.e. new logo) is attenuated when the inconsistent information – i.e. rounded logo – is congruent with the consumers' self‐construal (i.e. interdependent self‐construal).
Research limitations/implications
The authors advance the literature on self‐construal in advertising by identifying that self‐construal framing of ads may impact consumer response regardless of individual differences in self‐construal. They build on the work of Tsai who examined the effects of consumer characteristics such as product involvement and product knowledge in light of self‐construal differences on ad evaluation and purchase intentions.
Practical implications:
The findings presented here suggest that consumers' responses to atypical brand information may be dependent on their level of brand commitment. This research shows that logo redesign in particular, and introduction of inconsistent information in general is a process that should be carefully managed. The second experiment shows that the independent message frame is the preferred approach for multi cultural/global marketers. In primarily independent cultures, one should target highly committed customers. In primarily interdependent cultures one can target both strongly and weakly committed consumers. These findings can help companies entering international markets or dealing with global brands. Beyond advertising, this research has application to other forms of brand aesthetics including packaging and web site design.
Originality/value
This study is the first to show that self‐construal framing can act as a boundary condition on the role that consumer commitment plays in shaping ad evaluations and purchase intentions regardless of chronic self‐construal.
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Michael F. Walsh, Karen Page Winterich and Vikas Mittal
Logos are a critical component of brand aesthetics. Frequently companies redesign their logos, and many redesigns result in more rounded logos. How do such redesigns affect…
Abstract
Purpose
Logos are a critical component of brand aesthetics. Frequently companies redesign their logos, and many redesigns result in more rounded logos. How do such redesigns affect consumers' brand attitudes? The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of brand commitment on consumer response to logo shape redesign.
Design/methodology/approach
This research uses a field experiment with 632 respondents and examines two athletic shoe brands: New Balance and Adidas.
Findings
The greater the degree of change in the roundedness of a previously angular logo, the more likely it is that strongly committed consumers will evaluate the redesigned logo more negatively (in terms of brand attitude). Such logo evaluations, in turn, mediate the joint effect of logo redesign and commitment on overall brand attitude. Conversely, weakly committed consumers react positively to such changes.
Research limitations/implications
The literature on aesthetics and brand attitude are combined to show that not all consumers view changes in brand elements such as logos similarly. Strongly committed consumers view these changes negatively; weakly committed consumers view them positively. An information‐processing approach provides the underlying theory for this finding. Thus, logo evaluation partially mediates this change in brand attitude, but it does not fully explain the change in brand attitude after exposure to logo redesign.
Practical implications
Strong brands gain strength by developing a base of strongly committed customers. Attempts to change brand elements – such as logo redesigns – can affect customers differently depending on whether they are strongly committed, mildly committed, or not committed at all. Thus firms attempting to change brand elements, particularly their logos, should be fully aware of the potentially negative impact on their most important customers – those having the strongest brand commitment.
Originality/value
To one's knowledge very little research has examined the relationship between logo redesign and brand attitude. Henderson et al.'s call to examine consumer responses to changes in design stimuli is followed. Importantly, the study is the first to show that visual elements of a brand (e.g. logo) can differentially impact consumer response based on brand commitment to such an extent that strongly committed customers react more negatively than weakly committed customers to redesigned logos.
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Sonali Bhattacharya and Shubhasheesh Bhattacharya
– The purpose of this paper is to analyse the possible causes of elderly abuse in India and its repercussions for the society, based on the real cases and reports.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyse the possible causes of elderly abuse in India and its repercussions for the society, based on the real cases and reports.
Design/methodology/approach
A multiple case study approach has been used for the study sourced from archival newspaper reports, crime reports, and narration.
Findings
Greater vigilance and more effective legislation would be required to solve the problem related to elder abuse.
Originality/value
There is not much study of causes, consequences, effectiveness of the legal system with respect to elderly abuse in India. In that way, it will be a unique contribution.