bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
A cross‐cultural assessment of attitudes regarding perceived breaches of ethical conduct by both parties in the business‐consumer dyad
Authors: Fisher Jim , Woodbine Gordon , Fullerton Sam 
Published: July 2006

AbstractRecent initiatives in business curricula have included emphases on global business and ethics. Using 28 scenarios which reflect potential concerns regarding the conduct of either business or a consumer, this research combines these issues by comparing the ethical predisposition of business students in Australia with their Canadian counterparts. A sample of 264 students indicated that students in both countries generally hold high expectations for the behaviour of business and consumers. Both groups exhibited quite similar views in relation to the 28 consumer and business‐related scenarios. When comparing Canadian students to Australian students, four significant differences were documented in the 14 scenarios which address the behaviour of business entities. The assessment of attitudes regarding questionable consumer actions provided even more homogeneity as only one statistically significant difference was identified. The study concludes by documenting a series of attitudinal differences on the part of groups defined not by nationality, but rather on the basis of gender or age. These demographic differences were more pronounced than were the differences across the two countries. Copyright © 2003 Henry Stewart Publications.
Self‐service – a contradiction in terms or customer‐led choice?
Authors: Howard Melanie , Worboys Caroline 
Published: July 2006

AbstractThis paper explores the reality of self‐service today from the customer perspective and identifies what organisations need to do to maximise their contribution to improving customer service in the future. It is based on the findings of an extensive study, including original consumer research and analysis, undertaken by the Future Foundation that was sponsored by a consortium of companies consisting of Broadsystem, BT, mmO2, BUPA and GIMRA (General Insurance Market Research Association). It is structured around a series of questions that the research was designed to answer, with clear recommendations for businesses coming out of each section. Copyright © 2003 Henry Stewart Publications.
Early evangelist or reluctant Rudolph? attitudes towards the Christmas commercial campaign
Authors: Gurău Călin , Tinson Julie 
Published: July 2006

AbstractOrganisations utilise and maximise marketing at various traditional events during the year. Customised offers are combined with intensive commercial campaigns, which use traditional symbols in order to boost sales volume. The response of customers to these promotional ‘storms’ is complex and diverse. Buyers have developed a series of strategies to deal with the information overload and their attitudes largely determine their response to commercial offers. This paper attempts to investigate the response of customers to the Christmas commercial campaign. Based on customers' attitudes and behaviour, this study proposes an original segmentation of Christmas shoppers, and investigates the use of different advertising channels by different segments. Copyright © 2002 Henry Stewart Publications Ltd.
Nostalgic bonding: exploring the role of nostalgia in the consumption experience
Authors: Holbrook Morris B. , Schindler Robert M. 
Published: July 2006

AbstractThe recently awakened awareness of the past has produced a flurry of research directed towards understanding the nostalgic aspects of the human condition, towards investigating the role of nostalgia in the lives of consumers, and towards the application of such knowledge to the design of marketing strategies. With rare exceptions, however, such research has pursued a quantitative survey‐based approach to establishing the chronology‐related and personality‐driven aspects of nostalgia. To explore the nature and types of nostalgic bonding in greater depth, the present study pursues an interpretive approach to understanding the role of nostalgia in the consumption experience. Specifically, it applies a collective approach to subjective personal introspection to draw inferences concerning the key types of nostalgic experience. Copyright © 2003 Henry Stewart Publications.
Satisfaction, loyalty and word of mouth within the customer base of a utility provider: differences between stayers, switchers and referral switchers
Authors: Wangenheim Florian , Bayón Tomás 
Published: July 2006

AbstractResearch on satisfaction, loyalty and word of mouth (WOM) behaviour has made considerable progress within recent years, but important aspects remain neglected. In this paper, it is argued that, within the customer base of service providers, certain groups can be identified which differ from each other with regards to these variables. Hypotheses are developed and tested in a sample of 765 clients of a large German energy provider. The results show that recently acquired customers (switchers) differ from long‐term customers (stayers), and that switchers acquired through customer referrals differ from switchers recruited through advertising or direct mail in their satisfaction, loyalty and WOM behaviour. The paper ends with some important implications for management and future research. Copyright © 2004 Henry Stewart Publications Ltd.
Gender differences in German consumer decision‐making styles
Authors: Mitchell Vincent‐Wayne , Walsh Gianfranco 
Published: July 2006

AbstractMales and females want different products and they are likely to have different ways of thinking about obtaining these. This study furthers an understanding of how gender affects consumers' approaches to decision making. The research used Sproles and Kendall's (1986) consumer styles inventory (CSI) on a sample of 358 German males and females. Although all seven German decision‐making characteristics found in a previous German study could be confirmed for females, only four could be confirmed for males, raising the question of whether the CSI is equally valid for both genders. Tentative support was found for five new male factors, namely satisfying, enjoyment‐variety seeking, fashion‐sale seeking, time restricted and economy seeking. The results imply that the CSI has construct validity for females, but appears to be less valid for males. Copyright © 2004 Henry Stewart Publications.
Peer pressure and poverty: exploring fashion brands and consumption symbolism among children of the ‘British poor’
Authors: Elliott Richard , Leonard Clare 
Published: July 2006

AbstractAttitudes towards fashion brands (trainers/athletic shoes) and their symbolic meanings are explored among a sample of 30 children aged 8–12 years from poor homes in the UK, in an interpretive study using projective methods. The children form stereotypes about the owners of trainers: if the trainers are obviously branded and expensive the children believe the owner to be rich and young, if the trainer is unbranded and inexpensive looking the children believe the owner to be poor and old. If a child is wearing branded trainers they are seen as popular and able to fit in with their peers. These opinions are so strongly held that the children would prefer to talk to someone wearing branded trainers than unbranded trainers. The children also feel pressure to wear the trainers that their friends wear, partly to make friends and fit in and partly because of the teasing experienced if they are wearing unbranded clothes or are clearly from a poor home. Copyright © 2004 Henry Stewart Publications.
Exploring the emotional territory for brands
Authors: Woods Richard 
Published: July 2006

AbstractIt has become a truism that brand marketing is in the business of selling emotional connections rather than product benefits. Because of the relatively small number of primary emotions, however, brands in the same categories often end up standing for the same sort of emotions. Let us face facts: telecoms brands either connect or empower people; most whisky brands tend to occupy the emotional territories of maturity or discernment; cleaning product brands have at their core the idea of the good carer, be it mother/father/spouse/self; many vodka and pre‐mix vodka brands play within the territory of transgression. Therefore, the key questions to ask about these brands are: What kind of connecting or empowerment? What kind of maturity? What kind of carer? What kind of transgression? It is this specific differentiated expression within an emotional territory that makes the difference between success and failure for brands. This paper highlights a different approach to exploring these emotional territories through using research stimulus (called Brandcepts) that can actively help respondents to make the sort of fine distinctions in the world of emotional territories that they would never be able to make on their own. Copyright © 2004 Henry Stewart Publications.
Small wonders of the Indian market
Authors: Dubey Jayashree , Patel Rajni P. 
Published: July 2006

AbstractHeavy competition in India in almost all product categories, due to diversification by large and medium companies and increased entry of multinationals, has restricted the growth of domestic companies. Previously, large companies enjoyed high profit margins by targeting premium priced products in the upper strata of Indian society. High levels of competition from equally reputed brands have not only decreased the companies' market share but also created price wars, reducing profit margins and limiting market growth. This has motivated companies to consider the lower classes and the rural segments, which they had previously ignored. By targeting these segments with products in small packs at lower price points, companies have experienced great success. At the same time, small packs also pose some challenges for the companies. This paper explains the importance of small packs for market expansion in various product categories within the Indian market, drawing on several examples to support the views of the authors. Copyright © 2004 Henry Stewart Publications.
Learning to love the older consumer
Authors: Szmigin Isabelle , Carrigan Marylyn 
Published: July 2006

AbstractThis paper examines how and why marketing has largely ignored the older consumer and concentrated on younger targets. It explores some of the myths of the older consumer and through examining recent research in the USA and the UK makes a plea for accepting the older consumer as still very much in the main stream of marketing. It also explores how society constructs age and how older people may wish to see themselves. While age related myopia is unsatisfactory for both consumers and marketing, older consumers may express a wide range of identities, making them a potentially complex target for marketing. The paper suggests that more research is needed to explore the different motives and identities of these important consumers with a view to better meeting their needs in terms of appropriate products, messages and media. Copyright © 2001 Henry Stewart Publications.
Critical factors in consumer supermarket shopping behaviour: a neural network approach
Authors: Moutinho Luiz A. , Davies Fiona M. , Goode Mark M. H. , Ogbonna Emmanuel 
Published: July 2006

AbstractThis paper studies UK supermarket shopping behaviour, by analysing the antecedent variables of three critical factors: overall levels of customer satisfaction, number of trips to the supermarket, and amount spent. A neural network approach predicts these factors using ten input variables and three hidden nodes. Results show that the most satisfied and high‐spending customers tend to be those who have the income to take full advantage of the choice and quality offered. Other customers are more concerned with prices being reasonable and discounts available, but the satisfaction of these shoppers is also linked with store atmosphere. Copyright © 2001 Henry Stewart Publications.
On the conceptual link between mass customisation and experiential consumption: an explosion of subjectivity
Authors: Addis Michela , Holbrook Morris B. 
Published: July 2006

AbstractMarketing managers currently face an explosion of subjectivity. A glance at the business world reveals new solutions developed to offer customised products. Mass customisation is stressed by academicians in different ways. For example, relationship marketing emphasises the role of the relationship between a vendor and its customer, with particular reference to the importance of personal involvement and trust. Reading such phenomena as manifesting an explosion of subjectivity in consumption suggests an enhanced opportunity for applying the experiential view of consumer behaviour. This paper invites marketing managers, as well as marketing and consumer researchers, to recognise the changing environment more proactively and to embrace the increasingly well‐established conceptions of the consumption experience more enthusiastically. Copyright © 2001 Henry Stewart Publications.
Tribal aspects of postmodern consumption research: the case of French in‐line roller skaters
Authors: Cova Bernard , Cova Véronique 
Published: July 2006

AbstractTribes constitute a research focus for postmodern consumer research and an alternative way of targeting marketing action. Consumers are supposed to value the goods and services which, through their linking value, permit and support social interaction of the communal type, products or services that support AB and not the fact of being A or B. This paper seeks to explore current developments in postmodern consumer research in terms of methods used to identify tribes and in terms of approaches used to elaborate an offer which is capable of supporting tribal rites and to capitalise, at a brand image level, on these tribal phenomena. Copyright © 2001 Henry Stewart Publications.
Confirming satisfaction as an attitude within the service‐buying process
Authors: Clarke Geraldine 
Published: July 2006

AbstractThis paper presents research that uses cognitive and affective semantic differential scales to construct an attitude measuring instrument to be used in the services domain in the context of long applications to buy a service. The scales measure ‘Attitude to the Application Process’ (AAP) which represents satisfaction, as an internal ‘buying process’ attitude, which moderates the buying intention.Data collected over a three‐year period between 1996‐9, was analysed using exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. The results provide evidence of a robust and useful cognitive scale. Although there were anomalies in the exploratory and confirmatory analysis of the affective scale, a robust scale is presented which represents either one or two factors. The whole measuring instrument of 14 items was developed as a means to access applicant attitudes during the application process to university — an extended and extreme application situation for first‐time consumers.The results identify that the instrument is sound and can be used in its original or modified form, depending on the context of the service‐process monitoring situation. The scales represent aspects of attitude not dealt with extensively in the literature and measure the perception of the application process as simple, open, friendly and helpful. These aspects of satisfaction mirror three attributes of service quality: assurance, responsiveness and empathy identified in previous research. Copyright © 2001 Henry Stewart Publications.
Predicting consumer satisfaction from CD players
Authors: Goode Mark M. H. 
Published: July 2006

AbstractThis paper explores the relationship between expectations and product satisfaction evaluations in a high‐involvement product category. While doing so, the paper attempts to develop a regression model to predict the overall level of consumer satisfaction derived from CD players, using a number of explanatory variables within an ordinary least squares framework. This regression model links overall satisfaction to confidence in other people's opinions, expectations of product quality, experience with product quality, replacement rate and the importance of price. The model predicts fairly well for cross‐sectional data, with an adjusted R2 of 57 per cent, and appears to be robust. Finally, the implications of these results for marketers are discussed. Copyright © 2002 Henry Stewart Publications.
Buying cars online: the adoption of the web for high‐involvement, high‐cost purchases
Authors: Molesworth Mike , Suortti Jukka‐Petteri 
Published: July 2006

AbstractThis research explores the adoption of the Web throughout the buying process within high‐value, high‐involvement product categories (the car sector). Diffusion of innovations (Rogers, 1983) and innovation resistance Ram and Sheth (1989) theories are utilised and found to be useful. The research is exploratory, based on eight qualitative, semi‐structured individual interviews with potential car buyers. Findings indicate that there is resistance to adopting online car purchase overall, but relative advantage is recognised at the early, information seeking stages. Consumers use the Web to improve the balance of power between themselves and car salespeople. Innovation resistance during later stages, result from the need for personal experience of the product prior to purchase, ie test driving, as well as the uncertainty regarding after‐sales support. Further resistance comes from a reluctance to give up the social aspects of car buying and a perceived inability to negotiate with websites. It is suggested that organisations operating in these markets should focus Web activities on information provision, or opt for a hybrid strategy using both online and offline channels. Copyright © 2002 Henry Stewart Publications.
One world, one environment, one vision: are we close to achieving this? An exploratory study of consumer environmental behaviour across three countries
Authors: Bhate Seema 
Published: July 2006

AbstractThe environment as an issue has been central to a number of conferences and debates held worldwide. This indicates the growing concern regarding environmental issues on the part of various nations. It is apparent that both public support and political efforts are required to halt environmental deterioration. Members of the public need to display a change in attitude and governments need policies and strategies to channel this change in appropriate directions. The present study concentrates on the aspect of public awareness and how this translates to their purchase of environmentally friendly products. The theoretical framework incorporates respondents from three countries. The main aim is to investigate differences in public awareness and behaviour based on individual variables, such as Cognitive style and Involvement, and broad factors, such as the economic and developmental stages of the countries included in the sample. Data has been collected from a sample of 132 respondents. The results indicate that the attitudes and behaviour of UK respondents are generally non‐committal, whereas the sample from India displays a more involved attitude, which is reflected in their purchasing behaviour. The ‘availability’ and the ‘price’ of environmentally friendly products have been identified as the most significant issues common to India, Greece and the UK. Cognitive style analysis indicates that innovators are responsible for generating a range of qualitative differences, whereas the differences highlighted by Involvement are quantitative in nature. Copyright © 2002 Henry Stewart Publications.
Practice papers all power to the consumer? Complexity and choice in consumers' lives
Authors: Nelson William 
Published: July 2006

AbstractThis paper draws together selected insights from a range of projects, primarily the Future Foundation's ‘Complicated Lives’ research programme for Abbey National. Unless otherwise sourced, all findings in this paper are based on Complicated Lives 1 & 2 (2001, 2002) The author also draws on research sponsored by a range of clients including Ananova (the future of news), First Direct (e‐service monitor, nPower (drivers for online bill payment) as well as nVision's own Changing Lives ongoing programme of research. This paper is based on a chapter of a forthcoming book, Complicated Lives, due to be published in 2003. Copyright © 2002 Henry Stewart Publications.
Highly Resolved Determination of Structure and Particle Deposition in Fibrous Filters by MRI
Authors: Hoferer J. , Lehmann M. J. , Hardy E. H. , Meyer J. , Kasper G. 
Published: July 2006

AbstractA new method for the quantitative three‐dimensional structure determination of a coarse filter medium as well as the particle deposition inside this medium is described. The filter structure was imaged at a voxel resolution of 59 μm which is close to the mean fiber diameter, therefore allowing individual fibers and their position to be determined. The data processing method for determining the filter structure as well as the quantification of the mass deposited in the filter are explained in detail. For particle deposition investigations the spatial resolution used was 235 μm. Hereby, a linear correlation between deposited mass and signal intensity was observed.
Investigation of Polymer Structure and Properties with Solid‐State and Gaseous MRI Methods
Authors: Terekhov M. , Höpfel D. 
Published: July 2006

AbstractThe effectiveness of solid‐state MRI with dipolar refocusing techniques was tested to improve the sensitivity and spatial resolution for the investigation of various solid polymers. The comparison of dipolar refocusing methods with conventional SPI was undertaken. As an alternative, gas‐phase MRI experiments with thermally polarized SF6 and hyperpolarized xenon were performed. The performance of SF6 was found to be equivalent to solid‐state methods. The possibility of achieving a significant increase in imaging efficiency by use of the hyperpolarization technique is demonstrated. The effects of embedding gaseous SF6 into EPDM rubber were investigated using NMR methods. A strong correlation was found between EPDM cross‐linking and the transversal relaxation time of embedded SF6.
Effects of Draft Tubes on Particle Velocity Profiles in Spouted Beds
Authors: Zhao X.‐L. , Yao Q. , Li S.‐Q. 
Published: July 2006

AbstractThe vertical particle velocity profiles in a full‐column cylindrical conical spouted bed, with or without a draft tube, are measured using a fibre optic probe system. The profiles have different characteristics for a draft tube spouted bed (DTSB) than for a conventional spouted bed (CSB). The spout of a CSB consists of a central flow where particle velocities fit exponential distributions, and a boundary layer where particle velocities are nearly uniform. The spout of a DTSB has no boundary layer and its radial particle velocity profiles are approximately linear. The particle velocities in the spout of a DTSB increase when superficial gas velocity increases, draft tube diameter decreases, or when entrainment height decreases. A kinematic model has been used to simulate the granular flow in the annulus of a CSB and DTSB, and they are compared with the experiments. The particle velocities in the annulus of a DTSB are much lower than that of a CSB. Their radial profiles are also different with a CSB. The dependence of particle velocities in the annulus of a DTSB on superficial gas velocity, draft tube diameter, and entrainment height are also discussed. One concludes that the draft tube diameter and entrainment height are two key factors for the solid circulation rate of a DTSB.