title: Gaining and Losing Respect of the New Zealand Public: Adidas' 2011 Rugby World Cup Jersey Pricing Crisis

authors: Farquhar, Kayleigh

subjects: Marketing, Public relations, Rugby, Sports Marketing, Crisis Management, All Blacks

abstract: As principal sponsors of the All Blacks over the past 13 years, Adidas have gone to great lengths to ensure their advertising campaigns reflect respect for the New Zealand public in relation to the traditions, history and heritage of the All Blacks, and the importance of rugby as the country’s national sport. Their carefully crafted advertising campaigns and television commercials have articulated Adidas’s understanding and respect for the historical legacy and primal power of the All Blacks (Scherer & Jackson, 2007) allowing the brands to form a successful co-brand (Motion, Leitch & Brodie, 2003). However in August 2011, Adidas released their Rugby World Cup Edition supporter’s shirt to the New Zealand public selling for $220.00 in New Zealand retailers. This price was over $100.00 more (including shipping) than prices set by international websites selling the exact same shirts. The pricing of this jersey led to a public outrage and quickly became a public relations crisis for Adidas.

Through a two phase qualitative research design this study aims to understand the New Zealand public’s response towards Adidas after the jersey pricing crisis by understanding the role that (dis)respect plays in the response. The first part of phase one involved gathering data via a media analysis (Altheide, 2000) to identify the main stages in the crisis from news articles, followed by a nethnography (Kozinets, 2002) of the public’s reaction at the different stages of the crisis. The second phase of the research design involved a survey that consisted of four open ended questions and six demographic questions.

The analysis of the crisis stages identified the importance of crisis response strategies when dealing with a crisis (Benoit, 1997). This study highlights the need for organisations to carefully consider the believability, timing, consistency, target audience and of the type of crisis response method before employing any strategy. This finding contributes to the literature by identifying how implementing incorrect and slow response strategies can impact a brands reputation.

The bloggers and participants responses reveal the importance of respect in maintaining and developing relationships in sponsorship. This study demonstrates how disrespectful behaviour in sponsorships can negatively impact relationships with the public. This finding is specifically important for organisations that sponsor national teams, as it is clear from this study that national teams, like the All Blacks, are a key signifier of national identity. Thus organisations need to respect the local communities in which they operate. This study shows how the consumer response towards Adidas as a result of their perceived disrespectful behaviour is intensified due to the attachment with the All Blacks and the jersey. This research adds to the sponsorship literature by demonstrating how sponsoring organisations treat the public plays an important role in building and maintaining quality relationships. Thus it is concluded from this study that fans value respect and that respect is a mainstay in sponsorship.

text: Gaining and Losing Respect of the New Zealand Public: Adidas' 2011 Rugby World Cup Jersey Pricing Crisis As principal sponsors of the All Blacks over the past 13 years, Adidas have gone to great lengths to ensure their advertising campaigns reflect respect for the New Zealand public in relation to the traditions, history and heritage of the All Blacks, and the importance of rugby as the country’s national sport. Their carefully crafted advertising campaigns and television commercials have articulated Adidas’s understanding and respect for the historical legacy and primal power of the All Blacks (Scherer & Jackson, 2007) allowing the brands to form a successful co-brand (Motion, Leitch & Brodie, 2003). However in August 2011, Adidas released their Rugby World Cup Edition supporter’s shirt to the New Zealand public selling for $220.00 in New Zealand retailers. This price was over $100.00 more (including shipping) than prices set by international websites selling the exact same shirts. The pricing of this jersey led to a public outrage and quickly became a public relations crisis for Adidas.

Through a two phase qualitative research design this study aims to understand the New Zealand public’s response towards Adidas after the jersey pricing crisis by understanding the role that (dis)respect plays in the response. The first part of phase one involved gathering data via a media analysis (Altheide, 2000) to identify the main stages in the crisis from news articles, followed by a nethnography (Kozinets, 2002) of the public’s reaction at the different stages of the crisis. The second phase of the research design involved a survey that consisted of four open ended questions and six demographic questions.

The analysis of the crisis stages identified the importance of crisis response strategies when dealing with a crisis (Benoit, 1997). This study highlights the need for organisations to carefully consider the believability, timing, consistency, target audience and of the type of crisis response method before employing any strategy. This finding contributes to the literature by identifying how implementing incorrect and slow response strategies can impact a brands reputation.

The bloggers and participants responses reveal the importance of respect in maintaining and developing relationships in sponsorship. This study demonstrates how disrespectful behaviour in sponsorships can negatively impact relationships with the public. This finding is specifically important for organisations that sponsor national teams, as it is clear from this study that national teams, like the All Blacks, are a key signifier of national identity. Thus organisations need to respect the local communities in which they operate. This study shows how the consumer response towards Adidas as a result of their perceived disrespectful behaviour is intensified due to the attachment with the All Blacks and the jersey. This research adds to the sponsorship literature by demonstrating how sponsoring organisations treat the public plays an important role in building and maintaining quality relationships. Thus it is concluded from this study that fans value respect and that respect is a mainstay in sponsorship.

year: 2013

title: Stronger together: Holistic learning through Education for Sustainability

authors: Wood, Benjamin Alexander

subjects: Education for Sustainability

abstract: Students in New Zealand secondary schools are more stressed and anxious about assessments than any other nation in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). There is also low engagement and enjoyment in learning leading to negative repercussions on behaviour, health and achievement. In previous studies, Education for Sustainability (EfS) has shown strong potential as an engaging and enjoyable education system, in ways that align with the values of the New Zealand Curriculum. It is possible that EfS could also have potential to reduce stress in secondary assessment and yet engage students to achieve. 

This piece of action research explored the student experience of learning through EfS using a theoretical framework drawn from Outdoor Learning, Place Responsive Education and Issues Based Education. The framework puts emphasis on student wellbeing, embedding confidence in students, engaging students in democracy and providing avenues for them to participate within their culture, society, environment and economy in a positive way. 

The framework was manifest in an intervention: a 10-day ‘Sustainability camp’ in the context of a local mining issue within the Kaimai-Mamaku Forest Park, New Zealand. On the camp were 13 Year 10 students (14-15 years old) and three teachers. An interpretive methodology was engaged to explore the student experiences and outcomes of the camp. The forms of data collection used were: pre-post questionnaires, a post focus group interview and participant observations. Data analysis consisted of collating, averaging and graphing data from the questionnaire and coding data from focus group interviews and observations into seven categories (Sustainability values, Sustainability intentions, Knowledge, Connection to place, Social connections, Engagement & Enjoyment of learning).

Findings indicated that the intervention resulted in a stress free, enjoyable and engaging learning experience for students. An ethic of care for the area was indicated by many students, as was a connection to the place itself. Strong friendships were cultivated due to the breaking down of social barriers and the communal nature of camp living. Student knowledge of the context increased and achievement was retained at a high level. Sustainability Literacy increased in a number of areas and there was a marginal increase in Action Competence indicators. A worrying finding was that students commented on their low confidence in democracy within society. Ways to improve the student experience, student achievement, Sustainability Literacy and Action Competence via modifications to the intervention are put forth for the consideration of EfS practitioners.

text: Stronger together: Holistic learning through Education for Sustainability Students in New Zealand secondary schools are more stressed and anxious about assessments than any other nation in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). There is also low engagement and enjoyment in learning leading to negative repercussions on behaviour, health and achievement. In previous studies, Education for Sustainability (EfS) has shown strong potential as an engaging and enjoyable education system, in ways that align with the values of the New Zealand Curriculum. It is possible that EfS could also have potential to reduce stress in secondary assessment and yet engage students to achieve. 

This piece of action research explored the student experience of learning through EfS using a theoretical framework drawn from Outdoor Learning, Place Responsive Education and Issues Based Education. The framework puts emphasis on student wellbeing, embedding confidence in students, engaging students in democracy and providing avenues for them to participate within their culture, society, environment and economy in a positive way. 

The framework was manifest in an intervention: a 10-day ‘Sustainability camp’ in the context of a local mining issue within the Kaimai-Mamaku Forest Park, New Zealand. On the camp were 13 Year 10 students (14-15 years old) and three teachers. An interpretive methodology was engaged to explore the student experiences and outcomes of the camp. The forms of data collection used were: pre-post questionnaires, a post focus group interview and participant observations. Data analysis consisted of collating, averaging and graphing data from the questionnaire and coding data from focus group interviews and observations into seven categories (Sustainability values, Sustainability intentions, Knowledge, Connection to place, Social connections, Engagement & Enjoyment of learning).

Findings indicated that the intervention resulted in a stress free, enjoyable and engaging learning experience for students. An ethic of care for the area was indicated by many students, as was a connection to the place itself. Strong friendships were cultivated due to the breaking down of social barriers and the communal nature of camp living. Student knowledge of the context increased and achievement was retained at a high level. Sustainability Literacy increased in a number of areas and there was a marginal increase in Action Competence indicators. A worrying finding was that students commented on their low confidence in democracy within society. Ways to improve the student experience, student achievement, Sustainability Literacy and Action Competence via modifications to the intervention are put forth for the consideration of EfS practitioners.

year: 2019

title: Risk assessment for family violence aggressors in Aotearoa New Zealand

authors: Jolliffe Simpson, Apriel D.

subjects: Family violence

abstract: In recent decades Family Violence (FV) researchers have developed risk assessment instruments to enable practitioners to identify the people who are most likely to commit FV in the future, and the families who are most likely to experience ongoing harm. Indeed, risk assessments have become a standard procedure for FV practitioners who are frequently required to make decisions with potential ramifications for families’ safety and wellbeing. Yet, despite considerable developments in risk assessment research and practice, risk assessment instruments have limitations that curb their value to FV practice. In addition, such instruments should be empirically validated, but there is limited evidence for the validity of risk assessment instruments used by agencies that respond to FV in Aotearoa New Zealand. Therefore, in this thesis, we examined the risk assessment procedures that New Zealand Police and the Integrated Safety Response (ISR) used for FV, with the purpose of contributing to the evidence base about risk assessment for FV in New Zealand and identifying strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities for improvement.
This thesis contains three manuscripts either published in or submitted to peer-reviewed academic journals; as well as supplementary chapters that support, extend, and integrate the research findings. In the first manuscript, we examined the predictive validity of risk categories from the Dynamic Risk Assessment for family violence (DYRA) and Static Assessment of Family Violence Recidivism (SAFVR)—the two risk assessment instruments that New Zealand Police use when responding to FV cases—for a sample of 2,115 cases with FV episodes reported to police in Waikato and parts of Canterbury between 1 November – 9 December 2018 (1,817 of which had complete risk categories). We examined the instruments’ ability to predict recurrence (i.e., a further FV-related call for police service) at three intervals (3 days, 12 weeks, and 24 weeks), and found both instruments had a poor ability to discriminate between aggressors who had a recurrence and those who did not, with the SAFVR outperforming the DYRA, and the DYRA performing especially poorly for non-intimate partner cases, and aggressors who were Māori or women. 
In the second manuscript, we explored the risk assessments that Integrated Safety Response (ISR) triage team members conducted for a sub-sample of 842 cases with FV episodes reported to police between 1 – 14 November 2018. We examined the relationship between the factors triage teams recorded during their risk assessments and the risk categories the teams assigned, then tested the association of both the factors and categories with recurrence and physical recurrence within 24 weeks. The predictive validity of ISR triage teams’ risk categories was comparable to the results produced for the DYRA and SAFVR in manuscript one. The ISR risk categories again performed poorly for aggressors who were women, Māori, and for non-intimate partner cases; and overall, fewer than half of the factors triage teams recorded were associated with recurrence or physical recurrence. Then, in an additional chapter, we explored the triage teams’ factors’ utility for case management and found the factors could be used to create three sub-groups of cases with potential implications for their treatment and management. 
Finally, in the third manuscript, we modeled the behavioral patterns of 2,115 aggressors with a FV episode reported to police in Waikato and parts of Canterbury between 1 November – 9 December 2018, by collecting reports for further FV episodes involving those aggressors during the two years after the index episode. We used this information to describe three latent states behind the information reported to police and identified four common pathways through the latent states over time. We concluded this manuscript by discussing changes that could contribute to improvements in how risk for FV aggressors is conceptualized, assessed, and communicated in practice.
In each chapter, we discussed the theoretical and practical implications of the findings, before integrating those findings and implications in a general discussion chapter. Taken together, the results presented herein indicate that the risk assessment instruments used in New Zealand can predict risk for FV recurrence better than chance, but that those assessments should be further developed to improve their value to FV practice and ensure they adequately capture risk for different types of FV cases and groups of people. This thesis advanced our understanding of the limitations of—and opportunities in—risk assessment research and contributed to the evidence base for risk assessment for FV in New Zealand.

text: Risk assessment for family violence aggressors in Aotearoa New Zealand In recent decades Family Violence (FV) researchers have developed risk assessment instruments to enable practitioners to identify the people who are most likely to commit FV in the future, and the families who are most likely to experience ongoing harm. Indeed, risk assessments have become a standard procedure for FV practitioners who are frequently required to make decisions with potential ramifications for families’ safety and wellbeing. Yet, despite considerable developments in risk assessment research and practice, risk assessment instruments have limitations that curb their value to FV practice. In addition, such instruments should be empirically validated, but there is limited evidence for the validity of risk assessment instruments used by agencies that respond to FV in Aotearoa New Zealand. Therefore, in this thesis, we examined the risk assessment procedures that New Zealand Police and the Integrated Safety Response (ISR) used for FV, with the purpose of contributing to the evidence base about risk assessment for FV in New Zealand and identifying strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities for improvement.
This thesis contains three manuscripts either published in or submitted to peer-reviewed academic journals; as well as supplementary chapters that support, extend, and integrate the research findings. In the first manuscript, we examined the predictive validity of risk categories from the Dynamic Risk Assessment for family violence (DYRA) and Static Assessment of Family Violence Recidivism (SAFVR)—the two risk assessment instruments that New Zealand Police use when responding to FV cases—for a sample of 2,115 cases with FV episodes reported to police in Waikato and parts of Canterbury between 1 November – 9 December 2018 (1,817 of which had complete risk categories). We examined the instruments’ ability to predict recurrence (i.e., a further FV-related call for police service) at three intervals (3 days, 12 weeks, and 24 weeks), and found both instruments had a poor ability to discriminate between aggressors who had a recurrence and those who did not, with the SAFVR outperforming the DYRA, and the DYRA performing especially poorly for non-intimate partner cases, and aggressors who were Māori or women. 
In the second manuscript, we explored the risk assessments that Integrated Safety Response (ISR) triage team members conducted for a sub-sample of 842 cases with FV episodes reported to police between 1 – 14 November 2018. We examined the relationship between the factors triage teams recorded during their risk assessments and the risk categories the teams assigned, then tested the association of both the factors and categories with recurrence and physical recurrence within 24 weeks. The predictive validity of ISR triage teams’ risk categories was comparable to the results produced for the DYRA and SAFVR in manuscript one. The ISR risk categories again performed poorly for aggressors who were women, Māori, and for non-intimate partner cases; and overall, fewer than half of the factors triage teams recorded were associated with recurrence or physical recurrence. Then, in an additional chapter, we explored the triage teams’ factors’ utility for case management and found the factors could be used to create three sub-groups of cases with potential implications for their treatment and management. 
Finally, in the third manuscript, we modeled the behavioral patterns of 2,115 aggressors with a FV episode reported to police in Waikato and parts of Canterbury between 1 November – 9 December 2018, by collecting reports for further FV episodes involving those aggressors during the two years after the index episode. We used this information to describe three latent states behind the information reported to police and identified four common pathways through the latent states over time. We concluded this manuscript by discussing changes that could contribute to improvements in how risk for FV aggressors is conceptualized, assessed, and communicated in practice.
In each chapter, we discussed the theoretical and practical implications of the findings, before integrating those findings and implications in a general discussion chapter. Taken together, the results presented herein indicate that the risk assessment instruments used in New Zealand can predict risk for FV recurrence better than chance, but that those assessments should be further developed to improve their value to FV practice and ensure they adequately capture risk for different types of FV cases and groups of people. This thesis advanced our understanding of the limitations of—and opportunities in—risk assessment research and contributed to the evidence base for risk assessment for FV in New Zealand.

year: 2023