Alvin C. Burns

The Antecedents of Preventive Health Care Behavior: An Empirical Study

A conceptual model of preventive health care behavior is proposed and tested. Results suggest that preventive health care behaviors are strongly influenced by the value consumers perceive in engaging in such actions. This value is greatly affected by response efficacy, or the person’s belief that a specific action will mitigate the health threat. A separate consideration affecting adherence to a prescribed preventive health care behavior is self-efficacy, or the person’s belief that the target behaviors can be enacted. Additionally, health motivation and health consciousness are also shown to influence preventive health care behaviors. Future research directions and managerial implications of the findings are outlined.

A modified scale for the measurement of communication-evoked mental imagery

This article details the stages in developing a multiitem communication-evoked imagery processing scale. It builds on the foundation provided by Ellen and Bone (1991) by proposing three dimensions of imagery processing: vividness, quantity, and elaboration. Scale development procedures advocated by Churchill (1979) and techniques described by Gerbing and Anderson (1988) are applied. Qualitative and quantitative methods are employed. Face validity of the theoretical structure and items is assessed by consulting experts and employing judging procedures, respectively. Evaluation of the items is done across two separate samples in which reliability, convergent validity, discriminant validity, and nomological validity are exhibited.

Motivating students to engage in experiential learning: a tension-to-learn theory

The authors describe a tension-to-learn theory of experiential learning and incorporate a motivation construct that is needed to overcome student inertia, which may restrict participation. The theory is based largely on Loewensteins manageable gap perspective of curiosity as well as on the role that absorptive capacity plays in providing the learners knowledge base. The theory posits that if a learner perceives a manageable gap between the base and the target learning and if the target learning is relevant to the learners value system, strong internal tension-to-learn will result. At the same time, learning must be legitimized, and internal learning-based legitimization mechanisms are more powerful validation processes than are external performance-based ones. The authors note that some experiential learning situations can deter tension-to-learn because learners may perceive mastery of the exercises operation as unmanageable.

Comparing online and in-store shopping behavior towards luxury goods

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to compare and contrast the online and in-store shopping behavior towards luxury goods. Design/methodology/approach – Two studies are presented. Study one is qualitative in nature. It uses a mixed method approach and explores why luxury consumers decide to purchase luxury products online or in-store. The second study is a quantitative one. It tests the hypotheses drawn from the first study and validates the qualitative results. Findings – Online and in-store luxury shoppers are influenced by different motivational factors. Online luxury shoppers are price-conscious, prefer the online product availability and have a higher level of trust towards online customer reviews. In-store shoppers who are more averse to online risks find it very important to see the product personally before the purchase and value shopping experience and interactions. In addition, differences exist between the online shopping behaviors of regular and luxury shoppers. Research limitations/implications – It contributes to luxury consumption research and expands shopping motivation literature by investigating luxury buyer behavior in the online context. Practical implications – Luxury retailers should pay attention to the newly emerging segment of online luxury consumers. Lack of trust prevents more luxury consumers from shopping on the internet and the trustworthiness of the sellers can help attract potential shoppers. Luxury retailers can cater to the needs of different types of luxury buyers. Originality/value – This paper is the first exploratory, comparative study on luxury consumption in the online and physical store environments. It investigates the motivational factors that drive the shopping behavior of internet and in-store luxury shoppers.

Consumer Risks and New Food Systems in Urban China

Informed by sociocultural theories of risk, this research explores the responses of urban consumers to the globalization and liberalization of food marketing systems in China. Based on food shopping observations and focus groups in four major cities, the study investigates how consumers identify and navigate risk in a rapidly changing marketplace. The findings suggest that, while consumers have legitimate worries related to the safety of their food supply in the marketizing economy, the newly diverse food retail and product options also provide new strategies to actively manage risk. The findings substantiate the importance of geographical, political, and historical contexts for understanding how consumers interpret risks in the face of transitional marketing systems.

Narrative text biases attending the critical incidents technique

The critical incident technique (CIT) wherein informants describe their experiences and feelings attendant to a specific occasion is an attractive qualitative technique because it is easy to administer in a group setting, computer textual analysis is readily available, and it provides insight into marketplace phenomena. However, self‐disclosure theory predicts and studies have found that the informant’s gender, the target of the disclosure, and similarity between informant and target affect the quality of the informant’s narrative text. Using hypotheses from this knowledge base and adding the consumer construct of involvement, the authors conduct an experiment using CIT. Three hypotheses are supported: females disclose more than males, more is disclosed to friends than to strangers, and a high involvement topic produces more disclosure than does a low involvement one. Qualitative marketing researchers are warned that subtle biases exist in narrative text generated by the use of CIT, and precautions are suggested.

Situational influences on the consumer decision sequence

Abstract Traditional behavioral research has focused on the consumer product acquisition process from a product or brand perspective. As such, other elements of the choice process, and their order of occurence (and hence, importance) prior to actual product acquisition, have not been acknowledge and investigated completely by marketing researchers. This article proposes a framework depicting the consumer choice process as more than a “product-centered” phenomenon. The article concludes with the results of an exploratory study, which indicate that the nature of the consumer choice process does vary across products and within products across individuals.

Computer Simulation Games in Marketing: Past, Present, and Future

Since personal computer-based simulations are becoming widely available to marketing educators, important distinctions between interactive and batch simulation games are noted, and their respective advantages in effecting experiential learning are described. Inspection of ten contemporary batch simulations results in several comparison bases which are defined and used to contrast four different types of marketing batch simulation games: (1) elementary, (2) perceptual mapping-portfolio, (3) traditional segmentation, and (4) complex. Finally, five trends are identified as possible features of computer games in the near future.

The role of ABSEL in the development of marketing simulations in collegiate education

This article traces the development of marketing games from the early hand-scored games through the three major computer platform evolutions: mainframes, microcomputers, and Windows-based PCs. It contends that the Association for Business Simulation and Experiential Learning (ABSEL) has made significant contributions to these developments by serving as a forum for game users and developers to share concerns, needs, and developments.

Using the Madeline Hunter Direct Instruction Model to Improve Outcomes Assessments in Marketing Programs.

This study introduces marketing educators to the Madeline Hunter Direct Instruction Model (HDIM) as an approach to significantly and substantially improve student learning through course-embedded assessment.The effectiveness of the method is illustrated in three different marketing courses taught by three different marketing professors. The results demonstrate double-digit improvement in student achievement. Examples of application exercises are provided. The HDIM offers a viable tool for use in an environment in which marketing faculties are increasingly required to demonstrate course-embedded assessment as part of annual review, promotion, and tenure processes.