Anjala S. Krishen

Understanding the Components of Information Privacy Threats for Location-Based Services

ABSTRACT: Given the increase in global positioning system enabled devices and the ubiquitous ability to connect wirelessly to information through location-based services, organizations are challenged to offer privacy-by-design support systems. Given this, we offer a conceptual framework to capture the impact of the individual component weights of concern for information privacy on behavioral intent of disclosing information. Through a sample of 217 respondents, our PLS model shows that privacy protection beliefs negatively impact concern for collection, unauthorized use, and improper access of information and that privacy risk beliefs positively impact concern for collection and existence of errors; additionally, concern for collection negatively impacts behavioral intentions to disclose information, as does concern for unauthorized use. With such detailed information, firms can address both cognitive and affective consumer concerns, enhance transparency, and communicate multiple services while handling p...

Promote me or protect us? The framing of policy for collective good

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to identify the best marketing communications for policy messages that makes these messages acceptable and fair to the public. Within the context of the Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) tax, this paper examines how framing messages through the alternative perspective of tribalism can increase individual support towards the corresponding policy. Design/methodology/approach – The paper uses a mixed methods approach. Study 1 uses a qualitative content analysis process based on grounded theory to identify the themes that surround 331 public comments on a transportation policy. Study 2 follows with two 2x2 quantitative factorial experiments to test specific hypotheses. Findings – If messages are framed to address the collective losses of the political tribe for collective good, then they generate more favorable attitudes towards the policy, as opposed to the self-interest perspective. Research limitations/implications – This paper focuses on two political tribes: the collective g...

Organizational processes for B2B services IMC data quality

Purpose – The objective of this paper is to investigate IMC metrics in the lens of an institution-wide change management process, and to do so, the authors develop and test an organizational data quality enhancement model. Design/methodology/approach – Qualitative research was conducted, with a follow-on quantitative pre-test. A subsequent, larger-scale quantitative survey resulted in a total of 128 responses, 124 useable. A regression analysis was conducted using the factor scores of the six organizational dimensions as independent variables and overall data quality as the dependent variable. Findings – The findings show that overcoming poor IMC data quality requires a corporate culture that reduces cross-functional and departmental divides. The authors also support the idea that horizontally organized learning organizations not only have superior IMC data, but they also achieve higher rates of return on their cross-platform IMC efforts. Research limitations/implications – The research has limitations in...

A feedback control approach to maintain consumer information load in online shopping environments

The heterogeneity of e-commerce users requires online shopping environments to advance from a simple framework to one that is adaptive. This need results from the negative consequences of user frustration due to information load. We used a feedback control theory based approach to address the online consumer information overload issue in an adaptive manner. To demonstrate the efficacy of this feedback control approach, a design science method evaluated the feedback controller. The main effect was that the dynamic adaptivity did not have to rely on summarizing data for inference to the individual. The proposed feedback control design is therefore a robust and viable option for organizations to incorporate into their online shopping environments to accommodate user variation of information load for e-commerce adaptivity.

Fear advertisements: influencing consumers to make better health decisions

From a goal-theoretic framework, this paper proposes that fear-based framing of health messages can lead to positive decision intentions, thus helping consumers make better future health-related choices. Across two experiments, findings demonstrate that the type of advertisement (fear versus hope) and food prime (indulgent versus non-indulgent) interact to determine goal-related choice focus – such as subsequent indulgence intention or intention to implement an exercise health goal. Research implications include the suggestion that if marketers properly execute fear-primed promotional messages with non-indulgent food offerings, they can satisfy the notion that ‘One good health decision can lead to another.’

Catch It If You Can: How Contagious Motivation Improves Group Projects and Course Satisfaction

This article proposes a theory-based contagious motivation model focusing on enhancing student perceptions of group projects and ultimately course satisfaction. Moreover, drawing from both pedagogical and organizational behavior literatures, a model is presented that ties together intrinsic motivation theory with social contagion and contextualizes these within the conceptual methodology of group projects in a classroom. The structural equation model is tested with an undergraduate student sample of 215 students and found to have adequate fit. The key implication of the model is that individual student motivation can be increased by fostering an active learning environment, and more importantly, group projects can create and foster positive motivation when properly implemented by educators.

What’s in a Word? Building Program Loyalty through Social Media Communication

Customer loyalty is paramount for hospitality businesses, and social media communication is becoming a powerful way to increase touchpoints with customers. However, scant research evaluates the impact of social media behavior on program loyalty. Thus, the goal of our study is to determine the impact of social media communication on hotel program loyalty. We present a quantitative model of the differential impact of various forms of social media word of mouth (WOM) and verify it with a random sample of 575 participants. Our results suggest that hotelier social media communication style and information quality significantly affect consumer social media behavior; this leads to increased loyalty toward hotel reward programs. Combined with other findings, the friendly dimension of communication style has the highest impact, whereas interactive and professional display the lowest scores. In other words, study respondents are more likely to participate in friendly social media environments; such participation is more limited with regard to those that are simply interactive and professional. Therefore, this study adds to the body of knowledge on loyalty, WOM, social media communication, and rewards programs by proposing and testing an integrative model between social media communication style, information quality, social media behavior, and all of their ultimate impact on program loyalty.

Virtual World Experiential Promotion

Given that virtual worlds as a promotional vehicle may dramatically alter the existing customer experience, we seek to understand the impact of the virtual environment through interdisciplinary research. We present a conceptual framework, beginning with a qualitative study, and finishing with a quantitative study that includes hypothesis testing. Our findings indicate that virtual world experiential promotion (VWEP) provides better hedonic attributes, such as atmospherics, social experience, and personal/adaptive selling, when compared to “e-tail” environments. Results for the the provision of utilitarian attributes were more mixed, revealing that time savings and convenience were perceived as being less advantageous in VWEP environments than in retail environments, while ease of switching was perceived as being not significantly different across the two channels. As hypothesized, avoiding salesperson pressure was seen as an advantage of VWEP environments over retail environments. In summary, we conceptually introduce the virtual world promotional vehicle, show the importance of the consumer experience within such via two studies, and provide a framework for future research in the virtual world promotion context.

Is having accurate knowledge necessary for implementing safe practices?: A consumer folk theories-of-mind perspective on the impact of price

Purpose The purpose of this research is to increase consumer safety by providing insights about the linkage between consumer knowledge, price perception and safety intentions. Drawing from the expanded societal view of marketing, this model aims to further understanding of the connection between consumer education and safety from a folk theories-of-mind perspective. Design/methodology/approach This paper utilizes a phased, mixed-methods and interdisciplinary approach which blends transportation research and marketing. First, a qualitative inquiry of 151 comments regarding child safety seats was conducted. Next, using the key themes and concepts, a quantitative model was derived and a proposed structural equation model on a sample of 217 respondents was tested. Findings Although consumers understand the importance of child safety seats and the ample potential harms associated with their misuse, this paper contributes to existing literature by showing that a high perceived price can offset potential experience with them, attitude toward them and future use of them. Practical implications Integrated marketing campaigns to increase safety practices regarding child safety can be framed from a “cost of a life” rather than a “cost of a seat” perspective. Originality/value This research contributes by highlighting the importance of perceived price as it weighs against safety in a quantitative model, showing that consumer education can increase usage intentions for critical products and offering a mixed-methods, interdisciplinary approach to reduce framing biases and address a topic of significant societal concern.

Asian Females in an Advertising Context: Exploring Skin Tone Tension

While the explosive literature on the portrayal of women in advertising has established a multitude of salient issues (e.g., sexual objectification), the skin tone of Asian models in ads and associated cultural underpinnings has not yet been examined. However, given the obsession in various Asian countries with skin whitening for women, it has the potential to be salient in Asian cultures in the United States. The current exploratory study examines the possibility of “skin tone tension” occurring in a diverse Asian sample in the United States and compares Caucasian to Asian reactions to a models skin tone in a print ad. The results reflect cultural frameworks and provide a preliminary evidentiary starting point for further examination of this issue in various Asian cultures within the United States. Toward that end, extant theory is discussed and a new research agenda to extend such is proposed.