Barbara Ross Wooldridge

The role of climate and socialization in developing interfunctional coordination

Interfunctional coordination may be of primary importance to a firm developing a sustainable competitive advantage. This paper suggests that climate and socialization processes facilitate the development of interfunctional coordination, and thus its impact on firm performance. By merging the organizational culture, market orientation, climate, socialization, and competing values framework streams of literature to describe the process by which an organization positions itself in the competitive arena, a framework is developed and research propositions are offered.

Drivers of Customer Relationships in Quick-Service Restaurants The Role of Corporate Social Responsibility

Quick-service restaurants (QSRs) face a particular challenge in creating customer relationships, given low levels of consumer brand loyalty and a standardized product that makes it difficult to developing a distinctive identity. One way that quick-service firms attempt to set themselves apart is through genuine, long-term corporate social responsibility (CSR) efforts, in addition to the quality of their food, service, and overall restaurant environment. This article explores the extent to which customers’ perceptions of Chick-fil-A’s food, service, environment, and CSR affect the three dimensions of their relationship quality with that firm—namely, satisfaction, trust, and identification, based on convenience survey of 483 of the firm’s customers. With regard to the elements of a customer relationship, the analysis found that (1) awareness of CSR programs did not improve customer satisfaction but did boost identification and trust, (2) service quality supported trust and satisfaction but does not influence customers’ identification with the firm, and (3) food quality affects customer satisfaction but has no connection with trust or identification with the firm. Finally, customer satisfaction and trust were related to customer loyalty, but identification with the company was not connected with loyalty. These findings suggest that increasing customer satisfaction levels (or any short-term goal) should not be the primary objective of CSR programs in the QSR industry. Instead, it appears that CSR initiatives should involve a genuine long-term effort to build customers’ trust and identification.

The Power of Perception an Active/Experiential Learning Exercise for Principles of Marketing

Experiential learning has been the focus of a large body of research. Numerous benefits have been attributed to this form of learning. This paper discusses an experiential exercise that was designed for the Principles of Marketing class. The exercise is used in conjunction with classroom lectures to reinforce stated learning objectives. The exercise takes the form of a taste test. As students taste and evaluate the products, they move from a passive to active style of learning.

Golden Duck Awards: An Interactive Game to Facilitate Class Participation

Marketing professors face a challenging and changing classroom in terms of expectations, students, and available resources. Perhaps the greatest challenge is the new generation of students, who exhibit high levels of apathy towards their courses. Classroom discussion or participation is frequently posited as a method to engage students in the class. The Golden Duck innovation adds the element of competition to participation and integrates the students into creating the class content and elevating participation.

Selection criteria of Lebanese consumers in the global snack food industry: Country of origin perceptions

Purpose – This paper aims to study country of origin perceptions of Lebanese consumers with respect to potato chips, the correlation involved between country of manufacture and consumer behavior; purchase intent; and product quality.Design/methodology/approach – Four hypotheses in respect to country of origin perceptions on potato chip purchases were tested. The research was conducted in three phases: qualitative research was done to determine key attributes in potato chip selection, these findings were used to create a questionnaire, and a sample from 326 Lebanese consumers was collected.Findings – The paper finds that there are demographic differences in the evaluation of potation chips. The evaluation of specific attributes did not vary by country of origin and there were no differences in overall quality perceptions by country of origin. Snack food purchases appear to be low involvement purchases based on experiential qualities. Brand awareness and purchase appear not to be linked.Research limitations...

Publish or Perish and Innovative Teaching: Combining the Two to Explore Ethical Behaviors

Marketing academics are increasingly challenged to publish quality research while maintaining strong teaching. This paper describes how two researchers integrated the gathering of sensitive consumer behavior data into a class role-playing exercise in ethics. First, a novel method of gathering sensitive data is proposed to study an unethical behavior many younger populations participate in deshopping, or unethical returning of store merchandise. The student-gathered snowball sampling technique is used as a class project to involve students in the uncovering of reasons shoppers give for participating in the act. Rationalizations for deshopping and motivations for abstaining from the behavior are gathered; students critically analyze and brainstorm these rationalizations later in class. Role-playing exercises where students take on the positions of unethical shopper, store manager, service desk employee, marketing executive, and ethical customer abstaining from the behavior are heatedly explored in class discussions. Ultimately, the process solicited valuable and unique data, and created an active learning class exercise in ethics, management, and marketing.

The Concept of Perceived but Nonexistent Power in Intra-Channel Conflict Situations

Abstract This article attempts to develop the idea of power that is nonexistent but is present in the perception of the subject channel member in his/her understanding of the power position of the other channel member. Such perceptions, one can conclude, will also affect the behavior of the subject channel member during intrachannel conflicts. The purpose of this article is to present the idea of nonexistent but perceived power as an influence strategy and to discuss future avenues of developing and testing these ideas. Based on the ideas developed in this paper and the proposed model illustrating the concept of perceived power, several hypotheses can be obtained for empirical testing. Several potential methods are presented for testing these ideas.

Actual and ideal-self congruence and dual brand passion

The aim of this study is to explore the relationships between actual (ASC) and ideal self-congruence (ISC) and harmonious (HBP) and obsessive brand passion (OBP).,Study 1 uses a sample collected via Amazon’s Mechanical Turk to test a baseline conceptual model which links ASC and ISC to HBP and OBP. Study 2 employs a sample outsourced through Qualtrics. Study 2 had dual objectives: to replicate Study 1 using a larger and more diverse sample and to test whether hedonic brand characteristics may affect the hypothesized relationships between two types of self-congruence and two types of brand passion.,The findings suggest that different types of self-congruity influence different types of consumer passion for the brand. Specifically, a fit between brand personality and one’s true self (ASC) helps develop a passion for the brand that is self-affirming and in harmony with other facets of the consumer’s life. Fit between brand personality and one’s ideal self (ISC) leads to OBP. The results suggest that hedonic benefits of a brand do not moderate the relationship between ASC and HBP.,This research examines the duality of brand passion (harmonious and obsessive) and the relationships with consumers’ ASC and ISC. It provides insight into how a product-related context variable (hedonic nature of the product) can moderate these relationships and further augments the nomological network of the dual brand passion concept in the brand consumer context.