Bjoern S. Ivens

Customer brand personality perception: A taxonomic analysis

Abstract The brand personality concept has received considerable attention. However, researchers have paid little attention to how homogeneous consumer brand personality perceptions are. This study attempts to fill this gap by analysing survey data (n = 603) collected from respondents evaluating seven mass-market consumer brands. Using cluster analysis, it identifies four typical brand personality constellations. The authors find variance among brand personality perceptions across brands, but more interestingly also within perceptions of individual brands. This result points to issues in implementing brand personalities in marketing practice. The article concludes with theoretical and managerial implications.

Brands and religious labels: a spillover perspective

Abstract With different religions mixing in many societies, religious consumer groups receive increasing attention as target segments. Trying to appeal to such religious segments, companies differentiate food products by adding religious labels (e.g. kosher or halal) to packaging. But while this makes the products more attractive to the consumers of the focal religion, adding a religious label may also impact the brand evaluation by consumers with no religious beliefs or a different religious orientation. Drawing upon social identity theory to explain the psychological basis of inter-group discrimination, and taking account of information integration theory to analyse how religious labels affect product and brand evaluations, this article aims to assess the spillover effects between religion and brand among consumers who are not part of the religious communities addressed by these labels. The findings indicate that the perception of religious labels on food packaging is influenced by the attitudes towards the religion and the brand, while the relative importance of both antecedents is dependent upon several consumer characteristics. The theoretical and managerial implications of our findings, the limitations of our work and directions for future research are discussed.

Engaging fans and the community in social media: interaction with institutions of higher education on Facebook

ABSTRACT Although many universities use social media to interact with stakeholders, little is known about the underlying mechanisms. Drawing on theories of self-presentation and community engagement, we develop a theoretical model to explain these crucial outcome factors. We then test the model based on secondary data from 159 universities. Our findings reveal the double-edged nature of community size: universities with a strong reputation tend to have more Facebook fans, but having many Facebook fans has detrimental effects on individual fan engagement. Furthermore, the frequency of updates is a crucial factor, as too frequent and too infrequent updates lead to lower levels of fan engagement. We discuss theoretical implications for online communities and derive implications for social media managers.

Understanding Conditions of Sales Force Frustration

This article attempts to advance the personal selling and sales management literature by analyzing the negative consequences that may emanate from salespeople’s daily work experiences. The overall purpose of this article is to detect holistic workplace conditions, which result in frustration experiences in the sales force. Frustration is associated with an emotional reaction caused by an event or situation that interferes with an individual’s ability to accomplish his or her day-to-day duties effectively (Keenan and Newton 1984; Spector 1999). Drawing on role theory and social identity theory, and based on previous empirical research on sales management, we focus on two major sets of factors when seeking to explain conditions resulting in frustration in the sales force. Specifically, the objective of this article is to examine how salespeople’s perceptions of role stress (Singh et al. 1994), that is, role conflict, role ambiguity and role overload, and social conflict (Spector 1987), that is, intragroup conflict, intergroup conflict, and supervisor conflict, influence the development of frustration in the workplace.

Key Performance Indicators for Measuring Employer Brand Success

The present research proposes central key performance indicators with which to measure employer brand success. Having the right key performance indicators at hand is crucial when seeking to monitor the effectiveness and efficiency of employer branding efforts. The results are based on an extensive and interdisciplinary literature review and qualitative management interviews. A quantitative survey with employees (n = 160) provides further insights regarding the use and importance of the identified indicators. Based on an exploratory factor analysis five categories of key performance indicators are identified for employer branding that cover intra-organizational, market-based, and financially relevant aspects. Academic and managerial implications as well as arising limitations are discussed.

Social Media: Harming or Enhancing Your Employer Brand Attractiveness? An Empirical Investigation

Both academics and practitioners are seeking for insights on the influences of social media on brand perceptions. In the research at hand we focus on one specific area of brand management and investigate the effect of employer evaluations on employer brand attractiveness. Employer evaluations are the evaluations employees publish about their former or current employers on websites such as Glassdoor. They represent a parallel development to consumer evaluations of products/services and have gained continuous importance as a source of formerly made experiences with potential employers. We empirically control for the effect of employer evaluations on employer brand perceptions by conducting an experimental study. The data displays a positive effect of positive evaluations on employer brand perceptions. This finding suggests a potentially enhancing effect of social media on employer brand attractiveness. In the discussion of our paper we present the academic and managerial implications and address potential limitations.