David M. Boush

Trustmarks, Objective-Source Ratings, and Implied Investments in Advertising: Investigating Online Trust and the Context-Specific Nature of Internet Signals

The purpose of this study is to provide a preliminary investigation of the effectiveness of Internet marketers’ various attempts to develop consumer trust through Web signals. The work is an exploration of the context-specific nature of trust in e-commerce. An online experiment compares three potential signals of trust in an Internet retail firm: (1) a third-party certification (i.e., a “trustmark”), (2) an objective-source rating (i.e., a review from Consumer Reports magazine), and (3) an implication of investment in advertising (i.e., a television advertisement to air during the Super Bowl). The trustmark had the greatest effect on perceived trustworthiness, influencing respondents’ beliefs about security and privacy, general beliefs about firm trustworthiness, and willingness to provide personal information. The relationship between Internet experience and trust was in the form of an inverted U.

Family communication and children's purchasing influence: a cross-national examination

Abstract This study examines the effect of family communication patterns on the purchasing influence of children aged 3–8 in the US and Japan. Overall, family communication processes, as well as childs age, influence both the direct and indirect purchasing power of children. Concept-oriented communication, which encourages children to develop an independent consumption perspective, increases the direct and indirect purchasing influence of children. Socio-oriented communication, which encourages deference to parental standards, is related to increased consumption dependence.

Cynicism and Conformity as Correlates of Trust in Product Information Sources

Abstract The authors examine patterns of correlation among personality variables that may be related to trust in advertising and to trust in other sources of product information. Trust in sources of product information is positively related to consumer conformity and not related to general cynicism. In addition, trust in advertising decreases as education level increases, while trust in more objective sources such as Consumer Reports increases. This pattern of relationships suggests that mistrust in advertising reflects a skeptical, discerning attitude rather than a generally cynical one. The authors argue that consumer skepticism may actually benefit advertisers who can adapt to it.

Integrating Experience, Advertising, and Electronic Word of Mouth

This study examines the influence of previous related experience, online advertising, and comments from discussion groups (both positive and negative in tone) on Internet commerce judgments. When past personal experience is favorable, an ad alone is sufficient to produce a favorable brand evaluation. When personal experience is unfavorable, electronic word of mouth influences brand attitude but neither advertising nor word of mouth has any impact on purchase intentions. Finally, it appears that when personal experience is not available, there is a positivity bias toward electronic word-of-mouth communications. Exclusively positive word-of-mouth postings combined with advertising stand out distinctly from advertising combined with either uniformly negative or mixed (positive and negative) word of mouth or advertising alone. Thus, in the complex realm of Internet commerce, significant effects have been found that highlight the importance of electronic word-of-mouth communications.

Brand Name Effects on Interproduct Similarity Judgments

Data are presented demonstrating that similarity judgments between pairs of product categories can be asymmetrical and that brand name associations can reverse the direction of asymmetry. Brand name associations can, but do not necessarily, increase perceived similarity between product categories. The results support the view that similarity judgments between product categories are highly relative and context dependent. Because similarity plays a key role in models of affect transfer between branded products, similarity asymmetry has direct implications for brand extension strategy. Companies may be able to minimize the risk of brand extension to core products by accentuating the variant status of the extensions.

Why, how and to what effect do firms deviate from their intended marketing plans?: Towards a taxonomy of post plan improvisations

Purpose – Very little is known about why, how and to what effect firms deviate from intended marketing plans. The aim of this paper is to extend the understanding of this phenomenon, post plan improvisation (PPI), and begin to identify and categorize such deviations along with their apparent causes and outcomes. Design/methodology/approach – Using the critical incident technique, 384 incidents of PPI were gathered and systematically classified from marketing planners (managers who use marketing planning software) on six different continents using an online survey. Findings – The principal contributions of this study are: the systematic development of a taxonomy for post-plan improvisations; the reported frequencies associated with those categories; and tentative findings regarding relationships between the causes, deviations, and success of PPI. Improvisations that were prompted by changes in external market factors were more likely to be judged by planners as having been successful than those made for re...