Donald R. Bacon

Exploring the Subtle Relationships between Environmental Concern and Ecologically Conscious Consumer Behavior

Abstract Data on the New Environmental Paradigm (NEP) scale and a scale designed to measure ecologically conscious consumer behavior (ECCR) were collected from a national mail sample of 572 respondents. The NEP and ECCB scales were factor analyzed using CCAL clustering and LISREL. This two-stage approach often identifies factors that common factor analysis overlooks. The relationships between the four resulting environmental concern dimensions of the NEP scale and ECCB were explored and discussed.

Lessons from the Best and Worst Student Team Experiences: How a Teacher can make the Difference

This study empirically identifies which teacher-controlled (contextual) variables have the greatest impact on whether the student will have a great team experience or a miserable one. The results indicate that the clarity of instructions to the team, the longevity of the team experience, and self-selection of teammates all positively affect team experiences. The level of management education, the team size, and the percentage of the course grade associated with team performance did not differ across best and worst team experiences. Contrary to previous empirical findings and conventional wisdom, the use of peer evaluations was negatively associated with good team experiences. Further insights from the data and implications for the use of student teams are discussed.

A comparison of approaches to Importance-Performance Analysis

Several different approaches have been used to undertake Importance-Performance Analysis (IPA), aka quadrant analysis or gap analysis. This study compares methods across 15 datasets and finds that the traditional 2x2 grid approach can be misleading. Using indirect (e.g. multiple regression) methods for determining importances may also be misleading. The most valid method of performing IPA is identified, and a method for confirming its validity is provided.

Composite reliability in structural equations modeling

Two composite reliability measures, coefficient alpha and coefficient omega with unit weights (otherwise known as construct reliability), are commonly used in structural equations modeling. However, a third measure, omega with unequal weights, is more theoretically appropriate. The potential for bias in reliability estimation and for errors in item selection when alpha or unit-weighted omega are used are explored under a variety of simulated conditions. The results suggest that composite reliability may be used as an assessment tool, but should not be used as an item selection tool in structural equations modeling.

The Effect of Group Projects on Content-Related Learning:

Business schools often assign student group projects to enhance student learning of course content and to build teamwork skills. However, the characteristics of effective collaborative learning tasks, including group goals and individual accountability, are often not found in student group projects assigned in business classes. The current research found that content learning was actually inhibited by the use of a group project. The results indicate that the students who completed a project in groups learned less of the project-related content than did students who completed a shortened version of the project individually. The characteristics of business school group projects, peer-learning projects, and group projects in the workplace are compared and contrasted. Implications for program and course design are discussed.

Assessing Learning Outcomes: A Comparison of Multiple-Choice and Short-Answer Questions in a Marketing Context

This study carefully examines two widely used methods for assessing marketing learning outcomes: multiple-choice tests and short-answer tests. Student scores on multiple-choice and short-answer portions of a midterm exam in consumer behavior were compared in terms of time to completion, reliability, and validity. The multiple-choice format was found to yield equivalent reliability and validity in a shorter amount of test-taking time. In contrast to some earlier studies, no gender effect was found: neither format differentially benefited men or women.

GPA in Research Studies: An Invaluable but Neglected Opportunity

Grade point average (GPA) often correlates highly with variables of interest to educational researchers and thus offers the potential to greatly increase the statistical power of their research studies. Yet this variable is often underused in marketing education research studies. The reliability and validity of the GPA are closely examined here in a research study context. These findings are combined with other published results to offer specific recommendations and examples related to how education researchers can improve their studies with the appropriate use of GPA.

Exploring Predictors of Student Team Project Performance

In a study of 49 graduate and 172 undergraduate marketing project teams, the average of the individual abilities on the team was found to predict student team performance. Team size had little effect, and gender diversity had no effect on team performance. Among graduate teams, those with a moderate amount of nationality diversity outperformed teams with high or no nationality diversity. The implications of these and other findings for course administration and team assignment are discussed.

How Fast Do Students Forget What They Learn in Consumer Behavior? A Longitudinal Study

The retention curve for knowledge acquired in a consumer behavior course is explored in a longitudinal study, tracking individual students from 8 to 101 weeks following course completion. Rasch measurement is used to link tests and to achieve intervally scaled measures of knowledge. The findings indicate that most of the knowledge gained in the course is lost within 2 years. Evidence is provided that knowledge acquired at a deep level of understanding is more likely to be retained than knowledge acquired at a surface level of understanding, and knowledge tested more than once during a course is more likely to be retained than knowledge tested only once. No significant differences in retention were observed related to material covered in a project. Implications are discussed.

Exploring Achievement Striving as a Moderator of the Grading Leniency Effect

Graduate and undergraduate students were asked to rate hypothetical teachers in a full-factorial, full-profile conjoint task. Teacher attributes of grading leniency, workload assigned, enthusiasm, and real-world orientation were manipulated. Achievement striving, a subscale of the Type A personality scale, was found to be inversely related to the tendency to give higher evaluations to lenient-grading teachers at the undergraduate level but not at the graduate level. Additional analyses and implications are discussed.