Ebru Ulusoy

Impact of social media on small businesses

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the role and economic impact that the internet, specifically websites and social media, have on small businesses. It aims to investigate the benefits available from the use of the internet and social media sites for small businesses that operate in underserved regions. Design/methodology/approach – The research utilizes a case study methodology based on two surveys and semi-structured interviews with the owners or managers of five small companies in the western mountain region of Maine, a region described as underserved by the state departments of tourism and economic development – generally economically depressed, where the businesses are often struggling to survive. Findings – Benefits from the use of websites and social media sites include an increase in awareness and inquiries, enhanced relationships with customers, an increase in the number of new customers, enhanced ability to reach customers on a global scale, and co-promotion of local businesses th...

Living a theme

Based on previous studies and theses developed on the subject by scholars from different disciplines, the authors investigate (1) if thematization is a phenomenon of our time or if it has been around for a long time, and (2) laypersons’ thoughts and feelings about thematization compared to the academic perspective. To understand the phenomenon, this article explores the construction and features of themed environments, such as Las Vegas, theme parks, and themed restaurants, as well as cities originally constructed for people to live in that can now be perceived to be themed, as in the case of San Antonio, Texas. The authors present findings from interviews conducted with visitors at the EPCOT theme park in Walt Disney World. The investigations show that intellectuals and scholars have a greater interest in maintaining a distinction between the thematic and the everyday than the ordinary public.

New paths in researching “alternative” consumption and well-being in marketing: alternative food consumption / Alternative food consumption: What is “alternative”? / Rethinking “literacy” in the adoption of AFC / Social class dynamics in AFC:

In line with the Fifth Transformative Consumer Research Conference held at Villanova University, USA, in 2015, we chaired a dialogical track that involved seven international researchers working on “alternative food system.” Among many other subjects that emerged from brainstorming, three overarching themes were identified as significantly important for furthering research on “alternative” consumption and well-being. Manna, Ulusoy, and Batat explore the meanings behind alternative food consumption and discuss the role of ideology and anti- and post-sociocultural structures in shaping AFC meanings. Peter, Batat, and Ulusoy propose to rethink “literacy” in the adoption of AFC and offer a framework that represents a blueprint in the definition of literacy considering the adoption of other sustainable alternative behaviors (e.g. vegetarian diet, car pooling, recycling). Finally, Vicdan, Batat, and Hong explore social class dynamics in AFC. The three essays suggest potential areas of research with a focus on alternative modes of consumption and well-being and contribute to the theoretical conceptualization in marketing theory.

Hedonic Dimensions of Service Learning and Their Importance for Marketing Students: An Extended Abstract

The purpose of this study is to investigate the hedonic dimensions of service learning that would persuade more students to participate in service learning and that alter the service learning experiences into transformational learning experiences. In-depth interviews with students participating in the Alternative Break (AB) program, as well as observations of AB group meetings prior to and after the AB trips, were conducted to develop a better understanding of how fun, feelings, and play have a role in service learning experiences of students. Additionally, posts of the participants on AB-related social media sites were followed and analyzed. The preliminary results suggest that some students participate in some service learning programs incidentally without any ideological or self-impression-related motivation, and their service learning experience is changed to a transformative learning experience as a result of fun, feelings, and fantasy in addition to rational aspects of the experience. The two main factors that intensify the importance of the hedonic dimensions are community and genuineness. These findings have significant implications to attract marketing students to participate in such a service learning context and to help them gain skills necessary for acting as socially responsible business people.

Strip cultures: finding America in Las Vegas

the theory found in the overarching literature about the urban existence in the United States. The style of the text will appeal to undergrads and graduate students alike. It will also be beneficial to academics looking to cast a wider net about poverty and urban studies in their background research. With the perspective as someone who has studied consumption from both a psychological and cultural perspective, this text does a lot to bring the gap, in terms of application between these two fields. Specifically, psychologists and those interested in social psychology will clearly recognize a number of influence techniques theory in practice in the examples used in this book. Much of the theory discussed and mentioned by influence expert Cialdini (1987) clearly jumps out, as does as lot of the bird’s eye view material in Kardes, Cronley, and Cline’s consumer behavior text (2014). From a cultural and ethnographic perspective, the authors’ work really acts as a billboard for deep immersion and deep context in consumption landscapes (e.g. Edirisingha, Aitken, and Ferguson 2014), where the authors truly surround themselves by the data and place few “traditional”methodological limits (see Levy 2015). The result is a rich, highly introspective series of accounts about New York City – the way it was – and the way it might really always be.

If Celebrities can do it, so can i: Me, my Celebrity and my Brand an Exploratory Investigation of Celebrity Influence on Online Personal Branding

This study explores the effect of celebrities on consumers’ online behavior. The increased presence of online consumers has led to a need to self-present, and to develop oneself as a personal brand because online social media require members to create a personal profile. Online users developed their image(s), created and shared stories, and gradually built a presence in the online world.