Elyria Kemp

Place branding: creating self‐brand connections and brand advocacy

Purpose – The purpose of this research is to investigate how branding theories can be applied to place branding. It aims to examine how internal stakeholders, specifically a citys residents, are fundamental in the brand‐building process.Design/methodology/approach – A conceptual model with a theoretical basis in the branding literature is developed to illuminate the antecedents of self‐brand connection and brand advocacy in the context of city branding. The model is then tested using structural equation analysis on a sample of residents from an American city that has taken a cultural/entertainment approach to its branding efforts.Findings – Findings indicate that brand associations, including attitude toward the branding efforts of the city, perceived quality of the brand and the uniqueness of the brand, are crucial in the branding and positioning efforts of a city to its residents. When strong brand associations exist, residents may develop such a connection to the brand that it becomes reflective of th...

The role of advertising in consumer emotion management

Consumer research has demonstrated that emotions play an important role in the decisionmaking process. Individuals may use consumption or purchasing as a way to manage their emotions. This research develops a model to help explain the process by which individuals engage in consumption to manage their emotions, and examines the efficacy of an advertisement for a hedonic product that uses affect-laden language to stimulate such a process. Results suggest that favourable emotional responses from an advertisement can lead to positive attitudes towards the advertisement, prefactual thinking in the form of hedonic rationalisations and greater behavioural intentions. Additionally, guilt from consuming and purchasing these hedonic products can be mitigated, which is also associated with greater behavioural intentions. Findings have implications for marketers and advertisers of hedonic products.

Pulling on the Heartstrings: Examining the Effects of Emotions and Gender in Persuasive Appeals

Charities and nonprofits often solicit donations from private individuals. These organizations may use persuasive appeals that contain emotional content to encourage individuals to render their support. Research in consumer behavior has established a link between emotional persuasive appeals and prosocial behavior. In three experiments, this research examines the efficacy of two common emotions—pride and sympathy—in charitable appeals. Biological sex and gender roles are examined as potential moderators of emotion. In addition, a classification for donors based on the motives they may have for engaging in prosocial behaviors is suggested. Strategies for segmentation and targeting individuals with specific emotional appeals are illuminated.

Healthcare branding: developing emotionally based consumer brand relationships

Purpose – Brands can imbue unique meaning to consumers, and such meaning and personal experience with a brand can create an emotional connection and relationship between the consumer and the brand. Just as many service providers have adopted branding strategies, marketers are branding the health care service experience. Health care is an intimate service experience and emotions play an integral role in health care decision making. The purpose of this paper is to examine how emotional or affect-based consumer brand relationships are developed for health care organizations. Design/methodology/approach – Empirical evidence from both depth interviews and data garnered from 322 surveys were integrated into a conceptual model. The model was tested using structural equation modeling. Findings – Results indicate that trust, referent influence and corporate social responsibility are key variables in establishing affective commitment in consumer brand relationships in a health care context. Once affective commitmen...

The impact of marketing on internal stakeholders in destination branding: The case of a musical city

The city and destination branding literatures stress the importance of brand image, with an emphasis on achieving differential and competitive positioning. However, an important part of building a successful branding strategy for a city or region is examining the needs of internal stakeholders. This research examines the impact that the marketing of a city or region’s brand has on internal stakeholders, specifically its residents. It seeks to address how selected elements of the marketing mix impact destination branding and how such marketing activity leads to residents eventually becoming committed to the destination’s branding efforts. Once committed and loyal to the brand, it proposes that residents may feel such a strong connection to the branding efforts of the destination, that the brand becomes aligned with their self-concept, and that they begin to serve as “evangelists” for the brand, actively promoting the destination via word of mouth. As a result, a civic consciousness is created that helps to strengthen the destination’s brand management system, especially as it is introduced to external constituents, such as potential tourists.

The Fight Against Obesity: Influences of Self-Efficacy on Exercise Regularity

Given the current social problem of obesity, past and current research efforts have examined consumer choice and decisionmaking regarding food consumption. However, preventative health behaviors such as exercise are also instrumental in combating the obesity epidemic. Limited studies in the marketing literature have explored how internal and psychological characteristics influence physical activity and exercise regularity. Thus, this study seeks to examine how individual self-efficacy impacts exercise behavior. Findings indicate that in order to fully explain the relationship between perceived self-efficacy and exercise regularity, significant mediating factors such as health consciousness, goal progress, attitude toward exercise, and satisfaction with current weight must be included in the decision-making process. Implications for consumers, social marketers, and public policy makers are discussed.

Sales manager support: fostering emotional health in salespeople

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of sales manager support in promoting the subjective well‐being of salespeople as well as the function of the sales manager in cultivating positive, motivating and productive environments.Design/methodology/approach – An exploratory assessment of the relationship between sales manager support and emotional health in salespeople was conducted by interviewing sales professionals from diverse industries. The insight offered from these individuals, in conjunction with prior literature, provided the basis for the development of a conceptual model that elucidates the impact of sales manager support on the emotional well‐being of salespeople and subsequently salesperson effectiveness. The model was tested using 154 salespeople. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data.Findings – Results indicate that sales manager support is negatively related to emotional exhaustion and rumination, but positively associated with fostering positive worki...

Six days on the road

Purpose – This research aims to examine the stressors that professional truck drivers experience and the impact these stressors may have on road safety.Design/methodology/approach – Both quantitative and qualitative data gathered from 435 professional drivers measured attitudes and behaviors related to safety and compliance. Interviews with professional truck drivers provided an assessment of the stressors that they experience. The insights offered from these individuals were then integrated into a conceptual model. The model was tested via data collected through surveys administered to drivers using structural equation modeling.Findings – Results from the interviews, as well as the results from the survey administered to professional drivers, suggest that truck drivers experience severe time pressures. Such time pressures create stress which can lead to physical fatigue and emotional exhaustion. Further, both of these debilitating conditions are related to negative attitudes about safety compliance and t...

Emotions in the Classroom: Examining Environmental Factors and Student Satisfaction

Education shares many similarities with service delivery in the business sector. The student often experiences the total service within the classroom. Marketers in retail stores and the hotel and hospitality industry have long acknowledged the ability of the physical environment to influence behaviors and therefore make concerted efforts to create environments that generate emotional responses from consumers. This research considers the role that environmental factors and students’ affective responses play in contributing to overall student satisfaction. Implications for higher education are provided.

Stimulating and Enhancing Student Learning Through Positive Emotions

Research has demonstrated that the frequent experience of positive emotions can help in fostering subjective well-being. This research investigates how the experience of positive emotions by students in the classroom environment can stimulate and enhance learning behaviors. Findings indicate that the experience of positive emotions in the classroom is positively related to student motivation as well as behaviors that are likely to lead to academic success, such as studying, attending class, participating in classroom discussions, and performing additional activities outside of class to enhance understanding. Individuals who expressed these higher motivational levels also had more optimistic academic achievement outlooks. Additionally, results suggest that the experience of positive emotions is negatively related to emotional exhaustion. Implications for hospitality and business educators are discussed.