Flora Kokkinaki

The location of trait emotional intelligence in personality factor space

The construct of trait emotional intelligence (trait EI or trait emotional self-efficacy) provides a comprehensive operationalization of emotion-related self-perceptions and dispositions. In the first part of the present study (N=274, 92 males), we performed two joint factor analyses to determine the location of trait EI in Eysenckian and Big Five factor space. The results showed that trait EI is a compound personality construct located at the lower levels of the two taxonomies. In the second part of the study, we performed six two-step hierarchical regressions to investigate the incremental validity of trait EI in predicting, over and above the Giant Three and Big Five personality dimensions, six distinct criteria (life satisfaction, rumination, two adaptive and two maladaptive coping styles). Trait EI incrementally predicted four criteria over the Giant Three and five criteria over the Big Five. The discussion addresses common questions about the operationalization of emotional intelligence as a personality trait.

Assessing Marketing Performance: Reasons for Metrics Selection

In recent years both practitioners and academics have shown an increasing interest in the assessment of marketing performance. This paper explores the metrics that firms select and some reasons for those choices. Our data are drawn from two UK studies. The first reports practitioner usage by the main metrics categories (consumer behaviour and intermediate, trade customer, competitor, accounting and innovativeness). The second considers which individual metrics are seen as the most important and whether that differs by sector. The role of brand equity in performance assessment and top management orientations are key considerations. We found consistency between orientation and metrics. Within these categories we identified 19 metrics that could be regarded as primary and could therefore serve as a short-list for initial selection. However, the sector importantly moderates that selection, not least because competitive benchmarking requires similar metrics to be available. Control, orientation and institutional theories appeared to influence metrics selection and the absence of agency theory is probably due to the research method of this paper. We concluded with some propositions formally to test the basis of metrics selection.

Determinants of Effective SMS Advertising: An Experimental Study

ABSTRACT Mobile advertising has become one of the most popular applications in mobile commerce, particularly in the form of text advertising through SMS (Short Messaging Service). However, in the study of mobile advertising little is known regarding the effectiveness of SMS advertising and the factors contributing to its success. This research investigates the significance of a number of factors associated with SMS advertising effectiveness through an experimental study. The findings indicate that incentive, interactivity, appeal, product involvement, and attitude toward SMS advertising in general directly influence attitude toward the advertisement, attitude toward the brand, and purchase intention. The results of the study suggest that a stronger focus on these factors is necessary to improve the effectiveness of SMS advertising campaigns.

Measures of marketing success

A mismatch of the meaning of “success”, as perceived by researcher and the firms researched, renders research less relevant and possibly, where the firms resources are not directed at the goals selected by the researcher, misleading. This paper is concerned with the dependent variables used for business or marketing “success”, not its drivers, in seven leading marketing and strategy journals. The findings are that researcher, not respondent, views of performance dominate the literature which raises issues of relevance. Researchers are not necessarily being normative, and should be thoughtful in their selection of marketing performance objectives, i.e. the outcomes they seek to explain. A checklist of dependent variable considerations is provided together with a tentative definition of “success” against which performance may be compared.

The effect of advertising message involvement on brand attitude accessibility

Abstract This study examines the hypothesis that the level of message involvement during advertising exposure determines the accessibility of brand attitudes. Sixty-two subjects were exposed to an advertisement for an unfamiliar product under high and low involvement conditions and subsequently their brand attitudes, as well as the accessibility of these attitudes, were assessed. The results support the hypothesis as the brand attitudes formed under conditions of high advertising message involvement were significantly more accessible compared to those formed under lower levels of involvement. Findings are discussed in terms of the impact of involvement on cognitive elaboration during attitude formation and of the relation between involvement and accessibility as two dimensions of attitude strength. PsycINFO classification : 3920; 3940

Explaining attitudes towards the euro: Design of a cross-national study

AbstractThe aim of this paper is to provide essential background material relating to the accom-panying papers in this special issue. It presents a brief description of the ‘Psychology of theEuropean Monetary Union’ project. This involved a questionnaire study of attitudes towardsthe euro, which was fielded in each of the 15 member states of the European Union in thesummer of 1997. We describe the development of the common survey instrument, and outlinethe rationale and methods pursued in sampling particular conceptual domains. The paper alsodetails the sampling procedures used in each country, together with the response rates andsample sizes attained. Finally, it o•ers a brief cross-national comparison of overall attitudes tothe euro. O 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.PsycINFO classification: 2229; 3920JEL classification: D63; D84; E52; F33Keywords: Control; Currency; Euro; Expectations; Equity; European union; Economic andmonetary union; Money; National identity; Satisfaction; Values

The Degree of Ad–Brand Incongruity and the Distinction Between Schema-Driven and Stimulus-Driven Attitudes

Drawing on schema theory and advertising rhetoric, this article contributes to research on incongruent communication with three studies exploring consumer responses across different degrees of ad–brand incongruity. Study 1 reveals an inverted U-shaped pattern, indicating the superiority of moderate incongruity on ad processing time, recall, and attitude toward the ad (Aad) and the brand (Ab). Studies 2A and 2B replicate this pattern and further demonstrate that the affect already stored in the brand schema drives brand attitude formation for congruent and extremely incongruent ads, whereas both schema- and stimulus-based affect determine brand attitude for moderately incongruent ads. Study 2B also shows that participants are able to resolve ad–brand incongruity and comprehend the ad unless discrepancies are extreme. Finally, it is revealed that comprehension of more cognitively challenging ads mediates the effect of incongruity on both Aad and Ab.

Attitudes towards European Monetary Union in Greece: Antecedents, strength and consequences

Abstract The objective of the present study was twofold: First, to examine Greek peoples attitudes towards European Monetary Union (EMU) and to explore the antecedents, strength and consequences of these attitudes on intentions to support or oppose the single European currency. Second, and from a more theoretical perspective, to investigate the structure of attitude strength and the effects of strength dimensions on attitude–intention consistency. A total of 644 Greek citizens participated in the study. The findings indicate that Greeks are fairly supportive of the monetary union and are quite optimistic about its consequences. The anticipated outcomes of EMU for Greece and for Europe were found to be significant determinants of attitudes. In addition, attitudes were determined by the strength of national identity and by the more general attitudes towards the membership of Greece in the European Union. On the whole, attitudes were fairly strong and had a substantial relation with intentions. Attitude strength was found to consist of three dimensions: Embeddedness, Conviction and Internal Consistency. Only Conviction and Internal Consistency were found to have a significant moderating effect on the attitude–intention relation. Further, the moderating effect of these factors was interactive, in that either high Conviction or high Internal Consistency sufficed to make an attitude influential.

Advertising on the internet: perceptions of advertising agencies and marketing managers

While a significant number of companies have invested in internet advertising and clearly digital media continue to grow in popularity, a significant segment of organisations is still uncertain about internet advertising efficiency. The purpose of this study is to gain insights into the perceptions of both advertised firms and advertising agencies of the internet as an advertising medium in order to identify the factors that inhibit or reinforce the integration of the new medium into their strategies and to identify future trends. One hundred and 24 managers participated in this study and their responses indicate that currently internet advertising is perceived as a questionable and ineffective marketing channel. However, in the short run, marketers and agencies are willing to exploit the benefits of internet advertising.

Marketing performance measurement: which way is up?

The study reported in this paper explores the measurement of marketing performance across different business sectors. It concerns the measures collected, their relative importance and whether business characteristics (e.g. firm size, sector) differentiate such practices. The extent to which firms are satisfied with their current marketing measurement systems and the improvements sought also provide insights into how measurement is being used to enhance performance. Secondary data were collected through semi-structured interviews (n = 44) and a questionnaire-based survey (n = 531). Internal financial measures are, overall, regarded as more important measures of marketing performance than those from the market. Consistent with previous findings, customer and competitor orientation are positively associated with business performance, with customer orientation being the more important. Further, firm orientation influences how marketing is assessed in practice, e.g. customer-oriented firms tend to utilize customer based information more than firms less so oriented. Although the assessment of marketing performance requires consideration of the change of the main marketing asset, few firms formally assess brand equity for this purpose.