Florian Kohlbacher

The effects of brand‐cause fit and campaign duration on consumer perception of cause‐related marketing in Japan

– This studys first objective is to experimentally examine the effect of brand‐cause fit and campaign duration on company and brand image, commercial objectives and buying intention as perceived by Japanese consumers. Second, the study aims to evaluate the moderating role of gender and participation in philanthropic activities on the impact of cause‐related marketing (CrM) programs in Japan., – An experimental design was used with 196 Japanese subjects completing a survey online., – A high brand‐cause fit was found to elicit more positive attitudes toward the CrM program than campaign duration. Japanese female respondents were showing more favorable attitudes than men, confirming results in previous research studies conducted in the West. Previous participation in philanthropic activities was also found to increase positive attitudes especially when brand‐cause fit and duration were high., – The experiment relied on fictitious advertising materials. Many respondents were students from the greater Tokyo area. This may make it difficult to generalize findings to a broader population., – Results show that CrM campaigns in Japan are viewed more positively when consumers perceive a good match between the brand and the cause. Japanese marketers targeting women and consumers with philanthropic experience are likely to benefit by supporting matching social causes., – This paper is the first to contribute to better understanding of the impact of CrM in Japan. It does confirm the gender effect previously observed in western countries.

Product Development for the Silver Market

The accelerated aging of many populations and the demographic shift are expected to have major implications for innovation management and new product development across all industries. One major challenge lies in the assessment and understanding of the needs of the silver market, since chronological age by itself is not a sufficient segmentation criterion. A promising dimension is the need for autonomy, which increases with age and which is correlated to social isolation and other individual drawbacks. Thus, focusing on autonomy as a guideline for developing products and services that support people in maintaining or regaining their independence is a viable approach to developing innovation for the silver market, hence “silver products.” In this chapter, we present four cases from different industry settings where silver products were developed that help users to sustain or regain autonomy in combination with different functions (e.g., hearing, continence, vision). We present different approaches to technological and functional complexity and newness in these innovation projects, and depict related approaches to marketing and market research.

Japan’s growing silver market – An attractive business opportunity for foreign companies?

Japan is often considered a lead market for silver products as it is the country that has experienced the most dramatic demographic change. It has been labelled the most advanced in terms of product development and innovation, with – at least according to the stereotypical view – very affluent, free-spending, and demanding customers. The deeply rooted changes in the structure of Japan’s population raise a number of critical questions that companies need to address. The impact of demographic change on human resource management, marketing management, sales, and other business functions is tremendous.

The representation of older people in television advertisements and social change: the case of Japan

ABSTRACT The representation of social groups in advertising has been a major concern in academia. However, research focusing on older people has been scant and mainly conducted in Western countries. In Japan, the country that has been most affected by demographic change, this research area has received little attention. Through a content analysis of a systematic sample of 2,972 television advertisements broadcast on the five major commercial television stations in Japan in 1997 and 2007, this paper tries to fill this research gap, examining changes in the representation of older people in Japanese television advertising. When comparing 2007 to 1997, we found that older people appeared more often, were increasingly alone and in major roles, and were portrayed in more favourable ways, which suggests that their status changed. These changes appear to be related to the fact that older people have become more important within Japanese society. However, some aspects have remained unchanged; older people continue to be under-represented, which does not reflect demographic reality, and are used in advertisements for foods and beverages, confirming findings from previous studies. Our findings indicate that the representation of older people in Japanese television advertising has changed but remains unrealistic.

Japan's demographic revolution? A study of advertising practitioners' views on stereotypes

This article presents results from a survey of advertising practitioners in Japan focusing on their opinions about the communication objectives and stereotypes, specifically the effectiveness of older spokespersons, their general views on older models in advertising and the effectiveness of older models by product category. We find that these opinions are rather positive. The intention to use a larger number of older models is affected by the perceived effectiveness of older spokespersons and the expected increase in older models and client interest. When targeting an older audience, older spokespersons are seen as particularly effective for the product category of health/medical, but for a general audience it is financial services/insurance. Regardless of product category, they are perceived more effective when targeting an older versus a general audience and when targeting aged 50–64 versus 65 plus.

Does A Major Earthquake Change Attitudes and Well-Being Judgments? A Natural Experiment

Does a major natural disaster change life satisfaction? This study is a rare natural experiment, in which roughly half of the respondents completed the survey before and the other half completed it after the Great East Japan Earthquake of March 11, 2011. A series of regression discontinuity design analyses showed that those who completed the survey after the earthquake reported being less satisfied with their lives than those who happened to complete the survey before the earthquake. There were no discontinuity on demographic variables and other consumer attitudes. The main findings remained virtually unchanged when we controlled for Big Five personality traits and demographic variables. Together, the current findings suggest that the experience of a major natural disaster changes their life satisfaction at least in the short run.

Older Consumers' Adoption of Innovation in Japan: The Mediating Role of Cognitive Age

ABSTRACT This study proposes a new model integrating the three constructs of Cognitive Age (CA), Technological Anxiety (TA), and Global Consumer Innovativeness (GCI) to test their impact on actual adoption of innovative high-tech products by Japanese consumers. A measurement model is first validated and a structural equations model is fitted to a large representative sample of senior consumers in Japan. CA is found to be significantly positively related to TA and negatively related to GCI. With TA negatively impacting GCI, GCI is found to be positively related to number of adopted and used high-tech innovations. In addition, CA is found to play a mediating role on the relationship between consumer demographic background variables and the constructs of TA and GCI. A two-age group analysis reveals a moderation effect of actual age on the relationship between CA and GCI. Theoretical contributions to the role of the three constructs of the model to help predict adoption of innovations are discussed as well as managerial recommendations in relation to statistically significant background variables.

Older people’s adoption of e-learning services: a qualitative study of facilitators and barriers

ABSTRACT This research investigates the facilitators and barriers for older people to adopt e-learning services using qualitative data of older people in a Chinese city. A qualitative approach was applied to explore the perceived facilitators and obstacles toward e-learning adoption with 10 older Chinese aged over 50. The results indicate the following: (1a) Age-related changes and cohort effects were found to be the internal barriers for the adoption of e-learning. (1b) Equipment problems, lack of time, and the availability of alternatives were found to have negative effects on the acceptance of e-learning services. It is notable that alternatives including the University of the Third Age (U3A) were found to be more attractive for older Chinese. (2a) Work requirements and flexibility of e-learning services were found to have direct effects on the acceptance of services. (2b) User-friendly design and stimulation from family would facilitate older people to adopt. Practical implications of this research include that policymakers should consider investing more in education in later life and introducing e-learning services in public lectures and tutorials and that the age-related barrier should be taken into consideration in the design phase of e-learning services. U3As should consider integrating e-learning approaches and cooperating with the community.