Gary Davies

Segmenting the market for food shoppers using attitudes to shopping and to time

Market segmentation in retailing can be based on traditional demographic measures of the customer base or on other measures including shoppers’ motivations. One criticism of existing approaches is that they are not based on a theoretical model of consumer behaviour. In this paper the potential for time allocation theory to provide the necessary theoretical underpinning is investigated. It is argued that attitudes to time underpin attitudes to time‐consuming activities such as food shopping. A questionnaire instrument was developed to measure five time attitudes (past, present and future orientation, time pressure and succession) and five shopping attitudes (apathy, convenience, enjoyment, shopping as a routine activity and as an event). Correlations are hypothesised between the time and shopping attitudes and shopping behaviour. The results of a survey of shoppers are reported to test these relationships. Cluster analysis is used on the shopping and time attitudes to define four segments. The ability of the clusters to identify differences in retail patronage is tested. The relative ability of time and shopping attitudes to predict patronage is compared with traditional demographic measures and the distance from the respondent’s home to the store. Attitudes to time were found to contribute more frequently in describing actual behaviour than other types of variable.

GWAS meta-analysis reveals novel loci and genetic correlates for general cognitive function: a report from the COGENT consortium

The complex nature of human cognition has resulted in cognitive genomics lagging behind many other fields in terms of gene discovery using genome-wide association study (GWAS) methods. In an attempt to overcome these barriers, the current study utilized GWAS meta-analysis to examine the association of common genetic variation (~8M single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) with minor allele frequency ⩾1%) to general cognitive function in a sample of 35u2009298 healthy individuals of European ancestry across 24 cohorts in the Cognitive Genomics Consortium (COGENT). In addition, we utilized individual SNP lookups and polygenic score analyses to identify genetic overlap with other relevant neurobehavioral phenotypes. Our primary GWAS meta-analysis identified two novel SNP loci (top SNPs: rs76114856 in the CENPO gene on chromosome 2 and rs6669072 near LOC105378853 on chromosome 1) associated with cognitive performance at the genome-wide significance level (P<5 × 10−8). Gene-based analysis identified an additional three Bonferroni-corrected significant loci at chromosomes 17q21.31, 17p13.1 and 1p13.3. Altogether, common variation across the genome resulted in a conservatively estimated SNP heritability of 21.5% (s.e.=0.01%) for general cognitive function. Integration with prior GWAS of cognitive performance and educational attainment yielded several additional significant loci. Finally, we found robust polygenic correlations between cognitive performance and educational attainment, several psychiatric disorders, birth length/weight and smoking behavior, as well as a novel genetic association to the personality trait of openness. These data provide new insight into the genetics of neurocognitive function with relevance to understanding the pathophysiology of neuropsychiatric illness.

Business to business branding: external and internal satisfiers and the role of training quality

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to consider whether the affective components of brand association influence the key stakeholders of business‐to‐business (B2B) brands. The aim is to demonstrate the importance of branding to organisations involved only in B2B markets by testing three hypotheses: that the customers affective brand associations predict satisfaction with the company; that customer and employee affective brand associations correlate, and; that the better the training employees believe they receive, the stronger their affective brand associations and the higher their satisfaction with the organisation.Design/methodology/approach – The paper uses a survey of the customers (280) and employees (367) of two construction companies involved only in B2B markets using a multidimensional measure of corporate brand personality. Structural equation modelling and regression are used to test the hypotheses.Findings – Customer satisfaction is predicted by corporate brand personality. The customer view...

Gifts and Gifting

The terms gift and gifting are rarely formally defined, but are associated with something given without receiving payment, often in the expectation of reciprocation and of changing the relationship with the recipient. Extensive prior work across a number of disciplines tends to focus on gifting as a process and shows a broad conceptualization of the gift construct to include actions as diverse as charitable giving, tipping, self-gifting and volunteering, where relationship development and reciprocation are largely irrelevant. As a way to develop the area, two proposals are made: first, that gifting research should recognize two different types of gift, transactional and relational; and second, that the exchange paradigm and its underpinning social exchange theory should become central in developing understanding of relational gifting. The authors argue that empirical researchers may usefully revisit the relational paradigm, but by adopting a more quantitative, modelling approach, and the paper illustrates how this might be achieved.

The reputation of the party leader and of the party being led

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the similarity of the reputation of political leaders with those of their parties and to assess the claim of causal links.Design/methodology/approach – A multidimensional measure of brand personality is used to measure the reputation among voters of the three main parties and their leaders in two surveys each prior to British General Elections in 2001 and 2005.Findings – The reputations of leader and party are highly correlated, but statistically distinct in both studies. The leaders reputation appears to influence that of the party more than vice versa. However, the decline in Tony Blairs reputation between 2001 and 2005 appears to have influenced more those loyal to other parties.Research limitations/implications – Further work would be useful to compare the relative value of cognitive and affective measures of reputation, particularly in predicting voting behaviour.Practical implications – The findings emphasise the role of the leaders reputation in ...

The leader's role in managing reputation

The leader of an organisation has a central role in managing reputation. Leaders can personify their company to many different stakeholders. Their personality will influence that of the organisation they lead. In a crisis internal and external stakeholders may insist that the leader accepts a prominent role. Research indicates that while the reputation of the leader and organisation are distinct from one another, they are strongly associated. Where the leader adopts the role of company spokesperson nearly half of corporate reputation may emanate from his or her own image. Other senior managers, for example the manager of a local branch, should also recognise their role in managing reputation among employees and among the local customer base and community.

Corporate misconduct and the loss of trust

Purpose n n n n nThis paper aims to identify a typology of corporate misconduct affecting trust; to test the relative ability of individual misconducts to reduce trust and; to explain differences in how individuals respond to corporate crises. n n n n nDesign/methodology/approach n n n n nThe main research design uses conjoint analysis. Respondents (n = 404) rated eight combinations of six types of misconduct, identified from prior work on trust as likely to reduce trust. Initial levels of trust were established by varying both country of origin and product type. n n n n nFindings n n n n nThe importance ranking for the six types was consistent across most conditions, with “bending the law” and “not telling the truth” as the most salient and “acting unfairly” and “acting irresponsibly” as the least salient in damaging trust. The characteristics of the respondent influenced the effect size. n n n n nPractical implications n n n n nAs loss of trust represents loss of reputation, understanding how and when the framing of misconduct damages trust is important in managing reputation risk. The impact of any report of misconduct can be moderated if attributed by a company, the media or the individual, to a type that is less damaging to trust. n n n n nOriginality/value n n n n nThis study adds to our understanding as to why individuals respond differently to corporate misconduct, and contributes to prior work on reputation damage. The typology of corporate misconduct developed and tested here offers a different framework for researchers and practitioners with which to explore loss of trust and to develop existing crisis communication theory.

When employer brand image aids employee satisfaction and engagement

Purpose n n n n nThe purpose of this paper is to test whether employee characteristics (age, gender, role and experience) influence the effects of employer brand image, for warmth and competence, on employee satisfaction and engagement. n n n n nDesign/methodology/approach n n n n nMembers of the public were surveyed as to their satisfaction and engagement with their employer and their view of their employer brand image. Half were asked to evaluate their employer’s “warmth” and half its “competence”. The influence of employee characteristics was tested on a “base model” linking employer image to satisfaction and engagement using a mediated moderation model. n n n n nFindings n n n n nThe base model proved valid; satisfaction partially mediates the influence of employer brand image on engagement. Age, experience gender, and whether the role involved customer contact moderate both the influence of the employer brand image and of satisfaction on engagement. n n n n nPractical implications n n n n nEngagement varies with employee characteristics, and both segmenting employees and promoting the employer brand image differentially to specific groups are ways to counter this effect. n n n n nOriginality/value n n n n nThe contexts in which employer brand image can influence employees in general and specific groups of employees in particular are not well understood. This is the first empirical study of the influence of employer brand image on employee engagement and one of few that considers the application of employee segmentation.

Brand personality: theory and dimensionality

Purpose n n n n nThis paper aims to critique human personality as a theory underpinning brand personality and to propose instead a theory from human perception, and by doing so, to identify universally relevant dimensions. n n n n nDesign/methodology/approach n n n n nA review of published measures of brand personality, a re-analysis of two existing data bases and the analysis of one new database are used to argue and test for the dimensions derived from perception theory. n n n n nFindings n n n n nExisting work on brand personality suggests 16 separate dimensions for the construct, but some appear common to most measures. When non-orthogonal rotation is used to re-analyse existing trait data on brand personality, three dimensions derived from signalling and associated theory can emerge: sincerity (e.g. warm, friendly and agreeable), competence (e.g. competent, effective and efficient) and status (e.g. prestigious, elegant and sophisticated). The first two are common to most measures, status is not. n n n n nResearch limitations/implications n n n n nThree dimensions derived from signalling and associated theory are proposed as generic, relevant to all contexts and cultures. They can be supplemented by context specific dimensions. n n n n nPractical implications n n n n nMeasures of these three dimensions should be included in all measures of brand personality. n n n n nOriginality/value n n n n nPrior work on brand personality has focussed on identifying apparently new dimensions for the construct. While most work is not theoretically based, some have argued for the relevance of human personality. That model is challenged, and an alternative approach to both theory and analysis is proposed and successfully tested.