Iain Black

Intentional Non-consumption for Sustainability: Consumer Resistance and/or Anti-Consumption?

Purpose – This paper aims to contribute to the special issue theme by analysing intentional non‐consumption through anti‐consumption and consumer resistance lenses.Design/methodology/approach – A total of 16 in‐depth interviews with women who intentionally practise non‐consumption for sustainability were completed.Findings – Two major themes where identified: I versus them: the careless consumers, and The objective/subjective dialectic in mundane practices.Originality/value – While it is tempting to delineate one concept from another, in practice, both anti‐consumption and consumer resistance intersect and represent complementary frameworks in studying non‐consumption.

The presentation of interpretivist research

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to offer a debate addressing the following issue: how can words fully express the meaning inherent in our observations, personal interviews and pictures when so much of it is subtle, hidden and contextually bound?Design/methodology/approach – A debate is proposed regarding how we present our rich, meaningful data in the journals that Belk, Arnould, Wallendorf, and Holbrook (amongst others) have worked so hard to open to us. In so doing, we may be able to demonstrate more fully the power and insight that is offered by this research paradigm.Findings – In 2001 Baraldi and Bocconcelli asked how we could possibly understand the beauty and magnificence of a Caravaggio masterpiece by reading a description of its colours, the intensity of each shade, the size of the details and the dimensions of the frame? Similarly, this paper contends that the interpretivist community should contemplate the rules (real or perceived) under which we publish our work.Originality/value – The ...

Food or Medicine? Choice Factors for Functional Foods

Abstract Functional foods offer consumers a range of products that contain modified ingredients to treat specific diseases. The value of this product category has grown considerably since its introduction over a decade ago. This paper reports on qualitative research conducted into the choice criteria used for functional foods. It then compares these to the categories outlined in Khans food choice model (1981) in order to determine whether functional foods should be treated as a food choice purchase. The findings of this research show that functional food can be treated as a food purchase because most of the choice influences found can be categorised into Khans conceptualisation. However, additions and redefinitions are suggested. A separate category for family influence was found, as was the requirement to redefine “nutrition” within the model to accommodate the curative benefits of functional foods.

Appealing to men and women using sexual appeals in advertising: In the battle of the sexes, is a truce possible?

Sexual appeals remain a very popular advertising technique yet questions regarding their use remain, including how they can be used to appeal to men and women simultaneously. Literature examining what men and women find sexually appealing and the body language used to signal relationship status guided development of two appeal types: ‘Intimate’ portrayed a couple in an intimate stable relationship, whereas ‘Objectified’ showed them as sexual objects. These were combined with different levels of nudity and product relevance and studied experimentally. As expected, both genders preferred intimate appeals though they only rated low nudity intimate adverts for relevant products positively.

A grounded theory of doctors' information search behaviour. Implications for information provision, pharmaceutical market entry and development

This research examines the information search and usage behaviour of physicians when they choose pharmaceutical treatments for their patients. It details this behaviour, its causes, variations and information sources. Grounded Theory was used, with data collection primarily based on depth interviews with primary and secondary care physicians. Two main categories of search behaviour emerged and were labelled self-referencing and surrogating. Self-referencing describes the process where physicians first use internal, patient case experiences to discover behavioral patterns for the successful treatment of patients. If insufficient confidence is held in their internal knowledge, physicians will attempt to use the patient case experience of external sources and surrogate this experience as their own. Recommendations are made regarding matching the information usage behaviors of physicians with that provided by organisations and marketing outputs.

Transformative Ethical/Sustainable Consumption Research

Ethical and sustainable consumption has burgeoned as a research topic for over four decades, with early work in the 1970s considering the profile and consumption behaviors of the “socially conscious” consumer niche (e.g., Anderson & Cunningham, 1972; Webster, 1975; Brooker, 1976; Mayer, 1976; Scott, 1977). Yet, it can be argued that these decades of research effort have done little to shift the consumption patterns of the mainstream. Overall levels of consumption and the disposable society continue to rise, while market shares of ethical and sustainable products and services remain low (Bray, Johns, & Kilburn, 2011). These consumption trends continue despite the backdrop of climate change, increased visibility of labor practices in developing countries, and global economic crisis. In response to this, we argue that the time to simply describe the phenomenon has passed, and we must now focus our attention on the practical actions that can be taken to bridge this gap. In this special section of the Journal of Nonprofit & Public Sector Marketing, we draw upon the lens of transformational research that “benefits consumer welfare and quality of life for all beings affected by consumption across the world” (Association for Consumer Research, 2012), to help achieve this and to provide actionable insights for managers and policymakers. Recent literature reveals the divide between the production of academic marketing research and the activities of marketing practitioners (Ankers &

Up, Up and Fading Away: the Work and Family Life of Executive International Travellers

Abstract This paper explores the work-life issues faced by executives of a global professional services organisation whose roles involve frequent air travel. It highlights how this aspect of their work, while boosting and advancing the worker’s career, can lead to stress, a progressive disconnection from family, friends and work colleagues and, for men at least, a loss of role within the family unit. The paper questions the organisation’s lack of proactive intervention in the management of this travel and its consequences, and issues a reminder about its legal responsibility to its workers.

Designing and Implementing Internet Questionnaires Using Microsoft Excel

Over the past ten years, the use of the Internet and e-mail as communication tools has become ubiquitous. In the survey arena, the rising costs of gathering data have been partly compensated by the use of the internet and e-based technologies which offer a range of new, relatively cost effective survey design and delivery options. This paper reports on two studies where Microsoft Excel was used to design and gather data without the additional investment associated with specialist programs. Study one examines the development of a multi-attribute survey conducted to create a new scale using a local (Australian) population of students. The second describes the use of Excel in a stated choice experiment that was sent to an international sample of museum managers. These studies show that it requires minimal programming skill on behalf of the researcher whilst offering the many of the cost, administrative and questionnaire design benefits seen with specialist software and Internet delivery. We conclude that Microsoft Excel can be considered when designing online surveys as it provides a wide range of features and benefits that allow for flexible, rich instrument design and fast, potentially accurate, data collection, checking and entry.

Fly-posting: An exploration of a ‘controversial’ medium

This paper investigates the concept of a controversial medium focussing on fly posting and provides insights into the attitudes held on it, the controversies surrounding it, its media effects, and on how these issues affect sponsoring organisations. Overall, the findings from the group depth interviews paint an attractive picture for potential users, as target groups of younger informants hold positive overall attitudes towards the medium. Indeed, rather than offending, fly postings illegality and covert use were found to further enhance its ability to communicate effectively with this group. In contrast, older respondents held a range of negative views, suggesting that fly posting is not inherently controversial but it can become so in combination with audience and executional factors. Our main contribution is that we provide evidence on which to caution organisations about putting the goal of engaging with youth segments above their responsibility to other customer groups, employees, and society.

Changing the narrative in our relationship with consumption

REF Compliant by Deposit in other institutions Repository: Glasgows repository on 24/10/2016: http://eprints.gla.ac.uk/130553/