James W. Gentry

Building Understanding of the Domain of Consumer Vulnerability

Consumer vulnerability is a sometimes misunderstood or misused concept that is equated erroneously with demographic characteristics, stigmatization, consumer protection, unmet needs, discrimination, or disadvantage. This article seeks to clarify the boundaries for what is and what is not consumer vulnerability. By explicating the key themes of consumer vulnerability from previous studies in the consumer research and marketing literatures, the authors build a definition and model to explain that consumer vulnerability is multidimensional, context specific, and does not have to be enduring. The authors clarify that multiple and simultaneous internal and external factors contribute to consumer experiences of vulnerability. They conclude by proposing some ways the consumer-driven definition of consumer vulnerability can be implemented into research and policy decisions. Most important, their implementation focuses on treating consumers as they wish to be treated, not as well-meaning others think they should be treated, and on directing policy toward facilitating individual empowerment.

Stuck in the Model Trap: The Effects of Beautiful Models in Ads on Female Pre-Adolescents and Adolescents

Abstract One of advertisings “unintended effects” is the impact highly attractive models may have on female pre-adolescents and adolescents. Using social comparison theory as a framework, the authors propose that young girls compare their physical attractiveness with that of advertising models and, subsequently, their self-perceptions and self-esteem may be affected, depending on the motive for social comparison. They report a study with a mixed-model design in which motive was manipulated. Girls in grades four, six, and eight participated. The results suggest that motive is important, as support was found for all hypotheses. However, the support was not consistent across all grades or for all dependent variables. The authors consider possible reasons for the inconsistency and discuss the implications of the findings for advertisers and educators.

Cultural Values Reflected in Theme and Execution: A Comparative Study of U.S. and Korean Television Commercials

Abstract This study develops a cross-cultural content analysis framework to examine underlying cultural dimensions: individualism/collectivism, time orientation, relationship with nature, and contextuality. Most cross-cultural content analyses have inferred that differences in execution have been due to assumed cultural differences in the societies examined (often based on the work of Hofstede [1980]); the development of the structure proposed here will allow the direct investigation of those cultural issues. Television commercials from the U.S. and Korea were selected as being representative of North American and East Asian commercials. Both countries are present-time oriented, and while individualism and collectivism are prevalent in both cultures, individualism is more dominant in the U.S. Korean commercials stress oneness-with-nature slightly more than U.S. commercials, and U.S. commercials use more direct approaches. Directions for refinement and future research are identified.

Ethnic consumer reaction to targeted marketing: A theory of intercultural accommodation

Abstract Marketers are increasingly recognizing the growing power of ethnic groups, and are responding with targeted marketing efforts. Targeted communications often draw on various references to the ethnic culture in an attempt to enhance communication with and gain the approval of the intended audience. However, research on how such accommodation efforts may be received is lacking. Drawing on a variety of disciplines, the authors develop a theory of intercultural accommodation to fill that gap. The proposed model views the consumer as having both affective and attributional responses to a targeted communication. The consequences of the response are proposed to influence the consumers evaluation, comprehension, and recall of the message, and to influence behavioral intentions toward the communicator.

Family transitions during grief: Discontinuities in household consumption patterns

Abstract One of the most disruptive transitions faced by a household is the death of one of its members, which causes a discontinuity in household consumption patterns. A phenomenological study of the household transition due to death of a loved one was conducted and several themes were discovered: the sanctification of the loved ones possessions, communication problems in households in which a child was lost, and role structure changes in households in which a spouse was lost.

Consumer acculturation processes and cultural conflict: How generalizable is a North American model for marketing globally?

Abstract Most marketers in the United States base their marketing strategies regarding ethnic groups on the implicit assumption that an assimilation model exists, that minority cultures will move linearly toward the host culture. We investigate the generality of acculturation models developed in North America to the acculturation processes occurring among the Muslim and Chinese subcultures in southern Thailand. A measure of attitudinal acculturation developed in the U.S. was found to work well across ethnic groups in Thailand, but a language preference measure did not yield comparable data. The behavioral and attitudinal dimensions of acculturation appear to be relatively independent.

Relationship Development in Selling: A Cognitive Analysis

Recent research has suggested that trust and relationship-building contribute to the effectiveness of salespeople. This paper reviews the literature on the cognitive selling paradigm and the influence of knowledge structures on the relationship-building process. Next, two recent studies (Anglin 1990; Szymanski 1987) which investigated knowledge, relationship development, and sales performance are reviewed. The findings from these studies imply that a fundamental difference may exist in the manner in which higher and lower performing salespeople perceive the selling process. Higher performers placed greater emphasis on establishing “trust” and also preferred to find out information about the prospect before reciprocating with information about themselves. Lower performers, on the other hand, preferred to disclose information about themselves before obtaining personal information about the prospect.

Fashion Involvement: An Instrument Validation Procedure:

The purchase of apparel items is classified as a high involvement activity. A majority of the involvement research deals with product-specific measures of involvement. Recently, a general measure of involvement, the Personal Involvement Inventory (PII), was developed to be used across a wide variety of product categories (Zaichkowsky, 1985). One objective of this study was to use the PII to determine womens fashion apparel involvement across two fashion-oriented groups. In addition, the measures convergent validity was investigated by comparing its performance with two product-specific involvement measures. The sample consisted of two groups, womens specialty store customers (n=220), aged 30-50, and female home economics students (n=103), aged 18-20. Data were collected through a questionnaire distributed to both groups. Both groups were more highly involved with apparel than the Zaichkowsky groups were with most other products, cars being the lone exception. Despite its more general form, the PII demonstrated convergent validity in that the intercorrelations between the three involvement measures were signiricant (p < .01). Results indicated that the PII is both a reliable and valid measure of the involvement construct.

Resource Allocation in Households with Women as Chief Wage Earners

Resource theory and the human capital argument remain the dominant theoretical perspectives for understanding household choice. Yet households in which wives earn more than their husbands do not reflect either one, possibly due to the assumption in these perspectives that all resources are pooled. Two studies investigated household resource allocation. The first found that when the woman was the chief wage earner, joint pools of money were used to cover routine expenses but separate pools were also used for several reasons. The second study investigated the apparent differences in wife-as-chief-earner households and husband-as-chief-earner households and found support for the results of the first. (c) 2005 by JOURNAL OF CONSUMER RESEARCH, Inc..

Motivating students to engage in experiential learning: a tension-to-learn theory

The authors describe a tension-to-learn theory of experiential learning and incorporate a motivation construct that is needed to overcome student inertia, which may restrict participation. The theory is based largely on Loewensteins manageable gap perspective of curiosity as well as on the role that absorptive capacity plays in providing the learners knowledge base. The theory posits that if a learner perceives a manageable gap between the base and the target learning and if the target learning is relevant to the learners value system, strong internal tension-to-learn will result. At the same time, learning must be legitimized, and internal learning-based legitimization mechanisms are more powerful validation processes than are external performance-based ones. The authors note that some experiential learning situations can deter tension-to-learn because learners may perceive mastery of the exercises operation as unmanageable.