Maureen A. Bourassa

Stakeholder Marketing and the Organizational Field: The Role of Institutional Capital and Ideological Framing

This article adopts an institutional-based perspective to stakeholder marketing. This perspective directs attention to an organizational field level of analysis in which an organizations environment is punctuated by trigger events that prompt the assemblage of a particular mix of stakeholders. A thematic, interpretive, and longitudinal analysis of more than 2000 articles from 45 years of grocery retail trade journals reveals that the ensuing stakeholder dynamics that constitute an organizational field serve to afford or deny the marketer vital cultural, social, and economic capital. In turn, the capital possessed by or denied to the marketer influences the ideological frame the marketer may use in coming to terms with how to interact with stakeholders. Importantly, the authors find that strategic and institutional factors interpenetrate, presenting important implications for how stakeholder marketing should be understood.

Exploring Perceptions of Credible Science Among Policy Stakeholder Groups: Results of Focus Group Discussions About Nuclear Energy

How do different stakeholder groups define credible science? Using original qualitative focus group data, this exploratory study suggests that while nuclear energy stakeholder groups consider the same factors when assessing credibility (specifically, knowledge source, research funding, research methods, publication, and replication), groups differ in their assessments of what constitutes expertise, what demonstrates (or reduces) trustworthiness, and the relative prioritization of expertise versus trustworthiness. Overall, these results suggest it is important for science communication to consider audience-specific credibility, and raise questions about the potential impact of both funding sources and predatory journals on the perceived credibility of scientists.

Lost and found: Stanley C. Hollander's (1953) Sales Devices throughout the Ages, from 2500 BC to 1953 AD

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide an historical review of Stanley C. Hollanders Sales Devices throughout the Ages, from 2500 BC to 1953 AD. Design/methodology/approach – Using the historical review method, the paper examines a monograph with historical importance, summarizing the contents and analyzing it in the context of the authors life. With reference to outside sources, the paper seeks to improve understanding of the monograph within its historical context. Findings – Sales Devices throughout the Ages provides a fascinating journey through 4,000 years of selling history. Analysis of the monograph and of its historical context reveals transformations in the legitimacy of selling, both within marketing and within society as a whole. Originality/value – This monograph is one of Hollanders earliest works, and as a result, few library copies remain. We are not aware of any other reviews of this monograph, and are therefore pleased it is being brought to the fore in this special issue celebrating Hollanders life and work.

Support, opposition, emotion and contentious issue risk perception

Purpose – Research on emotion in the context of risk perception has historically focused on negative emotions, and has emphasized the effect of these negative emotions on the perception of risk amongst those who oppose (rather than support) contentious issues. Drawing on theory, the purpose of this paper is to hypothesize that both positive and negative emotions are correlated with risk perceptions regarding contentious public issues and that this occurs amongst supporters and opponents alike. Design/methodology/approach – The paper explores the relationship between emotions and perceived risk through consideration of the highly contentious case of nuclear energy in Saskatchewan, Canada. The analysis uses data from a representative telephone survey of 1,355 residents. Findings – The results suggest that positive emotions, like negative emotions, are related to nuclear energy risk perceptions. Emotions are related to risk perception amongst both supporters and opponents. Research limitations/implications –...

The Role of Respect in Science Communication and Knowledge Transfer: An Abstract

The primary purpose of knowledge transfer is to increase the use of scientific evidence in policy and practice (Mitton 2007), including marketing policy and decision-making. With expertise in relationship marketing and communication, academic marketing researchers are uniquely positioned to advance understanding and practice of knowledge use in policy decision-making. Because knowledge transfer brings together very different groups with specific norms, it is important to consider how the expression and experience of respect within such relationships can facilitate or impede knowledge transfer. Respect is the perceived value or worth of a relationship partner (Grover 2013); in our study, we focus on respect that is granted based on desirable characteristics (Darwall 1977). The experience of respect matters not only within close relationships (Kumashiro et al. 2002) but also intragroup relations (Ellemers et al. 2004) and community engagement (Huo et al. 2010).

Knowledge Utilization by Policy Makers: Is There a Role for Marketing?

While most university settings expect and aspire for researchers to share their findings with policy makers, industry, and society (Tatari et al. 2012), there are several barriers within this process (Sa et al. 2011). In this conceptual chapter, we describe findings from an interdisciplinary investigation of existing work on knowledge use by policy makers and identify opportunities to incorporate marketing theory to facilitate knowledge transfer.

Expressions of (Dis)Respect: Understanding Respect in a Consumer Context

What (dis)satisfies consumers is a central question in marketing research (Luo and Homburg 2007). Existing work has largely focused on the role of judgments of product or service performance (e.g., Falk et al. 2010), complaint handling (e.g., Zheng et al. 2013), and equity perceptions (e.g., Oliver and Swan 1989) as antecedents of satisfaction. The current work suggests that satisfaction is also likely to be strongly influenced by the inferences that consumers draw about the extent to which the firm showed them respect. We expect that such inferences can be drawn from a wide variety of firm actions. As such, respect may account for some of the impact of a variety of known antecedents of satisfaction, but it might also be capable of explaining additional variance in the satisfaction response.

The Complexity of Stakeholder Engagement

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) – an organization’s perceived societal responsibilities (Brown and Dacin 1997) – is an increasingly important component of corporate agendas. A critical aspect of CSR implementation is successful stakeholder engagement (Lawrence 2002), defined as “an organization’s efforts to understand and involve stakeholders and their concerns in its activities and decision-making processes” (Partridge et al. 2005, p. 6). A stakeholder is anyone who has an interest in, or who may be impacted by, an organization’s actions (Muirhead et al. 2002). Past research in this area has focused on cooperative relationships (e.g., social alliances, see Berger, Cunningham, and Drumwright 1996); empirical research is needed that explores relationships where stakeholder interests conflict. The purpose of this paper is to present preliminary findings on successful stakeholder engagement, explore success factors, and establish a future research agenda.