Michael L. Capella

Relationship marketing: the influence of consumer involvement on perceived service benefits

Purpose – The purpose of this article is to empirically examine the influence of consumer involvement on perceived relational benefits across service types.Design/methodology/approach – Based on Bowens service typology, responses from patrons of fast‐food restaurants and hairdressers/stylists were used to assess the influence of consumer involvement on relationship marketing, specifically perceived service benefits and response behaviors.Findings – Results indicate that highly involved consumers perceive greater relational benefits when engaged in a high contact, customized service (i.e. hairdressers/stylists) versus a more standardized, moderate contact service (i.e. fast‐food restaurant).Research limitations/implications – Care should be taken when generalizing these findings to other service settings as this study only addressed two service types. Thus, an opportunity for future research could add moderate contact, non‐personalized services to determine if there are significant differences between the...

The impact of customer‐to‐customer interactions in a high personal contact service setting

Purpose – To empirically examine the development and influence that customer‐to‐customer interactions (CCI) have in a high personal contact setting.Design/methodology/approach – Using responses from patrons of different hair salons, the role that salon atmospherics had on the formation of CCI was assessed. Then, the relative influence of CCI on satisfaction with the firm, loyalty to the firm and firm word‐of‐mouth, in a model of service outcomes, was examined.Findings – Results indicate that atmospherics do influence CCI, which in turn is a strong predictor of loyalty to the firm and positive word‐of‐mouth.Research limitations/implications – Care should be taken when generalizing these findings to other service settings. It should be noted that all female respondents were generally more educated and had higher incomes than the general population.Practical implications – This study suggests that positive perceptions of atmospherics will lead to positive CCI effects. If managers determine that they would li...

The Gamification of Advertising: Analysis and Research Directions of In-Game Advertising, Advergames, and Advertising in Social Network Games

The study presents a framework for the analysis of advertising in digital games. It reviews literature on in-game advertising, advergames and advertising in social network games. The framework distinguishes between stimulus characteristics of the game as well as of the advertising that lead to psychological responses toward the game and the brand and to actual behavior toward the game and the brand. It takes into consideration individual factors of the player and social factors surrounding the player. In addition, theoretical models of advertising perception in digital games and issues regarding regulation are addressed. Directions for future research in the area of advertising in digital games are provided.

Do Pharmaceutical Marketing Activities Raise Prices? Evidence from Five Major Therapeutic Classes

The impact of direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising of prescription drugs on consumers has become the focus of considerable debate. Given rising health care costs, the question whether DTC advertising and other forms of promotion increase the price of prescription drugs is particularly important. This study uses data on name brand drugs in five major therapy classes marketed in the United States during 2001–2005 to test the effect of DTC advertising and other promotional variables on the price elasticity of demand. The predictions of two competing theories on the economic effects of advertising are used as a basis for forming the hypotheses. The data indicate that, in general, there is not a significant relationship between DTC advertising and price elasticity in these five categories. Given the inverse relationship between elasticity of demand and price, the findings do not support the position that consumers pay higher prices as a result of DTC advertising in the pharmaceutical industry.

The Effect of Cigarette Advertising Bans on Consumption: A Meta-analysis

Because previous research and reviews on the effect of cigarette advertising bans on cigarette consumption have reported mixed results, the effectiveness of cigarette advertising bans has been a point of controversy. To ascertain the efficacy of cigarette advertising bans, the current research is a quantitative integration (meta-analysis) of the entire available published cigarette advertising ban research conducted to determine what impact, if any, advertising bans have on cigarette smoking behavior. Results of the meta-analysis show that cigarette advertising bans do not have a significant effect on cigarette consumption.

Sound Disclosures: Assessing When a Disclosure Is Worthwhile

In this article, the authors introduce the notion of a “sound disclosure” and define it from the perspective of academic, business, and legal/policy (expert) constituencies. The authors define sound disclosure as the direct linkage of a policy standard to a dedicated, rigorous consumer testing methodology that measures explicitly stated communication objectives put forth in the policy. Sound disclosure results when the policy is influenced by the disclosure testing. Consequences of a sound disclosure testing regime can include withdrawing the disclosure from the marketplace because of harmful, unintended consequences to the target population or, conversely, adding supplementary materials (e.g., educational primes) to maximize the disclosures effectiveness. Drawing from previous research, the authors illustrate various standards of sound disclosure efficacy.

The Impact of Violence Against Women in Advertisements

Understanding the impact of portrayals of violence and abuse by advertising media, especially when directed at women, requires our going beyond concerns about effectiveness of such marketing communications. Previous research finds an unequivocal and harmful increased acceptance of cross-gender aggression and rape within society as a result of sexualized violence. However, none of these investigations examines the impact of violence as an advertising appeal. Thus, our research looks at the influence of sexualized violence in ads on rape myth beliefs and traditional consumer behavior variables. The findings from our study suggest that sexualized violence appeals may impact important advertising variables and appeal to specific market segments, but nevertheless have little value for marketing success.

Smokeless Tobacco Products as a Harm- Reduction Mechanism: A Research Agenda

Increased awareness of the dangers of cigarettes has failed to prevent millions of Americans from continuing to smoke. Thus, policy makers should consider viable options to reduce the harmful effects of smoking. Among the proposed options is increasing public awareness of the relative health risk of smokeless tobacco in comparison with cigarettes. Compelling scientific evidence indicates that smokeless tobacco is considerably less harmful than cigarettes. Therefore, innovative approaches to nicotine replacement, such as smokeless tobacco, may provide an effective means of reducing the overall harm associated with smoking and ultimately may reduce smoking prevalence in the United States. The underlying principle of harm reduction is that a product that has adverse health consequences is promoted as a substitute for one that has more severe adverse health consequences. As a result, the authors review the relevant literature and put forth a research agenda to advance this notion of tobacco harm reduction. The policy debate would be enhanced by evidence of the constructs and relationships outlined in the proposed model. Specifically, the authors discuss five particular areas of needed research.

Consumption Restriction in a Total Control Institution: Participatory Action Research in a Maximum Security Prison

The marketing and public policy field has a long history of examining consumer decision making under conditions of abundance, but less effort has been dedicated to learning about restrictions to choice, especially as imposed by institutional forces. To help fill this gap in the literature, the authors offer an ethnographic investigation of a maximum security prison conducted over an 18-month period using participatory action research. This environment is a total control institution where depersonalization and commoditization of the 4,000 men in its charge regularly occur. The findings reveal a complex relationship between these processes and various psychological reactions and resulting behaviors that are acted out within and outside the prisons licit and illicit marketplaces. The article closes with a discussion of theoretical implications of consumer constraint and a presentation of public policy implications.

Does DTC Advertising Provide Information or Create Market Power? Evidence from the U.S. and New Zealand

The impact of DTC advertising of prescription drugs on consumers has been the subject of considerable debate worldwide. Proponents of DTC advertising argue that it allows patients to make more informed decisions, helps address under-treatment of some medical conditions, and improves the economic value of health care, among other benefits. In contrast, critics of DTC advertising contend that it leads to consumers paying higher prices, patients potentially being misled about risks and benefits of drugs, and patients pressuring doctors to prescribe drugs. The authors examine this debate in the context of two leading theories on the effects of advertising – the Advertising=Information and Advertising=Market power schools of thought and review empirical studies that have examined the impacts of DTC advertising on consumers. It is found that the research evidence generally favors the Advertising=Information school, which is supportive of the idea that DTC helps patients become more informed and communicate more effectively with their doctors.