Michael S. Minor

Hispanic Attitudes Toward Advergames

Abstract Advergames are gaining recognition around the world as a new, captivating, and persuasive environment among advertisers. Despite its growing popularity, very little is known about the formation of attitudes toward advergames in emerging economies. The objectives of our study were the refinement and empirical testing of a model of the reactions generated by exposure to advergames among Mexicans, Peruvians, and Americans. A series of experiments revealed that Hispanics exhibited positive attitudes toward advergames. Intrusiveness was found as the factor accounting for most of the negative attitude toward advergames. Lack of congruence was found to be a precursor of intrusiveness. Interestingly, although ads in games were perceived as more intrusive, they were perceived as less irritating. Implications for advertisers are discussed.

Rock on! An elementary model of customer satisfaction with musical performances

Local and regional entertainers typically perform without a star performer or national recognition. These performers are often an incidental backdrop for the festivities. Is audience satisfaction with the group more than a summation of the satisfaction with individual performers; do factors surrounding the performance aid in determining audience satisfaction? Answers to these questions may allow event planners to engage performers likely to increase event success. This paper develops a model of audience satisfaction with live performances, which began using a theory developed by Grove et al. in 1992. This theory was modified as a result of further conceptualization, qualitative data analysis, and survey results. Results suggest consumers judge performances as the sum of several components, including both elements of the performance and the setting.

Differences between American, Egyptian and Lebanese Humor Styles Implications for International Management

The purpose of this study is to search for differences in humor use between Arabs and Americans and to provide managerial insights regarding such differences. We use Hofstede’s cultural dimensions as a theoretical basis for hypothesizing differences in humor styles between Arabs and Americans. The results indicate that Americans scored significantly higher than Arabs on self-enhancing and self-defeating humor style. There was no significant difference regarding affiliative and aggressive humor. Both Arab and American men scored significantly higher in aggressive humor than did Arab and American women. Managerial implications are provided for both practitioners and researchers.

Beyond loyalty: customer satisfaction, loyalty, and fortitude

Purpose – This paper aims to discuss the first effort to examine the relationships between satisfaction, the four loyalty phases, fortitude, and a sense of virtual community. Design/methodology/approach – Oliver proposed an innovative framework to explain the relationships between satisfaction, loyalty, fortitude, and a sense of community. Findings – Analysis of questionnaire responses of 493 customers of banks and credit unions indicated that satisfaction, cognitive, affective, conative, and action loyalty are positively related to fortitude. Research limitations/implications – The Beyond Loyalty Model (BLM) does not address important strategic issues often associated with loyalty, such as firm profitability, complaint resolution, and firm profitability. Practical implications – This research is the first to find that customers of financial institutions acquire satisfaction and strong loyalty ties with their bank or credit union after dealing with their financial services provider for a relatively short ...

The Industry‐specific Basis of the Market Share‐Profitability Relationship

This is a follow‐up of a study conducted by William Shanklin and published in 1988. He found a positive relationship between market share and return on total assets, but concluded that the absence of market share leadership did not preclude achievement of superior profitability. Attempts to verify Shanklin′s findings, but analysis of the data in this study does not support Shanklin; it suggests that the relationship between market share and profitability is questionable, except in certain industries. The pursuit of market share is not a useful “generic” strategy which can be applied in most industries.

Consumer Culture Plots in Television Advertising from Nigeria and South Africa

The goal of this study is to respond to Taylors recognition of the dearth of cross-national advertising and globalization studies in emerging markets. To fill this theoretical gap in the literature, we employ semiology to evaluate the plots and stories used in promoting global consumer culture in television advertisements from the two major economic powers in sub-Saharan Africa: Nigeria and South Africa. Unlike previous cross-national advertising and globalization studies that suggest that advertising is a reflection of cultural and global consumerism values, our findings suggest that advertisements reflect a romanticized view of middle-ground politics promoted by political establishments both at the national and the international level. We also found that the reflection of middle-ground politics in advertisements may be more prevalent in countries undergoing major ideological change.

Product Category and Origin Effects on Consumer Responses to Counterfeits

Abstract This study compares the effect of product category differences and country of origin on Mexican and American attitudes toward a counterfeit product. Bournes (1957) typology is used to approach the product category effect on attitudes toward counterfeits using the private vs. public consumption of luxury vs. necessity product categories. Three “made in” labels (China, Brazil and the U.S.) are used to examine the COO match-up effect on consumer attitudes toward counterfeit products. The results indicate the following: First, consumer responses toward counterfeits are more favorable for products used in public than those consumed in private. Second, although China is the worlds largest source of counterfeits, American counterfeits are more likely to be purchased than Chinese counterfeits. Third, we found Americans to be more concerned with country of origin than Mexicans in this context. Finally, education was found to be an important factor influencing consumer attitudes toward counterfeits, with better-educated consumers less likely to purchase counterfeits.

Superstitious beliefs in consumer evaluation of brand logos

In todays unpredictable market environment, superstition may be deployed by a consumer in controlling and predicting particular market conditions with uncertain information. Particularly, when consumers encounter a brand logo without experiencing a companys service or consuming its products, superstitious beliefs may serve to fill the void of the unknown to evaluate the brand logo and judge the services or products. Our purpose is to examine the role of various superstitious beliefs in the way consumers process information and link their beliefs to brand logos.

Investigating the effect of arousal on brand memory in advergames

Purpose – Previous work examining the effect of emotional responses (arousal) in the online context has addressed one type of emotional data, relying only on self‐reporting. This paper aims to investigate the effect of arousal on short‐term brand memory in the context of advergaming, comparing both qualitative (observed behaviors and physiological data) and quantitative (self‐reported data) approaches.Design/methodology/approach – Observed behaviors and physiological data were recorded during exposure to brand placements using an electrocardiogram machine. Qualitative results were compared to self‐reported data measured via a post‐exposure paper‐and‐pencil questionnaire.Findings – The results revealed that the impact of physiological measures on memory was the most salient. The most robust finding was the negative effect of physiological measures on recall scores.Research limitations/implications – As a laboratory procedure, the method is susceptible to some limitations. First, the similarity of the distr...

Commentary – Comparing the Hispanic and Non‐Hispanic Markets: How Different Are They?

Notes that the rise in the US Hispanic population has attracted a lot of interest in the marketing of products to them. Summarizes that traditionally marketers have viewed Hispanics as a distinct marketing segment. Examines studies of Hispanic consumers and suggests that differences between Hispanic and non‐Hispanic consumers are in reality quite small. Recommends that customer segmentation methods not based on ethnicity have as much chance of success as “Hispanic‐oriented” methods.