Sally Hibbert

Giving to charity: questioning the donor decision process

Notes that changes in the charity environment mean that fundraisers need to increase income from donations. Argues that to move forward donor behavior research needs to look not only at “why” people make donations but also at the process of “how” donations are made. Proposes that valuable lessons may be learnt through consideration of advances made in the field of consumer behavior where researchers have long focussed on decision‐making processes as a concept which is central to the understanding of how consumers behave. Suggests that taking account of the circumstances in which the consumer acts will give insight into donor behavior, which avoids losing sight of the reality of donation occasions.

Is the Country of Origin the Fifth Element in the Marketing Mix of Imported Wine

Abstract The research builds a theoretical understanding and managerial debate of country of origin effects for agricultural produce for which the growing country and region have been regarded as important bases for differential advantage. Especially, it is focused in the wine industry, which has faced unprecedented competitive marketing challenges over the last decade.

What is Told in Travel Blogs? Exploring Travel Blogs for Consumer Narrative Analysis

Blogging activity among tourists is increasing and represents an important new aspect of marketing communication in tourism. Millions of individuals have joined travel blog websites, to share their travel experiences online, and blogging has become an aspect of the tourist production and consumption process. The limited extant research on travel blogs focuses on tourists’ behaviour patterns and descriptions of destinations. In contrast, this paper examines travel blogs as textual artefacts to gain insights into how tourists construct order and make meaning from their experiences as part of the process of identity management. A narrative analysis of blogs from the three most visited travel blog websites was conducted. Tourists’ identity and sense-making were revealed by the stories that were told, the way in which they were recounted and how they were link to aspects of self-concept including values, preferences, skills, social roles and relationships.

Car boot sales: a study of shopping motives in an alternative retail format

Describes car boot sales as an alternative retail format focusing on consumers’ shopping motives and related shopping behaviour in this type of retail setting. Concludes that car boot sales appeal more to middle and lower social class groups. Further concludes the growth of the car boot sale is largely due to the functional needs and non‐functional wants of these sub‐groups.

The market positioning of British medical charities

One of the greatest challenges facing managers of medical charities today is to distinguish effectively their cause and their organization in an environment of rapidly increasing competition. Investigates consumer attitudes, identifying those that serve to discriminate among different types of medical charity. Results reveal that those characteristics which best serve to discriminate between competing types of charity are: whether they are perceived to deal with a condition that is due to a genetic or birth defect, as opposed to an acquired condition; the extent to which the charities are perceived to be reputable organizations; whether the charities offer hope in the long term by adopting an educational approach; and whether the problem concerns the whole society. Illustrates the results by the positioning of the charities with regard to these criteria on a perceptual map. Discusses the reasoning for their respective positioning and the use of the results for marketing purposes.

Giving at risk? Examining perceived risk and blood donation behaviour

This paper builds on previous research into blood donation behaviour, focusing on perceptions of risk associated with blood donation in the UK. It compares indicators of risk perceptions obtained through probability and importance indicators and calculated using additive versus multiplicative models. It examines the relationships between perceived risk and blood donation with specific attention to donation frequency. The findings demonstrate that apparent perceived risk in blood donation varies substantially depending on the indicator that is used and that a more accurate indicator of risk is obtained if two components of risk are combined through a multiplicative model rather than an additive one. Social risk emerged as the more prominent aspect of perceived risk, implying a high level of trust by donors in the Blood Transfusion Service. Perceived risk was found to be significantly associated with donation frequency, highlighting the need to keep track of donors and to communicate with those whose donations lapse.

Towards a service-dominant approach to social marketing

Over the last decade, social marketing has moved away from traditional marketing management approaches towards service-oriented theory, integrating concepts from other disciplines, to account for the distinctive nature of social change and develop an ecological perspective. This article extends prior literature by interrogating the applicability of service-dominant logic (SDL) to social marketing, with a particular emphasis on how a systems perspective can offer new ways to address challenges of social change. In so doing, it examines how the social marketing benchmarks can be extended through applying (and adapting) the principles, concepts and theories of SDL. The article provides critical reflection on the challenges of transferring service-dominant theory to social change contexts highlighting implications for practice and a future research agenda.

Consumer resource integration amongst vulnerable consumers: Care leavers in transition to independent living

Abstract The purpose of this study is to develop an improved understanding of how consumers facing multiple resource constraints deal with consumption-related experiences. By focusing on care leavers and exploring their transitions to independent living, the research develops new insights into resource interactions and consumption experiences. An interpretivist approach is adopted, comprising in-depth interviews and focus groups, to explore the interaction of operand and operant resources under conditions of resource constraints. Our findings show evidence of care leavers creatively combining constellations of their own resources to access and activate resources afforded by the marketplace. However, at the point of leaving care, our participants overall lack the well-interconnected operant resources that would provide greater capacity for generating value as they perform adult consumer roles. Disentangling the different types of resources, and exploring resource dynamics as people pursue life projects and consumption goals, enables more detailed and consumer-centric diagnosis of consumption patterns for resource-constrained consumers. The implications of this study are discussed, in particular in terms of alleviating the potential risk of care leavers becoming either under-skilled or marginalised consumers due to the lack of opportunities for systematic learning of consumer knowledge for coping in the marketplace.

Midstream value creation in social marketing

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study is to develop improved understanding of how value is created at the midstream (meso) level in a collaborative smoke-free homes and cars social marketing programme. The study adopts a qualitative approach including interviews and observation. The findings show that the co-creative organisational model adopted for the Smokefree programme affords access to resources and capabilities of midstream actors and provides opportunities for reshaping and mobilising existing value networks. The focal organisation has a key role in coordinating, connecting actors and providing resources to facilitate value co-creation at the network level. The study illustrates that the service interaction allowed for customer-centred cues for action which took into account their context and the existence/lack of resources for value creation. The implications of this study are discussed, in particular, in terms of the role of focal organisations in managing value networks, the social context, configurational fit and resources of actors involved in community-based social marketing and the need for policies and practices to provide health professionals with role support for health promotion.

Are consumers’ reasons for and against behaviour distinct?

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to add clarity to current conceptualisations of attitudes towards giving versus not giving and to identify an approach that better informs interventions that seek to promote particular types of pro-social consumer behaviour. Despite a considerable body of research that provides insights into why people give to charity, there is comparatively little understanding of the reasons why others decide not to give. More generally, existing applications of attitudinal models do not differentiate between decisions to perform and not to perform a behaviour. This paper challenges the assumption that attitudes towards performing and not performing a behaviour are logical opposites. Drawing on reasons theory, the paper examines the incremental and discriminant validity of attitudes for charitable giving versus attitudes against charitable giving, and the extent to which they correspond to different rather than opposite underlying reasons. Design/methodology/approach – A mixed-meth...