Scott A. Thompson

Exploring Uncharted Waters: Use of Psychological Ownership Theory in Marketing

Jussila et al. (2015) nicely review the core elements of psychological ownership theory, and offer suggestions for future research that focus on exploring differences between physical products and services. The aim of this article is not to focus on this distinction, however, but rather to suggest a number of other ways that psychological ownership theory might be fruitfully applied to the marketing and consumer behavior domains. In particular, we describe four areas of inquiry relating to psychological ownership that we believe deserve further attention from marketers: (a) understanding the nature of psychological ownership in the realm of virtual services and social media applications; (b) identifying the unique marketing consequences (both positive and negative) of ownership; (c) accounting more completely for consumers’ satiation with, and even dispossession of, objects over time (vs. a sole focus on acquisition); and (d) extending the notion of psychological ownership to the group/community level.

Community Participation and Consumer-to-Consumer Helping: Does Participation in Third Party–Hosted Communities Reduce One’s Likelihood of Helping?

Third party–hosted consumer communities in general, and brand communities in particular, have been touted for their ability to generate value for firms by promoting consumer-to-consumer (C2C) helping. However, little research has examined whether consumer communities actually foster C2C helping, and who is helped. In contrast, the brand-community literature suggests community strategies may reduce the likelihood of community members helping non–community members. If so, strategies that promote third party–hosted brand or product-category communities may be counterproductive in fostering C2C helping. Should firms focus on promoting brand communities, promoting product-category communities, or both? On the basis of a hazard model analysis of 9,192 actual C2C helping events over a 25-month period, and supported by a second cross-sectional study, this article examines how participation in brand and product-category communities influences ones likelihood of helping others. We find that brand-community participation increases ones likelihood of helping fellow members while reducing the likelihood of helping members of rival brand communities. Surprisingly, product-category community participation reduces ones likelihood of helping members of brand communities. The authors discuss managerial recommendations.

Integrating Identity and Consumption: An Identity Investment Theory

The question of how identity influences consumption behavior has moved to the forefront of marketing research. In addressing this question, research has borrowed disparate theoretical frameworks from other disciplines, impairing the ability to understand phenomena unique to marketing—particularly the active role consumers play in choosing and shaping identities and the reciprocal effects of these choices on consumption. This article proposes Identity Investment Theory (IIT), which treats individuals as deliberate actors making identity-focused consumption choices to receive the greatest return. This theory integrates key elements of several existing theories into a parsimonious framework, providing new insights into important marketing phenomena.

Where do managers fit in the profit chain? Assessing managerial job performance in the hospitality industry

ABSTRACT Despite the centrality of service-profit chain research in the services and hospitality literatures, the role of managers in the service chain remains under-researched. This paper examines the impact of customer service orientation, initiating structure, tenure potential, and managerial relational orientation on the job performance of managers in the hospitality industry. The results reveal that relational orientation, initiating structure, and organizational tenure potential predict job performance, while customer service orientation does not. Thus, while having a customer orientation is vital to frontline employee performance, it does not improve managerial job performance. Implications for the management of hospitality personnel are discussed.

Is diffusion of marketing competence necessary for a market orientation? A comparative investigation of marketing managers and their defining traits

Purpose – Increasingly, scholars and analysts are urging firms to transition from a model in which marketing is a discrete function to a diffused approach in which marketing is everyone’s job. Prior research has examined differences in firm level performance. However, this firm level focus has overlooked what effects this transition might have on the managers who perform the marketing role. The purpose of this paper is to investigate manager level consequences of transitioning between these approaches by evaluating differences in person-environment (P-E) fit between marketers and non-marketers. Design/methodology/approach – The authors identify core marketing functions and relevant personality traits of marketing managers, based on the marketing literature. The authors then compare personality and career satisfaction data from 465 marketing managers against a larger, general employment sample of 3,100 employees. Finally, the authors examine the relationship of career satisfaction to each of these traits a...