Scott K. Radford

Grief, commiseration, and consumption following the death of a celebrity:

Celebrated individuals often take on a sacred status, producing intense feelings among their fans. Because celebrities are usually protected and distant, their fans turn to celebrity-related products, which themselves may become cherished and sacred. After a celebrity dies, relevant products become even more significant as remedies for feelings of loss. This research examined expressions of grief and consumption-related emotions posted on internet message boards in response to the death of race car driver Dale Earnhardt, Sr. The research finds that fans use two processes: introjection and incorporation to deal with the loss of the celebrity. These processes help fans cope with grief and serve as narratives in their post-death self-identity creation, and also contribute to the mythology of the celebrity after death.

Situational Variables and Sustainability in Multi-Attribute Decision-Making

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to examine whether consumers demonstrate a multi-dimensional understanding of sustainability in their decision-making and addresses the situational influence of confidence and compromise on sustainable product choices. Design/methodology/approach – Using three choice-based conjoint experiments the authors examined the importance of sustainability, compromise and confidence to consumers across two contexts. Two-step cluster analyses were used to segment consumers based on the importance scores. Findings – Data indicates that the environmental dimension of sustainability is the most influential followed by economic and social. The responses suggest three distinct segments identified as self-focused, trend motivated and reality driven that demonstrate significantly different characteristics in their approach to sustainable products. Research limitations/implications – Current research tends to focus on the environmental dimension, while paying little heed to the economi...

Consumer Perceptions of Sustainability: A Free Elicitation Study

While sustainability has long been conceptualized as comprising three pillars (ecological, economic, and social), extant research and practice tends to focus on the ecological dimension of sustainability. Sustainable products and services are often marketed as a proxy for “environmentally appropriate” without considering other dimensions. As a result consumers may be under the misconception that sustainability is a one-dimensional concept and the way that researchers and marketers are employing this term may be perpetuating this (mis)understanding. This research explores the way that consumers interpret this construct. The results lend support to the argument that a one-dimensional operationalization of sustainability may be underestimating the importance of the social, economic, and time dimensions in consumer perceptions.

Marketing, Society, and Government: Reflections on an Undergraduate Elective

The authors explore the value of incorporating macromarketing as an elective course in managerial marketing curricula. Authors review a course, Marketing, Society, and Government, that is framed by the philosophy that market forces, regulations, and economic conditions that impact businesses, society, and government are characterized by a constant state of change. Developing the skills necessary for analyzing these issues—identifying critical components, interpreting the effect on various publics, and so on—is as important as learning about the issues themselves. As such, the course emphasizes the development of critical thinking skills by exploring a holistic, macromarket view of marketing theory and practice. Students are challenged to revise their own worldview and their preconceived notions of marketing, society, and government. The course combines textbook readings, readings in market theory, case analysis, and written assignments.

[Softly Assembled] Gender Performance Through Products: Four Practices Responding to Masculine and Feminine Codes in Product Design

Abstract Purpose: This study seeks to determine the marketplace practices in which consumers engage with regard to masculine and feminine codes employed in product design. Since extant consumer research argues that consumers prefer marketing stimuli that match their sex or gender identity, this study also asks how consumers’ practices inform this understanding of the possession-self link. Design/methodology/approach: This study used semi-structured interviews with an auto-driving component to answer the research questions. Data from 20 interviews were analyzed using feminist critical discourse analysis and a poststructuralist feminist-informed theoretical framework. Findings: Four consumer practices identified in the data show that interpretations and evaluations of product gender are sometimes, but not always, a reflection of the gendered self. Research limitations/implications: This research shares a snapshot of a cohort of individuals that interact with the marketplace, but there are some perspectives missing. Future research must engage with individuals from different socioeconomic backgrounds, as well as non-binary or gender nonconforming individuals, in order to enhance or even challenge these findings. Practical implications (if applicable): Evidence from the marketplace demonstrates intense criticism of products that have been coded as masculine or feminine based on gender stereotypes or men and women’s perceived aesthetic tastes. Marketers are encouraged to use gender codes to differentiate products catered to men and women based on their ergonomic or biological needs. Originality/value: This study complicates theory on the possession-self link to show cases in which that link is broken. Engaging critically with the topic of product gender from a poststructuralist feminist perspective also illustrates how marketing practices may help or harm consumers.

Experiential Learning Projects A Pedagogical Path to Macromarketing Education

Marketing managers best equipped to transfer their knowledge across increasingly complex and dynamic market contexts will be those who have learned to frame managerial decisions in terms of the broad moral, political, and social contexts in which those decisions reside. Undergraduate marketing curricula that emphasize the study of micro-marketing topics rather than macromarketing topics have not delivered the critical thinking skills marketing students need to function and adapt to increasingly dynamic business environments. Experiential Learning Theory offers a framework for instructors to design projects that incorporate systems-level perspectives while encouraging rigorous marketing decision-making. We review literature on experiential learning to highlight how aspects of experience-based pedagogy align with the aims of macromarketing education. Then we describe two projects as examples of how experience-based projects teach managerial decision-making and foster understanding of the broader societal role of marketing. We propose using experience-based projects as pedagogical tools that deliver on the field’s commitment to managerial education and restore marketing education to its systems-level roots.

An Introduction to the Invited Commentaries on Macromarketing Education

The 2007 International Society on Marketing and Development and Macromarketing Society joint conference included a special session addressing issues involved in incorporating macromarketing courses into business curricula. The session featured five marketing educators with experience teaching macromarketing courses. Each speaker was asked to prepare a commentary in response to the following three questions: (1) Are macromarketing courses well suited for helping students build critical thinking and logical argument skills? (2) Should macromarketing courses be electives, required courses, or some combination of both? (3) What benefits to students and to other college stakeholders stem from incorporating macromarketing education into marketing curricula? The following essays summarize the talks presented during the 2007 special session.