Sean Sands

Segmenting consumer reactions to social network marketing

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to understand how consumers may be segmented with respect to their reactions to social network marketing. Design/methodology/approach – Consumers are segmented on the basis of attitudes toward social network marketing and the association among psychological, economic, and socio-demographic covariates are explored using data from 883 consumers and latent-class analysis. Findings – A total of five segments are identified – Passive, Talkers, Hesitant, Active, and Averse – along with significant covariates, such as information search, convenience, entertainment, age and gender that predict membership. Research limitations/implications – Evidence was found of two segments that are highly impacted by social network marketing in terms of brand engagement, purchase intention and WOM referral intention. The most engaged – the Active – representing approximately 10 percent, is most open to interacting with brands in social networks, likely to make a purchase as a result of the...

Does the online channel pay? A comparison of online versus offline information search on physical store spend

The Internet has transformed consumer behaviour, particularly the manner in which consumers search for information prior to making a purchase. However, we know relatively little about the relationship between consumer information search strategies prior to visiting a physical retail store and the amount of money spent on product purchases. This raises an important question for retailers; does the online channel pay? We test this notion in a study of 1275 consumers across the four retail categories of Clothing and Footwear, Beauty and Skincare, DIY Hardware, and Kitchen and Bathroom Renovations. We find that in all categories, except for Clothing and Footwear, consumers who used the Internet to search for product information prior to making a physical store purchase, spent more money when purchasing. The fact that consumers seem to spend more in-store after conducting an online search (compared to those that search offline) is somewhat counter-intuitive to traditional consumer behaviour theory, in that as part of the consumers search motivation, it is traditionally assumed that there is a desire to obtain the best price (i.e. spend less). This finding therefore challenges traditional perspectives of value-seeking behaviour and suggests that the Internet is a critical channel for retailer engagement, given it can potentially engage consumers in such a way that leads to increased in-store spend.

Uncovering wicked problem’s system structure: seeing the forest for the trees

Purpose This paper aims to use systems thinking, systems theory and Camillus’ framework for responding to wicked problems to provide social marketers with a theoretically based framework for approaching strategy formation for wicked problems. The paper treats fast fashion as an illustrative case and takes a step back from implementation to provide a framework for analysing and gaining understanding of wicked problem system structure for social marketers to then plan more effective interventions. The proposed approach is intended as a theory-based tool for social marketing practitioners to uncover system structure and analyse the wicked problems they face. Design/methodology/approach Following Layton, this work provides theoretically based guidelines for analysing the black box of how to develop and refine strategy as first proposed in Camillus’ (2008) framework for responding to wicked issues. Findings The prescription thus developed for approaching wicked problems’ system structure revolves around identifying the individuals, groups or entities that make up the system involved in the wicked problem, and then determining which social mechanisms most clearly drive each entity and which outcomes motivate these social mechanisms, before determining which role the entities play as either incumbent, challenger or governance and which social narratives drive each role’s participation in the wicked problem. Originality/value This paper shows that using systems thinking can help social marketers to gain big picture thinking and develop strategy for responding to complex issues, while considering the consequences of interventions.

The Inscrutable Shopper: Consumer Resistance in Retail

The book highlights research undertaken by marketers, social researchers and anthropologists who have an interest in this field. Anti consumption is of relevance to practitioners and academics as it is important to understand consumer trends and values.

Dynamic marketing capabilities view on creating market change

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the indirect relationship between dynamic capabilities (DCs) and organizational outcomes through matching and creating market change. In addition, the research aims to gain a deeper understanding of the role of marketing in DCs and to extend beyond a simplistic discussion of DCs by studying proactive market orientation and value innovation as specific DCs. Design/methodology/approach A questionnaire was developed and data were collected from 270 senior executives. After ensuring reliability and validity, the hypotheses were examined by applying structural equation modeling and Monte Carlo simulation. Findings The findings indicate that dynamic marketing capabilities (DMCs) are critical in the reconfiguration of operational marketing capabilities, which in turn lead to enhanced organizational performance. The results also suggest that organizations with enhanced DMCs are able to initiate market disruption and achieve superior performance by out-competing their rivals. Practical implications The research provides guidelines for managers wanting to exploit their DMCs by showing that organizations can match the environment, create market turbulence or combine both strategies to fully exploit their DMCs. This study also provides managers with actionable tools that are specific, robust and easily applied. Originality/value This study is one of the few to incorporate induced market turbulence into the DC literature and conceptualize, develop and validate scales to measure it. The study provides empirical evidence for the claim that operational marketing capabilities are necessary to utilize the benefits of DMCs.

A Tale of two Tongues: Does Language Moderate Sparkling Wine Prefernces in Belgium

Belgium, a relatively small country, with roughly 10 million people ranks fifth in terms of wine importations with roughly 300 million bottles per year. As a result of a complex history and profound and ongoing political crisis, the country is mainly composed of two communities: the French speaking and the Dutch (Flemish) speaking. Despite the cultural differences in these two Belgian communities and the political difficulties Belgium faces, all Belgians share a common bond, the love for ’bubbles’. The sparkling wine market is particularly important in Belgium and represents 20% of the market in value. The main proposition of this research is that French speaking and Dutch speaking Belgians have different sparkling wine purchasing behaviour. The main intention of this paper is to identify the differences related to the attributes that define sparkling wine. The full length version of this research will explore the impact of culture, demographics, consumption behaviour and how all of this mediates sparkling wine purchase behaviour in the Belgian market.