Sri Beldona

Putting the “brand” back into store brands: an exploratory examination of store brands and brand personality

Purpose – To explore how store brand personality might play a role in consumer perceptions towards store brands and how such personalities might vary when consumers are allowed to experience the product.Design/methodology/approach – Two different store brand products from high selling categories were compared with their leading national brands. A total of 139 respondents took the survey. Respondents were divided into four groups, each group representing a different experimental condition. Respondents rated the personality attributes on a seven point Likert scale.Findings – Results show that national brands have stronger brand personality traits when compared to store brands; however, such differences diminished when consumers were allowed to taste and experience the products.Practical implications – Retailers would be better off to let consumers experience and taste the products to drive consumer perceptions of store brands. Retailers should also focus on those categories where the differential in persona...

Arab Consumers' Behavior Towards Credit Card Usage

Abstract Credit card usage by consumers across the oil-rich Arab countries (such as Qatar, Bahrain, and Kuwait) is changing the landscape of consumer behavior, motivating Arab consumers to buy more often, and promoting impulse buying. Our study examines Arab consumers behavior towards credit card usage from multi-cultural perspective by replicating a western model propounded by Kaynak et al. (1986) and Kaynak et al. (2001)

The impact of population growth on Human Development Index: a comparative analysis of Middle Eastern countries

This paper tests the growth of population on the determinants of Human Development Index (HDI). The HDI is a composite index constructed from measures of life expectancy, education and per capita income. This paper reviews the literature on population growth and using those arguments tries to find any link between population growth and HDI for Middle Eastern countries. Implications for policy makers are discussed.

When should a firm use billboard advertising? A conceptual look at differing levels of recall

Billboards are often used because the cost to reach consumers is relatively cheaper than other forms of media. However, just because a billboard ad reaches a consumer does not mean a consumer pays attention to the ad or even processes it. Therefore, in this paper, two constructs are proposed to help managers evaluate the type of product or service they sell and if billboards would be the most effective way of reaching the target audience. A model and matrix outlining the hypothesised differences in billboard advertising are presented.

Bringing Meaning to Work through an Integrated Faith

While various organizational practices may enhance meaning in and at work, many people also seek to bring meaning to their work because they perceive work as the primary vehicle through which they express their innermost essence. An individual’s quest for meaning in work is also impacted by their personal faith and/or spiritual orientation. Employees may bring a sense of meaning to their work through a sense of calling which is informed by their personal faith. In this chapter, we explore the role of faith integration as an antecedent to meaningful work. We explored the relationship between integrated faith and the experience of meaningfulness in each of our field studies. The results of those investigations are reported in this chapter.

Enhancing Engagement through the Human Resource Value Chain

The organization’s human resource value chain (HRVC) and its performance management system (PMNG) are important organizational-level drivers of employee engagement. The HRVC consists of an integrated set of human resource management practices – from the sourcing and hiring of talent, through workforce development and engagement, to employee separation – which engages people in a committed pursuit of a chosen strategy and set of core values.

A Comprehensive, Integrative Model of Employee Engagement

The level of employee engagement has important implications for a broad set of organizational outcomes. Therefore, it is important to develop a thorough understanding of the various factors that impact employee engagement. In this chapter, we present an integrative model of the antecedents and consequences of employee engagement. The core relationship in this model is the connection between the experience of work as meaningful and the level of employee engagement. Thus, we consider a variety of micro-level dimensions of organizational behavior that contribute to meaningful work. Our model also includes organizational-level processes such as the HRVC and the PMNG that impact the level of employee engagement. This meso-model provides the basis for the hypotheses that we tested in a series of field studies.

The Road to Engagement

The fundamental premise of our research is that dealing with the resilient nature of low employee engagement requires a comprehensive approach that addresses the problem systematically. We developed and tested such a model in a series of field studies. In Chapters 3–8, we discussed the various subsets of our model. In this chapter, we return to our model and discuss the results holistically. We summarize the implications for practice that emerge from this research. We also recognize the limitations of our research and provide a set of propositions that are intended to provide guidance for future research.

Engagement Across Cultures

The employee engagement problem is not limited to geographic boundaries; low employee engagement is pervasive among organizations around the world. Despite the ubiquitous nature of engagement, individuals’ reactions and responses are often bounded by their worldview and cultural background. These cultural differences have multiple dimensions, including uncertainty avoidance, power distance, and individualism. In this chapter, we evaluate the impact of these cultural differences by examining the results obtained in two very different cultures: Brazil and the United States.

The Meaningfulness–Engagement Connection

The core of our model is the relationship between meaningfulness and engagement. Meaningfulness is a complex subjective experience that includes perceiving positive meaning in work and sensing that the individual’s work makes a positive contribution to some greater good. This sense of meaningfulness is not confined to the workplace; rather, it spills over and contributes to feeling that an employee’s entire life is meaningful. In this chapter, we examine the positive relationship between meaningfulness and engagement in detail.