Sunkyu Jun

Cultural Values Reflected in Theme and Execution: A Comparative Study of U.S. and Korean Television Commercials

Abstract This study develops a cross-cultural content analysis framework to examine underlying cultural dimensions: individualism/collectivism, time orientation, relationship with nature, and contextuality. Most cross-cultural content analyses have inferred that differences in execution have been due to assumed cultural differences in the societies examined (often based on the work of Hofstede [1980]); the development of the structure proposed here will allow the direct investigation of those cultural issues. Television commercials from the U.S. and Korea were selected as being representative of North American and East Asian commercials. Both countries are present-time oriented, and while individualism and collectivism are prevalent in both cultures, individualism is more dominant in the U.S. Korean commercials stress oneness-with-nature slightly more than U.S. commercials, and U.S. commercials use more direct approaches. Directions for refinement and future research are identified.

Consumer acculturation processes and cultural conflict: How generalizable is a North American model for marketing globally?

Abstract Most marketers in the United States base their marketing strategies regarding ethnic groups on the implicit assumption that an assimilation model exists, that minority cultures will move linearly toward the host culture. We investigate the generality of acculturation models developed in North America to the acculturation processes occurring among the Muslim and Chinese subcultures in southern Thailand. A measure of attitudinal acculturation developed in the U.S. was found to work well across ethnic groups in Thailand, but a language preference measure did not yield comparable data. The behavioral and attitudinal dimensions of acculturation appear to be relatively independent.

Multiple diffusion and multicultural aggregate social systems

Extends the diffusion of innovations paradigm to today’s pluralistic marketplace by introducing the concept of multiple diffusion, whereby an innovation diffuses in multiple sub‐social systems, each with a distinct pattern of adoption, that together comprise the aggregate diffusion pattern for a given society. Identifies variables that affect the multiple diffusion process, presents propositions related to them, and discusses implications of this framework for marketing researchers and practitioners.

An Investigation of Newspaper Ad Memory As Affect Context Involvement and Ad Size - A Korean Case

Abstract The relationship between ad memory and context involvement has been investigated mainly in the contexts of TV and magazine advertising. Little research has been conducted to examine this relationship in newspaper advertising. The relationship is found to be negative in magazine advertising. Based on the theory of automatic vs. strategic processing, however, this study hypothesizes in newspaper advertising that article readership (a measure of context involvement) positively affects ad memory. Another issue this study deals with concerns the relationship between ad size and ad memory. Past research reveals that this relationship is positive in both magazine and newspaper advertising. This study addresses a factor moderating this relationship; as ad space increases on a newspaper page, article space decreases. In the newspaper advertising context where the moderating factor works, this study hypothesizes that ad size affects ad memory in an inverted-U pattern. Data collected in surveys conducted a year apart in Korea support the hypotheses.

Effects of underdog (vs. top dog) positioning advertising

The study investigates individual differences in attitudes towards brands being positioned as underdogs in advertising from an emotional perspective. We argue that the personality trait of empathic concern moderates the underdog effect on brand attitude and that the moderating effect is mediated by empathic response to the advertisement. We conducted three experiments with ads using top-dog and underdog appeals. Those who have stronger empathic concern showed more favourable attitudes towards the brand advertised through underdog positioning, and the effect of empathic concern was mediated by the empathic response to the underdog positioning advertisement. For managers, targeting consumers who have high levels of empathic concern could result in more favourable attitudes towards underdog businesses when using underdog appeals.

Motivational bases for consumers’ underdog affection in commerce

Purpose The understanding of the motives for consumers’ support of business underdogs is generally limited. The purpose of this paper is to help address this important research topic by conceptualizing underdog affection as a theoretical construct capturing the emotional attachment held by some consumers toward underdog business entities and advances two perspectives (self- and other-oriented) to unravel its motivational underpinnings. Design/methodology/approach To test the conceptual model, a survey study was conducted involving 365 respondents drawn from an electronic alumni association list from a medium-sized Midwestern university in the USA. Exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analyses were used to validate the scales, and the structural equations modeling method was used to test the hypothesized effects. Findings The data support most of the hypotheses (eight out of nine). Under the self-oriented perspective, commerce underdog affection is positively influenced by underdog orientation, need for uniqueness, nostalgia proneness, and hope, and is negatively impacted by their materialism level. Only hope did not impact consumer underdog affection. Under the other-oriented perspective, balance maintenance, top dog antipathy, and empathic concern positively influence underdog affection. The other-oriented factors, especially top dog antipathy and balance maintenance, show stronger effects on commerce underdog affection than self-oriented factors. Research limitations/implications The sample was geographically restrictive in the sense that it measured only one group of respondents in the USA. The conceptual model is limited in terms of its coverage of the consequences of underdog affection. While discriminant validity is established in the scale development phase of the study, relatively close relationships do exist among some of these theoretical constructs. Practical implications Given the significant evidence linking consumers’ underdog affection to underdog support in commerce, small locally owned businesses could use underdog positioning advertising to differentiate themselves against national retailers. Due to their tendency to display higher underdog affection in commerce, people with higher levels of balance maintenance, top dog antipathy, underdog orientation, emphatic concern, and nostalgia proneness, and lower levels of materialism can be segmented for marketing purposes. Social implications This research indicates that there are ways in which small business entities and non-profits alike can operate in a business setting that is increasingly more competitive and challenging for underdog entities. Originality/value This study integrates the various underdog studies across contexts to examine motives to underdog affection, a construct not yet operationalized in business studies. In addition, hypotheses linking eight specific antecedents to commerce underdog affection, via two theoretical perspectives, are empirically examined to assess relative as well as absolute effects.

The Effect of Time Pressure on Choice and Postpurchase Processes

There has been little investigation of how time pressure affects the postpurchase process. While much research has found that time pressure affects the decision making process, this study examines both processes as a whole. An experiment finds that time pressure changes how product attributes are processed as well as one’s confidence in product choice. In the postpurchase process, time pressure affects causal inferences of product outcomes, which in turn affect the attitude toward the chosen product.