Tony Garry

Tickled Pink: The Personal Meaning of Cause Related Marketing for Customers

There has been significant growth and interest in Cause Related Marketing over the past few years. (See Fellman 1999; Polonsky and McDonald 2002; Dupree 2002), An important element of cause related marketing is the level of customer awareness and involvement. However, in a review of previous studies conducted, it is clear that a limited amount of research has been conducted with regard to the role and involvement of consumers within Cause Related Marketing programmes. This paper reports on a qualitative research study of customers’ perceptions and levels of involvement in Cause Related Marketing activities. Focusing on a case study of Breast Cancer Awareness campaigns involving one retail and one product-based organization (ASDA and AVON), now running for several years, respondents offered some revealing and insightful commentary on their perceptions of the campaign. Among respondents in the study, the emotional level of individual involvement was found to be a key differentiating factor in customers’ awa...

Tourism and poverty alleviation: perceptions and experiences of poor people in Sapa, Vietnam

This paper examines the perceptions and experiences of poor people in Sapa, Vietnam, regarding tourism as a means of poverty alleviation. Participant observations and semi-structured interviews were conducted with local people and key informants. The paper indicates that local people perceive poverty as a lack of rice and/or income and attribute it to both internal and external causes. The local tourism sector has primarily benefited the non-poor and tour operators, resulting in conflicts of interest among community members. However, more local people consider tourism a contributor to poverty alleviation than those who do not. All interviewees wish to become homestay owners or tourist guides. The most important barrier to the former is the lack of capital, while foreign language proficiency is the main hindrance to the latter. It is concluded that while an appropriate approach is required to involve local people in tourism, alternative livelihoods other than tourism are also needed. The study suggests that poor peoples interpretation of poverty may be substantially different from that of academics and policy-makers. It argues that by valuing the perspectives of those experiencing poverty we can establish more meaningful approaches to alleviating poverty through tourism that are more likely to succeed.

An investigation into gamification as a customer engagement experience environment

Purpose – This study aims to provide empirically generated insights into a gamification approach to online customer engagement and behavior (CE and CEB). There is a substantive discrepancy between popular coverage and empirically based research as to the effectiveness of virtual brand gamification in engaging customers. Design/methodology/approach – Using Samsung Nation as a unit of analysis, a mixed-methods research design using netnography and participant observation is adopted to address the research aim. Findings – Taken holistically, the findings identify key processes and outcomes of CE and CEB within virtual gamified platforms. Additionally, insights are provided into implementation flaws deriving from gamification that may potentially impact the CE experience. Originality/value – The contribution of this paper is twofold. First and from a theoretical perspective, it offers both a conceptual foundation and empirical-based evaluation of CE and CEB through a gamified brand platform. Second and from a...

‘It's Mine!’ – Participation and ownership within virtual co-creation environments

Abstract Interpretations of value and the processes of value creation are rapidly evolving from product- and firm-centric perspectives to personalised consumer experiences. However, whilst much of the literature in this area advocates the role of the firm as that of ‘enabler’ and ‘community leader’, relatively little empirical-based research exists on ‘post-product’ manipulations by consumers and the resultant ‘blurring’ of the boundaries of ownership between consumer and firm. Drawing on the consumption community and co-creation literature, this paper reports on a study that examines the nature and characteristics of a virtual co-creation context. Findings suggest consumers are able to take ownership, define and create their own post-product consumption experience, and, through a collaborative – often implicit – process between firm and consumer, continually modify and ‘co-evolve’ the product in an ongoing and iterative process. This in turn has implications for post-product ownership within such contexts.

Relationship marketing: why bother?

Purpose – This paper provides a general review of relationship marketing, its application to a business‐to‐business context and examines reasons for its failure.Design/methodology/approach – Reporting on the literature and two separate research investigations undertaken by the authors, research suggests there are few companies that succeed in developing relationship‐marketing programs that produce significant benefits to both parties. Discussion of theoretical aspects on relationship marketing is followed by examination of evidence from research.Findings – A series of potential failure points are identified and commented on in relation to the authors own research findings. This includes an analysis of how successful face‐to‐face interactions can be used to build relationships.Originality/value – This article synthesizes and critically evaluates the role of relationship marketing in business and poses the key question on partnership development that many business managers are struggling with today: why bot...

Tribal motivation in sponsorship and its influence on sponsor relationship development and corporate identity.

Whilst the literature on sponsorship suggests it has evolved from a philanthropic gesture to a strategic tool that mangers leverage to provide sustainable competitive advantage, this paper reports on a study which suggests other motivational factors may be on par with or supersede commercial or altruistic considerations. Drawing on self identification, social identity and tribal marketing literature, the paper explores the concept of tribal support as a motivational factor for sponsorship participation and examines the moderating effect this may have on sponsor-object relationship development and on corporate identity development. Findings show strong sub-cultural, tribal connection and variations in self and social identification among sponsors and demonstrate how sponsorship motivation affects sponsor relationship development, sponsor-event fit, brand association and corporate identity development in complex ways.

The need for adaptive processes of benchmarking in small business‐to‐business services

Purpose – This paper aims to explore current management attitudes towards benchmarking and its implementation within small business‐to‐business service firms in order to enhance a deeper understanding of benchmarking within such contexts.Design/methodology/approach – The paper uses in‐depth case analysis of small architectural services to collect empirical data on benchmarking initiatives, attitudes, key characteristics and constraints on benchmarking.Findings – Findings suggest that there are significant variations in the receptiveness of small business‐to‐business firms towards the adoption of benchmarking. There may be an inherent distrust of benchmarking, as it is primarily perceived as being a tool for larger organizations, where productivity improvements are the main driver. Evidence of perceived constraints in both the implementation of benchmarking and in the definition of what constitutes best practice highlighted a cultural difficulty for small architectural firms when adopting a business proces...

Affect and the role of corporate customer expertise within legal services

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to explore the role of affect evoked among customers of differing expertise within a business‐to‐business credence service context and examine how this affects overall satisfaction judgements.Design/methodology/approach – Drawing on the affect and satisfaction literature, the paper examines affective reactions to service delivery within multi‐national and regional corporate legal services markets. A two‐stage methodology is adopted incorporating explorative interviews and a survey comprising 252 users of corporate legal services.Findings – Findings suggest the customers ability to form expectation and performance assessments about the core service may have a moderating influence on affective reactions within a business‐to‐business credence service context. Customers of differing expertise will vary in the way they set service expectations and evaluate service delivery in relation to the technical, functional and affective components.Practical implications – Organisation...

Social Marketing as the Subject of Doctoral Dissertations

This article examines the evolution of social marketing as the subject of doctoral dissertations. Search strategies were used and online databases mined to identify 93 social marketing-focused doctoral theses completed between 1971 and 2013. Dissertation titles and abstracts were analyzed to determine growth trends, institutional output, disciplinary context, topical coverage, theory and model use, and differences between countries. Results indicate that the growth in the number of doctoral theses on social marketing was neither stable nor continuous over the examined period but that a rapid increase has been seen in recent years. More than 80% of the identified doctoral dissertations were undertaken in American and British educational institutions. The largest contributions came from the fields of health sciences and education, followed by business administration, marketing, communications, and psychology. Public health was predominantly the research topic. Theories and models were not always reported, with Theory of Planned Behaviour, Diffusion of Innovations Theory, and Health Belief Model being utilized most often. This study also suggests that many dissertations were focused on program development while paying relatively limited attention to theoretical advancement. This study contributes to the debate on the academic legitimacy of social marketing and helps shape directions for further knowledge creation in the field.

The moderating influence of client sophistication on relationships within business‐to‐business credence service markets

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to report on a study which aims to identify the characteristics and determinants of client sophistication within the UK corporate legal services market and to investigate its effect in determining the nature and essence of client‐solicitor relationships.Design/methodology/approach – The paper uses in‐depth interviews of a range of individuals involved in the selection and evaluation of legal services used by their organisations and practice lawyers working for a variety of regional and national law firms involved in the delivery of legal advice related to corporate and commercial issues.Findings – Findings suggest the level of client sophistication has a moderating influence in a number of key areas. These are identified as: service evaluation criteria; interdependency and power; the atmosphere in which solicitor‐client interactions take place and relationships develop; the nature of joint personal relational goals and the role of trust and extent of commitment.Origi...