Victoria D. Bush

The Role of Brand Personality in Charitable Giving: An Assessment and Validation

Marketing concepts such as corporate identity, image, and branding are important strategies for nonprofit organizations. In particular, brand personality has been advocated by practitioners but has not been empirically investigated in the nonprofit context. According to social exchange theory and trust, the authors argue that nonprofit stakeholders perceive nonprofit organizations at an abstract level because of the organizations’ intangibility and social ideals. This study develops and refines a parsimonious measure of brand personality specifically for the nonprofit context. The authors conduct a series of six multimethod studies of nonprofit stakeholders to validate the role of brand personality in nonprofit organizations. The results yield four dimensions of brand personality for nonprofits: integrity, nurturance, sophistication, and ruggedness. Thus, current and potential donors ascribe personality traits to nonprofit organizations and differentiate between nonprofits on the basis of the organizations’ personality. Finally, nonprofit brand personality may influence potential donors’ likelihood to contribute.

The Influence of Family Communication Patterns on Parental Reactions toward Advertising: A Cross-National Examination

Abstract The global childrens market holds tremendous potential, yet little research has been conducted on international attitudes toward advertising and family communication patterns. Using consumer socialization as a theoretical foundation, the authors examine family communication patterns and general attitudes toward television advertising among mothers of children three to eight years of age in the United States and Japan. A four-category typology based on concept- and socio-orientation was used to classify mothers of both nationalities. Laissez-faire (low socio-, low concept-orientation) mothers had the most positive attitudes toward and the lowest mediation of their childrens exposure to television advertising. Pluralistic (low socio-, high concept-orientation) and consensual (high on both dimensions) mothers had the highest mediation of and most negative attitudes toward advertising. The responses of protective mothers (high socio-, low concept-orientation) were between those extremes. Overall, A...

Managing culturally diverse buyer-seller relationships: The role of intercultural disposition and adaptive selling in developing intercultural communication competence

Given the increase in cultural diversity within marketing organizations as well as within current and potential customer bases, possessing the appropriate communication skills becomes crucial to success in managing culturally diverse relationships. Although marketing researchers have recognized the importance of adaptive selling behavior for successful buyer-seller relationships, the exploration of the intercultural aspects of these relationships has only recently begun. This article examines how adaptive selling behaviors and intercultural dispositions of marketing executives contribute to their perceived intercultural communication competence. Results show that in addition to being adaptive, the intercultural disposition of a marketer is of key importance in developing intercultural communication competence. Theoretical and practical implications for incorporating intercultural communication into the development of successful buyer-seller relationships are discussed.

Ethics and marketing on this internet: Practitioners' perceptions of societal, industry and company concerns

The astonishing growth of the Internet coupled with its unique capabilities has captured the attention of the marketing community. Although many businesses are acknowledging the importance of a Web site, to date, little attention has been given to the business communitysperceptions of the ethicality of this new medium. A national sample of marketing executives was surveyed regarding their perceptions of: (1) regulation of the Internet, (2) the potential ethical issues via Internet marketing facing their industry, and (3) the role of ethics and Internet marketing in their organization. Results and recommendations for incorporating Internet ethical guidelines into organizations are discussed.

The Web as a Medium: An Exploratory Comparison of Internet Users versus Newspaper Readers

As the amount of time and money spent on the Internet increases, so does concern over how this new medium fits into our current media consumption patterns. Past research has revealed that Internet usage has increased at the expense of other more traditional media. Further, the Internet has come under criticism of promoting anti-social behavior, depression, and withdrawal from society. However, others speculate that the Internet has a positive impact on society so powerful that it will become an integrated part of our consumption patterns and literally reshape the information gathering process and retail landscape. Regardless of one’s position for or against this new medium, research is needed to understand how the Internet fits into our daily life as compared to other more traditional media. This study investigates characteristics of Internet users compared to a more traditional medium – newspaper readers. Consumers of each medium are compared based on their perceived materialism, shopping innovativeness, self-esteem, and volunteer inclinations. Implications for marketers and researchers are discussed.

Building and Assessing Cultural Diversity Skills:: Implications for Sales Training

Abstract Despite the continued increase in cultural diversity in the marketplace, many sales and marketing executives are failing to interact successfully with their customers and employees from diverse cultural backgrounds. As a result, academics and practitioners have advocated cultural diversity training as a way to increase success. However, diversity training often is perceived as an unnecessary component of sales training programs. Salespeople may not realize the benefits of such training and thus go into culturally diverse situations with a false sense of security that can produce embarrassing and nonproductive results. The purpose of this article is to introduce a simulation exercise that can help eliminate these perceptions and aid in creating awareness in salespeople and managers about the importance of cultural diversity via their own self-assessment. Results of this simulation are reported with implications and recommendations for future research.

The narrative paradigm as a perspective for improving ethical evaluations of advertisements

Abstract Recently, an increased number of advertisements have been questioned as being potentially unethical. Because of complaints from academicians, special interest groups, competitors, and broadcasters, certain advertising campaigns have been pulled from the media. The fact that potentially unethical ads are reaching the marketplace suggests that current methods of ad evaluation may be inadequate for some of todays controversial or innovative campaigns. The authors introduce the narrative paradigm as a possible solution or tool for discerning potentially unethical aspects of advertisements. A narrative approach to the evaluation of ad messages can reveal inconsistencies between the ad and the intended or influential audiences before the damaging effects of inappropriate campaigns occur.

Marketing the Business School: An Exploratory Investigation

Business schools across the country are faced with declining enrollment and shrinking budgets. One solution to this disturbing trend may be for business schools to become more marketing oriented. A key issue of concern is the degree to which marketing has actually been adopted and, as a result, what activities have been implemented in attracting and retaining business students. This exploratory study investigates the marketing activities of business schools with particular attention to undergraduate programs. Based on previous literature, focus groups, and in-depth interviews, a survey is developed to investigate the extent and perceived effectiveness of these activities in business schools. Results of the survey are reported and discussed with recommendations for the role of marketing and communications in recruiting and retaining business students.

Establishing ethical boundaries for service providers: a narrative approach

The arena of services marketing provides numerous opportunities for ethical violations. As competition intensifies, service providers strive harder to please the customer which can increase the temptation to make ethical compromises. Presents the narrative paradigm as a normative model for ethical decision making in the services marketing environment. The narrative paradigm is learned through socialization and can be applied to the performances of service providers. By viewing services rendered from the narrative perspective, service marketers may be able to discern hidden moral issues, or potential controversial activities. Introduces the concept of services as a performance and the current status of ethics in marketing with implications for the service industry. Introduces the narrative paradigm and gives examples of how it can be applied to the service marketing environment.

Adapting to diverse customers: A training matrix for international marketers

Abstract Despite the importance and revenue potential of global markets, many companies still fail to train marketers to interact with diverse customers. Too often, international marketers are caught off guard in how to approach and respond to customers of different cultures. This lack of sensitivity can put companies at a competitive disadvantage. The purpose of this paper is to develop a conceptual framework and matrix that incorporate the role of intercultural communication in developing international buyer-seller relationships. The framework focuses on the predispositions and abilities that marketers bring to an intercultural selling encounter and the consequences of these abilities in developing buyer-seller relationships. Implications for developing interculturally adaptive training programs are discussed.