Soft power: Power of attraction or confusion?

Despite its popularity soft power remains power of confusion. The paper examines the concept, with a special focus on the nature and sources of soft power. Nye’s notion of soft power is largely ethnocentric and based on the assumption that there is a link between attractiveness and the ability to influence others in international relations. This poses two problems: Firstly, a country has many different actors. Some of them like the attraction and others don’t. Whether the attraction will lead to the ability to influence the policy of the target country depends on which groups in that country find it attractive and how much control they have on policymaking. Secondly, policymaking at the state level is far more complicated than at the personal level; and has different dynamics that emphasise the rational considerations. This leaves little room for emotional elements thus significantly reducing the effect of soft power. Given the nature of soft power being uncontrollable and unpredictable, it would be impossible to wield soft power in any organised and coordinated fashion as Nye suggested. Furthermore, the relationship between two countries is shaped by many complex factors. It is ultimately decided by the geopolitics and strategic interests of nations, in which soft power may play only a limited role. The paper also discusses the link between soft power and nation branding as both concepts are concerned with a nation’s influence on the world stage. Public diplomacy is a subset of nation branding that focuses on the political brand of a nation; whereas nation branding is about how a nation as whole to reshape the international opinions. A successful nation branding campaign will help create a more favourable and lasting image among the international audience thus further enhancing a country’s soft power

Respuestas de los consumidores a los hoteles certificados medioambientalmente: el efecto moderador de la conciencia medioambiental sobre la formación de intenciones comportamentales

Este estudio desarrolla un modelo que explora la relación entre las prácticas verdes, la imagen verde, la conciencia medioambiental y las intenciones comportamentales de los clientes en un contexto hotelero certificado. Para testar empíricamente el modelo propuesto se realizaron 502 encuestas personales a clientes hoteleros en España. Los resultados muestran como las percepciones de los clientes sobre las prácticas verdes tienen un efecto directo y positivo en la imagen verde de las compañías hoteleras. Al mismo tiempo, esta imagen influye directa y positivamente sobre las intenciones de comportamiento de los clientes hacia los hoteles certificados medioambientalmente. También se demuestra que cuanto mayor sea la conciencia medioambiental de los consumidores, mayor será su intención de hospedarse, realizar comentarios positivos y pagar una prima por alojarse en hoteles certificados. Por último, la conciencia medioambiental ejerce un efecto moderador sobre la relación causal entre la imagen verde y las intenciones comportamentales.This study develops a model that investigates the relationship among green practices, green image, environmental consciousness and the behavioral intentions of customers in a certified hotel context. The study examines the direct and the moderating role of environmental consciousness in the formation of behavioral intentions based on green initiatives. To test the proposed model empirically, 502 personal surveys of hotel customers were conducted in Spain. The findings show that customer perceptions of green practices have a positive direct effect on a hotel´s green image. At the same time, this environmental image has positive direct effects on customer behavioral intentions towards certified hotels. The authors also found that the higher the environmental consciousness of consumers, the greater their intention to stay, to spread positive word-of-mouth and pay a premium for environmentally-certified hotels. Finally, consumer environmental consciousness also exerts a moderating effect on the causal relationship between green image and behavioral intentions

Plain Tobacco Packaging: A Systematic Review

(From the Executive Summary): This systematic review outlines findings from 37 studies that provide evidence of the impacts of plain tobacco packaging. The review was conducted following the publication of the March 2011 White Paper Healthy Lives: Healthy People which set out a renewed Tobacco Control Plan for England. One of the key actions identified in the plan was to consult on possible options to reduce the promotional impact of tobacco packaging, including plain packaging. This systematic review was commissioned to provide a comprehensive overview of evidence on the impact of plain packaging in order to inform a public consultation on the issue

Complexity of communicating social responsibility

It is recognised that organisations, consumers and businesses are increasingly more concerned with how business activities affect society. While research has explored specific types of techniques for communicating corporate social responsibility (CSR), there has not been a more general discussion of the considerations that organisations should make when determining the type of communications that should be used. This paper takes a managerial approach, discussing four broad issues associated with the communication of CSR: 1) intensity of action/positioning; 2) communicating action; 3) types of programs utilised and 4) integration issues. It is proposed that by understanding these issues organisations will be in a better position to ensure that the information is clearly communicated and understood by their various stakeholders. The benefits to be achieved will, however, be dependent on the objectives of the communication and thus it is suggested there is not one single appropriate approach to managing these issues.<br /

Innovative Teaching and Digital Literacy in Preschool. App Content Analysis and Experimental Case Studies in a Sociological Perspective

The objective of this article is to illustrate, from the theoretical and methodological perspective, the construction of an experimental process of a “digital education app” in several preschools in the municipality of Rome. The general objective the project fits into is related to a sociological analysis, based on the relationship between theory and empirical research, of the effects of introducing digital media into preschool didactics. Preschools are a privileged site for observing and analyzing the formation and development of children’s capabilities (Nussbaum, 2000), since the plasticity of the child’s thought begins to be configured as early as preschool and evolves progressively taking into account the perceptive, sociocultural and behavioural conditions emerging from different educational agencies (Piaget, Inhelder, 1950). The article refers to the research project of the Mediamonitor Minori Observatory of the Sapienza University of Rome entitled “Media Usage in Pre-school. Analysis and Evaluation of the Influence of Digital Media on the Socialization of Children between 0-6”. The article retraces in particular the stages of the research strategy designed to structure a formative, experimental protocol to be experimented in some case studies in Rome and illustrates the main results

Consumers, Play and Communitas—an Anthropological View on Building Consumer Involvement on a Mass Scale

There is an increasing interest in effective methods for building consumer involvement on a mass scale. This paper offers an interdisciplinary theoretical framework for consumer involvement analysis and forwards an anthropological approach to this issue. It uses categories of play and communitas to examine cultural dynamics underlying consumer involvement. It summarizes and extends theoretical understanding of the topic and provides numerous examples from contemporary marketplace such as Heineken Open’er Festival and Volkswagen ‘Fun Theory’ initiative. Several research propositions are formulated for future empirical endeavors and implications for practice are defined

Prankvertising – Pranks as a New Form of Brand Advertising Online

A practical joke (i.e. a prank) belongs to a category of disparagement humor, as it is a playful act held to amuse, tease or even mock the victim, and to entertain the audience. Alt-hough humor has been long exploited in broadcast and print advertising, the use of practical jokes is a more recent phenomenon esp. in digital marketing. The development of the Inter-net and social media creates new opportunities for using pranks as disguised adverts embed-ded in online strategies and there is an increasing number of companies which exploit pranks as a creative content solution for their on-line presence. As there is little academic endeavor devoted to this subject, this paper forwards a theoretical and practical framework for pranks. It recognizes pranks as innovative forms of digital advertising and it analyses their potential in terms of branding effectiveness (e.g. in maximizing brand reach, exposure, brand visibility, drawing consumer attention, eliciting strong emotions etc.). Possible prank effects are inferred from the theory of humor and from the secondary data collected by the authors of this paper. Key challenges, risks and limitations are discussed and relevant exam-ples are provided. The paper concludes with several research areas and questions to be ad-dressed in future empirical studies

The Four Ps of Marketing: A Road Map to Greater Visibility for Community Foundations

Outlines a marketing model based on personal contacts, professional advisors, partnerships, and public awareness to raise a community foundation's profile and attract donors. Includes checklists, examples, and guidance on choosing advisors and partners

Stress and Decision Making: Effects on Valuation, Learning, and Risk-taking

A wide range of stressful experiences can influence human decision making in complex ways beyond the simple predictions of a fight-or-flight model. Recent advances may provide insight into this complicated interaction, potentially in directions that could result in translational applications. Early research suggests that stress exposure influences basic neural circuits involved in reward processing and learning, while also biasing decisions toward habit and modulating our propensity to engage in risk-taking. That said, a substantial array of theoretical and methodological considerations in research on the topic challenge strong cross study comparisons necessary for the field to move forward. In this review we examine the multifaceted stress construct in the context of human decision making, emphasizing stress’ effect on valuation, learning, and risk-taking