As the record spins: materialising connections

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine how the material nature of legacy technology makes its users passionately prefer it over its digital alternatives. Design/methodology/approach – This ethnographic study uses data from 26 in-depth interviews with vinyl collectors, augmented with longitudinal participant–observation of vinyl collecting and music store events. Findings – The findings reveal how the physicality of vinyl facilitates the passionate relationships (with music, the vinyl as performative object and other people) that make vinyl so significant in vinyl users’ lives. Research limitations/implications – As this study examines a single research context (vinyl) from the perspective of participants from three developed, Anglophone nations, its key theoretical contributions should be examined in other technological contexts and other cultures. Practical implications – The findings imply that miniturisation and automation have lower limits for some products, material attributes should be added to digitised products and that legacy technology products could be usually be reframed as tools of authentic self-expression. Originality/value – This study explains what can happen beyond the top of the “S” curve in the Technology Acceptance Model, furthering our understanding of consumers’ reactions to the proliferation of digital technology in their lives

Vegans and vaccines: a tale of competing identity goals

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Innovation in environmental technologies in China: the case of Feida’s power plant pollution control equipment

Innovation is important for developing a strong brand. This chapter introduces a leading provider of environmental solutions for power plants in China. Feida is a company located in the Zhejiang province in China that develops products and technology to remove small particles from the exhausts of coal-fired power plants. The chapter describes the company’s evolution towards a leading company in environmental technology in China and analyzes the role of R&D and innovation in its brand development. The chapter further assesses how the nature of the company’s innovation is connected to the production and functional/user side of the innovation system and institutional environment in which it operates. Feida’s strategy is to expand internationally to foreign markets but it is facing significant challenges in that process

How to write up case-study methodology sections

Business-to-business marketing academics study complex phenomena, aiming to describe these phenomena through theoretical frameworks, explaining the relationships among the framework's constructs, and provide guidance and insight to decision-makers. Not surprisingly, often business-to-business researchers undertake qualitative case studies. In this editorial, we discuss what we believe could be reported in the write-up of a case-study methodology section. In particular, we consider the issues of selecting cases; crafting instruments and protocols, entering the field; and analyzing the data. How to assess the validity and reliability of qualitative case studies is also discussed. We finish the editorial by examining three exemplar case studies that have been published in Industrial Marketing Management.http://www.elsevier.com/locate/indmarman2021-04-25hj2020Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS

How brands craft national identity

Drawing on cultural branding research, we examine how brands can craft national identity. We do so with reference to how brands enabled New Zealand’s displaced Pākehā (white) majority to carve out a sense of we-ness against the backdrop of globalization and resurgent indigenous identity claims. Using multiple sources of ethnographic data, we develop a process model of how brands create national identity through we-ness. We find that marketplace actors deployed brands to create and renew perceptions of we-ness through four-stages: reification, lumping, splitting, and horizon expansion. From this, we make three primary contributions to the consumer research literature: we develop a four-part process model of how brands become national identity resources, explore the characteristics of the brands that enable the emergence of and evolution of we-ness, and explore how our processes can address a sense of dispossession among displaced-majorities in similarly defined contexts

Co-creating educational consumer journeys : a sensemaking perspective

To date, customer education has been framed in terms of one-way information provision, at odds with much of the literature on meaning co-creation. Drawing on an ethnography of a specialty coffee purveyor, we show how staff and consumers co-create educational consumer journeys through the deployment of seven practices: auditing, realignment, marrying competing logics, negotiating scripts, evangelizing, expanding collective knowledge, and impression management. These practices require staff and consumers to enact three different educational roles (educator, student, and peer), which are necessary for the co-creation and extension of consumer journeys. The roles, practices and the journeys themselves emerge iteratively through sensebreaking, sensegiving, and sensemaking processes among staff, consumers and the servicescape. Our findings frame customer education as a dynamic process in which meaning is co-created between participants. Furthermore, the cues and touchpoints needed for meaning-making shift as power relations between participants change. Managerially, these findings highlight the potential of co-created educational consumer journeys to expand established market categories

Let the logo do the talking: the influence of logo descriptiveness on brand equity

Logos frequently include textual and/or visual design elements that are descriptive of the type of product/service that brands market. However, knowledge about how and when logo descriptiveness can influence brand equity is limited. Using a multimethod research approach across six studies, the authors demonstrate that more (vs. less) descriptive logos can positively influence brand evaluations, purchase intentions, and brand performance. They also demonstrate that these effects occur because more (vs. less) descriptive logos are easier to process and thus elicit stronger impressions of authenticity, which consumers value. Furthermore, two important moderators are identified: the positive effects of logo descriptiveness are considerably attenuated for brands that are familiar (vs. unfamiliar) to consumers and reversed (i.e., negative) for brands that market a type of product/service linked with negatively (vs. positively) valenced associations in consumers’ minds. Finally, an analysis of 597 brand logos suggests that marketing practitioners might not fully take advantage of the potential benefits of logo descriptiveness. The theoretical contributions and managerial implications of these findings are discussed

Animals in our lives: an interactive well-being perspective

Humans have long interacted with animals. Recently, market-based responses to societal challenges, including loneliness and mental well-being include the use of animals. Considerable research concerning consumer–animal relationships has also examined the benefits (micro, meso, and macro) of human-animal interaction and companionship. However, much of this research is fragmented and lacks a broader organizing framework. It also suffers from an anthropomorphic bias, whereby the interests of animals are excluded. To address this, we provide a macromarketing perspective on consumer–animal relations and explore the interdependencies of consumer–animal relationships on consumer, animal, and community well-being. We introduce and apply the Interactive Well-Being framework to four contexts –ranging from private to public consumption spaces– that highlight the interdependencies and systems involved in consumer–animal relationships: (1) co-habitation with animals, (2) emotional support animals, (3) working with animals, and (4) animals in commercial service contexts. We discuss the implications of our framework for the resilience of marketing systems and how the framework aligns with alternative economy development

Being sub-culturally authentic and acceptable to the mainstream: civilizing practices and self-authentication

The practices used by members of consumer tribes to achieve mainstream acceptance remain under-researched. Consumers seek tribal membership as part of a larger life theme or identity goal, yet the divergent nature of their tribe may hinder this desire for self-authentication. The research examines how members of one consumer tribe, Furries (or anthromorphs), “come out” with outsiders, thereby taking the ultimate transformative step. The findings demonstrate that Furries desire to disclose is framed around three competing concerns: being true to oneself, true to the tribe, and compassionate to outsiders. In balancing both egosystem and ecosystem goals Furries engage in three civilizing practices: reframing, spiritualizing, and playfulness. These practices enable members of consumer tribes to remain true to themselves but also expand the boundaries of their identities thereby gaining the mass acceptance they desire as part of a larger life theme