The Church of Mac: An Initial Examination on the Loyalty of Apple Customers

The death of Apple’s CEO Steve Jobs left many in the business world wondering if Apple would also face a decline in health. However, the subsequent release and over-whelming demand of the new iPhone and iPad showed the world how much this product brand is loved by consumers. Yet what exactly makes Apple consumers loyal to Apple products with an array of similar, yet less expensive, products on the market? Understanding what makes Apple users loyal is important to all companies striving to replicate the kind of brand loyalty that Apple generates. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to investigate the antecedents of Apple’s brand loyalty including brand identification, brand personality congruence, and reputation using the theory base of social identity (Halliday and Kuenzel, 2010). Marketing literature has long recognized the importance of brand loyalty, yet what comprises loyalty is still debated (Chaudhuri & Holbrook, 2001). Gounaris and Stathakopoulos (2004) found that a consumer’s emotional attachment to the brand, the purchasing behavior, and the consumer’s normative influences are three factors on which brand loyalty is dependent. Research has also found that social identity can be a helpful tool in understanding a firm’s consumers as they may view goods as an extension of themselves (Ahearne et al., 2005; Bhattacharya and Sen, 2003; Halliday and Kuenzel, 2008, 2010). According to social identity theory, groups will often form into communities that congregate around brands that communicate who they are collectively (Carlson & Donavan, 2008). Data were collected using an online survey composed of questions regarding brand identification, brand personality, reputation, brand loyalty, and demographics. Respondents were strongly favorable to Apple’s attractiveness, favorability, and distinctiveness. Results also support the hypothesis that brand identity has a positive significant effect on reputation. It was also supported that brand identity is positively related to brand personality congruence, but there does not appear to be congruence between brand personality and an individual’s persona. These results agree with Ahearne, Battacharya, and Gruen (2005) who found consumers are more likely to identify with a company that has a good reputation. With regard to brand loyalty, nearly 78% of the respondents agreed that it is important for them to buy a brand with a good reputation and that Apple possesses a good reputation, a construct that previous literature has found to be important in gaining loyalty (Argenti & Drunkenmiller, 2004). Results also show Apple brand identity and brand personality congruence is positively related to Apple brand loyalty. Almost all of the respondents agree that they would continue to use the Apple brand because they are acquainted, and satisfied, with the brand. However, although respondents expressed price sensitivity to technology a strong majority indicated they would buy additional products from Apple. Overall, it can be said that it appears the Apple brand has a strong reputation and strong loyalty from users which will help promote repeat purchase patterns

Segmentation of the Aruban Tourism Market: Classification of Visitors’ On-Island Activities

Travel and tourism offices in destinations throughout the world are keenly aware of the importance of attracting visitors to their locale. This is especially true in places where tourism is an important component of the local economy. Nowhere is tourism more important than for the island nations of the Caribbean, an area that has been called one of the most tourism dependent regions in the world. With approximately 1.22 million people visiting each year, the Caribbean island of Aruba “The World Tourism Council (WTTC) reports Aruba’s GDP is more reliant on travel and tourism than any other nation, relative to size, in the world”. In fact, Aruban tourism is the island’s main economic pillar contributing 88% of the nation’s GDP. Tourism supports not only direct commerce such as retail stores, hotels and restaurants, travel agents, transportation, etc., but also indirect commerce to support these industries including artisans, farming, manufacturing, etc.. Although the Aruba Tourism Authority’s website declares that “Aruba’s popularity has remained constant, due not only to sun, sand and sea, but also to other factors including the hospitality and friendliness of its people, safety, political stability, and various niches such as activities, nightlife, shopping, restaurants” there has been no academic research investigating what tourists do while visiting Aruba. Segmenting tourists according to the activities, nightlife, and shopping they have been involved in during their stay can be a valuable tool used by local governments and business owners in anticipating consumer demand and attracting potential tourists. Therefore, the main objective of this research was to determine if tourists can be segmented based on the activities they enjoy. A total of 503 tourists were sampled using an intercept data collection method at the Oranjestadt International Airport. Approximately 87% of the sample were from the U.S. with the remaining tourists coming from the Netherlands, the U.K., Spain, Italy, Canada and Brazil. Respondents included 187 females (37.2%) and 311 males (61.8%). Factor analysis was performed to determine if tourists could be segmented according to groups of activities in which they participated. Three distinct salient segments of tourists emerged and were labeled as: 1) Active Newlyweds, 2) Cultural Explorers, and 3) Social Entertainment Seekers. Active Tourists were those tourists who were more likely to have been married while on Aruba or honeymooning on the island and were interested in participating in more active sports such as wind-surfing, golf, land-sailing, horseback riding, etc. The Cultural Explorer group was composed of respondents who were more interested in vising Aruban historic or cultural sites or visiting festivals, art galleries, museums, etc. Lastly, the respondents in the Social Entertainment Seekers latent group wanted activities that had a social aspect to them such as dining out, going to casinos, meeting new people, and going out to enjoy the nightlife of the island. Using the information from this project can be used to more effectively target groups of tourists interested in visiting Aruba. This type of marketing tool can be especially useful for the smaller, yet tourism-dependent countries of the Caribbean with limited resources

Reflections in the Mirror: Women’s Self Comparisons to Mannequins and Peers

The fashion industry has been under fire for years for using unrealistic body sizes in the form of stick-thin fashion models to promote the sale of clothing. Typical Western fashion models in today’s society are sized 0-2 and weigh approximately 23% less than the average U.S. woman, who weighs approximately 163 pounds and wears a size 14 (Vesilind, 2009). According to Vartanian (2009), many women suffer from body image self-discrepancies when they compare themselves with others, including fashion models. As such, social comparison has been documented to create negative emotions, such as body dissatisfaction and disappointment (Posavac & Posavac, 2002). Although a number of studies have investigated how an idealized body image in media impacts social comparison among females, no research has explored to what extent comparisons of mannequins to a customer’s self may impact self-image and consumer behavior. Since mannequins serve to show consumers how clothing may look on the human body and consumers may be drawn to the clothing due to the way the clothing fits the mannequin and/or the poise, stature, or grace of the mannequin itself (Schneider, 1997), it should be expected that mannequins would also influence self-image and behavior. Utilizing Social Comparison Theory as the theoretical foundation, this study examines the influencing factors affecting U.S. females\u27 social comparison tendencies and psychological well-being when a female compares her body to that of a mannequin and to other women. Data was collected using an online survey through the use of snowball convenience sampling, yielding 314 usable responses. Results indicate that the use of idealized mannequins in retail stores have a significant impact on social comparison and body dissatisfaction for female consumers. These results suggest that female consumers do indeed compare their bodies to those of mannequins and that the greater the discrepancy between the size of the mannequin and their own size, the more dissatisfied the woman is with her body. This research extends Social Comparison Theory as the findings show women also compare themselves to mannequins. In addition, results of this study show that women who are categorized with a BMI classification of overweight or obese are more likely to compare themselves to other females. Results also show that the top five body parts/characteristics most commonly compared to mannequins and other females are body size, weight, body shape, waist, and legs

Conocimiento, valores e intenciones como determinantes del comportamiento ecológico

The aim of this paper is to explain the ecological behavior of individuals. In particular, the role that knowledge about the environment, values and intentions played in the realization of an ecological behavior has been analyzed. Previously, the measurement scales of each construct have been validated. A structural equation modeling was used to a sample of 497 individuals. The tested model explained 87 per cent of the variance of ecological behavior. Our results show that knowledge and values are able to generate, indirectly, environmental actions, mediated by intentions, while intentions have a direct influence on behavior.<br><br>El objetivo de este trabajo es explicar el comportamiento ecológico de los individuos. En particular, se analiza el papel que, sobre el comportamiento, ejercen el conocimiento sobre el medio ambiente, los valores de las personas y sus intenciones a través de la propuesta de un modelo. Con carácter previo se han validado las escalas de medida específicas de cada constructo. La técnica estadística utilizada es la modelización de ecuaciones estructurales aplicada sobre una muestra de 497 individuos. El modelo testado es capaz de explicar el 87 % de la varianza del comportamiento ecológico. Nuestros resultados indican que el conocimiento y los valores son susceptibles de generar de forma indirecta actuaciones ecológicas por parte del individuo, mediadas por las intenciones; mientras que las intenciones ejercen una influencia directa sobre la conducta

Reflections in the Store Window: U.S. Women’s Self-Comparisons to Mannequins

One of the promotional tools retailers often use to promote clothing is a stick-thin mannequin that does not reflect the body type of a typical American female. The use of snowball convenience sampling method yielded 316 usable responses. Results indicate that the greater the woman's body mass index, the more likely she is to compare herself with mannequins and to perceive discrepancy between her body and the body of a mannequin and, 2) subsequently, the less likely she is to be satisfied with her own body. This research extends Social Comparison Theory