Book reviews

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/45686/1/11336_2005_Article_BF02289203.pd

On the determination of redundancies in sociometric chains

The use of a matrix to represent a relationship between the members of a group is well known in sociometry. If this matrix is raised to a certain power, the elements appearing give the total number of connecting paths between each pair of members. In general, some of these paths will be redundant. Methods of finding the number of such redundant paths have been developed for three- and four-step chains by Luce and Perry (3) and Katz (2), respectively. We have derived formulas for the number of redundant paths of five and six steps; and in addition, an algorithm for determining the number of redundant paths of any given length.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/45690/1/11336_2005_Article_BF02288782.pd

“Should Have I Bought the Other One?” Experiencing Regret in Global Versus Local Brand Purchase Decisions

This research addresses the unexplored postpurchase dynamics of global/local brand choices by investigating the experience of regret in global versus local brand purchases. Drawing on regret theory, the authors demonstrate in four complementary studies that the global/local availability of both chosen and forgone brands influences consumer responses to regrettable purchases and that the direction and magnitude of this influence depend on the consumers’ product category schema and global identity. Study 1 shows that regrettable decisions to forgo global for local brands elicit stronger regret, lower satisfaction, and higher brand switching than regrettable purchases of global (vs. local) brands for consumers with a global brand superiority schema for the category; the inverse holds for consumers with a local brand superiority schema. Studies 2 and 3 replicate the effect and show that it is mediated by perceived decision justifiability and moderated by global identity. Study 4 further validates the observed effect using a real brand choice task in a category with a local brand–dominated schema. The findings reveal the postpurchase consequences of global/local brand choices and provide concrete advice for global/local branding strategies

Belief in a Just World: Consumer Intentions and Behaviors Toward Ethical Products

Although consumers report positive attitudes toward ethical goods, their intentions and behaviors often do not follow suit. Just-world theory highlights the conditions under which consumers are most likely to prefer fair-trade products. This theory proposes that people are motivated to construe the world as a just place where people get what they deserve. In the current research, when people are confronted with high levels of injustice (communicated need is high) and avenues for justice restoration seem uncertain or unavailable, assisting others by supporting fair trade decreases. However, highlighting how injustice can be redressed through purchases enhances fair-trade support under conditions of high need. The effects are moderated by justice sensitivity factors, such as just-world beliefs and whether the product type (indulgence vs. necessity) makes the injustice of consumer privilege salient. The results suggest that communicating high need when requesting consumer prosocial actions can sometimes backfire. Marketers employing high need appeals should heighten perceptions of justice restoration potential and activate fairness-related thoughts through product positioning to encourage fair-trade purchases

Convergence towards a European strategic culture? A constructivist framework for explaining changing norms.

The article contributes to the debate about the emergence of a European strategic culture to underpin a European Security and Defence Policy. Noting both conceptual and empirical weaknesses in the literature, the article disaggregates the concept of strategic culture and focuses on four types of norms concerning the means and ends for the use of force. The study argues that national strategic cultures are less resistant to change than commonly thought and that they have been subject to three types of learning pressures since 1989: changing threat perceptions, institutional socialization, and mediatized crisis learning. The combined effect of these mechanisms would be a process of convergence with regard to strategic norms prevalent in current EU countries. If the outlined hypotheses can be substantiated by further research the implications for ESDP are positive, especially if the EU acts cautiously in those cases which involve norms that are not yet sufficiently shared across countries

The Motivating Role of Dissociative Outgroups in Encouraging Positive Consumer Behaviors

Previous research has found that people tend to avoid products or behaviors that are linked to dissociative reference groups. The present research demonstrates conditions under which consumers exhibit similar behaviors to dissociative out-group members in the domain of positive consumption behaviors. In particular, when a consumer learns that a dissociative out-group performs comparatively well on a positive behavior, the consumer is more likely to respond with positive intentions and actions when the setting is public (vs. private). The authors suggest that this occurs because learning of the successful performance of a dissociative out-group under public conditions threatens the consumer’s group image and activates the desire to present the group image in a positive light. The authors show that although group affirmation mitigates these effects, self-affirmation does not. They also examine the moderating role of the positivity of the behavior and the mediating role of group image motives. Taken together, the results highlight conditions under which communicating information about the behaviors of dissociative out-groups can be used to spur consumers to engage in positive actions

Nothing Is True? The Credibility of News and Conflicting Narratives during “Information War” in Ukraine

In international politics, the strategic narratives of different governments compete for public attention and support. The Russian government’s narrative has prompted western concern due to fears that it exerts a destabilizing effect on societies in Eastern Europe and elsewhere. However, the behavior and thought processes of news consumers targeted by contradictory strategic narratives are rarely subjected to analysis. This paper examines how Ukrainian news consumers decide where to get their news and what to believe in a media environment where “propaganda” and “disinformation” are regarded as major threats to national security. Evidence comes from thirty audio-diaries and in-depth interviews conducted in 2016 among adult residents of Odesa Region. Through qualitative analysis of the diary and interview transcripts, the paper reveals how participants judged the credibility of news and narratives based on their priorities (what they considered important), not just “facts” (what they believed had happened). The attribution of importance to different foreign policy issues was associated, in turn, with varying personal experiences, memories, and individual cross-border relationships