Examining social media live stream’s influence on the consumer decision-making:a thematic analysis

Social media live streaming, in the form of live video and user stories, is widely used by influencers, organisations and individuals to connect with their audiences. Its popularity is well-established in a range of theoretical and managerial contexts. However, there is a lack of scholarship on the role of this phenomenon on consumer decision-making. Filling this gap in the research is essential due to the importance of consumer decision-making in marketing and brand strategy development in organisations. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to explore and outline the nature of the influence of live stream on the consumer decision-making. The study was part of a 12-month Netnography consisting of participant observation and social media monitoring of brand pages and branded hashtags on social media platforms, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and Instagram. A thematic analysis revealed five main themes and a conceptual model is proposed which outlines the social media live stream’s influence on consumer decision-making at each stage

SDGs and the wine industry:a case study of a Scottish wine business

Purpose: There is a growing body of literature on business engagement with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, there has been little focus on wine businesses and their engagement with, or contribution to, the SDGs.Design/methodology/approach: This research uses the case study method to analyse a single Scottish wine business. The focus is on the business’s existing sustainability practices or activities, as well as awareness of the SDGs and engagement with them.Findings: The case study business owner has no awareness of the SDGs, and therefore no engagement with them. However, several sustainability-focused practices have been implemented, and the business does make some contribution as a sustainable development agent, including at a global level through charitable donations. Economic motives are the primary drivers for the sustainability focus in the business.Practical implications: The findings from this case study are likely to transfer to other small to medium sized wine businesses in other nations. In addition, this exploratory case study will be the basis for the development of a research instrument which will be used to collect quantitative data about SDG awareness, engagement, and contribution across the wider wine industry sector in a multi-national study

SDGs and the wine industry:a case study of a Scottish wine business

Purpose: There is a growing body of literature on business engagement with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, there has been little focus on wine businesses and their engagement with, or contribution to, the SDGs.Design/methodology/approach: This research uses the case study method to analyse a single Scottish wine business. The focus is on the business’s existing sustainability practices or activities, as well as awareness of the SDGs and engagement with them.Findings: The case study business owner has no awareness of the SDGs, and therefore no engagement with them. However, several sustainability-focused practices have been implemented, and the business does make some contribution as a sustainable development agent, including at a global level through charitable donations. Economic motives are the primary drivers for the sustainability focus in the business.Practical implications: The findings from this case study are likely to transfer to other small to medium sized wine businesses in other nations. In addition, this exploratory case study will be the basis for the development of a research instrument which will be used to collect quantitative data about SDG awareness, engagement, and contribution across the wider wine industry sector in a multi-national study

Marketing meal kits:from customer agency to corporate social responsibility

Meal kits delivered to the home have become increasingly popular in recent years, particularly during the COVID-19 virus pandemic. Several companies offer these through monthly subscription with a vast range of ingredients and easy-to-follow recipes based on chef-inspired meals that customers can cook themselves. This paper examines the marketing of meal kits from three UK companies in terms of how they discursively construct the agency of the consumer. The study is based on a thematic analysis of web-based marketing material from the companies in terms of more or less coherent rhetorical ways of constructing matters in terms of common place descriptions, tropes, figures of speech, and metaphors. The findings point to several ways in which such a positioning is achieved under four thematic headings: the creative and committed consumer, the ethical consumer committed to sustainability, the consumer as an efficient time-saver, and the consumer aligned with corporate social responsibility. It is argued that this marketing approach is more elaborate than conventional identity approaches associated with brands, in that it taps into the consumer’s sense of agency both with and beyond the product

Exploring the role of religion in consumer decision-making processes:perspectives on developing nations

The literature is replete with postulations around consumer decision making process. Essentially, the core argument in this issue is that Irrespective of the market offering involved, the consumer pass through a number of stages which begins with need recognition. Conventionally, this is followed by search for information, evaluation of alternatives, decision, and post-purchase evaluation. A number of scholarship efforts have provided variants of this vis-à-vis various decision models that do not necessarily conform to the rational model depicted in the highlighted process. This chapter presents a critical overview of this discourse. Moreover, in view of its all-encompassing form, the chapter offers an eclectic submission on each of the stages in this conventional process in relation to how religion reflect in them to influence consumption in developing nations. A good number of cases and illustrations are presented to accentuate this as relevant to developing nations as the contextual platform for the chapter

Data for: Exploring customer engagement with Instagram influencers, post Covid-19

This dataset was collected as part of a Masters by Research project. The data comprises responses collected from 633 Instagram users globally, aged between 18-35 yrs age, on the relationship between Instagram users and Influencers using a 5-point Likert scale survey on Qualtrics. The socio-demographic data was on their profession, frequency of usage, and reason for use. The study aimed to investigate the cause-and-effect relationship between COVID- 19 restrictions and customer engagement on Instagram between the relationship of users and Influencers. The study looks at the different variables that impact customer engagement between influencers and users on Instagram, such as trust, interactivity, virtual experience, and visual display of content

Data for: Exploring customer engagement with Instagram influencers, post Covid-19

This dataset was collected as part of a Masters by Research project. The data comprises responses collected from 633 Instagram users globally, aged between 18-35 yrs age, on the relationship between Instagram users and Influencers using a 5-point Likert scale survey on Qualtrics. The socio-demographic data was on their profession, frequency of usage, and reason for use. The study aimed to investigate the cause-and-effect relationship between COVID- 19 restrictions and customer engagement on Instagram between the relationship of users and Influencers. The study looks at the different variables that impact customer engagement between influencers and users on Instagram, such as trust, interactivity, virtual experience, and visual display of content

Parent-mediated social communication therapy for young children with autism (PACT):long-term follow-up of a randomised controlled trial

SummaryBackgroundIt is not known whether early intervention can improve long-term autism symptom outcomes. We aimed to follow-up the Preschool Autism Communication Trial (PACT), to investigate whether the PACT intervention had a long-term effect on autism symptoms and continued effects on parent and child social interaction.MethodsPACT was a randomised controlled trial of a parent-mediated social communication intervention for children aged 2–4 years with core autism. Follow-up ascertainment was done at three specialised clinical services centres in the UK (London, Manchester, and Newcastle) at a median of 5·75 years (IQR 5·42–5·92) from the original trial endpoint. The main blinded outcomes were the comparative severity score (CSS) from the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS), the Dyadic Communication Assessment Measure (DCMA) of the proportion of child initiatiations when interacting with the parent, and an expressive-receptive language composite. All analyses followed the intention-to-treat principle. PACT is registered with the ISRCTN registry, number ISRCTN58133827.Findings121 (80%) of the 152 trial participants (59 [77%] of 77 assigned to PACT intervention vs 62 [83%] of 75 assigned to treatment as usual) were traced and consented to be assessed between July, 2013, and September, 2014. Mean age at follow-up was 10·5 years (SD 0·8). Group difference in favour of the PACT intervention based on ADOS CSS of log-odds effect size (ES) was 0·64 (95% CI 0·07 to 1·20) at treatment endpoint and ES 0·70 (95% CI −0·05 to 1·47) at follow-up, giving an overall reduction in symptom severity over the course of the whole trial and follow-up period (ES 0·55, 95% CI 0·14 to 0·91, p=0·004). Group difference in DCMA child initiations at follow-up showed a Cohen's d ES of 0·29 (95% CI −0.02 to 0.57) and was significant over the course of the study (ES 0·33, 95% CI 0·11 to 0·57, p=0·004). There were no group differences in the language composite at follow-up (ES 0·15, 95% CI −0·23 to 0·53).InterpretationThe results are the first to show long-term symptom reduction after a randomised controlled trial of early intervention in autism spectrum disorder. They support the clinical value of the PACT intervention and have implications for developmental theory.FundingMedical Research Council

Biologic Phenotyping of the Human Small Airway Epithelial Response to Cigarette Smoking

BACKGROUND: The first changes associated with smoking are in the small airway epithelium (SAE). Given that smoking alters SAE gene expression, but only a fraction of smokers develop chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), we hypothesized that assessment of SAE genome-wide gene expression would permit biologic phenotyping of the smoking response, and that a subset of healthy smokers would have a "COPD-like" SAE transcriptome. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: SAE (10th-12th generation) was obtained via bronchoscopy of healthy nonsmokers, healthy smokers and COPD smokers and microarray analysis was used to identify differentially expressed genes. Individual responsiveness to smoking was quantified with an index representing the % of smoking-responsive genes abnormally expressed (I(SAE)), with healthy smokers grouped into "high" and "low" responders based on the proportion of smoking-responsive genes up- or down-regulated in each smoker. Smokers demonstrated significant variability in SAE transcriptome with I(SAE) ranging from 2.9 to 51.5%. While the SAE transcriptome of "low" responder healthy smokers differed from both "high" responders and smokers with COPD, the transcriptome of the "high" responder healthy smokers was indistinguishable from COPD smokers. CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCE: The SAE transcriptome can be used to classify clinically healthy smokers into subgroups with lesser and greater responses to cigarette smoking, even though these subgroups are indistinguishable by clinical criteria. This identifies a group of smokers with a "COPD-like" SAE transcriptome