Sex, spies and celluloid : movie content preference, choice, and involvement

This study empirically tests the congruity between movie-content preference and choice on television, video, and at the cinema; and the impact of consumer involvement on this relationship. The results support the need to treat preference and choice differentially. Media type added little in way of explanation of changes in preference–choice congruence. Involvement with movie choice was found to vary by medium, yet correlational analysis showed that it did not unequivocally change the nature of preference–choice congruence. Nonetheless, further enquiry into the role of involvement is warranted before it is dismissed as irrelevant in the choice of leisure media products

Exploring the sources of self-efficacy in consumer behavior

This article presents the findings of an exploratory investigation into the sources of self-efficacy in consumer behaviour, an area virtually ignored in previous research. Ten depth interviews were conducted with a relatively heterogenous sample of informants to explore the nature of, and the extent to which consumers draw on the sources of self-efficacy information proposed by Bandura (1977): performance attainments, vicarious experience, verbal persuasion, and physiological and affective states

The great "I can" : broadening the scope of self-efficacy in goal-directed consumer behaviour

The value of the self-efficacy construct to the study of consumer behaviour has begun to receive greater albeit limited attention. The purpose of this paper is to consolidate the work done to date on self-efficacy, and extend its application by conceptualising how it may relate to a much broader array of consumer behaviour than has previously been acknowledged in any one study. Self-efficacy is one variable among multiple determinants of behaviour. However, there is evidence to suggest that the role of self-efficacy in consumer behaviour warrants more attention by researchers to better understand consumers’ goal-directed thoughts, feelings and actions

Does digital storytelling assessment enhance student engagement?

Learning environments are in a state of flux as technology continues to play a more important role in providing new opportunities to encourage student engagement. However, the application of technology in the learning environment should not be for its own sake. In this case, a digital storytelling assessment was integrated into a postgraduate business course. Digital Storytelling was chosen as an influential and lasting method of communication where the blend of verbal and visual educates, informs and entertains an audience. A series of focus groups were run upon completion of the course, where it was uncovered that the digital story assessment: 1) developed students’ soft skills with improved communication - particularly for international students; 2) enabled an emotional connection for both the student and the audience; and, 3) created a stimulating learning experience that improved group collaboration

[In Press] Tell me a story! : blending digital storytelling into marketing higher education for student engagement

Multimodal learning via the use of smart devices, online social interactions, and intuitive communication platforms are fundamentally changing teaching and learning settings. Consequently, educators face unique challenges around student engagement as learners increasingly look to the use of technology-enabled activities for meaningful collaboration. Within this context, this research explores the role of digital storytelling in promoting perceived individual student and group engagement, and how these interact with group functioning, in a postgraduate marketing subject. We evaluate the implementation of this assessment as an avenue to optimize the benefits of the blended learning setting. It contributes to understanding by incorporating the concept of collective, or collaborative engagement where there is a scarcity of research despite the widespread application of group assessment in business education, and marketing education in particular. We employed canonical correlation analysis as an exploratory technique to gain initial insight into its efficacy for student engagement. We contend that digital storytelling shows promise as an inherently social and interactive learning task to provide an authentic assessment for a range of marketing problems. In turn, these attributes provide a stimulating vehicle for student engagement that can promote learning and satisfaction

[In Press] The changing carnival : reimagining and recreating the match-day experience in multi-purpose stadiums

Sports stadiums are notable city architecture, culturally significant and potentially transformative spaces. They are also a place where sports teams remain as significant social and spatial anchors, which become particularly important for cities undergoing urban change. For this study, we seek to build on a growing body of scholarship exploring how spaces inside and surrounding sports stadiums form an integral component of the experience of fans on match-day. Theoretically anchored in social-spatial theory, this paper explores how sports fans interact with new spaces that are not necessarily customary to traditional match-day experiences. Using a case study method via in-depth interviews and participant observation of an Australian rugby league team, we explore how sports fans have created new layers of meaning with old, especially for two key sites based around the ‘fan zone’ of a new multi-purpose stadium. Our research reveals how these spaces actively produced social norms and expectations about fan behaviour. We discuss how the stadium has been reimagined to accommodate the contemporary sports fan experience and where the spaces and locations that they interact with on match-day do not just exist, but rather, are actively produced by, and through, fan interaction and engagement

'You can rent it for a while, but it is our house' : sports fans' experience of returning 'home' to a new multipurpose stadium

Understanding how stadium landscapes are constructed and used, how their elements relate to the broader local fan community is to understand a good deal about the culture, values and concerns of the people who use it. Yet, despite the unique role sports stadiums have in facilitating a memorable match-day experience, theorising this space remains underdeveloped. This research investigates contemporary stadium design and use from a fan perspective by examining the factors that enhance and inhibit the experience in a newly built multipurpose and shared stadium space. The research illustrates how transitioning to a new stadium involves a complex paradox between old traditions and new spaces. This paper has two objectives. First, it explores how the fans of an Australian rugby league team reimagine the concept of ‘home’ in a newly built multipurpose and multi-tenanted stadium. Second, the paper explores how this sense of home and, by extension, belonging was amplified by the club’s ‘dressing’ of the stadium. We argue that in the resettlement of fans, the use of symbols and rituals provides a scaffold for supporters to build an emotional connection to a new stadium, whilst also understanding that they, too, are active in the process of reimaging the stadium space

[In Press] Promoting e-cigarettes : media discussion of e-cigarettes before and after vaping deaths

E-cigarettes are characterized by strong advocates and critics, and evolving evidence on their safety. In that environment, a longitudinal analysis of e-cigarette positioning in the mass media, and analysis of how that discussion changed after reporting of deaths from vaping, can provide insight into opinions about e-cigarettes. To that end, this study examines the sentiment in Australian mass media articles about e-cigarettes, before and after widespread discussion of vaping-related deaths and serious illness in the United States. Before reports of deaths, nearly half of the mass media reports were favorable ('positive') concerning vaping (48.0%). Following reports of deaths, the majority were unfavorable ('negative') (54.0%). Reports of deaths changed the reporting about e-cigarettes, yet earlier positive discussion of vaping in mass media suggests that such reporting of vaping will continue, at least partly countering discussions of the risks of vaping. Fact-based discussion of the potential dangers of vaping is required

[In Press] Positioning a controversial product : how Australian retailers are positioning e-cigarettes as 'healthy'

E-cigarettes are controversial: advocates claim that using them ('vaping') is safer than traditional cigarettes, and they should be available for open sale. Opponents argue that the long-term health consequences of vaping are unknown and that even if it is healthier than smoking, encouraging people who would never have smoked to start vaping exposes vapers to unknown risks. In a comprehensive study of the Australian market - a market characterised by highly restricted sales of e-cigarettes and nicotine - this paper assesses how retailers are positioning (for some, arguably mal-positioning) and promoting their e-cigarettes (for some, illegally). The results show that while mainstream discussion of vaping focuses on them being safer than cigarettes, the positioning by retailers is very different, emphasising e-cigarettes as an attractive and safe option. Such a positioning is likely to encourage non-smokers to take up a product with clear risks, and which has no health benefit for them