Partners in Profits: Small Businesses Move Slowly Into Cause-Related Marketing

Cause-related marketing (CRM) began in 1981 when American Express agreed to donate $I for every new credit card issued to the Ellis Island/Statue of liberty Restoration Foundation. Since then, the use of this strategy has been widespread and rewarding. Curiously, cause-related marketing has become associated with large corporations. The study presented  here confirms the lack of use of CRM among small businesses. This reluctance appears unfounded as those small businesses that have ventured into CRM agreements report success in terms of increased sales, attracting new customers and enhancing the store's image. CRM has gained in popularity and can be a viable strategy for small businesses looking to differentiate themselves. In a world of parity products  and services, this might be a key weapon in the small business arsenal

Once Upon A Time in the Fortune 500: How Storytelling Encouraged Businesses to Take a Second Look at Blogs

In the early 2000s about one third of the Fortune 500 hosted corporate blogs. By 2014, that number dropped significantly. Since then, the popularity of “storytelling” has been widely discussed by marketers. As Marketing began to use storytelling as a strategy, blogs began to mimic the structure of stories. The top companies in the 2018 Fortune 500 now have corporate blogs using this framework. Did storytelling help the Fortune 500 to rediscover blogging? This research investigates the use of storytelling as an impetus to blog and how the blogging of today has evolved away from the interactive experience first expected

On Being Social: How Social Identity Impacts Social Commerce for the Millennial Shopper

Millennials are a technologically sophisticated generation, who have the purchasing power to change the face of retailing. A significant proportion of their shopping is done online and they utilize their social networks while engaging in the shopping process- a current area of interest termed “social commerce.” No single group is better positioned to take advantage of social commerce, and yet, it’s possible that Millennials are participating in social networks and online shopping in order to better define their social identities. This study summarizes data from three years of longitudinal research into the use of social media by Millennials on three platforms: Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest. The results show that Millennials prefer to utilize the identity shaping aspects of social media and commerce. We recommend that platforms allow more identity formation in order to increase the likelihood that Millennials not only use the platform, but also make purchases through them

Društveni mediji: istraživanje američkih poduzeća iz skupine The INC. 500

As a great challenge in communications, social media are widely accepted among the general population. Being very flexible and adaptable, they offer an opportunity of active participation to users, thus representing a public forum. This study presents the results of social media acceptance in the business world on a sample of the Inc. 500 companies in the US. The research found that familiarity, the value placed on social media and the use of different forms of social media are all related. These companies know that engaging social media requires education and a change of the management effort. They use them to gather critical strategic information by listening to what is being said about themselves and their competitors in the social media world. The Inc. 500 companies accept social media as a medium. They recognize that the marketplace is moving their conversations online and the business world needs to join in. These fast-growing, innovative companies offer us a glimpse of the business future because where they lead, others will certainly follow.Društveni mediji velik su izazov u komunikacijama i u svojim brojnim oblicima prihvaćeni su u široj populaciji. Vrlo su fleksibilni i prilagodljivi, a korisnici imaju mogućnost aktivnoga sudjelovanja u njihovome stvaranju i oblikovanju te na taj način predstavljaju živi javni forum. U ovom radu predstavljeno je istraživanje uloge društvenih medija u poslovnome svijetu, a na uzorku američkih poduzeća s najvećim stopama rasta, skupine The Inc.500. Istraživanje je usmjereno na pitanja o stupnju upoznatosti poduzeća s društvenim medijima, na njihovo korištenje za vlastite potrebe, stavove o važnosti i praćenju društvenih medija (radi dobivanja informacija o drugim sudionicima na tržištu). Rezultati istraživanja pokazuju velik interes anketiranih poduzeća za aktivno sudjelovanje u društvenim medijima i njihovo praćenje. Istraživanjem se otkrilo da su upoznatost s društvenim medijima, vrijednost koja im se pridaje i korištenje različitih oblika međusobno povezani. Može se zaključiti da su društveni mediji ušli u poduzeća Inc. 500. To su poduzeća koja shvaćaju da tržište svoje komunikacije prebacuje na internet i da se poslovni svijet tome mora priključiti. Ona nam nude pogled u poslovnu budućnost i kreću se u smjeru koji će drugi slijediti

Exploring the Link Between Customer Care and Brand Reputation in the Age of Social Media

Consumers are more empowered than ever to share their customer care experiences. Through the use of social media and new communications tools and technologies, messages can be sent more widely than ever before. This research study examined the links between social media, customer satisfaction, brand reputation and customer loyalty. The Society for NewCommunications Research designed the research to examine how customer care influences brand reputation given the widespread adoption of social media. Objectives of the research included:To assess the extent to which consumers research and review companies' products/services online prior to making purchase decisionsTo assess the influence of social media on user opinions as they relate to the customer care experienceTo determine what types of online resources and social media are considered the most valuable sources of information about the customer care experienceTo assess the extent to which consumers are influenced by their own customer care experiences and how they think sharing that information online influences how others view products and brands

The Unfortunate Decline of Blogging Among the Fortune 500: The Downside of Adopting Substitute Innovations

This study follows the adoption of blogging by the Fortune 500 and its eventual decline. Through the use of Roger’s diffusion theory (1963), the process of adopting a newer more exciting innovation in the place of blogging is discussed. Despite the interesting capabilities offered by microblogging, we argue that newer tools such as Twitter, or Instagram do not offer the key benefits that blogging allows. This makes microblogging a new innovation, however not a suitable substitute or a relevant next generation of blogging. Practitioners should reconsider discontinuing their use or adoption of blogs in favor of these newer tools

Social Media, Gen Z and Consumer Misbehavior: Instagram Made Me Do It

It has long been held that consumer misbehavior could be attributed to a number of motivations, the strongest of which was the pressure of living in a consumption-oriented society and the heavy influence of marketing. The findings in this study suggest that with the influence of social media, Generation Z consumers are feeling internal pressure, in turn impacting their moral compass and leading to misbehavior in the marketplace. While commercial pressures are also recognized, this is the first empirical evidence that there might be a different, primary motivation

Individual Characteristics and Research Attitudes, Intentions, and Behaviors: The Experience of a Private Business College

The purpose of this study is to explore a faculty's research attitudes, intentions, and behaviors (i.e., productivity) as well as the influence that a number of individual characteristics could have on research-related variables at a private business college. The results indicate that although the faculty hold favorable attitudes toward research and have strong intention to engage in future research, their actual research productivity is low. In addition, the individual characteristics of age, marital status, time spent on research, and time spent on teaching variably influence research productivity