Investigating gender differences in consumers’ experience of guilt: A comparative study

YesThe literature of guilt in the context of consumer behavior is notably limited. It is particularly limited with respect to examining gender differences across nations. Existing studies have only evaluated gender differences, in terms of consumer guilt, in the United States. In addition, those studies evaluated gender differences in specific consumption situations such as consumer boycotting and food consumption. Thus, they do not give a comprehensive understanding of gender variations in consumer guilt. Notably, gender differences with regard to consumer guilt were shown to be limited in countries other than the United States. These studies provided contradictory results to established findings in social psychology. In view of this, by using quantitative techniques, numerous consumption settings, and samples from two distinct countries, this study provides a holistic assessment of gender differences in consumer guilt across nations. The findings indicate that gender differences, with respect to consumer guilt, are predominately present in individualistic countries and notably absent in collectivist countries. Hence, marketers should consider gender as an influential variable when devising guilt related strategies in individualistic countries. In contrast, marketers may reconsider allocating resources, with respect to gender related marketing strategies, in collectivist countries

Consumer Guilt Review: A Practical Guide for Researchers

YesA systematic review of the literature of guilt in consumer behavior revealed a lack of diversity in respect of various factors that affect the elicitation of guilt-induced behavior. These factors are the cause of guilt (self, society, others/action, inaction); the form in which guilt manifests (anticipatory, reactive, existential); and moderators (culture, demographics, narratives). Implicitly, the review illustrated that researchers exhibit a tendency towards assessing reactive guilt caused by the self in individualistic cultures. Such findings cannot be generalized to encompass other forms of guilt that had alternate causes, nor be applied in collectivist cultures. Such considerations are imperative, due to guilt’s inherent complexity. Therefore, this review provides a guide for future research based on these factors, and introduces e-guilt, as sufficient evidence suggests that online settings present incomparable circumstances where one’s behavior is visible and irretrievable

Information systems project failure – analysis of causal links using interpretive structural modelling

YesThe analysis of the root causes of information systems project failure has been the subject of intense scrutiny for some time within industry and the academic community. Researchers have developed various models, notions of failure and categorisations to succinctly classify project failure into a set of key factors for organisations and project managers to focus on in their attempts to avoid failure. This study incorporates a technique titled: interpretive structural modelling as the methodology to formalise the relationships between the selected failure factors. This approach is positioned as a mechanism that can yield greater insights into the relationships between the factors surrounding project failure, thereby developing a better understanding of how these relationships can have a bearing on project outcomes. The findings identify key driving variables that are presented as having significant impact on the other factors within the model. A number of variables are also identified as being heavily dependent on other connected factors highlighting that a failure in one or more of these connected factors is likely to result in a failure in one or more of the dependent factors unless timely steps are taken to address these key issues. This research details a number of practical implications for senior management and project managers as well as the academic community. These considerations form an underlying thread within this study as specific practice-related implications are highlighted and discussed throughout the study

Rejoinder: a reply to comments on “should consumers request cost transparency?”

YesThe purpose of this paper is to provide response around three commentaries: Lowe’s view on key mechanisms through which greater transparency could influence consumer product evaluations (Lowe, 2015); Kuah and Weerakkody’s critical assessment on whether cost transparency is good for consumers (Kuah and Weerakkody, 2015); and Singh’s perspective on what is behind the price tag and why companies should embrace cost transparency (Singh, 2015). Design/methodology/approach – This is a response to the aforementioned commentaries, from the authors of “Should Consumers Request Cost Transparency?”. Findings – The authors call for empirical studies to shed light on issues, including, but not limited to, drivers and challenges/barriers of making unit cost available; appropriateness of unit cost information for different category of products; information overload caused by cost transparency; effect of availability of unit cost on the consumer decision-making; empowerment of consumers through unit cost information; impact of cost transparency on realisation of fairness, differentiation, competitive advantage and sustainability for businesses; and impact of cost transparency on market dynamics and consumer behaviour. Originality/value – Given its potential impact on both theory and practice, the arguments presented for and against provisioning of unit cost information to consumers is an issue worthy of further debate and empirical investigation

The role of tautological equivalence in cross-cultural sales negotiations

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Adoption of Pro-poor Innovations in the Context of the Base of the Pyramid and Subsistence Marketplaces: Challenges, Opportunities and Research Agenda

In countries such as Bangladesh some innovations have diffused rapidly and been taken up by large segments of the population (e.g., mobile phones). However, some innovations which offer the promise of time saving, greater efficiency and better economy have been slower in their take up (e.g., gas stoves). What explains these contrasting examples? The study of consumer innovation adoption is vast. However, the majority of research in this area has been written about economically developed economies where consumers have excess disposable income to spend on the latest gadgets. Yet, innovations benefit economically less wealthy consumers too (e.g., mobile banking, information communication technologies etc.). Such innovations have been termed pro-poor innovations by some (Ramani, SadreGhazi, and Duysters 2012) and are innovations which offer some developmental benefit within so called “Base-of-the-Pyramid” markets. The literature in this area is fragmented and scattered across numerous disciplines such as business, health, development, economics and others. Given this, researchers interested in this area have great opportunities to expand our knowledge base and contribute to an area of societal importance. This chapter reviews literature in this area, presents some challenges (opportunities!) for doing research in this context and provides a future research agenda

The relationship between job related expectations of salespeople and the use by sales management of a fulfilment approach

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Homogeneous samples in cross-national research

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