The Boost Effect: Can a COVID-19 Infection Increase Perceived Meaning in Life?

CC BY-NC-NDAlthough a COVID-19 infection can be fatal, the vast majority of people infected by the virus have, fortunately, survived. In this paper we investigate how recovering from this potentially fatal infection is associated with people’s perceived meaning in life. Can contracting and recovering from COVID-19 also have positive effects on people’s wellbeing by way of boosting their perceived meaning in life? Drawing from theory on terror management and mortality salience, which suggest that threats to one’s health increase the need for meaning in life, we hypothesized that people who have had a coronavirus infection assess their perceived meaning in life slightly higher than average. We also hypothesized that recovering from this infection has made these people slightly more optimistic. We used data from an online survey in Sweden (April 2021, n = 1788) to examine the differences in perceived meaning in life between people who had recovered from COVID-19 versus people who had not been infected at all. The results show that people who had recovered from a COVID-19 infection indeed rated their perceived meaning in life significantly higher than those who had not been infected. They also scored higher on optimism. These findings may suggest that people react to threats to their lives and existences by searching for, and finding, greater meaning in life. The relief of recovering from a COVID-19 infection may also boost people’s optimism regarding their future

Intentions to use mobile services: Antecedents and cross-service comparisons

-This article develops and tests a model to explain consumers' intention to use mobile services. Through triangulating theories from the diverse fields of information systems research, uses and gratification research, and domestication research, the authors put forth an integrated model that explains intention to use mobile services. The model proposes four overall influences on usage intention: motivational influences, attitudinal influences, normative pressure, and perceived control. The authors study the type of interactivity and process characteristics associated with the service that moderate the effects on the relationship between the proposed antecedents and usage intention. The results from empirical studies of four mobile services show strong support for the effects of motivational influences, attitudinal influences, normative pressure, and perceived control on consumers' intentions to use mobile services. Some of the effects are moderated by process characteristics (goal-directed vs. experiential services) that are associated with the service.This article develops and tests a model to explain consumers' intention to use mobile services. Through triangulating theories from the diverse fields of information systems research, uses and gratification research, and domestication research, the authors put forth an integrated model that explains intention to use mobile services. The model proposes four overall influences on usage intention: motivational influences, attitudinal influences, normative pressure, and perceived control. The authors study the type of interactivity and process characteristics associated with the service that moderate the effects on the relationship between the proposed antecedents and usage intention. The results from empirical studies of four mobile services show strong support for the effects of motivational influences, attitudinal influences, normative pressure, and perceived control on consumers' intentions to use mobile services. Some of the effects are moderated by process characteristics (goal-directed vs. experiential services) that are associated with the service

Categorizing networked services The role of intrinsic-, user network- and complement network attributes

- Peer reviewedOriginality/value - The paper contributes with a conceptual framework for understanding and categorizing both extrinsic and intrinsic drivers of service value. It extends and integrates previous work on network effects and adoption research and also offers empirical insight into an under-researched topic.Originality/value - The paper contributes with a conceptual framework for understanding and categorizing both extrinsic and intrinsic drivers of service value. It extends and integrates previous work on network effects and adoption research and also offers empirical insight into an under-researched topic

"This is who I am": Identity expressiveness and the theory of planned behavior

- Peer reviewedThis paper explores the role of self-identity expressiveness and social identity expressiveness in the context of Multimedia Messaging (MMS) adoption. An extended version of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) including a wider array of identity and social influences is developed and tested. As hypothesized, self-identity expressiveness and social identity expressiveness prove to be significant determinants of intentions to use. Moreover, the extended TPB model explains 62% of the variance in usage intentions. The paper also investigates the relationship between self identity expressiveness and attitude and between social identity expressiveness and subjective norm. The study results indicate that the concept of subjective norm alone is insufficient to capture the rich universe of identity and social influences driving behavioral intentions. Implications for marketing managers and scholars are discussed. (c) 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.This paper explores the role of self-identity expressiveness and social identity expressiveness in the context of Multimedia Messaging (MMS) adoption. An extended version of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) including a wider array of identity and social influences is developed and tested. As hypothesized, self-identity expressiveness and social identity expressiveness prove to be significant determinants of intentions to use. Moreover, the extended TPB model explains 62% of the variance in usage intentions. The paper also investigates the relationship between self identity expressiveness and attitude and between social identity expressiveness and subjective norm. The study results indicate that the concept of subjective norm alone is insufficient to capture the rich universe of identity and social influences driving behavioral intentions. Implications for marketing managers and scholars are discussed. (c) 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc

Building Brand Relationships Online: A Comparison of Two Interactive Applications

-Due to its potential for interactive communication, the Internet is considered a promising tool for relationship marketing. In this study, two of the most common applications for interactive communication - personalized websites and customer communities - were experimentally compared for their ability to develop consumer-brand relationships as measured by the Brand Relationship Quality (BRQ) framework of Fournier (1998). Moreover, the moderating role of Internet experience was investigated

Fusjoner og oppkjøp

Forskning har vist at selskaper som fusjonerer, ofte ikke klarer å nå sine finansielle mål og gjerne gjør det dårligere enn konkurrentene i årene etter fusjonen. Mange forhold har vært undersøkt for å forsøke å forklare dette, men forhold knyttet til kundenes reaksjoner på fusjoner og oppkjøp har sjelden blitt satt under lupen. Kanskje kunder misliker både tvangsekteskap og tvunget partnerbytte

Consumer brand relationships: an investigation of two alternative models

Many studies have proposed the use of the relationship metaphor to enhance the understanding of the relationship between consumers and brands. However, few studies have empirically tested consumer–brand relationship models. In this paper, the authors argue that the success of developing empirical models of consumer–brand relationships depends on the adequacy of the metaphoric transfer. The authors compare two models of consumer–brand relationships—the brand relationship quality (BRQ) model and the relationship investment (RI) model on the basis of empirical fit and model interpretation. They modify both models to better accommodate less involving relationships and test them in two studies. The findings suggest that the modified RI model offers a straightforward interpretation of consumer–brand relationships that vary in intensity. The results from the BRQ model are less clear, though further refinements of the model demonstrates the increased potential of the BRQ model compared with traditional attitude models to explain relationships between consumers and brands

Customer reactions to acquirer-dominant mergers and acquisitions

-“NOTICE: this is the author’s version of a work that was accepted for publication in International Journal of Research in Marketing. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. A definitive version was subsequently published in International Journal of Research in Marketing 2011, 28(4):332-341. doi:10.1016/j.ijresmar.2011.05.005 Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.This article investigates consumer reactions to acquirer-dominant mergers and acquisitions (M&As) from the perspective of the (smaller) target brand and explores how marketing actions can mitigate negative effects. The findings from five studies show that consumers tend to react negatively to M&As by devaluing the acquirer brand, increasing their intention to switch, and adjusting their attitudes toward the target brand upward. We suggest that psychological reactance is a mediator of the negative effects of merger information on customers' attitudes and switching intentions. We also demonstrate that brand managers can attenuate reactance by involving consumers in merger decisions, thus providing important managerial implications for M&A decisions and processes

Fusjoner og oppkjøp

-With permission from publisher, FagbokforlagetForskning har vist at selskaper som fusjonerer, ofte ikke klarer å nå sine finansielle mål og gjerne gjør det dårligere enn konkurrentene i årene etter fusjonen. Mange forhold har vært undersøkt for å forsøke å forklare dette, men forhold knyttet til kundenes reaksjoner på fusjoner og oppkjøp har sjelden blitt satt under lupen. Kanskje kunder misliker både tvangsekteskap og tvunget partnerbytte