Firms' strategic behavior versus consumers' behavior: an explanation through the inoculation theory: Proceedings of the 2014 Academy of Marketing Science (AMS) World Marketing Congress

International audienceOur paper sheds light on an unexplored link between consumer behavior and firm behavior. A netnographic study of Smartphone consumers reveals interesting results on a possible impact of the firm strategic behavior on consumer behavior. Our research uses the Inoculation Theory to suggest that the interaction between firms on the public scene can be a possible source of inspiration for consumers who react vertically to the firm and horizontally to its consumers by replicating the same firms interactional scheme with other consumers

Modeling Negotiation Using “Narrative Grammar”: Exploring the Evolution of Meaning in a Simulated Negotiation

Negotiation research, drawing on rational choice theory, provides a wealth of findings about how people negotiate successfully, as well as descriptions of some of the many pitfalls associated to negotiation failures. Building on narrative theory, this paper attempts to expand the theoretical base of negotiation in an effort to address the meaning making processes that structure negotiation. Drawing on Greimas’s (Diacritics 7(1):23-40, 1977) notion of "narrative grammar," we argue that negotiation is a process that relies on a relatively limited set of narrative syntactical forms that structure the negotiation process. We conduct a simulation of a negotiation game and ask participants to storyboard their experience of the negotiation process. The use and evolution of narratives are identified via the storyboards, as well as participants’ accounts of those storyboards. While the number of participants in the simulation is very small, limiting the nature of the claims that can be made, our analysis suggests regularities in the use of narrative syntax as well as in patterns of escalation and transformation. The study offers a new method for the analysis of negotiation, i.e., narrative syntax, aimed at understanding the dynamics of narrative processes in negotiation

Attitudes underlying corneal donation in a group of trainee allied health professionals

BACKGROUND: The focus of this study was to investigate factors that may influence personal willingness to register consent to donate corneal tissue upon death using the theory of planned behaviour in a relatively ethnically homogenous group of trainee allied health professionals. The attainment of this knowledge will be of paramount importance in relation to potential interventions that are designed to change donation-related behaviour. METHODS: A questionnaire-based study was undertaken with 92 pre-registration nurses (mean age 24.0 years (standard deviation ± 5.6 years); female:male = 89:3) enrolled at a University in Northern Ireland. Intention to register consent to donate corneal tissue upon death was assessed using both direct and belief-based measures found in the theory of planned behaviour. Descriptive statistics were used to assess demographic information, with correlation and regression analyses being used to identify factors influencing intentions. RESULTS: The majority of participants were religious (94.6%, n = 87) and mostly Protestant (58.7%, n = 54) or Catholic (35.9%, n = 33). Generally speaking, the theory of planned behaviour accounted for 84% of the variance in intention to register consent. In relation to the constructs found in the theory of planned behaviour, attitude was found to be the strongest predictor of intention to register consent, with subjective norm being the second strongest predictor. Perceived behavioural control did not significantly predict intention to register consent. CONCLUSIONS: The theory of planned behaviour has allowed an understanding of the factors that influence the personal intentions of a group of future allied health professionals from the same ethnic group to register consent to donate their corneal tissue