Communicating corporate social responsibility to involve stakeholders. The case of employer branding for university students

La responsabilità sociale d'impresa (o Corporate Social Responsibility, CSR) è uno strumento efficace di marketing e la sua efficacia è mediata dalla modalità con cui le aziende comunicano le proprie attività di CSR agli stakeholder. La ricerca si propone di valutare l'effetto di cinque strategie di comunicazione della CSR, ordinate secondo un livello crescente di coinvolgimento degli stakeholder, sull'Employer Branding (EB) di un'azienda ipotetica. Attraverso la distribuzione di cinque varianti di un opuscolo, l’azienda è stata presentata a due campioni di studenti universitari (n=167; n=112) in cinque diversi scenari comunicativi della CSR. È stato somministrato un questionario con scale che misurano l’attrattività dell'azienda, il prestigio percepito dell'azienda, la disponibilità dei soggetti a entrare in contatto con l'azienda e l’impegno prospettico sul lavoro. È stata anche indagata la percezione della brand personality e della comunicazione della CSR. Le analisi confermano che tutti e cinque gli scenari sono caratterizzati da alti livelli delle dimensioni dell’EB, però lo specifico dialogo di CSR adottato può generare differenti percezioni della brand personality dell'azienda.Corporate Social Responsibility (CRS) is an effective marketing lever, and its effectiveness is mediated by the strategies companies use to communicate their CRS activities to stakeholders. The present research aims at assessing the effect of five CSR communicative strategies, ranked according to an increasing involvement level of stakeholders, on a fictional company’s Employer Branding (EB). The company was presented to two samples of university students (n=167; n=112) via the administration of five different versions of a brochure, corresponding to five different communicative scenarios of CSR. A self-report questionnaire was administrated, with scales measuring the company’s attractiveness, perceived prestige, intention to contact the company, and prospective engagement, as well as the company’s perceived brand personality and CSR communication. Analyses report high levels of the EB dimensions in all five communicative scenarios, which however produce different perceptions of the company’s brand personality

Visitors’ satisfaction and perceived affective qualities towards museums: the impact of recreational areas

Questo studio indaga il ruolo svolto dai fattori ambientali sulla valutazione di una visita al museo da parte degli utenti. È stata condotta un’indagine empirica per rilevare la soddisfazione dei visitatori e la valutazione dell'esperienza museale, con un'attenzione particolare alle aree ricreative (negozio di souvenir e ristorante/bar). Un campione di 160 visitatori di due musei di Roma (50% italiani e 50% madrelingua inglese) ha completato un questionario comprendente scale sulle qualità affettive dei luoghi (Russell & Pratt, 1980), sulla soddisfazione e sulle motivazioni della visita. I risultati hanno mostrato che le aree ricreative, in particolare il negozio di souvenir, facilitano la creazione di una relazione positiva tra il visitatore e l'ambiente museale. La valutazione degli utenti è stata anche associata a differenze linguistiche e relative alle motivazioni alla base della visita.This study investigates the role played by environmental factors on users’ evaluation of a museum visit. An empirical research was carried out to detect visitors’ satisfaction and assessment of museum experience, with a special focus onto its recreational areas (i.e., gift shop and restaurant/cafeteria). A sample of 160 visitors of two museums of Rome (50% Italians and 50% English mother tongue) completed a questionnaire including scales on affective qualities of places (Russell & Pratt, 1980), satisfaction towards the visit, and motives for the visit. Results showed the relevance of recreational areas, especially the gift shop, in facilitating the creation of a positive relationship between the visitor and the museum environment. Users’ assessment was also associated to differences in visitors’ mother tongue, age, educational level and motives underlying the visit

Food reputation and food preferences:Application of the Food Reputation Map (FRM) in Italy, USA, and China

Given the food challenges that society is facing, we draw upon recent developments in the study of how food reputation affects food preferences and food choices, providing here a starting standard point for measuring every aspect of food reputation in different cultural contexts across the world. Specifically, while previous attempts focused either on specific aspects of food or on measures of food features validated in one language only, the present research validates the Food Reputation Map (FRM) in Italian, English and Chinese over 2,250 participants worldwide. Here we successfully measure food reputation across 23 specific indicators, further grouped into six synthetic indicators of food reputation. Critically, results show that: (a) the specific measurement tool of food reputation can vary across cultural contexts, and that (b) people's reputation of food products or categories changes significantly across different cultural contexts. Therefore, in order to understand people's food preferences and consumption, it is important to take into account the repertoire of cultural differences that underlies the contexts of analysis: the three context-specific versions of the FRM presented here effectively deal with this issue and provide reliable context-specific insights on stakeholders' interests, perspectives, attitudes and behaviors related to food perceptions, assessment, and consumption, which can be effectively leveraged to foster food sustainability

Reputation and emotion: how the mind drives our food preferences and choices

The study analyzed a regression model investigating the impact of “food reputation” on “willingness to eat” (WTE) through the sequential mediation of “food emotions” (positive and negative) and “food preference” in participants’ preferred (pizza) and dispreferred (offal) foods. Analyses revealed that “food reputation” generally has a positive and significant indirect effect (through the mediation of “food emotions” and “food preference”) on the “WTE” in both preferred and dispreferred foods. It also emerged a positive mediation effect of “positive food emotions” in predicting the “WTE” preferred and dispreferred food. “Negative food emotions” have a negative mediation effect in predicting the “WTE” dispreferred food. Results showed that positive and negative food emotions have a greater impact on “WTE” for the dispreferred food than for the preferred one. Results highlight how emotions related to a particular food significantly influence the willingness to eat it. However, a clear predominance of cognitive factors (food reputation) over emotional ones in predicting the “WTE” of preferred and dispreferred foods was also found. This predominance is confirmed by the latest hypothesis, which shows that foods with a worse reputation are also those that are more influenced by emotions

Knowledge, attitudes and food safety practices of raw fish consumers: how to understand their risk perception and future behavior intentions to promote their health preventing the risk of infection

The study of Anisakis is an increasingly hot topic in medicine, biology and epidemiological studies. However the assessment of social-psychological factors relevant for Anisakis’ risky consumption behaviors is still a missing topic. A lot of psychological research focused on antecedents of fish and seafood consumption, however parasite risk is not often specifically examined. This research is aimed at increasing safety for seafood products consumers’, examining their knowledge, perception, awareness and concern about Anisakis. Past behaviors and future behavior intentions were also investigated. Analyses, conducted on a sample of 251 subjects, aim to provide descriptive data and then try to hypothesize regression models that explain possible causality assumptions among the variables. Results show that knowledge (subjective and objective) about Anisakis and past experience (norms and habits) linked to the consumption of raw fish, can significantly predict Anisakiasis risk perception and future behavior intentions (fish avoidance and willingness to pay for Anisakis-free fish products). It also emerges how some sociodemographic variables (e.g., age) significantly influence knowledge. The study then examined the influence of perceived health and the correlations between key variables

Perceived Residential Environment Quality Indicators (PREQIs) relevance for UN-HABITAT City Prosperity Index (CPI)

This paper presents some relevant tools for UN-HABITAT CPI, addressing the relationship between residential neighbourhood assessment, neighbourhood attachment and overall residential satisfaction of residents in the Iranian the city of Tabriz. The first aim of the study is to validate some cross-cultural tools e focusing on the Quality of Life (QOL) spoke of the CPI's wheel of urban prosperity e for use in an urban residential context (Fornara et al., 2010); specifically an abbreviated version of the Perceived Residential Environment Quality Indicators (PREQIs) and the Neighbourhood Attachment Scale (NAS), as well as items for measurement of Residential Satisfaction (RS). The instruments consist of 11 scales measuring PREQIs, one scale measuring Neighbourhood Attachment and three items about RS. The second aim is to test a model of the links among the constructs measured by these tools that deal with different features of QOL. For example, if some global PREQIs (i.e., pace of life) mediate the relationship between other, more specific PREQIs and Neighbourhood Attachment; and then if they ultimately predict RS, they may be considered as final outcome criteria. PREQIs, NAS and RS items are included in a selfreport questionnaire, (translated from English into Farsi language) and then administered to 239 residents of Tabriz, Iran. Multivariate statistical analyses of the survey results extends the cross-cultural validity of the tools, as well as testing relationship models going from specific to global PREQIs, to NAS, finally predicting RS. The discussion argues for the relevance of PREQIs, NAS and RS constructs and tools in deepening the knowledge on the QOL spoke within the UN-HABITAT CP

Reputation and emotion: How the mind drives our food preferences and choices

The research aims to investigate how the reputation of foods and the emotions elicited by it predict the willingness to eat certain foods. Specifically, the study analyzed a regression model that investigates the impact of “food reputation” on “willingness to eat” through the sequential mediation of “food emotions” (positive and negative) and “food preference” in both participants' preferred food (pizza) and their dispreferred food (offal). Analysis revealed that “food reputation” generally has a positive and significant indirect effect (through the mediation of “food emotions” and “food preference”) on the “willingness to eat” both preferred and dispreferred food. It also emerged a positive mediation effect of “positive food emotions” in predicting the “willingness to eat” both preferred and dispreferred food. Regarding “negative food emotions” these have a negative mediation effect in predicting “willingness to eat” the dispreferred food. Results finally showed that both positive and negative food emotions have a greater impact on the “willingness to eat” the dispreferred food than the preferred one. The results highlight how emotions related to a particular food significantly influence the willingness to eat it. However, a clear predominance of cognitive factors (food reputation) over emotional factors in predicting the “willingness to eat” of both preferred and dispreferred foods was also found. This predominance is also confirmed by the latest hypothesis, which shows that foods with a worse reputation are also those that are more influenced by elicited emotions (both positive and negative)

Experiencing, caring, coping: Vested interest mediates the effect of past experience on coping behaviors in environmental risk contexts

Social psychology provides a treasure-trove of insights into adaptations that may limit the devastating effects of climate change. Vested Interest Theory may contribute to this knowledge base, suggesting that one's vested interest may significantly influence appropriate coping behaviors, as it is has been shown to enhance the relation between attitudes and self-relevant behaviors. The theory's utility is investigated in an environmental risk context. Here, we replicate previous research findings showing that citizens in high-risk areas perceived higher risk and stronger intentions to cope with it when vested interest perceptions were salient. Furthermore, the current studies investigate the behavioral effect of vested interest on coping with an environmental risk (flooding): results showed that vested interest significantly mediated the past experience–coping behaviors relationship. In Study 1’s mediation analysis (Rome and Vibo Valentia, Italy, N = 466), past experience of flood risk enhanced vested interest in flood risk, which in turn increased volunteering for flood prevention activities, thereby mitigating risk. In Study 2 (N = 391), the same mediation effect was replicated in the Timis region, a high flood risk area in western Romania. These results shed light on literature inconsistencies on this topic, providing insights for the theoretical understanding of the relationship between past experience of a given risk and related coping behaviors, possibly shedding light to the risk perception paradox. These insights may drive effective intervention strategies to enhance people's behavioral coping with environmental risks

Coping with organizational crisis: buffering effects of organization sector prototypicality and employee organizational identification

We explored the interactive role of an organization’s sector prototypicality (the extent to which the organization embodies the prototype of its market sector) and employees’ identification with their organization in buffering crises’ negative effects on perceived organizational performance. We propose (1) that highly prototypical organizations are perceived as more able to cope with organizational crisis, because of their capacity to reduce the threat associated with crisis, and (2) that this effect is augmented when employees more strongly identify with their organization, presumably because of a higher trust in the organization’s capacity to efficiently cope with crisis. Findings from two studies confirmed the hypotheses, by manipulating (study 1) and measuring (study 2) organizational crisis and the organization’s sector prototypicality, and by focusing on potential employees (study 1) and on employees of a company facing a financial crisis (study 2). Theoretical and applied implications of results are discussed