Training or vacation? The academic conference tourism

The current study concentrates on factors affecting the intentions of academics attending an academic conference. It highlights the importance of academic conferences and academic conference tourism and discusses meetings, the convention industry and also their utility in the career development of academics. Through qualitative research and a review of the literature on conference tourism push and pull motivation factors are suggested. The power of these factors to predict the intention to attend an academic conference is examined through quantitative research and regression analysis. The results indicate that ‘pull’ factors are better predictors of the intention to attend an academic conference than motivational ‘push’ factors

Brand evaluation, satisfaction and trust as predictors of brand loyalty: the mediator-moderator effect of brand relationships

Purpose – This paper aims to examine whether the strength of positive brand relationship can either mediate between trust, satisfaction, attitude towards the brand and loyalty or moderate the link between these variables. Existing research has established that trust, satisfaction and the attitude towards the brand contribute to the development of brand loyalty. However, recently, there is a growing stream of research indicating that the brands are not only facilitating transaction but companies can also use them to develop and maintain links with their customers. The exploration of the role of brands in the development of bonds with the customers is still very limited. Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected from 189 women who are using lipstick in Glasgow, Scotland. Respondents were asked to answer a questionnaire keeping in mind their preferred brand. Findings – The findings revealed that the strength of the consumer brand relationship is a very strong predictor of brand loyalty. They also suggested that brand relationship does not moderate the relationship between brand trust, satisfaction and brand loyalty, but it mediates the link amongst these constructs. Research limitations/implications – One product category was examined. The data were collected from females in a big city with non-probabilistic sampling. Most of the respondents were younger consumers, who may have different behavior compared to older consumers. Practical implications – Managers are constantly looking for ways to increase brand loyalty. They need to appreciate the importance of consumer engagement with their brand through positive brand relationships. Therefore, they need to try to develop brand identities and project brand images that will make the brands look as appealing to the consumers as relationship partners. Originality/value – This paper supports the view that brands are not only facilitating transactions but can also develop and maintain links with their customers, especially engaged customers, and the exploration of these bonds is still limited. This paper is adding to the literature on brand engagement and brand relationships from a quantitative perspective and is contributing to theory building, as there is no clear theoretical view on whether the brand relationship has a direct effect, i.e. either mediates or moderates the link between these variables

Special issue on information flow and WOM in social media and online communities

No abstract available

Working consumers: Co-creation of brand identity, consumer identity and brand community identity

The creation of identity, in terms of both consumer identity and brand identity, is a core topic in marketing theory. Based on participant ethnography of Yes Edinburgh North & Leith, part of Yes Scotland, the national referendum campaign supporting Scottish independence, this paper explores identity co-creation among three entities: the brand, the individual consumer, and the brand community. The findings suggest that the interactions among these entities co-create their identity, primarily through the actions of highly motivated working consumers. This paper identifies the main dialectic relationships and shows how the effects move beyond the dyads to affect the other entities, including the symbols used in the process of co-creation. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications for brands, individual consumers, and brand communities

The consumer-based brand equity deconstruction and restoration process: lessons from unliked brands

This research is motivated by the growing negative consumer sentiment, perceptions and behaviors toward brands, and the increasing need for firms to develop actionable strategies to address this phenomenon. By recognizing the paucity of research on consumer-based brand equity (CBBE) for unliked brands, the aim of this research is to illuminate the CBBE deconstruction and restoration process for consumers’ unfavorable brands. Analyzing relevant consumer survey data by means of fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) identifies self-brand connection and partner quality as the key links for the deconstruction and restoration of CBBE respectively. The paper concludes with a discussion of the theoretical and managerial implications of the findings and directions for future research

Self-presentation, privacy and electronic word-of-mouth in social media

Purpose: Focusing on electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) in the context of social media communications, the study explores the nature of eWOM and the key drivers of this consumer-generated brand communication. Design/methodology/approach: The study employs inductive qualitative design, and the data has been collected via 22 semi-structured interviews with individuals who follow brands on Facebook. Findings: Building on interview data, the paper advances a conception of eWOM in the social media context and highlights that eWOM consists of a broad range of brand-related communications, which include such activities as consuming, commenting, posting, and forwarding information. The study also uncovers two major antecedents of eWOM, which are one’s concern for self-presentation and privacy. Research limitations/implications: Further research could examine additional drivers of brand-related eWOM in the context of Facebook brand pages, and investigate eWOM in other social media platforms. Practical implications: The findings have two important implications for brand management. Firstly, considering the importance of self-presentation, brands are advised to develop an in-depth understanding of the types of self-image pursued by their target audience. Secondly, given the concerns about privacy on social media, brands may carefully consider and manage the levels of privacy that should apply when communicating with their followers. Originality/value: The novel insights centre on the individual differences in eWOM activity, and the importance of one’s perceptions of self-image and privacy in explaining these differences. It seems that the propensity to engage in eWOM and the form that this communication takes are the reflections of one’s self-presentation and privacy preferences

Managing the consumer-based brand equity process: a cross-cultural perspective

Most consumer-based brand equity (CBBE) models are linear and fail to capture the complexity of the brand equity construct and its benefits in terms of key consumer behavioral outcomes. More complex and dynamic models focusing on CBBE as a process often lack empirical support particularly from more than one country. This study builds on and extends previous research by empirically examining the configural nature of the CBBE building process cross-nationally, and by investigating differences vis-a-vis key consumer behavioral outcomes (namely, willingness to pay a price premium, brand recommendation and repurchase intention). These differences are postulated and explained through culture theory particularly the cultural dimension of individualism/collectivism. Using fuzzy-set/Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fs/QCA), survey data from Greece and Germany support the robustness of the extended CBBE model. The model shows that overall brand equity and consumer behavioral outcomes are created through the brand building, brand understanding, and brand relationship blocks, and identifies core causes and common patterns across countries providing a useful diagnostic tool for international brand management

Creating and managing participative brand communities: The roles members perform

The success of brand communities as social structures that facilitate the co-creation of brands depends on the nature of their members' participation. Existing research provides limited insights into the roles brand community members perform. In response, this study, using role theory as its theoretical foundations, explores the roles members play. Ethnographic data were collected primarily from a brand community where highly involved working consumers interacted both off and online. The analysis reveals that there are categories of roles performed which are necessary for the development and long term prosperity of the community; it also identifies specific roles within each category and elucidates how these structure and manage the community as an entity. The study contributes to knowledge and practice by elucidating the variety and complexity of roles members need to play in order to secure an active and healthy brand community and develops further evidence to support that brand communities are primarily self-managed entities

Beyond technology acceptance: Brand relationships and online brand experience

This paper combines insights from marketing and information systems research to arrive at an integrative model of online brand experience. In this model emotional aspects of brand relationship supplement the dimension of technology acceptance to arrive at a more complete understanding of consumer experience with an online brand. The empirical tests involve structural equation modeling and primary data from a survey of 456 users of online search engines. The results demonstrate that trust and perceived usefulness positively affect online brand experience. Positive experiences result in satisfaction and behavioral intentions that in turn lead to the formation of online brand relationship. Interestingly, brand reputation emerges as an important antecedent of trust and perceived ease of use of an online brand

I hate what you love: brand polarization and negativity towards brands as an opportunity for brand management

Purpose: Negativity towards a brand is typically conceived as a significant problem for brand managers. This paper aims to show that negativity towards a brand can represent an opportunity for companies when brand polarization occurs. To this end, the paper offers a new conception of the brand polarization phenomenon and reports exploratory findings on the benefits of consumers’ negativity towards brands in the context of brand polarization. Design/methodology/approach: To develop a conception of brand polarization, the paper builds on research on polarizing brands and extends it by integrating insights from systematic literature reviews in three bodies of literature: scholarship on brand rivalry and, separately, polarization in political science and social psychology. Using qualitative data from 22 semi-structured interviews, the paper explores possible advantages of brand polarization. Findings: This paper defines the brand polarization phenomenon and identifies multiple perspectives on brand polarization. Specifically, the findings highlight three distinct parties that can benefit from brand polarization: the polarizing brand as an independent entity; the brand team behind the polarizing brand; and the passionate consumers involved with the polarizing brand. The data reveal specific advantages of brand polarization associated with the three parties involved. Practical implications: Managers of brands with a polarizing nature could benefit from having identified a group of lovers and a group of haters, as this could allow them to improve their focus when developing and implementing the brands’ strategies. Originality/value: This exploratory study is the first explicitly focusing on the brand polarization phenomenon and approaches negativity towards brands as a potential opportunity