Dimensions of short break destination attractiveness : a comparison of cognitive, affective and conative perceptions

Although there has been exponential growth in the number of studies of destination image appearing in the tourism literature, few have addressed the role of affective perceptions. This paper analyses the market positions held by a competitive set of destinations, through a comparison of cognitive, affective and conative perceptions. Cognitive perceptions were measured by trialling a factor analytic adaptation of importance-performance analysis. Affective perceptions were measured using an affective response grid. The alignment of the results from these techniques identified leadership positions held by two quite different destinations on two quite different dimensions of short break destination attractiveness.

Fans teaching fans how to consume : the role of ritual in the consumption of entertainment

The status of entertainment as both a dimension of human culture, and a booming global industry is increasing. Given more recent consumer-centric definitions of entertainment, the entertainment consumer has grown in prominence and is now coming under closer scrutiny. However viewing entertainment consumers as always behaving in a similar fashion towards entertainment as to other products may be selling them short. For a start, entertainment consumers can exhibit a strong loyalty towards their favourite entertainment products that is the envy of the marketing world. Academic researchers and marketers who are keen to investigate entertainment consumers would benefit from a theoretical base from which to commence. This essay therefore, takes a consumer-oriented focus in defining entertainment and conceptualises a model of entertainment consumption. In approaching the study of entertainment one axiomatic question remains: how should we define it? Richard Dyer notes that, considering that the category of entertainment can include – by its own definition in the song ‘That’s entertainment!’ – everything from Hamlet and Oedipus Rex to ‘the clown with his pants falling down’ and ‘the lights on the lady in tights’, it doesn’t make much sense to try to define entertainment as being marked by particular textual features (as is done, for example, by Avrich, 2002). Dyer’s position is rather that ‘entertainment is not so much a category of things as an attitude towards things’ (Dyer, 1973: 9). He traces the modern conception of entertainment back to the writings of Molière. This writer defended the purpose of his plays against attacks from the church that they were not sufficiently edifying by insisting that, as entertainments he had no interest in edifying audiences – his ‘real purpose …was to provide people pleasure – and the definition of that was to be decided by “the people”’(Dyer, 1973: 9). In my own discipline of Marketing this approach has been embraced – Kaser and Oelkers, for example, define entertainment as ‘whatever people are willing to spend their money and spare time viewing’ (2008, 18). That is the approach taken in this paper, where I see entertainment as ‘consumer-driven culture’ (McKee and Collis, 2009) – a definition that is closely aligned with the marketing concept. Within a marketing framework I explore what the consumption of entertainment can tell us about the relationships between consumers and culture more generally. For entertainment offers an intriguing case study, and is often consumed in ways that challenge many of our assumptions about marketing and consumer behaviour.

Measuring a destination’s brand equity between 2003 and 2012 using the consumer-based brand equity (CBBE) hierarchy

Given the increasing investments being made in brand development by destination marketing organisations (DMO) since the 1990s, including rebranding and repositioning, more research is needed to enhance understanding of how to effectively monitor destination brand performance over time. This paper reports the results of a study of brand performance of a competitive set of destinations, in their most important market, between 2003 and 2012. Brand performance was measured from the perspective of consumer perceptions, based on the concept of consumer-based brand equity (CBBE). A structured questionnaire was administered to different samples in 2003, 2007 and 2012. The results indicated minimal changes in perceptions of the five destinations over the 10 year period. Due to the commonality of challenges faced by DMOs worldwide, it is suggested the CBBE hierarchy provides destination marketers with a practical tool for evaluating brand performance over time; in terms of measures of effectiveness of past marketing communications, as well as indicators of future performance. In addition, and importantly, CBBE also provides transparent accountability measures for stakeholders. While the topic of destination image has been one of the most popular in the tourism literature, there has been a paucity of research published in relation to the temporal aspect of consumer perceptions. This is a rare investigation into the measurement of perceptions of destinations over a 10 year period.

Achieving at university and beyond : does it help to be good looking?

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to examine the associations between attitudes to academic achievement and post university success using perceptions of attractiveness, gender, ethnic identity, personality, and social acceptance as antecedents. Design/methodology/approach – An online questionnaire was completed by male (N=116) and female (N=126) university students from various cultural backgrounds. To evaluate the proposed relationships, multiple regression analysis was used. Findings – The findings suggest that attractiveness is related to attitudes to academic achievement and success through its association with social appeal and acceptance. Ethnic identity is also related to both academic achievement and post university success. Personality is not positively related to academic achievement. Finally, social acceptance is positively related to academic achievement for males and to success for females. Research limitations/implications – Whilst the survey targeted students from various cultural backgrounds studying in Australia, it did not look at university students from other countries. A cross-cultural perspective could reveal further differences in attitudes. Originality/value – This study links attractiveness and academic achievement theories. The findings have implications for tertiary institutions and suggest academics and policy-makers to vigorously promote core personality and values such as intelligence, communication skills, and sincerity, rather than allow superficial values such as attractiveness to be placed at the centre stage of students' endeavour.

How to stop binge drinking and speeding motorists : effects of relational-interdependent self-construal and self-referencing on attitudes toward social marketing

How can marketers stop speeding motorists and binge drinking? Two experiments show that the beliefs consumers have about the degree to which they define themselves in terms of their close relationships (i.e., relational-interdependent self-construal (RISC)) offer useful insights into the effectiveness of communications for two key social marketing issues—road safety (Study 1, New Zealand sample) and alcohol consumption (Study 2, English sample). Further, self-referencing is a mechanism for these effects. Specifically, people who define themselves in terms of their close relationships (high-RISCs) respond most favorably to advertisements featuring a dyadic relationship (two people), and this favorable response is mediated by self-referencing. In contrast, people who do not include close relationships in their sense of self (low-RISCs) respond most favorably to self-reference advertisements featuring solitary models.

Consumer acceptance of an SMS-assisted smoking cessation intervention : a multicountry study

This study assesses smokers' perceptions, motivations, and intentions towards using an SMS-assisted smoking cessation intervention in Australia, France, and Mexico through an extended technology acceptance model with mediating variables. Data was collected through online surveys. Results show that perceived usefulness and vicarious innovativeness predict use intentions for all three countries. Perceived ease of use is significant only for Mexico. Subjective norms are significant only for Mexico and Australia. Perceived monetary value and perceived annoyance are significant mediating variables for all three countries, whereas perceived enjoyment is significant only for Mexico and Australia. These results contribute to theory and practice.

Engaging social customers : influencing new marketing strategies for social media information sources

A global, online quantitative study among 300 consumers of digital technology products found the most reliable information sources were friends, family or word of mouth (WOM) from someone they knew, followed by expert product reviews, and product reviews written by other consumers. The most unreliable information sources were advertising or infomercials, automated recommendations based on purchasing patterns or retailers. While a very small number of consumers evaluated products online, rating of products and online discussions were more frequent activities. The most popular social media websites for reviews were Facebook, Twitter, Amazon and e-Bay, indicating the importance of WOM in social networks and online media spaces that feature product reviews as it is the most persuasive piece of information in both online and offline social networks. These results suggest that ‘social customers’ must be considered as an integral part of a marketing strategy.

Dynamic capabilities and performance : strategy, structure and environment

Dynamic capabilities are widely considered to incorporate those processes that enable organizations to sustain superior performance over time. In this paper, we argue theoretically and demonstrate empirically that these effects are contingent on organizational structure and the competitive intensity in the market. Results from partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) analyses indicate that organic organizational structures facilitate the impact of dynamic capabilities on organizational performance. Furthermore, we find that the performance effects of dynamic capabilities are contingent on the competitive intensity faced by firms. Our findings demonstrate the performance effects of internal alignment between organizational structure and dynamic capabilities, as well as the external fit of dynamic capabilities with competitive intensity. We outline the advantages of PLS-SEM for modeling latent constructs, such as dynamic capabilities, and conclude with managerial implications.

Destination brand equity for Australia : testing a model of CBBE in short haul and long haul markets

The study of destination brand performance measurement has only emerged in earnest as a field in the tourism literature since 2007. The concept of consumer-based brand equity (CBBE) is gaining favour from services marketing researchers as an alternative to the traditional ‘net-present-value of future earnings’ method of measuring brand equity. The perceptions-based CBBE model also appears suitable for examining destination brand performance, where a financial brand equity valuation on a destination marketing organisation’s (DMO) balance sheet is largely irrelevant. This is the first study to test and compare the model in both short and long haul markets. The paper reports the results of tests of a CBBE model for Australia in a traditional short haul market (New Zealand) and an emerging long haul market (Chile). The data from both samples indicated destination brand salience, brand image, and brand value are positively related to purchase intent for Australia in these two disparate markets.

Empirical Support For an Item and Relational Conceptualization of Sponsorship

This paper outlines how commercial sponsorship can be conceptualized using an item and relational information framework, and supports this with empirical data. The model presented allows for predictions about consumer memory for sponsorship information, and hence has both theoretical and practical value. Data are reported which show that sponsors considered congruent with an event benefit by providing consumers with sponsor-specific item information, while sponsors considered incongruent benefit by providing sponsor-event relational information. Overall the provision of sponsor-event relational information is shown to result in superior memory to the provision of sponsor-specific item information, which is superior to basic sponsor mentions.

Does Identifying Ambushers as Non-Sponsors Help or Hurt Legitimate Sponsors? Memory and Attitudinal Consequences

Two experiments examine outcomes for sponsor and ambusher brands within sponsorship settings. It is demonstrated that although making consumers aware of the presence of ambusher brands can reduce subsequent event recall to competitor cues, recall to sponsor cues can also suffer. Attitudinal effects are also considered.

Empirical support for an item and relational conceptualization of sponsorship

This paper outlines how commercial sponsorship can be conceptualized using an item and relational information framework, and supports this with empirical data. The model presented allows for predictions about consumer memory for sponsorship information, and hence has both theoretical and practical value. Data are reported which show that sponsors considered congruent with an event benefit by providing consumers with sponsor-specific item information, while sponsors considered incongruent benefit by providing sponsor-event relational information. Overall the provision of sponsor-event relational information is shown to result in superior memory to the provision of sponsor-specific item information, which is superior to basic sponsor mentions.

Destination branding performance measurement for practitioners

While academic interest in destination branding has been gathering momentum since the field commenced in the late 1990s, one important gap in this literature that has received relatively little attention to date is the measurement of destination brand performance. This paper sets out one method for assessing the performance of a destination brand over time. The intent is to present an approach that will appeal to marketing practitioners, and which is also conceptually sound. The method is underpinned by Decision Set Theory and the concept of Consumer-Based Brand Equity (CBBE), while the key variables mirror the branding objectives used by many destination marketing organisations (DMO). The approach is demonstrated in this paper to measure brand performance for Australia in the New Zealand market. It is suggested the findings provide indicators of both i) the success of previous marketing communications, and ii) future performance, which can be easily communicated to a DMO’s stakeholders.

Social and mobile interaction design to increase the loyalty rates of young blood donors

Young adults represent the largest group of first time donors to the Australian Red Cross Blood Service, but they are also the least loyal group and often do not return after their first donation. At the same time, many young people use the internet and various forms of social media on a daily basis. Web and mobile based technological practices and communication patterns change the way that young people interact with one another, with their families, and communities. Combining these two points of departure, this study seeks to identify best practices of employing mobile apps and social media in order to enhance the loyalty rates of young blood donors. The findings reported in this paper are based on a qualitative approach presenting a nuanced understanding of the different factors that motivate young people to donate blood in the first place, as well as the obstacles or issues that prevent them from returning. The paper discusses work in progress with a view to inform the development of interactive prototypes trialling three categories of features: personal services (such as scheduling); social media (such as sharing the donation experience with friends to raise awareness); and data visualisations (such as local blood inventory levels). We discuss our translation of research findings into design implications.

Online environmental citizenship : blogs, green marketing and consumer sentiment in the 21st Century

Over the last three decades, the rise in consumer generated content has enabled more environmentally conscious points of view to effect mainstream opinion (Kalafatis, Pollard, East & Tsogas, 1999; Barber, Taylor & Strick, 2009). Consequently, more people are buying into environmentalist ideology and organizing themselves to influence social change. Focus has shifted from attracting public awareness to concern for green ideas, discourse, and environmental citizenship, the latter becoming the guideline by which debates on such topics are regulated (Follows & Jobber, 2000; Dobson, 2003).