Management and Marketing - Research Publications
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ItemSomething Different: ANZMAC 2021, Conference Proceedings(University of Melbourne, 2021)
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ItemNo Preview AvailableCommunication in the Gig Economy: Buying and Selling in Online Freelance Marketplaces(SAGE PUBLICATIONS INC, 2022-07)The proliferating gig economy relies on online freelance marketplaces, which support relatively anonymous interactions through text-based messages. Informational asymmetries thus arise that can lead to exchange uncertainties between buyers and freelancers. Conventional marketing thought recommends reducing such uncertainty. However, uncertainty reduction and uncertainty management theories indicate that buyers and freelancers might benefit more from balancing—rather than reducing—uncertainty, such as by strategically adhering to or deviating from common communication principles. With dyadic analyses of calls for bids and bids from a leading online freelance marketplace, this study reveals that buyers attract more bids from freelancers when they provide moderate degrees of task information and concreteness, avoid sharing personal information, and limit the affective intensity of their communication. Freelancers’ bid success and price premiums increase when they mimic the degree of task information and affective intensity exhibited by buyers. However, mimicking a lack of personal information and concreteness reduces freelancers’ success, so freelancers should always be more concrete and offer more personal information than buyers. These contingent perspectives offer insights into buyer–seller communication in two-sided online marketplaces. They clarify that despite, or sometimes due to, communication uncertainty, both sides can achieve success in the online gig economy.
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ItemThe effect of ending disclosure on the persuasiveness of narrative PSAs(Elsevier BV, 2021-04)Cautionary stories in which misbehavior results in negative outcomes are often used in public service announcements (PSAs) to promote behavioral change. These cautionary stories can either disclose or withhold their endings and the associated negative outcomes for the characters involved. In four experiments, we show that disclosing (vs. withholding) a story’s ending increases persuasion due to greater counterfactual thinking about alternative actions that could have prevented the negative outcomes. Integrating these findings within the Transportation-Imagery Model of narrative persuasion, we also show how dispositional levels of need for cognitive closure can amplify the effect of ending disclosure in a PSA. Our findings have important implications for both marketing communicators and policy makers who seek to improve the effectiveness of PSAs.
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ItemThe potential of marketing communications to protect social workers in times of crisis(Taylor & Francis (Routledge), 2022)Socially stigmatized service workers (SSWs) like probation officers, social workers, and even aged care workers are often subject to negative media scrutiny when a crisis occurs, leading to public outrage and subsequent high attrition rates. The primary focus of this study is to examine the potential for marketing communication to generate a state of empathic concern amongst the public towards SSWs because an empathic public is less likely to want to punish, despite media calls to do so. A case is presented for the use of marketing communication explained through the lens of narrative execution and the general theory of emotion. Using a content analysis of public service announcements from representative bodies of social workers, in the US, UK and Australia we find little evidence of strategic intent to use narrative format or elicit empathic concern. A call and direction for further research is made in light of this finding.
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ItemRestrict, clean and protect: Signalling consumer safety during the pandemic and beyond(Emerald, 2020-09-17)Purpose: Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic customers fear for their health when interacting with service providers. To mitigate this fear service providers are using safety signals directed to consumers and other stakeholders who make organizational assessments.The purpose of this article is to synthesize the range of safety signals in a framework that integrates signalling theory with servicescape elements so as to provide guidance for service providers to assist in their recovery. Design/methodology/approach: We extracted examples of how service providers signal safety to their consumers that the risk of infection is low in exchanging with their service. These examples were taken from secondary data sources in the form of trade publications resulting from a systematic search and supplemented by an organic search. Findings: In total 53 unique safety signals were identified and assigned to 24 different categories in our framework. Most of the signals fell into the default and sale independent category, followed by the default contingent revenue risking category. Originality: This study builds on signalling theory and service literature to develop a framework of the range of safety signals currently in use by service providers and offers suggestions as to which are likely to be most effective. Further, a future research inquiry of safety signals is presented which we believe has promise in assisting recovery in a post pandemic world.
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ItemWhat kind of donor are you? Uncovering complexity in donor identity(Wiley, 2021-01-01)Identity is a useful lens to understand donation behavior. However, studies have typically conceptualized and examined donor identity as a generic, unidimensional concept. Through in‐depth interviews with 52 blood donors, this study sets out to discover if there is more complexity to donor identity, and what implications this might have for marketing communications, in the context of donation of the self (e.g., blood, organs, time, and effort). We use sentiment polarity and amplification analysis of inductive themes to uncover distinct patterns reflective of four different donor identities. We label these the Savior, Communitarian, Pragmatist, and Elitist, which are underpinned by theories of gift‐giving, sharing, pragmatism, and signaling, respectively. The typology offers a theory‐building mechanism to anticipate the effects of marketing stimuli on donation behavior. We conclude by presenting four theoretical propositions, for which we provide preliminary empirical evidence. The survey data is suggestive of action readiness for donation behavior when a marketing communication message is aligned with its intended donor identity.
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ItemAn Alternative Framing of Organ Donation Registration: The Collective Donor Behavioral Model(SAGE Publications, 2021-06-01)Notwithstanding the prevalent use of donor registration prediction models grounded by the theory of planned behavior (TPB), registration behavior continues to remain low. A collective donor behavior (CDB) model underpinned by social exchange theory is introduced and its predictive ability is tested against a baseline TPB model using an online survey of adults ( n = 1,055). Individuals who indicated they were not registered donors were contacted 3 months later to track their registration status. The CDB model was found to explain 45% of variance in registration intentions which was comparable in performance to TPB. Normative commitment was found to be strongly associated with registration intentions, and both institutional trust and trust in others fostered this commitment. The CDB model provides different insights on how to increase donor registration intentions. Namely, interventions need to facilitate individual positive experiences with institutions such as hospitals and strengthen social inclusion perceptions.
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ItemWent in for Botox and left with a rhinoplasty: The ethics of customer relationship marketing practices for non-surgical cosmetic procedures(Emerald Group Publishing Limited, 2016-01-01)Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate how customer relationship marketing (CRM) activities are utilized by plastic surgery providers to encourage the sale of non-surgical cosmetic procedures (such as Botox). These procedures are considered to be an important gateway for future, more invasive (and profitable) services. As a result, the techniques used to build relationships with clients may be unethical, as they prioritize increased financial performance and profitability over customer well-being. Design/methodology/approach: Conceptual models are presented that compare and contrast the CRM activities, mediators and expected outcomes for plastic surgery providers, motivated primarily by profit, with those primarily motivated by mutual betterment. Findings: It is suggested that when accompanied by sales promotions, problem augmentation – an approach used by plastic surgeons to broaden the scope of a patient’s aesthetic problem to other areas of concern – may generate increased sales in the short term, but reduce the opportunity of positive word-of-mouth to recruit new clients. Originality/value: This paper applies relationship marketing to a novel context to demonstrate how practices to retain and improve clients may harm their well-being and commoditize the service, unless mutual betterment is a key objective.
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ItemPerceived deterrents to being a plasmapheresis donor in a voluntary, nonremunerated environment(WILEY, 2013-05-01)BACKGROUND: As demand for plasma-derived products increases internationally, maintaining a committed plasmapheresis panel membership is critical for blood collection agencies. This study addresses the current lack of knowledge regarding deterrents to the recruitment and retention of plasmapheresis donors in a voluntary nonremunerated environment. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: Nine focus groups (n = 84) and six individual interviews were conducted using semistructured schedules. Three focus groups were conducted with each category of eligible whole blood (WB) donors: those who had 1) declined to convert to plasmapheresis (DTC), 2) converted but lapsed to WB (LWB), and 3) converted and lapsed from the panel completely (LFP). Transcript analysis revealed distinct deterrent categories. RESULTS: The time required for plasmapheresis was a universally identified deterrent, with concerns of donation frequency expectations shared between DTC and LWB. LWB and LFP both reported excessive questioning and paperwork, and eligibility requirements as deterrents. Unique deterrents for DTC were a lack of accurate knowledge about safety and process. LWB reported concerns about plasmapheresis donation outcomes; however, they were more committed to continuing donation than LFP, who reported donation not being salient, being too busy, and poorer donation experiences. CONCLUSION: Providing information to address safety and health concerns should be the focus for successful conversion to plasmapheresis. Setting donation frequency expectations at levels to which donors are accustomed may improve evaluations of the cost/benefit ratio of conversion and retention. Involvement levels (i.e., importance, personal meaning of donation) may be the key differentiator between those donors who return to WB and those that lapse altogether.
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ItemPrivacy Goals versus Disclosure Goals: Towards an Understanding of the Privacy-Consumption Trade-Off(Organising Committee for the European Association for Consumer Research 2010 Conference, 2010)