Browsing by Subject "Consumers"

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Content class effects on consumer online information processing
(2002-08) Wang, Shih-lun Alex, 1972-; Leckenby, John D.
Do consumers process information differently when the information is presented in the form of a third-party endorsed article versus advertising? Is it indeed the desirable managerial strategy to have all content types "speak with one voice?” How do factors such as product involvement, subjective and objective knowledge interact with the message consistency or message inconsistency conditions to influence subjects’ processing and their purchase intent? Based on these three main research questions, the study examined how subjects processed the information by integrating and examining two streams of content class, advertising and the thirdparty endorsed article online under the influences of message manipulation, involvement level, and consumer knowledge. The laboratory experiments with 221 subjects were used to test several hypotheses. An opposite result was found as subjects exposed to message inconsistency had higher purchase intent. It was clear that there was indeed a iv canceling effect across the content types when message claims they carried were presented in the same fashion to be consistent. Presenting information in different or varied sources may have stimulated thinking as subjects attempted to reconcile differences and made the different message claims complementary to each other. Results also suggested that product involvement, subjective knowledge, and objective knowledge independently influenced subjects’ information processing toward consistent messages and inconsistent messages across the content classes. While product involvement was a better determinant of process measures, objective knowledge influenced the focus of attention toward the articles and the evaluative measures toward the articles. While subjects with low subjective knowledge were more easily persuaded, subjects who were not motivated and had low objective knowledge appeared to rely on positive attitude toward the article (AArticle) to make their decision. The results are encouraging since both advertising and the third-party endorsed article are important in increasing a consumer’s purchase intent. Advertising and PR practices together could elicit more effective communication and have different and additive effects on persuasion. However, the findings of the study suggested that message inconsistency might be the most desirable condition when the message claims across the content types were positively distinguished, processed, and evaluated by subjects. Implications for advertisers and the direction of future research are also presented. v
"Deal or No Deal?" : negotiating the commodification and representation of Latinx race/ethnicity in 21st century U.S. gameshows
(2023-04-20) Arteaga, René X.; Beasley, B. Alex; Aldama, Frederick Luis, 1969-
In this research project, I interrogate whether the increased representation of Latinx minorities in mainstream U.S. television shows, and gameshows more specifically, can lead to possibilities of challenging or disrupting the structural power of white corporate hegemony. I do this by exploring how American mainstream television networks, advertisement agencies, and white corporate culture more broadly work in the 21st century to commodify race and ethnicity by portraying racialized minorities through stereotypical but highly marketable images. I am aligned with scholars, such as Shalini Shankar, Arlene Dávila, and Isabel Molina-Guzman, who are critical of post-racial-era television producers’ strategies for appropriating racial minorities’ cultural differences in their television shows without acknowledging the racial and economic inequalities that can underpin racial difference. Ultimately, I illustrate how fleeting moments do exist in which “racial minorities” can disrupt white corporate hegemony through television before their “unruly” behavior is co-opted by mainstream media and rendered unthreatening. Thus, I argue, we must pay more attention to these moments of disruption and study the radical potential that they carry.
The dynamics of family purchase decision and children's influence within the family purchase decision for recreational service : ǂb in the case of The University of Texas at Austin's Summer Sports Camps
(2006-05) Lee, Hyun Jae, 1976-; Green, B. Christine
This study was developed to identify the dynamics of family decision-making processes when purchasing a youth sport camps. Family decision-making has been an interesting subject in consumer behavior for many years but youth sport programs have not been widely studied. To examine the family decision process, both parents and children were asked to complete a web-based questionnaire in which they reported their perceptions of the relative influence of mother, father and child at each decision stage. Family members' influence in the purchase decision was analyzed using a three-phase decision stage model; problem initiation stage, information search stage, and final purchase decision. Both parents and children perceived parents to have the most influence at each stage. Parents perceived that between the husband and wife, decisions were mostly made jointly. Children had the most influence at the problem initiation stage which was consistent with previous literature regarding recreation and leisure service. As children's age increased, so did their relative influence over the purchase decision. The dominance of parents at the overall decision-making process and children's involvement at the beginning of the decision process indicates that youth sport program marketers should develop dual channel marketing strategies to effectively and efficiently reach decision makers at each stage of the process.
The power of consumer-to-consumer community (network) on the Internet: consumer decision-making, product sales, and product diffusion
(2006) Duan, Wenjing; Whinston, Andrew B.; Gu, Bin, Ph. D.
The prevalent usage of the Internet and other information technologies (IT) has fundamentally changed the information balance between businesses and consumers. Prior to the information age, businesses carefully controlled the information they fed to the media and consumers through orchestrated marketing efforts. Little else was revealed to consumers except on the rare occasions where the businesses made headlines. The Internet and the resulting mass media, however, have turned a business’s information advantage on its head. Visiting any online retailer today, you will notice that consumers actively share their experiences and product information with each other. The popularity of a product is increasingly determined by such consumer-to-consumer communications instead of a business’s marketing budget. Even so, there is still limited understanding of the influences of consumer-generated media on the Internet, particularly its impact on business strategies. My dissertation investigates the information effect of the electronic communities on consumer decision-making, product sales, and strategic product diffusion. First, my dissertation considers the case where consumers can observe others’ product choices, as well as gain access to public product information on the Internet. In such cases it is shown that consumers engage in significant herd behavior, and my research further investigates the impact of herding on consumer product choices. Second, my dissertation explores how online user feedback systems affect product sales. Using data from the entertainment industry, my research studies the dynamic relationship between online user feedback information and product sales. Following this line of inquiry, my dissertation also examines the impact of the Internet on a firm’s global diffusion strategy. Information can be disseminated on the Web at rocket speed, which will fundamentally transform firms’ and companies’ strategic diffusion processes. In light of such a transformation, my research investigates the impact of the Internet on the international distribution of entertainment products. All in all, my dissertation expects to advance our understanding of the information value of the Internet.
Product strategies under durability, lock-in and assortment considerations
(2009-12) Jonnalagedda, Sreelata; Gilbert, Stephen M.
In this dissertation I focus on two considerations that influence the product strategy of a firm. The first is consumers’ choice and its influence on a firm’s product offering, and the second is the interaction between durable products and their contingent consumables. First, I study the assortment planning problem for a firm; I illustrate the complexity of solving this product selection problem, present simple solutions for some commonly used choice models, and develop heuristics for other practically motivated models. Second, I study the incentives of a durable goods monopolist when she can lock-in consumers through a contingent consumable. Adopting a lock-in strategy has two interesting effects on the incentives of a durable goods manufacturer. On one hand, by locking-in consumers to its consumable, a durable goods monopolist can curb its temptation to reduce durable prices over time, thereby mitigating the classic time inconsistency problem. On the other hand, lock-in will create a hold-up issue and adversely affect consumers’ expectations of future prices for the consumable. My research demonstrates the trade-off between time inconsistency and hold-up, and derives insights about the conditions under which a lock-in strategy can be effective. I further analyze the trade-off between time inconsistency and hold-up associated with lock-in in the presence of consumable stock-piling. My findings indicate in the presence of consumer stock-piling, lock-in has an effect similar to that of competition in the consumables market: they help to dampen the hold-up problem that arises from lock-in and at the same time increase the manufacturer’s incentive to reduce durable prices over time.
Understanding consumers’ responses to spiritual advertising
(2010-12) Marmor-Lavie, Galit; Stout, Patricia A.; Lee, Wei-Na; Drumwright, Minette; McCombs, Maxwell; Abzug, Robert H.
This dissertation sets out to advance the field of spirituality and advertising. It first discusses --the Spirituality in Advertising Framework (SAF) -- used as a platform for research of spirituality and advertising. Next, it explains how the SAF is used to study the spiritual message in advertising. These previous advancements have led to the main study of the current dissertation, which focuses on consumers and their reactions to spiritually-dense commercials (which are television ads rife with spiritual themes). Twenty nine semi-structured, in-depth interviews were conducted with students from three different types of student organizations (New Age, religious and Sports), at the University of Texas at Austin. Three main areas of findings were suggested: the presence of spiritual themes in the commercials, the personal meaning participants derive from the commercials and some relevant advertising/branding issues. It was found that participants not only captured the SAF spiritual ideas, but also offered some new themes, including hope, embracing life, destiny vs. free will and the concept of a Higher Power. Moreover, it was revealed that the use of nature, a strong human factor and inspiring ideas in the commercials elicited the most meaningful reactions from participants. The final set of findings, which focused on advertising and branding issues, revealed the following points: 1) authenticity is a major construct in the field of spiritual advertising; 2) more so than the other groups, the New Age group tends towards predispositional skepticism of advertising; 3) the spiritual message created a boomerang effect under certain conditions; 4) the spiritual message triggered questions about brand identity and personal identity of the consumers; and 5) only certain product categories mesh with a spiritual message. Finally, the dissertation ends with implications for practice that could potentially change the face of the advertising industry.