In two essays, this dissertation contributes to the emerging fields of consumer-based strategy and organizational frontline research. I examine the influence of social and atmospheric factors on consumer behavior, providing substantive and generalizable managerial insights to enhance organizational strategies at the frontline (i.e., point where the consumer and the firm meet). In Essay I, I examine how socially-induced communications (i.e., interactions) at the organizational frontline impact consumers’ prosocial behavior and store patronage; thereby, connecting OFR to consumer social responsibility. In particular, I introduce the ambassador effect as a novel, socially-induced form of pre-commitment that influences consumers’ prosociality and patronage intentions. Three field studies and five experiments show that inducing an ambassador role (by asking consumers to both (a) engage in a prosocial behavior and (b) to involve another person in the same prosocial behavior) increases consumers’ prosocial behavioral intentions and patronage intentions, beyond what previously established question-behavior effects or mere personal pre-commitments can achieve. The ambassador effect is mediated by a consumer’s enhanced warm glow and group orientation. Additionally, this research examines the moderating role of environmental consciousness, demonstrating that inducing an ambassador role increases real prosocial behavior among consumers low (vs. high) in environmental consciousness. Finally, this research investigates the interaction of the ambassador effect with firm policy (reward-based vs. penalty-based) to examine which approach is more effective at encouraging consumer prosocial behavioral intentions and patronage intentions. The results show that, in general, penalty-based retail policies (e.g., charging a fee for using a plastic shopping bag) are inferior to reward-based retail policies (e.g., offering a discount for using a reusable shopping bag). However, inducing an ambassador role attenuates the negative sentiments associated with penalty-based policies. Indeed, under a penalty-based policy, consumers in an ambassador role (vs. not) report more prosocial behavioral intentions and higher patronage intentions, attenuating differences between penalty-based and reward-based policies. Because many organizations and governments are applying penalty- and reward-based financial incentives to encourage consumer prosociality at the organizational frontline, my research provides meaningful, practical, and timely implications for scholars, managers, and policy makers. In Essay II, I conceptualize how olfactory changes to the servicescape (via ambient scenting strategies) affect behavioral, physiological, and psychological consumer outcomes at the organizational frontline; bridging the gap between OFR and sensory marketing. In the former half of this essay, I theorize the impact of gender-based ambient scents (a feminine or masculine ambient scent) on consumer spending as function of the scent’s congruence with the consumer’s gender. I suggest that gender-based ambient scents elicit distinct responses among male and female consumers. Specifically, male consumers spend more when exposed to a gender-incongruent (vs. gender-congruent) ambient scent, whereas female consumers are relatively unaffected. This increase in spending among male consumers is predicted to be mediated by a reduced sense of self-control. Moreover, this research proposes an important boundary condition: male consumers who are exposed to a gender-incongruent ambient scent increase their spending specifically on status-signaling (vs. neutral) products. By re-examining the current marketplace perspective ⸺ that gender-congruent scents are preferable ⸺ this research offers actionable and counterintuitive implications to aid retail managers in the application of ambient scents in their stores (i.e., at the organizational frontline). In the latter half of Essay II, I conceptualize the impact of pleasant, appetizing (e.g., chocolate-chip-cookie, apple-pie) and non-appetizing (e.g., fresh linen, cotton) ambient scents on consumers’ affinity toward (i.e., preference displayed via increased attitude, attention, recall, product selection, purchasing behavior, loyalty, etc.) vice and virtuous offerings. I theorize that exposure to an appetizing scent increases consumers’ affinity toward vice offerings. Whereas, exposure to a non-appetizing scent decreases consumers’ affinity toward vice offerings, and simultaneously, increases their affinity toward virtuous offerings. Furthermore, this research proposes that consumers’ state level of personal control moderates the effects of (non-)appetizing ambient scents. When consumers feel a strong sense of personal control, the effects of (non-)appetizing ambient scents are attenuated, causing exposure to either scent to result in a decrease (increase) in consumers’ affinity toward vice (virtuous) offerings. Thus, this research affords important implications for firms who produce vice or virtuous offerings, providing insight into the application of (non-)appetizing scenting strategies at the frontline. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Marketing in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Spring Semester 2019. / April 1, 2019. / ambassador effect, consumer-based strategy, gender-based ambient scents, (non-)appetizing ambient scents, organizational frontline research, prosocial behavior / Includes bibliographical references. / Maura L. Scott, Professor Co-Directing Dissertation; Martin Mende, Professor Co-Directing Dissertation; Lydia Hanks, University Representative; Charles F. Hofacker, Committee Member; Anders Gustafsson, Committee Member.

Service mergers are a common phenomenon in the business world despite statistics showing the high failure rates of mergers. One reason for the extreme failure rates is a lack of focus on the consumer before and after the merger. Managers either do not understand how consumers react to mergers or they do not know how to mitigate negative reactions to mergers. This dissertation seeks to address these important issues by answering two research questions. First, how does pre-merger brand valence influence post-merger brand assessments? Second, how do consumers perceive a service failure of a merged company based on their expectations of the merged firm? Three independent studies were developed to provide answers to these research questions. Study one included a highly controlled experiment design that showed consumers are most adverse to mergers involving a negative brand. Study two featured a theoretical model that explains the consumer's post-merger brand assessments based on their psychological reactions to mergers involving their own brand. Results suggest consumer's perceived risk following a merger influences subsequent emotional reactions that shape the consumer's final attitude toward the merged brand. Study three considered the consumer's first service failure interaction with the merged firm. Results suggest service failures by a merged firm are more likely to lead the customer to switch to a competitor than the same failure by a firm not involved in a merger. Overall, these three studies enhance the existing literature by providing a foundation for understanding how consumers react to service mergers. Future studies can build upon the findings in this research. In addition, the results of the three studies offer several managerial implications. Potential future studies, limitations, and managerial implications are discussed in the final chapter. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Marketing in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Degree Awarded: Summer Semester, 2008. / Date of Defense: April 29, 2008. / Consumer Reactions, Marketing Strategy, Service Mergers / Includes bibliographical references. / Ronald E. Goldsmith, Professor Directing Dissertation; James Combs, Outside Committee Member; Michael K. Brady, Committee Member; Peter R. Darke, Committee Member.

This dissertation tests a comprehensive model of cross-selling performance in the context of services. Specifically, the present study examines three antecedents (in the form of cross-selling role clarity, cross-selling self-efficacy, and motivation to cross-sell) to the specific realm of cross-selling performance, while also determining the relative influence of more managerially actionable variables (cross-selling training, cross-selling incentives, management commitment to cross-selling, and workgroup commitment to cross-selling--under the umbrella of the term "perceived cross-selling support") on these direct antecedents. Although management may be responsible for the decision to initiate cross-selling as a practice for the organization to undertake, it is ultimately the efforts of the employees, who implement the strategy of cross-selling, that determine its success or failure. Therefore, this study takes an internal marketing perspective, in that it seeks to help determine which management strategies can best be used to motivate the salesperson to attain high levels of cross-selling performance. Using a sample of 225 independent insurance salespeople, eight of the seventeen study hypotheses tested were supported by the data. The empirical results, though mixed, serve to provide interesting findings for cross-selling in the realm of services. The dissertation also provides additional directions for research on cross-selling in services. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Marketing in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Degree Awarded: Fall Semester, 2006. / Date of Defense: November 6, 2006. / Services, Internal Marketing, Cross-Selling / Includes bibliographical references. / Michael D. Hartline, Professor Directing Dissertation; James M. Carson, Outside Committee Member; Ronald E. Goldsmith, Committee Member; Daekwan Kim, Committee Member.

In recognizing the importance of workgroup influences on individual attitudes and behaviors, this dissertation develops and tests a model of workgroup antecedents and outcomes of customer-contact employee role performance. Role performance refers to the performances of customer-contact employees that reflect non-role performance (e.g., shirking, social loafing, and job neglect), role-prescribed performance (e.g., expected employee performance in serving the firm's customers), and extra-role performance (e.g., the discretionary performances of contact employees in serving customers that extends beyond the formal role requirements of the position). Drawing upon social influence theory, social exchange theory, marketing control theory, and the group cohesion literature, this study examines the effects of workgroup inequity, social cohesion, workgroup customer orientation, and task-based cohesion on each of these role performances in turn. The results suggest that role-prescribed and extra-role performance are largely influenced by task-based cohesion and workgroup customer orientation, while non-role performance is a product of workgroup inequity, social cohesion, and task-based cohesion. Further, the model examines the impact that these three forms of role performance have on the qualitative (service effectiveness) and quantitative (service efficiency) dimensions of service productivity. The model suggests that service firms may maximize service productivity by encouraging customer-contact employee role-prescribed performance. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Marketing in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Degree Awarded: Summer Semester, 2004. / Date of Defense: June 28, 2004. / Inequity, Service Productivity, Customer Orientation, Role Performance, Group Cohesion / Includes bibliographical references. / Michael D. Hartline, Professor Directing Dissertation; Pamela L. Perrewe, Outside Committee Member; Michael K. Brady, Committee Member; Michael J. Brusco, Committee Member; Ronald E. Goldsmith, Committee Member.

The overall objective of this dissertation is to contribute to the understanding of the impact visible shelf inventory has on consumer decision making in retail settings. Two essays examine the effects of visibly diminished shelf inventory on both consumer perceptions and product choice. Conventional retailing wisdom suggests high levels of shelf inventory increase demand and stimulate sales. "Stack 'em high, let 'em fly" is an industry saying used to convey that greater quantities of shelved products equate to greater demand and sales. This research identifies conditions under which the opposite is true; it in other words, when lower levels of shelf inventory emit positive signals to consumers. Diminished inventory is suggested to operate in this way by providing behavioral evidence of other consumers' choices, thus serving as an inferred endorsement. The first essay contributes to both theory and practice by providing insights into the effects of diminished shelf inventory. Three studies, two controlled laboratory experiments and a field experiment, reveal that consumers rely on shelf inventory for information when product knowledge is lacking or other information is not readily available. Lower levels of inventory, in the absence of other information, compared with higher levels of inventory of a competing product, provide information about the behavior and apparent preference of other consumers and thereby increase perceptions of quality, purchase intentions, and product choice. In a broad sense, Essay 1 provides added insight into what constitutes noninteractive informational social influence and how subtle observable environmental cues may be utilized by consumers in routine shopping situations. In addition, considering current retail practice with respect to shelf inventory levels, this work highlights a paradoxical relationship between shelf quantity and consumer demand. The second essay evaluates the diminished shelf inventory effect, uncovered in the first essay, within an environment where competing shopping heuristic cues are present and consumers must select from among competing cues. Specifically, three experimental studies focus on whether the diminished inventory effect increases consumer willingness to pay and how it competes with established price and brand heuristics that consumers are known to apply at the point of sale. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Marketing in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Degree Awarded: Summer Semester, 2011. / Date of Defense: April 29, 2011. / Social Influence, Perceived Quality, Quality Heuristics, Signaling, Shelf Inventory, Product Quantity, Inferred Behavior, Noninteractive Influence / Includes bibliographical references. / Michael K. Brady, Professor Directing Dissertation; Gerald R. Ferris, University Representative; Michael D. Hartline, Committee Member; Charles F. Hofacker, Committee Member; Katherine N. Lemon, Committee Member.

The purpose of this dissertation research was to understand perceptions of discrimination as experienced by African American women in retail settings. Because the emphasis here was on understanding the phenomenon from the target’s perspective, an existential phenomenological approach was used. Existential phenomenology “seeks to explicate the essence, structure or form of both human experience and human behavior as revealed through essentially descriptive techniques including disciplined reflection” (Valle, King and Halling 1989, pg. 6). In-depth interviews were conducted with African American women who believed they’d received negative treatment because of their race in a retail setting. The analysis provided a rich description of retail perceptions of discrimination. Specifically, the phenomenon emerged as involving four themes (identified in emic terms by italics). The participant was subjected to Invisible/criminal treatment by sales associates and/or retail managers. At some point during the encounters described, participants internally attributed this treatment to discrimination. Sometimes this attribution arose quickly, other times it arose subsequent to a process of testing. For the experiences described, there was a point where the participant knew (I knew) she was being discriminated against. The perception of discrimination produced primarily negative emotions, corresponding cognitions and behaviors collectively described by the theme Have restraint - Show my butt. The perception of discrimination is facilitated by the notion that, despite social norms against these practices, discrimination is an omnipresent threat because Racism Exists. Both parental socialization and personal experiences with discrimination in other settings influence retail perceptions of discrimination. This study contributes to marketing and retailing research (e.g. understanding negative critical incidents of diverse consumers) as well as social psychological research (e.g. understanding how prejudice is experienced by targets). Specific implications for marketing and retailing faculty, researchers and practitioners; public policy officials and consumers are described.

No description available.

<p>In the past five years, the number of Americans using the Internet as their main source of news has doubled to more than 40%, while those choosing newspapers has dropped to just over 30%. Although this trend signals a shift in the consumption of information in favor of hyper-media, wherein excerpting and linking is commonplace, research regarding how consumers acquire news in online environments has not proceeded apace. This dissertation presents a model of forward-looking consumers who gain knowledge and utility through the search and consumption of hyper-media, and explore its implications for welfare and site policy. </p><p>The model is estimated using comScore browsing data for five celebrity news and gossip sites, supplemented with link data scraped from site archives. The model is estimated by coupling Imai, Jain, and Ching's (2009; Econometrica 77(6):1865-1899) method with the Riemann manifold sampling algorithm of Girolami and Calderhead (2011; JRSS-B 73(2):123-214). The pairing of these recent advances enables researchers to estimate dynamic models with many more variables and states than previously considered.</p><p>Results indicate consumers are heterogeneous in their preferences for certain types of celebrity sites (e.g., females prefer sites that emphasize gossip over pictorials of female models and entertainers). Results also indicate that links to other sites are informative about the target site's potential quality; after observing one link to another site, consumers' uncertainty about the linked site's quality is about 20% lower.</p><p>Counterfactual analyses show that network throttling, in which access to all sites is slowed down uniformly in an effort to reduce congestion, has an unequal effect on site traffic. For example, sites frequented by consumers with higher than average browsing costs lose a greater share of their traffic. They also show how a change in fair use law, in which excerpts and links become less informative of the linked sites' quality, causes consumers with more extreme tastes to curtail their searches, consequently decreasing traffic at sites with mainstream content and many inbound links. A third counterfactual experiment uses the model to explore the implications of pay walls for site traffic.</p> / Dissertation

Thèse de doctorat : Sciences de gestion : Lyon 2 : 1994. / Titre provenant de l'écran-titre.

Thesis (M.B.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 1985.