<p> For over four decades, the outdoor clothing company Patagonia has promoted environmentalist ideologies though essays and photographs published in their print media. This strategy offers an eco-friendly narrative that resonates with many brand consumers, but the art of constructing and publicizing a corporate narrative with social purpose (i.e. <i>corporate social narrative</i>) has yet to be explored. In this thesis, Patagonia's corporate social narrative is reviewed in light of Fisher's narrative paradigm theory, the principals of corporate social marketing, social exchange theories, and the idea that visual imagery holds significant power in consumer markets. Major themes in Patagonia's environmental narrative are identified and explored via narrative analysis of promotional material published by the company between the years of 1972-2013, with a focus on product catalogs published after 1991. The narrative research delves into how the themes of journey, calculated risk, minimalist struggle, and a connectedness to nature help Patagonia create a self-proclaimed <i> uncommon culture</i> and explores how this culture is used to promote behavioral change in outdoor enthusiasts who purchase from the company. Lastly, lessons from Patagonia's social narrative are detailed along with recommendations on how corporate social narrative can be used effectively in other consumer markets.</p>

Three studies were conducted to discover the underlying components of perceived risk. The first two studies examined two statistically and qualitatively different lists of rating items, and demonstrated that a principal components solution could produce similar results between them. These two solutions demonstrated that, when forming perceptions about risk, people consider the Hazardousness of potential risks, their Familiarity with the products, and the Technological nature of the risks. The third experiment extended previous findings by considering subject, as well as product, characteristics. This study demonstrated that there were three distinct subject types: Fearful, Fearless and Informed. These subject groups attended to different product information when forming perceptions of risk. In all, these studies provide a more complete understanding of the nature of risk perception.

Customer service is a focus of much research attention and is linked to organizational outcomes. This thesis examines customer service behaviors toward obese versus average-weight customers. Because of the negative stereotype of obesity and widespread discrimination against obese individuals in many social and organizational contexts, we hypothesized that obese customers would receive poorer service than average-weight customers. We also proposed several potential moderators of the relationship between obesity and customer service. Data supported our first two hypotheses, but overall no effects of hypothesized moderators emerged. Results are discussed in terms of stigma and customer service.

<p> Properly used, social media represents a new and dynamic form of advertising. This paper analyzes the relationship between social media use and the physical location of Omaha restaurants. A pilot study showed no predictive relationship between overall social media use and physical location. The major study using 495 restaurants examined the restaurants' use of three major social media sites. Correlation analysis of the variables showed essentially no relationship between the use of social media and restaurant location. The findings indicate that restaurants with a poor physical location are not taking advantage of social media to attract customers. Likewise, restaurants with a better physical location are not using social media to attract more customers. The social media landscape may be too immature to show any identifiable spatial patterns. </p>

<p> This study examined impulse cues on the Facebook pages of apparel retailers by extending previous research by Dawson &amp; Kim (2010), which examined impulse cues on the websites of top apparel retailers. The purpose of this study was to determine whether a relationship exists between impulse cues (Facebook content that entices consumers to buy) and web sales. The percentage of Facebook traffic website referrals for apparel retailers was also examined. The potentially influential role of impulse cues on web sales is highlighted in this study with distinct marketing implications for apparel retailers. When retailers use impulse cues on Facebook as part of their marketing strategy, they increase the potential for user engagement. The purpose of increasing user engagement is to increase conversion to web sales. The Facebook posts of the top apparel retailers were examined to identify the number of times impulse cues were used over a 30-day period in 2012. The top apparel retailers were extracted from InternetRetailer.com's 2012 Top 500 list. The Top 500 list ranks Internet retailers of all categories (electronics, books, apparel, beauty, etc.) using 2011 web sales data. Additional impulse cue categories were added to Dawson &amp; Kim's original impulse cue categories. The relationship between Facebook likes, comments, and shares and web sales of the retailers' was also analyzed.</p>

<p> As young adults have adopted the use of digital new media technologies, previous scholarly research has predicted a lack of interest by young adults in traditional media, including radio. This waining interest in traditional media by young adults has also been reported in the popular press. An abandonment of radio by young adults could bring about an eventual decline in audience, resulting in adverse economic effects to the broadcast radio industry and related industries, including a decrease in radio revenues, the deflation in the value of radio properties, and potential job loss. This research examined the challenges radio programmers and marketers feel they are having in reaching out to and growing young adult audiences in the face of competition from new media and new media technologies as well as new opportunities for programming and marketing that these new media present. This research surveyed websites and interviewed radio broadcasters in the San Francisco Bay Area who demonstrated success in marketing to young adults in an attempt to ascertain the challenges and new opportunities in reaching and cultivating radio listeners is presented by new media. It was found that these San Francisco Bay Area radio stations are using new media tools to market and program to young adult listeners, and that these tools are key in keeping the radio medium robust. </p>

<p> The problem addressed was the losses incurred by organizations and individuals that resulted from computer and/or network security incidents originating from within or outside an organization. Although research has shown biometrics to be a reliable mechanism in the protection of data through authorization access, critics in opposition of biometric use profess that increased personal and financial security increases the loss of individual privacy. The acceptance and adoption of biometric based security devices has created a dichotomy between those individuals that demand increased security measures with those that fear the collection of personal data could cause them personal harm. This study extends the technology acceptance model (TAM) to include the demographic variables age, gender, and geographic residence to investigate if individual differences determine if a relationship exists between those characteristics and their perceived need for personal security and individual privacy. Previous research has shown that an individual with a strong need for security and privacy is more willing to adopt biometric technology in the protection of their personal data or self. The knowledge gained from this study addresses the challenges for a successful deployment of biometrics in the prevention of unauthorized access and the future marketing of security devices. The results from the study indicated that there is a relationship between an individual's age and their perceived need of security and perceived need for privacy. The addition of different demographic variables is recommended for future research. The addition of the demographic attributes as extended variables to TAM provides acumen in the study of end-user adoption of biometric technology and its diffusion into the marketplace.</p>

<p> This study explored perceptions of Public Relations (PR) among graduate higher education publics regarding distance learning as contrasted with face-to-face learning contexts. The research questions assessed student, faculty and administrator perceptions of characteristics of PR: trust, communication, quality, respect and rigor.</p><p> Participants included students and professors who had experienced both online and face-to-face learning, as well as administrators from two private universities. The larger of the two schools was in the Midwest region of the United States, and at the time of this study, was relatively new to online instruction. The smaller school was located in the Southeast region and offered an established online instruction program. Survey responses were collected from 69 students and 108 faculty, staff, and administrators. Out of those surveyed, six students, seven faculty, and six administrators were interviewed. Furthermore, I interviewed three human resources administrators from educational establishments who had experience hiring people with graduate education degrees. In addition, I analyzed student evaluations of courses taught both online and face-to-face at the smaller university. </p><p> Following completion of qualitative coding of interview data, examination of numeric descriptive trends within survey responses, and analysis of course evaluations, the findings revealed overall positive perceptions with strengths identified in online communication, respect, and rigor and weaknesses in trust and quality. Recommended improvements included strengthening academic integrity efforts through the consistent use of anti-plagiarism software and implementation of a rigorous culture of ethical enforcement. There is also a need for proactive provision of professional development for online teaching to provide the most student-efficient distance learning environment. Additionally, results of this study indicated a need for restructure of student evaluations of teaching to ensure assessment of the unique dynamics of online coursework. </p><p> The significance of these findings is two-fold: First, the data can potentially help university administrators effectively connect with internal and external publics and possibly foster collaboration between administration, faculty, and PR staff. Secondly, the insights reported from the analyzed data may be useful in rationalizing institutional beliefs and subsequent needs when writing departmental or institutional strategic improvement plans.</p>

<p> Marketers often make changes to brands to make the brand seem current or exciting. Some updates are successful while others are spectacular failures. This dissertation establishes a connection between consumer acceptance or rejection of updated brands and the consumer's reported brand nostalgia. In this dissertation, I refine the current marketing definitions of nostalgia to develop a more specific construct of brand nostalgia, develop a scale to measure the construct of brand nostalgia, examine the differences between schemas for nostalgic brands and non-nostalgic brands, and show that consumers' affective and attitudinal responses to changes in a brand are moderated by brand nostalgia. </p><p> Nostalgia has been defined as "a positively toned evocation of a lived past" (Davis 1979), and "a fondness for possessions and activities associated with days of yore" (Holbrook 1993). Consumers have been observed to engage in nostalgic behaviors, from re-watching favorite old movies (Holbrook, 1993) to reminiscing about favorite cars from their youth (Brown, Kozinets and Sherry 2003) to consuming specific foods as a way to reconnect with the past (Loveland, Smeesters and Mandel, 2010). Consumers have also reported nostalgic feelings for particular brands or items (Holbrook and Schindler 2003). </p><p> When individuals recall nostalgic memories, they recall affect and brand information stored in their schema for the target brand (Collins and Loftus 1975). Nostalgia is "not a true recreation of the past but rather a combination of many different memories, all integrated together and in the process, all negative emotions filtered out" (Hirsch 1992). Thus, the individual's memory trace is biased, leading the individual to recall the brand as being better than it actually was. Further, when an individual forms a relationship with a brand, the individual incorporates affective and attitudinal information into the schema, leading to a more complex, more robust schema (Fournier 1998; Smit, Bronner and Tolboom 2006). Once the individual experiences the updated brand, he compares the new experience to his biased memory and attempts to assimilate the new stimuli into his or her existing schema. The individual's ability to assimilate the new experience into their schema built on the biased memory will depend on the degree of change to the brand as well as the individual's level of nostalgia towards the brand.</p><p> When a highly nostalgic individual processes a changed brand, his more complex and affect-based schema will lead to a smaller latitude of acceptance for the change (Hart and Diehl 1993). If the change falls outside the latitude of acceptance, the individual will reject the updated brand (Atkins, Deaux &amp; Bieri 1967). Conversely, less nostalgic individuals are likely to have less complex, less affect-laden, less positively biased memories of the brand, making them more likely to assimilate the change (Meyers-Levy and Sternthal 1993; Martin 1986; Martin, Seta and Crelia 1990). </p><p> This dissertation combines literature from marketing, psychology and sociology to identify the ways in which the cognitive structures nostalgic individuals access when exposed to a brand towards which they are nostalgic differ from the cognitive structures non-nostalgic individuals access. This dissertation further provides a framework for both practitioners and academics to better predict consumer responses to changes in brands with nostalgic cache. </p>

<p>This study examines the relevance of an established public relations theory, relationship management, to investor relations. Having emerged during the 1950s, investor relations is a relatively new field that integrates the disciplines of communication, marketing, finance, and securities laws compliance. Through qualitative interviews focused on six publicly traded companies on the West Coast, the study provides insight into the relationship management function of investor relations from the perspectives of those whom investors ultimately hold accountable for a public company&rsquo;s performance&mdash;CEOs. The dominant theme emerging from the study is the constant challenge CEOs of public companies face as they engage in relationships with investors, primarily due to the constraining effects of regulatory requirements. While the study confirmed that the interviewees value L. C. Hon and J. E. Grunig&rsquo;s qualities of trust, satisfaction, control mutuality and commitment in relationships with investors, CEOs&rsquo; most frequently discussed relationship quality that they work to achieve is trust. </p>