Few studies have attempted to operationalize metaphor or measure its effect on receivers. This thesis suggests that the language used to frame information has a powerful impact on receivers. The experiment following the literature review shows that the use of a {family, plant, biology} metaphor cluster produces significantly greater donations of money to an organization. Better, though nonsignificant, results on other dependent measures were also obtained using the {family, plant, biology} cluster rather than the {war, machine, death} cluster. Theoretical implications and organizational applications of these findings are discussed and new research directions are proposed.

<p> Several researchers have said that the real solution to alleviating, or at least reducing, the level of poverty is not to view poor people as customers; instead it is important to integrate these people into the value chain of Multi-national Corporations (Karnani, 2007; London, 2004; SEKN, 2001). The objective of this research work is to analyze how companies with sustainability initiatives can generate better individual performance through the creation of empowerment in the LIS. First I developed a theoretical framework after conducting 47 in-depth interviews with key participants of one sustainable initiative in Mexico. I found, initially, that other variables like trust, coping strategy and risk aversion can moderate the direct and positive relationship between psychological empowerment and individual performance. Then I applied the surveys to 204 participants of this sustainability initiative. To test the hypotheses, I used PLS-SEM and analyzed the surveys in two groups (Belong, N=85) and (Belonged, N=119). In both groups, I confirmed the positive relationship between psychological empowerment and individual performance, I found also that coping strategy moderates in both conditions of this relationship; however, I cannot demonstrate that risk aversion moderates in any condition. Finally, I demonstrate that trust moderates the relationship, also. Theoretical and managerial implications as well limitations and future research avenues are discussed.</p><p> Keywords: low-income sector, empowerment, performance, trust, coping strategy, risk aversion, social entrepreneurship, inclusive <b> business,</b> base of the pyramid.</p>

<p>Through nine experiments, this research advances knowledge about the influence of metaphors grounded in the visual sensory system on creative cognition by showing that perceiving ostensibly task-unrelated visual images that carry metaphoric meaning alters consumers&rsquo; creativity. While the results of Experiments 1a, 1b, and 2 provide convergent evidence that positive visual metaphors representing ideas like &ldquo;<i>I just had a light go on</i>&rdquo; increase consumers&rsquo; creative output, Experiments 3a and 3b reveals that a negative visual metaphor conveying ideas like &ldquo;<i> I am burnt out</i>&rdquo; decrease it. Experiments 4a and 4b show that aptness and familiarity moderate the metaphor creativity link, and Experiment 6 shows that the metaphor&ndash;creativity link is moderated by analogical reasoning skills. Experiment 5 uncovers the mediating role of creative intent. In addition to implying that marketers can use metaphors to enhance consumers&rsquo; creative feedback in areas like new product development, this research also makes important theoretical contributions by showing (1) that grounded visual metaphors (in addition to tangible objects or physical exercises) can not only raise but also lower creative output, (2) that the cognitive relationship to the metaphor alters the metaphor-creativity link, (3) that a unique cognitive skill alters the metaphor&ndash;creativity link, and (4) that consumers&rsquo; intentions explain that relationship. </p>

In the first essay, titled "Broadcasting versus Narrowcasting", we identify the characteristics of TV programs which make the programs more likely to be broadcast than to be shown on pay channels. One characteristic we focus on is the degree of extensiveness of the program. We define an extensive (intensive, respectively) program as one with a broad but shallow (narrow but deep, respectively) audience. We find that broadcast television has a bias in favor of extensive programs, while pay television has a bias in favor of intensive programs. In the second essay, titled "Allocation of Programs Between Broadcast and Pay Television", we analyze the allocation of television programs between a broadcast television station and a pay television system that compete in the same market. There are two television programs, one of the programs is more extensive and the other more intensive. We show that a monopolistic producer will sell the more extensive program to broadcast television and the more intensive program to pay television. Furthermore, we show that this market allocation of programs is desirable from the welfare standpoint. Another finding of interest is that a program producer that can influence the degrees of extensiveness of programs will make the broadcast program more and more extensive and the narrowcast program more and more intensive. In the third essay, titled "Is there too much advertising on TV?", two broadcasters compete by selecting the quality of programming and the quantity of advertising. There is an optimal amount of advertising from the viewers' perspective that generates a minimum level of advertising. That is, the quantity of advertising that broadcasters offer in equilibrium is never below this optimum. If the minimum level is high, broadcasters choose high quality programming and compete for viewers by offering lower levels of advertising. Thus, viewers have two choices of high quality programming with the amount of advertising that they desire. But if the minimum level is low, viewers choose between two TV channels: one offering low quality programming with a low level of advertising and the other offering high quality programming with a high level of advertising.

Architecture and design is not exempt from the laws of branding in the day and age of image identity and mass consumerism. Brenta is a network that maps, structures, projects and identifies the relationships of branding in the realm of modern design.

P H A R M E T I C S dispensary is a prototype retail facility developed by combining one drugstore chain conglomerate and one international cosmetic company. The dispensary is sited as an operational component in commerce, utilizing economic and regulatory systems, marketing strategies, and cultural identification conditions as means to investigate and articulate a physical retail environment. Strategic cross-industry exchange results in innovative hybrid products and services, while expanding the categorical particularities of practice.

E-commerce is a new way of doing business. It is becoming increasingly important to everybody. The objective of this thesis is to compare various design approaches and to find out the best solution for small businesses. Some commonly used technologies in developing e-commerce systems are introduced in the first three chapters. The topics covered are from Web standards and protocols to Web planning and design, from Web servers to server side programming, and most importantly, Java technology and IBM's WebSphere. Based on these technologies, two solutions are presented: building from scratch with Java servlets and building with IBM's WebSphere. We develop an online store with each of the solutions. The last part of the thesis is a comprehensive comparison. Time, complexity, performance and cost are evaluated in this comparison. A simple conclusion is drawn afterwards with our suggestions to small businesses regarding which solution they should choose.

<p> Some managers lack an effective strategy for aligning sales promotion strategies with consumers' buying attitudes in a recession. The intent of this comparative design was to determine the most effective sales promotion strategy for sales improvement and business sustainability during a recession. The theories of (a) sales promotions, (b) consumer behavioral metrics, (c) price reductions, and (d) strategy in a competitive environment represented the theoretical framework that grounded and complemented this research. Using a confidential paper-based survey and random sampling method, preference data were obtained from 287 consumers in retail stores located in a city in the southern United States. This analysis comprised examining the effects of types of sales promotions and gender of customers. Statistical tests for the data analysis encompassed a 4X2 ANOVA and Bonferroni post hoc tests for mean pairs. The principal findings from the analysis were that there is a significant difference in buying attitudes means among the 4 types of sales promotion in a recession [<i>F</i>(3, 279) = 101.360; <i>p</i> = .000 &lt; .001; <i>Partial &eegr;&sup2;</i> = .522]. However, there is no significant difference in buying attitudes means in a recession [<i> F</i>(1, 279) = .000; <i>p</i> = .999 > .05; <i>Partial &eegr;&sup2; </i> = .000] between genders. Price discount strategy had a higher buying attitudes mean than did any other type of sales promotion under study for both genders. The most effective strategy for aligning sales promotions with buying attitudes in a recession is price discount. Implications for business practice and positive social change include the sales increase in a recession, improvement of lifestyle of individuals, and reduction of negative tendencies such as crime and poverty associated with unemployment. </p>

<p> As technology development has made the world better, the benefits of such development are also increasingly related to sports activities. Many sports devices have been combined with Information Technology (IT). One great example is an IT-combined sport device called "Activity Tracker." It is a device that is worn on the body and records a user's body status such as calories burned, steps walked, or heart rates. With people's increasing attention to their health, it is expected that the popularity of the devices will increase. To aid in the sales of activity trackers in a competitive market, the manufacturers should be familiar with the impact of product cues such as brand, price, and design on consumers' perceived quality, which will influence their willingness to buy. </p><p> The study was quantitative; paper and pencil questionnaires were utilized. The instruments were derived from three existing studies. The study participants were Florida State University undergraduate and graduate students; 200 questionnaires were distributed to students enrolled in Lifetime Activity Program (LAP) courses and/or visiting a recreation center on campus. The final sample size was 144 participants. The data was analyzed using several statistical methods with PASW Statistics 20.0. From the descriptive statistics, the frequency counts and/or mean scores were computed for profiling the participants. The Cronbach's alpha scores, and item-to-total correlations were utilized to assess the internal consistency of the factors measured with the questionnaires. The assumptions of multiple regression, including as normality, linearity, homoscedasticity, and multicollinearity were assessed. Multiple regressions were utilized to gauge the extent to which price, brand, and design influence perceived quality. As the final step, a simple regression was utilized to measure the relationship between perceived quality and willingness to buy. </p><p> Examination of this data revealed several significant results regarding the relationships between product cues, perceived quality, and willingness to buy. While brand (t=6.779; p&lt;.05; beta=.522) and design (t=5.934; p&lt;.05; beta=.450) had a positive impact on perceived quality, price (t=-1.681; p>.05; beta=-.139) had no significant impact on perceived quality. Perceived quality (t=6.060; p&lt;.05; beta=.453) had a positive impact on willingness to buy; however, the variance (20%) accounted for in willingness to buy was low, meaning that there may be mediating variables between perceived quality and willingness to buy.</p>

<p> In the course of doing business in the modern world organizations often find themselves involved in negative situations which can only be categorized as crises. These crises have a wide variety of causes and often result in negative outcomes for the organizations involved. While crises have been studied from an organizational view, this research investigates the consumer's experience when exposed to a crisis. To do this, the current literature on marketing crises is expanded upon to create a definition of marketing crisis, and the theoretical lens of attribution theory is applied to identify why individual consumers may respond quite differently to the same marketing crisis. The three specific research questions investigated are: 1) How do consumers make causal attributions about marketing crises? 2) What factors influence how consumers make those attributions about marketing crises?, and 3) What are the consequences of causal attributions about marketing crises? These questions are tested with an experimental design manipulating exposure to a marketing crisis and measuring antecedents, causal attribution, and consequences associated with an attribution theory model of crisis perception. A major finding of this research is that the cause of the crisis matters to consumers, and that the perception of cause can vary greatly among consumers. Specifically, and counter-intuitively, this research suggests that consumers who are actually customers of organizations affected by the crisis may have a less dramatic response to a negative development than consumers who are less involved and more psychologically distant.</p>