Advances in technology and the current business environment have urged marketers, policy makers and consumers to reconsider existing definitions of information sensitivity. Technology is changing how consumers interact in the marketplace and the terms by which data is collected and shared by companies. As a result, the definition of personally identifying information (PII) is expanding to include non-personally identifying information (referred to as anonymous and linkable data) such as weight and media habits. Information sensitivity is important because it affects consumers' willingness to provide information, which in turn impacts customer relationship management. Currently, the business world defines sensitivity in terms of PII that can directly identify a consumer. However, research is increasingly showing that consumers are also concerned with anonymous data. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is discussing ways to protect both types of information, primarily due to the prevalence of behavioral tracking and other covert business tactics. Considering how important privacy is from public policy, business, and consumer perspectives, academic research has explored consumer privacy across a number of disciplines (Culnan and Bies 2003; Milne and Gordon 1993; Hoffman, Novak, and Peralta 1999). However, scant marketing research (Sheehan and Hoy 2000) examines this definitional issue. This dissertation addresses the definitional gap in the literature. Based on theories from social psychology and marketing and previous empirical work, the sensitivity of different types of information across viewer contexts (Friend, Trusted Marketer, Unknown Marketer, and Stranger/Baseline) and countries (U.S., Brazil) is examined using a two essay format. Information types investigated include traditional PII, linkable information and anonymous data that are organized by the relationship to the individual self-concept (Belk 1988). Essay one uses a US nonstudent sample for Study 1 and a student sample for Study 2, both of which are collected online. Essay two is a comparative study between Brazil and the US using two nonstudent samples collected online. Essay one focuses on the antecedents of perceived sensitivity and information disclosure in two studies. Study 1 investigates the extent that viewer context and information type impact perceived sensitivity. The results show that in some cases anonymous information is considered more sensitive than PII. Study 2 demonstrates that trust, information sensitivity and communication method influence consumers likelihood of providing information. Essay two examines perceived sensitivity and willingness to provide information across different viewer contexts in two additional studies. Study 3 provides partial replication and examines the moderating role of country and age. Results show that country moderates the relationship between information type and perceived sensitivity and between viewer context and perceived sensitivity, but age has no effect. Study 4 broadens these findings by focusing on another type of data, linkable information and the effect on perceived sensitivity and willingness to provide. Risk and cultural factors are also examined and are found to have a variable, yet strong effect.

In the spectator sport industry, high levels of attendance leads to increased media coverage, consumer demand and sponsor interest. However, during the 1997–98 season, 61.1% of teams in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the National Hockey League (NHL) reported flat or declining attendance compared to the previous season (Howard, 1999). These numbers suggest professional sport organizations will face an increasingly difficult task of recruiting and retaining corporate sponsors. In response to this dilemma, a conceptual framework outlining a corporate sales process, “eduselling”, was introduced to assist corporate sales managers with the retention of corporate customers (Sutton, Lachowetz, & Clark, 2000). The framework is a nine-step sales process that begins with prospect identification, continues with relationship building and customer education, allows for the prospect to “test” the product and completes the process with an annual evaluation. The purpose of this exploratory study was to test the validity of the “eduselling” process and to identify those corporate sales activities that lead to higher rates of retention of corporate customers. Twenty-nine teams in the National Basketball Association (NBA) were mailed a 40-item survey instrument. Twenty-six teams returned the surveys. Four surveys were excluded from the analysis resulting in a return rate of 75.8%. Teams provided corporate customer retention rates for the 1998–99, 1999–00 and 2000–01 seasons. In addition, Likert scale items asked respondents “to what degree” they “practice” or “agree/disagree” with statements related to the nine-step sales process. Finally, descriptive data were collected from each team. The average retention rate across the league was 85.73% with a range of 71% to 96%. This resulted in each of the 22 teams being categorized in one of three groups. To group the teams, a frequency distribution with cut-off points of 33.33% and 66.67% was used. Group 1 consisted of seven teams with “below average” retention rates of corporate customers (76.67% average for the group). Group 2 contained seven teams with “average” retention rates (87.0%). Group 3 consisted of eight teams with “above average” retention rates (92.54%). (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

An experiment was employed to examine the effects of cognitive style and advertising type on subjects' responses to advertising under conditions of high and low involvement. Cognitive style was operationalized using the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. Advertising type referred to concrete versus abstract radio ads developed for the study. High and low involvement was developed as high and low personal relevance of the soap product being available in the area or not. The belief was that there would be an interaction between cognitive style and ad type. Three measures of consumer response were employed: affective response, attitude toward the ad, and attitude toward the brand. The results of the experiment suggest that attitudes toward the advertisement and brand are unaffected by differences in cognitive style, advertising type, or personal relevance. Significant results were obtained for affective response, however. It would appear that abstract type advertisements may be more effective against intuitive type consumers. It is also indicated that abstract type advertisements may be more effective under conditions of low involvement. Finally, intuitive types would seem to respond more positively to advertising under conditions of high involvement.

The focus of management theory and practice since the early Eighties has been on oraganizational culture. Popular business literature has presented many examples of economic turnaround and prosperity once the organizational culture has been recognized, harnessed, and properly managed. Analogous to the anthropological term, the organizational culture is composed of shared values, beliefs, and norms in an organization. Values are an integral part of a culture, forming the behavioral patterns of its members. The sharing of values between the corporate organization and its members is assumed to be necessary for effective and profitable performance. Marketing management, and specifically sales force management could benefit from the study of organizational culture. The focus of this research is on how organizational values affect the performance of salespeople. A combined ethnographic/survey research methodology was used to thoroughly investigate the impact of organizational values. Two firms within the life insurance industry were the setting for this research. The first phase of the research was spent in agencies and the home offices of these two companies for observation and interviewing. The second phase involved the administration of a questionnaire to a national sample of life insurance agents and their sales managers. The third phase investigated the level of value congruency in the companies and the possibility of value exchange. The fourth phase integrated the influence of organizational and personal values into the Churchill, Ford, and Walker Model of Salesperson Performance. The influence of value congruency on performance and its determinants was addressed through causal modeling. Depending upon how congruency between organizational and personal values was measured, the results of this study differ. Using an index to determine specific value differences between agents and their managers led to the conclusion that value congruency had no significant effect on performance and its determinants. Using the Shared Values Scale as an indicator of value congruency led to the support of most of the study's hypotheses regarding a positive influence on the determinants of salesperson performance. Neither measure provided support for value congruency having a significantly positive effect on performance. The implications of these results are that caution should be used in measuring values and congruency between individuals and an organizational value system; however measured, value congruency does not imply greater productivity on the part of the salesperson; increased satisfaction and organizational commitment and more accurate role perceptions were found among those with greater value congruency.

With the rise of user-generated content (UGC), negative UGC could have disastrous consequences for brands: One single post could easily spread like a virus, might even go viral and brand managers have no power in limiting the damage. Negative UGC contributes towards an overall negative brand perception, which harms the process of building long-term consumer-based brand equity (CBBE). CBBE is especially relevant for luxury brands, where decisions are heavily reliant on brand perceptions, and perceptions contrary to or different from exclusivity could be established. Luxury wines, in particular, are complex products in the mind of the consumer: wine customers are overwhelmed by too many choices in wine brands with very few objectives decision cues. While CBBE is critical in an extremely competitive wine market, little research has been done on CBBE of luxury wines. This study therefore questions whether CBBE is affected through negative UGC, and if that effect is different for brand loyal versus non-loyal customers. The "love becomes hate" argument proposes that loyal consumers are more impacted by extreme negative UGC, because betrayal in brand trust leads to strong CBBE damage. The "love is blind" argument, on the other hand, proposes that loyal customers are more forgiving towards negative UGC because of their relationship with the brand. Moreover, non-loyal consumers are more influenced by negative UGC, since they exclude brands more easily in a decision-making process after consuming negative UGC. Previous researches regarding CBBE have not found evidence yet of how negative UGC impacts the perception of brand loyal and non-loyal wine consumers. This study therefore attempted to better understand this phenomenon in the luxury wine context. In order to truly understand the impact of negative UGC on CBBE, use is made of Aaker's four-asset CBBE model. This model proposes that CBBE consists of brand awareness, brand associations, perceived quality and brand loyalty. This study used an experimental research design and 154 respondents participated in a quasi-experimental design that tested the effect of fictitious negative UGC, that appeared on Facebook, on CBBE. This study found that negative UGC reduces CBBE and customers' perception of the luxury brand is damaged after exposure to negative UGC. Brand loyal customers' CBBE had the greatest decrease, which supports the 'love becomes hate' argument. Marketing managers therefore need to understand the risks of UGC on CBBE and set up an online brand strategy in order to know how to act and react on negative UGC to prevent CBBE from being damaged. They also need to pay particular care in managing loyal customers' exposure to negative UGC.

Marketers face the challenge with regard to the manner in which consumers perceive their brand. For the assessment of global brands in emerging markets, such as South Africa, progressive empirical research supports managerial approaches so consumer behaviour can be influenced and predicted in a precise way. Gaining insight into factors that increase a brand's equity, and, which allow marketers to reach their objective of creating a strong and valuable brand, is of utmost importance. Current literature has dealt with the subject of Brand Equity extensively (Branaghan & Hildebrand, 2011; Chang & Liu, 2009; Kapferer, 2012; Myers, 2003; Keller, 2013). Within the context of the South African running shoe market, this study empirically tested an integrated framework of the antecedents (Brand Personality, Brand Attitude, Brand Image) and the consequences (Brand Preference, Purchase Intention) of Brand Equity from a consumer's perspective. Moreover, the moderator Social Acceptance was added to investigate its interaction effect on the relationship between Brand Preference and Purchase Intention. The conceptual model was tested with a variance based partial least squares analysis (PLS--‐SEM), due to its complexity measuring multiple indicators simultaneously (Lowry & Gaskin, 2014; Malhotra, 2010). Data was collected from online questionnaires with the two brands, Nike and Asics, as stimuli. These sports brands were compared by means of their marketing strategies using a total sample size of n=315 respondents. The purpose was to reveal the influence each brand's personality had on the development of Brand Image and Brand Attitude. Besides assessing the antecedents of Brand Equity, the significant influence that each brand's equity had on Brand Preference and Purchase Intention was assessed, taking social circumstances into account (Chang & Liu, 2009). The statistical analysis of causal relations reflected that Brand Personality, Brand Image and the attitude towards the brand were antecedents of Brand Equity. The consumer's perception of the brand's value resulted in an increased probability of Purchase Intention due to his/her Brand Preference. Social Acceptance had a minimal effect at the final stage of brand choice. Derived from the results, this study's research should assist marketers with a number of implications to influence perceived value and increase Brand Preference. Meaningful marketing may add equity to brands and create loyal consumers through emotional attachment (Gilbreath, 2010). With the gained insight knowledge, predictive accuracy of consumer behaviour could be enhanced, with due regard to the influence of the individual's social environment.

The rapid technological innovation of the last decade has altered the way people understand and communicate information. The internet specifically has made possible unprecedented access to information which has added another dimension to consumer and marketing practitioner behaviour. The most salient consequence of these developments in the marketing communication arena has been the transition from domination by the marketing practitioner to that of the consumer. More precisely, the huge product variety and the access to non-commercial information in terms of user-generated content gives the consumer incredible autonomy. Facing these circumstances, marketing practitioners are adjusting their strategies in producing informative or entertaining content to surround their product in order to impact the new complex, user-driven market. This specific type of content driven marketing is referred to as content marketing. While the idea of providing useful content around the product/brand is a well-known marketing strategy, consistent technological innovation enables marketers to approach the consumer in a different way. Encouraged by a proliferation of user-generated content, marketing practitioners have already embraced content marketing and established a considerable case series of effective examples. Nevertheless, a scholarly analysis of the impact of content marketing on attitude formation has not yet occurred. Thus the goal of this thesis is to unpack content marketing, and explore its impact on the consumer in order to locate content marketing within Integrated Marketing Communications. Specifically, this study investigates how consumers perceive the sponsor through content marketing, and if emotions triggered by this content influence consumer attitudes towards the sponsor. In order to substantiate the theoretical discourse with practical evidence, a video from the energy drink manufacturer Red Bull serves as a research object and real-world example. By demonstrating the particular strengths of the medium, this thesis aims to establish an academic foundation for the analysis of content marketing, and contribute to the content marketing renaissance.

The internet has caused an unprecedented increase in the amount of personal information that is available online. This personal information has been harnessed directly by companies, to provide targeted marketing to 3rd parties. It can also be used for a company's own internal marketing communication practices. Further highlighting the importance of personal information, some companies have emerged whose business models depend on the accurate collection, and monetisation of this personal information (Streitfeld, 2018). This has led to interest and concern over the misuse of personal information, and the extent companies should benefit from the acquisition of personal information of consumers and 3rd parties. Technological innovation, specifically Blockchain Technology has created the possibility to eliminate these actual or perceived abuses of consumer data, and allow consumers to exercise greater control over their personal data. Blockchain Technology can be simply understood as a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet where hundreds of participants continuously verify each entry in the spreadsheet so that no incorrect or fraudulent inputs are made. Specifically, SelfSovereign Identity Technology, currently in its early stages, may allow consumers to have full control of their consumer data via the Blockchain. This includes, access, distribution and may even allow consumers to monetise their own personal information. If consumers fully embrace Self-Sovereign Identity Technology, businesses will have to rethink and overhaul their data collection, marketing practices and business models. On the other hand, consumers will have to decide what they will do, with the data relating to their digital identity and how they might exchange it for their benefit. Despite its potential to disrupt the collection of personal information by companies, a scholarly analysis of the use Self-Sovereign Identity Technology and its relationship with a consumer's willingness to share personal information has not yet happened. Thus the aim of this thesis is two-fold. Firstly, to understand what drives a consumer to disclose personal information over the internet. Secondly, to understand the connection between this willingness to disclose personal information, and the use of Self-Sovereign Identity Technology. This is investigated using a survey analysis and primary data. This study aspires to create an academic basis for the examination of Self-Sovereign Identity Technology and its relationship with the willingness of consumers to provide personal information. In this study several factors were found to affect a South African consumer's willingness to provide personal information online. Based on the prior work of Schoenbachler and Gordon (2010) and Phelps, Nowak and Ferrel (2000) several perceived risk factors and trust factors were hypothesised to affect this willingness to provide personal information. The trust factors included: past experience with a company, reputation of a company and perception of dependability. The perceived risk factors included: type of personal information requested, consequences and benefits, individual consumer characteristics and consumer control over information. All of these factors were found to be significant except for the perception of dependability, which was not supported. Furthermore, perceived functional value was found to moderate the relationship between individual consumer characteristics and the willingness to provide personal information. Lastly, this study found evidence that a relationship exists between the willingness to provide personal information online and the willingness to use SSI technology. This relationship was found to be strong, and negative.

The following dissertation examines how consumers' assessment of an observed consumer is influenced by the form of payment and body weight of the observed consumer. Although form of payment and weight are both common cues in the marketplace that relate to perceptions of self-control, their interactive effect on social perception has not yet been examined. Across seven experiments, this dissertation finds that assessments of an obese consumer are more favorable when that consumer uses a more painful (i.e., cash) versus a less painful (i.e., credit card) form of payment. Furthermore, the findings show this effect is driven by inferred self-control. Specifically, obese consumers are thought to have higher self-control when they pay with cash (vs. a credit card), which leads to more favorable evaluations. The results of the experiments also reveal that this effect holds when the purchase is perceived to be diagnostic of obese consumers' self-control (e.g., food, cigarettes) but not when the purchase is unrelated to obese consumers' perceived self-control (e.g., non-food). Finally, this dissertation also finds that an observer's own traits affect the perceptions they make about others' use of cash and credit cards. Specifically, the final two studies show that an observer's own objective self-control and subjective financial literacy affect how harshly they judge other consumers. Observers who are higher in self-control and financial literacy assess obese consumers more favorably when they use cash compared to a credit card. However, observers who are lower in self-control and financial literacy do not assess obese consumers differently based on how they pay. This work makes a number of important contributions to marketing theory. First, this dissertation extends the literature in the paradigm of the "pain of paying" by showing that more (i.e., cash) or less (i.e., credit card) painful forms of payment affect consumers' assessment of another consumer. While prior work in the pain of payment area has shown robust evidence of consumers unique intra-individual responses to payment methods with varying levels of associated psychological pain (e.g., consumers spend more when using a credit card compared to cash), no known work has shown inter¬-individual responses to seeing another consumer paying with a more or less painful method. Form of payment as a cue to judge another consumer's self-control is new to consumer research. Furthermore, while much extant work investigates the pervasive nature of weight stigma and its negative consequences for overweight and obese individuals, little of this research provides actionable ways to reduce such stigma. Accordingly, the current research provides novel insights into protecting obese consumers in the marketplace. Specifically, the results suggest paying in cash may buffer obese consumers from such stigmatization. In addition, this is one of the first known works to show a possible negative aspect of having high self-control; those with relatively high self-control may judge others who are perceived as having low self-control (i.e., the obese) more harshly. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Marketing in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Fall Semester 2018. / September 13, 2018. / Includes bibliographical references. / Maura L. Scott, Professor Co-Directing Dissertation; Martin Mende, Professor Co-Directing Dissertation; Pamela Perrewé, University Representative; Michael K. Brady, Committee Member; Stephen M. Nowlis, Committee Member.

Personal media are social media, mobile device applications, and communication interfaces that enable consumers to publish, share, and participate in two way conversations with other consumers and with firms. An interesting point of comparison is how marketing communication in mass media versus personal media bears strong resemblance to the distinction between the marketing of mass produced manufactured goods versus service. Moreover, mass media marketing communication shares commonalities in marketing philosophy focusing on the mass market of standardized tangible good products. In contrast, personal media marketing communication shares similarities in marketing philosophy focusing on service. Several research projects are undertaken to explore this position. The first essay is devoted to merging the domains of marketing communication in mass and personal media to various areas within the domains of standardized manufactured goods marketing and service marketing practice. Theory and philosophies establish the overlapping parallels between these domains in an effort to develop four research propositions. Whereas mass media marketing communication channels are traditionally a firm-controlled resource standardizing one-way marketing messages to a wide passive consumer audience, personal media are more interactive and create two-way exchanges. The result is two distinct service-related themes now relevant to a marketing communication channel. The first theme focuses on the interactive nature of personal media now enabling consumers to partake in service encounters within a marketing communication channel. The second theme focuses on personal media's interactive characteristics now enabling consumers to co-produce and customize preferences for marketing communication dissemination. The second essay builds upon some of the first essay's propositions using three studies to examine public service recovery attempts and the actions of dysfunctional consumers in personal media. The third essay uses empirical data across multiple studies to support a co-production strategy for personal media marketing communication. In combination, all three essays highlight the importance to use a service-perspective as a supplemental management philosophy for personal media marketing communication channels. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Marketing in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Summer Semester, 2013. / June 6, 2013. / co-production, mobile devices, personal media, service, service recovery, social media / Includes bibliographical references. / Charles F. Hofacker, Professor Directing Dissertation; Jay Rayburn, University Representative; Michael K. Brady, Committee Member; Michael D. Hartline, Committee Member.