This study examined the significant impact of culture on global public relations practices using a case study analysis of Dove, H&M, and Nivea’s media campaigns between 2017 and 2019. The analysis was carried out through a structural comparison between the public’s reaction from the United States and Nigeria. Cultural variations between the two countries were examined, and how the variations impact GPR practices were explored. Social judgment theory, apologia, and image restoration theory were used as the theoretical frameworks alongside Hofstede’s cultural dimensions. This study demonstrates that understanding cultural dimensions as it applies to diverse countries operating in the global market can reveal how organizations can design and implement effective public relations practices across borders regardless of the existing cultural differences, which pose as a challenge.

In the past 3 decades, China has experienced rapid economic growth. The China retail market reached renminbi (RMB) 29,651 billion in 2016, up by 10.4% from 2015. Using traditional ways that developed before the Internet era to acquire information regarding customers' changing preferences for products and services in a fast-moving business world is insufficient to support management in the retail industry to make informed strategic decisions. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore successful customer-centric strategies that business leaders used to improve business performance with marketing information acquired from social media. The population comprised business leaders from 5 different companies in the retail industry in Southern China who have successful experience in improving business performance with the marketing information acquired from social media. The conceptual framework for this study was built upon the diffusion of innovations theory. The data were collected through semistructured interviews, social media sites, and analyzed using Yin's 5-step data analysis process for case studies to identify themes. The findings revealed 3 emergent themes: knowledge strategies, persuasion and decision strategies, and implementation strategies. The findings from the study may contribute to positive social change when local employment opportunities can increase through increased employee spending in Southern China.

Billion-dollar disasters are projected to increase at a statistically significant rate of 5% annually. Crises affect the viability and lucrativeness of tourism business and implicate destinations in the process. Crisis preparedness is vital to improving outcomes and reducing consequential effects in the tourism industry-a key contributor to socioeconomic progress and infrastructural development worldwide. The study was an exploration of the strategies used for crisis preparedness to reduce business interruptions and improve the image of destinations affected by large-scale natural disasters and human-induced crises. A multiple case study was conducted based on the cycle of preparedness framework. Data were gathered from organization documents and semistructured interviews by telephone with 6 executives of 6 destination management organizations located in the south and west regions of the United States. Transcribed data were coded and then validated via member checking, revealing 3 themes: organizational preparedness, operational preparedness, and strategic communication. Specifically, possessing a crisis mindset, predetermining crisis risks and responses, and managing information to safeguard the reputation of tourism organizations and destinations were attributed to preparedness at the local and organization levels. Tourism and hospitality professionals may benefit from devising crisis plans, establishing rapport with crisis leaders and teams, and partnering with the media to promote positive perceptions and travel behaviors of tourists. Implications for social change include identifying strategies to limit the impact of crises on individuals and communities to improve the perceptions of safety of a tourist destination after a crisis and thus enhance its economic growth.

The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore strategies that managers in the retail grocery industry use in reducing short-tenured employee attrition in the West Midland states in the United Kingdom. Participants were 4 store managers who had managerial experience in the retail grocery industry, worked as a retail store manager in the West Midlands, and had experience implementing effective strategies to reduce employee attrition. The Herzberg 2-factor theory was the conceptual framework. Semistructured interviews were used to collect data. Data were analyzed using Yin's 5-step data analysis process. The major themes were: training and development, enriched job responsibility, human resources intervention, and employee recognition. Participants relied on training and development, enriched job responsibility, human resources intervention and, employee recognition to reduce employee attrition. The results may provide retail grocery leaders with strategies for reducing short-tenured employee attrition in grocery stores, which may reduce adverse effects on the industry's profitability. Implications for positive social change include improving the quality of life of the community and citizens; improved levels of satisfaction in quality of life translate into developing and maintaining positive relationships with family and friends, as well as helping the local communities and the economy.

In 2012, there was a 70% increase in online travel booking, resulting in small traditional brick-and-mortar travel agencies having serious difficulties with obtaining and retaining customers. The purpose of this case study was to explore online marketing strategies that leaders of small traditional travel agencies have used to successfully obtain and retain customers. Technology disruption theory was the conceptual framework of this study. Using criterion sampling, the population for this study consisted of 3 leaders of small traditional travel agencies located in the state of Maryland. Data collection consisted of interviews, observations, and review of documentation, such as displays, websites, business cards, and email campaigns. Data were analyzed using methodological triangulation through inductive coding of phrases and words. The following 4 themes emerged: company threats, online marketing strategies, various marketing strategies for improvement, and ways to compete with Internet-based travel agencies. Results indicated that 66% of participants believed that Internet-based travel agencies were threats. All of the participants used a form of online marketing and believed that customer loyalty helped to compete with Internet-based travel agencies. Positive social change may result when leaders of small traditional travel agencies increase their knowledge of online marketing strategies to obtain and retain customers, thereby leading to greater access to online travel opportunities for all, including physically challenged individuals often confined to their living areas.

The evolution of technology has led to a need for business leaders to embrace disruptive technology for the purpose of capturing new markets and remaining competitive. Multiple challenges have been faced by business leaders in the processes of integrating and sustaining disruptive innovations, resulting in the failure to achieve expected efficiency and profitability. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore strategies used by business leaders to integrate and sustain disruptive innovations. The conceptual frameworks were Roger's diffusion of innovation theory and Christensen's disruptive innovation theory. Semistructured interviews were administered to 10 business leaders and employees from institutions of higher learning in the Northeastern region of the United States. The participants were selected using a purposive nonrandom sampling technique. The selection criteria included organizational leaders, technology professionals, training and development professionals, and organizational end-users. Three themes and several subthemes were identified. The strategies for integrating and sustaining disruptive innovations include training, changeover mechanisms, and the use of critical resources. The procedural and structural factors in processes to integrate and sustain disruptive innovations include identifying critical success factors, ascertaining benchmarks, determining levels of support and effectiveness. Obstacles faced during the processes of integrating and sustaining disruptive innovations were categorized into human, technology, changeover, and external issues. Social change may be realized through the improved success rates of small business leaders implementing disruptive innovations by increasing meaningful employment and enhancing livelihoods.

Inappropriate managerial responses to critical service events (CSEs) in restaurants contribute to an increased rate of customer defection and restaurant failure. Some restaurant managers lack employee-training strategies that may enhance service recovery from CSEs. This case study explored what employee-training strategies participants deemed essential to enhance service recovery to CSEs. The population for this study was restaurant managers from a U.S. regional chain in South Carolina with at least 3 years of employee-training experience. Organizational learning theory was the conceptual framework for this study. Data collection included semistructured face-to-face interviews with restaurant managers and an exploration of company archival documents related to CSEs. Using Yin's 5 step data analysis method (i.e. compiling, disassembling, reassembling, interpreting, and concluding), 3 major themes emerged: customer needs and requests, which included the importance of listening to customers and affirming their requests; employee actions and attitudes, which included opinions about the ideal employee demonstrating a great attitude when correcting mistakes; and training, which included multiple methods to improve employee performance through continuous training. Recommendations for action included how to instruct employees to listen, apologize, solve problems, and thank customers. Restaurant managers may apply these results to improve service quality and customer experiences. Social implications include strategies to create positive experiences for employees and customers enhancing community employment and business sustainability.

This work elaborates the impacts of strategically constructed silos that are not byproducts of flagging cross-departmental cooperation or the cumulative effect of decades of decentralized command and control. Rather, these silos are strategically intended structures within organizations. Most significantly, the substantive theory of strategically constructed silos and their impact on customer service contributes to the field by illustrating the presence and consequence of silos occurring in suboptimal conditions. The existence of silos has implications that extend far beyond the retail area. A key take-away from this research is that contrary to how most customer service processes are designed, not all customer-company interactions are alike. As shown in the data, interaction types vary both in regard to the degree of knowledge needed by retail employees to fully serve customers, and the routine or nonroutine nature of the interaction. This is an important finding since it directly relates to whether the existence of a silo is appropriate (or optimal) for a specific interaction or task. Additionally, the findings suggest the role that a task's "routine-ness" plays is secondary to the degree of specialized knowledge needed by retail employees to meet customer expectations. Understanding the various customer-company interaction types and how each interaction type may be affected by silos is crucial for designing customer experiences that will sustain over time. Likewise, identifying customer-company interaction types correctly and then subsequently developing strategies to support these interaction types is critical for both customer experience management (CEM) initiatives and customer relationship management (CRM) system design within the company. This work provides an overview of the implications of strategically constructed silos occurring in suboptimal conditions and provides recommendations for diagnosing customer-company interactions based on interaction type. By identifying strategically constructed silos as an intended structure of the company, the model elaborated here works to deliver prescriptive and specific strategies for managers and employees' use as they attempt to improve their firm's customer-company interaction outcomes.

This study addresses the declining enrollment conditions for an Associate of Arts Program at a private university. The problem this dissertation will address involves a need for increasing enrollment in the Associate of Arts (AA) in Early Childhood Education. The information about the program is currently not reaching the targeted population in order to raise awareness and in turn increase the enrollment in the program. The purpose of this project is to enable the enrollment service representatives, with the aid of their knowledge of recruiting the potential student population and information about the Associate of Arts in Early Childhood Education Degree (AA/ECE). The enrollment services representatives should be able to recruit and enroll new students in the program. The recommendations to effect dramatic enrollment changes in the program consist of the following: registration initiatives designed to focus on prospective students interested in the program, such as, recruiting calls from staff and offering direct assistance with registration, the development of a new database specially targeting prospective students, and a marketing and advertising campaign using traditional and social media to find new applicants. It also seeks to assess the impact the marketing and recruiting training will have on the staff and on the AA/ECE program.

The research in this study aims to investigate the effectiveness of Twitch’s current advertising option, which includes mid-roll, pre-roll, and sponsored streams. It will focus on usefulness of content, brand credibility, purchase intent, and streamer credibility. Twitch has seen a surge in growth and attention in recent years, with an average of 31 million daily visitors and 1.3 trillion minutes watched globally in 2021 alone (Twitch Sales, 2022). However, despite Twitch’s growing popularity as an entertainment and entrepreneurship platform, little research has been conducted on the impact of its advertising options on brand perception. This study seeks to address this gap in literature by examining the effect of mid-roll, pre-roll, and sponsored streams on Twitch’s unique community-driven audience. To achieve this, the study employed a mixed-methods approach, utilizing both quantitative and qualitative data collection methods. First, a pre-survey was administered to participants to gather data on demographics, video game usage, and experience with Twitch.tv. Participants were then shown a 5-minute video containing different types of Twitch ads. After viewing the video, participants completed a post-survey to measure perception of their purchase intent and brand credibility. Overall, the study aims to provide valuable insights for marketers and advertisers looking to leverage the growing popularity of Twitch as an advertising platform.