Editorial

Citation

Leventhal, R.C. (2009), "Editorial", Journal of Consumer Marketing, Vol. 26 No. 5. https://doi.org/10.1108/jcm.2009.07726eaa.001

Editorial

Article Type: Editorial From: Journal of Consumer Marketing, Volume 26, Issue 5

Over the years it has become more apparent that a company cannot just examine a product’s performance in the marketplace and assume that if a consumer has had a positive experience and/or attitude about a specific product or product line, that such experiences will translate into continued success for that company. Since we now have a global marketplace, many forces are affecting various societies/cultures, to the degree that a consumer may be said to exist in an ever-changing/shifting environment which contributes to a consumer’s purchase intentions and their purchase usage/behaviors.

Even if a company has established itself in the marketplace (think global brands), it may not always mean that success in the marketplace will be guaranteed. There is always a need for a constant re-evaluation of the information that we have ascertained about our consumers.

In our Misplaced Marketing section, Rotfeld discusses the idea that although marketers may believe that they have the ability to influence the consumer, in reality it may not be that simple.

Ganeshasundaram and Henley investigate the effectiveness of the Supernanny reality television programs in teaching parenting techniques and changing parenting behavior. The ability to combine entertainment with education has been used to promote positive social behaviors for the last several years. The authors examine “reality television” in terms of its use as a social marketing place strategy. They put forth the idea that “reality television” can be used as an effective social marketing, mass media “place” strategy to convey positive parenting techniques and also to promote positive behavior change for parents.

Prendergast, Liu and Poon engaged in a study to identify for which types of products and services consumers find the advertising to lack credibility and in which media this effect is most serious. The findings are of use to advertisers in formulating their strategies and also provide information of value to policy makers. For those products whose advertising is perceived as being less credible, advertisers of such products may find that they can enhance the credibility of their advertising by providing empirical evidence that their products actually have a significant effect on the problems they are promoted as resolving. In terms of the consumer, the authors found that perhaps advertising practitioners need to consider the self-esteem of their target audience and recognize that their advertising claims are more likely to be questioned and challenged if the target audience has a high degree of self-esteem.

Rose, Rose and Shoham examine the importance of understanding sub-cultural attitudes when assessing the animosity of individuals from one nation toward the products of other nations. Potential differences exist in both levels of consumer ethnocentrism and levels of animosity for various nations across subcultures. Thus, marketers need to consider, monitor and address specific attitudes across subcultures. Furthermore, subculture and group identification may be a stronger determinant of animosity than national identification.

Swimberghe, Sharma and Flurry examine the question of “does one’s religious values affect one’s consumer behavior?” The authors attempt to get a better understanding of how religious commitment affects consumer behavior, and then examine the relationships between religious commitment and two outcome variables, these being store loyalty and store complaint intentions. This may be of importance when a marketer is attempting to enter new markets, for if we inadvertently offend or ignore religious beliefs of existing consumers, then this action may have a detrimental affect on store loyalty and consumer complaint intentions, especially in those markets where the majority of consumers are highly committed to their religion.

Shukla examines the young adult market and how contextual factors, vis-à-vis loyalty and switching, impact consumer purchase intentions. The findings suggest that contextual factors have the strongest influence on purchase decisions. Furthermore, contextual factors influence both the brand loyalty and switching behavior. This information should be of value to marketing managers in terms of better understanding how brand loyalty and switching behavior affect [consumer] purchase decision-making.

In this issue you will also find a most interesting case study in how to be able to survive the economic downturn by being able to recognize and reward your best employees. Also, please be certain to also read the Computer Currency and Book Review sections.

Richard C. Leventhal