New Marketing Research Journal
Year:2013 | Volume:3 | Issue:1 (8)|Papers Count:10

Internal branding with the aim of achieving employees based brand equity is a new strategy to ensure that employees act according to brand promises. Since in service organizations, employees have the ability to significantly influence customers’ perceptions and purchase decisions and as they play a critical role in organizational success, thus, strengthening employees based brand equity can develop a long lasting competitive advantage for organization. The aim of this study was to introduce a model for investigating brand equity based on employees’ perspective and also identifying key factors affecting it in insurance companies. Required data were collected by means of questionnaire distributed among the employees of four insurance companies in Yazd Province. Structural Equation modeling based on partial least squares method was used to test the hypotheses. The results of this study indicate that employees’ feedback, internal brand communication, and brand orientation have significant and positive effect on employees based brand equity. Another finding of this study is developing a reliable model for measuring employees based brand equity.

Time proportional contracts are such contracts in which the ownership of the property or its profits is transferred to the contracting party, proportional to time. This means that the party will have the right to use or operate the property in determined portion of the year and will be able to intervene in the property permanently or alternately according to the terms of the contract. This kind of contracts could be formed as a contract of rent, partnership in either the property or its profits, common sale conditional to partnership in profits, and the contract of compromise. Concerning the essence of such contracts, conclusion in the form of loan, exchange, and the right to benefit is impossible. Hereby, we will try to examine the possibility of conclusion of time proportional contracts in the form of determined contracts.

While traditional marketing is a kind of marketer-to-consumer communication, viral advertising is consumer-to-consumer communication. Advertisers believe that their messages will be viewed favorably if they have been recommended by a friend or a social networks’ member. This research aimed to examine the characteristics of viral advertising. The research strategy was experimental. The Mazandaran University students were selected as the statistical population of the research. A cluster sampling was applied to select the research sample. Then, the selected sample was equally divided into test and control groups. Four viral and four non-viral ads of unfamiliar brands were shown to test and control groups respectively. The data was collected through questionnaire. Reliability of the questionnaire was assessed using Cronbach’s alpha. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and parametric tests including Kolmogorov-Smirnov, one sample t-test, two independent samples t-test, and Spearman correlation. The results indicate that there is a positive and significant difference between the emotional content of viral ads and non-viral ads. In addition, there is a positive and significant correlation between emotional content and ad forwarding intention.

Nowadays, buying behavior and consumers’ communication behavior have been influenced by social networks. Consumers will be motivated to use information regarding goods or services purchase and their buying behavior will be shaped. Such networks lead to the formation of virtual communities that move groups and people toward conformity. In this research, consumer internet conformity (normative and informational conformities) has been investigated. The study sample included 384 students of Shahid Chamran University of Ahwaz. For data analysis SPSS 16 and LISREL 8.5 softwares were used. The results indicate that the sense of belongingness and community expertise on community trustworthiness and community trustworthiness on informational consumer conformity have positive and significant impact. Also self esteem has no significant effect on conformity motivation. However, the variables of involvement on conformity motivation and conformity motivation on normative consumer conformity have positive and significant impact.

Nowadays, destination branding is one the most challenging and attractive discussions in the field of place marketing and tourism marketing. Considering the plethora of advantages of branding concepts and activities for countries around the globe and high potentials of Islamic Republic of Iran as a tourism destination, in this paper authors have tried to assess the current situation of tourism brand and the effectiveness of branding activities in Iran based on Hankinson model (2004). To achieve the objectives of this research 102 members of Iranian Destination Marketing and Management Organization (DMO) consisting managers and experts in the respected subject have been questioned. Collected data were analyzed by means comparing method. Findings implicate that core brand of Iran (including brand personality, brand positioning, and brand reality) has serious problems and the degree of attention to branding activities and concepts is respectively too low. Based on our findings managerial and marketing recommendations are presented.

Knowing the customers of shopping centers contributes greatly to increase profits of these centers. Customers’ segmentation is one of the most effective means of knowing customers. The purpose of this study was to present a segmentation of customers based on their activities in the shopping centers. The participants were 157 visitors of Milad-e-Noor Shopping Center who were required to answer the questions in the questionnaire. Data were analyzed in three steps. Through the use of factor analysis, in the first step, the number of variables was reduced to the four factors of entertainment activities, planned shopping, shopping information gathering, and unplanned shopping. These factors were then inserted into K-mean cluster analysis and, in the second step the visitors were divided into 4 segments on the basis of their activities as following: traditionalists, shopping center enthusiasts, wandering customers, and entertainment seekers. In the third step, the demographic and behavioral variables were investigated in the identified clusters. Considering the variables of age, academic status, and accompanying persons in shopping centers, these clusters were significantly different. However, in respect to the variables of sex, marital status, the length of presence in the shopping centers, occupations, and monthly salary they were recognized as homogenous.

Literature review in international market attractiveness evaluation and operational practice in Afghanistan demonstrate that there are two approaches in international market selection: expansion and systematic approach. In expansion approach, firms gradually enter low geographical and psychic distance markets. But, in systematic approach, by considering some factors and models, firms systematically evaluate and select foreign market (s). The importance and need for systematically evaluating and selecting potential foreign markets has been stressed by many researchers, and several models for selecting international markets had been prescribed. But, current models do not pass the test of reality, because they are not adapted with exporters’ decision making process and they do not consider the important aspects of reality. Then, in this paper, we introduce a comprehensive international market attractiveness model that has four steps: demand attractiveness, attainment attractiveness, adaptation attractiveness, and competition attractiveness. At last, according to tested model, a systematic support model is developed and is expected to introduce a new approach for Afghan exporters based on the upcoming suggestions.

Customers are increasingly confronting with foreign markets through internet and tourism. So they are challenged to evaluate prices in different currencies. They are familiar with the products prices but they are engaged in a perceptual process while they are evaluating prices in different currencies. In this research customer currency perception and the price sensitivity are considered. The customer price sensitivity in different currencies would be measured through a pricing model. Questionnaire was applied as data gathering tool. The results showed customers experience perceptual bias when evaluating prices same in real value and different in nominal value and nominal value affects the customers purchase attitude. This bias reflects as the customer price sensitivity is less in low denomination currency. Findings have important implications for pricing in regional markets, internet market, and also in tourism industry for customers and international companies.

The current study considers the difficulties of feed industry SMEs regarding export and tests some hypotheses to clarify the relevant barriers. The applied research method is descriptive. 340 Questionnaires were distributed and 142 questionnaires were correctly answered. The findings show that regulations, bank and finance systems, and health permits, between the six identified factors, are the most important ones and have the highest regression coefficients on the export development barriers construction. The next factors are the lack of marketing plan, specialized educations, and cultural level of society. While previous studies have focused on export barriers, there are rare studies to investigate them in developing countries. So, the current paper aims to help policy makers and managers to improve the performance of firms and following the Iranian industry.

One of the main objectives of any organization is to obtain customers and service recipients satisfaction through providing good quality services. Organizations try to fulfill reasonable demands and legal requirements of service applicants in different ways. Factors including the speed and accuracy of performing tasks will contribute in customers’ satisfaction from provided services. This research is based on field research. By using the results of field research, descriptive and inferential analyses were done for responding the research hypotheses. Statistical population is including the clients of Isfahan Association of Physical Education since 1384 till 1390. Their viewpoints were collected using questionnaire and the satisfaction indexes were calculated for six consecutive years. Samples were chosen randomly among men and women. For data analysis and also summarization and classification of information SPSS software was used. The average of satisfaction index in the Association of Physical Education was descending during 1385-1390. The average of satisfaction index in the Association of Physical Education were equal to 76/25 since the year 1384 till the year 1390 that is less than the average of the province satisfaction index in the same years. Also, the statistics show that the top score of satisfaction indexes is about employees’ behavior toward clients and the lowest score is about equipment and place.