Purpose -This paper develops and tests a model depicting the drivers of organizational leaders' intentions to use social media for in-bound customer communications in a political marketing context. This model improves practitioners and researchers understanding of what influence leaders' attitudes and intentions toward using social media to enhance marketing communications. Design/methodology/approach -The paper uses mediated OLS regression analysis with survey data collected from a national sample of political candidates running for the US House of Representatives in 2010. Findings -Overall satisfaction with social media for marketing communications and customers' normative expectations that organizations use social media for marketing communications drive leaders' future intentions to use social media for in-bound customer communications. Perceived ease of use, and perceived social media usefulness for in-bound and out-bound customer communications drive overall satisfaction with social media for marketing communications. Research limitations/implications -Leaders support social media as a tool to enhance marketing communications if they perceive relevant social influence and technical applicability. Whereas we find empirical support of our model in a US political context, future research should test our model in other cultural and organizational contexts. Originality/value -This paper addresses a gap between what research addresses in regards to new media and what is happing in practice. This paper adds to the body of research in marketing and other disciplines that explains the integration and use of social media for marketing communications.
PurposeThis research investigates three major research questions. First, how does brand alliance type, defined by a partner's location and brand quality, affect consumers' emotional value perceptions of higher education brand alliances for dual-degree programs? Second, does perceived brand fit mediate the relationship between brand alliance type and emotional value perceptions? Third, do individual differences in world-mindedness moderate the influence of brand alliance type on emotional value perceptions?Design/methodology/approachIn total, two experiments are performed. Experiment one examines the effect of brand alliance type, at varying combinations of partner brand quality and partner location (domestic or foreign), on consumers' emotional value perceptions. Experiment two examines the moderating role of world-mindedness in the relationship between brand alliance type and consumers' emotional value perceptions.FindingsResults provide evidence that consumers' perception of brand fit mediates the relationship between brand alliance type and consumers' emotional value perceptions of the alliance. Results also indicate that world-mindedness moderates the relationship between brand alliance type and emotional value perceptions.Originality/valueThis research extends the previous literature on higher education dual-degree brand alliances and introduces world-mindedness as an important consumer-based characteristic to consider in this line of research. It answers calls for more research on higher education branding and calls for research into the potential mediating role and importance of brand fit. It provides several theoretical and managerial implications relevant to the higher education brand alliances, particularly in dual-degree programs.
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