Search

Within a dominant marketing ideology, a firm's strategic orientation is grounded in the exchange of value with potential and existing customers and collaborators. Beyond an overarching value exchange objective, what compels firms to change or not change their strategic orientation? This work explores what external entities influence a firm's strategic orientation, and how do firms interact with those entities? A dynamic framework is presented to articulate the effects of three broad forces (ideology, legitimacy, and criticism) on a firm's strategic orientation. Specifically, a firm's strategic orientation both influences, and is directly influenced by, marketing ideology (i.e., what marketing is) residing within the collective state of mind of the discipline's members (academics, practitioners, consultants, authors, and associations). Legitimacy expressed by a firm's stakeholders via a number of proxies (e.g., market share, stock value, brand equity) serves as a primary objective for firms and therefore influences strategic orientation. Finally, criticism (i.e., critical dialogue and conflict) originating from society at large, serves as a separate force of influence on a firm's strategic orientation, directly and via legitimacy. In an effort to articulate how firms interact with the market, we assert that strategic orientation may be captured by a 2 × 2 matrix characterizing a firm's orientation as response-based (low and high) and change-based (low and high). The dynamic nature of markets is captured in this matrix wherein firms can shift to/from a market changer from/to a market defender.

Identifying treatment options for patients with alcohol dependence is challenging. This study investigates the application of real-time functional MRI (rtfMRI) neurofeedback (NF) to foster resistance towards craving-related neural activation in alcohol dependence. We report a double-blind, placebo-controlled rtfMRI study with three NF sessions using alcohol-associated cues as an add-on therapy to the standard treatment. Fifty-two patients (45 male; 7 female) diagnosed with alcohol dependence were recruited in Munich, Germany. RtfMRI data were acquired in three sessions and clinical abstinence was evaluated 3 months after the last NF session. Before the NF training, BOLD responses and clinical data did not differ between groups, apart from anger and impulsiveness. During NF training, BOLD responses of the active group were decreased in medial frontal areas/caudate nucleus, and increased, e.g. in the cuneus/precuneus and occipital cortex. Within the active group, the down-regulation of neuronal responses was more pronounced in patients who remained abstinent for at least 3 months after the intervention compared to patients with a relapse. As BOLD responses were comparable between groups before the NF training, functional variations during NF cannot be attributed to preexisting distinctions. We could not demonstrate that rtfMRI as an add-on treatment in patients with alcohol dependence leads to clinically superior abstinence for the active NF group after 3 months. However, the study provides evidence for a targeted modulation of addiction-associated brain responses in alcohol dependence using rtfMRI.

Purpose Small business capabilities and customer interactions are particularly susceptible to market disruptions. Small businesses must pivot quickly to build or grow their capabilities and manage diverse strategies to deal with crises. This ability to quickly adapt and formulate strategies is necessary to help small businesses maintain sales and continue to engage with their clients, especially in light of disruption and crises. This work uses design thinking strategies to provide insight into how businesses can navigate such disruptions. Design/methodology/approach This research investigates how design thinking can help small businesses address crises. The focus is on leveraging design thinking strategies such as empathizing, defining, ideating, prototyping and testing (EDIPT), divergence/convergence and customer journey mapping design thinking tools. Findings The authors provide propositions and strategies to help firms adapt their strategies to the demands of clients during crises. Originality/value This piece provides an accessible introduction to three design thinking strategies (general EDIPT model, convergence/divergence and consumer journey mapping). The authors present this in the context of disruption, especially the recent pandemic, specifically focusing on small businesses.

Purpose This paper aims to explore the emerging market of video game streaming and eSports to provide readers with an understanding of the nature and content of this quickly growing entertainment industry. eSports or eGaming is the playing of video games for competition and for spectators by professionals. Popular platforms, eGaming celebrities and revenue sources are introduced. Building upon this knowledge, the authors then show the opportunities marketers have to use this medium for branding, promotional and retailing purposes. Challenges to these aims are also discussed. Design/methodology/approach The eGaming and eSports industry is summarized by studying its evolution and current state. A thorough review of the players and their possible revenue sources is presented. Likewise, a survey of marketing-related tactics and challenges is discussed to help readers not only understand the field but also use the industry’s growth. Findings This paper provides valuable information to understand why this new market of video game streaming is rapidly increasing and what impact it will have on consumers, brands and marketing strategists. Originality/value This paper is unique in the sense that in one place it not only summarizes the advent and growth of an evolving field but also shows the opportunities that firms have to take advantage of this unique medium for connecting with customers. Firms are at the same time cautioned to consider increasing challenges with this new industry.

Purpose Marketing has radically changed in the past few years. With the rise of digital marketing, search technology, blogging and podcasts, consumer access to information and content has exploded. This paper aims to provide a critical look at one aspect of this change, inbound marketing and the creation of content to drive engagement. Inbound marketing differs from traditional marketing by pulling customers to the firm, as opposed to reaching out through traditional advertising. Design/methodology/approach This study provides an overview of inbound marketing and illustrate three views of inbound marketing: digital, social and content marketing. Findings The study highlights the importance of consumer personae, critical content creation and customer strategies. Practical implications The study concludes with a look to the future of inbound marketing and clear guidelines for developing an inbound strategy, including understanding the buyer personas, strategic analysis and a formulized plan for inbound content creation. Originality/value This work combines traditional theoretical research and analysis to provide a comprehensive and clear illustration of what inbound marketing is and where it can be used in both business strategy and academic research.

PurposeThe growth of global e-commerce presents significant opportunities for global expansion. Yet it has not leveled the playing field between emerging markets e-commerce corporations (EM-ECCs) and advanced markets ECCs (AM-ECCs). While AM-ECCs have been expanding overseas with considerable success, EM-ECCs have been less disposed to internationalize and have been content to serve and defend their home turfs against foreign rivals who wield monopolistic advantages. Leveraging the network, ownership, location and internalization (N-OLI) theoretical framework, this paper aims to examine the variables affecting the internationalization of AM-ECCs and EM-ECCs.Design/methodology/approachThis paper adopted an exploratory research method using multiple corporate cases to focus on understanding the dynamics present within single settings, capture corporate context and allow comparison between cases.FindingsThe findings suggest that AM-ECCs, in comparison to EM-ECCs, are endowed with favorable and strong network-based advantages, ownership-based advantages, location-based and internalization-based advantages that make them more capable of pursuing internationalization aggressively. However, EM-ECCs are induced to pursue regionally-focused internationalization due, on the one hand, to capital scarcity, weaknesses on network-based and internalization-based advantages and, on the other hand, to geographical strength and strong location-based advantages emanating from knowledge of the home region.Originality/valueThis paper identifies the internationalization challenges that EM-ECCs face with respect to AM-ECCs. While extending the theoretical discussion of the N-OLI framework in light of EM-ECCs, this paper also extends the EM-ECC strategies within local and regional markets, including emerging markets such as India and the Middle East. This extension supports the assertion that regional focused strategies are not immune to technological advantages which support the notion of a regional strategic growth strategy because of localization advantages and capital leverage limitations. Finally, the paper expands the analysis to some emerging markets that have attracted less attention in the literature, namely, India and the Middle East.

This research examines how relational factors, such as monitoring, relative alliance identity (RAI), and trust, influence opportunism and, consequently, alliance performance. The authors suggest th...

This study examines the influences of cross‐country institutional pressures on multinational enterprises' corporate social responsibility (CSR). Building on institutional and stakeholder theory, we propose that different formal and informal environments have direct impacts on firm CSR. Specifically, we investigate informal institutions as they relate to self‐transcendent and self‐enhancement values. We propose that the firm's consideration of multiple stakeholder expectations moderates these complex formal and informal institutional relationships. Utilizing hierarchical linear modeling, this study analyzes institutional constraints on nearly 1,000 firms in 47 different countries. The empirical results reveal that informal values that are aligned with the firm's strategies and stakeholder desires have a strong impact on firms' CSR actions. Multiple stakeholder consideration strengthens this important relationship. These findings provide insight on how managers can utilize informal institutions to meet the global challenge of satisfying profit needs and still maintain social responsibility.

Competent women should aspire to leadership, but they may choose not to. We asked men and women at seven U.S. universities if competence, negatives of leadership, and experience affect their aspirations to leadership. Surprisingly, competent women with more work experience are less likely to aspire to leadership than men, while competent women with less work experience are more likely to aspire to leadership than men. The more women associate leadership with negative aspects, the less they aspire to leadership, compared with men. For both, the less competent they think they are to be leaders, the less they want to be leaders.

Decision-making literature heavily relies on the plan first execute second framework where project employees allocate time to plan and utilize time effectively to execute the plan (Wind and Mahayan 1997). More recent studies point out today’s time-based state of market competition where product life cycles are getting shorter and market demand is changing rapidly. Consequently, firms are faced with a diminishing amount of time that can be allocated to planning. When the time gap between planning and executing shortens, decision-making is forced to become more improvisational in nature (Moorman and Miner 1998). At the same time, the personal characteristics of project employees (e.g., procrastination and perfectionism) often forbid them from utilizing their time and workload effectively.

This paper explores the role of gender and its influence on the relationship between trust and organizational performance as well as on the perception of women as managers. As we recognize the barriers implicit in gender roles, this research helps to highlight the need to build greater trust in leadership and organizations. Understanding how differently men perceive women, compared to how women perceive women, is key to achieving the levels of trust, confidence, and support for the organization’s strategic initiatives. We argue that the more positive the perception of women as managers, the stronger the relationship between trust and organizational performance and that this relationship is moderated by gender.

espanolLas empresas en mercados emergentes se enfrentan frecuentemente a la corrupcion y debilidad institucional en su entorno. La confianza empresarial puede ayudar con estos desafios. En mercados emergentes, la confianza empresarial puede involucrar a los empleados y reducir la presion sobre las empresas, causada por debilidades institucionales. El presente es un estudio con empleados de Mexico y Peru que mide sus percepciones de corrupcion, confianza y fortaleza institucional. Por medio de analisis factorial confirmatorio y regresion lineal, se investiga como la confianza modera la relacion entre la debilidad institucional y la corrupcion percibidas. Los resultados sugieren que la confianza empresarial motiva a los empleados a ser productivos, y que las empresas que generan confianza pueden enfrentar mejor los desafios de entornos institucionales corruptos. EnglishEmerging market firms often face corruption and institutional weakness in their environments. Firm-level trust may help with these challenges. In these countries, firm-level trust may engage employees and reduce pressure on firms from weak institutions and corruption. This is a study of employees of firms in Mexico and Peru, and it measures perceptions of corruption, trust, and institutional strength. Using confirmatory factor analysis and linear regression, the study tests hypotheses that trust moderates the weak institution - perceived corruption relationship. Findings suggest that trust may help employees be productive despite these challenges. Firms that build trust among employees may be better able to confront the challenges of corrupt and uncertain institutional environments. portuguesAs empresas nos mercados emergentes enfrentam frequentemente a corrupcao e fraqueza institucional em seu ambiente. A confianca empresarial pode contribuir com esses desafios. Nos mercados emergentes, a confianca empresarial pode envolver aos funcionarios e reduzir a pressao sobre as empresas, pelas debilidades institucionais. Este artigo apresenta um estudo com funcionarios do Mexico e do Peru que mensura suas percepcoes de corrupcao, confianca, e forca institucional. Por meio de analise fatorial confirmatoria e regressao linear, investiga-se como a confianca modera a relacao entre a fraqueza institucional e a corrupcao percebidas. Os resultados sugerem que a confianca empresarial motiva aos funcionarios a ser produtivos e que as empresas que geram confianca podem lidar melhor com os desafios dos ambientes institucionais corruptos.

The international business literature has long investigated the role of corporate environmentalism, or “going green,” in business. However, this research has been limited regarding the dynamics of ...

Qualitative studies are an important component of business ethics research. This large amount of research covers a wide array of factors and influences on ethical decision making published between 2004 and 2014. Following the methodology of past critical reviews, this work provides a synopsis of the diverse array of qualitative studies in ethical decision making within the business ethics literature. We highlight the distinct and investigative nature of qualitative research, synthesize and summarize findings, and suggest opportunities for future research. We conclude with a recommendation for developing qualitative studies in business ethics and a call for an increased openness when considering this valuable and underrepresented strategy of inquiry.

With the rise and rapid proliferation of digital and online marketing, increased cord-cutting by consumers, and new content being created online, Internet-based advertising is the single fastest-growing ad expenditure category, outstripping TV, radio, and other more traditional media formats. With the rise of new media and the increased content creation, the ability of content creators to manage and guide their brand has become more important than ever. This article investigates one such mechanism for managing the new media phenomenon, the Multi-Channel Network (MCN) model. An MCN is any entity or organization which either partners with content creators or directly produces a variety of distinctive content and works to perform business and marketing functions on the platform in which said content is released. This article investigates the MCN phenomena as it specifically addresses the needs of content creators in the new prosumptive consumer culture that helps inform and create new media content. It highlights strategies for managing and navigating the new media and MCN domain.

The economic and political grievances of Arab youth is fueling social and political upheaval across the Arab world and is reviving the call for equitable and inclusive economic development. The Arab world, where young people constitute a significant proportion of the population, is lagging behind other developing regions over human development. Indeed, addressing the human development challenge has become a necessity and strategic path to achieve peace and security in the Arab world. The purpose of this article is to investigate the spillover effects of economic globalization, economic flows, and restriction on trade and capital on Arab human development. This article attempts, both theoretically and empirically, to answer four questions. First, could economic globalization fulfil the promises of human development in the Arab world? Second, whether actual economic flows (trade, FDI and portfolio investment) to the Arab world have been enough to make meaningful contributions in terms of human welfare. Third, do Arab countries’ restrictions on trade and capital diminish human development? Fourth, whether Arab countries’ governance impede actual economic flows’ development potential. We opted for the Generalized Method of Moments “System GMM” to analyze the effects of international trade and capital flows and openness to trade and foreign capital on Arab human development. The statistical approach, designed for dynamic panel model, helps account for unobserved country specific effects and endogenous determinants. Our panel consists of 18 Arab countries for which data is available on all variables and covers the period between 1990 and 2011. The system GMM models reveal that economic globalization increases the rate of human development both in aggregate and via two channels: international trade and capital flows and trade and investment regimes. These findings highlights the positive effects on human development of a more globalized economy where international trade and capital flows plays a significant role. We also find considerable backing of our hypothesis that openness to trade and capital will likely accelerate human development in the Arab world. The results are consistent with the conjecture of trade and free-market theories of that nation may benefit from engaging in international trade. We conclude by stressing the need for Arab economies to globalize further and they must implement outward-oriented policies that maximize the benefits and minimize the costs of economic globalization more effectively. The Arab world stands at a crossroads and the continuous unrest is a stern wake-up call to tackle the human development challenge.

The growth of global e-commerce present significant opportunities for global expansion. Yet, it has not leveled the playing field between emerging markets e-commerce corporations (EM-ECCs) and advanced markets ECCs (AM-ECCs). While AM-ECCs have been expanding overseas with considerable success, EM-ECCs have been less disposed to internationalize and content to serve and defend their home turfs against foreign rivals wielding monopolistic advantages. Leveraging the Network, Ownership, Location and Internalization (N-OLI) framework, this paper examines the variables affecting the internationalization of AM-ECCs and EM-ECCs. We use an exploratory multiple case study approach to gain new insight into the internationalization of EM-ECCs while comparing it with the internationalization of AM-ECCs. This includes detailed analysis of two ECCs representing emerging markets and advanced markets. The findings suggest that AM ECCs, in comparison to EM ECCs, are endowed with favorable network-based advantages, firm-specific advantages, and institutional ownership advantages that make them more capable of pursuing internationalization aggressively. However, EM ECCs are induced to pursue regionally focused internationalization due, in large extent, to capital scarcity and ownership advantages emanating from knowledge of the home region.

This study begins to address the role of those advertisements with an ethical or unethical message. Past research has focused on the role of ethical products or deceptive advertising messages based upon product/service attributes. This research looks at another form of ethical advertising, the role of the message that is independent of the product/service. Those associations of this branded message can impact consumer response and their social judgment of the ethicality of the advertisement. Through an experimental design, with a one-week delay, we note that there are no recall effects based upon the ethical valence of the ad. Those ads judged as unethical were also more negatively evaluated, but the overall evaluation of the ad decreased for both ethical and unethical ads over time. Implications and future research are discussed.

This study examines share price reaction to the enrollment by companies in the Children’s Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative. We find that, on average, in the month of enrollment, shareholders of companies that join the CFBAI experience abnormal return of −3% and so do the shareholders of the immediate competitors that do not join the initiative. However, over the subsequent five years, while the shareholders of companies enrolled in the initiative experience an average abnormal return of +16.6%, that of non-enrolled competitors experience a further abnormal return of −34%. The abnormal returns for the two groups (at the time of enrollment and over the subsequent five years) are uncorrelated and so benefitting at the expense of competitors does not appear to be the motive for enrolling in the CFBAI. The study also provides comparison of number of employees and other important financial ratios before and after enrollment in the CFBAI for the two groups.

Corporate unethical behavior is nothing new. We are constantly bombarded with stories of managers engaging in illegal or unethical behavior. What is unknown are the reasons behind such behavior. Building upon Tenbrunsel and Messick’s (1999) work on ethical framing we investigate the boundary conditions on how we look at ethical decisions. Through a qualitative and quantitative study, we propose that when managers are put into a business frame, they are more likely to solve problems without an ethical view and thus engage in unethical behavior. More importantly, when we extend the business frame from a short-term to a long-term focus, we expect that business decisions would be more ethical. Further, how ethical the corporate culture is would moderate our decisions. Results indicate that ethical framing of problems do result in ethical outcomes, and that a corporate culture helps. However, the role of a strategic short-term and long-term frame is less understood, with managers using short-term business frames exhibiting more unethical behaviors, while long-term business frames are inconsistent in relation to short-term or ethical frames.

Creativity is seen as an essential component of advertising and is continuing to attract research interest. While there is widespread agreement on the value of creativity, there are two different perspectives on the key components of creativity. One perspective sees creativity as primarily divergence, containing elements of novelty, aesthetic representation, newness, and difference. The second includes, in addition to divergence, the concept of meaningfulness (or appropriateness or connectedness) to the consumer. This view argues that if an advertisement is not meaningful then it simply is not creative. We attempt to find some empirical resolution to this issue. Our findings indicate that divergence is indeed an important element of creativity. Meaningfulness, however, while certainly very important to ad effectiveness, appears to be a distinct and separate construct from creativity.

We propose that Generation Y college students’ motivations to study abroad are rooted in the desire for individual growth, which, combined with other motivation factors—gender, parents’ educational level, prior international experience, age, and household income—drives the intent to study abroad. The study samples juniors and seniors in business majors, thereby attempting to shorten the temporal distance between study abroad intent and action. A significant number of students declare intent to study abroad as freshmen, yet fail to act on those intentions when the opportunity presents itself a year or two later. Results showed that the desire for individual growth was significantly and positively related to Gen Y business students’ intention to study abroad. Students’ prior experience visiting foreign countries and younger age positively moderated the effect of the desire for individual growth on intent to study abroad. The time lag between intent and action, and the fact that study abroad is a high involv...

The world-wide emergence of remittances, in conjunction with challenges surrounding public foreign aid and the theoretical division regarding the development of FDI, prompt important questions as to whether international remittances outperform foreign aid and FDI as a determinant of a country¡¯s economic growth. Using panel data from 1990-2006 and applying System-Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) approach, we show that international remittances, FDI, and ODA are positively and significantly associated with the economic growth rate of low income countries. Specifically, we find that the impact is greater with international remittances. Moreover, international remittances prove to be a greater contributor of economic growth than ODA and FDI even when countries are highly dependent on FDI. We conclude by stressing the need for policy and business responses to stimulate the flow and create an appropriate distribution of international remittances to make full use of international remittances developmental potential.

We examine the impact of foreign direct investment (FDI) and the mediating effects of country national governance on the welfare and knowledge infrastructure of host countries. Based on a five-year anchored panel data of 175 countries producing over 9,000 observations, we find that in general FDI has a positive influence on both host country welfare and knowledge infrastructure and the national governance positively mediates these relationships.1 © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Creativity is seen as an important component of advertising, with highly creative ads being easier to recall than control ads. However, the boundary conditions around this effect are less understood. This research examines how creativity influences recall across repeated ad exposures. Additionally, this paper investigates the influence of creativity on advertising wearin/wearout. We utilise creative and control commercials embedded in a television programme for a naturalistic viewing experience, along with a one-week follow-up measure. We find that creative advertisements exhibit higher recall, though repeated exposures reduce this advantage.Further, creative ads are more liked, demonstrate wear in effects more quickly and are less susceptible to wearout.

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities can be an important tool for businesses to connect with their stakeholders. While there is growing research on the impact of CSR, there is relatively little research on how socially conscious consumers respond to socially responsible initiatives. We address this gap by quantitatively investigating the role of consumer’s social attitudes and their response to social message advertisements. Results indicate that some socially conscious consumers are generally leery of advertising and this can extend to CSR tactics. A consumer’s general attitude towards advertising mediates the relationship between their pro-social viewpoints and their attitude towards the brand, and this process is moderated by the content of the advertisement (i.e., CSR focused or neutral). The findings show that pro-social consumers do react differently to pro-social vs. traditional advertisements. This has distinct implications for managers, as it becomes more important for them to understand the pro-social attitudes of the audience before investing in CSR-focused advertising.

With the growing research on the impact of corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs, there is relatively little research on the makeup of the socially conscious consumer. This is particularly true with regard to their response to socially responsible initiatives. We address this gap through a qualitative study which ascertains the general mindset and makeup of the socially conscious consumer. Results indicate that socially conscious consumers use rational economic models in their consumption decisions, weighing the costs and benefits of their choices. This group also displays a general skepticism with respect to CSR tactics. This has distinct implications for managers, as it becomes more important for them to change the consumer’s view towards marketing than to enhance the existing social viewpoints of the consumer.

This paper investigates what happens in a consumer/service provider relationship when the provider intentionally deceives the customer. More concretely, the current research explores how consumers react to different levels of deception on the part of the service provider. Furthermore, how does the consumers relationship with the brand impact how they respond to the deception? After experiencing a significant deception, is the committed consumer more likely to forgive the provider with whom they have a strong relationship, or will a stronger relationship result in a more pronounced perception of betrayal and thus cause a greater negative response between the customer and the firm? Results indicate that those who were devoted to the relationship did indeed not display negative psychological effects or generate negative firm attitudes after a firm significantly misbehaved. On the other hand, those less devoted reported a decrease in attitude toward the brand and suffered increased negative mood following the bad behavior. This pattern fits with the idea that individuals often treat their preferred brands as relationship partners.

This study documents global social media usage patterns based on a large-scale survey of 4,630 social media users around the world. The study provides insights into how users in the European Union, United States, and BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) regions use social media for business and personal use. It analyzes variability in global social media platforms being used in these different world regions. The study also presents insights into usage of multilingual content for global social media consumption and the global user propensity to translate social media. Finally, the paper showcases an innovative technology solution to help companies leverage machine and human translation to enable users to translate social media content. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

This study examines the abnormal returns to the shareholders of companies that have enrolled in the Children’s Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative (CFBAI) as well as those of their competitors that did not join the initiative. We find that, on average, the former group of companies is much larger than the latter. Shareholders of both groups experience significant abnormal return of -3% in the month of enrollment. However, the former group experiences an abnormal return of 16% over the next five years, while those of the latter experience an abnormal return of -34%. These abnormal returns net out to be an average abnormal gain of $14.5 billion for companies enrolled in the initiative and an average abnormal loss of $1.7 billion for non-enrolled competitors. The findings suggest that being in a position to be socially responsible is of benefit to shareholders while being ill situated can hurt them.

Consumers surround themselves with material goods and experiences. Sometimes they consume out of necessity (i.e., to eat), other times to build relationships and experiences (i.e., attending a play), or to enhance their self-view (Belk 1988). Possessions can serve as security against fears and anxiety (Belk 1988). This study investigates how possessions mitigate against such anxiety, particularly existential anxiety, in light of mortality salience. Our concern is two-fold: how do consumers orient and cope with mortality; and how is materialism, or the emphasis placed on possessions, affected as a result of this coping.

Previous literature has explored how ethnocentrism influences consumers' attitudes and behaviour toward foreign products; however, few studies have explored whether ethnocentrism diminishes the effect of a foreign firm's corporate social responsibility (CSR) on consumers' purchase intention and the role of consumer-foreign company identification in the CSR-purchase intention relationship. Motivated by this gap in the research, the current study explores these relationships using survey data from American consumers. The results reveal that consumer ethnocentrism moderates the effect of CSR on purchase intention. The results also demonstrate that consumers' identification with the foreign company mediates the effect of CSR and purchase intention. Implications for managers of multinational enterprises are discussed, as are avenues for future research.

Authors examined whether the skin tone of a model in advertising influences evaluation of the advertisement as well as evaluation and purchase intent of the brand. Instead of taking a dichotomous view of skin tone authors manipulated the skin tone of African-American models into three shades — light, medium, and dark. The experimental design called for advertisements that were created utilizing stock photography and digital manipulation. Models’ skin tones were lightened and darkened based upon three Pantone color shades as recommended by Bond and Cash (1992). The ads were pretested in order to verify differences in skin tone and identification of manipulation. In order to address the nature of product usage (public vs. private), two fictional brands (Vaza clothing and Degrau food) were utilized. Data was collected in the university setting and undergraduate students served as subjects. Subjects were randomly exposed to one of the experimental ad and involvement scenarios. They were instructed to read the scenario, view the advertisement, and answer questions regarding their opinion of the ad and their viewing experience. A total of 589 subjects participated in the study (61 % female and 39 % male with a mean age of 22).

The existence of forgetting has never been proved: we only know that some things do not come to our minds when we want them to — Friedrich Nietzsche

To facilitate research into multi-agent planning issues, we have developed the Command and Control Testbed Using Simulation (CACTUS) and the Situation-based Autonomous Reasoner in a GBB Environment (SARGE). CACTUS is a simulation of combat operations for platoon-sized units in battalion-level engagements. We model in detail those command and control problems impacting the way planning is done by a formation commander. These include incomplete and uncertain information, imperfect control, differing agent characteristics, and limited inter-unit communications.The testbed originally required the user to input specific movement and firing instructions for each unit simulated. An interface to the simulation permits the integration of automated planners in place of user input. The SARGE commander was built to relieve the user of the need to provide detailed instructions at the simulation system level. Units with SARGE commanders take goal level instructions and SARGE then explictly reasons about plans to achieve those goals and submits the instructions necessary to implement those plans in CACTUS. SARGE uses the blackboard model of reasoning as implemented in the Generic Blackboard (GBB) tool. User access to the knowledge affecting SARGE behavior allows us to assess the impact of different tactical and doctrinal schemes on planning at higher levels of command.The SARGE and CACTUS systems provide the foundations for developing automated planners for multiple unit formations by raising the level of abstraction for inputting instruction to subordinate units. We will use this incremental approach to address command and control issues at progressively higher levels in the chain of command and to develop, refine, and evaluate artificial intelligence techniques to integrate human and machine capabilities. Our ultimate goal is to collect applicable techniques into a system supporting rapid prototyping of tactical decision aids. SARGE and CACTUS are vital steps in this process.