Experts Matter. Find Yours.

When Religiosity Competes with Materialism, Charitable Giving Takes a Hit, Baylor Study Shows

Baylor researchers suggest fundraisers can use study results to boost giving Religious people tend to be more charitable than their nonreligious counterparts, but they’ll think twice about opening their wallets if it prolongs their next big purchase, according to new research from Baylor University’s Hankamer School of Business. Baylor researchers James A. Roberts, Ph.D., professor of marketing, and Meredith David, Ph.D., assistant professor of marketing, partnered on a study that examined the relationship between religiosity and charitable giving, and what drives the latter. They found that religiosity – the way people live out their lives based on their faith – can drive donors to give. But when materialism – that self-serving want for more money or material possessions – enters the equation, giving decreases. “At once, we want to help others, but at the same time, we desire the money and possessions that we all cherish to a greater or lesser degree,” the researchers wrote. “It is the result of such give-and-take between opposing values that drives our behavior as donors to charitable causes.” A total of 180 adults participated in the study, which is published in  International Journal of Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Marketing. Roberts and David looked specifically at religiosity’s effect on peoples’ attitudes toward helping others (AHO) and attitudes toward charitable organizations (ACO). Religiosity, they explained, is different from religious affiliation; it “is something that individuals experience outside of their place of worship and constitutes a way of viewing and experiencing the world that is different from their less religious (or nonreligious) counterparts.” They said they approached the study with the idea that helping others is a common rule among major religions. In general, the research showed that those expressing higher levels of religiosity were found to possess more favorable attitudes toward helping others and to charitable organizations. And those with stronger attitudes toward helping others also expressed a greater breadth in their giving. But higher levels of religiosity do not guarantee open wallets, David said. “We can’t always assume that religiosity ensures charitable giving,” she said. “Our study results suggest that increasing materialism lessened the positive effect of AHO on the breadth of giving.” Roberts, a nationally recognized expert on consumerism, said he and David, a nationally recognized expert on consumer behavior and well-being, weren’t too surprised by the study’s findings, given a basic understanding of human nature and the self-centeredness that accompanies materialism. However, they believe that understanding these dynamics can benefit charitable organizations as they identify potential donors and prepare for “the ask.” “Although materialism was found to reduce the breadth and likelihood of charitable giving in the present study, it could spur charitable giving if it is driven by self-serving motivations,” they wrote in the “managerial implications” section of the study. In other words, appeal to the donors’ inclination to give and their desire for public acknowledgment. “Large donations that come with naming rights, spur news coverage or exceed the donations of other prominent individuals are all examples of how materialism can be used to drive charitable donations,” they wrote. ABOUT THE STUDY “Holier than thou: Investigating the relationship between religiosity and charitable giving,” published in the June 2018 issue of International Journal of Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Marketing, is authored by James A. Roberts, Ph.D., The Ben H. Williams Professor of Marketing, Hankamer School of Business, Baylor University, and Meredith David, Ph.D., assistant professor of marketing, Hankamer School of Business, Baylor University. ABOUT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY Baylor University is a private Christian University and a nationally ranked research institution. The University provides a vibrant campus community for more than 17,000 students by blending interdisciplinary research with an international reputation for educational excellence and a faculty commitment to teaching and scholarship. Chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas through the efforts of Baptist pioneers, Baylor is the oldest continually operating University in Texas. Located in Waco, Baylor welcomes students from all 50 states and more than 80 countries to study a broad range of degrees among its 12 nationally recognized academic divisions. ABOUT HANKAMER SCHOOL OF BUSINESS Baylor University’s Hankamer School of Business provides a rigorous academic experience, consisting of classroom and hands-on learning, guided by Christian commitment and a global perspective. Recognized nationally for several programs, including Entrepreneurship and Accounting, the school offers 24 undergraduate and 13 graduate areas of study. Visit www.baylor.edu/businessand follow on Twitter at twitter.com/Baylor_Business.

New research examines impact of 'homesharing' services like Airbnb

Local governments across the country are passing laws to limit short-term rentals like Airbnb, HomeAway and VRBO, with Washington, D.C., poised to put some of the strictest limits yet on these homesharing services. Kashef Majid, an assistant professor of marketing at the University of Mary Washington, has examined more than 12,000 rentals in the nation's capital over nearly a decade, identifying which properties are most in demand and earn the most revenue as well as the impact of price and location on demand. Majid also found that commercial operators -- those that purchase properties solely to rent on short-term rental markets like Airbnb -- limit the supply of affordable housing, create neighborhood tensions and negatively impact the number of rentals.  "The issue of commercial operators became so contentious that the largest county in Virginia (by population) recently passed legislation to prevent their existence," Majid said. "Commercial operators are simply one example of the issues that arise within the sharing economy. Our research has also explored parallels in other markets, such as ride sharing." Majid is available to speak with media regarding these topics and this research. To contact him, simply click on his icon to arrange an interview.    

Understanding the influence of mobile promotions

Michelle Andrews, assistant professor of marketing, and coauthors Jody Goehring (RetailMeNot), Sam Hui (U Houston), Joseph Pancras (U Conn), and Lance Thornswood (JCPenney) cull together divergent streams of research to provide a framework to better understand how mobile promotions influence the in-store shopping behavior of consumers. Online promotions allow merchants to reach shoppers easier and faster, enabling traditional stores to text out online discounts or highlight specific products. Merchants can also use geolocation on mobile phones to text and target shoppers once inside of their store to feature merchandise or advertise a special offer. The authors identify a number of key areas for additional research to “enable long-term, value enhancing relationships between consumers and marketers.” For instance, they note the need for a better understanding of the role of privacy concerns on personal data collection via mobile devices. Andrews and coauthors also find that a deeper investigation of such things as return on investment, loyalty programs, upselling, proximity to purchase, and global promotions are required to get a true sense of the effectiveness of mobile promotions. Source:

The link between corporate alliances and returns

Strategic alliances are agreements between two or more firms to pursue a set of agreed upon objectives while remaining independent organizations. Alliances are formed for a number of reasons, including licensing, marketing or distribution, development or research, technology transfer or systems integration, or some combination of the above. Tarun Chordia, R. Howard Dobbs professor of finance, and coauthors Jie Cao (Chinese U of Hong Kong) and Chen Lin (U Hong Kong) find evidence of return predictability across alliance partners. If the alliance partner or partners have high (or low) returns this month, then the firm has high (or low) returns over the next two months. Using a sample of alliances over the period 1985 to 2012, the authors find that a long-short portfolio sorted on lagged one-month returns of strategic alliance partners provides a return of over 85 basis points per month. This long-short portfolio return is robust to a number of specifications, including different adjustments for risk, controlling for different proxies for cross-autocorrelations, and excluding partnerships with customer-supplier relationships, as well as controls for industry returns. They theorize, “If investors are fully aware of the impact of strategic alliances on returns and pay attention to the firm-partner links, then the stock price of a firm should quickly adjust to price changes of its partners’ stocks.” The evidence suggests that investor inattention may be the source of a firm’s underreaction to its partners’ returns. Source:

Social media mentions of television advertising

Television advertising is an expensive proposition, so media planners and advertisers are devoting considerable attention to social media mentions of their advertising and the real-time feedback it can provide. David A. Schweidel, associate professor of marketing, and coauthor Beth L. Fossen 16PhD (Indiana U) study this trend by using data from actual television advertising on the broadcast networks and brand and program mentions of those same ads on Twitter. The pair found that television advertising does impact the volume of online word-of-mouth for the advertised brand and the program showing the ad. Ad and brand characteristics played a huge role in creating social media “chatter.” For instance, movie advertisements generated the largest increase in online word-of-mouth. Ads for phones, computers, notebooks, and tablets also created substantial increases in social media mentions. In contrast, apparel, dental care, nonprofit ads, and PSAs benefited the least in terms of online brand chatter. Higher rated programs resulted in more online chatter for the ads shown, likely due to the fact that these programs draw larger viewing audiences. Source:

Luxury retailers, customer experience, and brand desire

Consumers often complain that sales staff at luxury retailers ignore or reject average customers. Employees in the industry confirm that sales staff at luxury retailers do sometimes size up customers, choosing who to help and who to avoid based on what they wear. Conventional wisdom would suggest that the rejected consumer would choose not to buy the specific brand. Morgan Ward, assistant professor of marketing, and coauthor Darren W. Dahl (U of British Columbia) challenge this idea “by exploring how negative customer service experiences can, in some instances, facilitate more positive attitudes and customers’ desire for the brand.” The pair tested their theory by providing study participants with a variety of shopping scenarios involving being rejected versus receiving a neutral response from the salesperson while in a luxury retailer. Ward and Dahl discover that shoppers who “relate their self-concept to an aspirational brand” become more motivated to buy that luxury brand after a salesperson’s rejection, in order to be accepted by what they perceive as the in-crowd. Source:

The role of behavior in managing mergers

Despite corporate interest in M&As as a growth strategy, research indicates that financial returns on such deals often fall short of expectations. Corporate leaders spend considerable time looking at the financial and quantitative aspects of mergers and acquisitions; however, Sandy Jap, Sarah Beth Brown Professor of Marketing; A. Noel Gould (Texas State U); and Annie H. Liu (Texas State U) argue that factoring in people should also be a major consideration when it comes to a proposed deal. Their research indicates that better employee and customer management is especially critical to an organization’s M&A strategy and implementation success. The trio analyzed ANZ New Zealand’s horizontal merger with the National Bank of New Zealand to better understand the impact of employee and customer behavior on the deal. They contend that this brand and technology merger succeeded due to ANZ’s commitment to ensuring customer satisfaction and addressing employee concerns about the merger. ANZ New Zealand also focused on business efficiencies and rebranding efforts. Jap, Gould, and Liu note that collaboration became a big key to the success of the merger with ANZ’s financial, IT, marketing, and communications personnel working closely together to retain customers. Source:

Mobile advertising and crowded locations

As marketers look for new ways to target consumers on their smartphones, they are capitalizing on the ability to use location for mobile advertising. Today, retailers send mobile coupons and alert shoppers to sale items as they roam the aisles of the store. New research from Michelle Andrews, assistant professor of marketing, and coauthors Zheng Fang (Sichuan U), Anindya Ghose (NYU), and Xueming Luo (Temple U), investigates the impact of another type of location on mobile ad effectiveness. The authors studied real-time data from one of the world’s largest telecom providers, compiling responses to mobile advertising by 14,972 mobile phone users on crowded and noncrowded subway trains. Surprisingly, commuters in packed subway trains were twice as likely to respond to and make a purchase from a mobile ad than travelers in less crowded subway trains. The researchers write, “A plausible explanation is mobile immersion: As increased crowding invades one’s physical space, people adaptively turn inwards and become more susceptible to mobile ads.” The research indicates that “hyper-contextual mobile advertising” needs to be a bigger consideration for marketers looking to improve their mobile advertising. Source:

Synergies between product placements and TV ads

As television watchers get inundated with commercials, the temptation to flip the channel grows. In the hopes of better connecting with consumers, advertisers are increasing their efforts to get product placements directly into TV shows. In a research study, David Schweidel, Goizueta Term Chair, Caldwell Research Fellow, and associate professor of marketing, and coauthors Natasha Zhang Foutz (U of Virginia) and Robin J. Tanner (U of Wisconsin) took a look at how the synergy between product placements and traditional commercials can keep viewers from flipping past the ad. The trio found that by simply putting a product in a television show and then immediately following it up with a commercial featuring the same product, viewers were more likely to stay tuned to the commercial. “The audience loss during the ad decreases by 5%,” they note. The effect was intensified when differing products from the same brand were shown in a program and then in a commercial immediately following the TV show. They write, “This indicates a positive synergy between the two activities that can reduce audience decline by more than 10%.” When products of different brands were featured in a television program and in a subsequent commercial, audience loss increased. Source:

Identity and the digital world

According to research from Jagdish Sheth, Charles H. Kellstadt Professor of Marketing, and Michael Solomon (UNC), the idea of identity is evolving, impacted by the growing influence of the digital world. The authors’ groundbreaking study builds on a seminal paper from Russell Belk, written in 1988, which identified the role that possessions play in an individual’s life and how external elements are critical to how people self-identify. The duo uses Belk’s findings on consumer behavior, taking it a step further by applying his concepts to current day, with the online world in mind. Sheth and Solomon found that traditional boundaries between an individual’s offline and online life are increasingly blurred, resulting in what they term the “digital extended self.” People are creating a new sense of identity, courtesy of the information posted, the persona created, and the relationships developed online. They write, “A social footprint is the mark a consumer leaves after she occupies a specific digital space (e.g., today’s Facebook posts), while her lifestream is the ongoing record of her digital life across platforms (e.g., registrations in virtual worlds, tweets, blog posts).” Not surprisingly, the notion of just what defines a consumer is changing. User-generated content and online consumer reviews have altered the nature of relationships between the producer and consumer. The authors’ findings have critical implications for marketers looking to get a better understanding of consumer behavior. Source: