Suzanne C. Beckmann

• Dr.
• Managing Director at ECOconnection

In this paper, we describe the distinct features of fully online courses, explain their rationale and usefulness within a diverse offer of courses and corresponding teaching methods in undergraduate and graduate university study programmes. We then discuss opportunities and challenges in light of the seven pedagogical principles that govern the tea...

This study proposes a self-identity based eco-friendly intention formation model to assess the effects of green self-identity, care for the environmental consequences of consumption, and green moral obligation, on the attitude toward and the intention to adopt electric cars. The model is empirically validated in three European countries: Denmark, B...

In this chapter we propose a model in which green self-identity (GSI) is an antecedent of both environmental concern (EC) and moral obligation (MO), which in turn influence the attitude towards electric cars (ATT). GSI is also assumed to have a direct effect on ATT. The attitude towards the electric car then determines the intention to adopt it. Th...

Customers’ engagement behaviours are considered an important source of value to the firm. So far, the discussion has mainly been conceptual and focused on the company’s perspective. By adopting the customer’s perspective we investigated what drive and explain customers’ engagement behaviours as reactions to their service encounters over time with a...

We propose a model in which green self-identity (GSI) is an antecedent of both environmental concern (EC) and moral obligation (MO), which in turn affect the attitude towards eco-friendly electric cars (ATT). GSI is also assumed to have a direct effect on ATT. The attitude towards the electric car then determines the intention to adopt it. The mode...

Customers’ engagement behaviours are considered an important source of value to the company. So far, the discussion has mainly been conceptual and focused on the company’s perspective. By adopting the customer’s perspective we investigated how customers perceive their service relationship encounters with a company, using in-depth interviews. We fou...

Cities invest large sums of money in ‘flagship projects’, with the aim of not only developing the city as such, but also changing the perceptions of the city brand towards a desired image. The city of Hamburg, Germany, is currently investing 575 million in order to build a new symphony hall (Elbphilharmonie), 400 million to develop the ‘Internation...

Purpose Cities increasingly compete with each other for attracting tourists, investors, companies, or residents. Marketers therefore focus on establishing the city as a brand, disregarding that the perception and knowledge of a city differ dramatically between the target audiences. Hence, place branding should emphasize much more the perceptions of...

This study develops and empirically tests a model for understanding food consumers' health information seeking behaviour. Data were collected from 504 food consumers using a nationally representative consumer panel. The obtained Lisrel results suggest that consumers' product-specific health information seeking is positively affected by general food...

Measurements of meaning within a music/marketing context often rely on self-report measures using scales described by various more or less qualified adjective scales. However, important aspect of musical meaning related to real life concepts or references are in risk of being overlooked when applying measurement scales with pre-selected adjectives....

Within the last 30 years, a remarkable weight gain could be observed in nearly all developed countries independent of sex, age, and social class. Thus, this epidemic affects not only one single social stratum or one specific group of consumers, but rather whole populations. Nowadays, more than 30% of all European children are overweight or obese –...

This chapter addresses the central question of what we know so far as to when, why and how consumers respond to which corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities? In order to find answers, English-language academic journals were scrutinized for the period 1990-2008. iiBusiness & Society, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of...

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) can be defined as those business activities which take into account the public consequences of company decisions over and above the simple compliance with government regulations (Menguc and Ozanne, 2005; Sharma, 2000). Thus, service firms should go beyond the economic concerns, considering both the social and e...

Recent innovation literature describes a move from purely technical innovations towards more strategic innovations based upon social relations, a concept at the core of newer brand management and relationship marketing theories. Organisations that depend on innovation and have also adopted corporate branding as their management philosophy are there...

Netnographie ist eine interpretative Methode, die in Anlehnung an Prinzipien der Ethnographie zur Erforschung von Verbraucherverhalten in Konsum(sub)kulturen und – gemeinschaften auf dem Internet entwickelt wurde. Damit spiegelt sie die Möglichkeiten und Herausforderungen für Forschung im digitalen Zeitalter wider (Stempel/Stewart 2000). Netnograph...

Knowledge governance aims at managing knowledge processes in and across organisations. The majority of the literature is concerned with determining and evaluating the appropriate structures and mechanisms, yet very little research effort has looked into the psychological predispositions of willingness to share knowledge. This conceptual paper takes...

Consumer behaviourists and consumer policy-makers are interested in the degree to which global convergence is occurring for various consumer behaviour dimensions, the extent to which the consumption patterns in different parts of the world are becoming similar and the extent to which these trends may be influenced and/or influence consumer policy....

Research addressing the relationships between corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities and consumers-asstakeholders’ perceptions, attitudes and behaviours is dispersed over a range of topics, subsumed under different marketing concepts, and in general surprisingly under-researched given the centrality of CSR in both the normative management...

This paper explores the mediating factors between consumers' exposure to scented food products and their behavioural response. Five competitive hierarchies of effects -dealing with consumers' judgmental, emotional, and intentional responses -are developed. The hierarchies are tested using an experimental design that manipulated three kinds of scent...

Les consommateurs des économies planifiées ont développé des savoir-faire différents de ceux adoptés par les consommateurs des économies de marché. Alors que les premiers ont appris à localiser les produits, les seconds se sont exercès à comparer et à choisir entre les produits proposés. Dans le domaine alimentaire, l' ancienne Allemagne de l' Est...

Studying misbehavioural patterns of food habits is very common in psychology and psychotherapy, but the normal range of nutrition behaviour has received little attention so far. Here, a new approach is presented. Starting from the boundary model of eating, it is discussed how external determinants of nutritional habits and practices interact with p...

Netnographie ist eine interpretative Methode, die in Anlehnung an Prinzipien der Ethnographie zur Erforschung von Verbraucherverhalten in Konsum(sub)kulturen und — gemeinschaften auf dem Internet entwickelt wurde. Damit spiegelt sie die Möglichkeiten und Herausforderungen für Forschung im digitalen Zeitalter wider (Stempel/ Stewart 2000). Netnograp...

ncreasingly critical and sophisticated stakeholders request companies to engage in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities and to communicate about such efforts. Driven by such an energetic demand, CSR communication seems like a straightforward task: to inform stakeholders better about corporate CSR activities. Yet, strategic CSR communica...

Beginning in the early 1970s, interest in academic research on environmental issues began to rise precipitously. While the 1980s saw a decline in interest, the 1990s witnessed a resurgence of environmentally related research in marketing and other business-related areas (Pickett, Kangun & Grove, 1993). A proliferation of environmentally related jou...

This book attempts to shed light on why it is so difficult to develop and maintain successful businesses in the grocery e-commerce arena. Within the last five years, grocery e-commerce has experienced both consistent successes such as Tesco.com and irrevocable failures such as Webvan.com. Niels Kornum and Mogens Bjerre bring key researchers togethe...

Little is known about what consumers associate with Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). With this study we attempt to fill this gap by focusing on three issues. Firstly, we analyze consumers' perceptions about responsible activities of companies and, more specifically, the dimensions they use to describe CSR. Secondly, we assess the effect of cu...

Purpose This paper discusses how netnography can be applied in order to conduct covert research on sensitive research topics. An analysis of a Danish internet message board on cosmetic surgery illustrates suggestions concerning modifications of netnography guidelines. Design/methodology/approach Owing to the relevance of studying sensitive researc...

Means–end theory aims at explaining how consumers evaluate products by linking relevant attributes to perceived consequences to desired ends in a hierarchical way, based on core assumptions of cognitive psychology about human information processing. This study investigates the influence of affective states on information processing styles in a mean...

Little is known about what consumers associate with Corporate social responsibility (CSR). With this study we attempt to fill this gap by focusing on three issues. Firstly, we analyse consumers' perceptions about responsible activities of companies and, in particular, the dimensions used to describe CSR. Secondly, we assess the effect of gender, kn...

Little is known about what consumers associate with Corporate social responsibility (CSR). With this study we attempt to fill this gap by focusing on three issues. Firstly, we analyse consumers’ perceptions about responsible activities of companies and, in particular, the dimensions used to describe CSR. Secondly, we assess the effect of gender, kn...

This paper explores consumer understanding and perception of organic food, with specific reference to the relatively new concept of organic farmed salmon. Key themes associated with the term “organic” and its meaning, as determined by consumers, are explored and the role of labelling and regulatory authorities considered. Focus groups in five count...

Researching the consumer has progressed far beyond the research for managerial implications and has become a major focus for the social sciences. In the field of marketing research, interpretive approaches to studying consumer behavior are playing an increasing role. This book presents the wide range of conceptual and empirical approaches that are...

The purpose of this paper was twofold. The first purpose was to expand the domain of inquiry in the study of business and the natural environment. Traditional approaches have focused primarily on attitudes toward the environment, behavioral intentions, and behavior. Most of the research to date has been data-driven, however, and lacks a theoretical...

What does it take to change the behavior of people and businesses with respect to the environment? In the 1990s a group of social scientists gathered to discuss this question from their individual perspectives in disciplines ranging from marketing to theology and jurisprudence to psychology. Rather soon it became clear to them that they first neede...

This study examined the difference between environmental attitudes of university students in England, Denmark, and the United States. The results indicate that there is a significant relationship between attitudes toward technology, politics, and economics, the primary elements of the dominant social paradigm (DSP), and environmental attitudes. Spe...

Rising consumer concern over intensive food production issues has resulted in an increase in demand for organic alternatives to a wide variety of foods including fruit and vegetables, meat and poultry. More recently, there has also been considerable interest in the marketing of more environmentally-friendly supplies of fish, including those from fa...

Die sozialwissenschaftliche Forschung hat sich seit mehr als zwei Jahrzehnten mit Determinanten mitweltverantwortlichen Verhaltens beschäftigt, insbesondere mit dem Einfluß von Einstellungen — häufig operationalisiert als Umweltbewußtsein — auf Verhaltensweisen wie Energiesparen, Abfallrecycling, Kauf von sogenannten umweltfreundlichen Produkten od...

The paper presents some interim findings from an ongoing project funded under the European Union FAIR programme (DGXII-ELSA), " Organic salmon Production & Consumption: Ethics, Consumer Perceptions and Regulation " , which is being undertaken in the UK, Norway, France, Germany and Spain. The focus upon the consumer in this paper begins with the wid...

Environmental concern of consumer-citizens is commonly considered to be a prerequisite for achieving sustainability in a society. However, as the level of environmental concern has increased over the past decade, related behaviours have not kept pace. Despite various conceptual and methodological attempts, this gap between attitudes and behaviours...

This paper provides a review and categorization of the environmentally related research published in the major English language marketing journals over the period from 1971 to 1997. It traces the development from the early research which focused predominantly on the characterization of the "green" consumer, conceptualization of environmental consci...

The aim of this paper is to provide essential background material relating to the accompanying papers in this special issue. It presents a brief description of the `Psychology of the European Monetary Union' project. This involved a questionnaire study of attitudes towards the euro, which was fielded in each of the 15 member states of the European...

Consumer organizations have traditionally been concerned with protecting, informing, and educating the "weak" consumers. These policies were deemed necessary because of the unequal power balance and conflicts of interests between consumers and producers. Since there are also conflicts between the interests of nature on the one hand, and consumers a...

This book showcases papers presented at the annual Advertising and Consumer Psychology Conference. The contributors -- active scholars with both practitioner and academic backgrounds -- share an interest in the general area of psychographics, values, and lifestyle in advertising. The interdisciplinary and international mix of authors bring a divers...

Results of a qualitative study, sponsored by a Danish Savings Bank of medium size, with regard to the Bank's private customers' expectations concerning financial management services are presented. The Bank is only operating in a specific region in Denmark and thus competes with larger banks also present in that area. Since larger banks display a te...

Conceiving an individual's value system as an integrated structure of motivational goals, i.e., specifying the association of one value type with an external variable, such as attitudes or behaviour, has then implications for the associations of this variable with the other value types as well. Hence, assessing VS by this approach will allow the id...

SOLBJERG PLADS 3, DK-2000 FREDERIKSBERG TEL: +45 38 15 21 00 FAX NO: +45 38 15 21 01 C✧E✧C Multinational comparison of anthropocentrism, values, and environmental attitudes 1 Executive Summary Environmental concern has been considered by scientists, politicians, and the public to be the necessary prerequisite for global sustainability both explicit...

Gift Giving brings together 21 scholars from a variety of disciplines—including consumer behavior, communications, and sociology—who are dedicated to the understanding of what motivates gift selection, presentation, and incorporation of a gift into a person's life. This book is a collection of articles that examine gift-giving behavior - a field th...

Changes in economic, demographic, and cultural factors in West Germany during the past decades are briefly described, as well as changes in consumption patterns and the way the major marketing variables have been used and implemented. Special attention is paid to the upheavals caused by the German reunification. Implications for marketing managemen...

Starting from a general model of measuring cognitive structures for predicting consumer behaviour, we discuss laddering as a possible method to obtain estimates of consumption-relevant cognitive structures which will have predictive validity. Four criteria for valid measurement are derived and applied, which refer to data collection, coding, and an...

Results from a study conducted in two Danish municipalities with different waste handling systems are reported. The main objective of the study was to compare citizens' beliefs and attitudes towards waste handling systems and their consequences for motivations to cooperate through source separation. Three groups of hypotheses were tested concerning...

Results of a survey conducted in Denmark on factors influencing consumers' demand for organic food are presented. The study had the following main objectives: (1) a practical interest in providing understanding about the antecedents of environmentally friendly purchase behaviour, and (2) a theoretical interest of testing the value-attitude-behaviou...

Results from a study with Danish school teachers on their values, environmental attitudes, and buying of organic foods are reported. The objective was to investigate the applicability of the Schwartz value theory and measurement approach (Schwartz, 1992) in explaining specific aspects of consumer behaviour. This theory was developed within a genera...

Cet article propose une méthode d'estimation de la validité interculturelle des instruments de mesure. Celle-ci découle directement d'une vision cognitive des différences culturelles, dont la mise en œuvre s'effectue au moyen de tests séquentiels basés sur des modèles d'analyse factorielle confirmatoire multi-échantillons (LISREL). L'application de...

In 1990, an article about the theoretical foundations of the ØKO foods-project was published in this journal. Now, three years later, it seems appropriate to inform, again in this journal, about the insights into Danish consumers’ reasons for buying and non-buying organic food products, gained during the project term (1990–1992). The focus will be...

Since the early 70's environmental issues have been one of the top ten topics for citizens, politicians, scientists and marketers. Newspaper articles and scientific papers are regularly occupied with consumers' environmental concern. These articles usually start with stating the latest opinion polls on consumers' dramatically increasing environment...

Considers the economic aspects of food consumption patterns by looking at the relationship between value structures and personality profiles as a means for assessing consumers' basic need orientations, and at eating behaviour as a compensatory strategy when other-than-physiological needs are frustrated. Seeks to demonstrate that the concept of valu...

Ce papier compare les valeurs personnelles d'sétudiants et parents français et allemands par le moyen de l'échelle des valeurs LOV. Les valeurs sociales paraissent avoir une importance plus grande en Allemagne qu'en France où, à l'inverse, les valeurs individuelles et hédoniques semblent être privilégiées. Il y a également des tendances vers plus d...

Data on social values from a West German survey are presented, interpreted, and then compared with results from surveys in the United States, Canada, and Norway. In all surveys, values were measured by the List of Values (Kahle, 1983). The results reveal considerable cross-cultural differences, which can only in part be ascribed to differences in t...

Product test organizations are a new form of market institution that yields information that can be used not only by consumers, but also by business in making international comparisons of markets. Results from a content analysis of product test published in three European countries, namely Belgium, Great Britain, and West Germany, are presented. In...

Research into consumer values is not only trendy, it is particularly useful in cross-cultural consumer classification. The authors of this article argue that the value concept has promising implications for international marketing, in particular environmental scanning, exploratory research, and international segmentation and positioning.

Tourism is today considered one of the world’s largest growth industries, which during the latest 30 years have six-doubled its number of international travellers. Due to its enormous extension in size and spreading the environmental consequences of the growing tourism industry are experienced all over the world. In many destinations, both nature a...

This study examines how consumers' attitude towards a fictitious brand is formed after exposure to an online banner ad with varying degrees of animation effects. Using the Elaboration Likelihood Advertising Model as frame of reference an online experiment was designed in which 599 students participated. The results show a relationship between respo...

This paper explores the mediating factors between consumers' exposure to scented food products and thei r behavioural response. Five competitive hierarchies of effects - dealing with consumers ' judgmental, emotional, and intentional responses - are developed. The hierarchies are tested using an experimental design that manipulated three kinds of s...

This study compares a 'cognitive individualistic' with a 'cultural collectivist' perspectives on online grocery shopping behaviour of Danish and US consumers to assess whether personal values and social norms need to be measured explicitly or whether country affiliation can be used as proxy for these variables. The findings support both perspective...

Contrary to many studies that have investigated consumers' intentions to carry out an online grocery purchase at some point in the future, the study presented here examines whether consumers who have adopted online grocery buying perceive this way of shopping differently from other Internet users. Data from Danish, Swedish and US American Internet...

Miljø, etik og social ansvar er begreber, der har højkonjunktur i disse år. Tit menes der virksomhedernes etiske, miljømaessige og sociale ansvar. Jeg ønsker dog at argumentere for en mere omfattende og integreret synsvinkel, hvor forbrugere og virksomheder, sammen med politikere og medier, er faelles om at tage et socialt ansvar for en etik, der (...