http://repub.eur.nl/res/aut/11204/ List of Publications en http://repub.eur.nl/static-eur/img/logo.png http://repub.eur.nl http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/40040/ 2012-05-01T00:00:00Z Ambiguous cues in advertising offer companies the chance to reach multiple consumer segments with the one economical campaign. ‘Purposeful polysemy’ can indeed be an effective strategy – but it may not always deliver what it promises. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/23893/ 2011-04-01T00:00:00Z Current social trends leading to greater consumer diversity require that advertisers pay increasing attention to minority groups within society. This paper answers recent calls for research into the effects of purposeful polysemy, or strategic ambiguity, in minority targeting. The results of a quasi-experiment with gay and heterosexual male respondents in the context of gay window advertising demonstrate not only significant positive target market effects of covert minority targeting (i.e., ambiguous ad cues), but also the existence of negative non-target market effects. Emotional responses fully mediate these effects. Our results further demonstrate the importance of individual differences and product category by suggesting, for example, that gay men who are open about their sexual orientation can be targeted using gay window ads when the product category is congruent with male stereotypes and with mainstream ads when the product category is incongruent with male stereotypes. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/17518/ 2009-09-11T00:00:00Z Purpose: This study seeks to provide insights into corporate achievements in supply chain management (SCM) and logistics management and to detail how they might help disaster agencies. The authors aim to highlight and identify current practices, particularities, and challenges in disaster relief supply chains. Design/methodology/approach: Both SCM and logistics management literature and examples drawn from real-life cases inform the development of the theoretical model. Findings: The theoretical, dual-cycle model that focuses on the key missions of disaster relief agencies: first, prevention and planning and, second, response and recovery. Three major contributions are offered: a concise representation of current practices and particularities of disaster relief supply chains compared with commercial SCM; challenges and barriers to the development of more efficient SCM practices, classified into learning, strategising, and coordinating and measurement issues; and a simple, functional model for understanding how collaborations between corporations and disaster relief agencies might help relief agencies meet SCM challenges. Research limitations/implications: The study does not address culture-clash related considerations. Rather than representing the entire scope of real-life situations and practices, the analysis relies on key assumptions to help conceptualise collaborative paths. Practical implications: The study provides specific insights into how corporations might help improve the SCM practices by disaster relief agencies that continue to function without SCM professional expertise, tools, or staff. Originality/value: The paper shows that sharing supply chain and logistics expertise, technology, and infrastructure with relief agencies could be a way for corporations to demonstrate their good corporate citizenship. Collaborations between corporations and disaster agencies offer significant potential benefits. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/13651/ 2008-09-01T00:00:00Z Surprise gifts offer more business opportunities than gifts suggested by recipients, because a larger part of the selection and purchase processes can be molded, and such gifts are especially valued by recipients. Yet the extant gift-giving literature explicitly takes into account neither the giver's intention to surprise nor the consequences for the gift selection and purchase processes. The present study investigates surprise gifts from the giver's point of view and disentangles the selection and purchase processes of surprise gifts and gifts that are not meant as surprises. The hypotheses emerge as a consequence of the enhanced pleasure and experiential motivation underlying surprise gifts, as well as their greater inherent perceived risk. According to panel data, design and money-back guarantees are more important for the purchase of surprise gifts (compared with non-surprise gifts), whereas good deals appear less important, and brand name does not seem to matter any more than it does for gifts not intended as a surprise. Also, surprise gifts more often are bought on the spot than non-surprise gifts, without extended information search (similar to impulse purchases), by women alone, and for someone within the household. Finally, the giver usually has a poorer idea of what he or she wants to buy before entering the shop and visits fewer stores to purchase surprise gifts. However, the last three results apply only to appliances which often serve as gifts. These insights lead to significant managerial implications for retailers and manufacturers. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/13652/ 2008-04-16T00:00:00Z Corporate crises call for effective communication to shelter or restore a company’s reputation. The use of corporate social responsibility (CSR) claims may provide an effective tool to counter the negative impact of a crisis, but knowledge about its effectiveness is scarce and lacking in studies that consider CSR communication during crises. To help fill this gap, this study investigates whether the length of company’s involvement in CSR matters when it uses CSR claims in its crisis communication as a means to counter negative publicity. The use of CSR claims in crisis communication is more effective for companies with a long CSR history than for those with a short CSR history, and consumer skepticism about claims lies at the heart of this phenomenon. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/7177/ 2005-12-19T00:00:00Z Understanding decision-making processes for gifts is of strategic importance for companies selling small electrical appliances as gifts account for a large part of their sales. Among all gifts, the ones that are surprising are the most valued by recipients. However, research about decision-making processes involved in surprise gift purchases is lacking. This article shows, for example, that design and money back guarantees are more important for the purchase of surprise gifts than other gifts. The brand name, however, appears to be less important. Also, surprise gifts are more often bought on the spot, without extended information search (similar to impulse purchases). http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/273/ 2003-02-11T00:00:00Z This research investigates the specific influence of the emotion of surprise on customer transaction-specific satisfaction. Four empirical studies-two field studies (a diary study and a cross section survey) and two experiments-were conducted. The results show that surprise positively [negatively] influences satisfaction directly and indirectly (via the amplification of positive [negative] emotions), even when disconfirmation is taken into account in the model. The amplification property of surprise and the How-do-I-feel-about-it? heuristic are believed to explain this influence. Some results also show that surprised customers display higher levels of satisfaction and dissatisfaction than non surprised customers.