Title:Power and the Tweet: How Viral Messaging Conveys Political Advantage

Authors:Kellie Crow, Ashish S. Galande, Mathew Chylinski, Frank Mathmann

Where published:Journal of Public Policy and Marketing, Jul 2021,

https://doi.org/10.1177/0743915621999036

Researchers are increasingly confronting the need to examine the impacts of social media on democratic discourse. Analyzing 55,560 tweets from the official Twitter accounts of the Democratic and Republican Parties in the United States, the authors examine approaches used by political parties to encourage sharing of their content within the contemporary political divide. They show that tweets sent by the Republican Party are more likely to be predominant in the language of assessment and that tweets predominant in the language of assessment lead to more retweets. Further, this effect is reduced as political parties gain control of successive branches of government because successive increases in political power create fewer impediments to the implementation of a party’s political agenda. As impediments to action are reduced, so is regulatory fit for assessment-oriented language. Goal pursuit language shared on Twitter therefore reveals distinct approaches to obtaining and wielding power across the U.S. political system and constitutes an important tool for public policy makers to use in successfully conducting policy debates.

Title:A capability pathway to subjective economic well-being: Looking beyond materialism

Authors:Rajesh Nanarpuzha, Ankur Sarin

Where published:Journal of Business Research, Apr 2021,

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0148296321000011

By integrating sociological factors, this study explores novel causal mechanisms to broaden the understanding of subjective economic well-being (SEWB). The results of a probit regression analysis of Indian Human Development Survey (IHDS) cross-sectional and panel data reveal a positive, significant effect of successful upward intergenerational occupational mobility on improved perceptions of SEWB. The findings remain robust and significant irrespective of changes in the acquisition and possession of household material assets. The empirical evidence presented herein showcases the utility of adding sociological factors to the discourse on SEWB. Additionally, the present study offers an alternative perspective on the primacy accorded to material possessions in the SEWB literature in marketing. The functionings-capabilities framework is offered as an explanatory framework to interpret the findings. Together, the study offers clear theoretical and managerial contributions to a more nuanced understanding of SEWB.

Title:Safe Together, Vulnerable Apart: How Interstitial Space in Text Logos Impacts Brand Attitudes in Tight versus Loose Cultures

Authors:Tanvi Gupta, Henrik Hagtvedt

Where published:Journal of Consumer Research (JCR), Feb 2021,

https://doi.org/10.1093/jcr/ucab006

This research demonstrates that interstitial space in textual brand logos—that is, spacious (vs. compact) arrangement of letters—unfavorably influences brand attitude by reducing product safety perceptions. When potential threats are salient, the effect tends to occur within tight (but not loose) cultures, characterized by sensitivity to threats and a need for rigid social structures. When threats are not salient, the effect appears to occur across cultures. Five studies, including lab and field experiments, as well as archival dataset analysis, provide supportive evidence.

Title:The Impact of Time‐Keeping Direction on Compensatory Consumption: The Role of Perceived Resource Deficiency

Authors:Ankur Kapoor and Sanjeev Tripathi

Where published:Journal of Consumer Psychology, Nov 2019,

https://myscp.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/jcpy.1149

Time is a scarce resource, and time‐keeping has become a common part of our lives. This research investigates the impact of exposure to a specific direction of time‐keeping on resource deficiency perception and on compensatory consumption of calories. Results from four studies show that exposure to downward time‐keeping (e.g., 60→1 s), compared to upward time‐keeping (e.g., 1→60 s), results in a higher perceived resource deficiency, leading to a higher preference, consumption, and choice of caloric foods. The effect is attenuated for evaluation of calorie‐lean foods, or by recalling instances of resourcefulness, or when time is not a resource (as in the case of waiting). Related alternate explanations are addressed. This research is the first to identify a novel antecedent of resource deficiency (i.e., time‐keeping direction), and to elicit an unexplored aspect of temporal cognition, that exposure to direction of time‐keeping can influence compensatory consumption in an unrelated domain. These findings contribute to the literature on temporal cognition and resource deficiency and may inspire further research in these domains.

Title:Consumer Resilience and Subservience in Technology Consumption

Authors:Bhattacharyya, Arundhati and Russell W. Belk

Where published:Consumption, Markets & Culture. Jan 2019, DOI:

http://doi.org/10.1080/10253866.2018.1562686

Consumer technology theorists have explored technology consumption primarily through a de-linked, individualistic lens. We augment existing theories on technology consumption by widening the scope of the theorizing lens to include the role of class-based societal domination on consumption by the oppressed. We show that the poor respond to oppression by practices that go beyond non-compliance and subterfuge. We highlight the overlooked phenomenon of Consumer Resilience, and unveil the practices of Subservience in technology consumption by the poor in India. These are consumption practices that help the dominated classes appease those dominating them, at the expense of their own dignity and well-being.

Title:Seeking attention: An investigation of salesperson influence strategies used while selling to small retailers

Authors:Rajesh Nanarpuzha, Ernesto Norohna

Where published:The Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, Mar 2016,

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/08853134.2016.1158656?journalCode=rpss20

The use of influence strategies is an integral component of the salesperson's role, while selling to retailers. However, it remains a chronically under-researched area, particularly so in emerging markets, which are distinct in terms of retail formats and salesperson challenges. In this study, we investigate influence strategies used by salespersons for selling to retailers in the dominant small retail format in India. Using a combination of observation techniques and in-depth interviews, we allow salesperson influence strategies at play to emerge. In comparison to extant literature, we find evidence for both universality and specificity in the types of influence strategies used at small retail. We identify ‘share of counter’ as a unique small retail phenomenon, potentially requiring a specific set of salesperson influence strategies to succeed. Based on this, a modified typology of salesperson influence strategies, specific to small retail, is proposed. We conclude with a discussion of theoretical and managerial implications for emerging markets, and offer suggestions for future research.

Title:Modelling situational factors in variety seeking behavior: A conceptual approach

Authors:Rajesh Nanarpuzha, Abhishek

Where published:International Journal of Indian Culture and Business Management, Dec 2013,

http://vslir.iima.ac.in:8080/jspui/bitstream/11718/14290/1/Modelling.pdf

The importance of situational factors in variety seeking behaviour of consumers has been acknowledged in marketing literature. However, this paper is potentially the first to attempt to explicitly model situational factors in variety seeking behaviour. The conceptual model developed demonstrates that the incorporation of situational variables can result in a more comprehensive model to explain variety seeking behaviour. The paper also introduces the Indian retail scenario as a particularly apt context for operationalising the variables of the proposed model. This has implications for several emerging markets where similar retail contexts are present.

Katie Mercurio, Jeffrey Rotman, Jayant Nasa, Mark Staton, and Edwin Love (2021), “Insights into Identity Formation: How Differences in Ethical Orientations Predict Affiliation with Individual and Group-Based Identities,” Advances in Consumer Research, Volume 49 (forthcoming)

Arti Srivastava, Jayant Nasa, Prakash Satyavageeswaran, and Sundar G. Bharadwaj (2021), “Beyond Diversity: Employment of Persons with Disabilities as a Sustainable Strategy,” Proceedings of the European Marketing Academy, 50th (94188)

http://proceedings.emac-online.org/pdfs/A2021-94188.pdf

Jayant Nasa, Tanuka Ghoshal, and Rajagopal Raghunathan (2020), “Celebrity Gossip Consumption as an Affiliation-Based Means of Coping,” Advances in Consumer Research, Volume 48 (p. 560-561)

https://www.acrwebsite.org/volumes/v48/acr_vol48_2661300.pdf

Jayant Nasa, Arti Srivastava, Prakash Satyavageeswaran, and Sundar G. Bharadwaj (2020), “Beyond Diversity: Employment of Persons with Disabilities as a Sustainable Strategy,” Proceedings of the European Marketing Academy, 49th (64619)

http://proceedings.emac-online.org/pdfs/A2020-64619.pdf

Jayant Nasa, Tanuka Ghoshal, and Rajagopal Raghunathan (2020), “Cozying up to the Kardashians: An Affiliation Coping Explanation for Consumers’ Affinity Towards Celebrity Gossip,” Proceedings of the American Marketing Association Winter Academic Conference, Volume 31 (p. CPB-35 & 36)

https://www.ama.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/2020-AMA-Winter-Academic-Conference-Proceedings.pdf

Jayant Nasa, Arti Srivastava, Prakash Satyavageeswaran, and Sundar G. Bharadwaj (2020), “Beyond Diversity: Employment of Persons with Disabilities as a Sustainable Strategy,” Proceedings of the American Marketing Association Winter Academic Conference, Volume 31 (p. SSR-6)

https://www.ama.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/2020-AMA-Winter-Academic-Conference-Proceedings.pdf

Jayant Nasa, Tanuka Ghoshal, and Rajagopal Raghunathan (2019), “Cozying up to the Kardashians: A Theory for Consumers' Affinity towards Celebrity Gossip,” Asia-Pacific Advances in Consumer Research, Volume 12 (p. 79)

https://www.acrwebsite.org/volumes/1700380/volumes/ap12/AP-12

Jayant Nasa, Tanuka Ghoshal, and Rajagopal Raghunathan (2018), “Cozying up to the Kardashians: A Theory for Consumers' Affinity towards Celebrity Gossip,” Advances in Consumer Research, Volume 46 (p. 921)

https://www.acrwebsite.org/volumes/2412047

Satyavageeswaran P, Parameswaran M G, and Samu S (2016),"Advertising Effectiveness: Examining the Role of Latent Themes on Advertising Success", in Advances in Consumer Research Volume 44, eds. Page Moreau and Stefano Puntoni, Duluth, MN: Association for Consumer Research, Pages: 757-757.

Bhattacharyya, Arundhati (2014),"Eyes in the Sky: New Narratives in Consumers’ Technology Consumption", in Advances in Consumer Research Volume ---North America, 42, eds. June Cotte and Stacy Wood, Duluth, MN: Association for Consumer Research, Pages: 417-418.

Bhattacharyya, Arundhati (2013), “Welcome to Avalon: Expert Stakeholders’ Socialization of consumers towards and uncertain, noumenal technology”, in Advances in Consumer Research-- Asia Pacific, Volume 10, eds. Ekant Veer, Paul W. Ballantine and Lucie K. Ozanne , Association for Consumer Research, 384-386

Bhattacharyya, Arundhati and Richard Kedzior (2012),"Consuming the Cyborg", in Advances in Consumer Research –North America, Volume 40, eds. Zeynep Gürhan-Canli, Cele Otnes, and Rui (Juliet) Zhu, Duluth, MN: Association for Consumer Research, 960-961.

Title:The AAK Kolo Nafaso program: Securing an alternative Shea supply chain

Authors:Amitava Chattopadhyay, Pierre-Yann Dolbec, Rajesh Nanarpuzha, Jean Wee

Where published:Instead Publishing

The Kolo Nafaso programme was started in 2009 in Burkina Faso by AAK, a 140-year-old Swedish supplier of vegetable fats and oils. AAK created a direct link with the producers – women in West Africa who traditionally harvested shea nuts – and cut out the middlemen. The aim was to improve productivity and pay a fair price. As a cocoa butter equivalent, the oil from the nuts was a major ingredient for chocolate manufacturers, who could then claim that their products were made from traceable ingredients and a sustainable supply - a growing concern for consumers and investors. As the programme expanded from Burkina Faso to Ghana, AAK met several obstacles: maintaining the loyalty of the shea producers when local competitors offered higher prices, operational challenges associated with expansion, ensuring a stable supply despite political unrest in Burkina Faso, rising costs, and realising the potential brand value of Kolo Nafaso.

Title:Mygola.com: Deciding its place in the online travel market

Authors:Supriya Sharma, Rajesh Nanarpuzha, Pinaki Roy

Where published:Ivey Publishing, Harvard Business Publishing

In the dynamic online travel industry, the founders of mygola.com (mygola) needed to decide on the company’s future growth trajectory. The online travel industry was booming, but online travel planning was at a relatively nascent stage. In the travel-planning space, mygola’s initial service offering had been well received but the need to scale up was pressing. The existing product leveraged technological efficiencies and human judgment to provide customized answers for users’ travel queries. The new product, on the other hand, could change mygola’s way of doing business going forward. Though it was untested, it had the potential to put mygola on a higher growth path. The choice of product would mean that mygola would have to make a host of other decisions regarding the business. The decisions that the co-founders had to make could very well turn out to be the most important in mygola’s growth story.

Title:Fernandez Hospital: Pioneering Excellence in Maternal and Newborn Healthcare

Authors:Sisodia, S., Seshadri, D.V.R., Jalan, R., & Satyavageeswaran, P.,

Where published:Harvard Case Repository, ISB-HBS case.

The case explores the journey of Fernandez Hospital (FH) and its evolution from a small maternity clinic to a tertiary-level hospital for women and children with a focus on accessible and high-quality healthcare in the areas of obstetrics and gynecology. Dr. Evita Fernandez, CEO of FH, was a vocal advocate of natural birth, contrary to the trend towards Caesarean section (C-section) deliveries seen in most hospitals across India. The case is set in the year 2014 and deliberates on the options that Dr. Fernandez had at different stages of FH's journey and the strategic decisions that she and her team made and implemented. It showcases the challenges FH faced in deciding what to do next while keeping its values intact. From studying the case, students will appreciate the need for organizations to develop a framework to help them analyze their current situation, establish priorities, identify opportunities, and make rational and well-informed decisions about the future. Dr. Fernandez had an expansive purpose of enabling safe deliveries in society at large. While an expansion of the existing hospitals may achieve this goal to the limited extent of enabling safe deliveries within her hospitals, it would not result in a much wider preference across the country for natural deliveries over C-section deliveries. The case ends with Dr. Fernandez and her team contemplating various options available to them.

Bhattacharyya, Arundhati and Russell W. Belk (2017), “Technology Metaphors and Impediments to Technology Use Among the Involuntary Poor in India,” in Cultural Change from the Perspective of Anthropology in Business, (ed) Maryann McCabe and Elizabeth Briody, Maryland: Lexington Books, p143-164

Title:Marketing semiotics: Signs, strategies and brand value

Authors:Rajesh Nanarpuzha

Where published:European Journal of Marketing

In marketing, the brand as an entity has often been studied in isolation. Through this book, the author Laura Oswald provides a contrarian but valuable view point. She argues that it is the combination of the marketer’s efforts, the consumer’s interpretations of the brand message and the cultural context that constructs brand meaning. Marketing semiotics, the topic of the book, is positioned as an approach to understanding this meaning production. The applications of this approach described and detailed in this book are diverse, ranging from brand positioning to marketing communication to retail store design. The arguments constructed draw from existing theory and the practical applications described involve real-life marketing case studies. Overall, this book provides a credible alternative approach to analyzing and solving many mainstream marketing challenges.