فصلنامه تحقیقات بازاریابی نوین
سال سیزدهم شماره 1 (پیاپی 48، بهار 1402)

Today, networking in the organization can increase a person's credibility in a way that leads to a higher position and a sense of career success. Increasing the seller's network behaviors effectively helps to promote practical insight and overall creativity in the work and improve sales performance. Therefore, the purpose of the present study is to investigate the effects of sales networking through creativity and job satisfaction on sales performance. The statistical population of this research is the sales staff of Kosar insurance agencies in Mashhad, numbering about 400 people, 250 of them were selected by simple random method. The data collection tool was a questionnaire with 28 questions whose face validity was confirmed by experts and its construct validity was confirmed by confirmatory factor analysis, and its reliability was confirmed by composite reliability. Data analysis was performed using structural equation modeling using SPSS22 and Smart PLS3 software. The results showed that sales networking behavior has a positive and significant effect on sales performance mediated by creativity and job satisfaction. Also, the positive and significant effect of professional and customer networking behavior on creativity was confirmed. In addition, the effect of networking behavior with peers and customers on job satisfaction was confirmed. Finally, the positive and significant effect of creativity and job satisfaction on sales performance was confirmed. However, the effect of networking behavior with peers on creativity and professional networking behavior on job satisfaction was not confirmed.

Today, in the global economy, customers determine the survival of the company. Companies can no longer be indifferent to the expectations and demands of customers. However, consumer pessimism is a growing phenomenon that has negative consequences for both companies and consumers. Therefore, the current research seeks to find the answer to this research question: What are the factors affecting consumer pessimism? For this purpose, the meta-synthesis method was used. In this research, 540 authentic scientific texts in English were identified and extracted between 2000-2022, and 60 research titles were used using the Critical Appraisal Skills (CAPS) method. To analyze the research literature, a systematic review (meta-synthesis) method was used. After studying and extracting the text, the key codes were extracted and clustered with Max QDI software and arranged in the form of concepts and components. The findings of the research showed that the main components affecting consumer pessimism include 18 main factors and 117 core categories. The main factors affecting consumer cynicism are demographic factors, personality factors, cultural factors, social concerns, bitter experiences with the company, risks affecting consumer cynicism, perceived injustice, the negative burden of individual emotions, mental and psychological disorders, deceptive company behaviors, unethical behaviors of the company, the incorrect performance of the company, advertising factors, pessimistic social attitude, negative view of the company, attention to the environment, customer's behavioral characteristics, and customers’ bargaining power.

The first stage of hiring marketers in organizations is to attend a job interview. According to the science of communication, the person's appearance is very important in this meeting and since the marketer’s job is one of the vital jobs of the organization, job applicants can influence the employer’s perception according to their clothing and behavior. As such, the aim of the present study is to investigate the appearance and behavioral factors affecting recruitment and also to examine the mental model of employers regarding the appearance of marketers at the time of recruitment. In addition, the current research has been done in an interdisciplinary manner with the help of the Q methodology and the integration of the sciences of human resource management, organizational behavior, marketing, and communication, Therefore, in the current qualitative-quantitative research, all effective external and behavioral factors along with the collected background and interviews with experts were provided to the participants of the research, which include human resource managers from 9 different industries. The participants, based on their points of view, arrange the discourse space in the Q diagram of the research. The results of the analysis of the data led to the identification of the managers' mental model of the appearance and behavioral factors affecting the recruitment of marketers. The most important physical and behavioral characteristics, based on the consensus of all research participants, are issues like passion, intelligence, and communication style. Based on the findings of the present study, the appearance characteristics that have the greatest impact on hiring a marketer are identified, and people who intend to be hired as a marketer can be more successful in the job interview by having these characteristics. In the meantime, knowing these factors, employers who intend to hire a marketer will be less influenced by people's appearance and will consider more important features.

Today's consumers do not only pay attention to the functional aspects of the product when making decisions, they involve the symbolic aspect of the brand in their decisions in many cases due to the multiplicity of products and also the improvement of the quality of different products. The strong presence of today's humans in social networks is also a good opportunity for brands to interact more with their customers. With their presence in this space, they transform themselves from a functional product to a personality that interacts with customers. Customer-centric brand equity in the context of social media is defined as the ability to create a psychological state in the minds of consumers in interaction with the brand. In this study, the relationship between customer-based brand equity and the dimensions of brand gender (as a dimension of brand personality) which is a symbolic and non-functional aspect of the brand, was investigated in the context of Instagram. In addition to the direct relationship between these two variables, the effect of gender personality dimensions of the brand on customer-based brand equity was measured through two variables of brand love and brand emotional interaction. To assess the relationship, 391 questionnaires were completed by active Instagram users of FMCG brands. The results using structural equation modeling showed that the two dimensions of brand masculinity and femininity, both directly and indirectly, through the two variables of brand love and consumer emotional interaction have a positive and significant effect on customer-centric brand equity.

E-business allows organizations to reach more consumers in a much wider economic market. This capability in the information age has caused it to be used as a development solution in business and as an alternative of interest for new businesses. However, the influence of many components and the increasing change in information technology have caused its successful application as a challenge for the organization. One of these challenges is the cost of simultaneously paying attention to all aspects of success in electronic business and the short-term effect of those components. Therefore, identifying all the components affecting the success of e-business and prioritizing them can be effective in advancing organizational goals. The present study uses a conceptual model of the components affecting customer relationships in e-business, using a systematic literature review and qualitative content analysis. The proposed model consists of five dimensions: ‘use of social media’, ‘customization’, ‘applicability of social media’, ‘customer interaction approach’, and ‘website quality’. These structures consist of 16 components and 38 sub-components. The proposed model has been investigated and statistically analyzed through a survey by e-business experts. The results show that ‘advertisements’ in instant messengers are of considerable importance in establishing effective communication with customers and attracting new customers (95% confidence). According to experts’ opinions, it is worth mentioning that some components such as ‘ease of ordering’ and ‘security of payment’ have lower importance, and this can be the result of turning these components into mandatory business features.

This study examines augmented reality technology from the perspective of flow experience based on virtual liminoid theory. It seeks to determine whether the flow induced by virtual liminoid theory in augmented reality purchasing systems affects consumer outcomes. An augmented reality application in the clothing field, specifical footwear, was used to perform a simulated experiment between individuals with 300 participants selected by a non-probabilistic sampling method to achieve this goal. Out of 300 standard questionnaires distributed among the participants, 290 usable questionnaires were made available to the researcher. The study's statistical population is all Kharazmi University (Tehran-Karaj Branch) students who have used augmented reality technology in the clothing industry at least once. This research is a descriptive survey in terms of practical purpose. Data analysis was performed using the partial least squares method of structural equation modelling in SMART PLS 3 software. The results showed that the virtual liminoid theory, in general, and the two components include a sense of ownership and ownership control each having a positive and significant effect on the flow experience. However, the effect of the self-exploratory interaction element on the flow experience was not confirmed separately. Flow has also a positive and significant impact on two consumer outcomes, including information usefulness and enjoyment. Finally, two consumer outcomes include information usefulness and enjoyment, each positively and significantly affecting satisfaction with augmented reality experience. The managerial and practical conclusions of marketers and designers to support the creation and implementation of augmented reality technology in the consumer field are also presented.

Designing or developing an appropriate message strategy is one of the most important factors affecting the effectiveness of advertising campaigns. However, there is no study in the literature to categorize the message content strategy. Accordingly, the current research identifies and categorizes message content strategies, and evaluates them using a sequential mixed methods study. Thus, in the qualitative part of the research, the data obtained from the meta-synthesis literature and interviews with advertising campaign specialists were thematically analyzed. The results of this part put message content strategies into 24 themes, 11 sub-strategies, and 4 main strategies. In the quantitative part of the research, using the survey strategy, the relationship between the product type, level of product involvement, the product position in the life cycle, competition intensity, and the competitive position of the brand with each of the four main message content strategies were investigated. A questionnaire was distributed among the target population for 8 samples of the advertising campaigns selected based on some criteria. Finally, the collected questionnaires were analyzed using multiple linear regression method. The results of this part showed a significant relationship between the variables of product position in the life cycle, competition intensity, and brand competitive position with each of the message content strategies. Also, there is a significant relationship between product type and objective differentiation strategy, credibility strategy, and encouragement strategy. In addition, there is a meaningful relationship between the product involvement level with the objective differentiation strategy and the subjective differentiation strategy.

In today's competitive world, Instagram is one of the most popular social media used by many companies and has become a new way to increase engagement and interaction with users. In this regard, the present study examined the effect of Instagram contests, brand awareness, and users’ emotions on their engagement with the company. This research is applied in terms of purpose and descriptive-survey in terms of research strategy. The statistical population of the research is 8000 users of the Parsi App (an active startup in the field of fintech) on Instagram. In order to collect the data, the non-probability sampling method was used. The online questionnaire link was sent to the users who participated in the Parsi App contest and 300 responses were collected. The collected data were analyzed by structural equation modeling and the partial least squares approach using the third version of Smart PLS software. In this way, the results of the research showed that the features of Instagram contests, user emotions, and brand awareness each have a positive and significant effect on user engagement. In addition, the feature of Instagram contests, taking into account the mediating variable of brand awareness, has a positive and significant effect on user engagement. However, the mediating role of users' emotions in this regard was not confirmed at the 95% confidence level. This issue shows the importance of paying attention to tools that encourage engagement, such as designing Instagram contests, which can be implemented as a strategy in the form of social networks and digital marketing.