Drawing on the theory of social distance, this study examined the extent to which residents’ attitudes concerning tourism can predict a sympathetic understanding of tourists. Results from residents within the rapidly emerging inbound tourism market, Japan (n=1569), were analyzed. EFA was undertaken on both residents’ attitudes and social distance data. CFA was then undertaken to establish a measurement model, followed by SEM to examine model relationships. The SEM revealed that more negative attitudes concerning tourism were found to have the strongest impact on less sympathetic understanding of tourists and vice versa, revealing that residents’ attitudes toward tourists depend in part upon whether attitudes about tourism are positive or negative. This study expands residents’ attitude theory by exploring the outcomes of such attitudes, rather than focusing on antecedents. Practical implications are advanced concerning internal marketing strategies, such as disseminating the positive impacts of tourism development to residents.

This qualitatively-based empirical research explored the strategies used by two museums to manage their roles in co-production as well as how they manage, motivate and guide visitors through the process of co-production. We also gained insights into how visitors responded to these strategies. Our findings suggest that the two museums employ different strategies to co-produce the consumption experience and that their strategies were linked to the nature of authenticity that is apparent in the museums. Strategies included explicitly controlling the visitor experience through empowering visitors to design their own visitor experience. The success of these strategies relied on the two museums recognising the situational variables of the context of consumption and adopting appropriate strategies that enabled them and the visitors to leverage the value of the visitor experience. The findings from this study suggest that further research should be undertaken on how authenticity might be integrated into a service-dominant logic paradigm and service strategies aimed at enhancing the co-creation of value.

This study addresses the recent call for researchers to employ qualitative methods to study property-related issues. Although projective techniques have been adopted by motivation researchers in the past, they have never been employed to explore home choice behaviour. Twelve respondents who had recently put an offer in on a house were interviewed about the factors driving their home choice decisions using a projective technique known as ZMET. Findings revealed that ZMET was a powerful tool for encouraging respondents to identify and discuss the factors shaping their home choice decisions. Furthermore, the ZMET interview enabled respondents to express themselves in their own language. Findings revealed deep-seated motives for the respondents' home choices that until now have not been empirically investigated. The paper concludes by discussing the strengths of the ZMET interview and suggests areas for future research.No Full Tex

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to understand the factors influencing young children’s (aged three to five years) understanding of brand symbolism. Design/methodology/approach: Multiple hierarchical regression was used to analyse the relationships between age, gender and environmental factors, including family and the media, on the development of brand symbolism in pre-school children based on 56 children and parent dyad interviews. Findings: Results confirmed the primary influence of age, television exposure and parental communication style on three to five-year-old children’s understanding of brand symbolism. The study demonstrates that the tendency to infer symbolic user attributes and non-product-related associations with brands starts as early as two years, and increases with age throughout the pre-school years. Children exposed to more television and less critical parental consumer socialisation strategies are more likely to prefer branded products, believe that brands are better quality and that they make people happy and popular. Social implications: Identifying the factors that influence the development of symbolic brand associations in pre-school children provides an important contribution to public policy discussions on the impact of marketing to young children. Originality/value: The paper extends existing research by considering, for the first time, the role of environmental factors in pre-schooler’s understanding of brand symbolism. The results provide a more informed basis for discussion about the impact of marketing messages on very young children and the environmental factors that may lead to a more critical engagement with brands.

Known barriers prevent informal caregivers of a person with dementia using community services; however, there is a dearth of knowledge on how organisations can overcome these barriers. This study examined caregivers’ perceptions of the barriers and facilitators of service use with regards to their membership to one Alzheimers organisation and their recommendations for improvements. In‐depth interviews were conducted with 19 informal caregivers. Thematic analysis revealed personal and organisational barriers to service use, and associated recommendations. Six recommendations were made for dementia service organisations: (a) be proactive and arrange regular scheduled meetings with clients; (b) utilise consistent, trusting, empathic support personnel who can build strong relationships with clients; (c) provide support groups; (d) tailor support; (e) ensure expert knowledge and numerous channels of information delivery to clients, the general public and health professionals and (f) actively promote the organisation and services offered. This study provides novel insights into how a community organisation can overcome client barriers to service use. In addition, the study reveals caregivers perceived value of an Alzheimers organisation, argued to be an essential service, but until now clients’ perceptions of the value received have not been explored.