David S. Ackerman

Although extensive studies have already been conducted on student engagement in educational research (Snijders, Wijnia, Rikers, & Loyens, 2020), interest in this construct is increasing due to the ...

This research looks at higher education choice through the lens of extended self in consumer behavior. An online survey at two US universities, one public and one private, found that extended-self moderated how much fulfillment of self-image needs led students to like a university. Self-esteem needs were a critical part of this process, positively influencing how much students liked a particular university. Results also suggest that the choice of a college/university may very well be similar to the purchase of luxury products, such as choosing a prestigious brand watch, handbag, or automobile. Despite the hopes of faculty and administrators, students may not think of instructional quality first when choosing higher education. These results have implications for colleges and universities, for students making educational choices, and for the general public.

The research reported in this paper examined the use of synchronous online discussion board as the primary mode of teaching by one instructor teaching two sections of a senior-level undergraduate Marketing Strategy course during the COVID-19 pandemic. Decisions were made to use a synchronous online discussion board as the primary online meeting space and mode of instruction for the remainder of the spring 2020 semester and continuing into the fall 2020 semester. Both before and after the transition to online instruction, the primary activities of the class were analysis of marketing cases and participation in a marketing strategy simulation game, which were accomplished both individually and as student teams. Results from this research suggest that synchronous written discussion boards have a place in instruction. Student-perceived benefits included better access to and retention of material from the course as well as the ability to learn more during class time. Students scored higher on an examination on material delivered by written discussion board than by Zoom. Negatives revolved around frustration with the online interface.

Grades function as an important tool for instructors, both to communicate information to students about their performance and to motivate them to try harder to succeed. This research examines student reactions to the presentation of grades in a marketing course to observe their impact on student ratings, perceptions, attributions, and emotions. A study compared different patterns of grades for three exams in which students could receive a 3.0 or similar grade point average (GPA). The results indicate that, holding overall GPA equal, students like a decline in grades the least, but they do not necessarily prefer improvement of grades over receiving the same grade throughout the term. Grades perceived to be bad have a disproportionate impact, regardless of the quality of the grades received later in the semester. Findings regarding student reactions support the literature on relative deprivation and on the asymmetry of negative and positive information.

Student reactions to grades can be unpredictable. Students may complain about grades, sometimes angrily, even when they receive a moderately high grade. This study looks at beliefs about the self as predictors of students’ reactions to an average grade received on a hypothetical assignment. It examines the effect of a student’s self-efficacy with regard to ability and performance on assignments, and the effect of a student’s implicit theory, whether the student holds a more fixed view or a more malleable view of academic ability and performance. Levels of self-efficacy (low to high) and implicit theories (more malleable view of abilities to more fixed views of abilities) are varied, with cumulative GPA included as well in regression analysis. Results show that a malleable view of abilities leads not only to lower levels of overall satisfaction with a grade but also less anger and likely influences students to strive to improve. Self-efficacy regarding the course has less of an impact than implicit theories about abilities, but students with higher overall GPAs liked the instructor less.

This article looks at how marketing student ratings of instructors and classes on online rating sites such as RateMyProfessor.com can be biased by prior student ratings of that class. Research has identified potential sources of bias of online student reviews administered by universities. Less has been done on the sources of bias inherent in a ratings site where those doing the rating can see prior ratings. To measure how student online ratings of a course can be influenced by existing online ratings, the study used five different prior ratings experiment conditions: mildly negative prior ratings, strongly negative prior ratings, mildly positive prior ratings, strongly positive prior ratings, and a control condition of no prior ratings. Results of this study suggest prior online ratings, both positive and negative, do affect subsequent online ratings and bias them. There are several implications. First, both negative and positive ratings can have an impact biasing subsequent ratings. Second, sometimes negative prior ratings must be strong in valence in order to bias subsequent ratings whereas even mildly positive ratings can have an impact. Last, this bias can potentially influence student course selection.

Culture and self-construal impact on how consumers purchase and use products as well as the strategies marketers use to promote and position their products. Consumer behavior in individualist societies can be quite different from that of collectivist societies. Similarly, consumers with an independent self-construal can react quite differently in various contexts from those who have an interdependent self-construal. This paper reviews the consequences of these findings for various contexts in marketing as found in subsequent literature. The topics include purchase of luxury goods through the work of Kastanakis and Balabanis. Secondly, it examines impulse purchases. It also follows the consequences of culture and self-construal on brand strategy. Lastly, this paper takes a look at implications within the context of choice tasks.

The current study explores consumer reaction to marketer‐provided information regarding secondhand products. Contamination fears and repugnance have not been addressed at length in consumer research. This study seeks to understand why consumers react negatively to used goods from a perspective of the Accessibility and Diagnosticity of information, addressing the issue of consumer reaction elicited by information about contamination of those goods by others. Specifically, it looks at the process of information processing in consumer reaction to marketer‐provided information, assuring them that secondhand goods are as good as new. Two studies were done to determine the difference in consumer reaction to information about a pair of pants between three conditions: used pants, used pants with assurance that they are as good as new and new pants.Results find that consumers may react negatively to positive marketer‐provided information, even if they believe it. Even though marketer‐provided information can persuade consumers to believe that a secondhand product is as good as new, consumer reaction is more negative than if consumers saw no such information. Negative emotions revolving around perceived contamination are elicited by this information that influences consumer reaction seemingly independent of beliefs about used goods. These results have implications for understanding the impact of information processing on consumer reaction to secondhand goods and to marketing communications in general. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.