Editorial

Citation

Lindridge, A. (2015), "Editorial", Qualitative Market Research, Vol. 18 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/QMR-02-2015-0014

Editorial

Article Type: Editorial From: Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal, Volume 18, Issue 2

As a journal editor, one is always looking for the positive in the papers submitted, reviewers’ comments and how other academics view Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal. Sometimes, being an editor can be a lonesome experience, working away trying to satisfy authors, reviewers and readers alike. Often with little or no feedback on how the journal is performing in the wider academic world. It gives me great pleasure then to receive some extremely positive news about our journal. In February 2015, the Association of Business Schools released its latest business journal rankings. In addition, the great news is that Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal has been promoted to a Grade 2 journal! This is a huge achievement and one that captures all the hard work not only of those who are part of the writing and reviewing process but also of all those people who never get recognised. I am of course talking about the Emerald support staff’s hard work that is carried out in getting the journal out to you, the reader. A big thank you then to all who have contributed, reviewed, promoted or simply worked hard to make our journal a success. In the coming months and years, the editorial team, Emerald staff and myself, will be bringing forward new ideas and suggestions on how we can continue the success of Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal.

In this issue, we have four interesting papers on a range of topics. Our first paper captures an increasing popular marketing communications tool – the celebrity endorsement. Indeed, celebrities from George Clooney to Katie Price have been actively sought to bring associations on products ranging from coffee to cars. In “Consumer values of corporate and celebrity brand associations”, Jasmin Ilicic and Cynthia Webster argue that whilst previous research has recognised the importance of the celebrity’s brand and the product’s brand, little has been done to understand the consumers’ perception of the celebrity and the brand. The authors explore this issue through the use of Brand Concept Maps and Hierarchical Value Maps to demonstrate consumers’ value regarding accessibility and customer service in financial corporate brands. Their findings reveal that brand authenticity is important to understanding celebrity brands and consumers trustworthiness within brand relationships.

In contrast to celebrities and their market symbolism of success and wealth is the growing anti-consumption movement. One aspect of this emerging movement is the political consumerist perspective that consumption should reward positive behaviours. This is an important topic in Britain, where dominant supermarket chains have been accused of undertaking unethical behaviours in their dealings with their suppliers and customers. Accompanying this rise of unethical behaviour, and perhaps as an indirect consequence of it, has been the rise of political consumerism evident in the green movement. Yet, as Camilla Barbarossa and Alberto Pastore argue in their paper “Why environmentally conscious consumers do not purchase green products: a cognitive mapping approach”, there is a gap between what consumers are purchasing and what the market is offering. Taking an introspective qualitative approach, the authors interviewed 51 environmentally conscious consumers about their green consumer habits. Their findings offer important insights into how this market operates. Whilst higher prices and availability limit green consumers’ choice and accessibility, other barriers also inhibit the uptake of green products. In particular, how green products are displayed within the store and in-store communication – a finding that raises important questions. Should the supermarket pro-actively display and encourage the uptake of green products or should we, as consumers, demand that supermarkets more prominently display green products regardless of whether we buy them or not? An issue that returns us to supermarket’s often unethical practices where suppliers pay to have their products displayed in certain shelf locations.

Our next paper provides a link between our two previous papers by focussing on reference groups. Indeed, celebrities and product brands and political consumerism evident within the green movement are all affected by reference groups. In “Reference Group Influence in Consumer Role Rehearsal Narratives”, Health Schulz explores and expands upon our understanding of reference groups. Using role theory, the author provides us with new insights into group dynamics and how they affect our consumer behaviour. Using data from 20 participants who were asked to construct five outfits for differing scenarios, a number of interesting findings emerge. In particular, role location, role learning and role skill become important influences on how the consumer responds to expected reference group influence.

Our final paper, entitled “Not just what they want, but why they want it: Traditional market research to deep customer insights” by Cara Wigley, Rebecca Price and Karla Straker, encourages us as researchers to seek deeper data insights. By seeking and findings these insights, the authors argue that organisations will be more able to engage with their customers – an engagement that encourages new business opportunities. The authors argue that traditional market research and deep customer insights need to be used together. A research proposition they demonstrate using 13 Australian-based firms engaged in a design-led approach to innovation. The authors’ findings indicate that deep customer insight methods do indeed provide new and non-obvious understanding of customer needs, problems and behaviours. A finding that we hope academic and practitioner readers of Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal will apply in their working lives.

Andrew Lindridge