Verlagsinfo: At the height of the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, a complex multinational diplomacy had proposed setting up a coalition government in Kabul as a solution to the 'Afghan problem'. Even as all sides worked on the coalition, the US took steps that India considered a 'stab in the back'. With the help of the official papers collected by US ambassador John Gunther Dean and conversations with Ronen Sen, Rajiv Gandhi's diplomatic aide during those crucial years, the author recreates the falling apart of the India-US cooperation and the catastrophic effect it had on South Asian history.
Culture has been considered the primary motivator affecting consumers' decisions for years. Despite the importance of consumer culture, the systematic review of literature studying consumer culture is less and remains highly fragmented. This study uses a topic modelling approach to explore the role of culture in marketing literature to propose a way forward for future researchers interested in this domain. The study helps to synthesise cultural impact in marketing with a specific focus on dominant research topics and key themes, presenting clarity to the extant knowledge base. This study offers two potential contributions to the research community. First, this study demonstrates the application of structured topic modelling as a text analytics method that helps to report the evolution and thematic structure of this rapidly expanding domain. Second, the scientometric analysis in this study maps the conceptual structure of research with interconnected research themes hidden in this domain.
Creative skills are often regarded as a vital asset for marketing professionals. Unprecedented technology-driven shifts have further accentuated the need for creativity in marketing. However, scholars and practitioners' understanding of the capabilities required to acquire creative skills is lacking, which is a matter of concern given the importance of these capabilities and creativity in marketing. Our study thus aims to address the following research questions: (1) What are creative meta-skills (i.e. capabilities required to acquire creative skills)? and (2) How is this construct related to other relevant constructs? In addressing these questions, we define the construct of creative meta-skills, anchored in flow theory and delineate its dimensions – that is, creative growth mindset, diligence and openness to feedback. Further, using the stimulus-organism-response (S-O-R) model, we relate creative meta-skills to creative performance through creative personal identity (CPI) and creative self-efficacy (CSE) and empirically test this relationship via two studies. Theoretically, this paper contributes to the literature on meta-skills and creativity in marketing (CiM) by refining the construct of creative meta-skills and by providing a conceptual framework. This topic will be a valuable addition to the marketing curriculum. Further, firms can use this study's insights to enhance their marketing professionals' creativity quotient. The hiring process for creative industries/roles would benefit by considering creative meta-skills, CPI and CSE in the evaluation criteria. The paper ends with a note on its own limitations and directions for future research.
PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to identify a model that provides explanations for normative behavior in information technology (IT) use, and to test the model across two different types of normative behavior (i.e. green information technology (GIT), and digital piracy (DP)).Design/methodology/approachThe proposed model is based on the norm activation model (NAM) and the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology model (UTAUT). A total of 374 and 360 usable responses were obtained for GIT and DP, respectively. The authors use the SEM technique in order to test the proposed model on the two sub-samples.FindingsFindings from the proposed model show that DP users' personal norm (PN) negatively impacts behavioral intention and actual behavior. These findings indicate that users of IT who indulge in DP understand that use of pirated software may not be a socially approved behavior but they still indulge in it because their PNs are not aligned with social expectations. GIT users' PN positively impacts behavioral intention and actual behavior, and the relationship is stronger for behavioral intention than for actual behavior.Research limitations/implicationsThe sample consists of college students and working professionals based in India who may be savvy with respect to internet use. Future work may evaluate whether the pattern of results that the authors report for normative behavior does hold across other types of normative behavior.Practical implicationsThese findings hint at a gap between the moral compass and the final "action" taken by DP users. What managers need to do is to create awareness among their customers about the implementation of DP/GIT and help users engage in normative behavior.Originality/valueThis research contributes to the literature by integrating the UTAUT and the NAM to explain normative behavior of IT use. The authors propose and test a model that identifies cognitive as well as social-psychological motivations to explain normative behavior in IT use, which have been sparingly studied in extant literature, and provides a holistic understanding of the phenomenon. As such, this research contributes to the existing knowledge of understanding of normative IT behavior.
