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This study reports the results of a semester of instruction in creativity theory and techniques as assessed by the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking. In comparison to a control group, experimental subjects improved performance on some aspects of creativity, suggesting a need to investigate associations between techniques and dimensions of creative skills.

The issue of enhancing individual creativity in business has clear implications for marketing educators. Although the issue is receiving increased attention, instructional techniques and actual implementation of creativity-building exercises have not been widely adopted. This article describes creativity exercises and shows how self-perceived levels of creativity may be increased through education at the university level. After a semester of instruction in methods for overcoming creative blocks, student's perceptions of their creativity increased regardless of the grade in the class. The results show how educators can incorporate similar procedures in other marketing classes.

This study examined the perceptions of innovative teaching activities and critical support and extrinsic reward mechanisms among marketing academicians. A review of the marketing education literature and exploratory research yielded 21 specific types of educational innovation, 4 types of support for innovation, and 2 types of extrinsic rewards for innovation. Analysis of data collected from an Internet questionnaire indicated that the specific forms of innovation can be adequately described by six dimensions. Faculty adoption of innovation is positively associated with both support and extrinsic rewards. A comparison of the perceived and desired levels of credit for the six dimensions of innovation show incongruence between the levels of support and reward faculty see as desirable and those provided by their respective institutions. More specifically, faculty perceive the reward and support systems to be lacking. A discussion of the key research findings and some suggested directions for future research are provided.

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine the satisfaction formation process under conditions of varying involvement for new, nontraditional, credence‐based service offerings.Design/methodology/approachHypotheses were tested using an on‐line simulation of a service encounter, beginning with perceptions of an advertisement and continuing through satisfaction with the completed service report. ElderCare, an assurance service provided by Certified Public Accountants to the children of an elderly parent, was the context of study.FindingsThe findings indicated expectations were not influential in the satisfaction formation process for these services, regardless of involvement. Under conditions of high involvement, performance evaluation was the dominant predictor of satisfaction. Low‐involvement subjects used disconfirmation to assess satisfaction.Research limitations/implicationsLimitations of the research stem from the use of a convenience sample in a simulated service encounter. Future research should examine the influence of individual characteristics, particularly innovation, on the results. Additional research examining the determinants of model variables, from disconfirmation to involvement, across subjects in a variety of situations would also be valuable.Practical implicationsThis research suggests a heightened need to guide the consumer experience where expectations are hard to develop and performance is hard to evaluate. Providers should carefully spell out key service dimensions, provide tangible information about performance outcomes for high‐involvement individuals, and focus on emotional appeals, provider qualities and sensory aspects of the service for low‐involvement individuals.Originality/valueThis paper helps researchers and practitioners better understand the applicability of expectancy disconfirmation theory and role of involvement in the context of new, nontraditional, credence‐based services.