Despite the importance of the concept of involvement, it remains misunderstood. No attempt has been made to establish the reliability and validity of the concept. To resolve apparently conflicting research findings, Houston and Rothschild posit a paradigm which classifies involvement as situational, enduring, and response. The author assesses the reliability and validity of this tripartite classification of involvement by using a multitrait-multimethod matrix approach and a linear structural relations analysis approach. Subsequently, the S-O-R formulation and causality are also tested.

PurposeThis paper aims to use a mixed method (qualitative and quantitative) approach to exploring product personality. It also aims to focus on the personality dimensions of two retails stores (Target and Wal‐Mart) and two athletic brands (Adidas and Nike). While personality has been investigated in marketing settings, the focus has been limited to using quantitative scales. This approach has the potential of leaving out rich details of personality not captured by the scale, thereby offering little helpful information for advertising copy writers. While qualitative approaches may lack the formal test of hypotheses, they afford rich narrative that adds important insights about the products and practical help for advertising development.Design/methodology/approachThe study is based on a concurrent, two‐studies design where qualitative and quantitative data are both collected and analyzed separately (concurrently or sequentially). A survey is used to measure the personality dimensions based on Aaker's five personality dimensions. In addition, various personality dimensions are explored using in‐depth, one‐to‐one interviews; grounded theory framework; and QDA software that is especially suitable for text analysis.FindingsThe findings reveal lack of convergence in personality dimensions. While full convergence is not expected due to method and sample characteristics, the findings revealed important dimensions that appeared only in either the qualitative or quantitative analysis. For example, the attributes of competence, sophistication, and ruggedness failed to emerge in the qualitative analyses.Research limitations/ implicationsCaution is advised in extrapolating the results beyond the issues investigated in the study.Practical implicationsThe findings help marketers in formulating effective product design, positioning, and promotion strategies.Originality/valueMost of the research on the subject of personality has been designed around Aaker's five dimensions of personality. There has been some variation to the instrument to capture dimensions such as nurturance, and integrity, ruggedness, and sophistication. However, there is a void in qualitative research that is oriented towards discovering (rather than testing) the dimensions of personality. This paper uses qualitative research methodology, specifically a grounded theory framework, to discover the personality of products, and to compare these outcomes with Aaker's five‐dimensional scale.

PurposeTo investigate the influence of message framing and message credibility on one's attitude and intention toward exercise and fitness activities.Design/methodology/approachA sample of 136 respondents participated in the study. A 2 × 2 factorial design was utilized and tested using multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA).FindingsThe findings reveal the significance of source credibility for influencing both attitude and intention toward exercise and fitness activities. Additionally, the results reveal a significant impact of current lifestyle on attitude as well as intention toward exercise and fitness activities.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings suggest the importance of carefully designed messages to reach and affect a target population whose exercise activity has been largely unaffected despite years of public pronouncements and publicity.Practical implicationsService marketers could most effectively encourage physical activity by utilizing highly credible sources in their messages. If high credibility sources cannot be secured, positively framed messages should be used.Originality/valueThe interaction effects of message framing and source credibility have received limited research attention, particularly in the exercise and fitness context.

Traditional promotional programs have, in the main, concentrated on building brands. This is true whether the brand is a product or a company and the advertising expenditure involved is seen as an investment rather than a cost. Does this familiar construct hold true in service industries? Arora & Stoner's findings, albeit from a limited study, seem to support the assertion that branding is equally important for service companies and in some ways the intangibility of the service product would suggest that familiarity with the brand is important to the success of any marketing mix. Yet, as we know many service marketers focus far more on product qualities and benefits than the brand itself. A perusal of the personal finance pages of a typical Sunday newspaper will show a bewildering variety of advertisements for mutual funds and investment opportunities of one sort or another. With few exceptions they talk about the fund itself ("exiting growth prospects in the Indian market" or whatever), the quality of the fund management and the size of the company. Remembering the names of the companies offering these products may prove a little more difficult. The same seems true in other service areas and from Arora & Stoner's findings these marketers are missing a trick. The emphasis should be on a consistent promotion of the corporate brand and the less tangible the service the greater the importance of this brand emphasis. Elsewhere in this issue of JSM various authors speak of the differences between "search", "experience" and "credence" services. Plainly, a "credence" service depends much on the placing of the consumer's trust in the service provider since the individual user cannot properly evaluate the outcome (at least in the short term). A familiar and trustworthy name seems therefore essential to success in these types of market. The success of Marks & Spencer and Virgin in entering the market for life insurance and other investment products depends, not on their financial services experience or the inherent superiority of their product offerings, but on the fact that their names are trusted by the ordinary consumer and are associated with particular qualities and ethics. Moreover, at least in the UK, the mainstream insurance and investment product market is dominated by organizations with remarkably similar names. They seem to select their names from a limited pool of words -mutual, friendly, assurance, trust, alliance, amicable, prudential, and professional seem to crop up time and time again often it seems in combination with "Scottish". When consumers are faced with a different brand it stands out. Direct Line Insurance came to dominate the UK motor insurance market through strong branding and a distinct message (and, let it be said, cheaper prices). The creators of the company realized that motor insurance was, in most cases, a commodity and as such people would buy on price but such a strategy could only work with an aggressive and well branded advertising approach. Not being an established insurer