18 pages., Via online journal, This paper provides an analysis of the growth in environmental and labelling schemes (ELIS), using a dataset of 544 schemes introduced between 1970 and 2012 covering 197 countries. General trends drawn from this dataset and an examination of relevant trademarks support a rapid but slowing increase in the number of ELIS. The analysis also shows both the diversity and unequal growth of ELIS according to different characteristics, such as communication means, channels, scope, and the standards on which they are based. The analysis further outlines the dual nature of the evolution of ELIS over time, driven by the combination of an increase in the number of “traditional” ELIS, such as single-issue environmental seals, and the emergence of more recently introduced types of ELIS, including environmental footprints. This combination highlights the tension between increased competition among similar ELIS and the emergence of new schemes potentially less exposed to direct competition but facing larger entry challenges.
17 pages., via online journal., Members’ offline engagement is commonly believed to affect the producer–member relationship in community‐supported agriculture, however, little research focuses on engagement in the online context. Using qualitative data of 24 members and quantitative data of 279 members from China, this study uses a sequential exploratory mixed‐method design to explore the impact of members’ WeChat engagement on relational outcomes. The findings indicate that WeChat engagement positively affects four relational outcomes: Service satisfaction, word of mouth, social bonds, and commitment. In addition, those four relational outcomes are not equally influenced by WeChat engagement. The greatest impact is on commitment, while the lowest is on service satisfaction. Furthermore, multigroup analysis results suggest that gender moderates the relationship between WeChat engagement and commitment.
12 pages., Article 452, Via online journal., Storytelling is a mode of communication in human interaction and is pervasive in everyday life. Storytelling in marketing is also a managerial application as a marketing strategy. Researchers of consumer psychology and marketing have devoted great efforts to developing theories and conducting empirical studies on this approach. However, in addition to narrative theories, many researchers are mainly concerned about the effect of telling a good brand story and its applications, such as advertising design and presentation. However, for those products that usually lacks branding, such as agricultural products, knowledge remains scarce about the relative impact of storytelling in marketing. Few researchers have explicitly developed a valid tool for measuring the effect of storytelling in marketing. To aid storytelling research in consumer psychology, this article conceptualized a construct of the effectiveness of storytelling in agricultural marketing and developed a measure with further validation. This scale consisted of 13 items with four subscales: narrative processing, affect, brand attitude, and purchase intention. The findings of this study supported a structural model with strong order among the four dimensions and good model fit. A discussion of the results and the theoretical and practical implications for consumer psychology and marketing practice are also addressed.
9 pages., Article #:3FEA4, via online journal., Extension professionals across disciplines are involved with farmers' markets, and reports have indicated an increase in the number of farmers' markets across the country. We explored perspectives of farmers' market leaders regarding topics and data of interest and capacity and willingness to collect data related to market promotion. The purpose of our work was to provide Extension educators with information that may guide programming around farmers' markets. We collected data through an online survey of Wisconsin farmers' market leaders in spring 2017. Market leaders were most interested in learning how to encourage word-of-mouth communication between customers and engage in other low-cost strategies, such as having partners help promote a market.
