ARC: Connections: ELMAR: Posting

areas: relationships: revisit

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Call for Papers:

First International Colloquium on Consumer-Brand Relationships

www.consumer-brand-relationship.com

April 23-24, 2010
Rollins College
Winter Park (Orlando), Florida, USA

Keynote speakers: Kevin Lane Keller (Dartmouth) & Susan Fournier (Boston University)

According to the AMA definition, the creation and management of customer relationships is fundamental to the practice of marketing. Marketers have long maintained a keen interest in relationships: what they are, why they are formed, what effects they have on consumers and the marketplace, how they can be measured, and when and how they evolve and decline. While marketing research has a long tradition in the study of business relationships between manufacturers and suppliers and buyers and sellers, attention in the past decade has expanded to the relationships that form between consumers and their brands such as branded products, stores, celebrities, companies or countries. As the recently published Handbook of Brand Relationships (2009) attests, consumer-brand relationships stands as a vibrant and fast-growing research area with roots that span across disciplines and theoretical traditions. Still, brand relationship theory is in its early stages, and there remains much to be learned.

The aim of this colloquium is to advance knowledge about consumer-brand relationships by disseminating new research and best company practices, and by encouraging the evolution of new research ideas and themes. We invite both works-in-progress and full papers which have as a focal point the consumers’ relationships with brands. Empirical and theoretical contributions are encouraged.

Topics of interest include but are not limited to:

• Consumer-celebrity relationships; Consumer-retailer relationships; Consumer-company relationships; Consumer-country relationships; and specific brand relationships such as those with store or luxury brands
• Cultural differences in brand relationship behavior
• Brand communities and their brand relationships
• Brand relationship typologies and relationship space mapping
• Metrics for the measurement of brand relationship strength
• Brand relationship evolution and process dynamics
• Brand relationship goals, needs, and motivations
• Attachment theory and brand relationships
• Brand love, commitment, interdependence, conflict, and other relational constructs
• Drivers and psycho-social-cultural moderators of brand relationship behaviors
• Brand personality and other brand-specific moderators of relationship effects
• The consequences and outcomes of brand relationships
• Status and trends regarding consumers’ relationships with brands
• The effectiveness of marketing programs in building consumer-brand relationships
• Shareholder, company, and marketplace effects of brand relationships
• Organizational systems and structures for consumer-brand relationship management
• New theoretical perspectives for understanding consumer-brand relationships

The colloquium provides an ideal opportunity for accomplished scholars, as well as young faculty members and Ph.D. students to share and discuss their most recent high quality work with other experts in this field of research. After the colloquium, a select number of submitted full papers only will be recommended to be peer reviewed for consideration for possible publication in the Journal of Marketing of Theory and Practice (JMTP). On submission to JMTP, the papers must meet the same standards for publication as all JMTP peer-reviewed manuscripts. Depending on the quantity and quality of the papers received, an edited book is also planned by the organizers.

Important Dates & Deadlines:

• Submission deadline: January 25, 2010
• Notification of acceptance: February 28, 2010
• Registration deadline: March 10, 2010
• Colloquium dates: April 23-24, 2010

All participants should register and pay the registration fee of 195 USD before March 10, 2010. The registration fee includes attendance to the colloquium, welcome reception, breakfast, lunch, coffee breaks, a gala dinner and conference material.

Paper Submission:

Authors are invited to submit non-published (1) full papers or (2) works-in-progress papers which have as a focal point the consumers’ relationships with brands.

• Full papers submissions must not be published, accepted for publication, or be under consideration for publication elsewhere. All papers are limited to maximum 6,000 words (including tables and figures) excluding the cover/title page and references. In preparing for the full papers, please reference the author’s guidelines for the Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice (http://www.jmtp-online.org/InitialSubmission.html). Full papers which are not formatted accordingly will not be reviewed.
• Work-in-progress papers. Please provide an extended structured abstract of 750-1,000 word, double-spaced, that provides a summary of the paper, including the following: purpose, methodology/approach, findings, research limitations/implications, and originality/value. A reference list is required. Tables or figures should be placed in the appendix after the reference list if needed.

At least one author of each accepted paper must attend the colloquium and present the paper. All papers are double-blind reviewed. By submitting a paper all authors agree to review up to three papers. Authors are requested to submit their paper(s) electronically before January 25, 2010 to Michael Breazeale (mjb292@msstate.edu).

Colloquium Chairs:

• Marc Fetscherin, Rollins College, USA; mfetscherin@rollins.edu
• Michael Breazeale, Mississippi State University, USA; mjb292@msstate.edu
• T.C. Melewar, Zurich University of Applied Sciences, Switzerland; tc.melewar@zhaw.ch
• Susan Fournier, Boston University, USA; fournism@bu.edu

All paper submission and program-related queries, e-mail Michael Breazeale to mjb292@msstate.edu

All administrative questions (e.g., hotel, payment, registration), e-mail Marc Fetscherin to mfetscherin@rollins.edu

More information about the colloquium, visit our website:

www.consumer-brand-relationship.com.

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