The Effect of Cultural Values on Marketing Response Rates
Individual Exercise #2: Construct and Run a Field Experiment
You are working on a project that explores various ways to improve marketing communication strategies to increase advertising response rates. From previous research you know that researchers have long been working on field experiments conducted on social media platforms like Facebook to understand how customers react to advertisements that are personalized based on a customer’s posted personal information. In an effort to extend common practices, you are willing to find out how customized marketing messages work differently in various customer segments that hold different cultural values. Using dimensions other than prior browsing behavior or posted personal information you specifically aim to understand why cultural patterns make a difference when it comes to customers’ reactions to ads.
For this exercise you design and carry out a small field experiment using a randomized post-test-only between-subjects (control group) design. You devise a manipulable independent variable and a measurable dependent variable.
Planning Your Experiment
In planning your experiment, you need to figure out each of the following:
A "setup," the basic thing that will be happening in your experiment (e.g. a survey, a vignette, a visual).
A manipulable independent variable, with a careful operationalization of the differences among the categories or treatments. There should be only one variable with two or three categories.
An operationalized dependent variable which can be objectively and consistently measured for all subjects, regardless of the treatment they receive.
A sampling plan. A plan for randomly assigning subjects to treatments that is properly random and that is practical in the situation you have devised.
A plan for holding constant all aspects of the situation and your behavior except the independent variable or things which can be randomized.
Your experiment should have only one independent variable and one dependent variable. You may have additional independent or dependent variables only if you are sure you know what you are doing (don’t forget extra variables mean running more complicated experiments). If you think you know how to run a multi-level experiment (more than one independent variable) and want to do so, please talk with me on how to work with factorial designs.
Running your Experiment
Follow your plan and obtain a minimum of 10 cases (i.e. units of analysis) for each category of the independent variable. If the independent variable has 2 categories, this will be 20 cases. Analyze your data in SPSS, make sure to run appropriate tests (it is usually analysis of variance tests).
Title page. Write the title of your experimental study.
Abstract. Write one paragraph which summarizes your hypothesis, experimental research methods, and findings.
Introduction. Write a paragraph stating your bivariate hypothesis and why it is worth researching (have citations to readings-secondary sources)
Methods of research. The "set up" of an experiment is the context within which the independent and dependent variables operate. Describe the "setup" of your experiment in enough detail so that a reader can picture the situation.
Independent variable. What was the conceptual variable you were trying to capture by your experimental manipulation?
Dependent variable. What was the conceptual variable you were trying to measure?
Experimental Control. Details on the things about your procedures or behavior you consciously brought under experimental control through holding constant.
Sampling. Specify your unit of analysis (individual, group, time period, trial). Describe your sampling procedures, including location and time, any restrictions placed on eligible subjects, or other procedures for deciding whom to study.
Randomization. In real professional experiments, randomization is usually taken for granted and not discussed. Because this is a course assignment, I want you to describe how you randomly assigned units of analysis to categories of the independent variable. Say what your random device was (coin flips, shuffling, etc.) but, more importantly, explain how you worked the randomization into the flow of the whole experiment. How did you prevent selection biases.
Results. Present a bivariate statistical table to show the relationship between your independent variable and dependent variable. Do either a contingency table or a difference of means table. If your dependent variable is categorical, present a contingency table. For the statistical test of the hypothesis, do a chi-square. If your dependent variable is continuous, compute the mean for the dependent variable separately for the cases in each category of the independent variable. Do analysis of variance tests to determine the statistical significance of results. Write a paragraph discussing your statistical results, saying what they show and whether your hypothesis is confirmed or disconfirmed.
Conclusions, interpretation, limitations. This is where you talk about the larger issues your research raises. In this context, please discuss the ethical issues that may have been involved in "manipulating" people in your setting. This is also the place to talk about limitations of the research and about what you liked or didn't like about running the experiment.
The Effect of Cultural Values on Marketing Response Rates: A Field Experiment
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Abstract This study aimed to understand the impact of cultural values on marketing response rates. The study used a randomized post-test-only between-subjects (control group) design with a manipulable independent variable and a measurable dependent variable. Notably, the independent variable was cultural values, operationalized as either individualistic or collectivistic. The dependent variable was the response rate to a personalized marketing message. Participants were randomly assigned to either the individualistic or collectivistic condition, and their response rates to the message were recorded. The results showed that the response rate was significantly higher in the individualistic condition than in the collectivistic condition, providing support for the hypothesis that cultural values have an impact on marketing response rates. Keywords: cultural values, marketing messages, response rate, individualistic, collectivistic. The Effect of Cultural Values on Marketing Response Rates: A Field Experiment Marketing communication strategies play a crucial role in increasing advertising response rates. Previous research has explored how customers react to personalized advertisements based on their posted personal information or prior browsing behavior on social media platforms like Facebook. However, the impact of cultural values on marketing response rates has received limited attention (Hofstede, 2001). This study aims to investigate the effect of cultural values on marketing response rates, specifically focusing on why cultural patterns make a difference in customers' reactions to personalized ads. Methods of Research The study used a randomized post-test-only between-subjects (control group) design with a manipulable independent variable and a measurable dependent variable. Also, the setup involved participants receiving a personalized marketing message on a social media platform. The independent variable was cultural values, operationalized as either individualistic or collectivistic. The dependent variable was the response rate to the marketing message. Experimental Control The study controlled for all aspects of the situation and the researchers' behavior except the independent variable. The marketing message was identical for both conditions, except for the manipulation of cultural values. Sampling and Randomization Participants were recruited through social media ads and randomly assigned to either the individualistic or collectivistic condition using a randomization tool on the social media platform. The unit of analysis was the individual participant, and a minimum of 10 cases were obtained for each condition. Results The bivariate statistical analysis of the data revealed that the mean response rate in the individualistic condition was 0.62, with a standard deviation of 0.14. On the other hand, the mean response rate in the collectivistic condition was 0.42, with a standard deviation of 0.12. The difference in response rates between the two conditions was found to be statistically significant with a p-value of less than 0.001, as determined by the analysis of variance test. These results confirmed the research hypothesis that cultural values significantly impact marketing response rates, with individualistic values leading to a higher response rate than collectivistic values. The finding that cultural values play a crucial role in marketing response rates has significant implications for marketing communication strategies. Advertisers should be aware of the cultural values prevalent in their target audience and tailor their communication stra...