Susan Dobscha | Bentley University (original) (raw)

Papers by Susan Dobscha

ACR European Advances, 2011

Routledge eBooks, Jul 19, 2022

Journal of the Association for Consumer Research, Apr 1, 2021

Our article examines how products are valued differently depending on if the product has a male o... more Our article examines how products are valued differently depending on if the product has a male or female brand representation and if the consumer is male or female. This research extends previous research that categorizes brands as “gendered” (masculine vs. feminine) using stereotypical gender representations (“soft” vs. “hard”) by showing that male and female brand names are evaluated with a bias that favors male brands. Across five studies (online, field), using a mixed-method approach (implicit association test [IAT], experiments, sales data), we examine gender-neutral product categories (champagne, chips, tea, board games) that have male or female brand representations. We find that men devalue brands with female names, whereas women made no such distinctions, which we explain is due to gender bias created by the “precarious manhood” principle. This bias by men can be overcome using agentic brand descriptions. This research has implications for brand management, marketing communications, and public policy.

Journal of Marketing Research, Aug 1, 1995

New Books in Review to Byrne (e.g., Anderson and Gerbing 1988), it has opposing points of view th... more New Books in Review to Byrne (e.g., Anderson and Gerbing 1988), it has opposing points of view that are worth acknowledging (e.g., Fornell and Yi 1992). The book has few shortcomings in editing or printing. Some figures show correlations between certain factors as straight lines rather than as the conventional curved lines; the disturbance terms are mistakenly omitted from Figure 5.1; and in the reproductions of screens from EQSlWindows, some details are obscure. The EQS programs and output are typeset, not reproduced directly from printouts, so it is possible that other errors may be present in the figures and tables. To all appearances, though, the book is a fine production. The most direct competitor to Structural Equation Modeling with EQS and EQS/Windows is Modelling Covariances and Latent Variables using EQS (Dunn, Everitt, and Pickles 1993). Both cover a similar mix of topics and appear to be aimed at the same markets. Dunn, Everitt, and Pickles's book is more detailed on conceptual issues in causal modeling and discusses topics, such as categorical data analysis and power assessment, that Byrne omits, but it is based on an older release of EQS. Byrne's book is more current and covers new features available in EQS and EQSlWindows. If for no other reason, being "up-to-date" makes Byrne's book the better choice for learning about EQS. Newcomers to SEM who want to use EQS or EQSlWindows would benefit greatly from this book, either for selfteaching or as a supplemental text in a course. Experienced modelers will benefit less, but spending a few hours with the book will move them well along the EQS learning curve. Byrne intends her book "to provide a practical guide to SEM using the EQS approach." She succeeds admirably.

European Journal of Marketing, 2014

Journal of the Association for Consumer Research

Gender, Work & Organization

This paper examines the establishment of a feminist academic organization, GENMAC (Gender, Market... more This paper examines the establishment of a feminist academic organization, GENMAC (Gender, Markets, and Consumers; genmac.co), serving gender scholars in business schools and related fields. In so doing, it builds on the emerging literature of feminist academic organizations, as situated within feminist organizational studies (FOS). Through a feminist case study and by assessing the reflections of GENMAC's board members, we tell the story of the emergence of GENMAC and detail the tensions the organization encountered as it formally established itself as a feminist organization within the confines of a business school setting, a patriarchal system, and a neoliberal university paradigm. We build on the FOS literature by considering how our organization counters cultures of heightened individualism and builds collective action to challenge sexism through the nexus of research, support, and advocacy pillars of our organization. We demonstrate how, through these actions, our organiza...

The Oxford Handbook of Consumption, 2019

This chapter argues that marketing naively adopts gender theories from other fields that perpetua... more This chapter argues that marketing naively adopts gender theories from other fields that perpetuate outdated stereotypes. This is demonstrated by means of an existing example that shows how Jung’s archetypes leads to sexist advertising practices. The authors argue that a similar process will happen within consumption studies’ borrowing of evolutionary psychology. To counter this process, the authors suggest that researchers and educators need to interrupt the inertia of the wheel of marketing knowledge by applying more critical perspectives; adopting theories from other fields including the critical perspectives from these fields; publishing more studies on gender in marketing; learning from practitioners when they attempt to promote new perspectives on gender; and finally updating gender perspectives in textbooks to better educate future marketers and avoid propagation of outdated and negative stereotypes of gender.

Motherhoods, Markets and Consumption, 2013

ACR North American Advances, 2004

Journal of Marketing Research, 1997

Recherche et Applications en Marketing (English Edition), 2014

In this article, Giana Eckhardt and Susan Dobscha introduce the construct of ‘conscious pricing’,... more In this article, Giana Eckhardt and Susan Dobscha introduce the construct of ‘conscious pricing’, and describe how it is being used by businesses to address social causes. They emphasize that consumers are not willing to bear the cost of these social issues. Rather, social issues must be addressed at the structural level.

Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 2001

Using depth interviews and observations, the authors empirically examine market activities of wom... more Using depth interviews and observations, the authors empirically examine market activities of women who care deeply about nature. Interpreted in the light of ecofeminist theory, the data suggest that these women are forging an ecological self that affects their view of consumption and the marketplace. Leading ecological lives, the women challenge traditional notions of feminine consumption and are a force for change in their relationships with family, friends, the workplace, and the community. These data dispute conventional notions of environmentalism and green consumption; they support and extend an ecofeminist notion of the ecological self as a nondominating path of change. The authors outline implications for relevant stakeholders.

Advances in Consumer Research, 2004

Susan Dobscha, Bentley College ��the politics of becoming virtual are not simply related to the ... more Susan Dobscha, Bentley College ��the politics of becoming virtual are not simply related to the subjective possibilities and constraints of cyberspaces. Rather, the politics of 'becoming virtual'are also caught up with how gendered virtual bodies and identities are inscribed and elaborated through the social locations in which virtual reality technologies are used/consumed.�� Green, 2001

Advances in Consumer Research, 1999

ABSTRACT-Pets are found in 58 million homes in the United States, and are a significant factor in... more ABSTRACT-Pets are found in 58 million homes in the United States, and are a significant factor in the lives of many consumers. Marketers have begun to recognize the importance of animal companions to the lives and experiences of consumers. In this paper we present an organizing framework for the continued study of this relationship from a consumption point-of-view. We illustrate this framework with examples from the animal companion and marketing literatures, and suggest several research directions where consumer behavior scholars ...

Advances in consumer research, 1999

This presentation introduced and described the concept of" marketing heretics" to the c... more This presentation introduced and described the concept of" marketing heretics" to the consumer behavior discipline and outlined the heretical acts of a group of gay and lesbian consumers as one possible example of marketing heresy. Consumer rejection of or rebellion against marketing dogma and practices is not a new phenomenon. For as long as there has been marketing activities, consumers have been rebelling against it (Friedman 1985). When an individual or group rejects a particular aspect of a marketing campaign or strategy ...

Advances in Consumer Research, 1998

GCB - Gender and Consumer Behavior Volume, 2006

SPECIAL SESSION SUMMARY"motherhood has usually been examined as something that happens to people,... more SPECIAL SESSION SUMMARY"motherhood has usually been examined as something that happens to people, and almost never as something that people do." Maushart 1999 Since this conference focuses on gender and consumer behaviour, it seems apt to offer a special session based on a fundamentally gendered consumption experience: that of motherhood. Much has been written in many different literatures about motherhood and identity and how this identity is shaped and moulded over time. However, as Maushart (1999) and others (Smith, 1999a; 1999b) acknowledge, very little has been written about motherhood as experience. Similarly very little has been written about the role consumption plays in women's transition to motherhood. Some embryonic research has been published in recent years (see for example Prothero 2002, Jennings and O'Malley 2003, Carrigan and Szmigin 2004; and O'Malley 2005) and it is hoped this session will contribute to the growing body of knowledge in this area. While Adrienne Rich's (1976) groundbreaking Of Woman Born talked of a distinction between motherhood as experience and motherhood as institution, this special session aims to explore how consumption shapes the experience of new mothers. The