Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Congruity theory'

Business Administration/Marketing
D.B.A.
Brand loyalty in a gaming context takes many forms, including conscious selection of brand, intention of game continuation, positive word of mouth, recommendation, or even active recruitment. As games can be played multiple times, player loyalty is essential to fostering an on-going relationship between brand and consumer. This study focuses on the theory of self-congruity, the congruence between one’s self-concept and one’s perception of a brand’s personality, and its impact on brand loyalty in the gaming industry, a market that has grown exponentially in recent years. Through 31 in-depth interviews, the initial qualitative research explores self-congruity (actual, ideal, social, and ideal social) and its relationship to the gaming environment and how that impacts brand loyalty. The findings of the first study demonstrated: 1. congruity between the player and game character, rather than the game itself, 2. the deeply personal approach to character design, and 3. the feeling of immersion in the game’s narrative. Based on the initial study findings, the second study was developed to incorporate flow theory that describes the nature of feeling fully immersed within the game. A conceptual model was created to integrate self-congruity and flow theories and their impact on brand loyalty. The model was then tested through 512 respondents of a self-reported survey. Results supported prior researchers’ findings, such as the relationships between player-character identification and flow as well as flow and loyalty. Yet, we found that ideal congruity may be a stronger indicator of loyalty as mediated through flow, while actual congruity may in fact inhibit the relationship. The results of this research provide a theoretical contribution by adding self-congruity theory to the flow and loyalty body of knowledge in the gaming space. Furthermore, the self-congruity measurement model provides an alternative measurement method to the previous player-character identification model. From a managerial perspective, the study results support an approach to game design that encourages character design suited to players’ ideal selves rather than mimicking their actual, “real world” selves.
Temple University--Theses

This research qualitatively investigates the activities that female Bangladeshi entrepreneurs perform to become successful in their ventures with the support of microfinancing. Microfinancing is a loan transfer of a small amount to a small business borrower who lacks access to commercial banking services and has significantly assisted entrepreneurs. Microfinancing has a positive socio-economic impact on those females who do not have access to traditional banking. In-depth research concerning factors affecting the entrepreneurial intention of females remains relatively scarce. This research examined entrepreneurial work characteristics that assist female entrepreneurs in becoming successful. Based on interviews with 34 female entrepreneurs from the five regions (Dhaka, Tangail, Manikganj, Gazipur, and Cumilla) of Bangladesh between the ages of 27 to 70, this study sought to identify the significant categories of start-up companies related to the development of entrepreneurship among the rural women borrowers through microfinancing (microcredit program). Specifically, this study examined obstacles faced by females of Bangladesh and explored how they overcame those barriers and became successful small business entrepreneurs. A grounded theory approach was used to categorize critical obstructions and facilitating factors, and role congruity theory helped inform the nature of the emerging categories. The top five types of businesses found in this study were room renting, retail store, vegetable business, tailoring business, and livestock farm. The following nine themes emerged from analysis as vital factors influencing the nature and outcome of the small business ventures: 1) the amount of microloan fund, 2) changes in business categories, 3) employees, 4) training and business issues, 5) advantages of microfinancing, 6) disadvantages of microfinancing, 7) sholo shiddhanto (16-decisions), 8) potential unique obstacles, and 9) perceived success.Most importantly, a wide range of advantages was documented. From a role congruity theory perspective, this suggests that microfinancing allows the women to operate their small businesses in a manner that will enable them to maintain high congruity or fit with their family roles and other lifestyle requirements. The findings of this study assisted with a further understanding of this new phenomenon of microfinance entrepreneurial work. This study also illustrates areas needing additional review and research by exploring and deciphering how perceptions and conventions interplay with the specific challenges the women entrepreneurs of Bangladesh face. Theoretical and practical implications for how stories about women entrepreneurs can benefit organizational decision making are also discussed.

Bakgrund: Män har genom historien dominerat på arbetsmarknadens chefspositioner och därmed utformat chefskapets innehåll. Chefskapet är sammankopplat med agentic attribut som anses "manliga". Hur kvinnor hanterar sitt chefskap har mest studerats vid mansdominerade arbetsplatser där kvinnan är avvikare. Det finns en kunskapslucka i forskningen när det gäller kvinnors sätt att hantera chefskapet vid en kvinnodominerad arbetsplats där kvinnan är normen. Syfte: Syftet var att studera hur kvinnliga chefer vid kvinnodominerade arbetsplatser uttalar sig om manliga och kvinnliga egenskaper i sitt chefskap. Metod: Studien har en kvalitativ ansats där sex semistrukturerade intervjuer gjorts med kvinnliga chefer inom den offentliga sektorn. Intervjuerna har spelats in och transkriberats och analyserats med tematisk analysmetod som tolkats med social role theoy, role congruity theory . De två teorierna används för att belysa skillnader som vi menar beror på sociala konstruktioner av kön och könsordning som också används i analysen. Resultat: Intervjupersonerna upplevde att de blev respekterade som chefer och uttryckte ingen konflikt i rollen, att vara kvinna och samtidigt chef. De utgjorde normen inom offentlig sektor där de flesta omkring dem var kvinnor. Flertalet av cheferna ansåg inte att de behövde använda några särskilda strategier för att bli tagna på allvar eller få sin röst hörd. Kvinnorna ansåg inte att de hade specifika förväntningar att uppfylla för att de var kvinnor. Samtliga chefer beskrev sitt chefskap utifrån både communal och agentic egenskaper. De beskrev fler communal egenskaper som viktiga i sitt chefskap, vilket är långt ifrån det stereotypa agentic dominerade chefskapet. Det framkom att de ser chefskapet som en balansgång mellan communal och agentic egenskaper men communal egenskaper betonades mest. Resultatet visade även på en del upplevda skillnader mellan manliga och kvinnliga chefers förutsättningar. Kvinnorna har ibland ansetts som sämre chefer vid tillsättning av tjänster och en av de chefer som har fler män kring sig har vid några tillfällen upplevt att männen vill ta steget framför och överta ledarskapet. Flera kvinnor beskrev att de upplevde att män hade det lättare när det gällde att bli accepterade i chefsrollen och lättare blev accepterade i sin auktoritet
Men has dominated the labour markets management positions through the history and formed the qualities of leadership. The leadership is linked to agentic attributes that are considered "male". How women deal with a manager role has mostly been studied in male- dominated environments where women are deviants. There is a knowledge gap in the research regarding women’s ways of handling managerial positions in a female- dominated environment where the women is the norm. The aim of this study was to see how women managers in female- dominated places of work comment on male and female qualities in the manager role. The study has a qualitative approach where six semi- structured interviews with female managers in the public sector. The interviews were recorded and transcribed. The material is processed and analyzed by thematic analysis method which has been interpreted by social role theory and role congruity theory. The two theories are used to illuminate the differences that we believe is due to the social constructions of gender and the gender order witch also is used in the analysis. The respondents felt that they were respected as managers and expressed no conflict in the role, to be a woman and at the same time manager. They constituted the norm in social services where most around them were women. The majority of the managers did not feel that they needed to use some specific strategies to be taken seriously or get their voice heard. The women felt that they did not have specific expectations because they were women; they felt that their own expectations influenced them the most. All managers describe their leadership from both communal and agentic characteristics. They describe more communal characteristics as important in the manager role, which is far from the stereotypical agentic dominated manager role. It appears that they see management to be a balance between communal and agentic qualities but that communal characteristics emphasized most. The results reveal, however, some perceived differences between male and female managers conditions. The women have sometimes been regarded as inferior managers in recruitment and one of the managers who have more men around here, sometimes felt that men wanted to step in front and take over the leadership. One manager mentions strategies to get men to handle her straight communication. Several women described that they felt that men have it easier when it comes to being accepted into the managerial role and easier accepted in its authority. It also appears that some women find that they were expected to solve more problematic situations just because they were women

Män besitter de flesta ledarskapsrollerna och har gjort det sedan länge. På grund av att så mycket som 96% av de högst avlönade ledarrollerna tillhört män inom de flesta sektorer har också ledarskap främst betraktats som ett manligt yrke (Eagly & Karau, 2002:573). Detta har lett till att definitioner av ledarskap återspeglar manliga egenskaper (agentic-egenskaper), såsom dominans och aggressivitet. Kvinnliga egenskaper, såsom att vara hjälpsam och förstående, är uppskattade hos en ledare, men det är inte alltid de kvinnliga egenskaperna räcker till. När kvinnor intar en ledarroll och utstrålar typiska ledaregenskaper, alltså manliga egenskaper, kan det lätt ske att kvinnan inte mottas väl och att fördomar gentemot kvinnliga ledare uppstår. Det kan bero på att typiska manliga ledaregenskaper är långt ifrån de egenskaper en kvinna förväntas ha, vilket kan förklaras utifrån role congruity theory. Eftersom ledarskap sällan i teoretiska sammanhang porträtterar kvinnor, och kvinnor inte bemöts lika väl som män när de besitter en ledarroll kan det tänkas att kvinnor med tiden inte upplever att de är lämpade för ledarroller. Hur kvinnor ser på sig själva som ledare var därför intressant för oss att studera. Dessa tankar ledde oss till problemformuleringen “Hur ser kvinnor på sig själva som ledare och vilka likheter och skillnader kan vi se mellan kvinnors och mäns syn på sig själva som ledare?”. Syftet med studien var att testa tidigare teorier kring ledarskap utifrån våra hypoteser och forskningsfrågor och sedan jämföra svaren mellan kvinnor och män. Vi undersökte hur kvinnor och män ser på sig själva som ledare. Därtill undersökte vi vilka faktorer som kunde påverka individen till att vilja, eller inte vilja, bli ledare. Studien har en tvärsnittsdesign som utgår från ett deduktivt arbetssätt där en kvantitativ undersökning gjorts. Data samlades in med hjälp av en enkätstudie där enkätsvar från 193 respondenter användes vid analysen. Vi fann att det inte fanns en signifikant skillnad mellan kvinnor och män på om de såg sig själva som ledare. Dock fanns bidragande faktorer som kunde påverka om individen var mer eller mindre benägen att se sig själv som en ledare. Dessa var variablerna “förutsättningar” och “sociala aspekter”. De flesta respondenter föredrog inte ett specifikt kön som ledare, dock så fanns det en statistisk signifikant minoritet som prefererade att ledaren skulle vara av ett specifikt kön. Där gällde generellt att män föredrog manliga ledare och kvinnor föredrog kvinnliga ledare, vilket stödjer tidigare forskning av Eagly och Karau (2002). Därtill såg vi att respondenterna ansåg att den idealtypiska ledarens viktigaste egenskaper var att vara pålitlig, ansvarstagande, förstående, att kunna anpassa sig till olika situationer och se till andras välbefinnande. Två av dessa egenskaper är kvinnligt kopplade (communal-egenskaper) och resterande tre är könsneutrala. Därav stödjer vår studie tidigare forskning om att kvinnliga egenskaper är eftertraktade.
Men have dominated the leadership positions throughout history and thereby formed the definition of leadership. The qualities of a leader are commonly associated with male leadership qualities (agentic). The aim of this study was to investigate differences between women and men in their view on leadership through a web- based survey. Specifically, their tendency to see themselves as leaders, what factors affect their will to be leaders, and what qualities they value in a leader. A statistical analysis showed that there was not a significant difference between how women and men perceived themselves as leaders. However, some factors were found to contribute to if the individual could see themselves as a leader and those were “having the right conditions” and “social aspects”. Most of the respondents did not prefer a specific gender of a leader. Those who did, seemed to prefer a leader of the same gender as themselves. The leadership qualities that the respondents considered most important were being reliable, responsible, understanding, able to adapt to different situations, and caring for the wellbeing of others. Two of these qualities were linked to female leadership qualities (communal) and the remaining three were gender neutral. This means that our findings support previous research that states that communal qualities are sought after.

Bakgrund: Jämställdhetsbarometern (2020) visar att det fortfarande råder stora könsskillnader i det svenska arbetslivet. Att jämställdheten inte är optimal visar bland annat fördelningen av kvinnor respektive män på ledande positioner, där den största skillnaden av andelen kvinnor respektive män på chefspositioner finns inom mansdominerade branscher. Ledarrollen är förknippad med maskulina handlingskraftiga egenskaper som ses som synonymt med den manliga könsstereotypen. Den kvinnliga könssterotypen är i kontrast feminin, och diskrepansen mellan rollerna har resulterat i negativa konsekvenser för kvinnliga ledare. Sverige anno 2021 målas upp som ett jämställt land vilket borde medföra att problemen inte existerar i Sverige som de gör i andra nationella kontext.              Syfte: Syftet med studien var att undersöka hur följare ser på kvinnliga ledare och vilken typ av egenskaper de föredrar hos en ledare i en mansdominerad bransch i Sverige utifrån ett Implicit Leadership Theory, där bedömningen av kvinnliga ledare sätts i relation till Role Congruity Theory. Teoretisk referensram: Studien utgår från empiri inom Implicit Leadership Theory (ILT) och Role Congruity Theory (RCT). ILT är en ledarskapsteori som berör perceptionen av ledare och menar att ledarskap skapas av kognitiva kategoriseringar, som avgör vem som ses som ledare. RCT är en teori som uppkom genom en analys av de deskriptiva aspekterna av könsroller för att förstå hur könsfördomar möjligtvis skadar kvinnliga ledare. Metod: Den kvantitativa undersökningen, som utfördes i den här studien, genomfördes via en enkätstudie och riktades till medarbetare på en organisation inom verkstadsindustrin som hade en kvinnlig produktionsledare som närmsta chef. Slutsats: Det finns signifikanta samband mellan åsikter om kvinnor och andra faktorer, som vi anser berör ledarskap, i mansdominerade branscher. Fördomar verkar vara av betydelse när det kommer till preferensen av maskulina ledare samt om man upplever en kvinnlig ledare som effektiv eller inte. Resultatet från den här studien stödjer tidigare forskning som visade att maskulinitet och femininitet är något som har ett positivt samband till hur följare upplever ledare i relation till effektivitet. Däremot kan inga kausala slutsatser dras.
Background: The Equality Barometer (2020) shows that gender differences are large in  Swedish work life. That equality isn’t optimal shows in the distribution of women, respectively men, in leading positions, where the largest difference in the amount of women respectively men can be seen in director/management level positions in male-dominated industries. The leader role is associated with masculine, agentic, characteristics which is seen as synonymous with the male gender stereotype. The female gender stereotype is, in contrast,feminine, and the discrepancy between roles have resulted in negative consequences for female leaders. Sweden year 2021 is branded as an equal country which should mean that the problems should not exist in Sweden to the same extent as they do in other national contexts. Purpose: The purpose with the study was to investigate how followers view female leaders and what kind of characteristics they prefer a ledare expresses, in a male-dominated industry in Sweden. This will be done from an Implicit Leadership Theory perspective, where the evaluation of female leaders are put in relation to the Role Congruity Theory. Theoretical framework: The study emanates from the empirical work within Implicit Leadership Theory (ILT) and Role Congruity Theory (RCT). ILT is a leadership theory which focuses on the perception of leaders and says that leadership is created out of cognitive categorisations which decide who is seen as a leader and who is not. RCT is a theory which arose from an analysis of the descriptive aspects of gender roles to understand how gender prejudice possibly harms female leaders. Method: The quantitative research, which was conducted in this study, was conducted through a survey and aimed at workers at an organisation within the engineering industry which had a female production manager as their closest boss. Conclusion: There are significant correlations between opinions about women and other factors, which we consider affect leadership, in a male-dominated industry in Sweden. Prejudice appears to be of significance when it comes to preference for masculine leaders and if female leaders are perceived as effective or not. The results from this study support previous research which showed masculinity and femininity as something with a positive 4correlation to how followers perceive leaders in relation to effectiveness. However, nofactitive conclusions can be made.

Studien ämnar undersöka hur kvinnliga projektledare inom konsultbranschen hanterar stereotypa könsbaserade förväntningar i sin yrkesroll. Mycket pekar på att denna bransch har formats av manliga värderingar och det kan därför förväntas att kvinnor som är projektledare upplever att de behöver agera på specifika sätt för att hantera detta och öka sin legitimitet som projektledare. Därför var syftet med denna studie att beskriva hur kvinnliga projektledare hanterar könsroller och stereotypisering i sin yrkesroll genom att intervjua fyra kvinnliga projektledare. Från intervjuerna framkom det att kvinnorna upplevde att det fanns vissa fördomar och förväntningar relaterade till kvinnligt ledarskap som de behövde hantera i sitt arbete. Resultatet från intervjuerna användes sedan för att bygga upp en ny modell som förklarar hur kvinnliga projektledare hanterar stereotypisering. Baserat på intervjuerna blev slutsatsen att kvinnorna hanterade könsbaserade förväntningar på tre olika sätt. Genom maktsträvan, påverkan och rollanpassning.

Forskning har länge bedrivits inom området gällande kvinnors hinder att nå högre chefspositioner. Könsroller, stereotypiska egenskaper, kategoriseringar och negativa attityder tycktes vara centrala i problematiken. Syftet med föreliggande studie var att undersöka hur högskolestudenter skattade sina attityder till kvinnor som chefer (n = 193, varav 124 kvinnor). En vinjettstudie med experimentell mellangruppsdesign genomfördes där materialet analyserades med tvåvägs ANOVOR för oberoende mätningar. Resultatet visade att kvinnliga högskolestudenter hade en signifikant mer positiv attityd till kvinnor som chefer jämfört med manliga högskolestudenter. Det påvisades även en signifikant skillnad i skattad attityd till kvinnor som chefer beroende på läst vinjett där kvinnliga högskolestudenter skattade kvinnor som chefer mer positivt efter att ha läst en vinjett om en kvinna som chef. Dock hade utbildning inom beteendevetenskapliga ämnen ingen signifikant inverkan på skattad attityd. Slutsatsen blev att kvinnor som chefer skattades mer positivt än förväntat, och att det tycks ha skett en attitydförändring.

Trivsel med ledarskap på arbetsplatsen är för många förenat med arbetstillfredsställelse. Syftet med studien är att undersöka vad som uppfattas som positivt respektive negativt ledarskap. Studien vill även undersöka vilka attribut som kännetecknar kvinnligt respektive manligt ledarskap på mansdominerade arbetsplatser i det svenska samhället. En kvalitativ metod valdes och tio personer intervjuades. Tematisk analys användes som analysmetod och utgick ifrån 4 teman, positivt, negativt, manligt och kvinnligt ledarskap. Studien resulterade i 15 subkategorier inom de 4 temana. De resultat som gick att koppla till ett transformativt ledarskap uppfattades som positivt. De resultat som gick att koppla till transaktionellt ledarskap och Laissez-faire upplevdes som mindre önskvärt ledarskap. Både manliga och kvinnliga ledare uppfattades enligt de karaktärsdrag som tidigare forskning benämnt som agentic och communal. Resultatet visade inga tecken på att varken kvinnor eller män sågs som mer önskvärda ledare. Ett jämställt ledarskap efterfrågades av medarbetarna på mansdominerade arbetsplatser.

Kvinnligt ledarskap har studerats under årtionden och en av de mest inflytelserika teoriernaom synen på kvinnliga ledare är “Role Congruity Theory”. Enligt detta ramverköverensstämmer inte kvinnliga könsnormer med normen om ledarskap, vilket påverkarkvinnors möjligheter att bli chefer. Eftersom dessa normer verkar ha förändrats över tid, finnsdock möjligheten att de olika normerna har blivit mer överensstämmande på senare tid. Dennastudie undersöker därför kvalitativt förutsättningar och normer om ledarskap som påverkarkvinnors möjligheter att bli chefer i Sverige idag. Studien baseras på kvinnornas personligaerfarenheter och data har samlats in genom semistrukturerade intervjuer som har analyseratsgenom induktiv tematisk analys. Denna metod hittar konkreta exempel på hur sådanaförutsättningar och normer kan se ut i praktiken och abstraherar dem till kategorier. Studiensresultat indikerar både för- och nackdelar för kvinnors förutsättningar på arbetsmarknaden,där upplevelsen om stöd från omgivningen och av att ha samma förutsättningar som sinamanliga kollegor identifierats som fördelar. Vissa gamla strukturer som begränsat kvinnorsmöjligheter att bli chefer lever emellertid kvar. Resultatet belyser också att ett skifte verkar haskett i synen på ledarskap där ett mer demokratiskt och mellanmänskligt ledarskap bliviteftertraktat, vilket utifrån tidigare forskning är egenskaper som är förenliga med kvinnligakönsnormer. Eftersom den nya synen på ledarskap är mer förenlig med kvinnliga egenskaper,indikerar resultaten att kvinnliga könsnormer och normer om ledarskap är mer kongruentaidag. Fortsatta studier behövs dock för att uppskatta i vilken grad detta generaliserar till enbredare samhällsnivå. Studien diskuterar både teoretiska och praktiska implikationer.

Leaders engaging in controlling leadership behaviours (CLB) has been connected to followers perceiving their basic needs thwarted. However, little research has been made in the organizational field to understand the implications of controlling leadership behaviours for employee well-being. The present study aimed to clarify this relation through understanding controlling leadership behaviours’ influence on employee health, as well as investigate the impact of both leader and employee gender on employees’ perception of  controlling leadership behaviours. A sample of 818 employees, representing the Swedish labour market, completed a questionnaire including measures of perceived controlling leadership behaviours and well-being in terms of self-rated health, burnout, self-rated job satisfaction and vigour. Results confirmed the notion that leaders’ controlling leadership behaviours, like other negative leadership behaviours, is associated with lowered well-being. Results also indicate that male employees perceive male leaders as more controlling than female employees do, while female leaders are perceived as equally controlling by both male and female employees. The gender of leaders exhibiting controlling leadership behaviours seem to have no association with employee well-being. The implications of gender on controlling leadership behaviours is still a question unanswered. Future studies should therefore continue exploring both leader and employee gender influence on CLB.
Ledare som använder sig av kontrollerande ledarskapsbeteenden har visat sig underminera basala psykologiska behov hos sina följare. Trots detta saknas det forskning på hur chefers kontrollerande ledarskapsbeteenden påverkar anställda. Denna studie syftade till att klargöra hur kontrollerande ledarskapsbeteenden påverkar anställdas hälsa, och undersöka hur såväl anställdas kön och chefens kön påverkar de anställdas uppfattning av chefens kontrollerande ledarskapsbeteenden. Ett randomiserat urval på 818 arbetstagare svarade på frågor om uppfattat kontrollerande ledarskapsbeteenden hos sin chef och självskattad hälsa i termer av självskattad hälsa, utbrändhet, arbetstillfredsställelse och arbetsenergi. Resultaten bekräftade att kontrollerande ledarskapsbeteenden hos chefer är relaterat till sämre hälsa och arbetsprestation hos de anställda, samt ökar viljan att sluta. Manliga anställda uppfattar manliga chefer som mer kontrollerande jämfört med sina kvinnliga kollegor, medan kvinnliga chefer uppfattas lika kontrollerande av både manliga som kvinnliga anställda. Den kontrollerande chefens könstillhörighet var inte associerat med anställdas mående. Hur könsaspekter påverkar kontrollerande ledarskapsbeteenden är fortfarande inte klarlagt. Framtida studier bör därför fortsätta undersöka hur både chefens och den anställdas kön influerar CLB.

En aquest treball s'integra la Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) i la de Uses & Gratifications (U & G) per explicar la compra de roba a través de les pàgines de marques a les xarxes socials (Social networking sites - SNS). A més, la Self – Image Congruity (SIC) s'invoca per incorporar efectes moderadors en el model conceptual. Per tal d’avaluar el model proposat, 12 hipòtesis pertinents es van formular, i es van recollir dades en una enquesta realitzada a Espanya de més de 1000 entre les edats de de 18 i 44 anys. Els resultats es van obtenir a partir de models d'equacions estructurals (SEM), i van donar suport a les 9 hipòtesis basades en el model i a 2 de les 3 hipòtesis restants basades en l’efecte moderador. D’altre banda, aquests resultats destaquen l'impacte positiu de la U & G i la TPB sobre attitude, intention to participate, SNS use i purchase intention, com ho confirma la robustesa estadística significativa de les relacions entre aquests constructes. Els efectes moderadors també es van demostrar per la SIC. Aquesta investigació contribueix a la literatura del SNS, proporcionant una millor comprensió de les causes de la intenció d'utilitzar les xarxes socials i la intenció de compra a mitjançant les pàgines de marques de roba de les SNS. El model d'investigació que vincula la TPB i la U & G a les pàgines de les marques de roba de les SNS és la principal contribució d'aquest treball. També es discuteixen les implicacions empresarials i recomanacions per futures investigacions.
Este trabajo integra la Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) y la Uses & Gratifications (U & G) para explicar la compra de ropa a través sus páginas de marca en las redes sociales (Social networking sites - SNS). Además, se invoca la teoría de la Self-image congruity (SIC) para incorporar efectos moderadores en el modelo conceptual. Con el fin de probar el modelo propuesto, se formularon 12 hipótesis relevantes, y los datos se recogieron en una encuesta realizada en España de más de 1000 personas de 18 a 44 años. Los resultados, recogidos a partir de modelos de ecuaciones estructurales (SEM) apoyaron las 9 hipotesis basadas en el modelo y 2 de las 3 restantes hipótesis de efecto moderador restantes. Además, estos resultados ponen de relieve el impacto positivo de la U & G y la TPB en attitude, intention to participate, SNS use y purchase intentionla, como lo confirma la robustez estadística significativa de las relaciones entre estos constructos. Los efectos moderadores también se demostraron para SIC. Esta investigación contribuye a la literatura de SNS, proporcionando una mejor comprensión de los impulsores de la intención de usar las redes sociales, así como la intención de compra a través de las páginas de las marcas de ropa en las SNS. El modelo de investigación que une la TPB y la U & G en las páginas de marcas de ropas en las SNS es la principal contribución de este trabajo. También se discuten las implicaciones empresariales y las recomendaciones para futuras investigaciones.
This work integrates Planned Behavior (TPB) and Uses & Gratifications (U&G) theories to explain the purchase of clothing through brand pages on social networking sites (SNS). In addition, Self-image Congruity theory (SIC) is invoked to incorporate moderating effects into the conceptual model. To test the proposed model, 12 relevant hypotheses were formulated, and data was collected in a survey performed in Spain from more than 1000 people aged 18 to 44. The results, gathered from structural equation models (SEM), support all 9 model-based hypotheses and 2 of the 3 remaining moderating effect-based hypotheses. Furthermore, these results highlighted the positive impact of U&G and TPB on attitude, intention to participate, use of SNS, and purchase intention, as confirmed by significant statistical robustness of the relationships between these constructs. Moderating effects were also demonstrated for SIC. This research contributes to the literature of SNS by providing a better understanding of the drivers of intention to use and purchase intention to SNS clothing brand pages. The research model linking TPB and U&G on the SNS clothing brand pages is the main contribution of this manuscript. Managerial implications and recommendations for future research are also discussed.

Across three experiments, I demonstrate that when for-profit organizations focus on the emotional aspects of fund-raising appeals, the evaluations of their appeal decline and they are unsuccessful in generating positive donation intentions; however, this is not the case for nonprofit organizations. In particular, experiment 1 reveals that affective, emotional appeals are viewed more favorably by consumers when they are connected with nonprofit organizations; in contrast, rational, unemotional appeals have greater favorability when they are associated with for-profit organizations. This interaction effect is mediated by the processing fluency, in which the nonprofit organization concepts (vs. for-profit concepts) are congruent with the emotional dimensions of the fund-raising content, causing an ease of processing and positive appeal evaluations. In experiment 2, I find converging evidence that people tend to place little weight on their actual emotional responses in making donation decisions when a for-profit organization is involved. Consumers tend to exhibit a donation flatline, displaying equivalent donation behavior regardless of the actual emotional experiences involved. In experiment 3, I further demonstrate that people's memory performance actually becomes impaired when a high-intensity negative emotional appeal is presented by a for-profit organization but not when it is presented by a nonprofit organization, which again reveals that for-profit organizations’ use of emotional appeals to connect with consumers' affective feelings may backfire. I argue that this is because the activation of for-profit concepts (vs. nonprofit concepts) gives rise to the cognitive system (vs. the affective system), leading people to regulate their emotions via suppression in order to conduct a careful assessment of the appeal content; this results in a donation flatline.

Ledarrollen definieras ofta stereotypiskt manligt vilket kan vara en möjlig förklaring till det låga antal kvinnor i höga ledarpositioner. Kvinnor anses vara mindre lämpade på grund av den stereotypa kvinnliga könsrollen. Studien undersökte om manliga och kvinnliga mellanchefer skulle bedömas olika beroende på om de visade stereotypiskt manligt (agentic) eller kvinnligt (communal) beteende. De 176 högskolestudenter, varav 80 kvinnor, som deltog läste en vinjett där chefsagerande utifrån könsstereotypa egenskaper samt chefernas kön varierades. Därefter skattade de chefernas grad av communal och agentic egenskaper, samt hur positivt de uppfattade cheferna. Trevägs-ANOVOR visade att kvinnor, till skillnad från män, skattade manliga chefer mer positivt än kvinnliga chefer. Communal chefer bedömdes generellt vara bättre chefer och mer lämpade för rollen än agentic chefer. Resultaten gick emot tidigare studier samt studiens hypoteser, vilket tyder på att en eventuell förändring av den traditionella synen på ledarskap kan vara på gång.

Rollkongruensteorin innebär att kvinnor har svårare än män att nå ledarroller och kvinnliga ledares beteende bedöms mindre fördelaktigt än manliga ledares på grund av att ledarroller anses passa stereotypiskt manliga egenskaper bättre än stereotypiskt kvinnliga egenskaper. Studien undersökte om män och kvinnor uppskattade en chef och dennes meddelande med hård ton bättre eller sämre beroende på chefens kön och yrke som militär- eller förskolechef. Fyrtionio män och fyrtiofem kvinnor besvarade en av fyra versioner av enkäter innehållande frågor och påståenden med svarsalternativ. Variansanalyser visade att kvinnor tyckte att militärchefer hade bättre yrkeslämplighet och bättre ledaregenskaper än förskolechefer. Både kvinnor och män ansåg att ledaregenskaperna hos en manlig chef var bättre än hos en kvinnlig chef. Chefen ansågs ha mer relationsinriktade egenskaper om denne var militär eller man. Vidare ansåg kvinnor att kvinnliga chefer var yrkeslämpliga i större utsträckning än vad män ansåg. Resultatet både stöder och motsätter sig rollkongruensteorin.

Are men and women equally likely to be perceived by people to possess similar requisite characteristics in comparable yet diverse occupations within management, leadership, and entrepreneurship? Because modern workplaces continue to be impacted by the persistence of varying perceptions of men and women about requisite attributes of successful people in several organizational roles, the concept of gender bias and occupational stereotypes has warranted the attention of theoreticians, scholars, and practitioners to a large extent (Koch, D’Mello, & Sackett, 2015; Kuwabara & Thébaud, 2017; Pinker, 2003; Pinker & Spelke, 2005). Although empirical evidence clearly indicates that gender inequalities in the workplace can have a significant effect on peoples’ perceptions about different characteristics of individuals in general and in specific organizational roles, there is a paucity of research examining these perceptions in a variety of leadership positions. Previous literature has investigated the gendered construction and re-construction of these professions but only to a limited extent (Gupta, Turban, Wasti, & Sikdar, 2009; Heilman, 2001, 2012; Heilman, Wallen, Fuchs, & Tamkins, 2004; Koenig, Eagly, Mitchell, & Ristikari, 2011; Kuwabara & Thébaud, 2017; Ryan, Haslam, Hersby, & Bongiorno, 2011; Schein, 1973, 1975, 2001). However, research in years past has not yet examined the full range of industry and entrepreneurial contexts that may create gender typecasting of roles. By extension, the current study focuses on how the gender-differentiated perceptions of men and women influenced the requisite characteristics of successful professional personnel in various managerial, leadership, and entrepreneurial positions. Specifically, given that these professions are influenced by gender-role expectations and stereotypes, this empirical investigation drew from role congruity theory of prejudice (Eagly & Karau, 2002) to examine the relative degree of perceived overlap between the traits associated with specific roles in management, leadership, and entrepreneurship with the traits commonly associated with men and women in general. Primary data were obtained from a diverse sample of 600 (12 x 50) working adults in the United States (N = 600, 300 women, 300 men) between the ages of 21 and 65. This was accomplished using an online survey designed via Qualtrics and administered through Amazon’s MTurk, from the lens of the classic think manager-think male (TMTM) research paradigm (Schein, 1973, 1975, 2001). The instrument used for data collection was the 92-item Schein Descriptive Index (SDI), which was used to describe sex role stereotypes and perceived requisite characteristics of twelve distinct target groups. The results of this study indicate that the perceived requisite traits of successful leaders and entrepreneurs are construed in predominantly masculine terms. These findings support and further inform the nature, existence, significance, and persistence of the “think manager-think male stereotype effect” (TMTM effect) and the “glass ceiling phenomenon” across a variety of managerial, leadership, and entrepreneurial roles, contexts, and industries. The TMTM effect was stronger among high tech entrepreneurs, CEOs, and entrepreneurs in general, whereas it was lessened for entrepreneurs in educational and health care roles, as well as for middle managers. Additionally, consistent with prior research, TMTM effects were generally either more likely to occur, or were stronger in magnitude among male raters than among female raters. These results largely support role congruity theory of gender differences in management and leadership that indicate incongruity of female gender stereotypes in general with stereotypes about high-status and prominent occupational roles in various organizations (Eagly & Karau, 2002). Specifically, the perceived trait overlap was noted to generally be stronger between men in general and successful leaders in various roles than that between women in general and successful leaders in various similar roles. The findings of the current study are expected to be valuable for those seeking to encourage opportunity regardless of candidate gender in management, entrepreneurship, and leadership, as well as for those promoting the role of women’s advancement in these professions. The study’s results have both theoretical and practical implications. Understanding these perceptions can have a significant impact on the gender biases prevalent in society, in organizations, and even across the specific entrepreneurial contexts and industries investigated within the current study. In today’s super-competitive business environment, firms must appreciate the importance of fostering equal opportunity, avoiding gender biases, and facilitating racial and ethnic diversity.

Background: The tourism industry is one of the largest industries in the world, with annual revenues exceeding US$ 850 billion. Because of the size and nature of the industry, tourism is seen as one of the largest contributors to the negative effects on the environment today. Within the tourism industry, there exist more than 70 eco-labels representing various environmental standards. However, none of them are widely used within the tourism industry.

Purpose: This thesis investigates how the use of the two eco-labels Svanen and Green Globe affect Swedish students’ perception of a package tour marketing campaign. It investigates how students’ perceptions of advertisement differ between advertisement for package tours with and without incorporated eco-labels.

Method: The study uses a mixed method with a sequential explanatory strategy. The quantitative part consists of a survey and the qualitative part consists of follow up interviews with a number of interviewees who are all respondents in the quantitative part. This thesis primarily focuses on the quantitative part, which consists of three questionnaires, one of which contains an advertisement for Ving, and two which used the same advertisement but which have been manipulated to include Green Globe and Svanen respectively.

Conclusion: The conclusion of the study is that students’ perception of advertisement does not differ between the advertisement not using an eco-label and the ones manipulated to include Green Globe or Svanen. The reasons to why the perception does not differ are explained by eco-labels having failed in communicating what they stand for. Students have limited financial resources, which constrains them from behaving in an environmentally friendly way. In addition, the advertisement including eco-lables is congruent with the students’ perception about the brand Ving as an environmentally friendly company. There is however factors that indicate that eco-labelling in the tourism industry can work as a partial solution for a more sustainable future.

Bakgrund: Turismindustrin är en av de största industrierna i världen, med årliga inkomster på över US$ 850 miljarder. På grund av storleken och dess påverkan, anses turismen vara en av de största orsakerna till den negativa utvecklingen av miljön. Inom turismindustrin existerar mer än 70 miljö märkningar som representerar olika miljöstandarder. Dock har inga av dem sett någon större användning inom turismindustrin.

Syfte: Syftet med denna rapport är att undersöka hur användning av de två miljömärkningarna Green Globe och Svanen påverkar studenters uppfattning av en reklamkampanj för charter resor. Den undersöker hur studenters uppfattning om reklam för charter resor skiljer sig mellan reklam som använder miljömärkning och den som inte gör det.

Metod: Denna studie använder en blandad metod med en sekventiell strategi. Den kvantitativa delen består av enkätundersökningar och för den kvalitativa delen används intervjuer med några deltagare från den kvantitativa delen. Störst fokus ligger på den kvantitativa delen som består av tre olika enkäter, en som innehåller en reklam bild på Ving, och två som manipulerats att innehålla Green Globe respektive Svanen.

Slutsats: Slutsatsen av studien är att studenters uppfattning om annonserna inte skiljer sig mellan annonsen utan miljömärkning och de som manipulerats med Green Globe eller Svanen. Anledning till att uppfattningen inte skiljer sig kan förklaras av att miljö märkningarna har misslyckats med att kommunicera vad dem står för. Studenterna har begränsade ekonomiska resurser och detta begränsar dem att uppföra sig på ett miljövänligt sätt. Dessutom överrensstämmer reklamen som innehöll miljö märkning med studenternas uppfattning om varumärket Ving som ett miljö vänligt företag. Det finns dock faktorer som tyder på att miljömärkning inom turistnäringen kan fungera som en del av lösningen för en mer hållbar framtid.

碩士
健行科技大學
國際企業經營系碩士在職專班
104
Nowadays, People in Taiwan has exhibited their great interest in sports and gradually developed their sports brand loyalty. This may result from the increasing popularity of sports events plus the outstanding performances of those athlete elites. Consequently, local customers tend to look first for the brands they trust when purchasing sports related goods. People also demonstrate different mentality and consumer behavior models, based on individual needs in functions of the sports concerned. The study use Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) and Self-Congruity Theory as the theoretical models to explore the factors which influence consumers’ purchase behavior on sports goods. Out of 374 questionnaires sent to the common consumers in Taiwan, 363 valid questionnaires were returned with a collection rate of 97.05%. The major findings of this study were stated as below. 1.Actual self-congruity displayed significant positive influence on functional congruity. 2.Ideal self-congruity displayed significant positive influence on functional congruity. 3.Functional congruity displayed significant positive influence on brand attitude. 4.Brand attitude displayed significant positive influence on purchase behavior. 5.Perceived behavior control displayed significant positive influence on purchase behavior.

碩士
國立東華大學
觀光暨休閒遊憩學系
100
This is an empiracal study based on the theory of self-congruity. This study contrubutes to the advancement of the self-congruity theory by providing empirical results that demonstate the relationships between “destination brand personality”, “self-congruity”, and “travel intentions”. Survey was conducted in July 2011 at “Huashan1914. Creative Park” using purposeful sampling method, and a total of 665 valid responses were collected. Seven key factors of “Huashan1914. Creative Park’s” brand personality were extracted, namely, “multicultural arts”, “dynamic fashion”, “sincere and practical”, “sensible and independent”, “charming”, “fun”, and “forefront leadership”. The results of multiple regression analysis indicated that the destination brand personality factors of “multicultural arts”, “sincere and practical”, and “charming” have a significant positive relationship with tourists’ intention to re-visit and recommend; the ideal and ideal social self-congruity also have a significant positive relationship with the travel intentions; in addition, the destination brand personality has a significant positive effect on the self-congruity of the visitors. However, the self-congruity is not the mediator between destination brand personality and visitors’ travel intentions. Finally, this study not only provides the basis of developing marketing positioning for “Huashan1914. Creative Park”, it also examines the application of self-congruity theory in cultural creative tourism, and recommendations for future research has been proposed.

Powerful people perform observable agentic behaviors (e.g., directing tasks), and people expect powerful people to act in these agentic ways. Furthermore, Role Congruity Theory predicts that people are disliked when their behavior contradicts such expectations. To this end, we examined perceivers’ romantic liking for opposite-sex targets depending on whether or not the targets conformed to a powerful role. Participants interacted with two opposite-sex partners in brief, recorded sessions. We manipulated (a) which of the opposite-sex partners was actually given power and (b) participants’ perceptions of which opposite-sex partners was given power. Participants reported the most romantic liking for partners who actually were given power, but only when this reality matched participants’ perceptions of who had power. This interaction effect on liking was mediated by the time the opposite-sex partner directed the conversation; that is, when perceptions of power were shared, the powerful partner behaved more agentically and was better liked.

碩士
輔仁大學
企業管理學系管理學碩士班
106
The increasing dependence of the public on the Internet is taking shape of “offline” to “online” consumption patterns. Many companies have launched LINE stickers for users to download for free, hoping to make up the shortcomings of face-to-face communication in virtual environments and deepen the consumer's cognition of the brand through LINE stickers. Clothes is the top one online shopping category, and if customers want to obtain product information, they can gain through the shopping website. However, what are the reasons that customers are willing to visit the website？Do LINE stickers really strengthen the relationship between consumers' cognition of the brand and the visit to the website？ The study uses the theory of planned behavior to investigate the relationship among brand image, eWOM, perceived behavioral control, self-image congruity of LINE stickers and behavioral intention to use online clothes sites. The online valid sample is 544, the sample is 70% female, and nearly 50% of the age is concentrated in 21-25 years old, almost 70% of the education level is graduated from university. And mutiple regression analysis is used to analyze, the results of the study are as follow: (1) brand image, eWOM, perceived behavioral control are all have positive influence on behavioral intention to use online clothes sites; (2) self-image Congruity of LINE Stickers has no conditioning effect on brand image and the behavioral intention to use online clothes sites.

Postdoctoral scholars encounter various challenges as they navigate the gap between graduate school and faculty or industry positions, one of which includes the challenge of work-family conflict and balance. The science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields represent one sector of the workforce where a closer examination of work-family conflict and balance is important due to the rise in prominence of these fields and the unique populations of people who are underrepresented within these fields. Scholars have identified various experiences or constructs (e.g., bias) that suggest that STEM environments may not be particularly welcoming or supportive for racially and ethnically underrepresented minorities (URMs). The transitional stage of being a postdoctoral scholar in combination with high work demands and a “chilly” or unsupportive work environment may contribute to work-family conflict among racially and ethnically URM postdoctoral scholars in STEM, which could contribute to the underrepresentation of racially and ethnically URMs in the STEM fields and/or the premature exit of these postdoctoral scholars from STEM fields.

Using role congruity perspective (Diekman & Eagly, 2008), I examined the function of goal endorsement (communal or agentic) as a possible cultural moderator in the indirect relationship between work demand and work-family conflict. This study formulated and empirically tested the relationships between work demand, perceived work environment, goal endorsement (communal or agentic), work-family conflict, and satisfaction with work-family balance. Two models were examined to differentiate two different aspects perceived work environment: (a) one using a supportive work environment variable as a mediator of the relationship between perceived work demand and work-family conflict, and (b) one using a hostile work environment variable as a mediator of the relationship between perceived work demand and work-family conflict. Hypotheses regarding the moderating role of a communal goal orientation and an agentic goal orientation in the indirect relationship between work demand and work-family conflict across the two models (supportive work environment and hostile work environment) were assessed.

Data was collected from 282 racially and ethnically underrepresented minority postdoctoral scholars in the STEM fields enrolled in postdoctoral positions at universities through an online survey. Using structural equation modeling, results revealed that the indirect effect between work demand and work-family conflict was significant and strongest at low levels of a communal goal endorsement and the indirect effect gradually became weaker until it was nonsignificant as racially and ethnically URM postdoctoral scholars’ communal goal endorsement increased. The results suggest that in the face of microaggressions in the workplace, racially and ethnically URM postdoctoral scholars’ high value of communion serves as a protective factor, which reduces the indirect effect of work demand on work-family conflict.Limitations of the study and recommendations for future research are presented alongside implications for counseling practice.