Papers by Guja Armannsdottir
International Journal of Market Research
This interdisciplinary study aims to explore the lived experiences and engagement of young voters... more This interdisciplinary study aims to explore the lived experiences and engagement of young voters from a customer journey perspective. To achieve this, the present study investigates voter engagement journey with various political events (2015 UK General Election, 2016 UK-EU Referendum, 2017 UK General Election and future elections). The authors collected data via phenomenological in-depth interviews with young voters 18–24 years. The results show different engagement journeys and touchpoints. In particular, the findings reveal that (1) young voters were not apathetic of politics as long as they could identify the personal impact of political issues-policies (i.e., sticky customer journey); (2) the ‘voter journey’ is dynamic resulting in stronger engagement yet limited long-term party loyalty; and (3) voters used multiple touchpoints to engage with the political process combining media, voter-led research and interactions with personal networks and political stakeholders (online and...
Marketing Transformation: Marketing Practice in an Ever Changing World, 2017
This study addresses explicit calls for comparative research of young voter behaviour in politica... more This study addresses explicit calls for comparative research of young voter behaviour in political marketing (Needham and Smith 2015; Neilsen 2015). Existing studies on the behaviour of young voters [18-24 years] reveal a paradox. Young voters are often less engaged in the political process, highly disillusioned and distrusting of the political establishment compared with other age groups (Dermody and Hanmer-Lloyd 2010; Dermody and Hanmer-Lloyd 2004; Phelps 2005). However, despite this mistrust and disengagement, research suggests that young voters are interested in political issues and topics (Bakker 2011; Yeung 2016). Existing research suggests there is a danger that political disengagement of young voters can become 'habitual' and subsequently have a negative impact on participation and voter intention in future elections (Dermody and Hanmer-Lloyd 2010). Previous studies in this area have tended to focus on periodic elections (general presidential elections) rather than nontraditional intermittent campaigns such as referenda. Responding to this gap in the body of knowledge, this study investigates whether intermittent campaigns (such as the UK EU Referendum) have an impact on young voter engagement, participation and future voting intentions compared with periodic elections. This study addresses explicit calls for comparative research of young voter behaviour in political marketing. Responding to this gap in the body of knowledge, this study investigates whether intermittent campaigns (such as the UK EU Referendum) have an impact on young voter engagement, participation and future voting intentions compared with periodic elections. Online questionnaires including closed and open questions were conducted prior and post the UK EU Referendum Campaign. 90 participants aged 18-24 years took part in both stages of the study.
Value co-creation in temporary, independent retailing: a study of customer value perceptions of pop-up stores
Academy of Marketin
Investigating Political Brands in Non-Party Political Environments: Post-Electoral Reform in Guernsey: An Abstract
Developments in Marketing Science: Proceedings of the Academy of Marketing Science, 2019
The British Crown Dependency of Guernsey is set to hold an island-wide referendum by July 2018 on... more The British Crown Dependency of Guernsey is set to hold an island-wide referendum by July 2018 on the island’s electoral process. The Guernsey government believe the outcome of the referendum will impact the way members of Parliament [deputies] are elected and envisage the creation of ‘political parties’ or ‘formal alliances’ in eagerness for the 2020 general election. The creation and introduction of political parties [political brands] on Guernsey would be unprecedented to the current-historic political environment of a non-party system structured by independent, individual politicians. However, research has overlooked this proposition from the perspective of island citizens-voters. This presents a unique opportunity for the proposed piece of research, which will have an impact as to whether political parties [political party brands] are desired by Guernsey citizens-voters and, if so, how will new political parties be created and conceptualised.
The role of value co-creation in SME pop-up retail space: a supply-side relational stakeholder perspective
Pop-ups are regarded as temporary retail space providing an experiential experience to customers,... more Pop-ups are regarded as temporary retail space providing an experiential experience to customers, a solution to filling empty retail units and a way for SME retailers to market test products and services. Studies exploring the pop-up phenomenon have focused upon the vale co-creation between the customer and pop-up owner. However, this paper argues that the inter-organisational relationships the pop-up has with other supply-side stakeholders can also be a source of value co-creation for the pop-up. The paper argues that inter-organisational interactions are a source of value creation helping to improve the managerial capabilities and business model of the pop-up. This in turn improves the final offering to the end consumer. The study draws upon interview data collected from landlords, local authorities, shopping centres, community representatives and pop-owners across 6 sites in the UK, Iceland and the Netherlands.N/
Objectives: This paper explores the experiences of nine Icelandic business women who that have th... more Objectives: This paper explores the experiences of nine Icelandic business women who that have their own marketing businesses. In recent years more women graduated from Icelandic universities than men (Statistic Iceland, 2012a) where business and marketing studies have proved popular. Little is known though about the experiences of Icelandic women moving into self-employment in marketing, particularly in relation to challenges of setting up and managing their own business. Iceland provides a unique context as it is a small island with only 325.000 habitants (Statistic Iceland, 2014). The country was hit badly by the economic crisis in 2008 which is likely to have affected the career and business decisions of self-employed women. Prior Work: Marketing is considered to be a female-oriented industry but experiences of women working in marketing are an under-researched area (Maclaren and Catterall, 2000). In addition, Marlow et al.,(2009) called for studies focusing on the challenges of...
An exploration of Icelandic marketing women entrepreneurs
Written by leading scholars from a wide range of countries, this book advances the understanding ... more Written by leading scholars from a wide range of countries, this book advances the understanding of women's entrepreneurship by drawing attention to the contexts in which they operate. With its impact on gendered institutions and gendered social forces, it will be of interest for researchers, faculty and students as well as policy-makers and practitioners. It is the fifth in the series of books produced in partnership with the Diana International Research Network
Little research have focused on women entrepreneurship in Iceland and yet it is often heralded as... more Little research have focused on women entrepreneurship in Iceland and yet it is often heralded as a beacon of gender equality (Pettersson, 2012; Achtenhagen and Tilmar, 2013; Smith-Hunter, 2013). The World Economic Forum (2013) identified Iceland as the country with the world's smallest gender gap. This small gender gap is not reflected in the entrepreneurship figures which show that only 8 percent of Icelandic women are classed as entrepreneurs (GEM, 2009) compared to 15 percent of men. Furthermore, Danson and Burnett (2013) posited that entrepreneurship in island environments is an under-researched area. It is therefore pertinent to explore what is happening in terms of women’s entrepreneurship in Iceland. The paper builds upon similar studies already undertaken in the UK and Europe (see Foster et al., 2011 and Wheatley et al, 2011) that have investigated the careers of marketing professionals through their life-courses. Marketing is considered to be a feminised industry in Ic...
Political branding research remains under-researched, particularly the internal orientation and i... more Political branding research remains under-researched, particularly the internal orientation and intentional, desired positioning otherwise known as political brand identity. Existing studies that have tended to focus on the identity of 'party' political brands rather than that of politicians. Further, framing politicians as 'personal brands' allows us to explore the manifestations of intended identities, combined of personal characteristics such as personality traits, experiences feelings, beliefs and personal values, which up until now remained an under-developed research area. In this study, we explore the creation and management of personal political brand identity particularly from the perspective of the brand's creators. Further, this is achieved by bridging two streams of commercial branding theory such as personal branding and brand identity. More specifically, this study investigates the creation and management of personal political brand identity by buil...
Journal of Political Marketing, 2020
How do you create and build a personal political brand? Personal branding can enable individuals ... more How do you create and build a personal political brand? Personal branding can enable individuals to self-commodify and formulate distinct identities created from both tangible and intangible characteristics. However, there is little insight into how individuals create and manage their personal brand identities. This paper contributes to this lacuna in the literature and focusses on personal political branding. Contextualised in the British Crown Dependence of Guernsey; the island community has no political parties and Parliamentarians [deputies] stand as independent candidates. Deputies construct their own personal brand with the aim of resonating with their constituents often with limited resources and without the 'political machine' found in party-systems. Therefore, this study examines the deputies' strategies to create, build and communicate their brands in a non-party system. Findings indicate that Guernsey's politicians created their desired identities around key components including legacy, heritage and experience, personality characteristics opposed to focused policies, personal values and acknowledged that brand building was a continuous process of maintaining presence, and communicating personal aspirations. Therefore, Guernsey's politicians formulated their personal political brand identities without the mechanisms of a party system. This paper extends the personal branding literature demonstrating the challenging process of formulating and managing personal political brands in a competitive environment and presents a Personal Brand Identity framework, a strategic tool to evaluate and refine desired identities within and beyond the setting of politics.
European Journal of Marketing, 2019
Purpose There are explicit calls for research devoted to how political actors present their brand... more Purpose There are explicit calls for research devoted to how political actors present their brand to the electorate and how this is interpreted. Responding to this, the purpose of this paper is to build an understanding of how political brand messages and values are received and aligned with voter expectations, which in turn shapes the consistency of a political brand. Design/methodology/approach Using an interpretivist perspective, this two-stage approach first focuses on semi-structured interviews with internal stakeholders of the UK Conservative Party and second uses focus group discussions with external stakeholders (voters) of age 18-24 years. Data was collected between 1 December 2014 and 6 May 2015. Findings The findings suggest that the UK Conservative brand had recovered from the “nasty party” reputation. Further, the Conservative brand was perceived as credible, trustworthy and responsible, with positive associations of “economic competence”. However, while the nasty party...
Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal, 2019
Purpose The creation and development of candidate-politician brands, otherwise known as political... more Purpose The creation and development of candidate-politician brands, otherwise known as political co-brands, remains an under-researched area of study. This is supported by calls for more understanding on political co-brands and how they are positioned and managed by their creators. Framed by the concepts of internal brand identity and co-branding, this paper aims to investigate how political co-brand identity is constructed and managed over time, exploring alignment between the political co-brand and political corporate party brand. Design/methodology/approach An interpretivist revelatory multi-case study approach, using in-depth interviews, was conducted with three political co-brands (candidates-politicians) from the UK Conservative Party. The three cases represented constituencies across the UK from the North, Midlands and South of the country. The in-depth elite interviews were conducted July 2015 to September 2015. Methodological triangulation was also adopted to assess the co...
Politics & Policy, 2018
There are explicit calls for deeper understanding of the creation, orientation, and development o... more There are explicit calls for deeper understanding of the creation, orientation, and development of “new” political brands from an “internal relational” perspective. Responding to this gap in the body of knowledge, this study explores the establishment, orientation, and position of the Jury Team; a U.K. political brand founded in March 2008. This article opted for an exploratory case study approach. Interviews were conducted with the Party founder‐leader. Semistructured interviews were conducted from September 2012 to October 2013. Transcripts were analyzed via qualitative thematic analysis. This research presents the challenges that face new political brands, particularly the barriers from the media and existing political system and difficulties with managing candidates and a national‐local campaign. Further, this study provides a “political brand development matrix” for brands within and beyond politics; a mechanism to deconstruct their offering and make adaptations if required.Rel...
The Elicitation Capabilities of Qualitative Projective Techniques in Political Brand Image Research
International Journal of Market Research, 2015
There is a paucity of research that outlines how to understand the image of political brands. Res... more There is a paucity of research that outlines how to understand the image of political brands. Responding to this identified gap in the literature, this research seeks to demonstrate the elicitation capabilities of qualitative projective techniques to explore the political brand image of the UK Conservative Party. This paper highlights that projective techniques can provide a greater understanding of underlying feelings and deep-seated attitudes towards political parties, candidates, and the positive and negative aspects of brand image. Many of the associations and perceptions may have been overlooked if other research methods had been adopted. Projective techniques may be adopted by political actors to assess how their brands are understood and, if required, make adaptations to their communicated brand identity.
Journal of Indian Business Research, 2017
PurposeThe extant literature demands more insights into the elements for political branding in In... more PurposeThe extant literature demands more insights into the elements for political branding in India. Thus, this paper aims to explore political branding in terms of the influences of political branding.Design/methodology/approachThe context is the young voters in an emerging country, India. Qualitative research was undertaken, and a total of 17 focus group discussions were conducted in the leading Indian cities.FindingsThis study found that the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) developed a strong governance and connection with the people. This approach developed a comprehensive brand among the young voters, who emphasized on the proof of the performance by the party. During pre or post-election, the BJP and other political parties need to develop a comprehensive political branding plan to connect with the voters.Research limitations/implicationsThis study was focused on the external perspective of political branding. Future research can focus on the internal perspective in terms of party...
Structured Abstract: Comprehending Political Branding and Brand Image of the BJP in India
Developments in Marketing Science: Proceedings of the Academy of Marketing Science, 2017
The communication between a political party and a voter these days is expected to be interactive ... more The communication between a political party and a voter these days is expected to be interactive (Cogburn et al. 2011) and focused on the everyday story of the voter (Weiser 1991). Unlike previous messaging, where political party maintained a royal distance as a demonstration of power, the modern approach connects the political party directly with the voter. Such new marketing approaches strengthen the connection between the candidate and the voter (Cogburn and Espinoza-Vasquez 2011). However, there is limited insight about how political brands are interpreted and understood. This is supported by explicit calls for further research in this area beyond a Western context, especially in nontraditional settings (Kumar 2009; Needham and Smith 2015). This is particularly the case with an emerging country such as India, which has more than a billion citizens, the second largest population in the world (Castells 2011). They have two categories of parties, national (6) and state level (30) (Election Commission of India), and the brand image of these parties becomes important for the voters. Most importantly, among the various parties, the leading and the currently ruling party, the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party), have widely used political branding approaches and developed their brand image among the young voters of India. Thus, this chapter explores the political brand image of the BJP from the perspective of young voters in India.
Developments in Marketing Science: Proceedings of the Academy of Marketing Science, 2017
To be a marketer or to do what marketers do? Using a mixed methods approach to explore the aspiring marketer mind-set
Journal of Vocational Behavior, 2022
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Papers by Guja Armannsdottir