Jie Fowler, PhD

Co-Authored with L. Carlson and H. Chaudhuri.

Co-Authored with R. Chu, J. Gentry, and X. Zhao. Though most acculturation research investigates movement across national boundaries, many other types of boundaries may exist (e.g. rural to urban migration). Rural migrant workers focus on their adaptive and exploratory consumption practices to assemble a liquid identity in China. In essence, this research examines the nature of the transitions that the vast group of Chinese (over 280 million) endures as migrant workers seek to assemble new identities through consumption activities in a liminal space. We find that family relations and government policy hinder migrants’ adjustments to urban life. Thus, we contribute to macromarketing by enriching the theories of liquid identity, boundary work, and acculturation.

Co-Authored with H. Chaudhuri, S. Mazmudar, and N. Sinha. This paper aims to explore authenticity as a multidimensional construct from both consumer and service provider perspectives in the context of culturally themed restaurants in Kolkata, India. Utilizing a phenomenological design, data have been collected through participant observation, photographs and semi-structured interviews in Bengali-themed restaurants over a two-year period. By articulating the processes and dimensions that operate behind the narrative of authenticity, the findings display the interaction between market/cultural forces and the perception of authenticity. These reveal that authenticity embraces four major categories, namely, traditional, staged-form, postmodern and constructivist. This study provides insights into the collective role of both consumers and service providers in mediating perceptions of authenticity. Theoretically, this study contributes to the literature by articulating four dimensions of authenticity. Practically, this study assists marketers with insights into the balance of authenticity and the commoditization of culture. As globalization weakens cultural boundaries and jeopardizes regional identities, there is a need for reassuring cultural continuity that upholds ethnic legacy for local consumers. Thus, this study provides theoretical and practical insights for both researchers and practitioners concerned about maintaining authenticity in a global marketplace.

Co-Authored with A. Fowler. China possesses a growing and powerful consumer culture that is largely made up of urban youth born since 1980. These children, for the most part, have been considerably impacted by two public policies implemented in the reform era after Mao’s death in 1976: the one-child policy and the open-door policy. These two policies have altered this generation’s cultural footprint within the culturally constituted world of China in ways that researchers are coming to realize. In this article, we explore public policy impacts on youth consumer culture as it relates to the body and attempt to provide a path for consumer researchers and international marketing researchers moving forward in their understanding of China and its young consumers.

Co-authored with R. Iyer and J. Muncy. The use of fashion aesthetics or beauty in advertising has been shown to be effective. However, the extent to which such fashion aesthetics are consistent across cultures has not been adequately explored. As such, the theory of cultural meaning transfer is applied in this study. Additionally, three perspectives of model attractiveness are discussed as to their relevance in fashion aesthetics consumption in global advertising: the sociobiological model, the cultural model, and the blended model. A three-phase study is presented that indicates that the blended model seems to be the operative model for advertisers to adopt. In other words, the results of this study indicate that the same attributes of fashion aesthetics/beauty may be similarly or differentially meaningful among consumers from different cultures.

Co-Authored with H. Chaudhuri, R. Chu, and J. Gentry. Masculinity’ is changing globally. We investigate the adjustments made by Chinese male models as they work in a domain that had previously belonged primarily to women. Using a liminal lens to view the models’ adjustments, the study discovered that they perceive themselves to be subordinated to other participants in the advertising industry: designers, makeup artists, directors, clients, and even female models. While the changing nature of ‘masculinity’ globally has created many more opportunities for male models, we found that the norms of the advertising industry require a major reinvention of the models’ self-perceptions of masculinity.

Co-Authored with L. Carlson and T. Reisenwitz. The purpose of the research is to explore the well‐being/QOL of the ageing population in China. Specifically, the study investigates the experience/meaning of ageing and the strategies that consumers deploy to cope with ageing issues through internet communication. The results show that older people have found creative ways to cope with ageing by recalling the frugal experiences in the past, and purchasing small items as emotion enhancers. The findings also indicate that older Chinese bloggers have limited acquisition desire, do not wish to be a burden on their children, and worry greatly about their future financial status, especially given concerns about the healthcare system.

Co-Authored with L. Carlson and T. Reisenwitz. The FDA has only focused upon the physical safety of cosmetics and has ignored the significant reasonability of advertising claims. As such, the present article is intended to examine/ascertain the extent to which cosmetics claims contain deceptive content in fashion ads. Through a content analysis, the study reported herein revealed that cosmetics claims were not evenly distributed. To that end, the preponderance of the claims appeared to be described primarily by three categories (scientific, performance and subjective). The results also showed that more cosmetics claims were classified as deceptive than were deemed as acceptable. Close examination of these trends revealed that, for instance, most superiority claims were categorized as false, whereas scientific claims tended to be classified as vague or as omitting important information. Furthermore, performance claims were likely to be viewed as vague and endorsement claims were seen to be acceptable. The study concludes with practical and public policy suggestions that need to be addressed by advertisers and the FDA.

Co-authored with L. Carlson. In the age of globalization, fashion advertising images are increasingly used in multiple cultural arenas. As such, the purpose of the study is to examine how Western media operates in a non-Western context. Specifically, the research aims to investigate how beauty ideals and ethnicity are portrayed in transnational fashion ads. The findings suggest beauty ideals in fashion ads contain similarities and differences across cultural boundaries. In addition, ethnicity of the models plays a crucial role in fashion display. Overall, the research sheds light on cultural theories and promotion strategies in global advertising.

Co-authored with T. Reisenwitz. Prior research generally neglects how guanxi is used for marketing purposes by managers, and ignores possible differences in guanxi during marketization. In contrast, this paper argues why and how marketization may affect the marketing uses of guanxi, types of persons involved, and nature of their guanxi ties. As background, it provides an overview of salient features of marketization policy and marketplace conditions in three stages of marketization. It explains the functional focus, relational focus, and character of guanxi ties, and how managers are likely to use guanxi for strategic purposes at various marketization stages.

Co-Authored with A. Fowler and T. Reisenwitz. The aim of this study is to focus on consumers’ responses towards visual fashion ideal in hybrid magazine advertisements from a cross-cultural and generational perspective. This exploratory qualitative focus group study showed a set of validated advertisements to 64 female participants. Half of the sample was from the USA, the other half was from China. To examine generational differences, the interviewees were split by age in each group: half of the participants were between 18 and 34, and half were between the age of 45 and 65 years. – Both Chinese and American target audiences viewed the trendy advertisements with an aspirational eye in which the advertisement was interpreted as representing an ideal self to which they aspired, one that they wanted to achieve but, for some reason(s), were not capable of achieving at the time. However, the degree of aspiration varied for Chinese and American audiences. Because of the chosen research approach, the research results may lack generalizability. Therefore, future research may use survey and experimental research approaches. International marketers may need to design advertisements with more “realistic” imagery, while keeping the idealized Western style in Chinese advertising. Advertisers should also be cognizant of intergenerational influences in the Chinese market; many young Chinese women still rely on their mothers regarding fashion purchase decisions. This paper fills a need to understand both the similarities and the differences in marketing communications across cultures.

This paper reviews the literature on and evaluates the concept of customer citizenship behavior. Next, it examines general categories and dimensional qualities of customer citizenship based on insights about civic and organizational citizenship. Then, it presents four views on reasons for customer citizenship (an integrative taxonomy of motivation, social capital, resource exchange, and altruism). Next, it reviews possible positive and negative effects of customer citizenship. Finally, it examines managerial and research implications of these considerations.

Co-authored with T. Reisenwitz. Interfirm relationships or networks take a variety of forms and can potentially provide significant synergy for the participants. Yet, most of research studies, to date, have primarily analyzed interfirm networks based upon one paradigm/ perspective. This review aims to examine a complete theoretical basis of network research and looks for research gaps and practical implications for both researchers and practitioners. Specifically, it summarizes six conceptual perspectives regarding interfirm networks: motivational, relational, structural, evolutionary, interactional, and governance, in order to address similarities and differences among different perspectives. With this purpose in mind, the relevant literature is reviewed and, at the conclusion of each conceptual perspective, areas of research that require more development and investigation are identified. Finally, suggestions for managers contemplating or engaged in interfirm networks are presented.

Co-authored with L. Carlson and A. Fowler. Over the last several decades, China has emerged as one of the premier economic powers in the global environment due, in part, to several government-instituted policies that were aimed to break ties with the past and pave the way for China’s future. These policies also had a significant impact on the Chinese family, moving it away from the Confucian traditions of the past where the family was considered an autonomous unit that provided the basic structure of Chinese social, economic, and political life. As the Chinese government implemented various policies—most notably the Cultural Revolution, the Open-Door policy, and the One-Child Policy (OCP)—the Chinese family not only became much less autonomous but also was subjected to changing familial and social norms. In this article, the authors describe the impact these and other policies had on the Chinese family and the questions that arise from these changes concerning the three generations that have been most directly affected by these policies.

Presented at the Society for Marketing Advances in West Palm Beach on October 31, 2018. Published in the proceedings.

Presented at the Society for Marketing Advances for Society for Marketing Advances in West Palm Beach on October 31, 2018. Published in the proceedings.

Presented with T. Reisenwitz at the Society for Marketing Advances for Society for Marketing Advances in West Palm Beach on October 31, 2018. Published in the proceedings.

Presented with J. Gentry at the Association for Consumer Research: Gender, Marketing, and Consumer Behavior for the Association for Consumer Research in Dallas TX on October 9, 2018. Published in the proceedings.

Presented with J. Gentry and J. Sisk at the Macromarketing Conference for the Marketing Society in Leipzig, Germany in July of 2018. Published in the proceedings.

Presented with L. Carlson at the Macromarketing Conference for the Marketing Society in Leipzig, Germany in July of 2018. Published in the proceedings.

Presented at the International Marketing Conference for Marcon, IMI Kolkata in Kolkata, India on December 19, 2017. Published in the proceedings.

Presented with T. Reisenwitz at the Society for Marketing Advances in Louisville, Kentucky on November 9, 2017. Published in the proceedings.

Presented at the Society for Marketing Advances in Louisville, Kentucky on November 9, 2017. Published in the proceedings.

Presented at the Society for Marketing Advances in Louisville, Kentucky on November 9, 2017. Published in the proceedings.

Presented with A. Fowler at the Society for Marketing Advances in Louisville, Kentucky on November 9, 2017. Published in the proceedings.

Presented with T. Reisenwitz at the Steele Grant Research Seminar Series for the Langdale College of Business Administration on North Campus of Valdosta State University on November 3, 2017.

Presented with R. Chu, J. Gentry, and X. Zhao at the Macromarketing Conference for the Macromarketing society in Queenstown, New Zealand on June 20, 2017. Published in the proceedings.

Presented with R. Chu and A. Fowler at the Macromarketing Conference for the Macromarketing society in Queenstown, New Zealand on June 20, 2017. Published in the proceedings.

Presented with H. Chaudhuri and P. Goswami at the Macromarketing Conference for the Macromarketing society in Queenstown, New Zealand on June 19, 2017. Published in the proceedings.

Presented with G. Hackbarth and K. Roland at The 20th Academic Conference Americas/SAP for SAP in New York on June 7, 2017. Published in the proceedings.

Presented with T. Reisenwitz at the Society of Marketing Advances (SMA) in Atlanta, GA in November of 2016.

Presented with H. Chaudhuri, S. Mazumdar, and N. Sinha at the Society of Marketing Advances (SMA) in Atlanta, GA in November of 2016. Published in the proceedings.

Presented with T. Reisenwitz at the Society for Marketing Advances for SMA in Atlanta, Georgia on November 3, 2016. Published in the proceedings.

Presented with L. Carlson at the American Marketing Association (AMA) in Atlanta GA in August of 2016. Published in the proceedings.

Presented with A. Fowler at the International Society of Markets and Development (ISMD) in Lima, Peru in August of 2016. Published in the proceedings.

Presented with L. Carlson and H. Chaudhuri at the Macromarketing Conference in Dublin, Ireland on July 15, 2016. Published in the proceedings.

Presented by Chu, R., Gentry, J. W., Fowler, J. G., Zhao, X. at the Macromarketing Conference in Dublin Ireland on July 13, 2016. Published in the proceedings.

Presented by Chu, R., Fowler, J. G., Gentry, J. w. at the Society of Marketing Advances (SMA) in San Antonio, TX. in November of 2015. Published in the proceedings.

Presented by Fowler, J. G., Chu, R., Gentry, J. W., at the Society of Marketing Advances (SMA) in San Antonio, TX. in November of 2015. Published in the proceedings.

Presented by Fowler, J. G., Reisenwitz, T. H., Carlson, L., at the Macromarketing Conference in Chicago, IL in July of 2015. Published in the proceedings.

Presented by Fowler, J. G., Chu, R., Gentry, J. W., at the Macromarketing Conference in Chicago, IL in July of 2015. Published in the proceedings.

Presented by Reisenwitz, T. H., Fowler, J. G., Fowler III, A., at the Society for Marketing Advances (SMA) in New Orleans, LA. in November of 2014. Published in the proceedings.

Presented by Kuhlmeier, D. B., Fowler, J. G., at the 2014 SMA Annual Conference (Nov. 4-8) for the Society for Marketing Advances (SMA) in New Orleans, LA. on November 5, 2014. Published in the proceedings.

Presented by Fowler III, A., Fowler, J. G., at the Society for Marketing Advances for the Society for Marketing Advances in New Orleans, LA. on November 5, 2014. Published in the proceedings.

Presented by Fowler, J. G., Gentry, J. W., at the Society for Marketing Advances (SMA) in New Orleans, LA. on November 5, 2014. Published in the proceedings.

Presented by Reisenwitz, T. H., Fowler, J. G., Fowler III, A., at the Macromarketing conference in London, UK. on July 2, 2014. Published in the proceedings.

Presented by Fowler, J. G., Gentry, J. W., at the Macromarketing conference in London, UK. on July 2, 2014. Published in the proceedings.

Presented by Chaudhuri, H. R., Fowler, J. G., at the Society for Marketing Advances (SMA) in Hilton Head, SC. on October 30, 2013. Published in the proceedings.

Presented by Fowler, J. G., at the Society for Marketing Advances (SMA) in Hilton Head, SC. on October 30, 2013. Published in the proceedings.

Presented by Fowler, J. G., Fowler III, A., at the Association of Consumer Research Conference (ACR) for the Association of Consumer Research in Vancouver, Canada in October of 2012. Published in the proceedings.

Presented by Fowler III, A., Fowler, J. G., at the 2012 Winter AMA Conference in Tampa, FL. in February of 2012.

Presented by Fowler III, A., Fowler, J. G., at the International Workshop on Anti-Poverty in Karst Areas of Southwest China at the Guizhou Normal University, China in July of 2011. Published in the proceedings.

Contributions by Gentry, J. W., Chaudhuri, H. R., Fowler, J. G. (2012). Global Masculinity: Advertising-based Observation from China and India. In Jacob M. Aston and Estela Vasquez (Ed.), Masculinity and Femininity: Stereotypes/Myths, Psychology and Role. Hauppauge, NY: Nova Science Publishers, Inc.

Contributions by Wortmann, S., Fowler, J. G. Emotional Labor. Encyclopedia of Consumer Culture. London: CQ Press.