Article Review

Select an article from Business Source Premier (Nielson Library) that deals with some marketing issues. The article should be very current (from either this month or last month). Refer to the text chapter titles and heading if you need topic suggestions. Make sure to include the article as an attachment or include the URL so I am able to refer to the article. Read the article several times to grasp the major points. 

Article: Muralidharan, S., & Sheehan, K. (2016). “Tax” and “Fee” Message Frames as Inhibitors of Plastic Bag Usage Among Shoppers: A Social Marketing Application of the Theory of Planned Behavior . Social Marketing Quarterly, 22(3), 200-217.

Summary

The article titled as “”Tax” and “Fee” Message Frames as Inhibitors of Plastic Bag Usage Among Shoppers: A Social Marketing Application of the Theory of Planned Behavior” is a research study that discusses different domains of social marketing. As the title of the article suggests, it is study in response to plastic bags pandemic where the secondary available research data suggests that different imposed penalties can result in lower consumption and usage of plastic bags. However, the studies have also indicated that this thing can only be effective for short term period.

In terms of a long term impact, there is a sharp need to explore the intrinsic motivation of the shoppers to make them not to use the plastic bags. The study used the framing strategy followed by the theory of planned behavior and it tried to look at how the advertising messages framed in the ways as “avoiding a fee (gain)” and “paying a tax (loss)” can affect the behaviors of shoppers about bringing the bags which are reusable.

The research used the multiple regression analysis modeling and the findings from this approach and a hierarchical analysis showed the basic differences in regard to bother frames that how they were interpreted. In terms of first frame which was about fee, the attitude regarding perceived control and compliance were important to intentions. However, for the tax frame, the attitudes towards control, subjective norms and reusable drugs impacted the intentions. The main predictor of behavior for both frames was the behavior intention.

The findings of the article stated that a penalty framed as a tax can more effective to motivate shoppers for brining reusable bags. In addition to that, the authors of the article have also suggested the future theoretical and practical implications of the findings.

Analysis / Opinion

The article is an important piece of research study which discusses the attitude of shoppers and common people about using the plastic bags. In my opinion, the secondary available data which was used for literature review was very much valuable and relevant as it suggested that using penalties can lower the consumption of these bags but this this not effective for long term.

The approach used for the data collection and analysis of the data was regression analysis which was important in terms of its application and relevance to the variables of study as the study discussed the differences about using frames of avoiding a fee and paying a tax. The findings of the article used a hierarchal analysis where the differences in both frames were interpreted.

In my opinion, the findings of the article are quite important because it clearly discussed that the attitude regarding perceived control and compliance were important to intentions for the fee frame. While the attitudes towards control, subjective norms and reusable drugs impacted the intentions were important to tax frame. Another important thing discussed included that the behavioral intention was the main predictor of behavior for both frames which was not witnessed in the previously available data.

The findings of this article are important for marketers in different ways because it also discusses the theoretical and practical implications of the findings of the research study. The marketers can also use the findings for their advertising campaigns where messages and slogans can be based on the attitudes towards two different frames used based on this study.