News, articles, and interesting stuff from the College of Business
College of Business Research investigates slots players, elderly consumers
College of Business researchers put out two new studies this month looking at how consumers act in two very different spheres.
Assistant Professor of Marketing Michelle Barnhart studied how the ways older individuals consumed, whether buying groceries or attending medical appointments, changed the way they were perceived by others, even when the individual didn’t view her or himself as “old.”
Through in-depth interviews Barnhart found the children and caregivers often reinforced negative stereotypes of aging in the way they interacted with their parents.
“When people in their 80s or 90s exhibited characteristics that society tends to associate with people who are not old, such as being aware, active, safe, or independent, they were viewed and treated as not old,” Barnhart said. “In this way, they were able to age without getting old.”
The study received local and national media attention, from the hometown Corvallis Gazette-Times to entities such as Yahoo! News. It’s now available online and will be published in the April 2013 issue of the Journal of Consumer Research.
Sandy Chen, assistant professor of Hospitality Management at OSU Cascades, conducted a study of a different type of consumer, those who frequent slot machines.
Chen, through interviews with slot machine players, found players fit into a few distinct categories, but not the ones most tied to the activity.
The most common player? A female homeowner, between the ages of 55 and 60, with at least some college education and an annual household income of more than $55,000.
Sandy Chen, assistant professor of Hospitality Management at OSU Cascades, conducted a study of a different type of consumer, those who frequent slot machines.
Chen, through interviews with slot machine players, found players fit into a few distinct categories, but not the ones most tied to the activity.
The most common player? A female homeowner, between the ages of 55 and 60, with at least some college education and an annual household income of more than $55,000.
Chen’s findings challenge many of the stereotypes associated with slot machine players, something she thinks casinos should take into account when designing their games.
“There are very different motivations for playing slot machines,” Chen said, “so casinos may be making a mistake when they take a one-size-fits-all approach to marketing, or creating an atmosphere within their facility. They may be better off with a segmentation approach.”
You can see what others had to say about the study in the Democrat-Herald and casino-trade websites Casino City Times and the Online Casino Archives.
Results of the research have been published online in the International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, and will be published in a print edition of the journal in 2013.
You can always find the latest media mentions for College of Business faculty, staff and students on our In the News Page, including links to coverage back to 2004.