Identifying Effective Strategies for Managing Consumers' Tension-Indusing Behaviors in Critical Situations; A Study in the Automotive Industry

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Department of Business Administration, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Mohaghegh Ardabili , Ardabil, Iran

Abstract

The aim of the present study is to identify effective strategies in managing consumers’ tension-indusing behaviors in crisis situations, focusing on the automotive industry. This applied-exploratory study was conducted based on qualitative research and using thematic analysis. The sampling method was purposive (interviews with professors) and snowball (interviews with automotive industry experts), and semi-structured interviews were used to collect data. The participants in the interview included university professors and automotive industry experts, who were interviewed based on the interview process until the researchers reached theoretical saturation. The results of the content analysis of the interview data included 194 open codes, 33 basic themes, 12 organizing themes, and 3 overarching themes. Accordingly, the results of the content analysis of the interview data led to a combination and integrated classification of effective strategies in managing consumers’ tension-indusing behaviors. Finally, the research findings showed that effective strategies in managing consumers’ tension-indusing behaviors in crisis situations include three overarching themes: preventive strategies, therapeutic strategies, and creative strategies. Also, preventive strategies include five themes: customer-centric organizational culture, pre-scenario, public relations, process review, and marketing management; therapeutic strategies include five themes: human resource strategies, internal company commitments, support, organizational creativity, and systems management; and creative strategies include two themes: strategic partnership and patronizing behaviors.

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Main Subjects


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