Decision Science News

2005 NORTH AMERICAN CONFERENCE OF THE ASSOCIATION FOR CONSUMER RESEARCH CALL FOR PAPERS

The 2005 North American Conference of the Association for Consumer Research will be held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel located on the Riverwalk in San Antonio, Texas, from Thursday September 29 through Sunday October 2, 2005.

Submission and Decision Deadlines
Submissions for competitive papers, working papers, roundtables, and special topic session proposals must be received no later than Friday, March 18, 2005. Notification of acceptance in these four categories will be made by Friday July 15, 2005. The entry deadline for film festival submissions is July 1, 2005. Notification of accepted films will be August 1, 2005.

To give as many people as possible the opportunity to participate in ACR 2005, note the requirement that each ACR participant may present in Special Topic and/or Competitive Paper sessions no more than twice during the duration of the conference.

General Submission Requirements and Procedures
Except for film festival submissions, all submissions, reviewing, and notification regarding ACR 2005 will be conducted electronically through the web site. The ACR web site (http://www.acrwebsite.org/) will contain a link to the 2005 conference site, which will be updated to accept all the required information through an interface that eliminates the need for e-mail submissions. The 2005 ACR conference web site will be available for submissions between Monday, February 7 and midnight PST of the deadline, Friday, March 18, 2005.

More detail below. This info culled from http://www.acrwebsite.org/conference/info.asp

As in past years, the conference will provide a multi-topical forum for scholarly presentations, discussions, and collaborations on consumer behavior. In addition, a theme for the 2005 conference has been established to encourage some attendees to focus on a set of issues that the conference organizers believe is significant and underprioritized at ACR. The theme-title will be: For Consumers: Steps Toward Transformative Consumer Research. It derives from the observation that the large and rich mosaic of research emanating from ACR has rarely been, strictly speaking, for consumers. Historically, the organization’s research has been impelled by the theoretical and substantive interests of academics, sometimes intending to aid executives, but seldom designed for and communicated to consumers. Many ACR members sense that this state of affairs is ironic and regrettable for what is the largest and ostensibly preeminent organization of consumer researchers in the world. It is ironic and regrettable in other senses as well.

The conduct, roles, varieties, and influences of consumer behavior have become more central, more pronounced, and more complex in daily life, interlocked in reciprocal relationships with a number of other powerful forces. These forces include, but are not limited to, newly emerging economies and the globalization of consumption ideology; the rapid and unabated streams of new products, services, and media; the expansion and evolution of human capabilities through the Internet and other technologies; the disappearance of longstanding socioeconomic and metaphysical boundaries (e.g., work/home, real/virtual/imaginary, profane/sacred); the worsening of health conditions (e.g., obesity, addictions) and debt (e.g., personal bankruptcies) in many societies; and deteriorating ecologies. In this broad milieu, people and organizations are engaged in a continual and complicated process of consuming rightly according to their own terms, and thereby they bear increased responsibility for producing well-being in their own lives and in the environments they inhabit. Yet, all in all, the organization and scholarship of ACR have not seriously and systematically broached these issues, or disseminated the results effectively for improving human welfare and the quality of life for all beings affected by worldwide consumption.

The mission of Transformative Consumer Research (TCR) is to make a positive difference in the lives of consumers, both present and future generations, through the chosen focus and conduct of specific research, and in the communicating of its implications and usefulness. The key word “Transformative” signifies important and constructive influence, including the potential for uplifting change, for consumers as well as ACR and its members who find the call to the TCR mission appealing. By providing the 2005 ACR conference with this theme, the organizers hope to stimulate a fresh dialogue on the opportunities, challenges, and future of Transformative Consumer Research, and to showcase promising and path-creating examples of TCR as well. Submissions of special sessions and competitive papers are invited that address the theme of Transformative Consumer Research in a variety of ways. Some potential topics could be:

· Can Transformative Consumer Research be both scientifically rigorous and practically useful to consumers? How best might these dual goals be interwoven and optimized?
· Can TCR, with its focus on heightened relevance and value to consumers, also raise the relevance and value of related consumer research to business executives and public policy administrators? Why and how?
· How can our conferences and leading scholarly journals help to bridge the chasm between consumer research and its direct merits for consumers? Are new communication vehicles and publication outlets needed for TCR to be successful? One strategy already implemented is the For Consumers section of the new ACR website at www.acrwebsite.org.
· How can doctoral programs encourage and train transformative consumer researchers for publishing their work widely, including in the top journals? Can involvement in TCR be a successful career-spanning endeavor for an academic researcher, rather than a post-tenure or later-stage effort?
· And very importantly, presentation of recent and in-progress empirical research by ACR members that fit the conference theme, including competitive papers or special sessions that coalesce around a specific substantive topic, a particular consumer group, or other relevant issue under the broad TCR label.

The organizers and Program Committee will particularly evaluate empirical TCR submissions by looking for (a) a clear specification of the consumer problem or opportunity that the submission strives attentively to address; (b) the availability of appropriate theory and the rationalization of the design for providing trustworthy and actionable insights for dealing with the given problem or opportunity; (c) a discussion of implications that speaks directly to how consumer welfare and quality of life could be positively impacted by acting on the study’s findings; and (d) a discussion of future research that could substantially extend the consumer-centric value of the present findings. Other TCR submissions that are not empirical will be judged for their abilities to spur and guide essential new discourse, and to enhance the likelihood of the future success of TCR. All in all, the 2005 North American ACR conference will be an exciting occasion to inaugurate and advance Transformative Consumer Research.

Additional specific information on submissions of special sessions and competitive papers—whether in line with the TCR theme or focusing on any of the other plentiful topics that animate ACR conferences—is provided below.

Program Structure
As in the recent past, there will be five main forums for the presentation and discussion of research and scholarly thought:
Special Topic Sessions provide opportunities for focused attention on cutting-edge and important topics. Successful sessions offer a coherent perspective on emerging substantive, theoretical, or methodological issues.
Competitive Paper Sessions include papers that represent the completed work of their authors. The ACR conference co-chairs assign accepted papers to Conference sessions that reflect similar scholarly interests.
Working Paper Track: Participants typically present preliminary findings from the early stages of a research program. Authors distribute their papers and display their findings poster-style in a plenary session.
Roundtables: Encourage intensive participant discussion of consumer research topics and issues.
Film Festival: presents edited video recordings on topics related to consumer behavior especially films that document and depict consumer behavior.

Submission and Decision Deadlines
Submissions for competitive papers, working papers, roundtables, and special topic session proposals must be received no later than Friday, March 18, 2005. Notification of acceptance in these four categories will be made by Friday July 15, 2005. The entry deadline for film festival submissions is July 1, 2005. Notification of accepted films will be August 1, 2005.

To give as many people as possible the opportunity to participate in ACR 2005, note the requirement that each ACR participant may present in Special Topic and/or Competitive Paper sessions no more than twice during the duration of the conference.

General Submission Requirements and Procedures
Except for film festival submissions, all submissions, reviewing, and notification regarding ACR 2005 will be conducted electronically through the web site. The ACR web site (http://www.acrwebsite.org/) will contain a link to the 2005 conference site, which will be updated to accept all the required information through an interface that eliminates the need for e-mail submissions. The 2005 ACR conference web site will be available for submissions between Monday, February 7 and midnight PST of the deadline, Friday, March 18, 2005.

You may submit a word document with embedded TrueType fonts. (To embed TrueType fonts in Word, click on Tools, then Options, then click on the Save tab, then check the options “Embed TrueType fonts” and “Embed characters in use only.”) Alternatively, you may submit documents in a Rich Text Format (save as “.rtf”). All submissions should be scanned for viruses. Make sure to save a copy of your submission information until notification of the final decision. Please ensure that competitive paper submissions do not have author names on the title page.

The 2005 ACR Conference web site will require the following information:

“Cover Page” for ALL Submissions. When you first enter the ACR 2005 conference web site (via http://www.acrwebsite.org/), you will have to register (click on the “Register” button). This will take you to another screen that will ask you for registration information (name, e-mail address, etc.). Thereafter, when you log in to submit your paper/proposal, you will click on the “log in” button and then choose “Author” from the drop-down menu on the following screen. You will have to log in using your e-mail ID and the password that you created when you registered. Once you do this, and you are ready to submit your paper/session, click “submit paper/session”. At this stage, you will have to provide the following information:

· Submission type: Special Topic Session, Competitive Paper, Working Paper, or Roundtable (once you click on the submission type, the information requested within each category varies somewhat; so make sure you make this selection correctly)

· Title of paper or session

· Primary contact person’s name, affiliation, mailing address, phone number and e-mail address (if different, include a summer e-mail contact address and relevant dates)

· Content Area Codes and Methodological Area Codes

· Word or Rich Text Format of your paper/proposal (you will be uploading this file)

· Secondary contact person’s information: Name of one other author/participant including his/her affiliation, mailing address, phone number and e-mail address who will serve as a secondary contact in case we are unable to contact the primary contact person

· Names of other co-authors/participants and their affiliations, and whether they are presenting author(s)

Acknowledgement of receipt. The primary contact person will automatically receive an acknowledgement of receipt of your submission by e-mail. If you do not receive an acknowledgement e-mail within a couple of days of submission, you should send an e-mail inquiring about the status of your submission to the conference co-chair who is responsible for your type of submission (see below).

Specific Requirements and Procedures for Submission under each Category:

SPECIAL TOPIC SESSIONS

Special topic sessions are intended to provide opportunities for focused attention to topics of special importance and interest to consumer researchers. They are viewed as appropriate when competitive paper submissions would be unlikely to generate a cohesive session on the topic. It is expected that mainstream topics in consumer research will be well represented in competitive paper submissions. Special topic sessions provide an opportunity to address emerging topics, a special interest topic, or a mainstream topic in a special manner.

Sessions are 90 minutes long. Proposals should typically be limited to no more than three papers. In order to promote discussion between the participants and the audience from which a larger understanding of the topic can emerge, special session organizers may select from one of two options as a discussion mechanism.

a) They may include a discussion leader who is considered to be an expert in the area. If this format is chosen, please make sure that you plan the session so as to leave enough time for the discussion leader to make comments and enhance the quality of the session. Of course, you also want to make sure to leave some time for questions and comments from the audience.

b) A second option is for the chair of the session to play the role of discussion leader. Please leave adequate time for questions and comments from the audience; the discussion will be energized by the audience and synthesized by the chair of the session.

Other creative mechanisms for encouraging and managing discussion besides the traditional discussion leader method are also welcome but must be described in the session proposal. Requests for “double” (3-hour) sessions are strongly discouraged.

Content. Besides the “cover page” information that the organizers of special sessions need to provide on the web site, special topic session proposals should include:

a) The titles of the presentations within the session, each with a listing of the authors and their affiliations;

b) The name of the discussion leader (if any) and his/her affiliation;

c) A statement that each speaker has agreed to serve if the proposal is accepted, together with his/her name(s);

d) The session proposal;

e) A short 75-100 word (single-spaced) abstract of each presentation for publication in the conference program; and

f) A longer 750-1,000 word (single-spaced) abstract of each presentation for evaluation by the Program Committee.

The session proposal should describe the objective of the session, its general orientation, the likely audience, the issues and topics to be covered, and why the session is likely to make an important contribution to consumer research. In addition, it should identify an important substantive, theoretical, or methodological issue in consumer research and then discuss how the session would be structured to move toward a resolution of the issue. The stage of completion of each paper in a special session also must be clarified. Proposals should be as complete as possible so that the Program Committee can fully evaluate them and make suggestions.

Format and Style. The entire proposal, including abstracts, must not exceed seven single-spaced pages in length. This length restriction assumes the use of a font no smaller than 12 points, and no more than 52 lines per page including headers and footnotes.

Judging/Notification/Acceptance. The Program Committee will evaluate special topic session proposals based on:

a) Importance of the topic to consumer research and/or to the conference theme of Transformative Consumer Research

b) Appeal of the session to a broad ACR segment or its intensive appeal to a specific segment, or the ability to expand the field of consumer behavior to include heretofore unrepresented perspectives and publics,

c) Likelihood that the session will make an important contribution to consumer research and/or to the conference theme of Transformative Consumer Research

d) Completeness of the proposal and presentation descriptions,

e) Stage of completion of the research to be presented,

f) Opportunity afforded for a discussion of the ideas embodied in the papers, and

g) Relevance to contemporary issues and problems and, thus, newsworthiness.

Authors of accepted sessions will have a short time to revise their submissions based on reviewer comments. Final acceptance is conditional upon submission of the short abstract of each paper (for publication in the conference program), and the session proposal with the extended abstract of each paper including references (for publication in the proceedings), revised as needed to address reviewers’ comments, by Friday August 12, 2005. Presenters in accepted sessions may, if they wish, submit a paper for inclusion in the Proceedings instead of the extended abstract. Content, format, and punctuality standards for these papers are the same as those for competitive papers (described below).

Session chairs are responsible for quality control over the papers in their sessions, for enforcing deadlines, and for submitting all materials by the deadlines. It is also the chair’s responsibility to make sure that the discussant and all other session participants receive copies of each paper or presentation by Monday, September 19, 2005.

If you have questions regarding Special Session submissions, please contact the ACR Conference Co-Chair Linda Price (lprice2@unl.edu, tel. +1-402-472-3156)

COMPETITIVE PAPERS

Papers dealing with substantive, methodological, or theoretical topics in consumer research are sought for competitive paper sessions. It is mandatory that all accepted papers be presented by an author at the conference. Authors of competitive papers have the option of not publishing the full paper in the Proceedings. This option requires a minimum contribution of an extended abstract and full references, which increases the value of the record provided in the Conference Proceedings. Therefore, authors will need to indicate whether the submission is made under:

Option 1: Full paper publication in the ACR Proceedings. (If you choose Option 1, the paper must not be published in, accepted for publication by, or submitted to any journal or other conference proceedings, and should present the results of completed research.)

Option 2: Publication of an extended abstract accompanied by full citations.

Format and Style for Competitive Papers. The primary authors will provide the “cover page” information on the web site. Your competitive paper submission should consist of the following:

a) The first page should state the title of the paper only (not the authors)

b) This should be followed by a 75-100 word abstract.

c) This should then be followed on the next pages by a 750-1,000 word, single-spaced, extended abstract which should provide a summary of the paper, including conceptualization, method, and major findings. In order to ease the publication task, no tables or figures should be included in the extended abstract.

d) After the extended abstract, the next page should restate the title (and authors should NOT be identified) and begin the body of the paper. The body of the paper must not exceed 20 double-spaced pages in total length, including all tables, figures, notes, and references. This length restriction assumes the use of a font no smaller than 12 points, no more than 75 characters per line, and no more than 26 lines per page including headers and footnotes. Papers must follow the current style of the Journal of Consumer Research except that tables, figures, and footnotes are to be included within the text, not appended to the end of the paper.

Because reviewing will be blind, authors should refrain from identifying themselves or their affiliations in the body of the paper and in footnotes. Please note that it is the submitting author’s responsibility to make sure that the document does not contain any identifying information when saved as a Word or a Rich Text Format file. (For example, right click on the file in Windows Explorer, go to “Properties,” and then “Summary,” to ensure that all identifying information is removed.)

Judging/Notification/Publication. Judging of papers will be blind. Reviewers will evaluate each paper on the basis of:

a) Quality of the research;

b) Contribution to the field of consumer behavior and/or to the conference theme of Transformative Consumer Research;

c) Interest of the topic to current and potential ACR members; and

d) Relevance to contemporary issues and problems and, thus, newsworthiness.

Authors of accepted papers will have a short time to revise their papers based on reviewer comments. Final acceptance is conditional upon submission of the short abstract (for publication in the conference program) and the paper or extended abstract with references (for publication in the proceedings), revised as needed to address reviewers’ comments, by Friday August 12, 2005. It is also the author’s responsibility to make sure that the session chair and all other session participants receive copies of the paper and presentation by Monday, September 19, 2005.

Competitive papers accepted under Option 1 (publication of the full paper) will be published in the copyrighted proceedings, Advances in Consumer Research. Note that this is conditional on the paper being presented at the conference. Each author of an accepted paper will be required to sign a form releasing the copyright of the paper to the Association for Consumer Research.

If you have questions regarding Competitive Paper submissions, please contact the ACR Conference Co-Chair Connie Pechmann (cpechman@uci.edu)

WORKING PAPERS

Papers reporting the results of research in its early stages, and papers that the authors do not wish to present in competitive sessions, should be submitted to the Working Paper track. Papers dealing with substantive, theoretical, or methodological topics in consumer research are sought for the working paper track.

For papers accepted for the working paper track, each author will be asked to:

a) Prepare a “poster” for display during the session (detailed guidelines will be sent with acceptances);

b) Bring several copies of the working paper to give to interested ACR participants; and,

c) Make themselves available for discussion during a designated time on the program.

The extended working paper abstracts with full references will be published in the Proceedings.

Format and Style for Working Papers. When submitting a working paper, the web site will prompt you for the “cover page” information. Here, you will upload your “working paper” information. We do not require the submission of a completed paper in this category; we only need a short and an extended abstract. The first page should contain a 75-100 word abstract. This should be followed on the next pages by a 750-1,000 word, single-spaced, extended abstract which should provide a summary of the paper, including conceptualization, method, and major findings. In order to ease the publication task, no tables or figures should be included in the extended abstract.

Judging/Notification/Publication. Judging of papers will be blind. Reviewers will evaluate each paper on the basis of:

a) Quality of the research;

b) Contribution to the field of consumer behavior and/or to the conference theme of Transformative Consumer Research;

c) Interest of the topic to current and potential ACR members; and

d) Relevance to contemporary issues and problems and, thus, newsworthiness.

Authors of accepted papers will have a short time to revise their papers based on reviewer comments. Final acceptance is conditional upon submission of the short abstract (for publication in the conference program) and the extended abstract with references (for publication in the proceedings), revised as needed to address reviewers’ comments, by Friday August 12, 2005.

If you have questions regarding Working Paper submissions, please contact the ACR Conference Co-Chair Connie Pechmann (cpechman@uci.edu).

ROUNDTABLES

Roundtable discussions provide a great opportunity to develop collaborative work, explore new research topics, receive feedback on existing, ongoing research projects, or discuss other issues of interest to consumer researchers. For example, roundtable organizers might create a forum in which ACR members can learn from “experts” in a given area about issues relevant to their research interests (e.g., implicit memory, qualitative data analysis). Alternatively, they may involve more informal discussions among researchers with common interests in substantive topics or research methodologies (e.g., innovation and consumer psychology, consumer self-control). Roundtable sessions allow ACR members to participate in an informal, collaborative setting, which leads to interactive discussion often missing from the more formal presentations given at the ACR conference.

Content. Besides the “cover page” information that the web site will request, roundtable proposals that you upload must include:

a) The name of the primary organizer,

b) A list of at least seven ACR members who are committed to attending the session,

c) A short 75-100 word (single-spaced) abstract of the proposed roundtable discussion for publication in the conference program, and

d) A longer session proposal explaining the session’s purpose and content to be included in the proceedings. We expect most proposals to be between 300-500 words.

Session discussion leaders are responsible for quality control over the discussion in their sessions, for enforcing deadlines, and for submitting all materials to the Roundtable Co-Chairs.

If you have questions regarding Roundtable submissions, please contact the Roundtable Co-Chairs Loraine Lau-Gesk at llau@gsm.uci.edu and Patti Williams at pattiw@wharton.upenn.edu.

FILM FESTIVAL
Appropriate submissions are edited video recordings on topics related to consumer behavior. Preference will be given to films that document and depict consumer behavior. Eligible material should be edited to professional standards using any of the desktop editing systems now available. Submissions can vary in length from 20 to 90 minutes. Entries will be evaluated based upon their insight into some aspect of consumer behavior, topic, creativity, and technical competence. Thus far, the majority of entrants have been first time filmmakers, showing that with sufficient commitment and creativity, your work too can be in the Festival.
Filmmakers whose films are accepted should be present at the initial showing of their film and available to answer subsequent questions. The presentation format will be ½ inch VHS (NTSC only). This is a juried competition and abstracts of accepted films will appear in the ACR program and proceedings. Viewers will also vote on “People’s Choice” Awards to be announced at the Saturday luncheon.
The entry deadline for ACR Film Festival submissions is July 1, 2005. Notification of accepted films will be by August 1, 2005. Please direct questions about the Film Festival or the June workshop to either co-chair: Russ Belk, tel. +1 801-581-7401; mktrwb@business.utah.edu or Rob Kozinets tel. tel. +1 608-265-6040, rkozinets@bus.wisc.edu. To submit a video, please note the following policies.
a) Five preview copies of the work on ½ inch VHS (NTSC) should be included. These copies will not be returned. Do not submit master copies, as damage or loss in the mails is remotely possible. Please label the spine and face of the videotape with title, length, and contact person’s name.
b) Copies submitted should be as close to finished as possible, although some minor editing will be allowed on accepted entries.
c) Important: Filmmakers are responsible for getting permission from copyright and trademark holders for any images, music, or video material that is under copyright (note: even clips of music and of commercial video are copyrighted material).
Complete the same paperwork required for a competitive paper, including:
a) Cover sheet with contact information (feel free to use the “other” category in describing content areas and methods areas). On this sheet, please add the length of your work, date of completion, original shooting format (e.g., mini-DV) and full credits for the video.
b) Short (75-100 word) summary (for program)
c) Long (500-1000 word) summary (for jury and proceedings)
d) Stamped, self-addressed notification postcard
e) A statement that one or more of the film-makers will be present at the initial showing of their work if it is accepted
Written material should be e-mailed to both mktrwb@business.utah.edu and rkozinets@bus.wisc.edu. Send 5 copies of your video tape to either of the two Film Festival co-chairs: Russell Belk, University of Utah, DESB, 1645 E. Campus Center Dr., Salt Lake City, Utah 84112-9305 USA and Robert V. Kozinets, University of Wisconsin, Dept. of Marketing, 4251 Grainger, 975 University Avenue, Madison, WI 53705 USA
Final copies of accepted work, in VHS NTSC format, should be delivered to Conference registration desk by 6:00 pm, Thursday September 29, 2005, the opening day of the Conference. The Film Festival will begin at 8:30 Friday morning. If your work is accepted, you may prepare and post up to two posters promoting your film. These posters can be up to 24 inches wide and 32 inches tall and should be mounted on poster board. Your poster can be smaller than this, but should still be mounted on a 24×32 poster board. These posters will be displayed at the opening ACR cocktail party and subsequently at the film screening room.