Business Commons^™

Pragmatic Learning Theory: An Inquiry-Action Framework For Distributed Consumer Learning In Online Communities, Rama K. Jayanti

Marketing

We examine consumer social learning from distributed inquiry capabilities in online communities. Using an inquiry-action framework rooted in pragmatic learning theory, we longitudinally trace community inquiry processes and their link to individual action in six health-related online communities. Our interpretive analyses reveal leaps and lapses in social learning. Generative learning is evident when collective productive inquiry is linked to expanding individual action repertoires. Individual disengagement diverts inquiry and disrupts inquiry-action linkages, creating lapses that degenerate learning. Within these extremes, instances of individual faltering are evident when inquiry is productive but individuals fail to leverage inquiry for empowered action.

Customer Loyalty And Lifetime Value: An Empirical Investigation Of Consumer Packaged Goods, Jason Q. Zhang, Ashutosh Dixit, Roberto Friedmann

Marketing

It is traditionally accepted that customer loyalty is critical for a firm’s profitability. Recent research,however, questions the effects of customer loyalty on profitability. In light of this controversy, we examine the financial effects of customer loyalty using the framework of customer lifetime value (CLV). Our analysis reveals that in the area of consumer packaged goods, customer loyalty is positively associated with customer revenue and customer retention, both of which drive CLV. Thus, customer loyalty is indeed a predictor of long-term customer profitability to a firm. For marketers, customer loyalty continues to be a legitimate end goal to pursue in marketing …

The Potential Implications Of Web-Based Marketing Communications For Consumers' Implicit And Explicit Brand Attitudes: A Call For Research, Sreedhar R. Madhavaram, Radha Appan

Marketing

Two developments in the last two decades frame the importance of Web-based marketing communications for firms. First is the phenomenal growth of the Internet as a viable commerce and communication option and second is the clear shift in attitude research toward recognizing the pervasive role of automatic processes in almost all the social psychological processes. Therefore, this article discusses the potential implications of Web-based marketing communications for consumers' implicit and explicit attitudes. In doing so, first, this article reviews the emergence of research on implicit attitudes, distinguishes implicit attitudes from explicit attitudes, and discusses research on explicit and implicit attitudes …

Sustainable Competitive Advantage Of Internet Firms - A Strategic Framework And Implications For Global Marketers, Rajshekhar G. Javalgi, Robert F. Scherer, Glenna Pendleton, Lori P. Radulovich

Marketing

Purpose – At the core of an international marketing strategy is the internet firm’s goal of building and sustaining a competitive advantage. The purpose of this paper is to present an integrative framework to explain the role that customer behavior and customer relationship management (CRM) play in developing a profitable, sustainable competitive advantage for internet companies.

Design/methodology/approach – The integrative framework utilizes existing theoretical concepts from the areas of strategy and internet marketing and develops a framework to provide firms with insights into how they can gain the competitive advantage. Findings – This paper links global customer behavior to the …

The Dynamics Of Global E-Commerce: An Organizational Ecology Perspective, Rajshekhar G. Javalgi, Robert F. Scherer

Marketing

Purpose - A classical model of organizational ecology dynamics which is utilized to characterize an ecosystem called the internet is proposed and a parallel is drawn between the population ecology model and the current global e-commerce environment.

Design/methodology/approach - Survivorship theory is applied to global e-commerce. The Verhulst-Pearl logistic equation can be used to describe the inhibition of growth within an ecosystem. The approach is to apply the Verhulst-Pearl logistic equation to describe international growth dynamics of the internet.

Findings - When applying the Verhulst-Pearl equation to the internet environment around the world, the number of domain names or host …

How Industrial Distributors View Distributor-Supplier Partnership Arrangements, W. Benoy Joseph, John T. Gardner, Sharon Thach, Frances Vernon

Marketing

This nationwide survey reports distributors' perspectives of their relationship with a core supplier. The survey reports on elements of partnership, expectations, outcomes, and satisfaction relating to the relationship's position on a continuum between arm's length and close partnership styles.

Integrating Multiple Criteria Decision-Making Models Into The Decision Support System Framework For Marketing Decisions, Rajshekhar G. Javalgi, Hemant K. Jain

Marketing

The paper focuses on integrating the multiple criteria decision making (MCDM) models within the decision support system (DSS) framework to encourage greater use of these models. A DSS framework and the criteria used for the choice of a model is discussed. Based on these criteria MCDM models generally used in the marketing field are evaluated. The possibility of using a mixture of MCDM models within the DSS framework is also explored. Following this, the role of the MCDM models in DSS is delineated. It is argued that, within the problem-solving process, the confluence of MCDM models and DSS plays a …

International Business Education In The Aacsb Schools, Ivan R. Vernon, John Thanopoulos

Marketing

The study analyzes the responses of 411 AACSB member schools with respect to their offerings in international business. The findings of this study are that international business material is often incorporated into functional courses, and that among AACSB schools the accredited ones are not significantly different from the non-accredited ones in terms of curricula composition.

Global Competition For Environmental Markets - The Case Of The Water-Pollution Control Equipment Industry, Andrew C. Gross

Marketing

Describes how pollution control spending around the world is set to increase from $70 billion (1979) to $115 billion in 1990 in real terms. Expands on the theory that cleaning up - or preventing mistakes - in the environment makes for financial and healthwise good sense. Posits that cleaner air leads to fewer respiratory problems and cleaner water in most areas of manufacturing results in lower fuel use. Focuses on trade, end use competitive modes and marketing patterns regarding water pollution control equipment (WPCE). States that WPCE shipments world wide are projected to rise from $3.3 billion in 1979 to …

Review Of Failed Multinational Ventures: The Political Economy Of International Divestments, Andrew C. Gross

Marketing

Review of Failed Multinational Ventures - The Political Economy of International Divestments by Leon Grunberg.

Market Research In Guided Market Place, Andrew C. Gross, László Szabó

Marketing

Reports on the rapid organizational growth of market research in Hungary. Improvement in the production orientation of managers and the existence of sellers' markets; Coordination of state and enterprise planning; Development of autonomous market research institutes oriented toward domestic markets.

Patterns And Determinants Of Income Of Canadian Engineering Graduates, Andrew C. Gross

Marketing

This report describes and seeks explanations for the salary structure of college graduates who received their bachelor's degrees in electrical engineering from a Canadian university. It presents data on the current income of these men and traces the growth in their earnings from the time they graduated. Regression analysis is used to examine the impact of various independent variables on incomes and to determine the amount of explained variation in such earnings. Finally, other factors related to income are considered, including the relationship between mobility and salary improvement and a comparison between the income of Canadian engineers and that of …