Marketing Commons^™

Budgeting In A Chaotic Economic Environment ... Factors Leading To Improvement, Nancy Coulmas

AMTP Proceedings 2010

Traditional budgets and budgeting processes have been identified as frustrating and inflexible. They are based on immovable targets and often lead to suboptimal attitudes and behaviors. When the budget process is performed in a chaotic economic environment, these negative aspects are exacerbated. This paper identifies and discusses actions that can be implemented to enhance the flexibility of budgets and their processes and to reduce the negative aspects involved.

Marketing Part-Time Mba Programs: Understanding The Need For And Dimensions Of Flexibility, Lynn C. Dailey

AMTP Proceedings 2010

Flexibility likely plays a major role in MBA recruitment, particularly for part-time MBA programs. This begs the question, what does flexibility really mean in regards to education? This paper examines the issue of MBA program flexibility. The paper utilizes exploratory research to help MBA marketers better understand consumers need for flexibility and to identify dimensions on which MBA marketers can build flexibility into their programs.

A Study Of Market Segmentation In High-Tech Startup Ventures, Alan D. Lish

AMTP Proceedings 2010

Much has been written about the benefits of market segmentation. In fact, it provides the basis of most marketing strategies in larger firms. But while larger firms understand the benefits of market segmentation and put it into practice, many start-up firms seem to ignore or dismiss segmentation as an essential marketing strategy. This paper explores the practical use of market segmentation as it applies to high-tech start-ups, examines its use in those companies, and tries to determine if segmentation strategy is used by start-ups in other, non-traditional ways.

An Investigation Of The Relationships Among Market Power, Industry Concentration And Industry Share, Rick Mathisen, Tom Miller

AMTP Proceedings 2010

In a previous study the authors investigated the relationship of market power to advertising investments, R&D investments and industry concentration. The findings revealed that although there was a positive correlation between market power and both advertising and R&D investments, there was a negative correlation to industry concentration.

The current study investigates the relationships between market power, industry concentration and industry share. Market power indicates the ability of a firm to have higher gross margins in a firm macro measure. Traditional market power measures at the micro level indicate the ability to increase the difference between price and marginal cost. This …

Successful Strategising Through Customer Exclusion, Edward Kasabov, Alex Warlow

AMTP Proceedings 2010

Marketing tends to emphasise retaining existing customers and generating customer satisfaction and loyalty. However, observation of the current practices of businesses suggests that such an over-emphasis on customer satisfaction may be misplaced. Many successful companies have developed competitive advantage by practicing ‘Exclusion Marketing’. This discussion defines Exclusion Marketing, explores its main tenets and ingredients, and demonstrates how by implementing such tactics modern businesses can reduce the cost of their products and services while offering high levels of service to ‘good’ customers, while eliminating and ‘excluding’ troublesome or non profitable clients. This discussion contributes to debates on the relationship between companies …

Retiring Workers Could Present A Problem For Marketers, Even In A Recession, Eileen D. Weisenbach Keller, Doris M. Shaw

AMTP Proceedings 2010

Today's workforce is aging fast. The tacit knowledge held by those approaching retirement is necessary for firms to compete in the increasingly competitive marketplace. While some research has been devoted to how older workers view their retirement will impact the workplace, minimal attention has been given to how younger workers view this issue. As companies strive to remain market-driven, this paper examines how younger personnel view the impact of retirement on their employers and the impending brain drain. A discussion of implications for the marketing function within firms also is provided.

Implications Of Contemporary Leadership Models On Sales Management, Ellen M. Raineri

AMTP Proceedings 2010

As organizations have discovered that they cannot solely compete on price, product, quality, or technology, organizations have sought the use of optimum leadership models to assist with competition and survival. After examining the evolution of three contemporary leadership models: Spiritual Leadership, Primal Leadership, and Innovative Leadership, it is shown that these models offer sustenance in various ways for organizations and employees. Furthermore, because of the introduction and practice of Spiritual Leadership, Primal Leadership, and Innovative Leadership, specific implications exist for sales management as related to their sales reps and to their customers.

Self-Efficacy And Its Relation To Sales Outcomes, Charles E. Pettijohn, Allen Schaefer

AMTP Proceedings 2010

This research evaluates the relationships existing between salesperson self-efficacy and that individual's performance and customer-orientation. The study uses scales specifically designed to measure the salient variables and then statistically analyzes the degree to which these variables relate to desired sales outcomes.

Retail Prejudice: Does Marketplace Color Really Matter?, Sacha Joseph-Mathews

AMTP Proceedings 2010

In the last decade, manufacturers, retailers and service providers alike have started paying significant attention to ethnic minority consumer segments. Several companies have increased their marketing budgets in the millions with the intention of attracting these consumers to their products, services and stores. Yet many retailers in particular are ill-equipped to deal with these new minority segments, and conventional wisdom suggests that simply attracting minority segments to stores may not be enough to ensure their return. This study seeks to examine two issues that are important to retailers who are focused on minority consumer segments: perceived retail prejudice and customer …

A Comparative Analysis Of Retail Store Image: Wal-Mart And Dillards, Charles E. Pettijohn, Linda S. Pettijohn, A J. Taylor, Andrew J. Newman

AMTP Proceedings 2010

The research in this manuscript reports on analyses of retail image which compares the images of two well- known U.S. retailers. The scale used is the research is one that has been specifically designed to evaluate consumers' perceptions of retailers. The results indicate that differential scale items are required to meaningfully assess different varieties of retail establishments. Specifically, the findings indicate that consumers assess retailers in a manner which seems consistent for retail store type. The study offers conclusions and insights based upon the differential items used to assess discount retailers and traditional department stores.

Loyalty Cards: A Review Of The Research And Suggestions For Future Research, David J. Burns

AMTP Proceedings 2010

Several larger retailers have adopted loyalty cards as a means to acquire information to better serve their customers. To participate in a loyalty card program, consumers must provide a significant amount of personal information to the retailer. How aware are consumers of the data which they are providing retailers by using loyalty cards? How aware are they of how their information is being used? The purpose of this paper is to begin to raise these issues.

Automated Marketing: A Narrow Focus On Technology Or An Emerging Business Philosophy?, Edward Kasabov

AMTP Proceedings 2010

As a new area of academic inquiry, Automated Marketing is in its adolescence but has proved to be fast developing and very innovative, mirroring the relatively early stage of the development and application of the technologies that have enabled it. This article widens the understanding of this field of study, which is important both to practice and theory, by drawing attention to two deficiencies: not much has been written on Automated Marketing as such and the little that has been written adopts a narrow technical view while overlooking the significance and impact that it has on marketing, business strategy and …

Business Consulting: A Marketing Strategy For The Entrepreneur, Anne Marie Klein

AMTP Proceedings 2010

The purpose of this study is to propose a framework of a marketing strategy for business consulting entrepreneurs. Although research related to entrepreneurial marketing for business-consulting firms is minimal, the intent is to create a foundation for additional research. With a case study research methodology and a review of the literature on entrepreneurial marketing, this study synthesizes this research into a framework for entrepreneurs to create a marketing strategy for their business consulting firms. Albeit in its infancy, entrepreneurs of business-consulting firms may be able to glean important marketing elements for the creation of a marketing strategy.

The Effect Of Culture On Consumers’ Attitude Towards Online Shopping, Atefeh Yazdanparast

AMTP Proceedings 2010

Consumers' attitude towards online shopping is the key to survival and profitability of online retailers in today's competitive market. The purpose of this exploratory research is to provide a deeper understanding of the role of culture on the adoption of online shopping. To this end, the Technology Acceptance Model(TAM) is adopted and then extended by examining the effect of trust and perceived e-vendors' reputation on consumers' attitude toward online shopping using US and non-US samples. The results indicate that culture plays a moderating role in the relations among antecedents and consequences of attitude toward online shopping. It can be concluded …

Gift Cards And Gift Giving: Research Notes From The Field, Melek Meral Meral Anitsal, Ismet Anitsal, Sara E. Taylor

AMTP Proceedings 2010

Gift cards are rapidly emerging as a trend in the retail marketplace. However, this emerging phenomenon of consumers’ preference of gift cards has not been explored thoroughly yet. The objective of the current study is to understand consumer reactions to gift cards in terms of their impact in gift giving and gift receiving relationships. Specifically, this research seeks to answer the following research objectives: (1) How gift givers and receivers perceive gift cards; (2) What roles of gift cards play in gift giving rituals; and (3) What meanings gift cards communicate for receivers and givers.

The Impacts Of Contextual Cues On The Effects Of Brand Extension, Bob Wu, Joseph W. Chang

AMTP Proceedings 2010

Brand extension strategy represents one of the most frequently used branding strategies. The degree of success in this stimulus generalization process depends on the perceived fit between the existing parent product and the extension product. In this article, we examine whether a brand extension initiated by a foreign (vs. domestic) company is construed differently by consumers and consequently whether it affects factors used to judge the fit between the parent brand and the extension brand. A 3 (foreign vs. U.S. vs. control) x 2 (anti-cavity toothpaste vs. pain relievers) between subjects factorial design was used for the study.

The present …

Sample Frames Vs. Data Quality: When Research Panels Are From A Client And A Research Firm, Michael Latta

AMTP Proceedings 2010

Clients, academics, and marketing research practitioners are concerned about sample frames and their relationships to data quality. In addition, clients sponsoring marketing research surveys are concerned about data collection period length. Typically, brand managers pressure research suppliers to quickly find solutions to the research problem. This study provides real world data on a survey among 504 female consumers. Two sample frames were involved: 1) a Volunteer Access Panel (VAP) and 2) a Non-Volunteer Access Panel (NVAP). The use of two sample frames reduced the field time for the client, provided lower costs, and added value in meeting rapid response requirements.

Spirituality: A Multidimentional Construct And Its Implications For Marketing, Emna Zouari

AMTP Proceedings 2010

The present paper deals with the spiritual value that controls the brain activity of many thinkers as well as with the various definitions and characteristics tied up with it. The ultimate scope throughout this essay is to point out the multi-facets aspect of spirituality. Indeed, spirituality encompasses a personal, interpersonal, and transpersonal context. It revealed thus to be a multidimensional construct, entailing four dimensions namely meaningfulness of life (the goal of one’s living), interconnectedness with people (the various relationships that one nourishes with others), transcendence (feeling of an inexplicable supernatural and divine power) and self-renewal (the relationship with one’s self)

A Logo Selection Method, Tulay Girard, Michelle Pope

AMTP Proceedings 2010

Many companies and sports teams have revised their logos over time in efforts to reposition their brand image. Still, the need for establishing a reliable method to guide this important decision still persists. This study offers an empirical method for selecting logos for companies and/or brands by testing the perceptions of consumers using 16 bi-polar personality traits adapted from the literature. The data were collected from undergraduate marketing students for demonstration purposes. The paper proposes that the perceptions for a logo of multiple samples from the same target population will be the same. The findings support the proposition. Implications and …

Fitting X-Bar Chart To The Traditional Transaction Surveys Analysis, Usama A. Saleh

AMTP Proceedings 2010

Traditional transaction surveys such as service feedback cards (SFCs) are widely embraced by different service organizations to measure a service quality or to assess customer satisfaction with specific transactions. This paper pursues to apply the statistical quality control technique of -chart (X-bar) to analyze the scaled collected data of these SFCs. The proposed method establishes the control limits to what is being measured for meeting the managerial objectivity of monitoring, controlling, or improving a service performance.