Business Commons^™

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.

Brand Engagement And Consumer Innovativeness, Ronald E. Goldsmith, Leisa Reinecke Flynn, Felipe Korzenny

AMTP Proceedings 2010

Brand engagement describes the tendency of consumers to make the brands they buy part of their self- concept. This new insight into consumer behavior offers marketers many ways to create relationships with their customers. An unexplored aspect of brand engagement is how it is related to consumer innovativeness, the tendency to be among the first buyers of new products. The present study used survey data from 2399 adult U.S. consumers to show that brand engagement is positively related to consumer innovativeness. This finding suggests that in addition to promoting the features of new products likely to attract innovators, showing how …

Business Literature: A Cross-Disciplinary Approach To Marketing Education, Nancy L. Bush

AMTP Proceedings 2010

This paper looks at a course for marketing majors developed to examine literature in

several areas of the business disciplines that are relevant to marketing professionals-to- be. The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) and potential

employers have increasingly suggested that the integration of learning rather than functional silo-oriented learning is the preferred andragogy for business schools, providing students with soft skills as well as technical expertise that are needed for the contemporary employment environment. In examining the then existing traditional General Education Requirements (GER) for Wingate University, the faculty assembly considered ways to increase such cross disciplinary …

Projecting Integrity: Online Branding For Nonprofits, Lisa Witzig, Perry Haan

AMTP Proceedings 2010

Internet usage has grown precipitously in the last decade, and the implications for marketing are deep and profound for nonprofit organizations. Web sites and online social networking are becoming increasingly important for nonprofits, and the concept of brand personality is another powerful marketing technique that enhances these organizations’ marketing strategies. This study examined the intersection of online branding, brand personalities, and nonprofit organizations, and assessed whether the presence of online branding techniques at a nonprofit’s Web site is associated with a donor’s perception of the nonprofit’s personality. The results of the study demonstrated that online branding is significantly important for …

Attitudes Towards Consumer Transgressions In The Marketplace, Sam Fullerton, Larry Neale

AMTP Proceedings 2010

A sample of 815 adults drawn from the general American population provided their perception of the appropriateness of 12 questionable consumer actions in the marketplace. The scenarios investigated ranged from illegal actions such as inflating one’s losses when filing an insurance claim to actions that while not illegal, may raise questions of ethics. The 12 scenarios exhibited a wide range of mean responses on the six-point scale thereby supporting an often stated premise that consumer ethics is situational in nature. An array of commonly employed demographic questions was also included on the Internet-based survey, and differences of opinion were documented …

Practitioner Implications On Sample Frame For Single Language Products, Joe Schwartz

AMTP Proceedings 2010

When a marketing research project is undertaken in a single language the potential for bias through misrepresentation of those who do not speak the language is always an inherent risk. That bias can greatly increase in a market with a significant population that does not speak that language. In practice there are a small number of U.S. markets that can be significantly impacted when addressing this concern. The author identifies the conditions under which this bias can be so great as to skew results. The author extends this to show how the bias can be a significant factor in marketing …

Ethics In Retail Buying And Sales: Perceptions Of Future Retail Personnel, David J. Burns

AMTP Proceedings 2010

Unlike many other industries, collegiately educated individuals pursuing a career in retailing often find themselves involved in both buying and selling activities and/or interacting with those who do during their careers. As a result, policies enacted by a retailer which affects one of these two environments will likely affect the other. Perceptions of potentially ethically troublesome situations and practices in buying were found to be strongly related to perceptions of potentially ethically troublesome situations and practices in selling. The only exceptions concern socialization between retail salespeople and their peers and/or management, and whether vendors service small accounts. It appears that …

At The Intersection Of Politics & Consumption: A Review Of Ethical Shopping In America, Julie M. Pharr

AMTP Proceedings 2010

This paper condenses the existing literature on ethical shopping in the United States with the goal of providing an up-to-date review of the topic. It profiles the ethical shopper and distinguishes the various institutions and instruments of political consumerism evident in the Fair Trade movement. It also provides recommendations for more rigorous study of moral consumer behavior and implications for implementing fair trade marketing strategies.

Effectiveness Of Price Bundling In An Entertainment Setting, Raj Arora, Charles R. Stoner

AMTP Proceedings 2010

This study examined the effectiveness of price bundling and whether that effectiveness varied by the discount format utilized. Exploring a movie-dining bundle in the entertainment setting, the study revealed that the bundle was preferred over individual item purchases. Mixed results were noted for the format preferences, and these are addressed in the discussion.

Identifying Potential Student Blood Donors By Personality Traits, Harold Ogden, Brian Mascarenhas, Milen Minchev, Emilie Pelletier, Ryan Slanley

AMTP Proceedings 2010

A convenience sample of 149 university students was surveyed on their attitudes and behaviors toward blood donation and with a scale of twenty four personality trait items. These items reduced to a seven- factor structure. The data were divided into two groups of high and low-likelihood of blood donation which were compared on factor means. Differences were seen on the “Concern for Others” and the “Down to Earth” factors although not all items in a factor were different and differences were seen in some non- significant factors. Applications of these finding are suggested.

College Students' Choice Criteria Of Retail Banks, Charles Blankson, Trang Phuc Tran

AMTP Proceedings 2010

The purpose of this research is to develop a scale identifying American college students’ choice criteria of retail banks. It is an exploratory study that complements extant studies on retail bank selection. The reliability of the scale was assessed using exploratory factor analysis and serves as a prelude to further empirical validation analysis. The results present four distinct factors important in the selection of retail banks, namely, "convenience", "competence”, “recommendation by parents" and "free banking - no bank charges". It concludes by discussing managerial contributions, limitations and future research directions.

The Influence Of Increasing Transaction Price To Facilitate Direct Charitable Contribution On Consumer Product Choice, Michael Levens

AMTP Proceedings 2010

The study of embedding direct charitable contributions into a purchase transaction through increasing product price can enhance opportunities for charitable organizations to proactively approach companies with cause marketing proposals. Typically the case for cause marketing is built on goodwill and the potential for future revenue or profits for the partner company. If increasing product price to include a direct donation can be shown to possess consumer utility, business cases for cause marketing activities are enhanced for all parties involved. The basis for this research is the convergence between the concepts of cause marketing, individual giving, donation behavior, the shopping process …

Utilizing The Innovative Leadership Behavior Inventory And Relationship Marketing As Critical Elements For Teaching/Learning Entrepreneurial Leadership (El), Howard F. Rudd Jr., John E. Clarkin, Thomas Kent, Robert J. Brinson Sr

AMTP Proceedings 2010

The focus of this paper will be on utilizing the five-factor Leader Behavior Inventory (LBI) as the structure, and various teaching or learning pedagogy and related processes and relationships as the intervening variables in order to help entrepreneurs assess then enhance their potential leadership behavior. In turn, this should foster the decision process necessary to accomplish enterprise building or organizational development thus enhancing the cycle time for critical change. Should the LBI and associated assessment tools and processes indicate such, the best practice strategies may involve bringing in professional management, slowing the growth of the enterprise to allow for leadership …

A Tale Of Two Worlds: A Second Life For Higher Education?, Daniel Demaiolo, Donna Walsh

AMTP Proceedings 2010

This exploratory research investigates the virtual world industry, explanations for its growth and emerging trends for entrepreneurial ventures and marketing communications. It then explores the effectiveness of operating and promoting higher education in Second Life. Results illustrate consumers 17-24 years old still rely on traditional media for information related to higher education. Developing a business model and marketing mix in Second Life, that often features uncensored content, may not be an appropriate method of connecting with the target demographic. Benefits of utilizing virtual worlds are considered; further research is recommended; suggestions are offered to increase Second Life’s viability in higher …

The Psychodynamic Limits Of Fractured Relationships: When Emotional Tensile Strength Is Broken, Mary F. Mobley, Micheal C. Mobley

AMTP Proceedings 2010

The Special Session will address factors that lead to the disintegration of once strong partnerships and alliances and outline the psychodynamic limits that lead to fractured relationships. Behavioral constructs employed in a psychiatric medicine setting will be discussed relative to their heuristic value in strategic relationship management setting. Further, the concept of emotional tensile strength will be explored.

The Lighter Side Of Darkness: B-School Management And Succession, Lydia A. Mckinley-Floyd, Melvin T. Stith

AMTP Proceedings 2010

Few faculty members give much thought to joining the "Dark Side" of the academy--administration, preferring instead to be left alone to pursue their scholarly research, classroom instruction and professional affiliations. Yet at no time in our history has b-school leadership been more important. Facing multiple threats from global economic meltdown, for-profit online programs and global educational competition, traditional b-schools need to attract and maintain dynamic leaders who must identify innovative ways to reinvent, reposition, and reignite their faculty and programs for success in the 21st century while maintaining their heritage and values that alumni and other stakeholders come to expect. …

The Perks And Problems Of Being Department Chair, David J. Burns, Stephen S. Batory, John Lanasa, Chris Manolis

AMTP Proceedings 2010

Many faculty members find the opportunity to serve as chair of their department at a point of their career. How does the chair position differ from a faculty position? Of what should a faculty member be aware before agreeing to serve as chair? Is it possible to prosper in the chair’s position? This special session will involve a candid discussion if the chair’s position – its perks and its problems. Four marketing faculty, both present chairs and former chairs, will present a clear picture of the chair’s position, and will address such issues as chair selection and appointment, dealing with …

The Nexus Of Payroll, Performance, Ticket Prices, And Attendance In Mlb, Sam Fullerton

AMTP Proceedings 2010

This study uses secondary data from the past ten seasons to explore key issues germane to Major League Baseball. Focusing on attendance, payroll, performance, and the cost of attending, several key relationships were identified. Huge disparities in spending are documented. Perhaps most importantly, there is a meaningful relationship between performance and attendance. Equally important is the relationship between performance and the team’s payroll. Other relationships were documented and suggestions are articulated. These suggestions include future research and managerial issues such as the implementation of a hard salary cap.

Sporting Change: Greening The Ballpark, Steve Greenberg, Anthony Taormina, Robert Sroufe

AMTP Proceedings 2010

Sustainable construction achieves the dual aim of reducing building carbon emissions while reducing lifecycle maintenance and long-term operating costs of the facility. This exploratory research aims to address the gap between the growing development of commercial LEED real estate buildings and sports and entertainment venues, while developing a framework for LEED Certification in New Ballparks. Medlar Field at Lubrano Park, located in State College, Pennsylvania, opened in 2006 as the first LEED certified stadium in the world. Sustainable design features include automatic plumbing fixtures, a gray water system, automatic lighting, public transportation hubs, and use of recycled and local construction …

Assessing Sport-Sales Training Effectiveness: Development Of A Baseline Sample, Richard M. Southall

AMTP Proceedings 2010

The majority of entry-level positions within the sport industry fall in the area of sales. Yet, only recently have sport-management programs begun to offer courses devoted to sales education and training. The discipline of sales provides an ideal opportunity to incorporate experiential-based learning. While several recent articles have examined the application of experiential-learning based learning to courses focused on ticket sales, this article presents the results of the first systematic assessment of such courses’ effectiveness. Specifically, this paper presents the results of evaluation of sales-training programs that incorporate Southall, Nagel, LeGrande, and Han's (2003) metadiscrete experiential learning model and the …

Collegiate Basketball Season-Ticket Holders’ Purchasing Motivation And Interests, Steve Shih-Chia Chen, Jennifer Mark

AMTP Proceedings 2010

This study examined the ticket purchasing motivation and interests of 334 season-ticket holders (199 males, 135 females) from two NCAA Division-I regional state institutions. The participants’ purchasing motivation and interests were surveyed onsite in the 2008-9 season by utilizing a12-item self-created instrument with a high level of internal reliability. The results indicated that the participants’ ticket purchasing motivation was mainly influenced by the competition and psycho-social related factor (CPR) and price and promotion (P&P) factor. The researchers further addressed the unique aspects in promoting regional Division-I basketball programs, and limitations and directions for future studies.

A Successful International Joint Venture: Exploring The Critical Success Factors Of Starbucks Korea, Kyuho Lee, Melih Madanoglu, Jae-Youn Ko

AMTP Proceedings 2010

International joint venture has become a key foreign entry mode among global service firms. Scholars have devoted significant attention to the theory of international joint venture in the past three decades. However, despite growing interest from academics and practitioners alike, research that would synthesize the model of a successful international joint venture in the service industry has not been established. To close this gap, we undertook a qualitative study using Starbuck Korea case. This study investigates how Starbucks Korea, an international joint venture between the Starbucks Corporation and the Shinsegae Corporation (the Korean joint venture partner of Starbucks Korea) has …

Tthe Effect Of Acculturation On Franchise Relationships, Sally Baalbaki

AMTP Proceedings 2010

Buyer-seller relationships and franchisee-franchisor relationships, have been studied excessively in the past. One of the causes of the growing importance of research on franchising has been the increased reliance on the service sector in many developed countries. However, the role of the franchisee has not been adequately studied in the literature outside of the buyer-seller relational framework, and especially not in conjunction with the concept of acculturation. Interpersonal relationships are critical in a service industry, offering an important reason to undergo a study of culture and acculturation within this industry, specifically from the franchisee perspective. The purpose of this research …