Marketing Commons^™

The Inherently Flawed Relationship Between Physicians And Pharmaceutical Companies’ Gifts: Tanstaafl*, David P. Paul Iii

Atlantic Marketing Journal

Pharmaceutical companies frequently give practicing physicians and physicians-in-training an assortment of free “gifts,” ranging from pens to stethoscopes to continuing medical education. In an ideal world, these gifts would not compromise, or even seem to compromise, physicians’ decision-making. Unfortunately, as we live in a non-perfect world, this paper examines how physicians have been shown to perceive such gifts, the pharmaceutical companies’ position regarding these gifts, what the theory of gift-giving and gift-receiving tells us about this behavior, and what the future may hold as healthcare becomes more transparent.

Corporate Social Media: A Typology Of Consumers, Beverly Wright, Scott Nadler, Aberdeen L. Borders, Paul H. Schwager, Ashley Sasnett

Atlantic Marketing Journal

Abstract - This consumer segmentation schema is developed using 1) number of businesses followed and 2) companies’ social posts as direct influence toward purchase decisions, as defining behaviors. The use of a theoretical progression prospective, which tracks the development of the customer engagement construct, is central to our development. A combination of qualitative and quantitative research methods reveals types of consumer groups and their interactions, perceptions, and involvement with Corporate Social Media (CSM). Cluster analysis produces five distinct consumer segments, and a process to help managers more effectively achieve marketing goals. The use of additional consumer metrics are recommended for …

Cause-Related Marketing: The Effect Of Checkout Charity Requests On Consumer Donation Behavior, Brian R. Kinard, Minerva Lacal Pardo

Atlantic Marketing Journal

The aim of this research was to understand better consumer reactions to donation requests when making point of purchase decisions. A between-subjects full factorial design manipulated product type (goods/services), consumption experience (frivolous/practical), and product/cause fit (strong/weak). In line with prior research (e.g., Chang, 2008; Savary et al, 2015; Strahilevitz & Myers, 1998), a scenario-based approach was employed to assess responses to the CRM manipulations. A total of 241 subjects participated in the study. Our results mirror extant research evidence on the positive effects of pairing frivolous products with donation requests. In that, positive donation behavior largely results as consumers compensate …

Couples Sleeping Apart--Separate Master Bedrooms And The Impact On The Real Estate And Related Markets, John E. Crawford

Atlantic Marketing Journal

Sleeping is a fundamental individual human need. However, most adults fulfill this need by sleeping with a partner, a behavior particularly true for married couples. A trend of couples choosing to sleep apart has emerged in recent years. For reasons practical and personally beneficial or preferred, a growing number of couples are choosing to have a home with two master bedrooms--one for him and one for her, each furnished according to the needs and tastes of the partners. Thus, some homes are being built with two master bedrooms, others are being modified to have two master bedrooms, and new empty …

The Narcissistic Salesperson: A Framework Of Their Relationships With Job Satisfaction, Organizational Commitment, And Customer Orientation, J. Garry Smith

Atlantic Marketing Journal

Narcissistic salespersons can have detrimental effects on customer relationships and voluntary turnover. These impediments to organizational effectiveness occur through their relationships with customers, coworkers, supervisors, and the organization. Conversely, narcissistic salespersons also possess some attractive salesperson characteristics such as charm, resilience, confidence, competitiveness, and initial likeability. In this paper, I draw from the psychology, marketing, sales, and organizational literatures to develop a conceptual framework which illustrates the relationships of narcissistic salespersons with customers and critical job-related attitudes that affect their relationship with the organization. Specifically, this framework contains empirically testable proposed relationships between narcissism and the following specific outcomes of …

Linking Service Convenience To Satisfaction: Dimensions And Key Moderators, Sabine Benoit, Sonja Klose, Andreas Ettinger

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Purpose: Demand for service convenience, defined as a consumer's perception of minimized time and effort spent to obtain a service, has increased in conjunction with certain sociocultural and demographic changes. Previous research notes the significance of service convenience, but the importance of different dimensions of service convenience and the role of key moderators affecting the link between convenience and satisfaction (like customer psychographic and sociodemographic characteristics) remain unaddressed. Thus, the purpose of this research is to identify those customer groups for which offering convenience will have the highest leverage to increase satisfaction. Design/methodology/approach: Two models are developed and tested: a …

The Essence Of Luxury: An Asian Perspective: Lvmh-Smu Luxury Research Conference 2016, Srinivas K. Reddy, Jin K. Han

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

A number of developments in the luxury market have been attributed to the arrival of luxury products in Asian markets. The modernisation of Japan some decades back paved the way for a growing trend towards imbibing western lifestyles in Asia. Japan’s economic success after the Second World War was a key factor responsible for the introduction of luxury marketing in Asia. In the 1970’s, Japanese tourist-shoppers became a noticeable phenomenon in Europe. The European luxury houses were quick to recognise the opportunity and began setting up branches and luxury outlets in Japan. The Japanese were not only the driving force …

The Effects Of Calorie Information Disclosures On Food Choice And Retailer-Related Outcomes, Christopher Berry

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Federal legislation will begin requiring the provision of calorie information on the menus and menu boards of restaurants and other retail food establishments with 20 or more locations in May 2018. Food retailers not included in this mandate can choose to voluntarily provide calorie information to consumers. However, there are concerns that this major policy change will not have the desired widespread positive effects on consumer choice behavior. Further, although proponents of calorie labeling argue that consumers have the right to know the calorie content of their food orders, many food retailers have argued that calorie labeling is too expensive …

A Further Empirical Investigation Into The Semantic Meaning Of Advertising Price References, Jeffrey Gutenberg, James M. Quinn

Atlantic Marketing Journal

Abstract – This study extends a well-known investigation of the meaning to consumers of commonly used comparative advertising pricing claims (e.g. “compare at”) by employing a broader demographic representation of respondents than the student sample which was used in the original research. Large and statistically significant differences were found between the two groups of respondents yet the main implications for practitioners remain the same.

Are Mature Female Consumers Well Served By The Fashion Retail Sector?, Amanda Ratcliffe

Conference proceedings

The fashion retail sector is going through extremely challenging times with continuing globalisation and the ongoing impact of the recent global recession in many markets. Markets are highly competitive and companies must strive to craft strategies which will deliver competitive advantage. Across the developed and the developing world, populations are ageing. The trend is so marked as to have been termed an ‘Agequake’ by A.T. Kearney, (2011, 1) in terms of its predicted impact on economies, companies and most particularly, retailers. Women aged 50 and over are now one of the most powerful consumer groups in the UK, spending more …

Impact Of Photo Angle On Food Perceptions And Evaluation, Austin B. Jacobs

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Food photography is an increasingly popular phenomenon, especially on social media. There are over 215 million photos on Instagram with the hashtag “food.” There is a growing trend to showcase the food on social media, as both health and “food art” has become part of popular culture. The purpose of this project is to explore how the photo angle utilized in the image influences a number of consumer outcomes, including evaluations of the food itself, the company, and desire to interact with the image. Specifically, pictures of food commonly employ either a three-quarter downward looking angle (as if you were …

The Sustainable Future Of The Fashion Industry, Zhanna Kutsenkova

Scholarly and Creative Works Conference (2015 - 2021)

Sustainable fashion is a recent movement within the fashion industry that aims to reduce textile waste and environmental depletion while increasing ethical treatment of workers; the goal is to slow down the global production and consumption process in order to form an industry that will be more sustainable in the long run. Along with the development of more socially and eco-conscious production and marketing practices, there is still room for the sustainable fashion movement to grow beyond its current scope. With the support of growing information networks and brand transparency consumers will be better equipped than ever before to make …

Straight From The Horse's Mouth: An Examination Of Social Media Usage And Advertising Methodologies In The Sale Of Sporthorses, Michael Willham

Undergraduate Distinction Papers

This study discovered general market conditions as well as buyer and seller behavior in the sporthorse market for the disciplines of Dressage, Show Jumping, and Eventing. The efficient sale of sporthorses in these disciplines is equally as important of a consideration as the marketing and advertising decisions for any other product such as automobiles or electronics. Equids differ from regular products in that they typically have markedly higher inventory costs associated with the maintenance of holding onto a live animal. Therefore, it is arguably more imperative for businesses to determine the quickest and most efficient means to sell them. This …

The Interplay Of Customer Experience And Commitment, Timothy Keiningham, Joan Ball, Sabine Benoit, Helen L. Bruce, Alexander Buoye, Julija Dzenkovska, Linda Nasr, Yi-Chun Ou, Mohamed Zaki

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Purpose: This research aims to better understand customer experience, as it relates to customer commitment and provides a framework for future research into the intersection of these emerging streams of research. Design/methodology/approach: This research contributes to theoretical and practical perspectives on customer experience and its measurement by integrating extant literature with customer commitment and customer satisfaction literature. Findings: The breadth of the domains that encompass customer experience – cognitive, emotional, physical, sensorial and social – makes simplistic metrics impossible for gauging the entirety of customers’ experiences. These findings provide strong support of the need for new research into customer experience …

Building Sales People: Recommendations For The Development Of A Professional Sales Mentorship Program, Karen Hood Hopkins, Christopher D. Hopkins

EKU Faculty and Staff Scholarship

Companies will constantly need people to sell something for them. As Grant Cardone, author of Sell or Be Sold: How to Get Your Way in Business and in Life, puts it, "Great salespeople are literally the engine of every economy in the world." This is evident as the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that over 13.6 million Americans are in sales and related occupations.

Looking at specific industries; the real estate sector is projected to grow faster than any other sales sector over the next decade, according to the Department of Labor. With a 14 percent growth rate expected, this …

Exchange And Refund Of Complementary Products, Yoonju Han, Sandeep R. Chandukala, Hai Che

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

A common dilemma a consumer faces during product return pertains to the decision of exchanging the product or obtaining a refund. This issue becomes even more salient for durable goods, when the initial purchase involves complementary products from different categories. This research examines consumer’s trade-off decision between returning and keeping complementary products by exploring various retail actions (using umbrella branded products (UBP)) and customer characteristics. We also investigate the trade-off between product exchange and refund when consumer returns a product. We find interesting extensions to past research wherein UBP are returned less and result in greater exchange than refund. Furthermore, …

Nostalgic Selling: The Louisville & Nashville Railroad And Its General Public Relations, Michael J. Landry

Atlantic Marketing Journal

This paper represents a case study of how to use historic events/artifacts in public relations and sales. It recounts how the Louisville & Nashville Railroad participated in the United States Civil War centennial celebrations by restoring a locomotive, the General, that was made famous in a daring raid conducted in that war. Using primary and secondary documents mainly from corporate archives including notes, operations manuals, public relations logs, measurements, corporate publications and oral history, the paper outlines the General’s iconic history, the purposes for its 1960s restoration to operation for the Civil War centennial, and the overarching marketing strategy behind …

Job Shadowing Experiences As A Teaching Tool: A New Twist On A Tried And True Technique, Fred H. Mader, Deanna R. D. Mader, Elizabeth C. Alexander

Atlantic Marketing Journal

This article reports an innovative twist on the use of the job shadowing experience as a means not only to provide real-world exposure for the student, but also as a way to generate real-time data from the professionals to be utilized as a basis for class discussion. Reaction from both students and professionals has been overwhelmingly positive.

Field Trip! Assessing Business Student Interest In Plant Tours And Their Product Categories, Mark Mitchell, Gregory Turner, Robert Montgomery, Mark Hartley

Atlantic Marketing Journal

Business educators are challenged daily to provide fresh ideas in the classroom and to use new methods to stimulate active learning. One option is to use manufacturing plant tours, company museums, and company visitor centers to supplement traditional classroom activities. This manuscript details this growing type of tourism (known as Consumer Experience Tourism) and identifies the product categories of greatest interest to today’s students in Business and Economics. Business educators are encouraged to more fully embrace this under-utilized resource to promote active student learning and to select those destinations of greatest interest to their particular student audiences.

Controlling And Informational Planned Behavior: Self-Determination Theory And The Theory Of Planned Behavior, Jonathan P. Leavell

Atlantic Marketing Journal

The purpose of this non-empirical paper is to explore the theoretical value of introducing constructs of self-determination theory (SDT) into the framework of the theory of planned behavior (TPB). Deci’s and Ryan’s (1985) formulation of SDT maintains an intrinsic focus while much of Ajzen’s (1985) TPB framework maintains an extrinsic focus. The incorporation of constructs based on an internal locus of causality may enhance the predictive power of TPB. Applications for practitioners and opportunities for further research are presented.

An Exploratory Comparison Of Private And Hbcu Marketing Student Study Abroad Program (Sap) Participation Intentions, Omar Woodham, George W. Stone, Kathryn Cort, Michael A. Jones

Atlantic Marketing Journal

The current research compares two demographically diverse universities regarding their respective awareness of the study abroad programs (SAPs) offered by their school. The study focuses on each sample’s awareness of SAP opportunities (i.e., as offered by their own institution) as well as each group’s opinion of the level of university administrator effort aimed at promoting the SAP offerings at each school. The authors analyzed whether student perceptions of the level of administrator support affected student expectations regarding SAP participation prior to graduation. Given the different socio-economic characteristics of the two student samples used in the study, the authors provide additional …

Students' Attitudes Towards Textbook Types: Are Students Really Ready For E-Textbooks?, Diane R. Edmondson, Cheryl Ward

Atlantic Marketing Journal

Abstract - This study examines students’ attitudes and preferences to the four primary textbook types currently on the market. These types include hardback, paperback, loose leaf, and E-textbook. Two hundred twenty-three students currently taking Principles of Marketing from a large public university in the southeastern United States completed the survey. Results found that students still prefer paperback textbooks, even when this textbook is at a higher price than other alternatives. When students were asked their opinions on the various textbook options, it was clear that price, ease of use, health concerns, and ownership desires were the primary reasons why they …

Studying The Logic Of Luxury, Singapore Management University

Research@SMU: Connecting the Dots

The SMU Centre for Marketing Excellence is partnering with Asia’s luxury sector to navigate trends that are changing the face of retail.

See the book: The essence of luxury: An Asian perspective: LVMH-SMU Luxury Research Conference 2016

What Makes Consumers Use Their Loyalty Points?, Singapore Management University

Perspectives@SMU

Companies are utilising loyalty programs more often than ever to retain customers and boost sales. But not all of them are successful. What makes people spend their points and stay loyal to a program? A research by the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) Business School has the answer

Cueing The Customer Using Nudges And Negative Option Marketing, Clarence W. Vonbergen, Courtney Kernek, Martin S. Bressler, Lawrence S. Silver

Atlantic Marketing Journal

Abstract

Nudges—subtle, covert, and often unobtrusive interventions that take advantage of individuals’ mental shortcuts and biases—frequently change the context of people’s choices and in so doing influence individual and societal behavior. They have become fashionable in recent years, and the ability of such phenomena to bring about significant change for relatively little cost has captured the imagination of governments and businesses. One simple yet potent nudge empowered by the status-quo bias that has received increased attention involves default rules which specify the condition imposed on persons when they fail to make a decision or choice. Marketers have used default options …

Motivations In The Fine-Art Market: A Self-Determination Theory Approach, Jonathan P. Leavell

Atlantic Marketing Journal

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the theoretical value of incorporating constructs from self-determination theory (SDT) into the analysis of the motivations within the fine-art market. The motivations of buyers and artists are examined in light of a controlling-informational event gradient. Moureau’s and Sagot-Duvauroux’ (2012) artist business-model framework is used to provide the context for marketing’s role in facilitating communication along the various motivational interactions of the gradient. Opportunities for further research are presented.

How Customer Shopping Motivation Influences Perceived Design Of The Retail Environment, Julie C. Steen

Atlantic Marketing Journal

This research proposal extends the Mehrabian-Russell stimulus-organism-response framework to examine how two different hedonic shopping motivations—adventure and gratification—influence a customer’s perceptions of the retail environment. Specifically, the paper examines perceived design of the retail environment. The paper also examines how perceived design of the retail environment influences pleasure and arousal. Since there is not an accepted measure for perceived design, the paper offers a comprehensive list of potential items to measure perceived design.

College Students Use Social Networking Sites For Sharing With Friends, But Guess Who Else Is Looking?, Elizabeth C. Alexander, Fred Mader, Deanna Mader

Atlantic Marketing Journal

Abstract - Jobvite, a recruiting platform for the social web, reports from their annual 2012 survey of recruiters that 92% of U.S. companies are using social networking sites (SNS) for hiring purposes (Jobvit, 2012). Career Builder reported in 2009 that 45% of employers were using SNS to screen and research applicants (CareerBuilder, 2009). It is important that faculty and support staff working to place students, and the students themselves, understand the developments and practices in the use of social networking sites for job search and recruiting and the best methods, as well as detriments when marketing themselves. This study examines …

Using Focus Groups And Correspondence Analysis To Explore The Relationship Between Millennials’ Online Behavior And Their Opinions Of Online Reviews, James E. Stoddard, Michael Dotson, Neel Das

Atlantic Marketing Journal

This paper explores the relationship between millennials’ online behavior and their opinions of online reviews via the use of focus groups and correspondence analysis. The proposition was that millennials’ online behavior (including search behavior) is likely to have an effect on how they view online reviews. The correspondence analysis results suggest that millennials who spend more time online peruse a greater number of products. Further, relationships were found between millennials’ time online and factors influencing review trustworthiness as well as millennials’ time online and factors affecting review memorability. It is noteworthy to suggest that focus group analysis can be enhanced …

The Effect Of Advertorial Format And Copy Length On Attitudes Of Female (Target) And Male (Non-Target) Audiences, Cynthia B. Hanson

Atlantic Marketing Journal

This study investigates the effect of the advertorial format and ad copy length on ad and brand attitude. Results of a 2 (advertorial versus non-advertorial) by 2 (light versus moderate copy length) study indicate that the advertorial format generated more favorable ad and brand attitudes for the female (target) subjects, but less favorable attitudes for the male (non-target) subjects. A marginally significant gender by copy length interaction suggests a differential effect of copy length for the male sample, as well: ad and brand attitudes were higher for lighter copy ads for the female sample but lower for the male sample. …