Sales and Merchandising Commons^™

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 Scent Of Change: A Case Study, William K. Foxx, Melissa C. Northam, Corlette S. Burns

Atlantic Marketing Journal

Decisions about entering into a new business venture involve a variety of considerations, despite the level of experience an entrepreneur has. This case presents the story of a business owner Bennett Gage and his decisions concerning whether or not he should enter into a business where canines are used to detect bed bugs in hotels. This case study gives the reader an opportunity to wrestle with some of the many questions that are part of entering into the creation of a new service.

Newsvendor Models With Monte Carlo Sampling, Ijeoma W. Ekwegh

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Newsvendor Models with Monte Carlo Sampling by Ijeoma Winifred Ekwegh The newsvendor model is used in solving inventory problems in which demand is random. In this thesis, we will focus on a method of using Monte Carlo sampling to estimate the order quantity that will either maximizes revenue or minimizes cost given that demand is uncertain. Given data, the Monte Carlo approach will be used in sampling data over scenarios and also estimating the probability density function. A bootstrapping process yields an empirical distribution for the order quantity that will maximize the expected profit. Finally, this method will be used …

An Alternate Functionality Reality, Harold R. Weinberg

Georgia Journal of Law & Technology

The Supreme Court last addressed trade dress law’s functionality doctrine in TrafFix Devices, Inc. v. Marketing Displays, Inc. decided in 2001. This article applies content analysis to data from post-TrafFix functionality cases to provide insights concerning the functionality doctrine. It emphasizes data from cases concerning motions for summary judgment and preliminary injunction. The analysis employs two conceptual constructs: a “useful/aesthetic continuum” and “mixed-character” design features. The article also considers data in light of a “two-bar mandate” and two principles: “useful-scarcity” and “aesthetic-abundance.” It concludes with observations concerning the post-TrafFix functionality doctrine and suggestions for improving its judicial …

Getting Hooked On Gnarly Rods, Cody A. Nelson

Marketing Undergraduate Honors Theses

At Gnarly Rods, our objective is to supply builders and fishermen alike with the quality gear, components, and service necessary to catch everything life has to offer. From providing rod building parts, to repairs, to fully customized fishing rods, we are the destination for all things in custom fishing. Conceptualized in 2015, Gnarly Rods will be based out of Springdale, AR, and started by Robert and Cody Nelson, a father and son pair as passionate for fishing as they are family and the influence the outdoors can have in life. As of now, we will be the only two employees …

Male Breadwinner Ideology And The Inclination To Establish Market Relationships: Model Development Using Data From Germany And A Mixed-Methods Research Strategy, Michaela Haase, Ingrid Becker, Alexander Nill, Clifford J. Shultz Ii, James W. Gentry

Department of Marketing: Faculty Publications

A pattern found in many marketing systems, “male breadwinning,” is contingent upon overlapping and shared ideologies, which influence the economic organization and thus the type and number of relationships in those systems. Implementing a mixed-methods research methodology, this article continues and extends previous work in macromarketing on the interplay of markets, ideology, socio-economic organization, and family. A qualitative study illuminated the main ideologies behind male breadwinning and a model was developed to advance the theoretical analysis of the phenomenon of male breadwinning. An experiment in the form of a vignette study was subsequently designed and administered. The qualitative study and …

Women's Professional Sports: A Case Study On Practices That Could Increase Their Profitability, Danielle H. Mcardle

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Women’s professional sports leagues have often been considered a risky business endeavor. Critics cite low attendance, lack of sponsorships, lack of media rights deals, and numerous other reasons for why women’s professional sports leagues are not profitable. In analyzing the current landscape of women’s professional sport leagues, this paper uses a case study approach to develop a strategy that will highlight lessons learned from past women’s professional sports leagues, current professional sports leagues, sponsorship agreements, fans, social, digital, and mobile marketing strategies, and management practices to show how the business of women’s sports could be made into a more profitable …

Life Beyond The Like: Uses And Gratifications Of Sharing Business Facebook Page Content, Sara M. Nash

College of Journalism and Mass Communications: Theses

One of the main reasons businesses create a Facebook Page is to solidify relationships with existing customers who are Facebook users and to leverage those relationships to gain new customers. Many studies have asked Facebook users to articulate the gratifications they receive when “liking” a business Facebook Page. These studies help explain what gratifications users gain by connecting to businesses via Facebook. To expand on these findings, the current pilot study applied the uses and gratifications theory to identify Facebook users’ motivations to “share” business Facebook content within their own personal network. Understanding users’ reasons for “sharing” will help businesses …

Corporate Social Responsibility In The B-2-B Market, Susan Saurage-Altenloh, Perry Haan

Atlantic Marketing Association Proceedings

Organizations that invest in corporate social responsibility (CSR) to improve the quality of a community or population expect a return on their investment in the form of improved brand reputation and greater consideration in the competitive environment. Homburg, Stierl, and Bornemann (2013) determined that targeted CSR activities could enhance trust and identification by organizational customers, thus fostering customer loyalty. The authors confirmed that CSR influenced client trust through loyalty and that integrating instrumental stakeholder theory with social exchange theory undergirded this link between CSR and trust. Maignan and Ferrell (2004) exhorted marketers to focus beyond consumers to other stakeholder groups …

Removing The Undesirables: A Case Study, William K. Foxx, Melissa C. Northam, Corlette S. Burns

Atlantic Marketing Association Proceedings

The lodging industry has been particularly challenged by the bed bug’s resurgence. Bed bugs are primarily associated with places where people sleep and most of these places are properties associated with the lodging industry such as hotels, motels and bed & breakfasts.

In the United States, this industry is massive.

A Game Theory Analysis Of Team Based Incentivization In Retailing, Don Shemwell

Atlantic Marketing Association Proceedings

The connection between incentives and outcomes has long found consistent support in management literature generally (Bartol and Hagmann 1992; Miller & Schuster 1993; Swinehart 1986) and retailing in particular (Banker et al. 1996; Team Pay Case Studies 1997). Later meta-studies strongly support this view. (Condly, Noe and Jackson 2002; Garbers and Konradt 2014). Yet, providing performance-based incentives, at least for rank and file retail employees, still is not common in U.S. retailing and team-based incentives are even rarer.

The next section of this manuscript describes some of the issues with individualized commissions, which though not prevalent in a many product …

A Research Note On Street Pricing Requirements In Major U.S. Airport Retail Concessions Requests For Proposals, Blaise Waguespack

Atlantic Marketing Association Proceedings

When reviewing the subject of airport marketing, much of the literature is broken down into issues external or internal to the airport. The external literature tends to divide and differentiate airports on the issues of size (passenger counts) and who is the target of the marketing campaign. Those articles and books that tend to focus on the larger commercial airports (Jarach, 2005; Halpern and Graham, 2013) note the role the airport can play in economic development. Much of the external marketing tasks for the larger commercial airports are aimed at either attracting more airline service to the community or working …

Emotional Versus Functional Attributes Of Delight-And Satisfaction-Mediated Effects On Customer Loyalty, Ipshita Ray

Atlantic Marketing Association Proceedings

This study presents a model in which delight and satisfaction mediate the effects of store characteristics on store outcomes. It is proposed that the impacts of hedonic stimuli and utilitarian stimuli on attitudinal and behavioral loyalty intentions are mediated by customer delight and customer satisfaction simultaneously in a dual process model. To represent various retail-store categories based on the North American Industry Classification of retail categories, data were collected from 8 types of retail stores located in the Northeast United States. Using multi-group structural equation modeling, the author examines the mediating effects of delight and satisfaction on loyalty outcomes. The …

Authenticity In Music Performance: Evidence From The Singer-Songwriter Community, Jon Littlefield

Atlantic Marketing Association Proceedings

Experiencing music provides a unique lens to study identity. The alienation resulting from increased technological mediation in both music production and consumption might drive consumption (Potter 2010), hence authenticity may be an appealing positioning strategy for marketers. Singer-songwriters, for example, write and perform their own music with minimal technological interference. This represents a direct connection with the musician that we characterize as more historically authentic (Thornton 1996), however this characterization is not universal. In this paper, I seek to gather insight into the myriad expressions of authenticity within the music consumption environment by detailing a study of performance musicians.

Is Indoor Tanning The Next Tobacco?, Suzeanne B. Benet, Frederic B. Kraft

Atlantic Marketing Association Proceedings

Marketers of indoor tanning services have directed major promotional efforts toward young adults, and their tactics in pursuing this market segment have been limited by only weak regulation (Greenman and Jones 2010). Although most young indoor tanners acknowledge the link between skin cancer and tanning, they desire the immediate benefits of a tan and regard skin cancer as a distant threat, something as hard for them to imagine as old age itself (Hillhouse 2011). The authors compare the marketing practices of the indoor tanning industry with the practices of the tobacco industry prior to present day regulations.

Market Oriented Organizations And Talent Workers: Composition Of The Workforce And Its Influence On Market Orientation, Dawn Mueller, Pradeep Gopalakrishna

Atlantic Marketing Association Proceedings

Many organizations employ marketing initiatives to “assist” in launching new efforts to both internal and external audiences and weave marketing throughout as part of being “market oriented.” The primary motivation behind a market orientation is improvement of market performance, according to the literature (Narver and Slater, 1990; Kohli and Jaworski 1990).

There is literature on workforce composition and different types of workers and this includes concepts of talent workers and knowledge workers (Chowdhury 2003) and HEROes (Bernoff and Schadler 2010) but there is little to nothing on the type of workers employed by highly market-oriented organizations. …

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

Atlantic Marketing Association Proceedings

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 corporate recruiters’, …

Analyzing The Effect Of Advertising On Hospital Choice And Selection: Advancing A New Truth For Hospital Selection And Its Implication For Other Service Providers, Michael A. Petrochuk, Trish Berg

Atlantic Marketing Association Proceedings

Consumerism has long-been an important driver in other industries across the globe, as industries have embraced the importance of meeting customer and consumer expectations (Bennett and Mandell, 1969; Oliver, 1980; Bolton and Drew, 1991; Peyrot, Cooper, and Schnapf, 1993; Taylor and Cronin, 1994). Firms have attempted to understand consumer expectations prior to the delivery of service or product purchase.

Within the last ten years, this consumerism movement has infiltrated into the field of global health care (Herzlinger, 2002; Grazman, & Leifer, 2007). Tenets of the consumer-driven health care include increased demands for high performance, flawless quality, data analytics to support …

Perceived Risk Reduction In E-Commerce Environments, C. Michael Powell, Chris Conca

Atlantic Marketing Association Proceedings

During the past three decades, the growth of e-commerce has presented marketers with many new arenas for research and application. Certainly e-commerce has become a significant portion of the world economy and in particular the consumer sector. As previous literature has consistently considered perceived risk as a major factor consumer purchase decisions, this research identifies several major components of consumer perceived risk (PR) and their normative implications in the e-commerce environment

A Systematic Review Of Anti-Brand Website Literature: What We Know And What We Need To Know, David L. Williams, Ellen Kolbas

Atlantic Marketing Association Proceedings

The emergence of Web 1.0 began an evolution in electronic communication. This platform resulted in a unidirectional communication flow (e.g. firm to consumer) that featured firms generating messages for public consumption. Web 1.0 gave rise to Web 2.0 and 3.0 platforms that facilitate bi-directional communication between firms and the public. This new method has resulted in an increase in consumer empowerment to create and disseminate marketing messages of their own (Williams, Crittenden, Keo, & McCarty, 2012). Third party stakeholders are disseminating electronic word-of-mouth communications about companies through the use of video, reviews, forums, microblogs and multiple other channels (Gil-Or, 2010). …

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

Atlantic Marketing Association Proceedings

Consumer decision-making regarding a purchase is usually influenced by feedback received from other people in addition to prior experiences/beliefs/attitudes and marketer dominated information. Such diverse sources of influence are collectively referred to as the influence mix (Simonson and Rosen 2014). Of the different sources in the influence mix, word-of-mouth (i.e., feedback received from other people) is one of the most impactful sources of information (Duan, Gu, and Whinston 2008). With the advent of e-tailers on the Internet, the influence of word-of-mouth communication has grown significantly in the form of online consumer reviews (Schindler ad Bickart 2012). Research has shown that …

The Clothing Swap: Social, Sustainable, And Sacred, Mary M. Long, Deborah Fain

Atlantic Marketing Association Proceedings

While there is much focus on recycling household waste such as paper, plastic, and metal, there is less focused attention on the waste produced by clothing and textiles. As noted by Joung (2013), consumers dispose of clothes by recycling, donating to charities, or giving to friends and family. But when individuals are not motivated to do this or are unaware of recycling options, they simply discard unwanted clothing where it ends up in landfill sites.

Motives for recycling clothes can range from altruistic (e.g., donating to a clothing drive for the poor or victims of a natural disaster) to economic …

Modification And Investment Intention In The Consumer-Possession Relationship, James D. Doyle

Atlantic Marketing Association Proceedings

The present-day automobile is at once a source of physical transportation, of course, but also an extension of self, a potential platform for self-expression and image enhancement, a source of social approval as well as psychological and physiological stimulation, and, perhaps, an object of beauty. This study examines motivations and antecedents of various vehicle-directed consumer behaviors, including modification and the intention of consumers to invest in their relationship with their vehicle. In this study, vehicle modification refers to the voluntary actions taken by a user or owner of a vehicle to differentiate the functional or aesthetic characteristics or performance of …

Fitting Consumer Needs To Perceived Product Value: The Example Of Apple Versus Samsung Products, Yi-Chia Wu, Arturo Vasquez-Parraga

Atlantic Marketing Association Proceedings

This study explores the fitting of consumer needs to product perceived value using the example of two lines of competitive products in the area of communication electronics, Apple products versus Samsung products. Five types of needs regarding digital communication and three types of related product value are evaluated for these two brands in order to know if product value differences have a distinctive effect on consumer needs.

This study focuses on the impact of perceived product values on certain consumer needs. We use Apple products and Samsung products to accomplish this.

Progressive Trust Formation Within The South African Fresh Produce Industry Through The Use Of Self-Service Technologies, Justy Range, Awie C. Leonard Phd

The African Journal of Information Systems

When using self-service solutions to deliver services the challenge is to retain the trust of the end user. This is specifically the case when dealing with end users in the fresh produce market environment. This sector has not seen the adoption of self-service technologies specifically in southern Africa. In this paper we propose a model to enhance our understanding of trust formation using self-service technologies. A qualitative research approach, based on a case study was followed to create the model. This case study offers insight into how the dynamics of the product, supporting services and the technology shapes trust forming …

7 Tips To Grow Your Rural Business With Purpose And Meaning, Connie I. Reimers-Hild, Alyssa Dye

Community Vitality Initiative

No one can predict the future; however, rural entrepreneurs and business owners can use a future-focused leadership approach, which includes examining megatrends, to shape the future of their businesses. Megatrends are global shifts that influence society, the economy and the environment. The purpose of this article is to help rural entrepreneurs discover ways to grow their businesses with Living with Purpose and Meaning Megatrend.

Dispersion Of Marketing Capabilities: Impact On Marketing’S Influence And Business Unit Outcomes, Michael T Krush, Ravipreet Sohi, Amit Saini

Department of Marketing: Faculty Publications

The marketing function of firms continues to evolve into many configurations, including the dispersion of marketing capabilities. This study evaluates the effects on the marketing function’s influence when marketing capabilities are dispersed across multiple boundaries. Using a sample of marketing executives, we study the effects of two forms of marketing capabilities dispersion: intra-organizational dispersion and inter-organizational dispersion. We examine the impact of these forms on marketing’s perceived influence within the firm. We also investigate marketing’s influence on customer responsiveness, along with three distal outcomes: marketing strategy implementation success, relationship portfolio effectiveness, and business unit performance. Our findings reveal that marketing’s …

Relational Behavior Of Leaders: A Comparison By Vocational Context, G. Ronald Gilbert, Robert C. Myrtle, Ravipreet S. Sohi

Department of Marketing: Faculty Publications

Organizational researchers widely acknowledge that positive relational behavior is associated with leadership effectiveness. In this exploratory study, we seek to extend previous research examining contextual factors that influence leadership style based on the characteristics of person–vocation fit. Using information derived from a 360° assessment that included one’s top managers, peers, and subordinates (N = 934), we find that leaders working in settings that attract Holland’s Social (S) types demonstrate more positive relational behavior than those who work in Realistic (R) type work settings. Our research also indicates that the relationship between leadership style and perceived effectiveness varies based on …

International Management: Strategic Opportunities And Cultural Challenges, Paul B. Sweeney, Dean B. Mcfarlin

Management and Marketing Faculty Publications

As the economies of many countries become more interrelated, international managers are facing huge challenges and unique opportunities associated with their roles. Now in its fifth edition, Sweeney and McFarlin's International Management embodies a balanced and integrated approach to the subject, emphasizing the strategic opportunities available to firms on a global playing field, as well as exploring the challenges of managing an international workforce.

Integrating theory and practice across all chapter topics, this book helps students to learn, grasp, and apply the underlying principles of successful international management:

• Understanding the broad context of international business, including the critical trends impacting …

Deception In Cosmetics Advertising: Examining Cosmetics Advertising Claims In Fashion Magazine Ads / 化妆品广告中的欺骗:分析时尚杂志广告中的化妆品广告, Jie G. Fowler, Timothy H. Reisenwitz, Les Carlson

Department of Marketing: Faculty Publications

The FDA has only focused upon the physical safety of cosmetics and has ignored the significant reasonability of advertising claims. As such, the present article is intended to examine/ascertain the extent to which cosmetics claims contain deceptive content in fashion ads. Through a content analysis, the study reported herein revealed that cosmetics claims were not evenly distributed. To that end, the preponderance of the claims appeared to be described primarily by three categories (scientific, performance and subjective). The results also showed that more cosmetics claims were classified as deceptive than were deemed as acceptable. Close examination of these trends revealed …