Sales and Merchandising Commons^™

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 …

Ability Or Abyss: Does American Public Relations Education Program Accreditation Adequately Address The Abilities Necessary For Professional Success?, Kuriakos Pyros

Selected Honors Theses

This paper researches the overall effectiveness of public relations (PR) accreditations in collegiate education programs, especially by standard of modern PR skills. Multiple sources recognize a wide variety in PR processes, education programs, and knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) listed in the field. In essence, this paper clarifies the similarities and incongruences between PR educational programs and the KSAs of the professional field. The focus rests in understanding if accreditation processes are more successful in achieving professional status.

Effects Of Top-Performer Rewards On Fellow Salespeople: A Double-Edged Sword, C. Fred Miao, Kenneth R. Evans, Pochien Li

Business Faculty Publications and Presentations

Rewarding top performers is of strategic importance to the sales organization. Top-performing salespeople not only contribute significantly to the success of their firm but may also motivate the skill development of peer salespeople. However, both academic research and anecdotal evidence suggest that top performer rewards can boomerang by damaging peer salespeople's morale and productivity, although the underlying mechanisms and boundary conditions remain unclear. Using a sample of salespeople and their managers from financial investment firms in Taiwan, the authors uncover both positive and negative effects of top-performer rewards. Specifically, it is found that when behavior control is employed, top-performer rewards …

Viewbook, 2017-2018, Office Of Communications & Marketing, Morehead State University.

Communications and Marketing Publications Archive

Viewbook of Morehead State University for 2017-2018.

Smu Launches Retail Centre Of Excellence: Singapore’S First Retail Knowledge-Sharing Hub, Singapore Management University

SMU Press Releases and News

Singapore Management University (SMU) today officially launched the Retail Centre of Excellence (RCoE), the first and only retail insight-sharing hub in Singapore focusing on generating and disseminating actionable knowledge for retailers in Singapore, Asia and beyond. A joint initiative between SMU, SPRING Singapore and the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB), the RCoE aims to empower retailers with the know-how through research and insights, and build an ecosystem (comprising retailers, retail experts, knowledge partners, SMU faculty and student talent) to ride the winds of change. The Centre, helmed by SMU Professor of Marketing, Kapil R. Tuli, is joined by a group …

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 …

2017 Fall Convocation Program, Office Of Communications & Marketing, Morehead State University.

Communications and Marketing Publications Archive

Fall convocation program held on August 9, 2017.

Toward A Three-Dimensional Framework For Omni-Channel, Soroosh Saghiri, Richard Wilding, Carlos Mena, Michael Bourlakis

Business Faculty Publications and Presentations

The omni-channel, as an emerging trend in retail, aims to coordinate processes and technologies across supply and sales channels. The evolution of this concept is still nascent. This paper develops a conceptual framework for omni-channel systems, configured by three dimensions of channel stage, channel type and channel agent. Integration and visibility are also explored and discussed as the main enablers, which support the implementation of omni-channel framework.

This research is built upon the empirical and secondary data. Multiple case studies and expert interview methods are employed for data collection to validate the recommended framework and to explore its …

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 …

Herding And Anchoring In Macroeconomic Forecasts: The Case Of The Pmi, John B. Broughton, Bento J. Lobo

Business Faculty Articles and Research

We test if analysts display multiple biases in forecasting the Institute for Supply Management’s (ISM) manufacturing Purchasing Manager’s Index (PMI). We adopt a test that does not require knowledge of the forecaster’s prior information set and is robust to rational clustering, correlated forecast errors and outliers. We find that analysts forecast the PMI poorly and display multiple biases when forecasting. In particular, forecasters anti-herd and anti-anchor. Anti-herding supports a reputation-based notion that forecasters are rewarded not only for forecast accuracy but also for being the best forecast at a single point in time. Anti-anchoring is consistent with forecasters overreacting to …

When A Satisfactory Price Beats A Maximal Mark-Up, Singapore Management University

Perspectives@SMU

Firms that share their gains enjoy ongoing mutual benefits

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 …

Customer Satisfaction Index Of Singapore 2017: Q1 Results, Institute Of Service Excellence, Smu

Research Collection Institute of Service Excellence (2007-2024)

The Customer Satisfaction Index of Singapore (CSISG) computes customer satisfaction scores at the national, sector, sub-sector, and company levels. The CSISG serves as a quantitative benchmark of the quality of goods and services produced by the Singapore economy over time. 2017 marks the 11th year of measurement for the CSISG national study.

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 …

Irish Local And Artisan Foods: Multiples Make Space!, Michelle Dunne, Angela Wright

Dept. of Organisation & Professional Development Publications

Consumers are now bombarded with marketing messages in relation to food choice and consumption, but modern day consumers are very concerned with the food chain and have become discerning about their food choices.

This research examines “Local and Artisan” food choices and finds that consumers in general would like to have easy access to such products. While traditionally found at farmers’ markets, now everyday access is sought through Supermarkets. The researchers were fortunate in having access to a large supermarket rewards programme database where 14,646 supermarket shoppers responded. The study finds that Local and Artisan food products are desired by …

Aurora Athletics: A Sustainable Active Wear Brand., Molly Gram

Senior Honors Projects

The apparel industry has had a compounded annual growth rate of 2.5% over the past ten years. Much of that is due to the tremendous demand from consumers for active and athleisure apparel. Demand for more casual apparel has resulted from various cultural shifts, like more casual dress codes in the workplace. There is a lot of competition between businesses in this industry. In the globalized apparel industry, a brand’s supply chain is a major influencer of its success. What if a brand could keep up with competitors while also addressing growing consumer demands for ethically sound product? Meet Aurora …

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 …

Reformation: An Apparel Design Collection, Biagia Rosinia

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

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 …

The Role Of Prior Sales Experience Of Buyers And Duration In Buyer-Seller Relationships, Scott C. Ambrose, Nwamaka A. Anaza, Brian N. Rutherford

Publications

This paper examines the impact that a buyer’s prior sales experience and the duration of the buyer-salesperson relationship has on the satisfaction and commitment linkages established within the literature. First, two key facets of satisfaction (social and economic) are linked to buyer’s commitment to the salesperson. Next, buyer-salesperson relationship duration is examined as an influencer between the satisfaction and commitment linkages. Following this, the study shifts its focus to examine if and how buyers with prior sales experience view the buyer-salesperson relationship different than buyers without prior sales experience. Findings of the study highlight the importance of developing our understanding …

Salesperson Perceptions - An Examination Of Sales Manager Leadership And Salesperson Engagement, Marleen Pope

Doctor of Business Administration Dissertations

Employee engagement is vital to organizations because of its relationship with performance and retention. Specifically, salespeople, as boundary spanners, pose unique challenges to organizations. To date, the literature has given limited attention to salesperson engagement. This study explores the assertion that managers are the primary source of employee disengagement by examining the perceptions salespeople have of their sales manager and how their perceptions influence salesperson engagement. Salesperson perceptions are the focus of this study because what one perceives is one’s reality.

Job-Demands Resource (J-DR) theory was used as the theoretical framework to investigate the relationships in the proposed model. First, …

Customer Satisfaction Index Of Singapore 2016: Full Year Overview, Institute Of Service Excellence, Smu

Research Collection Institute of Service Excellence (2007-2024)

The Customer Satisfaction Index of Singapore (CSISG) computes customer satisfaction scores at the national, sector, sub-sector, and company levels. The CSISG serves as a quantitative benchmark of the quality of goods and services produced by the Singapore economy over time and across countries. The fourth quarter results mark the end of measurement for CSISG 2016. Singapore’s 2016 national score was computed using the data collected during these four quarters.

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 …