Sales and Merchandising Commons^™

Who I Am And How I Think: The Impact Of Self-Construal On The Roles Of Internal And External Reference Prices In Price Evaluations, Yi, Cathy Chen

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Drawing from self-construal studies on cognitive styles as well as reference price literature, this research investigates the impact of independent versus interdependent self-construal on consumers' use of internal reference prices (IRPs) and external reference prices (ERPs) during price evaluations. Three experiments reveal that IRPs have a larger impact on price evaluations for participants who are primed with an independent (vs. interdependent) self-construal, whereas ERPs have a larger impact for participants who are primed with an interdependent (vs. independent) self-construal. The differential impact of self-construal on the use of IRPs and ERPs seems to be mediated by a generalized, perceived sense …

Experiential Retailing: Extraordinary Store Environments And Purchase Behavior, Alana Nicole Garvin

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine how store atmospherics affect purchase behavior in experiential stores. It extended the Donovan et al. study, “Store Atmosphere and Purchasing Behavior” (1994), by determining the levels of pleasure and arousal in an experiential store and the affects on unplanned spending and unplanned time spent in the store. This was done by measuring customers’ emotions five minutes into the shopping experience and comparing planned amount of time and money spent to the actual amounts. The findings of this study showed that higher levels of pleasure and arousal did not affect unplanned time and …

Salespeople's Renqing Orientation, Self-Esteem, And Selling Behaviors: An Empirical Study In Taiwan, Ming-Hong Tsai, Shu-Cheng Steve Chi, Hsia-Hua Hu

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

The purpose of this study was to investigate how salespeople's renqing orientation and self-esteem jointly affect their selling behavior. Data were obtained from a survey of salespeople from 17 pharmaceutical and consumer-goods companies in Taiwan (n = 216).Salespeople's renqing orientation (i.e., their propensity to adhere to the accepted norm of reciprocity) compensates the negative effect of self-esteem on their selling behaviors, such as adaptive selling and hard work. Our study results underscore the critical role of the character trait of renqing orientation in a culture emphasizing a norm of reciprocity. Therefore, it would be useful to consider a strategy of …

Customer Satisfaction Index Of Singapore: Executive Summary 2008, Institute Of Service Excellence, Smu

Research Collection Institute of Service Excellence (2007-2024)

The Institute of Service Excellence at Singapore Management University (ISES) was appointed by the Singapore Workforce Development Agency (WDA) to implement and maintain an annual benchmark for the services sectors in Singapore. The Customer Satisfaction Index of Singapore (CSISG) was first launched in April 2008 based on data collected from a nationwide survey conducted in 2007. In this second year, the results of CSISG 2008 were derived from the survey data gathered between November 2008 and January 2009.

Exploring Marketing And Sales Opportunities: How Companies Reach Their Target Market Using Hospitality And Tourism Venues For Distribution Of The Product Or Services, Ricardo J. Rodriguez-Canales

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Many companies unrelated or semi-related to travel and tourism have found their niche within the hospitality and tourism industry. Companies who primarily focus on fashion, retail, weddings, outdoor adventure, real estate, sports and entertainment have successfully negotiated space to promote their products and services to hospitality and tourism clientele. This can be seen at the many resorts and casinos that have retail shops in their facilities as well as golf courses, restaurants and clubs that market directly to and make their profits from hospitality patrons. This complimentary mix makes up the diverse experience travelers encounter. To narrow the focus of …

2009 Spring Convocation Program, Office Of Communications & Marketing, Morehead State University.

Communications and Marketing Publications Archive

Spring convocation program held on January 7, 2009.

Consumer Generated Media: Evolving Marketing Opportunity For Consumer Engagement, Irene J. Dickey, William F. Lewis

Management and Marketing Faculty Publications

This paper examines consumer-generated media (CGM), also called user-generated Web sites or social media, and the evolving and broad consumer behaviors associated with it. CGM websites have evolved rapidly during the last few years, but so have consumer behaviors and subsequently marketing tactics and future potential opportunities. Marketers should be aware of the characteristics of this type of website and understand how they are being used by consumers and other practitioners. CGM sites are primarily used by consumers to connect with others for many reasons. This connectivity, also called engagement, appears to be an opportunity for marketers to connect with …

High-Versus Low-Context National Cultures: Preferences For Type Of Retailer And For Human Interaction, Gregory E. Osland, Bela Florenthal

Scholarship and Professional Work - Business

A purpose of this research is to investigate differences between low-and high-context national cultures in retail settings. In particular, we examined cultural differences in preference for human interaction while shopping, "emotional warmth" characteristics, perception of quality service, and retail channel preferences. As businesses more frequently employ multi-channel strategies in global settings, this topic of national culture gains importance and can shed light on key factors that shape consumers' retail preferences. Our findings indicate that national cultures differ in terms of retail channel preferences, preference for human interaction, and relationships between the two. Managerial implications and future research are addressed, as …

Don't Give Grandma An Ipod For Christmas: An Expository Study Examining The Consumer Behavior Of Senior Citizens In The Digital Music Indistry, Joshua T. Coleman

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Senior citizens are the fastest growing demographic today, and the digital music industry is one of the fastest growing aspects of our economy. This study explores the relationships and underlying correlations between these two facets. Three research methods were employed: field observation of a musician targeting his music to the elderly; data analysis of this musician’s sales records; and a questionnaire seeking the purchasing and listening preferences of baby boomers and senior citizens. The results reveal that, as age increases, senior citizens’ comfort purchasing and listening to music through digital methods decreases. A negative correlation between age, nostalgic marketing, and …

Gender Differences In Communication:Implications For Salespeople, Daniel H. Mcquiston, Kathryn A. Morris

Scholarship and Professional Work - Business

As more women enter into the traditionally male-dominated occupations of sales and purchasing, an understanding of gender differences in communication can provide salespeople with added information to increase their effectiveness. 1his paper begins with a review of the research on gender differences in verbal and non-verbal communication and then applies these findings to the field of sales. The paper concludes with managerial implications and recommendations for how salespeople might account for gendered aspects of their communications and by so doing potentially increase the effectiveness of their sales process.

Postscript: Preserving (And Growing) Brand Value In A Downturn, Randle D. Raggio, Robert P. Leone

Marketing Faculty Publications

We have taken the opportunity provided by the current worldwide recession to further explore the implications of the relationship between brand equity and brand value that we proposed previously,^1,2 and our analysis reveals that companies have one of two strategic options for surviving. The “Just Good Enough” strategy maximizes current value, potentially hurting brand equity and appropriable value (or potential future value) in the process, while the “Altered Amortization” strategy offers an opportunity to chase current value while maintaining brand equity with current prospects and activating latent equity with potential prospects, which may increase appropriable value. Anything between these …

Customer Satisfaction Index Of Singapore: The Singapore Management University Subscription Report 2008, Institute Of Service Excellence, Smu

Research Collection Institute of Service Excellence (2007-2024)

The Institute of Service Excellence at Singapore Management University (ISES) was appointed by the Singapore Workforce Development Agency (WDA) to implement and maintain an annual benchmark for the services sector in Singapore.

The Customer Satisfaction Index of Singapore (CSISG) was first launched in April 2008 based on data collected from a nationwide survey conducted in 2007. The CSISG is modeled after the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) developed by the University of Michigan in 1994.

In this second year, CSISG 2008 produced satisfaction indices for 88 companies from 35 sub-sectors, cutting across 8 services sectors, namely Education, Finance & Insurance …

Defensive Relationship Marketing: Avoiding Decreasing Sales From Customers In Consumer Goods Mass Markets, Sabine Moeller, Martin Fassnacht, Sonja Klose

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Enhancing customers' positive attitude towards a company does not exploit the whole potential of what can be done to increase sales. A more defensive approach focuses on the avoidance of customers' negative attitudes and behavior of withdrawal. Since research on this approach is scarce we aim to contribute by developing a model of how retailers can avoid decreasing sales in consumer goods mass markets. According to our aim we focus on customers who have already begun to decrease their sales. Our results show that core performance and trust in the future performance are the silver bullets to avoid decreasing sales.

Cross-Functional Integration And New Product Performance: An Empirical Analysis And Findings, Lisa C. Troy, Tanawat Hirunyawipada, Audhesh K. Paswan

Management and Marketing Faculty Publications

Although cross-functional integration is often considered an important element in a successful new product development program, a great deal of variance exists in extant literature regarding how integration is defined and implemented and how relevant studies are conducted.

The authors attempt to bring clarity to a diverse set of 25 studies that investigate cross-functional integration by empirically analyzing 146 correlations between integration and aspects of new product success. The authors examine the impact of 12 potential moderators that affect the integration–success link using meta-analysis techniques.

The findings indicate that though cross-functional integration may indeed have a direct impact on success, …

Customer Integration: A Key To An Implementation Perspective Of Service Provision, Sabine Moeller

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

A paradigm shift in marketing seems to be underway. Inspired by Vargo and Lusch's (2004a) proposal of service dominant logic, customer integration is proposed as a key component of marketing. Three stages of service provision are identified: facilities, transformation. and usage. The stages differ in terms of resource origin (company or customer), autonomy of decision-making (integrative or autonomous), and value (potential value, value-in-transformation. and value-in-use). These perspectives, which are synthesized in the study framework, shed light on the process of service provision and direct or indirect knowledge application (Vargo and Lusch 2004a). The author aims to show that in the …

Sorghum & Pearl Millet In Zambia: Production Guide, [2006], Kimberley Christiansen

INTSORMIL Scientific Publications

U.S. government publication about sorghum and pearl millet production and sales in Zambia.

The Logic Of Movement: Consumption Logistics On The Las Vegas Strip, Robert Dean

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The omnipresence of consumption in advanced societies is indisputable; spaces designed to facilitate consumption (or means of consumption) are one aspect of that presence. On the surface, these spaces appear to be quite harmless dreamworlds full of possibilities, but at another level they are highly instrumental, composed of various mechanisms that work to sell commodities through the manipulation of consumer behavior. I argue that consumption spaces express a logic of movement, and a consumption logistics, that is based on the commodity form and relatable to warfare that works to domesticate consumers into the commodity system. I engage in an exploratory …

Brand Loyalty, Store Loyalty And Demographic Variables: Relational Study, Zeenat Ismail

Business Review

The purpose of the study is to see the relationship of brand loyalty and store loyalty with respect to demographic variables of education and socioeconomic status. After reviewing the literature it was hypothesized that (1) Consumers with lower education would be more loyal to stores than consumers with moderate and higher education. (2) Consumers with higher education would be more loyal to brands than consumers with lower and moderate education. (3) Consumers having lower socioeconomic status would be more store loyal than consumers of higher and middle socioeconomic class. (4) Consumers having higher socioeconomic status would be more brand loyal …

Become A Value Merchant, James Anderson, Nirmalya Kumar, James A. Narus

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Increasingly held accountable for reducing costs, purchasing and other customer managers don't have the luxury of simply believing suppliers' claims of cost savings. A relatively easy and quick way to obtain savings is for purchasing managers to focus on price and obtain price concessions from suppliers. To enhance their negotiating power, purchasing managers attempt to convince suppliers that their offerings are the same as their competitors, so that they could be easily replaced. In the face of such pressure, suppliers cave in and match competitor prices. Doing business based on demonstrating and documenting superior value is, indeed, a rare commodity. …

Customer Satisfaction Index Of Singapore: Executive Summary 2007, Institute Of Service Excellence, Smu

Research Collection Institute of Service Excellence (2007-2024)

The Institute of Service Excellence at Singapore Management University was appointed by the Workforce Development Agency (WDA) to implement and maintain an annual benchmark for service related industries in Singapore. The 2007 Customer Satisfaction Index of Singapore (CSISG 2007) is based on data from a nationwide survey conducted between May 1 and July 23 2007. This survey was designed by the National Quality Research Center (NQRC) at the University of Michigan and modeled after the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI).

Certified Value Sellers, James Anderson, Nirmalya Kumar, James A. Narus

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Some companies think that offering deep discounts to buyers is the only way to sell their products in business markets. The authors propose a better way.

Business Market Value Merchants, James Anderson, Nirmalya Kumar, James A. Narus

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

To get a fair return on the superior value that their offerings deliver to customers, progressive B-to-B companies transform their sales forces from value spendthrifts into value merchants. These companies foster value merchants in more ways than simply compensating salespeople on profitability. As a result, their salespeople become value merchants, making business with customers more profitable by finding value drains and value leaks--rather than by seeking price cuts to retain or gain business.

Msu Update, 2008, Office Of Communications & Marketing, Morehead State University.

Communications and Marketing Publications Archive

MSU Update Newsletters for 2008.

2008 Spring Convocation Program, Office Of Communications & Marketing, Morehead State University.

Communications and Marketing Publications Archive

Spring convocation program held in January of 2008.

Petland Investigation Report, The Humane Society Of The United States

PUPPY MILL INFORMATION

America's largest chain of puppy-selling pet stores, Petland Inc., is also the nation's largest retail supporter of puppy mills. There are more than 200 Petland stores worldwide, with about 140 in the U.S. Collectively, these stores sell tens of thousands of puppies each year. On November 20, 2008 The Humane Society of the United States (The HSUS) revealed the results of a shocking eight-month investigation of Petland stores. The investigation reveals that Petland stores across the country have marketed puppy-mill puppies to unsuspecting consumers.

The Professional Bull Riders Tour: Growth And Development Of A Niche Sport, Peter A. Maresco, Joshua Shuart

WCBT Faculty Publications

The Professional Bull Riders Tour (PBR) presents an opportunity to study a niche sport in transition. After its days as simply a part of the rodeo, the tour has seen tremendous growth as a separate, independent activity. This paper highlights the beginnings of the PBR and its eventual development into one of the highest earning and most watched non-prime-time spectator sports. It also focuses on the development of the marketing behind the PBR and includes an analysis of sponsors and ancillary marketing activities.

Role Of The Sales Manager And Its Intersection With Sales Technology, Stephen Kennelly

Masters

The area of sales management and technology is an expanding and dynamic field of research. Examining the impact and facets of technology in the arena of sales management has been steadily increasing over the past few decades as sales managers and industry seek to benefit from the multiple uses of technology. Large scale quantitative sales research itself in Ireland has been limited over the past 15 years and not since De Burca and Lambkin (1991) performed an analysis of the industry has there been any wide scale research in Ireland. This body of work seeks to follow on from De …

A Trust-Based Consumer Decision-Making Model In Electronic Commerce: The Role Of Trust, Perceived Risk, And Their Antecedents, Dan J. Kim, Donald L. Ferrin, H. Raghav Rao

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Are trust and risk important in consumers' electronic commerce purchasing decisions? What are the antecedents of trust and risk in this context? How do trust and risk affect an Internet consumer's purchasing decision? To answer these questions, we i) develop a theoretical framework describing the trust-based decision-making process a consumer uses when making a purchase from a given site, ii) test the proposed model using a Structural Equation Modeling technique on Internet consumer purchasing behavior data collected via a Web survey, and iii) consider the implications of the model. The results of the study show that Internet consumers' trust and …

How Does Advertising Articulate The Tropes Of The Posthuman That Exist In Contemporary Culture?, Norah Campbell

Doctoral

The posthuman is a concept that has accrued much currency in disciplines as diverse as legal theory, artificial life science and philosophy. This thesis explores the meaning of the concept by initially examining what it means to be human, finding that art and science have so far failed to provide a long-lasting definition of humanness. Instead of a temporal “coming-after” stage of humanity, posthumanism might be more usefully seen as a concept that draws attention to the cracks that have always existed in the apparently water-tight description of the human- how the “human” has changed radically and continues to change …

Customer Relationship Management: A Theoretical Overview And The High Cost Of Failure (A Case Study), Tamilla Curtis, Donald Barrere, Tom Griffin

Publications

Despite the significant benefits offered by the customer relationship management (CRM) strategy together with advanced technology, there is still a high rate of companies who fail to see results promised by CRM in order to achieve a competitive advantage. A review of the empirical literature together with the case study of the CRM implementation within a midsize financial firm will result in deeper understanding of current CRM practices that could contribute to better planning, selection, and implementation of customer relationship management programs.