An application and extension of a multidimensional ethics scale to selected marketing practices and marketing groups

The purpose of this research was to test and extend a multidimensional ethics scale developed by Reidenbach and Robin to selected marketing groups. Different marketing practices and groups were used in order to give these measures a wide variety of exposures. These measures performed well in all settings and for all practices. Factor structures in fifteen different trials identified the same three dimensions with one exception. In that exception, two dimensions merged together in five of those fifteen trials. While these dimensions captured much of the variance in the global concept of “ethical/unethical”, they did a better job of predicting the respondents’ intention to behave than the global measure. These measures also provide the researcher with a partial explanation of why the respondents answered in the manner that they did. The shifting relative importance of the three dimensions in accounting for the variance in the behavioral intention measure provides this explanation.     

Marketing theory: A current status report

“Marketing Theory: A Current Status Report” presents the findings of a study conducted among a select group of marketing though leaders. This study explored their attitudes regarding the present state of marketing theory and particularly their views regarding the need for a general theory of marketing. Further, the question of whether academicians and practitioners have differing views concerning the need for theory is examined, as is the question of the importance of practicality in research.     

Relationships between family communication and consumer activities of adolescents: An exploratory study

This study uses a multitrait, multi-informant approach to examine the relationships between family communication and adolescent involvement in consumer activity using two measures of family communication, one that measures the general quality of communication between parents and adolescents, and another that measures the frequency of consumption-specific communication between parents and adolescents. In addition, the perceptions of mothers, fathers, and adolescents are used in the analysis. Findings show that the two communication constructs are conceptually distinct. Positive relationships between the communication constructs and adolescents’ consumer activities are found; however, the presence of significant relationships depends on which individual family members’ or family member dyads’ perceptions are used in the analysis. On the basis of the findings, several suggestions for future research are discussed. Kay M. Palan is an assistant professor of marketing at the College of Business at Iowa State University. The received her Ph.D. from Texas Tech University. Her research interests include consumer decision-making, adolescent influence in family decision-making, gender effects on consumption and advertising, and philosophy-of-science issues. Her work has appeared in theJournal of Marketing, theJournal of Consumer Research, andPsychology & Marketing.     

Developing global products and marketing strategies: A construct and a research agenda

The U.S. trade deficit brings to question the effectiveness of international marketing strategies of American firms. Multinational corporations must develop better international products and improve their performance in their international marketing efforts. They must know when to globalize or localize their marketing practices. This article incorporates learning, involvement, diffusion/adoption and culture context as dimensions of a global product and marketing strategy development decision model. The model developed is “be global, act local.” The interrelationship of consumer behavior models in the context of a multinational product development decision is emphasized. This article raises research issues which need to be addressed for future success in multinational and/or multicultural markets.     

Expanding our understanding of marketing in society

The Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science was started 40 years ago, at a time when “marketing in society” issues were capturing much attention from marketing scholars. Since that time both the field and this journal have grown and matured, but the marketing in society area has become somewhat removed from the dominant perspectives of marketing scholarship. This paper provides an historical perspective on these developments and offers an examination of the fundamental role of societal interests in our field. Six basic topics are explored: (1) the hundred years of history of marketing thought development, as reflected in the “4 Eras” of marketing thought; (2) the ebbs and flows of attention to marketing in society topics during these 4 Eras; (3) two illustrations of difficulties brought about by this area’s move to sideline status in the field; (4) our concept of the “aggregate marketing system” as a basis for appreciating the centrality of this research area for the field of marketing; (5) the nature of marketing in society research today; and (6) a discussion of several research challenges and opportunities for the future.     

Self-relevance and purchase goals: Mapping a consumer decision

The purpose of this research is to introduce a cognitive mapping methodology designed to explore the goal structures that are activated by a consumer’s experienced feelings of self-relevance or involvement with a product or service. In particular, the authors examine how a consumer’s enduring involvement with a product class (greeting cards) and specific decision situations affect the content and structure of the activated purchase goals in a consumer’s decision map. As compared to enduring involvement, the decision situation more strongly affected the content of the goals in the decision maps. The authors conclude with a discussion of the implications of the method and the results for consumer behavior and marketing strategy research. He received his Ph.D. from Arizona State University, his M.B.A. from the University of Missouri, and his B.S. from Southwest Baptist University. His work has been presented at American Marketing Association, Association for Consumer Research, and Academy of Marketing Science national conferences. Cognitive mapping and marketing strategy processes are his primary research interests. She received her Ph.D. from Pennsylvania State University. Her research interests center on the areas of consumer behavior and marketing strategy. In particular, her research emphasizes the cognitive structures and processes that underlie the formation of marketing strategy and consumer decision making. She has published her work in theJournal of Marketing Research, Sloan Management Review, Journal of Business Research, Research in Consumer Behavior, and other scholarly publications.     

Coping with organizational role stress: Intrinsic motivational orientation,perceived role benefits,and psychological withdrawal

Researchers have long recognized that individuals in stressful marketing roles find ways to cope with organizational role stress. This study examines the effects of three psychological coping strategies—intrinsic motivational orientation, perceived role benefits, and psychological withdrawal—in a model of organizational role stress. Results indicate that intrinsic motivational orientations reduce perceptions of role conflict and role ambiguity, and increase job satisfaction; that perceived role benefits positively influence job satisfaction; and that job dissatisfaction is the primary cause of psychological withdrawal. The study supports the importance of coping efforts in models of organizational role stress among marketing personnel. Dr. Keaveney’s research interests focus on retailing issues including retail buyer behavior, retail store image, and retail price promotions. Dr. Keaveney has also published in the areas of marketing organizational behavior, services marketing, and international marketing. She is co-author with Philip R. Cateora ofMarketing: An International Perspective, which has been published both in English and in Japanese. Dr. Keaveney has published articles in theJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Retailing, Journal of Promotion Management, Journal of Marketing Channels, andJournal of Volunteer Administration. Dr. Nelson’s research interests include topics in marketing research, consumer behavior, and advertising. He has published in theJournal of Marketing, Journal of Advertising, Journal of Business Research, Journal of Marketing Research, and serves as occasional reviewer to these publications as well as to theJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science. He teaches courses in marketing management, marketing research, and multivariate statistics.     

What doesbrand mean? historical-analysis method and construct definition

This article addresses the meaning of the term brand means by presenting a method of historical analysis and construct definition based on information in theOxford English Dictionary. The method’s use is demonstrated in an analysis of the original meanings that underlie the term’s usage both as a single word and in compounds such as brand competition, brand personality, brand reputation, and so forth. Literal (denotative) definitions and metaphoric (connotative) associations are examined to explain the use of brand to refer to a physical entity and/or a mental representation. The method is also theoretically grounded in the disciplines of philology (the history of words), poetics, rhetoric, and the philosophy of science. The historical-analysis method is applied to the meanings of brand, starting with its original usage about 1,500 years ago and culminating with the definitions used by authors in this special issue. Barbara B. Stern (bbstern@aol.com) is Professor II of marketing at Rutgers Business School. She was awarded her Ph.D. by the City University of New York. Her articles have appeared in leading marketing journals such as theJournal of Marketing, theJournal of Consumer Research, theJournal of Advertising, theJournal of Advertising Research, theJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science, and others. In addition, she is a coeditor of the journalMarketing Theory and the author of numerous articles in the proceedings of conferences of the Association for Consumer Research, the American Marketing Association, and the American Academy of Advertising. In 1995, she was a co-chair of the American Marketing Association Summer Educators’ Conference, and in 1997, she received the Outstanding Contributions in Advertising Research Award from the American Academy of Advertising. Her primary research interest is the adaptation of literary theory and methods to the analysis of advertising, marketing, and consumer text.     

Extending the service-dominant logic: from customer centricity to balanced centricity

This is a contribution to the reorientation of marketing. It aligns the service-dominant logic with other developments in marketing and management. It claims that the marketing concept and customer-centricity are too limited as a foundation for marketing and have not—and cannot—but partially be implemented in practice. It urges marketing scholars and educators to accept the complexity of marketing and develop and teach a network-based stakeholder approach—balanced centricity—epitomized by the concept of many-to-many marketing.     

An evaluation of progress in the development of a definition of marketing

This study evaluates progress in developing a definition of marketing. A survey of marketing educators, managers, scholar-experts and students was conducted to determine elements important in a definition of marketing, a ranking of popular definitions of marketing and an evaluation of the definitions based on relevant criteria. All categories of respondents ranked the 1985 AMA definition of marketing as the definition that best represents the discipline of marketing.     

The perceived importance of ethics and social responsibility on organizational effectiveness: A survey of marketers

A necessary but insufficient condition for marketers to act ethically and be socially responsible is that they must perceive ethics and social responsibility to be important. However, little is known about marketers’ perceptions regarding the importance of ethics and social responsibility components of business decisions. The objectives of this study are (1)to assess the marketing practitioners’ perceptions regarding the importance of ethics and social responsibility in achieving organizational effectiveness, and (2) to analyze the relative influences of selected personal characteristics and organizational factors underlying a marketer’s perceived importance of ethics and social responsibility. The results from a mail survey of American Marketing Association members indicate that the marketers generally believe that ethics and social responsibility are important components of organizational effectiveness. The results partly indicate that there is a positive relationship between a marketer’s corporate ethical values and his or her perceptions regarding the importance of ethics and social responsibility. The results also indicate that the marketers’ perceptions regarding ethics and social responsibility can be explained by idealism and relativism. He has also served on the marketing faculty at Thammasat University, Thailand. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Mississippi. His research focusing on marketing ethics and social responsibility has been published inJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Business Ethics, Journal of Macromarketing, Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management, Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, and elsewhere. He received his D.B.A. in management from the University of Maryland. His work on business ethics, organizational design, and strategic planning has been published inAcademy of Management Review, American Business Review, andJournal of Business Ethics. His current research interest centers on the measurement of moral intensity. He received his Ph.D. from Texas Tech University. His work has appeared inJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Business Ethics, Journal of Business Research, Journal of Macromarketing, Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management, Research in Marketing, and elsewhere. He received his Ph.D. in marketing from the University of Mississippi. His research has been published inJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Business Ethics, Journal of Pharmaceutical Marketing and Management, Journal of Social and Administrative Pharmacy, and elsewhere. His research interests include marketing ethics, health care marketing, international marketing, and direct marketing.     

A measure of long-term orientation: Development and validation

Long-term orientation (LTO) is a salient aspect of national culture values and as such influences consumers’ decisionmaking processes. This article describes the development and validation of measures to assess LTO. Scale development procedures resulted in a two-factor, eight-item scale that reflects the tradition and planning aspects of LTO. A program of studies involving more than 2,000 respondents in four countries demonstrated the psychometric properties of the measures, their discriminant and convergent validities, and the relationship of the measures to other important theoretical concepts (e.g., consumer frugality, compulsive buying, and ethical values). The measures are applicable for investigating individual differences in LTO both within and across cultures. William O. Bearden (bbearden@moore.sc.edu) is the Bank of America Chaired Professor of Marketing in the Moore School of Business at the University of South Carolina. His articles have been published in journals such as theJournal of Consumer Research, theJournal of Marketing, the Journal of Marketing Research, theJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science, and theJournal of Retailing. His research interests include consumer perceptions of value and prices, the measurement of consumer and marketing constructs, and the effects of marketplace promotions. R. Bruce Money (moneyb@byu.edu) is the Donald Staheli Fellow and an associate professor of marketing and international business in the Marriott School of Management at Brigham Young University. His articles have been published in journals such as theJournal of Marketing, theJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science, theJournal of International Business Studies, andSloan Management Review. His research interests include the international aspects of national culture’s measurement and effects, business-to-business marketing, word-of-mouth promotion, services marketing, and negotiation. Jennifer L. Nevins (nevinsjl@appstate.edu) is an assistant professor of marketing in the Walker College of Business at Appalachian State University. Her research interests include export marketing, distribution channels, and the influence of cultural values on international channel relationships.     

A measure of alienation from the marketplace

For the purpose of equipping researchers in marketing with a more sophisticated method to measure alienation in a marketing context, the authors have constructed and initially tested an alienation from the marketplace index. Alienation is defined in terms of Melvin Seeman's (1959) five basic variants of alienation: powerlessness, meaninglessness, normlessness, social isolation, and self-estrangement. After pretesting, two questions per variant of alienation remained as the operational measures of alienation from the marketplace. These questions focused specifically on marketing phenomenon. Test-retest reliability was tested with 35 paired observations. Validity was checked with survey data from 140 households. In terms of face or content validity, the questions met the criterion of “looking as if” they should indicate the corresponding dimensions of alienation. Correlations between the marketplace alienation items and a measure of general alienation established concurrent validity. The authors propose that the use of the marketplace alienation index in studies involving those who are affected by our country's business climate may prove useful. For example, one would hypothesize that increasing alienation from the marketplace would be associated with support of consumerist goals, or even of additional government legislation to control problems that the individual feels is uncontrollable by him because of the bigness and indifference of modern day enterprise. Pepsico, Inc.     

Rethinking marketing: Peter Drucker’s challenge

Just as Peter Drucker pointed out the importance of assessing whether a company’s “theory of business” is relevant, marketers need to consider whether the current “theory of marketing” still fits in a world of rapid change. The author examines how Drucker challenged the theory of business at financial services firm Edward Jones, helping to identify new market opportunities. For example, he urged the company to move into metropolitan areas, which now account for 60 percent of the firm’s business. The article then considers how the field of marketing needs to reexamine its own mental models. Finally, the article considers how Drucker’s seminal insights on marketing, particularly his emphasis on an interdisciplinary approach, might point the way to new approaches.     

Analyzing interpersonal communications in industrial marketing negotiations

Given the importance of analyzing interpersonal communications is marketing negotiations, a multidimensional content analytic coding system is presented. First, specific tests of the instrument’s validity and reliability are provided. Then, in an application of the scheme in a controlled environment, insights are provided regarding what types of interpersonal communication strategies and tactics are used by marketing negotiators.     

The antecedents and consequences of customer-centric marketing

As we enter the twenty-first century, the marketing function remains concerned with serving customers and consumers effectively. The authors propose that just as the marketing function gradually shifted from mass marketing to segmented marketing in the twentieth century, it will increasingly move toward customer-centric marketing in the next century. In the practice of customer-centric marketing, the marketing function seeks to fulfill the needs and wants of each individual customer. The antecedents of customer-centric marketing are the increasing pressure on firms to improve marketing productivity, increasing market diversity in household and business markets, and technology applicability. On the basis of the shift toward customer-centric marketing, the authors expect increased importance of marketing as a “supply management” function, customer outsourcing, cocreation marketing, fixedcost marketing, and customer-centric organizations. This article highlights the implications of customer-centric marketing as well as the boundary conditions that will affect its adoption. Jagdish N. Sheth is the Kellstadt Professor of Marketing in the Gouizeta Business School at Emory University. He has published 26 books and more than 200 articles in marketing and other business disciplines. His book,The Theory of Buyer Behavior (with John A. Howard), is a classic in the field of consumer behavior and is one of the most cited works in marketing. His other books includeMarketing Theory: Evolution and Evaluation (with David Gardner and Dennis Garrett) andConsumption Values and Market Choices: Theory and Applications (with Bruce Newman and Barbara Gross). Rajendra S. Sisodia is Trustee Professor of Marketing at Bentley College. Previously, he was an associate professor of marketing and director of executive programs at George Mason University and an assistant professor of marketing at Boston University. He has a Ph.D. in marketing from Columbia University. He has published more than 40 articles in journals such asHarvard Business Review, Journal of Business Strategy, Marketing Letters, andMarketing Management. He has also authored about two dozen cases, primarily on strategic and marketing issues in the telecommunications industry, as well as a number of telecommunications industry and company analyses. Arun Sharma is an associate professor of marketing at the University of Miami. He has published more than 30 articles in marketing and his interests are in the area of market and marketing evolution.     

A provider-cost/patron-effort schema for classifying products

Since the commodity-oriented thinkers of marketing’s early history, marketers have sought a valid schema for classifying products. Currently, the marketing literature is dominated by two types of schemata for classifying products: product-based and consumer cost-based. Despite marketing tenets such asexchange is the focal notion of marketing andgood marketing theory integrates the perspectives of firms and consumers, no existing schema embodies either exchange or a dual firm/consumer perspective. After reviewing the existing classificational schemata, one such schema is proposed and evaluated. The two classifying dimensions of this schema are providers’ relative variable costs (PRVC) and patrons’ relative effort (PRE). Crossing high and low levels of PRVC and PRE yields four product categories: low cost/effort, patroneffort heavy, provider-cost heavy, and high cost/effort. His work has appeared inJournal of Marketing, Journal of Business Research, Journal of Retailing, Journal of Advertising, International Journal of Advertising, Business Horizons, Business Ethics: A European Review, and other journals. His current research interests include marketing theory, advertising, and ethics. He received his Ph.D. in marketing from Purdue University. will soon receive his Ph.D. in marketing from the University of North Texas. His work has appeared inAcademy of Management Journal, as well as the proceedings of the American Marketing Association, the Decision Science Association, and the Society of Franchising. His research interests include building and testing models in international marketing, consumer behavior, and marketing management. His current research interests include self-referent processing of advertisements and consumer satisfaction.     

Managing the co-creation of value

Central to service-dominant (S-D) logic is the proposition that the customer becomes a co-creator of value. This emphasizes the development of customer–supplier relationships through interaction and dialog. However, research to date suggests relatively little is known about how customers engage in the co-creation of value. In this article, the authors: explore the nature of value co-creation in the context of S-D logic; develop a conceptual framework for understanding and managing value co-creation; and utilize field-based research to illustrate practical application of the framework. This process-based framework provides a structure for customer involvement that takes account of key foundational propositions of S-D logic and places the customer explicitly at the same level of importance as the company as co-creators of value. Synthesis of diverse concepts from research on services, customer value and relationship marketing into a new process-based framework for co-creation provide new insights into managing the process of value co-creation.     

Focus group research dynamics and reporting: An examination of research objectives and moderator influences

While focus groups enjoy wide popularity in marketing practice, the methodological complexities of this form of qualitative research are largely ignored. One such issue concerns how different moderators interact with alternative approaches to focus group research to affect group processes and reporting. This study applies a philosophy of science perspective to understanding the theoretical and practical importance of interactions between moderator research philosophies and qualitative information-gathering objectives. The findings from an analysis of 66 moderators show that the conceptual framework used here describes important aspects of focus group work. However, they also show that the distinctions in the framework are not being practiced by marketing researchers. Prior to joining Hofstra, Dr. McDonald spent 12 years working for various companies and advertising agencies. He also taught marketing courses for several years at the University of Illinois. Dr. McDonald earned his Ph.D. in Behavioral Science from the University of Chicago. He has presented numerous marketing topics before professional associations. Dr. McDonald’s articles have appeared in theJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Direct Marketing, The Gerontologist, and others.