Cross-cultural and cognitive aspects of web site navigation

The Web is intrinsically a global medium. Consequently, deciding how a Web site should express potentially culturespecific content to worldwide visitors is an important consideration in Web site design. In this article, the authors examine some of the site content characteristics that can lead Web site visitors to an optimal navigation experience, or flow, in a cross-cultural context. In particular, a cognitive framework focuses on the effect of culture on attitudes toward the site and flow. The authors suggest that the congruity of a Web site with a visitor’s culture is a site content characteristic that influences the likelihood of experiencing flow. The authors develop a conceptual model to account for the impact of culture and other site content characteristics on flow and describe preliminary evidence supporting their model. David Luna, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of marketing at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. His primary interests are in language processing, the role of language in advertising and electronic marketing, and cross-cultural advertising. His work has been published or is forthcoming in theJournal of Consumer Research; Journal of Advertising; Journal of Consumer Psychology, Psychology and Marketing; International Marketing Review; Marketing Science Institute Working Paper Series; and other publications. Laura A. Peracchio, Ph.D., is a professor of marketing at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Her primary research interests include understanding persuasion processes with applications to social marketing, consumer decision making, language processing, and children’s consumer behavior. She is an associate editor of theJournal of Consumer Research and serves on the Editorial Board of theJournal of Consumer Psychology. Her work has been published in theJournal of Consumer Research, Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of Consumer Psychology, and other publications. María D. de Juan is a professor of business administration at the University of Alicante (Spain), where she has lectured since 1991. She has been a lecturer at the University of Florida and at the Southampton Institute (United Kingdom), as well as at several Spanish business schools. She is the author of theShopping Centre Attraction Towards Consumers, Sales Promotions, andCommercial Distribution: Channels and Retailing. Her articles about distribution and consumer behavior have been published or are forthcoming in several journals and edited books, including theJournal of Consumer Psychology. She focuses her research on commercial attraction and consumer behavior.     

Ethical sensitivity to stakeholder interests: A cross-cultural comparison

This study applied Hofstede’s typology to examine the effect of culture on ethical sensitivity toward various stakeholders. It was found that uncertainty avoidance had a positive effect and that power distance and individualism/masculinity had negative effects on ethical sensitivity. The results also indicated that ethical sensitivity to stakeholder interests is dependent on which stakeholder is affected. Although Americans and Taiwanese sales agents were equally sensitive to customer interests, the Taiwanese were more sensitive to the interests of their company and a competitor but were less sensitive to the interests of a colleague. This study should prove valuable to international marketers because the cultural typology allows managers to identify differences in work-related values of employees across different nationalities and thus provides a theoretical base for designing more effective sales management practices. Jeffrey G. Blodgett (Ph.D., Indiana University) is an associate professor of marketing at the University of Mississippi. His research interests include consumer complaint behavior and cross-cultural issues. His work has been published in theJournal of Retailing, Journal of Services Research, Journal of Business Research, Psychology and Marketing, and in other marketing journals. Long-Chuan Lu is an assistant professor of marketing at the National Chung-Cheng University of Taiwan. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Mississippi. His work has previously appeared in theJournal of Business Ethics, in addition to other journals and conference proceedings. Gregory M. Rose (Ph.D., University of Oregon) is an assistant professor of marketing at the University of Mississippi. His research interests include consumer socialization and cross-cultural consumer behavior. He has published articles in theJournal of Consumer Research, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Business Research, Journal of Consumer Psychology, Journal of Advertising, Journal of Marketing, and other journals and proceedings. Scott J. Vitell is the Phil B. Hardin Professor of Marketing at the University of Mississippi, receiving his Ph.D. from Texas Tech University. His previous work has appeared in theJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Business Research, andResearch in Marketing and the Journal of Business Ethics, in addition to numerous other journals and conference proceedings.     

The role of affect in attitude formation: A classical conditioning approach

This study investigates the role of affect in attitude formation. Two experiments, using established conditioning procedures, assessed the impact of affect on attitude formation. The results of Experiment 1 indicate that affect can influence attitudes even in the absence of product beliefs. The results of Experiment 2 suggest that affect plays as important or more important a role than the belief mechanism in attitude formation, depending on the number of repetitions. Implications of the results for understanding the role of affect in advertising are discussed. John Kim is an associate professor of marketing in the School of Business Administration at Oakland University. He earned his Ph.D. in marketing from the University of Cincinnati. His research interests include consumer decision making, advertising effectiveness, and brand equity. His work has appeared in theJournal of Marketing Research, theJournal of Consumer Research, and theJournal of Business Research. Jeen-Su Lim is Interim Chair and a professor of marketing at the University of Toledo. He received his Ph.D. in marketing from Indiana University. His work has appeared in many journals, including theJournal of Marketing Research, theJournal of Consumer Research, theJournal of Business Research, Industrial Marketing Management, International Marketing Review, Management International Review, Psychology and Marketing, and theJournal of Health Care Marketing, among others. His research interests include consumer inference processes, new product development and competitive strategy, and export marketing. Mukesh Bhargava is an assistant professor in the Department of Marketing and Management at Oakland University. He has a Ph.D. in marketing from the University of Texas, Austin, and several years of practical experience in advertising and marketing research. His research includes areas such as advertising effectiveness and evaluation of marketing strategy in business and nonprofit organizations. His work has appeared in theJournal of Advertising Research, Marketing Letters, theJournal of Business Research, and theJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science, among others.     

An examination of selected marketing mix elements and brand equity

This study explores the relationships between selected marketing mix elements and the creation of brand equity. The authors propose a conceptual framework in which marketing elements are related to the dimensions of brand equity, that is, perceived quality, brand loyalty, and brand associations combined with brand awareness. These dimensions are then related to brand equity. The empirical tests using a structural equation model support the research hypotheses. The results show that frequent price promotions, such as price deals, are related to low brand equity, whereas high advertising spending, high price, good store image, and high distribution intensity are related to high brand equity. Boonghee Yoo (Ph.D., Georgia State University) is an assistant professor of marketing at St. Cloud State University. His research interests include brand equity, cross-cultural scale development, service quality, retail productivity, Internet marketing, and marketing methodology. He has published previously in theJournal of Retailing, theJournal of Business Research, theJournal of Business & Industrial Marketing, theJournal of Service Research, and theJournal of Marketing Channels. Naveen Donthu (Ph. D., University of Texas, Austin) is a professor of marketing at Georgia State University. His research interests center on research methodology, site selection models, comparative and outdoor advertising, brand equity, Hispanic consumer research, cross-cultural issues, and customer satisfaction. His work has appeared in journals such asMarketing Science, theJournal of Marketing Research, theJournal of Consumer Research, theJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science, theJournal of Advertising, theJournal of Advertising Research, theJournal of Retailing, and theJournal of Business Research. Sungho Lee (Ph.D., University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) is an assistant professor of marketing at the University of Seoul, South Korea. His research focuses on understanding consumers’ cognitive processing of brand and price information, brand extension and brand equity, and advertising-driven persuasion processes. He has published previously inAdvances in Consumer Research, Asia-Pacific Advances in Consumer Research, Academy of Marketing Science-World Marketing Congress, Korean Marketing Review, andKorean Management Review.     

Trustmarks, objective-source ratings, and implied investments in advertising: Investigating online trust and the context-specific nature of internet signals

The purpose of this study is to provide a preliminary investigation of the effectiveness of Internet marketers’ various attempts to develop consumer trust through Web signals. The work is an exploration of the context-specific nature of trust in e-commerce. An online experiment compares three potential signals of trust in an Internet retail firm: (1) a third-party certification (i.e., a “trustmark”), (2) an objective-source rating (i.e., a review from Consumer Reports magazine), and (3) an implication of investment in advertising (i.e., a television advertisement to air during the Super Bowl). The trustmark had the greatest effect on perceived trustworthiness, influencing respondents’ beliefs about security and privacy, general beliefs about firm trustworthiness, and willingness to provide personal information. The relationship between Internet experience and trust was in the form of an inverted U. K. Damon Aiken (kaiken@mail.ewu.edu) is an assistant professor at Eastern Washington University at Cheney, Washington. He received his PhD from the University of Oregon. His primary teaching and research interests lie in Internet marketing, consumer attitude formation, and trust development. He has also published in the area of sport marketing, investigating fan attitudes and values. His research has appeared in theJournal of Advertising Research, theInternational Journal of Internet Marketing and Advertising, theBusiness Research Yearbook, andSport Marketing Quarterly, among others. David M. Boush (dmboush@lcbmail.uoregon.edu) is an associate professor of marketing in the Lundquist College of Business at the University of Oregon in Eugene. He received his PhD from the University of Minnesota. His research interests center on the relationship between consumer behavior and marketing management decisions, especially those involving advertising, branding, and the Internet. His research has appeared in publications such as theJournal of Marketing Research, theJournal of Consumer Research, theJournal of Business Research, theJournal of International Business Studies, Psychology and Marketing, Marketing Letters, and theJournal of Current Issues and Research in Marketing. He serves on the editorial board of theJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science.     

The antecedents of preventive health care behavior: An empirical study

A conceptual model of preventive health care behavior is proposed and tested. Results suggest that preventive health care behaviors are strongly influenced by the value consumers perceive in engaging in such actions. This value is greatly affected by response efficacy, or the person’s belief that a specific action will mitigate the health threat. A separate consideration affecting adherence to a prescribed preventive health care behavior is self-efficacy, or the person’s belief that the target behaviors can be enacted. Additionally, health motivation and health consciousness are also shown to influence preventive health care behaviors. Future research directions and managerial implications of the findings are outlined. Rama K. Jayanti (Ph.D., Louisiana State University) is an assistant professor of marketing, James J. Nance College of Business, Cleveland State University, Cleveland, Ohio. Her primary research interests include services marketing and consumer behavior. She has published articles inJournal of Health Care Marketing; Journal of Consumer Satisfaction, Dissatisfaction, and Complaining Behavior; andJournal of Professional Services Marketing. Alvin C. Burns is a professor of marketing and department chairman at Louisiana State University. His articles have appeared in publications such as theJournal of Marketing Research, Journal of Health Care Marketing, Journal of Advertising, Journal of Advertising Research, andAsian Journal of Marketing. Burns belongs to the American Marketing Association, the Association for Consumer Research, and the Association for Business Simulation and Experiential Learning. He is the lead author ofMarketing Research (Prentice Hall, 1995).     

The facilitating influence of consumer knowledge on the effectiveness of daily value reference information

As a means of enhancing consumer understanding of nutritional information, the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act of 1990 requires the provision of percentage daily values (%DVs) on food labels. Findings from existing research, however, vary in their support for the assumption that including %DVs will assist consumers in their efforts to comprehend nutritional information. To shed further light on this issue, the present study examines the moderating role of consumer knowledge about how to use %DVs in evaluating a product’s healthiness. The results indicate that the usefulness of providing %DVs on a nutritional label depends strongly on this form of knowledge. Implications for public policy and directions for future research efforts are presented. Fuan Li (Ph.D., Florida International University) is an assistant professor of marketing in the Walker School of Business at Mercyhurst College (Erie, Pennsylvania). He has been a faculty member at East China Normal University (Shanghai, China) and St. Olaf College (Northfield, Minnesota). His current research interests include consumer choice, consumer responses to trust advertising appeals, and relationship marketing. His work has been published both in English and in Chinese. Paul W. Miniard (Ph.D., University of Florida) is the BMI professor of marketing and the Ph.D. program director in the College of Business Administration at Florida International University (Miami, Florida). His research focuses on consumer behavior and advertising and has been published in a number of business and psychology journals. He is also a coauthor of a consumer behavior textbook. Michael J. Barone (Ph.D., University of South Carolina) is an associate professor of marketing in the College of Business Administration at Iowa State University (Ames, Iowa). His research, which primarily involves consumer responses to advertising and consumer choice, has been published in theJournal of Marketing Research, Journal of Consumer Psychology, Marketing Letters, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Advertising, Journal of Advertising Research, Journal of Business Research, andJournal of Public Policy & Marketing, as well as in various conference proceedings.     

Consumer ethnocentrism offline and online: The mediating role of marketing efforts and personality traits in the United States, South Korea, and India

Consumer ethnocentrism is an important concept that is used to understand international marketing phenomena. In this article, the authors conduct two empirical studies. Using consumer data from the United States, South Korea, and India (three diverse cultural and economic environments), they explore six hypotheses. In Stage 1, the results suggest that across all three countries, consumer ethnocentrism provokes negative attitudes toward both foreign advertisements and foreign products. The authors identify a set of consumer variables (i.e., consumers’ global mind-set) that may mediate consumers’ unfavorable attitudes toward foreign advertisements and products derived by consumer ethnocentrism. In Stage 2, the authors find that consumer ethnocentrism dampens consumers’ online consumption activities on a foreign Web site. Finally, the authors find that marketers’ e-mail communications to foreign consumers mediate consumer ethnocentrism in online environments. Hyokjin Kwak (hkwak@drexel.edu) is an assistant professor of marketing at Drexel University. His research interests include advertising effects, consumer communications, and strategic marketing. He has publications in theJournal of Consumer Psychology, theJournal of Advertising Research, theJournal of Current Issues and Research in Advertising, theJournal of Consumer Marketing, and other marketing journals. Anupam Jaju (ajaju@gmu.edu) is an assistant professor of marketing in the School of Management at George Mason University. His main research interests are in marketing strategy, marketing-technology interface, and international marketing. His work has been published in theJournal of International Management, Marketing Theory, andMarketing Education Review. Trina Larsen Andras (published as Trina Larsen, larsent@ drexel.edu) is a professor and the head of the Marketing Department at Drexel University. Her research has been published in many of the major professional journals in her field, includingHarvard Business Review, theColumbia Journal of World Business, International Marketing Review, Industrial Marketing Management, Management International Review, theJournal of Global Marketing, and theJournal of International Marketing, among others. Her research is focused on international marketing, specifically, cross-cultural behavioral and relationship issues in international marketing management.     

The accuracy of brand and attribute judgments: The role of information relevancy, product experience, and attribute-relationship schemata

A multidimensional approach for accuracy of ratings is introduced that examines consumers’ abilities to assess various brands across a set of attributes and attribute performances across a set of brands. A model is presented that addresses the roles of the relevancy of information, attribute-relationship schemata, and consumers’ product category experience on the accuracy of their brand attribute ratings. Study participants were provided either with relevant or irrelevant attribute information for various automobile brands and later asked to rate the attribute performances of brands. The results indicate that the provision of relevant information in the judgment environment increases brand and attribute rating accuracy but does not favorably affect consumers’ brand attribute-relationship schemata. Rather, consumers’ product experience was directly related to their attribute-relationship schemata, which in turn were related to improved accuracy of brand and attribute ratings. Kevin Mason is an associate professor of marketing at Arkansas Tech University. His research interests include consumer information processing and choice strategies. He has published in theJournal of Marketing Theory and Practice, Journal of Consumer Marketing, Central Business Review, Journal for the Association of Marketing Educators, andInternational Advances in Economics Research. Thomas Jensen is professor and Wal-Mart lecturer in retailing in the Department of Marketing and Transportation at the University of Arkansas. His research interests include consumer information processing, advertising and price perceptions, and retail image and patronage. His work has been published in theJournal of Consumer Research, Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, Psychology and Marketing, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, Journal of Retailing, Journal of Business Research, and other journals. Scot Burton is professor and Wal-Mart chairholder in marketing, Department of Marketing and Transportation, University of Arkansas. His research interests include public policy and consumer welfare concerns, survey research measurement issues, and consumer price and promotion perceptions. His work has been published in theJournal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Public Opinion Quarterly, Journal of Applied Psychology, Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, Journal of Retailing, and other journals. Dave Roach is a professor of management at Arkansas Tech University. His research interests include information processing, judgmental accuracy, and organization change. He has published inHuman Relations, Journal of Applied Psychology, International Journal of Computer Integrated Manufacturing, Journal of Information Technology Management, Journal of Consumer Marketing, Central Business Review, andJournal for the Association of Marketing Educators.     

Re-examining salesperson goal orientations: Personality influencers, customer orientation, and work satisfaction

Several scholars have noted the importance of relationship marketing and the critical role that salesperson knowledge plays in the formation of buyer-seller relationships. However, research on salesperson learning motivations has been relatively scarce compared with research on firm-level learning orientations. One promising stream of research in this area is salesperson goal orientation. Drawing from previous work in control theory, the authors extend previous research in this area by proposing relationships between personality influencers, goal orientations, customer/selling orientation, and overall work satisfaction. Their hypotheses are tested using data obtained from a sample of 190 real estate agents. The results provide support for their hypothesized model. Specifically, learning orientation is shown to positively influence customer orientation, while performance orientation is shown to positively influence selling orientation. Eric G. Harris (eharris@lklnd.usf.edu Ph.D., Oklahoma State University) is an assistant professor of marketing at the University of South Florida. His current research interests include goal orientation, customer orientation, and personality models applied to consumer and employee behavior. He has published articles in theJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Psychology & Marketing, theJournal of Consumer Marketing, theJournal of Business & Psychology, Services Marketing Quarterly, theJournal of Services Marketing, and theJournal of Marketing Management. John C. Mowen (jcmmkt@okstate.edu) Ph.D., Arizona State University) is Regents Professor and holds the Noble Chair of Marketing Strategy at Oklahoma State University. He has published articles in numerous leading journals, including theJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science, theJournal of Marketing Research, theJournal of Marketing, Decisions Sciences, theJournal of Applied Psychology, theJournal of Personality and Social Psychology, Psychology and Marketing, and theJournal of Consumer Psychology. He is a past president of the Society for Consumer Psychology. His teaching and consulting interests focus on consumer behavior and motivating the workforce. His research focuses on the factors that motivate and influence the decisions of consumers and employees. Tom J. Brown (tom.brown@okstate.edu; Ph.D., University of Wisconsin) is Ardmore Professor of Business Administration and an associate professor of marketing at Oklahoma State University. His articles have appeared in leading marketing journals, including theJournal of Marketing Research, the Journal of Marketing, theJournal of Consumer Research, and theJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science. His current research interests include causes and effects of corporate reputation and the customer orientation of service workers. He is cofounder of the Corporate Identity/Associations Research Group. Teaching interests include marketing research, services marketing, and corporate communications. He is coauthor (with Gilbert A. Churchill Jr.) ofBasic Marketing Research (5th ed.). Consulting interests include marketing research, corporate reputation, and the customer orientation of service workers.     

The role of brand personality in charitable giving: An assessment and validation

Marketing concepts such as corporate identity, image, and branding are important strategies for nonprofit organizations. In particular, brand personality has been advocated by practitioners but has not been empirically investigated in the nonprofit context. According to social exchange theory and trust, the authors argue that nonprofit stakeholders perceive nonprofit organizations at an abstract level because of the organizations’ intangibility and social ideals. This study develops and refines a parsimonious measure of brand personality specifically for the nonprofit context. The authors conduct a series of six multimethod studies of nonprofit stakeholders to validate the role of brand personality in nonprofit organizations. The results yield four dimensions of brand personality for nonprofits: integrity, nurturance, sophistication, and ruggedness. Thus, current and potential donors ascribe personality traits to nonprofit organizations and differentiate between nonprofits on the basis of the organizations’ personality. Finally, nonprofit brand personality may influence potential donors’ likelihood to contribute. Beverly T. Venable (venable_beverly@colstate.edu; Ph.D., University of Mississippi) is an assistant professor of marketing at Columbus State University. Her research interests are in nonprofit marketing, branding, and ethics. She has published in theJournal of Business Ethics and several national and international proceedings. Gregory M. Rose (rosegm@u.washington.edu; Ph.D., University of Oregon) is an associate professor of marketing at the University of Washington, Tacoma. His research interests include consumer socialization and cross-cultural consumer behavior. He has published articles in theJournal of Consumer Research, theJournal of Marketing, theJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science, theJournal of Business Research, theJournal of Advertising, and theJournal of Consumer Psychology, as well as other journals and proceedings. Victoria D. Bush (vbush@bus.olemiss.edu; Ph.D., University of Memphis) is an associate professor of marketing at the University of Mississippi. Her research interests include cultural diversity in buyer-seller relationships, advertising ethics, and Internet marketing. Her research has been published in theJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science, theJournal of Advertising Research, theJournal of Advertising, theJournal of Public Policy and Marketing, andIndustrial Marketing Management, as well as other journals and proceedings. Faye W. Gilbert (faye.gilbert@gcsu.edu; Ph.D., University of North Texas) is a professor of marketing and dean of the J. Whitney Bunting School of Business at Georgia College and State University. Her research interests are in customer relationship management, health care marketing, and sales management. She has published in theJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science, theJournal of Business Research, theJournal of Retailing, Psychology and Marketing, as well as other journals and proceedings.     

The role of competitive alternatives in the postchoice satisfaction formation process

A general model of satisfaction formation is proposed that extends the seminal disconfirmation of expectations model by explicitly incorporating the processing of both chosen and nonchosen alternatives. Using presidential election data, the results show that satisfaction with the nonchoice does remain salient in the determination of overall postchoice satisfaction. Disconfirmation related to either the chosen or the nonchosen alternative influences satisfaction with both the chosen and the nonchosen alternative. Overall, the model suggests that the nonchoice alternative may continue to be relevant in the satisfaction formation process. She received her Ph.D. from McGill University. Her work has appeared in theJournal of Marketing Research, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, International Journal of Research in Marketing, Decision Sciences, Journal of Macromarketing, and numerous other journals and conference proceedings. She is also coauthor of three books. She holds a Ph.D. in marketing from Michigan State University. Her work has appeared in theJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science; Journal of Business Research; International Journal of Research in Marketing; Journal of Services Marketing; Journal of Consumer Satisfaction, Dissatisfaction and Complaining Behavior; and other journals and conference proceedings. Dr. Halstead was formerly an account executive with Needham Harper Worldwide and Director of Marketing and Media Services at Maxwell Advertising. Robert D. Mackoy received his Ph.D. from Michigan State University and is an assistant professor of marketing at Butler University. His research has appeared in theJournal of Retailing; Journal of Macromarketing; Journal of Services Marketing; Journal of Social Psychology; Journal of Consumer Satisfaction, Dissatisfaction and Complaining Behavior; and the proceedings of the American Marketing Association, Association for Consumer Research, and Marketing and Public Policy conferences.     

The role of contingency awareness,involvement, and need for cognition in attitude formation

This research investigates the role of involvement and need for cognition in influencing contingency awareness in attitude formation. Two experiments examine the nature of favorable attitudes formulated through established classical conditioning procedures. The results of Experiment 1 indicate that awareness influences attitudes toward a conditioned stimulus, particularly under conditions of high involvement and high need for cognition. Experiment 2 suggests that contingency awareness mediates the relationship between inferential belief formation and attitudes and that this effect is stronger under high involvement and high need for cognition. Implications for understanding the role of classical conditioning procedures in advertising are discussed. Randi Priluck (Rpriluck@pace.edu) is an associate professor of marketing at Pace University in New York. She received her Ph.D. from Drexel University in 1995. Her research areas of interest include classical conditioning and its advertising implications, cobranding strategies, and relationship marketing. She has written articles for theJournal of Advertising, theJournal of Current Issues and Research in Advertising, theJournal of Product & Brand Management, Psychology & Marketing, theJournal of Consumer Marketing, theJournal of Marketing Management, theJournal of Marketing Practice: Applied Marketing Science, theInternational Journal of Consumer Marketing, theInternational Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, theJournal of Marketing Education, and theJournal of Services Marketing. Brian D. Till (Tillbd@slu.edu) is an associate professor and chair of marketing at Saint Louis University. He received his Ph.D. from the University of South Carolina in 1993. His research areas of interest include classical conditioning, cobranding strategies, and the use of celebrity endorsers in advertising. He has published in theJournal of Marketing Research, theJournal of Advertising, theJournal of Current Issues and Research in Advertising, Psychology & Marketing, theJournal of Product and Brand Management, and theJournal of Consumer Marketing.     

Not telling the whole story: Teen deception in purchasing

Teenagers may engage in consumption behaviors that their parents may not approve of, as one way of asserting independence. Such behaviors may lead teens to attempt to deceive their parents about purchases. This research examined teens’ tendency toward such deception. The authors conceptualize deception as being related to the family communication environment and the shopping context in which it takes place. Some family communication environments may stifle open discussion of products and purchases, thereby encouraging teen deception. Moreover, certain patterns of family communication may socialize teens to focus on standards exogenous to the family that, in turn, lead to a greater propensity to deceive. Susceptibility to normative peer influence, the extent of television viewing, and teen materialism may partially mediate the effects of the family communication environment. Except for television viewing, the authors’ predictions are generally supported by the data collected from a sample of high school students. Terry Bristol (terry.bristol@asu.edu; Ph.D., Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University) is an assistant professor of marketing in the School of Global Management and Leadership at Arizona State University. His research interests are in the areas of consumer socialization, social influence, and brand and promotions management. His work has been published in theJournal of Retailing, the Journal of Advertising, the Journal of Consumer Psychology, theJournal of Consumer Affairs, and elsewhere. Tamara F. Mangleburg (tmangle@fau.edu; Ph.D., Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University) is an associate professor of marketing in the College of Business at Florida Atlantic University. Her research interests include consumer socialization, family decision-making, and self-concept effects on persuasion. She has published work in these areas in theJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science, the Journal of Retailing, theJournal of Advertising, the Journal of Business Research, and in other outlets.     

“Migrating” to new service providers: Toward a unifying framework of consumers’ switching behaviors

This article explores the applicability of a model of migration from the human geography literature as a unifying, theoretical framework for understanding consumers’ service provider switching behaviors. Survey data from approximately 700 consumers are used to examine the usefulness of the push, pull, and moorings (PPM) migration model. The PPM migration model performs better than an alternative model; all three categories of antecedents to switching (migration)—push, pull, and mooring variables—have significant direct, and some moderating, effects on switching intentions. Harvir S. Bansal (Ph.D., Queen’s University, hbansal@wlu.ca) is an associate professor of marketing at Wilfrid Laurier University. His research interests are focused in the area of services marketing with emphasis on customer switching behavior, word-of-mouth processes in services, structural equation modeling, and tourism. His research has been published in theJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science, the Journal of Services Marketing, the Journal of Service Research, Tourism Management, theJournal of Quality Management, andPsychology and Marketing. He has also presented at and published articles in the proceedings of various national and international conferences. Shirley F. Taylor (Ph.D., University of British Columbia, staylor@business.queensu.ca) is an associate professor in the School of Business at Queen’s University, where she teaches and conducts research in the area of services marketing. Her research interests include service provider loyalty and switching, customer commitment, and perceptions management of service delays. Her work has been published in theJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science, the Journal of Marketing, Psychology & Marketing, theJournal of Service Research, theInternational Journal of Research in Marketing, and theJournal of Public Policy and Marketing. She currently serves on the editorial boards of theJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science, theJournal of Business Research and the Canadian Journal of Administrative Sciences. Yannik St. James (ystjames@business.queensu.ca) is a doctoral candidate in the School of Business at Queen’s University, where she conducts research at the intersection of consumer behavior and marketing strategy. Her research interests include the role of affect in consumer behavior, brand management, and services marketing. She has presented her work at the Association for Consumer Research Conference, the Academy of Marketing Science Conference, and the Frontiers in Services Conference.     

Influencing consumers’ selection of domestic versus imported products: Implications for marketing based on a model of helping behavior

Recent marketing campaigns have urged American consumers to “Buy American.” Marketers can improve the success of their campaigns if they understand the network of influences that lead American consumers to help threatened domestic workers. Consumers’ cooperation in purchasing domestic products may be viewed as a form of help for American workers whose jobs are threatened by the success of imported products. This study presents a model designed to explain consumers’ willingness to help these workers. Survey data were subjected to structural equation analysis to test the model. Results confirmed willingness to help is influenced by the salience of the problem, identification with the workers, inequity of the situation, felt similarity with the workers, empathy with the workers, and the costs of helping. These findings suggest ways to market the Buy American theme. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Utah. Her research interests include international marketing and channels of distribution. Her work has appeared in theJournal of Business Research, Journal of Advertising, Journal of Retailing, and other marketing journals. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Illinois. His research interests include the fitness market, consumer logistics, helping behavior, and marketing channels. His research findings have been reported in theJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science and in various other business and social science journals and proceedings. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Houston. Dr. Biswas’s work has been published in theJournal of Marketing, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Macromarketing, Journal of Business Research, Journal of Advertising, Journal of Consumer Affairs, Psychology and Marketing, andJournalism Quarterly, as well as other refereed journals.     

Trademark dilution and the practice of marketing

This article considers the marketing implications of the Federal Trademark Dilution Act (FTDA) of 1995. The FTDA, an amendment to the Lanham Act, will influence the manner in which marketing is practiced well into the twenty-first century. Although the FTDA is specifically concerned with protecting famous trademarks from being diluted—either by having their distinctiveness diminished or positive associations tarnished—by similar trademarks, its influence will not be limited to trademark or branding issues. Implications range from the allocation of advertising resources to the increased use of marketing research. Robert A. Peterson holds the John T. Stuart III Centennial Chair in Business Administration and the Charles E. Hurwitz Fellowship, both at The University of Texas at Austin. His Ph.D. is from the University of Minnesota. Dr. Peterson’s publications have appeared in such journals as theJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of Consumer Research, andMarketing Science. His research interests range from Internet marketing to research methodology to marketing strategy. He presently serves on the boards of several for-profit and not-for-profit organizations as well as an advisory committee to the Bureau of the Census. Karen H. Smith is an assistant professor at Southwest Texas State University. Her Ph.D. is from The University of Texas at Austin. Dr. Smith’s research interests include consumer information processing, consumer knowledge structures (schemata), dilution of brand equity, and adolescent smoking. Her research has been published in theJournal of Consumer Research, Journal of Marketing Education, andAdvances in Consumer Research. Philip C. Zerrillo is executive MBA director at The University of Texas at Austin. His Ph.D. is from Northwestern University. Dr. Zerrillo’s research interests have focused on broad-based business innovation, strategic development of distribution channel arrangements, the value of brands in the distribution channel, managing brands as assets, and the legal aspects of branding and channel decisions. His most recent research on antitrust regulation appeared in theJournal of Corporation Law, a University of Iowa law review.     

Managing culturally diverse buyer-seller relationships: The role of intercultural disposition and adaptive selling in developing intercultural communication competence

Given the increase in cultural diversity within marketing organizations as well as within current and potential customer bases, possessing the appropriate communication skills becomes crucial to success in managing culturally diverse relationships. Although marketing researchers have recognized the importance of adaptive selling behavior for successful buyer-seller relationships, the exploration of the intercultural aspects of these relationships has only recently begun. This article examines how adaptive selling behaviors and intercultural dispositions of marketing executives contribute to their perceived intercultural communication competence. Results show that in addition to being adaptive, the intercultural disposition of a marketer is of key importance in developing intercultural communication competence. Theoretical and practical implications for incorporating intercultural communication into the development of successful buyer-seller relationships are discussed. Victoria D. Bush (Ph.D., University of Memphis) is an associate professor of marketing at the University of Mississippi. Her research has appeared in such journals as theJournal of Advertising, theJournal of Advertising Research, Industrial Marketing Management, theJournal of Public Policy and Marketing, theJournal of Business Ethics, and theJournal of Services Marketing. Her research interests are in diversity, advertising, and ethics. Gregory M. Rose (Ph.D., University of Oregon) is an associate professor of marketing at the University of Mississippi. His research interests include consumer socialization and cross-cultural consumer behavior. He has published or has forthcoming articles in theJournal of Consumer Research, theJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science, theJournal of Business Research, theJournal of Consumer Psychology, theJournal of Advertising, theJournal of Marketing, and other journals and proceedings. Faye Gilbert (Ph.D., University of North Texas) is an associate professor of marketing at the University of Mississippi. She has published in theJournal of Business Research, Psychology and Marketing, theJournal of Health Care Marketing, theJournal of Research in Pharmaceutical Economics, theJournal of Applied Business Research, theJournal of Marketing Management, theJournal of Marketing Theory and Practice, and theJournal of Marketing Education, among others. Her work emphasizes the application of consumer behavior theory to health care and to channel relationships. Thomas N. Ingram (Ph.D., Georgia State University) is a professor of marketing at Colorado State University. He has been honored as the Marketing Educator of the Year by Sales and Marketing Executives International (SMEI) and as a recipient of the Mu Kappa Tau National Marketing Honor Society Recognition Award for Outstanding Scholarly Contributions to the Sales Discipline. He has served as the editor of theJournal of Personal Selling and Sales Management and is the current editor of theJournal of Marketing Theory and Practice. His primary research is in personal selling and sales management. His work has appeared in theJournal of Marketing, theJournal of Marketing Research, theJournal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, and theJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science, among others. He is the coauthor of three textbooks:Professional Selling: A Trust-Based Approach, Sales Management: Analysis and Decision Making, andMarketing: Principles and Perspectives.     

Perception of marital roles in purchase decision processes: A cross-cultural study

Following the approach of the classic 1974 marital-role influence study of Davis and Rigaux, the present study focuses on differences in decision making (i.e., joint, husband dominated, wife dominated) across 24 product categories as a function of two key factors. These factors are stage of the decision process (i.e., problem recognition, information search, and the final decision) and culture (People’s Republic of China and the United States). The Jacobson Marital-Role Egalitarianism Scale is included to further assess individual differences in husband and wife traditionality-modernism. The major findings are that emphasis on joint, husband-dominated, and wife-dominated decisions vary by stage and by stage-culture interaction. Practical implications are presented with suggestions for future research. He graduated from the University of Georgia in 1985 with a Ph.D. in marketing. His research interests include global strategic market planning and cross-cultural research issues and methodologies. He has published in such journals asJournal of Advertising Research, Industrial Marketing Management, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Columbia Journal of World Business, International Marketing Review, Journal of Business Strategy, andJournal of Consumer Marketing. He graduated with honors in 1986 from the University of Mississippi with a Ph.D. in marketing. His research interests include cross-cultural consumer behavior and emotional responses to advertising stimuli. He has published in such journals asJournal of Advertising, Journal of Advertising Research, Journal of Public Policy and Marketing, Psychology and Marketing, Journal of Health Care Marketing, andInternational Marketing Review. He graduated from the University of Mississippi in 1986 with a Ph.D. in marketing. His research interests focus on cross-cultural consumer behavior. He has published in such journals asJournal of Advertising, Journal of Business Ethics, Journal of Health Care Marketing, Psychology and Marketing, and theInternational Journal of Purchasing and Materials Management.     

How first impressions of a customer impact effectiveness in an initial sales encounter

First impressions of others affect both the content and outcomes of a variety of interpersonal encounters. In sales encounters, a salesperson’s first impressions of a customer provide a starting point for probing customer needs and for adapting to those needs. This implies that salesperson effectiveness in an initial sales encounter is associated— at least in part—with a salesperson’s first impression of the customer. The reported quasi-experiment is the first study to explore empirically the connection between salespeople’s first impressions, their cognitive structures, and sales effectiveness in a single, initial sales encounter. The results provide an intriguing glimpse into the dilemma salespeople face in trying to establish the basis of a relationship while achieving short-term sales outcomes (e.g., closing a sale, satisfaction). Kleine & Associates Symmetrics Kenneth R. Evans received his D.B.A. from the University of Colorado. He has served on the faculty at Arizona State University and currently serves as associate dean and professor of marketing at the University of Missouri, Columbia. He has published articles in theJournal of Marketing, Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, Journal of Advertising, Industrial Marketing Management, and inDistinguished Essays in Marketing Theory. Robert E. Kleine, III, received his Ph.D. from the University of Cincinnati and has served on the marketing faculty at Arizona State University. He is presently chief scholar for Kleine & Associates. His work has appeared in theJournal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Psychology, and in other journals. Timothy D. Landry is a doctoral candidate at the University of Missouri, Columbia. He has presented his work at the American Marketing Association’s conferences. Lawrence A. Crosby received his Ph.D. from the University of Michigan. He has served on the marketing faculty at the University of Nebraska and at Arizona State University. He served as managing director of CSM Worldwide, Inc., and is presently chief executive officer of Symmetrics. He has published several articles in theJournal of Marketing, Journal of Consumer Research, and in other journals.