The Effect of Political Events on Foreign Direct Investment in Marketing

While numerous studies have been conducted on environmental factors in international marketing, few have dealt directly with the effect of political events on foreign direct investment in marketing (FDIM). This paper examines the relationship between political events and FDIM by a pooled time-series (21 Years) and cross-sectional (26 countries) model. The results of this study indicate that both inter-nation and intra-nation conflictive and cooperative political events affect FDIM in a negative and positive way. The study also found a difference in the extent to which the political events affect FDIM in developed countries and in less developed countries.     

CBS Promotion of Future Programming During the 2011 NCAA Tournament

The simple goal of television promotions is to increase viewership of future programming. The promotion of future programming during sports telecasts is valuable primarily because promotions can air during the game. The purpose of this paper is to provide a network perspective of its promotions strategy by identifying how often CBS promoted its future programming, which type of future programs CBS chose to promote (established or non-established), and how CBS implemented the prominent promotional techniques identified in the literature during its coverage of the 2011 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament. The findings show that 21% of total promotions were during the game, 42% of total promotions by CBS were for non-established programming, and genre compatibility was the most used technique with the Masters Golf Tournament being the most promoted future program.     

Price competition during and after promotions

We provide a framework for setting regular prices and using promotional discounts in a duopoly where long‐term promotional effects are present and the firms' pricing and promotional strategies are common knowledge (e.g., as in online markets). We show that at equilibrium, the two firms may not promote and instead adopt an Everyday Low Price (EDLP) strategy. Consumers' tendency to stockpile promoted products, the level of brand loyalty and product differentiation, and the possibility of a postpromotional sales increase critically influence regular prices, price discount rates, and profits. Under some conditions consumer stockpiling intensifies promotional competition and reduces firms' profits while the possibility of attracting new consumers reduces the need to heavily promote and ensures better profits. Managerial implications are discussed. Copyright © 2007 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Application of an environmental psychology model to in-store buying behaviour

Although the influence of the environment on behaviour has long been acknowledged by many environmental psychologists, not many studies have been done in a retailing context, and so far no study can provide a framework to determine how environmental cues might impact on store patronage. The main objective of this study is to explore the relationship between environment and human behaviour in a retailing context by adopting the Mehrabian Russell Model (M-R Model) so as to test the predictability and applicability of the model through measurement of the information load, the emotional states induced and the approach-avoidance behaviour of shoppers in two types of CD stores in Hong Kong. The findings show that in-store environment stimuli (expressed in terms of information rate) are positively related to the level of pleasure experienced in the store. In turn, environment-induced emotional states in the store are positively related to in-store shopping behaviour. Therefore, shopping behaviour favourable to retailers can be induced through manipulation of the store's atmospheric elements. The findings show that the in-store environment is dynamic in nature and the model is not as simple as that predicted by Mehrabian and Russell in a one-way direction. In-store behaviour also has positive effects on the pleasure felt in the store and the in-store rating of environmental stimuli.     

A Review and Evaluation of 2002 State Visitors' Travel Packets: A Fifty State Study

ABSTRACT

Official state visitors' travel packets were collected and analyzed in terms of strategic contributions to marketing communications goals. It was recognized that some states capitalized on the opportunity to obtain useful information and/or to make a favorable first impression during the potential tourist's inquiry phone call, although most did not. The majority of the distributed state visitors' packets were lackluster and collectively homogeneous. Slogans were found to be an underutilized tactic. The sponsorship of back covers was addressed. Noting the importance of the visitors' travel packet in terms of accomplishing marketing communications objectives, a call for accountability from the states was stressed.     

The Role of Retail Competition,Demographics and Account Retail Strategy as Drivers of Promotional Sensitivity

We study the determinants of sensitivity to the promotional activities of temporary price reductions, displays, and feature advertisements. Both the theoretical and empirical literatures on price promotions suggest that retailer competition and the demographic composition of the shopping population should be linked to response to temporary price cuts. However, datasets that span different market areas have not been used to study the role of retail competition in determining price sensitivity. Moreover, little is known about the determinants of display and feature response. Very little attention has been focused on retailer strategic decisions such as price format (EDLP vs. Hi-Lo) or size of stores. We assemble a unique dataset with all U.S. markets and all major retail grocery chains represented in order to investigate the role of retail competition, account retail strategy, and demographics in determining promotional response. Previous work has not simultaneously modeled response to price, display, and feature promotions, which we do in a Bayesian Hierarchical model. We also allow for retailers in the same market to have correlated sales response equations through a variance component specification. Our results indicate that retail strategic variables such as price format are the most important determinants of promotional response, followed by demographic variables. Surprisingly, we find that variables measuring the extent of retail competition are not important in explaining promotional response.     

The Effects of Performance Measurement and Compensation on Motivation: An Empirical Study

Summary This paper analyzes empirically the relationship between pay and performance. Economic and psychological theories predict that the design and implementation of a performance measurement and compensation system affect the motivation of employees. Our survey results demonstrate a positive relationship between the perceived characteristics of the complete compensation system and extrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation is not affected by the design of monetary compensation, but by promotion opportunities. The compensation system also significantly affects work satisfaction and turnover intent. Our results have both managerial as well as policy implications. We would like to thank the organization and the participants of the 2002 conference of the Performance Measurement Association in Boston for helpful discussions and also seminar participants of the Dutch Labor Market Conference. We are grateful for the comments provided by Bruno S. Frey. The paper has also significantly benefited from the suggestions and comments of two anonymous referees.     

Effects of in-store information quality and store credibility on consumer engagement in green retailing

Literature has reported that store-level information is crucial in determining consumer engagement with green stores. This study examines the effects of in-store (green) information quality on consumer engagement behaviours and mediating effects of store credibility. Moreover, the study reveals whether consumer passion for the environment moderates the effect of in-store (green) information quality on store credibility. Statistical analyses of useable data from 763 respondents examined the relationships. Credibility emerged as a key mechanism to enhance the effects of information quality on consumer engagement. Thus, this study extends theoretical discussions on information quality, consumer passion, and consumer engagement for green retailing.     

Which Products are More Responsive to In-Store Displays: Utilitarian or Hedonic?

In-store displays aim to boost sales of both utilitarian and hedonic products. Noting typical differences in the information processing and purchase behavior evoked by these product types, and building on congruency theory principles, the authors propose that different types of in-store displays (i.e., island, end-of-aisle, or shelf signage) are more appropriate for utilitarian versus hedonic products, and the use of price or product promotions might reinforce these effects. With a database that combines three data sources (scanner, observational, and survey), this article presents an analysis of a market share model at the SKU level. The results confirm that in-store displays have differential effects on sales, depending on their characteristics; congruency between the decision-making process of utilitarian versus hedonic products and the characteristics of in-store display types moderates their effectiveness in terms of SKU sales. Shelf signage strongly increases the sales of utilitarian products, whereas island and end-of-aisle displays increase sales of hedonic product categories more effectively. The use of congruent promotions creates synergistic influences that reinforce these effects. In particular, price promotions improve the impact of shelf signage on utilitarian products, and product promotions strengthen the impacts of island and end-of-aisle displays on hedonic products. These results extend prior research on in-store marketing actions and the nature of utilitarian versus hedonic products, as well as providing recommendations for retailers and manufacturers seeking to optimize their retail space and commercial budgets.     

Human capital acquisition as a competitive response to the promotion distortion

Waldman shows that under the assumption that prospective employers observe whether a worker was promoted, but cannot observe his ability, the promotion policy is inefficient. In the current paper, we show that human capital acquisition made after the players (both worker and employer) observe the worker's ability reduces this inefficiency, even though such an investment is not optimal in some setups.