The state of theory in three premier advertising journals: a research note

Despite its importance, little is known about the prevalence of theory in the literature on advertising research. Utilising a content analysis of the three premier advertising journals over an 11-year period, it is found that only 17% of articles have made explicit use of theory. Psychology is the discipline from which the greatest number of articles drew their theoretical frameworks, followed by sociology and economics – indeed, theories from marketing and advertising are in the minority. Limitations are noted and implications of the results are discussed.     

The organization of the future: Unity of marketing and strategy

Marketing and strategy, while once diverse activities and entities, are moving ever closer together—in this paper it is speculated that they may someday become one. This is in response to changing business environments, and to the emergence of new organizational forms. However, a more fundamental force may be the simple recognition that without relationships there is no need for strategy, and that relationships are fundamental to marketing.     

Proactive behavior and industrial salesforce performance

Proactive behavior has been indirectly linked to effective selling, an assertion underpinned by a logic, which states that in a world of high competition and choice, the passive, reactive seller is unlikely to do as well as his or her more proactive counterpart. Yet, little direct empirical evidence exists to substantiate this link. In this paper, we address this knowledge gap by describing a study that assesses the effect of proactive behavior on the performance of an industrial sales force. The paper explores the issue of salesperson performance and the construct of proactive behavior (or proactiveness). Using the Proactive Personality (PP) Scale to measure proactiveness and the line manager's subjective evaluation to indicate salesperson performance, it was found that a small but significant relationship exists. The results are discussed, with areas for future research delineated and implications for practitioners explored.     

The Intra‐ and Inter‐Personal Dynamics Associated with Consuming Sensitive Products: Understanding the Consumption of Erectile Function Aids Using Dimensional Qualitative Research

It is estimated that well over 300 million men will be diagnosed with erectile dysfunction by 2025. Men seeking treatment face a burgeoning array of options, some quite invasive. This study utilizes a dimensional qualitative research (DQR) approach to examine what men think, feel, and experience as they consider integrating erectile function (EF) aids into their sexual relationships. The findings suggest that the process of accepting changes in sexual functioning and consuming EF aids frequently moves beyond intrapersonal issues to encompass spouse/partner relationships. The insights gleaned from this study have implications not only for the marketing of EF aids but also for healthcare professionals assisting men in the treatment of their symptoms. Finally, the study findings expand current marketing applications of the DQR framework by demonstrating the value of second‐order modality analysis.     

Value Congruence Awareness: Part 2. DNA Testing Sheds Light on Functionalism

Part 1 of this exploratory study demonstrated that for terminal, instrumental, and work values, supervisors could only accurately assess the extent to which their terminal values are congruent with their employees, whereas, employees could only accurately describe degrees of alignment with their supervisors' work values. Thus, supervisors appear to possess conscious awareness of the terminal values held by their employees and employees similarly possess conscious awareness of their supervisors' work values. Part 2 of the study examined what each of these two parties might do with their conscious knowledge concerning value congruence with the other member. Supervisor ratings and employee self-ratings concerning employee job performance, citizenship, climate fit, working relationship (LMX), and other issues, were correlated with supervisor terminal value congruence estimates and employee work value congruence estimates respectively. For supervisors, only one significant finding was noted, indicating a positive relationship between the supervisors' awareness of terminal value congruence with the employee and the supervisors' estimate of the employee's potential for future promotion. For employees, seven hypotheses received support demonstrating relationships between the employees' 0awareness of supervisor/employee work value congruence and self-ratings of work behaviours, citizenship behaviours, volunteerism behaviours, work climate behaviours, work climate attitudes, work climate organizational-wide attitudes, and the supervisor/employee working relationship. Implications for management and future research are discussed.     

It's a secret: Marketing value and the denial of availability

Marketing thrives on secrets, yet surprisingly little formal attention has been paid to how the marketing of secrecy and the secrecy of marketing can play a significant role in contemporary organizations. We draw upon the fields of organizational studies, psychology, and marketing to develop a typology of secrets that reflects their marketing value and their knowledge value. Marketing secrets can have value to the firm (strategic value), to the customer (marketing value), or to both parties. Based on these two dimensions, we identify four different types of marketing secrets: (1) appealing secrets have high strategic value, as well as high marketing value; (2) mythical secrets mean little to the firm but a lot to the customer; (3) plain secrets are critical to the firm but are irrelevant to customers; and (4) weak secrets have neither strategic value nor marketing value. Our typology enables academics to formulate research questions regarding secrecy in marketing, and serves as a guide for practitioners in the construction of strategies that can exploit the strategic value of secrets by ‘romancing’ them, and increase their knowledge value by ‘educating’ the secrets.     

Pricing practices in two industries

Although a critical part of marketing decision making, very little has been written about industrial pricing policy and strategy. This article has three objectives: First, to report the pricing practices of the chemical and construction industries; Second, to compare their pricing policies; and third, to develop a simple pricing framework for industrial marketers. The results of this study are interesting and somewhat unexpected. The buyer and his behavior only play a small part in pricing policy. A pricing framework or model is presented in a logical and systematic way.