“Let's make a deal:” Price outcomes and the interaction of customer persuasion knowledge and salesperson negotiation strategies

In response to increased consumer empowerment and frugality, many business-to-consumer (B2C) firms now negotiate “deals” with customers. Understanding how buyer and seller inputs affect negotiation outcomes is important because successful completion, or a closed sale, results in perceived value (based on the negotiated price) for both the customer and the seller. We suggest negotiation is influenced by the persuasion knowledge of the customer and the negotiation strategies used by the salesperson to manage conflicts that arise during the process. Using unique dyadic data from the automotive industry that combines multisource (salesperson and customer) survey data with objective purchase price information, we find that price outcomes and customer satisfaction depend on the different interactions of customer persuasion knowledge and salesperson negotiation strategies. The results suggest that perceived value may be generated for both the selling firm and the customer based on these unique inputs.     

Mecca and the birth of commercial bingo 1958–70: A case study

The game of bingo has become synonymous with women of a certain age and class and has been stigmatised as a dead-end use of leisure. However, the development of commercial bingo in the wake of the Betting and Gaming Act (1961) offered the leisure industry access to a new and lucrative market. While many major players in the leisure industry of the early 1960s adopted commercial bingo as an adjunct to their offerings the Mecca dancing group adopted a strategy that made bingo so particularly their own that the brand rapidly became known as the bingo and dancing group with Eric Morley of Mecca referred to in the popular press as ‘Mr Bingo’. This paper provides a case study of the Mecca group as it moved into commercial gambling, rapidly increased its size and profitability, saw off competition in commercial gambling from larger companies and finally succumbed to a lucrative takeover in 1970.     

Multiple interpretations of “national culture” and the implications for International business: The case of Taiwan

This paper considers the implications for international business of cases whereby a country may have two, or more, conflicting interpretations of its “national culture”. A case study of the different ways in which Taiwanese self-initiated expatriates of the benshengren and waishengren social categories use their status as “Taiwanese” to do business in London suggests that the varying interpretations which people of the same national origin and ethnic group have of their “national culture”, as a symbol of identity, affects the social resources they can use. The paper concludes by considering new directions for studying national culture in international business, and for re-evaluating earlier research.     

How can the word “NEW” evoke consumers' experiences of novelty and interest?

This paper examines the role advertising cues play in inducing subjective perceptions of product novelty and how they can evoke consumer interest toward an advertisement. Specifically, it uses behavioral and psychophysiological measures to: (1) investigate the effect of novelty cues on consumers’ subjective appraisal of novelty; (2) demonstrate that novelty cues may evoke the emotion of interest; and (3) differentiate the effect of the emotion of interest on liking and arousal. Across two experimental studies, we demonstrated that simply adding the word “new” in an advertisement increases behavioral (i.e., viewing duration) and psychophysiological responses (i.e., cardiac activity) of interest. However, the word “new” did not evoke liking and arousal. This suggests that novelty cues in an advertisement will make the consumers perceive the product to be novel and further evoke consumer interest.     

“Theory will take you only so far” (Nolan, 2023): In search of greater insight through quantitative,observation-based research

Theories developed for understanding the general management or economic phenomena are increasingly ineffective for explaining logistics/SCM-specific phenomena, despite the best efforts of LSCM researchers to utilize them for those purposes. Unfortunately, the hierarchies and infrastructure in place to ensure LSCM research is theoretically grounded and conducted with scholarly rigor have not advanced to a point where the use of alternative methods to explore such questions is common. The key objective of this paper is to guide where empirical LSCM research could evolve if it took its relationship with theory a step further. Our thesis is that inductive research using empirical data can yield additional insightful answers to relevant questions. We hope that discussion of these topics from a 2024 perspective can spur more research that uses empirical analysis as a starting point to create new theory in LSCM and, importantly, to persuade members working in our field to respect and accept rigorous empirical research conducted outside the traditional deductive, logical positivist paradigm.     

Evolution of firms' product strategy over the life cycle of technology-based industries: A case study of the global mobile phone industry, 1980–2009

This paper adopts industry life cycle approaches to understand better the changing rationales for product strategy development in the worldwide mobile phone industry. Based on both primary and secondary sources, we find that mobile phone manufacturers have radically changed their product strategy over the industry life cycle in response to various factors, such as the intense global competition and the need to respond rapidly to changes in technology and mass-consumer preferences. We also find that, when the mobile phone industry entered a stage of shake-out in the 2000s, contrary to the prediction of the classical product–process life cycle model, mobile phone manufacturers focused their strategy not only on process but also on product innovations. The continuous launch of new and advanced product technologies served mainly to stimulate the demand for replacement purchases. We observe this unexpected key role of product innovation to be very strong also in the stage of industry maturity.     

Approaching Korean Business and Management Ideals through the Lens of Yongo: A Scholar–Practitioner Perspective

By adopting the insider perspective based on participant observations, this article explores a new dimension of management ideals in South Korea. In particular, it proposes an important cultural context extension to the conventional collectivism paradigm that is often used to explain Korean management. By introducing the term yongo, which denotes exclusive and informal social networks based on (pseudo-) family, university alumni, and regional connections, challenges for management practices can be reported, including, for example, the difficulties that foreign managers face in accessing these networks to establish high-trust ties and influence business decisions.     

Trademark Dispute Arising from Indistinct Trademark Classification:Analysis of Dispute over Trademarks“Shenzhen DSL”and“Zhongshan DSL”

Both "Shenzhen DSL" and "Zhongshan DSL" are combined trademarks composed of the Chinese characters and devices. The characters used are identical, while the devices quite different.     

A Review of “Global Marketing Management: Changes,New Challenges and Strategies”

The paper reports the results of a study of 110 Export Management Companies (EMCs) located throughout the United States. These EMCs were surveyed to find out what international marketing tasks were most important for successful exporting and how difficult these tasks were to perform for their clients. This study also investigated the perceived importance to the ECMs' exporting success of various groups who often provide exporting assistance to exporters. In addition, these respondents were asked to respond to the helpfulness to their exporting activities of current and potential U.S. government actions. The two areas which were indicated to be most important to successful exporting were gathering marketing information and communicating with markets. However, the two areas which these EMCs feel to be most difficult to accomplish were analyzing political risk and sales force management. A gap analysis of these results suggests that the need which exporters most need help in is pricing in foreign markets. This research provides the basis for several policy recommendations to U.S. government leaders concerning their efforts to assist American exporters.     

Book Review: The Financialisation of the Citizen – Social and Financial Inclusion Through European Private Law,by Guido Comparato

Journal of Consumer Policy -     

“A healthy outside starts from the inside”: A matter of sustainable consumption behavior in Italy and Pakistan

The aim of this research is to determine people's motives when purchasing organic food and how these motives are moderated by price sensitivity and ethical concerns in a cross-cultural setting. A highly structured questionnaire was used to collect the data from 673 Italian and 594 Pakistani consumers, using the convenience sampling technique. Based on the etic research approach, the measurement invariance tests were performed, and data were analyzed using structural equation modeling. The results indicate that environmental concerns and health-consciousness are significant predictors of subjective norms and purchase attitudes among Italian consumers. Food safety concern proved the strongest predictor of purchase attitude and perceived behavioral control among Pakistani consumers. The results also confirm the moderating role of ethical concerns and price sensitivity in buying organic food in both cultures. In terms of originality, this study fills significant gaps in the literature, particularly regarding the roles of attitude, behavioral control, and subjective norms in consumer buying motives and purchasing intentions in cross-cultural studies but more importantly, the results validate that consumer concerns across the globe are related to the Sustainability Development Goals and the U.N. 2030 agenda, which aptly provides a blue print for the development and developmental goals and concerns across nations.     

Retailing to the “grey pound”: Understanding the food shopping habits and preferences of consumers over 50 in Scotland

The number of older people is growing globally and therefore there is an implication for providing products and services to facilitate access to nutritious food, considered fundamental for maintaining health and independence. Historically, older consumers have been unattractive to marketers, however improved finances and lifestyles indicate the “grey pound” has the potential to become lucrative. This exploratory research seeks to identify the current expectation of Scottish older consumers in relation to the products and services available in the supermarket and food retailers. A questionnaire was distributed to participants aged over 50 years in Scotland to voice the opinion of the older consumer in relation to shopping experience and availability of product. The results support previous research indicating the improved lifestyles of older consumers, demonstrating that previous perceptions of older people as impoverished and immobile are not representative of this group. This study contributes to the demand for more information on older consumers׳ food shopping habits and preference in Scotland. It attempts to provide useful recommendations for supermarkets and food retailers in fulfilling the needs of this rising consumer segment. This research concludes that supermarkets could improve access to both products and services to meet the demand from this growing segment of society, through better understanding of their requirements in terms of customer service, shopping experience, product size, price, access and mobility.     

Student views of “ethical” issues: A situational analysis

This paper reports on selected attitudes of a sample of third-year undergraduate business students in a major urban university. The focus of the research is on respondent perceptions of certain aspects of the employee-employer relationship. Such issues as use of the company car for a personal trip, use of the company copy machine for personal copies, calling in sick when some personal time is needed, eating at the very best restaurant on a business trip and others are explored. Half of the students surveyed were asked to respond as though they were employees of the company. The other half were asked to respond as though they were the President of the company. Both groups seemed to reflect a certain amount of flexibility in their responses to the issues presented. The assumed position of the respondent, the situation, did influence the responses given. Dr. Jones is currently Professor of Management and Political Science at Georgia State University. His previous publications include two books and articles in such journals as International Journal of Management, Industrial Management, Public Administration Review, Public Personnel Management and Management World.     

Learning process and capability formation in cross-border buyer–supplier relationships: A qualitative case study of Taiwanese technological firms

This paper examines the alliance learning process from the perspective of local suppliers in a Global Production Network (GPN). After reviewing critical literature in the field, we employed a qualitative case research method to explore alliance learning antecedents, process and outcomes. Six Taiwanese technological firms with different positions in a GPN were examined and we found that these well-performing firms integrate both inter- and intra-organizational learning, as well as a bi-directional learning process. A framework of cross-level knowledge flow is proposed with refined alliance learning antecedents and outcomes. We also extend the typology of GPN positioning level. Propositions are suggested with results discussed for future research.     

Symposium on Harrison's “Lean and Mean”: A policy perspective

Conclusion It is unfortunate that Bennett Harrison has been trapped into a Manichean view of the world and that, in his attack on small business, he has found no lever other than a reliance on big business. The world is not as simple as he would appear to suggest. It is neither black nor white, but grey; coordination is neither vertical nor horizontal, but transversal.Yet one must welcome Harrison's polemical attack. It may yet serve as a catalyst that will enable the debate to go well beyond the large-firm/small-firms fixation (a somewhat sterile debate) into an exploration of the various forms of transversal coordination and of their relative merits in a rich variety of contexts. If this were to be the case, one might, in the future, see the present controversies surrounding Harrison's book as being something of a landmark, for while the book itself may have somewhat faded away into oblivion, the stimulating discussions generated by the book will have left behind what Gaston Bachelard would have called a surobject — a solid residue, a positive contribution to knowledge that would never have materialized without such a book (Bachelard, 1949).