Marketing Impact of Trade Bloc Formation on Third Country Firms:

The United States-Canada Free Trade Agreement (FTA) came into effect on 1 January 1989. Its main provision is the elimination of all tariffs on trade between the two countries by 1 January 1998. On balance, it is expected to be beneficial to the exporting firms of both the U.S. and Canada. However, it is also likely to impact on other third country firms that rely heavily on the U.S.-Canada market. This study attempts to examine the marketing impact of the FTA on Singapore firms and suggests some strategies to harness any opportunities and overcome any threats consequent to the agreement. Further, implications on other third country firms that are interested in the U.S. and Canada markets are also discuessed.     

The Pricing Processes of Exporters

Abstract

Within the realm of research regarding the successful implementation of exporting strategies lies the often neglected topic area of export pricing. This subject has received relatively little attention over the years for a number of reasons, including a lack of formal export pricing theory and a reluctance among international managers to discuss their pricing practices. Concurrently, what research that has been conducted on this issue has been largely undertaken from the single country perspective. Future research, both exploratory and empirical, is called for.

This study attempts to define what export pricing strategies and processes are currently being utilized by exporting firms, what influences the adoption of these strategies, and how these strategies differ across cultures. Through a series of interviews with export managers from U.S. and Mexican manufacturing firms, an exploratory case study analysis was conducted to address four major issues, namely (1) what are the export pricing processes of the firm, (2) how do stated export objectives relate to these strategies, (3) what are the perceived barriers to the successful implementation of pricing practices, and (4) how do these factors differ between Mexican and U.S. exporters.     

The Retail Travels of the U.S. Greenback: A Comparative Study of Currency Substitution Along the U.S.-Canadian and U.S.-Mexican Borders

This currency substitution study explores the extent of retail firm-level U.S. dollar acceptance in Canada and Mexico. Employing a stratified random sampling approach of retail business in the border region, results demonstrate that all Mexican firms (N = 300/300) and nearly all Canadian (N = 257/261) firms accept the U.S. dollar in retail transactions. Of greater interest is the difference between firms in the two countries in how acceptance of the U.S. dollar is operationalized. On average, U.S. dollar sales of Canadian border firms comprise just 3.4% of total sales whereas U.S. dollar sales of Mexican firms encompass 23.7% of total sales. Our results also indicate a stark contrast as to the effective exchange rate for U.S. dollar acceptance— Canadian firms typically charge a premium (2.1% on average) while 69.3% of Mexican firms transacted business at a discount (?0.8% on average). Additional analyses further refine the currency substitution distinctions between Canadian and Mexican firms in the sample including a logistical regression which reveals significant differences as to firm-level predictors of U.S. dollar acceptance (whether at a discount or premium).     

Resale Price Maintenance (RPM): The U.S. and E.U. perspectives

Resale Price Maintenance (RPM) is an important and very controversial pricing practice that describes attempts by upstream suppliers (often manufacturers) to control selling prices of their customers (often retailers or wholesaler). It was developed in the early 1900s to regulate and eliminate unfair trade practices within distribution channels in U.S. Although RPM has been analyzed from many different perspectives since it is inception, many questions remain. Whether RPM is good for competition and which forms are legal is still unclear. The study provides the historic evolution of the RPM concept and discusses some alternative strategies by which marketers have attempted to achieve the same ends. The study′s review includes landmark legal rulings and an overview of the relevant marketing and economic theory guiding the evaluation of RPM′s effect on markets and competition both in U.S. and E.U. The study, finally, addresses a road-map how to handle RPM rulings side effects for marketing patricians, academics and regulators.     

Cultural Change and Marketing

ABSTRACT

The results of this study suggest that marketing strategies need to be adjusted to changing cultures. Culture affects marketing decisions regarding product, price, promotion and place (the 4 Ps). Many marketing studies have been reported based on Hofstede's seminal work on national culture (1980). Marketing managers need to be cautious about assuming the validity of the Anglo cluster equating the cultures of the United States (U.S.) and Canada. We should recognize that national cultures are changing in the U.S., Canada and Mexico, as well as most other countries in the world. Our findings for a very recent sample of people attending executive and MBA programs would seem to apply to the upwardly-mobile business class. Contrary to the ubiquitous Hofstede data found in textbooks, we found no significant differences in Power Distance between the U.S., Mexico and Canada. Our findings regarding differences in Uncertainty Avoidance show that Mexico did not have a significantly higher mean than the U.S., but that the U.S. had a higher mean than Canada. The U.S. and Canada did not differ significantly on Individualism/Collectivism. Our results suggest that caution should be taken in automatically assuming cultural parity between the U.S. and Canada and that established cultural positions between the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) member nations may be changing.     

Marketing by CPAs

Abstract

Until the late 1970s, the AICPA discouraged commercial advertising and some other marketing tactics by practicing accountants. This study contacted 600 CPAs in the U.S. in an attempt to discover what kinds of marketing they employ, how useful they think it is, and how appropriate do they feel the AICPA's rules and regulations are in regard to marketing an individual CPA's services. Most thought the AICPA was fair. Accountants doing the most marketing tend to be younger males. “Conflict of Interest” was the area of most current concern in light of the ongoing problems of public accounting firms doing both auditing and consulting for the same client. “Newspaper” was the preferred advertising medium. Most of those surveyed were pleased the AICPA relaxed its restrictions on marketing and advertising, even though many CPAs still do not market their services to any great extent. This may change as younger accountants fill leadership positions in U.S. accounting firms.     

Gender Differences in Ethics Judgment of Marketing Professionals in the United States

This empirical investigation reexamines the impact of gender on ethics judgment of marketing professionals in a cross-section of firms in the United States. In the study, gender differences in ethics judgment focus on decisions in the context of marketing-mix elements (product, promotion, pricing, and distribution). The results of statistical analyses indicate that men and women marketing professionals differ significantly in their ethics judgment. Overall, female marketing professionals evinced significantly higher ethics judgment than their male counterparts. Given the changing demographics of corporate America, it is conceivable that ethical decision-making in organizations stands to improve as the ratio of women in executive positions increases. The finding also bodes well with the recent emphasis of moving away from transaction-based in favor of relationship-focused conceptualization of marketing.     

Environmental management systems: an alternative marketing strategy for sustainability

The purpose of the paper is to shed light on the extent to which environmental management systems such as ISO 14000 standards influence marketing efforts. By examining firms who prefer ISO 14000 standards against those who do not, this research provides a platform for understanding their significance when applied to marketing and seeks to improve environmental marketing strategies. The study empirically tests whether statistically significant differences exist between the two groups on a set of marketing variables. The study uses hierarchical clustering Ward’s method and measurement using squared Euclidean distances to determine the two groups. Discriminant analysis (DA) was used to classify each of the observations into selected groups; and test differences between these groups. Stepwise DA identified customer satisfaction as the best marketing predictor. This research indicates that green market-driven solutions for responsible consumption work best when it is consumer-driven, and consumers derive satisfaction from those results. The results adopts the view that investing in IS0 14000 standards is also highly beneficial for the wider applicability of developing strategies that would help firms make better decisions in marketing.     

从历史视角看美国贸易政策的本质

美国的贸易政策是指能直接影响美国进出口地理方向和进出口商品结构、跨国投资的政府措施。必须从经济和政治结合的角度去理解美国的贸易政策,美国贸易政策的本质是实现美国国内外经济利益和政治利益的工具或手段。贸易保护主义和贸易自由化都是美国利益的实现方式。认识美国贸易政策的本质为认识中美贸易方面存在的问题提供一种思路。     

The 1939 New York World's Fair

Decades before the literature on marketing for non-profit organization emerged in Journal of Marketing, the New York World's Fair 1939 Corporation undertook the challenge to make the 1939 fair in New York City a truly “world's” fair. That nonprofit organization recognized, from its inception in October 1934, that only a customer-oriented marketing effort could transform a then ash-dump in Queens into a site where 60 nations and international organizations would ultimately construct memorable exhibits alongside showcases prepared by U.S. firms. While such a degree of foreign participation in a U.S. fair was unprecedented, success came largely because the nonprofit sponsors devised and executed a six-part international marketing strategy. This paper is a case study of how that nonprofit managed objectives, strategies, and tactics within an international marketing concept, with lessons still applicable for those managing such events in the 1990s.     

The impact of economic downturns on marketing

The Great Recession of 2008–2010 affected the global and U.S. economies and its companies more universally than any economic downturn since the Great Depression. This study explores how the Great Recession influenced the marketing decisions of firms and the resulting long-term effects on marketing within business-to-business companies. Empirical evidence from previous recessions suggests that companies should focus on their customers and increase their marketing efforts during a recession. However, many companies typically slash their marketing budgets during economic downturns. Authors found that during the Great Recession, companies reacted differently than in previous recessions with their marketing responses. Authors conclude their analysis by proposing that the Great Recession will have three long-term effects on marketing in business-to-business companies.     

The Effects of Fraud and Lawsuit Revelation on U.S. Executive Turnover and Compensation

This study investigates the impact of fraud/lawsuit revelation on U.S. top executive turnover and compensation. It also examines potential explanatory variables affecting the executive turnover and compensation among U.S. fraud/lawsuit firms. Four important findings are documented. First, there was significantly higher executive turnover among U.S. firms with fraud/lawsuit revelation in the Wall Street Journal than matched firms without such revelation. Second, although on average, U.S. top executives received an increase in cash compensation after fraud/lawsuit revelation, this increase is smaller than that of matched non-fraud/lawsuit firms. Third, fraud/lawsuit firms were more likely to change top executive when chief executive officer (CEO) was not the board chairman and CEO had been on the board for a short time. Fourth, fraud/lawsuit firms were more likely to reduce their executive cash compensation when profitability was low, firms were involved in fraud, the compensation committee size was small, and the board met more often. These findings indicate that although, in general, U.S. fraud/lawsuits firms did not reduce their executive cash compensation, those involved in fraud were more likely to reduce their executive cash compensation than to change their top executives. The finding, that ethical standards is not a significant factor for U.S. executive turnover nor compensation reduction, suggests that ethics appears to play no part in the board’s decisions, and that U.S. firms may have ethical standards in writing but they do not implement nor enforce the standards.     

Management practices in U.S. affiliates of foreign-owned firms: Are “they” just like “Us”?

Despite considerable debate about foreign direct investment in the United States, little research has examined the inner workings of U.S. affiliates of foreign-owned firms. This study examines the management practices in 249 U.S. affiliates of foreign-owned firms. Findings show that practices in marketing, human resource management, and manufacturing tend to more closely resemble the practices of local competitors than those of the foreign parent, whereas for practices in financial control the dominant resemblance is to the parent. Furthermore, findings reveal that affiliates are comprised overwhelmingly of Americans, not only at lower levels of the organization but also in key executive positions, although affiliates of Japanese firms stand apart in their greater reliance on expatriates. Foreign affiliates of multinational firms are revealed as differentiated sets of practices, shaped by the interplay of local responsiveness and internal consistency. The findings also make plain that U.S. affiliates of foreign-owned firms are in many ways very much like American firms. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Chaffee,Steven H., and Petrick,Michael J. Using the Mass Media: Communication Problems in American Society. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1974

Abstract

In recent years, a number of internal and external forces have urged companies to pay increased attention to the role that corporate advertising plays in marketing communications strategy. Despite this increased importance, a comprehensive view of current corporate advertising practices does not exist. This study reports the practices of the 500 largest manufacturing and the 300 largest non-manufacturing firms in the U.S. and makes observations on several key management issues, including the definition of corporate advertising, objectives and measurement, funding, and future directions.     

Optimal pricing in social networks considering reference price effect

We study the optimal monopoly pricing strategies in a social network, in which consumers experience a network effect that is dependent on their neighbors' consumptions and a reference price which is the average price received by their neighbors. We establish a two-stage game model for any social network. Utilizing the backward induction, we derive the equilibrium price by maximizing the monopolist's profit. In addition, we apply this model to the two most commonly used network structures: the star network and the bipartite network. We find that both the network effect and the reference price effect play a critical role in deciding pricing strategies in social networks. Moreover, our numerical results demonstrate that whether to implement discriminatory pricing depends critically on the network structure. This work provides monopoly firms a useful guideline for optimal pricing decisions in social network marketing.     

A Comparative Analysis of Ethical Perceptions in Marketing Research: U.S.A. vs. Canada

The study compares Canadian and U.S. marketing researchers' attitudes, perceptions and intentions related to several areas of ethical concern. A particular focus involves salience of norms common to marketing research codes of ethics (COEs) and familiarity of such codes to marketing research professionals. Researchers' attitudes towards today's ethical climate are identified and compared between the two countries. Relationships are examined between familiarity, ethical intention and salience. Results indicate that U.S. and Canadian marketing researchers have similar perceptions of the relative importance of specific ethical norms, but worldwide COEs do not reflect these perceptions. Canadian marketing researchers report having a greater familiarity with their firms' adopted COEs, but this finding is moderated by the type of researcher. Among other findings, results indicate that familiarity influences ethical intention only for highly salient issues.     

The regulatory challenge to branding: An interpretation of UK competition authority investigations 1950–2007

Abstract

Branding is a necessary and important business tool. This study, however, examines whether branding can constitute an anticompetitive act. While most markets and firms do not undertake anticompetitive actions, being identified as such can result in a wide range of negative outcomes. To explore this low-frequency yet high-risk outcome, this study assesses how branding has been perceived to be anticompetitive by the UK competition authorities. This assessment is undertaken by examination of all UK competition law regulatory decisions undertaken over the period 1950–2007 by the UK competition authorities. From this assessment, it is observed that branding can facilitate excessive pricing, requires vertical restraints, and can lead to consumer confusion; all potentially anticompetitive acts. The competition regulatory decisions focused on branding issues are demonstrably different from regulatory decisions without branding concerns and involve larger, often manufacturing, firms, which operate in more concentrated markets. It is concluded that comprehension of competition law needs to be disseminated more widely amongst marketing communities and greater reference to business and marketing theory should be made by competition law agencies to assist the comprehension of marketing techniques such as branding.     

Marketing Accounting Services in the U.S. and Norway

Abstract

This study compares the general perceptions of marketing and the marketing experiences and training by accountants in the United States and Norway. The results of this study indicate there are differences in perceptions of marketing held by accountants in the U.S. and Norway and in their marketing practices. Accountants in the U.S. held stronger opinions on the importance of marketing accounting services, whereas accountants in Norway believed more strongly that reputation for quality work was more important than marketing. Over two-thirds of Norway accountants reported they did not use marketing concepts in their practice while over half of U.S. accountants indicated they did. A majority of Norway accountants indicated they did not need marketing because their clients come to them when they need their services. These findings demonstrate the importance of being cognizant of the differences in marketing professional services as accountants expand their understanding of global business and accounting practices.     

Free in-network pricing as an entry-deterrence strategy

This paper analyzes the entry-deterring power of free in-network pricing with multiple incumbents. Free in-network pricing may deter entry since it creates network externality that intensifies competition. One may expect that a particular entry-deterrent strategy adopted by all incumbents would have more entry-deterring power than when it is adopted by some incumbents only. However, we show that when free-in network plan has entry-deterrence power with two incumbent firms, sometimes one incumbent offering free in-network plan may have more entry deterrence power than both firms offering free in-network plans. In other words, we find that an asymmetric adoption of entry-deterrence strategies by the incumbent firms may be the best for entry deterrence. This result highlights the importance of the strategic choice of the pricing plan as a function of not only the likelihood/cost of entry but also of the plan choices of other firms, and may partially explain the asymmetric strategies used by competing firms.     

Taking marketing strategy risks with seemingly no expected gains

This paper investigates the competitive rationale for firms to invest in marketing activities aiming to enhance valuation and achieve differentiation and competitive advantage, while carrying the strategic risks of causing unintended negative consequences. We build a stylized theoretical model where firms offering similar (homogenous) products are competing by determining their marketing strategy and pricing. Each firm must choose between several marketing activities that have different potentials of enhancing consumers’ product valuations while carrying some risk of lowering consumer valuation if unintended negative outcomes occur. The stochastic nature of marketing implies that (1) even when both firms invest the same amount of money aiming to enhance product valuations by the same level, there will be a variety of (posterior) vertical differentiation scenarios where the consumers could value either firm’s product as better as or worse than the rival’s. (2) The firms may employ marketing activities that do not even lead to gains in consumer product valuation in expectation. The duopoly model analysis indicates that associated with strategic pricing, even such stochastic marketing activities may constitute desirable strategies for two a priori symmetric firms in order to avoid a Bertrand type competition as the benefit from differentiation is found to be significant enough to offset the unintended negative outcomes. The oligopoly model analysis indicates that there is an increased incentive to take marketing risk when there is a greater level of competitive intensity in the marketplace. Preliminary experimental evidence is presented to support the main findings from theoretical model analyses. The paper thus provides important managerial implications for firms contemplating investment in seemingly risky marketing activities.