Mapping market mobility: Psychographic profiles and media exposure

Are there households in trading areas that have unique mobility predispositions? Can mobility types be monitored? And does mobility type relate to the life style and consumption patterns of households? This study examines the mobility and life style characteristics of suburbanites in a medium-sized city in an effort to discover the answers to these and other questions.In particular, the article suggests that mobility relates to life style and media usage, which in turn largely determines the quality of consumer demand and the most efficient media to reach such a market. If the composition of mobility types within a shopping area is changing, retailers should monitor these changes so that they can better predict retail demand—both quality and quantity.A self-administered questionnaire was designed to measure (1) the mobility characteristics of consumers—including their local moves, long-distance moves, and their predisposition to move; (2) the life styles and socioeconomic characteristics of consumers; and (3) the median exposures of households. The instrument was administered by personal interviews with 322 suburban housewives within a medium-sized trading area. The usage sample included 304 cases.The data support the hypotheses of the study; mobility types emerged from the analysis and these had distinctive life styles and media habits. Periodic sampling of households is suggested as an approach to monitoring mobility composition within the trading area.     

Market similarity and market selection: Implications for international marketing strategy

International market selection patterns for a sample of 954 new products suggest that firms exhibit a significant preference for markets similar to the home market. Preferences for similar markets decline as firms gain experience in a variety of markets, however. This pattern suggests the importance of uncertainty and information in global market selection and marketing mix management. Alternative means of gathering information about foreign markets permit and support very different approaches to global marketing activity. More fundamentally, a global perspective on the relationship between market conditions, marketing policies and programs, and consumer response can be developed systematically to improve global marketing performance.     

Similarities between conflict and cooperation in the marketing channel

This article examines the relationship between two causes of conflict: domain dissensus and perceptual incongruity, and the levels of conflict and cooperation within a marketing channel dyad. Utilizing a national sample of food broker-food wholesaler dyads, four hypotheses were tested—two relating domain dissensus and two relating perceptual incongruity to conflict/cooperation. Results indicated no significant relationship between either perceptual incongruities or domain dissensus and the level of conflict found in the dyad, while a significant negative relationship was found between both perceptual incongruities and domain dissensus and the level of cooperation in the dyad.     

Self-monitoring,norms, and attitudes as influences on consumer complaining

Reactions of consumers to marketplace problems vary widely despite the frequent similarity of sources of dissatisfaction. The results of two studies designed to investigate the determinants of consumer inclinations to complain are presented. Two alternative social-psychological explanations of behavior employing self-monitoring, moral and social norms,and attitudes as predictor variables are examined.     

A longitudinal test of price effects on brand choice behavior

The introduction and withdrawal of marketing variable inputs at various intervals of time and the subsequent observation of their impact on buyer behavior provide an invaluable aid as to how certain promotional changes work. Results of the present longitudinal experiment using a consumer panel of 133 households provide further evidence that for artificial brands, penetration and repeat buying can be influenced significantly by the introduction and retraction of a substantial price reduction. Yet, the effects on penetration are consistently greater than the effects on repeat buying. After-effects appear negligible. These results generally confirm prior research findings.     

Competitive position effects and market share: An exploratory investigation

This paper investigates the relative competitive position of a firm with a view toward determining those marketing effort dimensions that significantly influence market share. The study differs from previously published reports in that it utilizes the Profit Impact of Marketing Strategy (PIMS) data base on relative marketing effort to identify key marketing effort variables for two broad classes of goods: consumer nondurables and capital goods. The framework for a competitive positive effects model is developed in terms of nine relative marketing effort dimensions expressed along categories roughly corresponding to competitive superiority, parity, or inferiority. Hypotheses for the two classes of goods, gleaned from the available marketing literature, were empirically tested with use of linear regression models. Though the sets of coefficients relating to the nine marketing decision variables significantly differed ac across industries, similar patterns were found in both groups with respect to the relative breadth of product line and relative product quality dimensions. The results also tended to (a) support the claim of Buzzel et al. [Product Quality, Strategic Planning Institute, Cambridge, 1978] that for product quality to matter, improvements relative to competition must be substantial, and (b) show that for certain effort dimensions striving for competitive superiority may not generate sizable increases in relative market share.     

Intensive growth strategies : A closer examination

The feasibility of modeling the effects of alternative growth strategies on market performance is the subject of this report. Intensive growth strategy alternatives are discussed in terms of key products and market variables and implied growth opportunities. Microanalytic relationships among growth strategy components are developed and then reformulated in terms of a cross-sectional econometric model. Three variations of this model are tested using the Profit Impact of Marketing Strategy (PIMS) data base. The results indicate that a main-effects model and a mixed model that allows for interaction effects among alternative growth strategies provide reasonable fits to the data. The results supporting the existence of interaction effects lend support to the contention that growth strategies are not totally divorced from one another and should consequently be considered in tandem when formulating strategy policies.     

Semantics and capital market efficiency: Testing the market's reaction to the naming of stock distributions as splits or dividends

The AICPA and NYSE urge corporations to avoid the term “stock dividend” and use the term “stock split” when referring to large common stock distributions. Theoretically these large distributions do not convey any economic value to the stockholders. Therefore a rule was considered necessary so as not to mislead them as to the actual nature of the distributions. The purpose of this study is to examine security price reactions to the differential naming of these distributions. The results strongly suggest that security returns are not differentially affected by naming a large common stock distribution a stock dividend rather than a stock split. That is, the capital market appears to be semantically efficient between terminologies.     

The evolution of strategic marketing

This article examines the evolution of the concept of strategic marketing. Strategic marketing does not replace traditional marketing management. Rather it adds new dimensions to the field of marketing, enhancing its role in the determination of corporate strategy.     

Analyzing leases with the after-tax cost of debt

A generalized expression of the net advantage of leasing (NAL) is used to assess the implications of discounting incremental cash flows at the firm's before-tax cost of debt and the firm's after-tax cost of debt, respectively. If no personal tax biases are assumed, then the before-tax cost of debt should be used to compute NAL. If the before-tax cost of debt is the correct discount rate, then any change in the firm's borrowing level brought about by the decision to lease rather than purchase will alter the computed NAL by the amount of the present value of the tax savings on interest payments. Thus using the before-tax cost of debt is consistent with basic MM valuation theory. Using the after-tax cost of debt, in contrast, implies that any associated change in the firm's borrowing level is irrelevant for purposes of computing NAL. Sufficient conditions are specified for the after-tax cost of the debt to be the correct discount rate for lease versus purchase analysis. Finally, lease analysis in a MM world is compared to lease analysis in a Miller tax world. For the special case of a 100% leverage ratio, the specification of NAL is the same in both worlds. Use of the after-tax cost of debt is correct in a Miller world and is a good approximation in an MM world provided the cash flows are predominantly debt financed.     

Regression models of decision rules in unstable environments

Bowman and others have shown that a decision-maker's performance in a stable environment can be improved by using a regression model to make decisions. However, when the environment changes, a regression model based on past behavior may no longer be appropriate for future decisions. Whether or not regression models are appropriate for unstable environments is examined in this article.The research used an aggregate production and work-force scheduling problem. After 12 periods the cost function was changed; the subjects rapidly adapted to this change. Even during the adaption, the regression rules performed better than the subject's actual decisions. Thus, this study supports the use of regression models in unstable environments.     

Social power bases of marketing executives: The relationship with organizational climate

This research paper reports the results of a mailed questionnaire study of 343 marketing executives. The purpose of the research was to investigate whether or not a relationship exists between organizational climate (i.e., specific conditions in the organizational environment of the firm) and the particular social power base of the marketing executive. Results indicate that the three desirable power bases—expert, referrent, and legitimate—are correlated with all four of the organizational climate dimensions studied—reward orientation, personnel policies, MBO orientation, and status orientation. The undesirable power base—coercive power—was correlated with none of these dimensions.     

Unidimensional measurement and structural equation models with latent variables

This article considers various methods for constructing sets of multiple indicators that measures one and only one trait, i.e., unidimensional measurement. The article compares two procedures for constructing unidimensional measures: the modification index and tests designed specifically for assessing unidimensionality. The specific tests were shown to work better than the modification indices.     

Media allocation model using nonlinear benefit curves

An integral part of planning advertising campaigns involves the selection of those media vehicles that maximize the effectiveness of the advertising effort. This article describes a media allocation model designed to provide the media planner, responsible for a particular advertising campaign, with relevant information for use in selecting the most appropriate media vehicles and in determining the number of insertions in each vehicle. It is based on the derivation of nonlinear benefit curves for candidate media vehicles that can be derived from commercially available response data and from subjective estimates gathered from media planning experts. When tested in an actual advertising campaign, the results serve to provide relevant information that can make the media allocation decision a more objective one.     

Speeding solar energy commercialization: A Delphi research of marketplace factors

A two-stage Delphi research study was undertaken to determine and measure the attitudes of the public regarding factors that may either inhibit or stimulate solar energy commercialization today and over the next 10 years. Some factors judged important were product cost, lack of product knowledge, lack of governmental support, and public concern over the energy crisis. The factors were determined by a group of energy conscious respondents who completed the Delphi research. They also indicated the likely and desirable actions to be taken by government and business. These included more funding of research and development, tax incentives, increased public education, and reduced prices. The Delphi research proved to be an effective method for investigating solar energy commercialization, as the attitudes expressed in the second survey converged with those identified during the first stage. Furthermore, governmental and business actions suggested in the study could help to initiate greater solar energy use and developmental efforts.     

Measuring the performance of industrial salespersons

Sales force performance is a critical concern of most industrial firms, yet in this area of research there are difficulties in measuring salespersons performance. Issues relevant to measuring the performance of industrial salespersons are reviewed. A self-report performance scale developed and evaluated based on the responses of 200 salespersons and 42 managers from five major industrial firms is presented.     

Heterogeneity in performance within the bank holding company sector: Evidence and implications

The performance of banks affiliated with the holding company sector has been heavily investigated. Empirical studies have sought to determine if the alleged efficiency of holding companies does in fact exist; and if such efficiency outweighs the anticompetitive effects introduced into the banking structure. Research methodologies, nevertheless, have tended to view the holding company sector as homogeneous in its performance characteristics as compared to independent banking. In this study, however, it is found that there is considerable heterogeneity in performance within the holding company sector. The findings have implications for the direction of future research as well as the formation of public policy in banking.