On the role of the RBV in marketing

This short note contains some reflections on the relationship between the resource-based view of the firm (RBV) and marketing. I focus on the main proposition of the RBV—that a firm should focus on what it can do better than others—and argue that it has implications for almost all marketing activities and that much thinking in the field already is consistent with it.     

Ethical correlates of role conflict and ambiguity in marketing: The mediating role of cognitive moral development

Researchers in marketing ethics have identified the importance of cognitive moral development (CMD) in marketing ethics models. This study looks at selected correlates of role conflict and role ambiguity in marketing, especially the mediating role of CMD. Of the correlates examined, the results seem to support the existence of statistically significant relationships between CMD and role conflict and ambiguity. Implications for practitioners are provided. For example, the study could have direct implications for management personnel who have the responsibility of hiring ethical people and helping them address any role conflict or ambiguity that may arise from their job. He received his Ph.D. in marketing from the University of Mississippi. His work has previously appeared in theJournal of Business Ethics, theJournal of Pharmaceutical Marketing and Management, theJournal of Marketing Theory and Practice, theJournal of Promotion Management, Health Marketing Quarterly, and various national proceedings. He received his Ph.D. in marketing from Texas Tech University. His work has previously appeared in theJournal of Business Research, theJournal of Macromarketing, theJournal of Business Ethics, International Marketing Review, theJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science, and various other journals and proceedings. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Oregon. His research has previously appeared in theJournal of Marketing Research and numerous other journals and proceedings. He received his Ph.D. in marketing from Florida State University. His research has been published in theJournal of Business Research, theJournal of Marketing Management, and in various proceedings.     

Machiavellianism and personal success in marketing: The moderating role of latitude for improvisation

According to theory, the success of Machiavellians rests, in part, on the situational factor “latitude for improvisation”—the freedom to improvise in order to successfully manipulate others. In their study of Machiavellianism and marketing, Hunt and Chonko concluded that Machiavellianism is unrelated to success; however, the analysis did not include latitude for improvisation as a moderating variable. The data are reanalyzed with a measure of latitude for improvisation included. Theory predicts that Machiavellianism is positively related to success when latitude for improvisation is high. The results of this analysis suggest that Machiavellianism is unrelated to personal success in marketing when latitude for improvisation is high but is negatively related to success when latitude for improvisation is low. His research interests include marketing ethics, advertising, and marketing communication.     

Instituting the marketing concept in a multinational setting: The role of national culture

A growing concern among international marketing managers is how to increase the market orientation and thereby performance of their transnational organizations. This study broaches this issue by investigating how the marketing concept, the heart of the market orientation, may be established in a multinational setting and the effects of national culture on that process. From a wide array of literature, the authors construct a theoretical framework and propositions on how global organizations may transform this philosophy from an abstract platitude to an operational reality. Their findings suggest that the process consists of complex, interdependent steps—interpretation, adoption, and implementation of the marketing concept. Cultural values shape interpretation and facilitate or impede adoption and implementation. The overall framework and findings can be used to guide institutionalization of the marketing concept across the organizational span, in particular by anticipating culture-based reactions from international subsidiaries. Cheryl Nakata is an assistant professor of marketing at the University of Illinois at Chicago and received her doctorate from the same institution in 1997. Her work appears in theJournal of Marketing, Journal of International Business Studies, Journal of Product Innovation and Management, Marketing Science Institute Working Paper Series, International Marketing Review, and other publications. Her primary interests are in global marketing and marketing management and strategy. K. Sivakumar (Ph.D., Syracuse University, 1992) is the Arthur Tauck Professor of international marketing and logistics at Lehigh University. His research interests include pricing, international marketing, and technology management. His research has been published or is forthcoming in theJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science, International Marketing Review, Journal of Business Research, Journal of International Business Studies, Journal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Theory & Practice, Journal of Product Innovation Management, Marketing Letters, Pricing Strategy & Practice, and other journals. He has won several awards for research and is on the editorial boards of six scholarly journals.     

The role of marketing in facilitating the diffusion of microcomputers and “the information society”

“The average American, by our estimate, is exposed to 61,556 words from the mass media each day ... That works out to just under 4,000 words per waking hour, about 60 words per waking minute per person per day. This represents a growth of 151 percent from 1960 to 1980”. (Neuman and de Sola Pool 1984, p. 5) “Over this period (1960 to 1980) the supply of mass communications per capita (in the USA) grew at an average annual rate of 6.7 percent. But media use grew at just 2.1 percent per year...(Ibid, Table 2) The ratio of words consumed to words supplied by 1980 had fallen to less than half (from 1.4 percent to. 6 percent) the level in 1960. The ratio has fallen in each of the mass media we have studied”. (Neuman and de Sola Pool 1984 p. i, 6, and Table 3) “Information creation and processing now account for half of all economic activity in the United States, compared to less than 18% in 1900”. (Jonscher 1983, p. 8) “Between 6000 and 7000 scientific articles are written each day. Scientific and technical information now increases 13 percent per year, which means it doubles every 5.5 years”. (Naisbitt 1982, p. 24) Microcomputer technology appears to have gotten ahead of information needs. Social commentators and philosophers argue that the information society is only one step away from reality and often cite Japan as an example. The author takes the position that many ultimate consumers have yet to find enough benefit in microcomputers and linking them to data bases to make such high technology an integral part of their life styles. Marketing efforts need to be focused less on hardware and software and more on defining and clarifying the needs of the average household which can be better met by microcomputers than by current means.     

The marketing concept in perspective

A re-evaluation of the marketing concept appears to be in the making. The focus of research designed to facilitate this re-evaluation is likely to be of considerable importance to the future development of marketing theory. Research designed to better define the role and scope of the marketing concept seems to offer the most promise. Such research would be an aid to determining where the marketing concept should fit into a comprehensive theory of marketing. Limitations of the marketing concept are well documented in the literature suggesting a need for a broader framework of marketing theory. It seems imperative that academicians accept the responsibility for developing a more comprehensive general theory of marketing, one relevant to both the micro and macro aspects of a functioning system. Such flexibility seems to be a minimal requirement.     

Extending the competitive marketing strategy paradigm: The role of strategic reference points theory

The purpose of this article is to extend and integrate the new strategic reference points theory (SRP), developed in the strategic management area, into the discipline of strategic marketing management. The major new tenets of the theory are the inclusion of cognitive, organizational processes and benchmarking simultaneously. First, the authors describe the impact of the marketing SRP on marketing strategic choice behavior captured in the tradeoff between risk and return (risk avert vs. risk lover) as was proposed by prospect theory. Then, they explore the performance consequences of integrating the newly formed stages while considering organizational process and implementation issues of reference points such as content, configuration, consensus, and change. Aviv Shoham is a senior lecturer of marketing at the William Davidson Faculty of Industrial Engineering and Management, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Technion City, Haifa. Avi Fiegenbaum is an associate professor of management at the William Davidson Faculty of Industrial Engineering and Management, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Technion City, Haifa.     

A theory of role stress in boundary spanning positions of marketing organizations

Role stress and its effects on marketing organizations represents one of the most researched areas in marketing. In spite of this tremendous volume of research, the boundary spanning roles of marketing organizations continue to be plagued by the deleterious effects of role stress. The theory developed in this article expands current theoretical frameworks used to investigate role stress impacts in the marketing literature. The theory is integrative and expansive with relation to the body of knowledge and may serve as a framework for future research. Specific propositions from the model are developed and suggestions for their empirical testing are discussed.     

The impact of direct marketing appeals on charitable marketing effectiveness

Building on behavioral decision research, this article provides guidelines to charitable marketing managers regarding the effect of charitable direct marketing appeals on donor decision judgments. Several charitable direct mail appeals (factors) were empirically tested simultaneously in a factorial experimental design involving 18,144 potential donors to determine how donor decision strategies influenced choice judgments about whether to give and estimation judgments about how much to give. The results indicate that suggested anchors and framing influence response rate (choice) but not size of gift. Reference information (factual/statistical and narrative/experiential) influences size of gift (estimation) but not response rate. Implications for charitable marketing managers are discussed. He received his D.B.A. from Boston University, M.B.A. from Harvard University, and B.A. from Brandeis University. His research interests include managerial pricing, marketing communication strategies, and customer value. His work has been published in theCalifornia Management Review, Sloan Management Review, Pricing Strategy and Practice, Journal of Retailing, Journal of Marketing Communication, Journal of Business and Industrial Marketing, andJournal of Promotion Management, among others. He earned his S.B., S.M., and Ph.D. degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Sloan School of Management. He is coauthor ofDirect Marketing Management (Prentice Hall) andCases in Business Statistics (Allyn & Bacon). He has published a variety of articles in journals such asManagement Science, Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of Direct Marketing, Harvard Business Review, Sloan Management Review, Journal of Business Forecasting, American Statistician, andJournal of Finance.     

The role of marketing in the introduction of technologically new products: the case of the electric car

The energy and environmental crises are important problems facing the United States today. With less than 6% of the world's population, the U.S. accounts for 47% of the world's automobiles and nearly 35% of the total energy demand. Automobiles consume nearly 14.5% of the total energy demand and are the major source of air pollution. Whiel there are many potential solutions for the energy and environmental crises, this paper specifically focuses on how the electric car can be a partial answer to the complex problem of personal transportation. The paper specifically discusses the role of marketing in bridging the gap between technology and the consumer. On the basis of an extensive exploratory study, the authors contend that there is sufficient interest among consumers for an economical, pollution-free, electric car. Understanding the consumer's need and developing a product that is feasible, considering existing technology, is the role that marketing must play.     

The marketing of political candidates

While the controversy concerning the validity and purpose of broadening the concept of marketing is still an ongoing one, the present article focuses on the field of political marketing and compares its historical development with that of American business. In doing so, it is shown that political marketing, viz., the process by which political candidates and ideas are targeted at the voters in order to satisfy their political needs and thus gain their support, has gone through the stages of (1) candidate orientation. (2) sales-management orientation, and is presently experiencing a transition to a (3) marketing concept orientation. These orientations parallel the development in the orientation of American business from product to sales to marketing focus. In addition, the article also suggests that marketing and political marketing share many basic concepts and tools. Consequently, it is concluded that political marketing should be included within the boundaries of the existing marketing theory. The author would like to thank Professor Philip Kotler for his insightful comments on an earlier version of this paper, and for his encouragement.     

The marketing of hamburger buns

It is apparent that the return percentages have been drastically reduced by using only the primary variable of temperature. The actual return percentage would have been even higher except that some route men ran out of hamburger buns and therefore had no returns. This did not show up in the aggregate figures because these were more than balanced by a surplus returned by the majority of route men.     

The future of social media in marketing

Social media allows people to freely interact with others and offers multiple ways for marketers to reach and engage with consumers. Considering the numerous ways social media affects individuals and businesses alike, in this article, the authors focus on where they believe the future of social media lies when considering marketing-related topics and issues. Drawing on academic research, discussions with industry leaders, and popular discourse, the authors identify nine themes, organized by predicted imminence (i.e., the immediate, near, and far futures), that they believe will meaningfully shape the future of social media through three lenses: consumer, industry, and public policy. Within each theme, the authors describe the digital landscape, present and discuss their predictions, and identify relevant future research directions for academics and practitioners.

     

When marketing strategy meets culture: the role of culture in product evaluations

This research investigates how national culture interacts with marketing strategy to influence consumers’ organic post-consumption satisfaction ratings of entertainment products rich in cultural content. Drawing upon a communication theory framework, we develop hypotheses concerning multiple interaction effects between culture and marketing strategies on consumers’ product evaluations. We test these hypotheses by analyzing consumer reviews of 260 movies in 25 country markets. In support of our hypotheses, we find that the cultural congruence between the product and the market improves consumer reviews, and that the effect is stronger in cultures characterized by collectivism, femininity, and uncertainty avoidance, as well as for products more heavily loaded with cultural content. In addition, we find that the negative effect of delay in product launch timing weakens for cultures characterized by long-term orientation, and that the positive effect of advertising spending on consumer evaluations is stronger in cultures characterized by high power distance belief. These results provide practical insights into how managers should make decisions concerning product design, launch timing, and advertising strategies in international markets.     

The evaluation stage in marketing decision making

Prior to making important decisions, marketing managers go through an evaluation process in which available alternatives are compared. Yet, no systematic discussion of the evaluation process exists in the marketing literature. This article reviews the marketing and behavioral decision theory literature in order to identify factors that may cause errors in the two fundamental elements of the evaluation process—the estimation of probabilities and the determination of the value of outcomes. Propositions are developed that specify circumstances in which marketing management decisions may be influenced by judgmental biases, and procedures are identified for debiasing such judgments.     

The nature of power in a marketing channel

This paper empirically assesses the extent to which power in a marketing channel dyad is issue-specific or pervasive. Additionally, the paper investigates the extent to which specific power sources effect single or multiple areas of power. The dyad studied is the wholesaler-food broker interface in the marketing channel for grocery products. Results indicate that power is limited in scope, being more issue-specific than pervasive. Additionally, some specific sources of power were found to create power in multiple areas, while others created power in but one area.     

The structure of marketing channel relationships

Distribution channel research has been advanced in recent years by contributions based on the political economy paradigm, transaction cost analysis, and relationship marketing. Drawing on these bodies of thought, we propose a new conceptualization of the structure of marketing channel relationships. Relationship structure is defined in terms of decision-making structure and operational integration. The proposed model of channel structure antecedents and consequences is consistent with the major research paradigms but extends beyond simple categorical assemblages of constructs to provide an ordered set of relationships based on theory and empirical research. This conceptualization reconciles some apparent contradictions in the literature and provides a clear focus for structure, process, and performance research in channels. He received his Ph.D. in marketing from Louisiana State University. He has published in the areas of marketing channels, retailing, and logistics. His work has appeared in theJournal of Marketing Research, Journal of Marketing, Journal of Retailing, Journal of Business Research, Journal of Marketing Channels, International Journal of Physical Distribution and Materials Management, Journal of Marketing Education, and others. He served as the managing director of public relations with the Federal Express Corporation before entering the Ph.D. program at Alabama. He holds a B.B.A. in accountancy from the University of Mississippi and an M.A. in marketing from the University of Alabama.     

The concept of a marketing crisis

Numerous marketing crises have gained media attention in recent years. The author examines the development of the concept of the crisis by political scientists, sociologists, and organizational theorists. Upon this base, a tentative definition for the marketing crisis is developed and a number of implications are drawn. Furthermore, the author suggests some directions for future research into the area of marketing crises.