ESSCA: A multidimensional analysis tool for marketing research

Multidimensional analysis techniques such as ESSCA (External Single-set Components Analysis) are useful for marketing researchers who want to estimate the dimensionality of a group of related measurement instruments. Here, the advantages and disadvantages of this procedure are illustrated through an investigation of four advertising recall measures. The ESSCA solution suggests that two dimensions of recall are actually being measured: favorable recall of stimulus features and brand name recall.     

Strategic marketing and marketing strategy: domain,definition, fundamental issues and foundational premises

This paper proposes a domain statement for strategic marketing as a field of study and delineates certain issues fundamental to the field. It also proposes a definition for marketing strategy, the focal organizational strategy construct of the field, and enumerates a number of foundational premises of marketing strategy. The domain of strategic marketing is viewed as encompassing the study of organizational, inter-organizational and environmental phenomena concerned with (1) the behavior of organizations in the marketplace in their interactions with consumers, customers, competitors and other external constituencies, in the context of creation, communication and delivery of products that offer value to customers in exchanges with organizations, and (2) the general management responsibilities associated with the boundary spanning role of the marketing function in organizations. At the broadest level, marketing strategy can be defined as an organization’s integrated pattern of decisions that specify its crucial choices concerning products, markets, marketing activities and marketing resources in the creation, communication and/or delivery of products that offer value to customers in exchanges with the organization and thereby enables the organization to achieve specific objectives. Chief among the issues that are fundamental to strategic marketing as a field of study are the questions of how the marketing strategy of a business is influenced by demand side factors and supply side factors.     

Transparent pricing: theory,tests, and implications for marketing practice

In today’s retail markets, products display opaque pricing, i.e., a single number that provides no information about the allocation of the retail proceeds among agents who bring the product to market. We study transparent pricing, which is an alternative strategy in which allocation information is revealed. We differentiate transparent pricing from related marketing practices such as social marketing, cause-related marketing, and pay-what-you-want. Using controlled experiments in multiple product categories with diverse sampling frames, we find that transparent prices systematically alter consumer utility functions and stated choice behavior. Our results support explanations drawn from both neoclassical and behavioral economic theory, including inequity aversion, procedural justice, and altruism. Classical theory predicts that price transparency should have little effect on consumer behavior. However, results from behavioral economics suggest that consumers may relax “self-interest” in the face of transparent prices, leading to counter-intuitive preferences. For example, in one set of studies we observe a significant proportion of consumers selecting the more expensive of two replicates of the same product. In another study, a subset of motorists willingly pays higher gasoline taxes for the same gallon of gas, increasing the overall price per gallon. We explain this behavior via parameterized utility functions that contain both self-interested and other-interested components moderated by characteristics of the decision-maker and characteristics of the choice context.     

Knowledge structure in international marketing: a multi-method bibliometric analysis

This study examines the underlying forces that shape the international marketing (IM) field using three bibliometric methods: exploratory factor analysis (EFA), hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA), and metric multidimensional scaling (MDS). We apply these techniques to evaluate the knowledge structure of IM publications for the 1999–2008 period and to concurrently provide a supplemental examination of the findings for the 2009–2010 period. Overall, our database contains 228,929 citations used in 3,632 IM articles from 34 academic journals in which marketing publications appear. We initially trace the underpinning knowledge structure in the literature in five-year increments for all influential IM publications. We then refine our analysis and examine marketing-centered scholarly influences on the IM literature and undertake an examination of the developments in later years. The results indicate that the IM field is expanding and is considerably more inclusive, sophisticated, and increasingly more complex than in earlier periods. Our findings also demonstrate that other disciplines (principally management) have had a profound influence on the development of the IM literature during the 12-year period under investigation. Using the bibliometric results derived from our data, we provide guidelines for future research and contrast them with those forwarded in review studies of the international marketing literature.     

Statistical analysis and design in marketing journal articles

The use of statistical analysis in 922 articles from the 1980 through 1985 issues of the Journal of The Academy of Marketing Science (JAMS), the Journal of Marketing (JM), the Journal of Marketing Research (JMR), and the Journal of Consumer Research (JCR) was analyzed. A reader with no statistical background can understand 31, 56, 9, and 21 percent of the articles respectively in these four journals. Knowledge of regression and analysis of variance is important in comprehending many of the articles. Thirty-eight percent of the JAMS articles and 25, 57 and 56 percent, respectively, of the other three journals make use of these statistical techniques. Knowledge of any other single statistical method, except for factor analysis used in the JMR, provides only a marginal increase in the understanding of the literature. JAMS, JMR and JCR report extensive use of experimental designs, while the JM focuses on archival and survey types of designs. The tabulations in this paper should prove useful to marketing practitioners planning self-development and to faculty who teach undergraduates, graduates, and professional development courses. Several suggestions for increasing the accessibility of journal articles are proposed.     

Research as innovation: Rewards,perils, and guideposts for research and reviews in marketing

Conclusion Market-based insights are obviously important to corporate strategy practice. Academic researchers who bring market-based insights to corporate strategy research will provide new perspectives on problems that have so far been co-opted by researchers in other fields. They will also face the perils and rewards of innovation. Innovation adoption is uncertain and subject to resistance and skepticism from gatekeepers. Innovation development requires patience, creativity, and persistence. As researchers, if we can overcome the perils of innovation, then our rewards can be large. As a field, if we can bring forth new ideas for corporate thinking and action, then our influence will be large. Perhaps the days of wringing of hands, shaking of heads, and gnashing of teeth will then be no more.     

Gender,income differences,and marketing: Examining the “earnings gap” in three areas of marketing

This research explores empirically a socioeconomic/equity issue that has been extensively investigated in many areas, but never marketing—the so-called “earnings gap.” Specifically, the study investigates income differences between men and women in marketing, while controlling for differences in business experience, level of education, corporate level, type of industry, and size of firm. The research focuses on three areas in marketing: (1) marketing management, (2) marketing research, and (3) advertising agency management. Findings indicate that there is an “earnings gap” for marketers. Importantly, however, the data show that a substantial portion of the gap can be explained by variables other than sex.     

Bottom-up learning in marketing frontlines: conceptualization, processes, and consequences

This study proposes a frontline learning process by which organizations capture new knowledge generated by frontline employees in addressing productivity-quality tradeoffs during customer interactions and transform it into updated knowledge for frontline use. Updated knowledge, in turn, is posited to influence customer satisfaction and financial outcomes (i.e., revenue, efficiency). Empirical testing with multi-source data reveals that: (1) knowledge articulation mediates the transformation of knowledge generated in the frontlines into updated knowledge, (2) updated frontline knowledge positively impacts customer and financial outcomes, and (3) frontline employee workload inhibits the transformational process unless it is at an intermediate level (inverted U-effect), while employee goal convergence bolsters it linearly.     

Consumer logistics: Conceptualization,pertinent issues and a proposed program for research

This article provides a basic conceptual foundation for a new field of study that considers the decisions and activities of consumers within a logistics framework. Five subsystems in industrial logistics, as suggested by Bowersox (1978), furnish the conceptual underpinnings for this work. The article explores various issues related to a program of study of the field of consumer logistics, and it proposes problems to be investigated, as well as means for their investigation.     

Expert systems in marketing: Guidelines for development

This paper is aimed at understanding and developing marketing expert systems. A discussion of the structure of expert systems is presented. Guidelines for development of marketing expert systems and marketing areas most amenable to expert system development are also provided.     

A suggested taxonomy for marketing thought: The case of lacking applied development and research in marketing

An examination of marketing literature reveals a surpricing deficiency of articles discussing theoretical applications in marketing. These deficiencies are largely in the area of specific, practical, everyday applied marketing. This article casts the literature into an overall taxonomy of marketing thought and development, highlighting the deficiency. Then the article discusses the deficiency positing reasons for its continued existence. It is thought that such a taxonomy might better help marketers identify critical need areas that might well result in unusually productive findings and advances important to all marketers. EDITOR'S FOOT-NOTE: Reviewers have agreed that marketing has no Taxonomy and needs one, but that a full study and statement would be a Herculean task. The paper published here is presented as a beginning and, as the author himself states, “in the hope to stir controversy, debate, and effort.”     

The customer value proposition: evolution,development, and application in marketing

The customer value proposition (CVP) has a critical role in communicating how a company aims to provide value to customers. Managers and scholars increasingly use CVP terminology, yet the concept remains poorly understood and implemented; relatively little research on this topic has been published, considering the vast breadth of investigations of the value concept. In response, this article offers a comprehensive review of fragmented CVP literature, highlighting the lack of a strong theoretical foundation; distinguishes CVPs from related concepts; proposes a conceptual model of the CVP that includes antecedents, consequences, and moderators, together with several research propositions; illustrates the application of the CVP concept to four contrasting companies; and advances a compelling agenda for research.     

Globalization, marketing resources, and performance: Evidence from China

Two important areas are underexplored in the relationship between marketing resources and performance. First, the subject has been primarily investigated in the context of Western countries, and inadequate attention has been given to emerging economies. Second, despite the recent growth in globalization, the moderating role of globalization on the link between marketing resources and performance has not been investigated. Addressing these important gaps, this article focuses on an emerging economy (China) and explores the moderating effect of globalization on this link. Specifically, the authors develop several hypotheses highlighting the moderating role of globalization activities (global product sourcing, global market seeking, and global partnership) on the link between marketing resources (market orientation, entrepreneurial orientation, and innovative capability) and firm performance. The findings of the moderating role of globalization provide several important implications for marketing theory development and managerial practice. Xueming Luo (luoxm@uta.edu) is an assistant professor in the Department of Marketing in the College of Business Administration at the University of Texas at Arlington. Before joining the University of Texas at Arlington faculty, he was on the faculty of the State University of New York at Fredonia. His research has appeared in various journals, including theJournal of Business Research, the International Journal of Research in Marketing, the Journal of Advertising Research, the Journal of Interactive Advertising, and Industrial Marketing Management. K. Sivakumar (Ph.D., Syracuse University; k.sivakumar@lehigh. edu) is the Arthur Tauck Professor of International Marketing & Logistics and a professor of marketing at Lehigh University. Prior to joining Lehigh in 2001, he spent 9 years at the University of Illinois in Chicago. His research interests include pricing, global marketing, and innovation management. His research has been published or is forthcoming in theJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science, the Journal of Marketing, the Journal of International Business Studies, Decision Sciences Journal, Marketing Letters, the Journal of Business Research, International Marketing Review, the Journal of Product Innovation Management, Pricing Strategy & Practice: An International Journal, Psychology & Marketing, and other publications. He has won several awards for his research (including theDonald Lehman Award) and is on the editorial board of several scholarly journals. He has won outstanding reviewer awards from two journals. Sandra S. Liu (liuss@purdue.edu) is an associate professor in the Department of Consumer Sciences and Retailing at Purdue University. She received her Ph.D. from the University of London, and her current research interest focuses on strategic marketing issues in the context of customer contact, including knowledge management in a corporation in transition and sales management in a knowledge economy. With her extensive industry experience, she has written a number of books and journal articles, which have appeared in theInternational Journal of Research in Marketing, the Journal of Business Research, theEuropean Journal of Marketing, Marketing Intelligence and Planning, among others.     

Linking consumer behavior constructs to international marketing strategy: A comment on wills,samli, and jacobs and an extension

In a 1991 article by Wills, Samli, and Jacobs, a new approach to international marketing strategy development was presented. Two micro constructs, involvement and learning theory, and two macro constructs, cultural context and the diffusion process, were linked in an integrative matrix summarizing various tactics for promoting and distributing a VCR around the world, within the bounds of a global marketing strategy. This comment sharpens the focus and extends the thrust of their work. It examines their proposed research agenda, clarifies certain constructs, and suggests a reformulated approach to theory development. It also proposes an approach to segmenting the world market for VCRs, incorporating four levels of felt involvement and two rates of product learning. Finally, suggestions for future research are outlined. She received a Ph.D. in International Marketing from Bradford University Management Centre, England, and is bilingual in English and French. She has taught in England, France, and Morocco, and has published in theJournal of the Market Research Society, Journal of the Operational Research Society, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Business Research, International Marketing Review, Advances in International Marketing, International Journal of Advertising, European Journal of Marketing, and theJournal of Business and Industrial Marketing.     

The intellectual ecology of mainstream marketing research: an inquiry into the place of marketing in the family of business disciplines

Many inside mainstream academic marketing judge the discipline’s influence within the family of business disciplines (as well as in practice) to be in decline. Despite great research productivity, methodologies as sophisticated as any in the social sciences, and a large and rich literature, opinion and evidence suggest that academic marketing is the least influential of the mainstream academic business disciplines. Nevertheless, marketing’s decline is not inexorable. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate this perplexing situation by: (1) assembling and evaluating a number of expert opinions from within marketing; (2) exploring relations and patterns of influence among the leading academic journals in accounting, finance, management, and marketing and evaluating the position and influence of each field; (3) attempting to understand marketing’s problems; and (4) exploring avenues to move marketing back to its once prominent position among the business disciplines.     

Green marketing strategies: an examination of stakeholders and the opportunities they present

As green marketing strategies become increasingly more important to firms adhering to a triple-bottom line performance evaluation, the present research seeks to better understand the role of “green” as a marketing strategy. Through an integration of the marketing, management, and operations literatures, an investigative framework is generated that identifies the various stakeholders potentially impacted through the environmentally friendly efforts of a firm. Specifically, the inter-connected nature of the core business disciplines of marketing, management (both strategy and human resources), and operations are examined as controllable functions within an organization from which strategies can be enacted to affect a firm’s stakeholders. The prior research in these areas is examined to identify potential research opportunities in marketing while also offering a series of representative research questions that can help guide future research in marketing.     

Standardization versus customization in international marketing: An investigation using bridging conjoint analysis

We present and illustrate a methodology by which researchers can assess the relative importance and test the significance of various marketing-related factors as they influence the degree of standardization/customization of international marketing strategy. The standardization decision is viewed as a continuum with complete standardization and complete customization as the two extremes. Specific hypotheses related to the impact of marketing mix variables on the degree of standardization are formulated. These hypotheses are empirically investigated through a survey of international marketing managers. This investigation is carried out using conjoint analysis. Bridging methodology is introduced in order to accommodate the large number of variables in the study. The analysis is conducted at the individual level, at the group level, and at the aggregate level. Finally, we discuss the methodological and managerial implications of the findings and potential areas of future research. His previous research has appeared in theInternational Marketing Review and theJournal of Euromarketing. He is also the president of the Academy of Marketing Science, a distinguished fellow of the academy and fellow of the Decision Sciences Institute. He has published 60 articles in major refereed journals including theJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of Consumer Research, Marketing Science, Journal of Marketing, Journal of Retailing, Journal of Health Care Marketing, as well as leading journals in statistics, management science, and psychology. In addition, he has also published numerous refereed articles in the proceedings of major national and international conferences. He is the winner of numerous awards and honors for research, teaching, and service to the profession.     

Museum marketing: Identification of high,moderate, and low attendee segments

This study was undertaken to discern differences between high, moderate, and low museum attendees. One-way analysis of variance and stepwise discriminant analysis were used for market segmentation purposes to differentiate the characteristics of the three groups. The discriminant analysis yielded a model which was found to predict better and was significantly different from the proportional chance prediction, and it is thus felt that a viable method for segmenting museum-goers has resulted.