Theory and external validity

Winer (1999 [this issue]) proposes that external validity concerns require more attention in theoretical research. The author argues that one cannot “enhance” external validity by choosing one method over another. External validity can only be “assessed” by better understanding how the focal variables in one’s theory interact with moderator variables that are seen as irrelevant early in a research stream. Findings from single real-world settings and specific sets of “real” people are no more likely to generalize than are findings from single laboratory settings with student subjects. Both the laboratory and real world vary in background facets of subject characteristics, setting, context, relevant “history,” and time. It is only when these facets vary and we see how they interact that understanding of external validity is enhanced. For this to happen, the observable “background” factors have to be conceptualized in terms of more general constructs and incorporated as moderators into the researcher’s theory. Enriched theory—not method—confers confidence in our understanding of whether effects will be robust or highly contingent. To map this knowledge to some specific substantive system requires an added step of understanding the mapping from observables in that system onto theoretical constructs. The author proposes “friendly amendments” to Winer’s three proposals to pursue a better understanding of external validity through theory. John G. Lynch, Jr. is the Hanes Corporation Foundation Professor of Business Administration at Duke University. His research and teaching interests are in consumer behavior, electronic commerce, and validity issues in research methodology. He a past president of the Association for Consumer Research, past associate editor for theJournal of Consumer Research, and past associate editor and coeditor of theJournal of Consumer Psychology. He has been the recipient of the MSI/Paul Root Award atJournal of Marketing, the William O’Dell Award atJournal of Marketing Research, and has twice been the recipient of theJournal of Consumer Research best article award.     

Experimentation in the 21st century: The importance of external validity

Much of the consumer behavior literature is devored to what has been referred to as theory applications (TA) research in which the main focus is on laboratory experiments with student subjects and high internal validity. In this articlee, the author argues that external validity concerns should be given more attention, particulary in TA research. Three recommendations are made for implementing these concerns: (1) consumer behavior articles should be required to have a section indicating how increased levels of external validity can be obtained with other studies, (2) “joint ventures” between consumer behavior and marketing science researchers can be profitable and should be encouraged, and (3) analyses of electronic scanner panel data or other secondary data can be used to generate higher levels of external validity. Three examples are given from the marketing literature of how findings from experiments and scanner data can be combined to advance a stream of research. Russel SS. Winer is the J. Gary Shansby Professor of Marketing Strategy, the associate dean for academic affairs, and the chair of the marketing group at the Haas School of Business, University of California at Berkeley. He received a B.A. in economics from Union College (New York) and an M.S. and Ph.D. in industrial administration from Carnegie-Mellon University. He has been on the faculties of Columbia and Vanderbilt universities and has been a visiting faculty member at M.I.T., the Helsinki School of Economics, the University of Tokyo, and ócole Nationale des Ponts et Chauséee. He has written three books,Marketing Management, Analysis for Marketing Planning, and Product Management, and has authored more than 50 papers in marketing on a variety of topics, including consumer choice, marketing research methodology, marketing planning, advertising, and pricing. He is the editor of theJournal of Marketing Research and is on the editorial boards of theJournal of Marketing, Journal of Consumer Research, and theJournal of Interactive Marketing. He is the academic director of the Fisher Center for the Strategic Use of Information Technology. He has participated in executive educattion programs around the world and is an academic trustee of the Marketing Science Institute.     

Alienation from the marketplace

The research compares consumers with professional marketers on alienation from the marketplace, direct-action to overcome dissatisfaction with products, and support of government intervention in the marketplace. Consumers were clearly more alienated than marketing professionals and tended to be more supportive of radical government intervention. Professional marketers were more prone to direct-action than were consumers. A discussion follows with implications for marketing as a key integrating institution in society, and the direction of change in the marketplace. Pepsico, Inc.     

A measure of alienation from the marketplace

For the purpose of equipping researchers in marketing with a more sophisticated method to measure alienation in a marketing context, the authors have constructed and initially tested an alienation from the marketplace index. Alienation is defined in terms of Melvin Seeman's (1959) five basic variants of alienation: powerlessness, meaninglessness, normlessness, social isolation, and self-estrangement. After pretesting, two questions per variant of alienation remained as the operational measures of alienation from the marketplace. These questions focused specifically on marketing phenomenon. Test-retest reliability was tested with 35 paired observations. Validity was checked with survey data from 140 households. In terms of face or content validity, the questions met the criterion of “looking as if” they should indicate the corresponding dimensions of alienation. Correlations between the marketplace alienation items and a measure of general alienation established concurrent validity. The authors propose that the use of the marketplace alienation index in studies involving those who are affected by our country's business climate may prove useful. For example, one would hypothesize that increasing alienation from the marketplace would be associated with support of consumerist goals, or even of additional government legislation to control problems that the individual feels is uncontrollable by him because of the bigness and indifference of modern day enterprise. Pepsico, Inc.     

东部产业集群的极化效应对西部的影响

产业集群是东部经济增长和竞争优势的主要来源,但东部产业集群产生的极化效应使东南沿海地区形成了新的后天优势,不利于东部产业的西移,东西差距会进一步扩大.因此,西部地区应采取相应策略培植本地区的竞争力,尽量减少东部集群极化效应带来的不利影响.     

关于我国产业结构效应的评价与思考

产业结构效应是产业结构对经济发展的贡献度。我国现存产业结构的低效应主要表现在结构技术水平低，结构趋同，规模效益低下，主导部门不主导等。继续推进经济体制改革，加大结构调整力度，准确定位主导产业，推动技术创新，加大对主导产业的技术支持，是我们的必然选择。     

产业集群对区域经济发展的综合效应分析

产业集群对区域经济发展具有重要的意义,它有利于降低成本,增强企业的市场竞争力;有利于企业创新和技术进步,促进地区产业升级;有利于形成专业市场,创立"区位品牌";有利于资本、人才等生产要素的聚集与投资效应放大,推动区域经济总量扩张;有利于降低消耗,便于废弃物的集中处理与利用,减少环境污染;有利于培育良好的商业文化和创业环境;产业集群有助于提高农民收入,是解决"三农"问题的有效途径,也是推进工业化和城镇化进程的重要力量.     

Extending the service-dominant logic: from customer centricity to balanced centricity

This is a contribution to the reorientation of marketing. It aligns the service-dominant logic with other developments in marketing and management. It claims that the marketing concept and customer-centricity are too limited as a foundation for marketing and have not—and cannot—but partially be implemented in practice. It urges marketing scholars and educators to accept the complexity of marketing and develop and teach a network-based stakeholder approach—balanced centricity—epitomized by the concept of many-to-many marketing.     

Norm violations and the role of marketplace comparisons in positioning brands

This paper investigates how consumer norms regarding the use of marketplace comparisons can influence the effectiveness of positioning strategies. Using an experimental method and student samples, we provide evidence across a set of three studies that comparing a focal brand to an offering from the same product category (i.e., a within-category comparison) represents an expected marketplace tactic, while comparing a brand to a rival from a different category (i.e., a between-category comparison) constitutes a deviation from the norm. Studies one and two utilize an experimental design that manipulates comparison type to demonstrate the effect of norm violations on positioning outcomes. Consistent with the proposed theoretical framework, within-category comparisons were perceived as a more appropriate tactic and were thus more effective in positioning the focal brand than were between-category comparisons. Study three employs a two-factor experimental design to demonstrate the moderating effects of attribute claims. Specifically, the results from this study indicate that the general effect of comparison type established by studies one and two are contingent upon the size of the superiority being claimed in the comparison.     

重庆市产业集群发展的经济功效

重庆的城市产业集群,形成了较强的专业化分工,获得了外部规模经济,因而促进了生产率的提高;大量同类企业的集聚,也提升了重庆汽车摩托车等产业的区域经济的外部性;同时,大中小企业通过区域品牌的产地效应,迅速地扩大了市场,进一步促进了专业化分工,降低了交易费用.应进一步强化重庆产业集群的专业化分工,促进专业化水平和技术不断提高,提升产业集群区域品牌形象,做大做强重庆城市产业集群,才能提高重庆区域竞争力.     

Capturing the cross-national learning effect: An analysis of an industrial technology diffusion

Recent studies on cross-national diffusion have observed that when a new product innovation is introduced early in one country (the lead country) and with a time lag in subsequent countries (the lag countries), the consumers in the lag countries learn about the product from the lead country adopters, resulting in a faster diffusion rate in the lag countries. This study attempts to examine the relationship between lead and lag countries and to systematically capture thelearning effect that takes place between the two social systems. In particular, this research examines the diffusion of retail point-of-sale scanners in countries that belong to the European Union, the United States, and Japan. It offers interesting insights for formulating efficient international marketing strategies. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Houston in 1995. His research interests include global competition, international marketing strategy, cross-national diffusion of products and services, brand equity and brand extension, and issues in product development and introduction. He has been recognized with numerous teaching and research excellence awards and has published numerous articles in various scholarly journals in marketing and forecasting. He has coauthored a text titledMarketing Research and currently is working on other textbooks. He is on the editorial review board of many journals. He has lectured on marketing-related topics in various universities worldwide. His research interests include developing forecasting models, international marketing strategy and international marketing research issues, models for sales promotions, and new methodologies for product positioning and market segmentation. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin.     

产业集群成因研究管窥--兼析福建产业集群类型

对国内外产业集群成因的理论研究作了简述 ,并通过对福建各地市已有产业集群的调研 ,对其类型进行了分析     

振兴老工业企业 高校图书馆应有所作为

结合振兴东北老工业基地,推进新型工业化,论述了高校图书馆的作用,分析了高校图书馆的优势,提出了高校图书馆为大连工业企业服务的具体措施并阐述了其现实意义。     

Interactivity in the electronic marketplace: An exposition of the concept and implications for research

It is widely recognized that a better understanding of interactivity and its implications is essential for facilitating research focused on the emerging electronic marketplace. However, deficiencies persist in our understanding of this important concept. Building on research in various fields of study (e.g., information systems, marketing, and computer-mediated communication), this article presents a conceptualization of interactivity from a marketplace perspective that is missing or inadequately articulated in the literature. Specifically, interactivity is conceptualized as a characteristic of computer-mediated communication in the marketplace that increases with the bidirectionality, timeliness, mutual controllability, and responsiveness of communication as perceived by consumers and firms. The article concludes with a research agenda focusing on issues relating to measurement, conceptual refinement, and management of interactivity in the electronic marketplace. Manjit S. Yadav (yadav@tamu.edu) is an associate professor of marketing and Mays Research Fellow, Department of Marketing, Mays Business School, Texas A&M University. He obtained his Ph.D. in marketing from Virginia Tech. His current research focuses primarily on strategic issues related to the Internet and the electronic marketplace. He has published in a number of journals including theJournal of Marketing Research, the Journal of Consumer Research, the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, andSloan Management Review. He is a member of the Editorial Review Board of theJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science and theJournal of Interactive Marketing. He is a recipient of the Faculty Distinguished Achievement Award in Teaching (Mays Business School, Texas A&M University). He cochaired the American Marketing Association’s Faculty Consortium on Electronic Commerce held at Texas A&M University. Rajan Varadarajan (varadarajan@tamu.edu) is a distinguished professor of marketing and holder of the Ford Chair in Marketing and E-Commerce in the Mays Business School at Texas A&M University. His primary teaching and research interest is in the area of strategy. His research on strategy has been published in theJournal of Marketing, theJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science, theAcademy of Management Journal, theStrategic Management Journal, and other journals. He served as editor of theJournal of Marketing from 1993 to 1996 and theJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science from 2000 to 2003. He currently serves on the Editorial Review Boards of theJournal of Marketing, theJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science, theJournal of International Marketing, theJournal of Interactive Marketing, and other journals. He is a recipient of a number of honors and awards including the Academy of Marketing Science Distinguished Marketing Educator Award (2003), the American Marketing Association Mahajan Award for Career Contributions to Marketing Strategy (2003), and the Texas A&M University Distinguished Achievement Award in Research (1994).     

产业集聚、产业链及在西部产业发展中的运用

产业的空间集聚是产业集聚形成和发展的基础.产业链是基于客观存在的区域差异,借助区域市场协调地区间专业化分工和多维性需求的矛盾,以产业合作为实现形式和内容的区域合作载体.利用产业集群和产业链理论分析西部地区工业布局,将各具特色的产业链布局分为普通资源型老工业基地、珍贵资源型老工业基地、制造业老工业基地、混合型老工业基地、离散性老工业基地,并依此针对不同的产业链构想不同的产业调整和整合的不同方略将是西部地区工业振兴的重要举措.     

Extending the concept of shopping: An investigation of browsing activity

In many previous studies of consumer behavior, shopping has been equated with buying. This research examines the concept of browsing—the examination of a retailer’s merchandise without a current intent to buy. Results indicate that for the product classes of clothing and personal computers, browsing is related to perceptions of relevant dimensions of the retail environment. In addition, heavy browsers are more involved with the product, are more knowledgeable, and are more likely to be opinion leaders than are other consumers. Suggestions for future research are also noted.     

A note on the predictive validity of the CETSCALE

Consumers’ perceptions of the morality of buying foreign products, or consumer ethnocentric tendencies, are becoming an increasingly important issue for marketers in the global environment. The predictive validity of Shimp and Sharma’s (1987) CETSCALE was tested in a nationwide mail survey. The scale is shown to be a much stronger predictor of import buying behavior than are demographic variables. The ability of the scale to predict purchase behavior does not, however, appear to be consistent across the two products tested.     

小步渐进延长退休年龄,适度开发高技能老年人才

我国劳动力市场上的高技能人才存在年龄结构偏高、利用率偏低、浪费严重、供不应求等问题.以提高法定退休年龄为视角,利用灰色系统、队列分析等原理,结合我国2010年人口普查和相关统计数据进行研究,结果表明:以小步渐进方式提高高技能人才的退休年龄,有利于开发高技能老年人才资源,缓解劳动力市场高技能人才的供需矛盾,且不致对整体就业市场造成大的适度压力.     

企业营销实践中的品牌延伸策略

品牌延伸是品牌经营的基本战略之一。现代企业的营销环境复杂多变，品牌延伸是一把双刃剑。品牌延伸的策略技巧，应从品牌的核心价值与个性、品牌可转移的资产及高档品牌形象等方面来经营，以防陷入品牌延伸的陷阱。