An empirical investigation of a general theory of marketing ethics

Using a scenario technique, the study tests a core portion of Hunt and Vitell’s (1986) general theory of marketing ethics in the context of a marketing research ethical dilemma. The results provide substantial support for the relationships proposed in this part of the model. Two additional hypotheses are confirmed. First, ethical judgments to resolve the dilemma are found to be jointly determined by deontological and teleological evaluations. Second, the relationship between ethical judgment and intention to adopt an ethical alternative is attenuated when its implementation does not result in a preferred consequence. Research limitations and recommendations are offered.     

An examination of selected marketing mix elements and brand equity

This study explores the relationships between selected marketing mix elements and the creation of brand equity. The authors propose a conceptual framework in which marketing elements are related to the dimensions of brand equity, that is, perceived quality, brand loyalty, and brand associations combined with brand awareness. These dimensions are then related to brand equity. The empirical tests using a structural equation model support the research hypotheses. The results show that frequent price promotions, such as price deals, are related to low brand equity, whereas high advertising spending, high price, good store image, and high distribution intensity are related to high brand equity. Boonghee Yoo (Ph.D., Georgia State University) is an assistant professor of marketing at St. Cloud State University. His research interests include brand equity, cross-cultural scale development, service quality, retail productivity, Internet marketing, and marketing methodology. He has published previously in theJournal of Retailing, theJournal of Business Research, theJournal of Business & Industrial Marketing, theJournal of Service Research, and theJournal of Marketing Channels. Naveen Donthu (Ph. D., University of Texas, Austin) is a professor of marketing at Georgia State University. His research interests center on research methodology, site selection models, comparative and outdoor advertising, brand equity, Hispanic consumer research, cross-cultural issues, and customer satisfaction. His work has appeared in journals such asMarketing Science, theJournal of Marketing Research, theJournal of Consumer Research, theJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science, theJournal of Advertising, theJournal of Advertising Research, theJournal of Retailing, and theJournal of Business Research. Sungho Lee (Ph.D., University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) is an assistant professor of marketing at the University of Seoul, South Korea. His research focuses on understanding consumers’ cognitive processing of brand and price information, brand extension and brand equity, and advertising-driven persuasion processes. He has published previously inAdvances in Consumer Research, Asia-Pacific Advances in Consumer Research, Academy of Marketing Science-World Marketing Congress, Korean Marketing Review, andKorean Management Review.     

An exploratory study of the generalizability of selected marketing measures

Generalizability theory, a broad-based psychometric model for assessing the dependability (reliability) of measures, is used to assess several commonly used marketing measures. Classical reliability coefficients are reported for each measure and compared to generalizability coefficients. Classical theory is shown to be inappropriate in some marketing contexts and the marketing measures are found to be undependenable in some measurement situations. The comprehensiveness and flexibility of generalizability theory is demonstrated.     

Institutionalization of ethics and its consequences: a survey of marketing professionals

Because of increasing ethical problems in business, organizations have tried to control these problems by institutionalizing ethics, such as by creating new ethics positions and formulating codes of ethics. In this study, the authors develop a scale for measuring the institutionalization of ethics in organizations and assess it for dimensionality, reliability and validity. Two separate studies are conducted, both using samples drawn from an American Marketing Association practitioner population. In Study 1, using a sample of 126 marketing practitioners, we performed exploratory factor analysis on 44 institutionalization items resulting in two separate dimensions of the institutionalization of ethics construct: implicit and explicit institutionalization. Using a national sample of 306 marketing practitioners in Study 2, we performed confirmatory factor analysis on these two dimensions and investigated the effects of these dimensions on perceived importance of ethics, job satisfaction, esprit de corps and organizational commitment. Implicit institutionalization had a significant direct affect on all four of these constructs. On the other hand, explicit institutionalization significantly influenced only the perceived importance of ethics.     

The incidence of unethical practices in marketing research: An empricial investigation

The authros examine from the perspective of marketing professionals the incidence of unethical research practices and the influence of organizational factors as determinants of the incidence of unethical research practices. The results indicate some degree of indicence of unethical research practices, particularly of those involving respondents. In addition, the results suggest four organizational variables— extent of ethical problems within the organization, top management actions on ethics, organizational role, and industry category—as determinants of the incidence of unethical research partices.     

SERVCON: development and validation of a multidimensional service convenience scale

As customers have demanded greater convenience in service exchanges, researchers have responded by incorporating the convenience construct into their conceptual models and empirical studies, but a comprehensive, formally validated measure of convenience remains lacking. This study conceptualizes service convenience as a second-order, five-dimensional construct that reflects consumers’ perceived time and effort in purchasing or using a service. Service convenience dimensions are salient at different stages of the purchase decision process. Given this conceptualization, the study presents the development and validation of the SERVCON scale, a comprehensive instrument for measuring service convenience. The five dimensions are independent within a nomological network that illustrates distinct antecedent and consequent effects, and the results reinforce the multidimensional representation, offering insight into the distinctive relationships between each service convenience dimension and its antecedents, such as competitive intensity, and consequences, such as repurchase behavior. The findings help researchers and managers understand a fully conceptualized convenience construct and facilitate the measurement of convenience in future empirical studies.     

Commentary on an empirical investigation of a general theory of marketing ethics

The article “An Empirical Investigation of a General Theory of Marketing Ethics” by Mayo and Marks constitutes a major effort at testing the theory of marketing ethics developed by Scott Vitell and me (1986). Mayo and Marks (hereafter, “M&M”) deduce several key research hypotheses from the theory, test those hypotheses using a marketing research scenario, and conclude: “The core relationships in Hunt and Vitell’s model appear to capture much of the decision-making processes that marketing managers employ in resolving an ethical dilemma.” Although no single empirical study ever provides a definitive test of a theory, their encouraging findings will likely prompt further empirical studies. The objective of this commentary is not to criticize the design of M&M’s research, for there is no such thing as a perfect research design. All efforts to test empirically a theory will necessarily involve significant amounts of interpretive creativity and there are always trade-offs to be made. Rather, the objective here is to (1) review certain exemplary aspects of the M&M research design, (2) suggest some alternative interpretations and procedures for future researchers in this area to consider, and (3) show how some of the issues in their article relate to more fundamental philosophy of science concerns.     

Customer evaluation of retail salespeople utilizing the SOCO scale: A replication,extension, and application

Measuring retail salesperson performance is a critical, though relatively neglected research issue. We suggest that the SOCO scale may be an appropriate tool for measuring salesperson performance from the buyer’s perspective. Therefore, a replication of the SOCO scale was undertaken by having consumers evaluate retail salespeople. The SOCO scale items were slightly modified to fit the consumer sample and retail focus of the study. In addition, the number of points on the SOCO response scale was also reduced and the verbal anchors modified to better suit the needs of telephone surveys. Despite these changes, the properties of the scale were found to be strikingly similar to those reported in prior studies. It was recommended that retailers adopt the SOCO scale to measure salesperson performance.     

Institutional pressures and marketing ethics initiatives: the focal role of organizational identity

Institutional theory implies that normative societal expectations create pressures for organizations to respond acceptably to important institutional constituents. Although the role of the institutional environment on marketing has been studied, the organizational mechanisms by which firms respond to societal pressures remain under-investigated. We suggest that an important determining factor involves organizational identity, which drives firm response to societal norms and facilitates its quest for legitimacy. Accordingly, this study contributes to organizational theory in marketing by casting identity as the focal mechanism in the firm’s response to the institutional environment. Marketing ethics and CSR issues frame this research given natural synergies with institutional and organizational identity theories and evidence that increasingly, firms must respond to societal expectations involving ethics in their marketing practices. Using game theoretical models and economic experiments, we find that the influence of the institutional environment emerges through firm identity, affecting resource allocation to ethical product augmentation.     

人际传播理论在景区营销中的应用研究

景区营销中最常使用的是各种大众媒体，但是对于成本低、效果好的人际传播渠道使用较少。人际传播学中的意见领袖理论、信息把关人理论和创新扩散理论都能在景区营销中发挥重要作用。对于景区营销来说，人际传播是不可忽视的一条信息渠道，潜在游客最多使用的和最信赖的就是这条信息渠道。     

An evaluation of progress in the development of a definition of marketing

This study evaluates progress in developing a definition of marketing. A survey of marketing educators, managers, scholar-experts and students was conducted to determine elements important in a definition of marketing, a ranking of popular definitions of marketing and an evaluation of the definitions based on relevant criteria. All categories of respondents ranked the 1985 AMA definition of marketing as the definition that best represents the discipline of marketing.     

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.     

Development of a taxonomy of services to gain strategic marketing insights

A theme emerging in the services marketing literature indicates that services marketers should look beyond their own industry boundaries to gain marketing insight. A number of conceptual typologies for grouping services have been developed. However, none of these conceptualizations have been studied empirically. This article presents an empirically based taxonomy, developed through cluster analysis of consumer's perceptions of services. The results of the study offer several insights into strategic marketing for service marketers.     

Influence of buyer ethics and salesperson behavior on intention to choose a supplier

A survey of purchasing professionals was conducted to investigate the effect of perceived unethical salesperson behavior on intentions to choose a supplier. Results suggest that as salesperson behavior is perceived as more unethical, the purchaser is less likely to choose the firm that the salesperson represents. This result is due to norm violations influencing intentions in two ways: (1) through externally controlled rewards or punishments (e.g., harming the purchaser’s career), and (2) through internally self-bestowed rewards or punishments (e.g., feeling bad for not doing the “right” thing).     

Towards a definition of social and societal marketing

Marketing is a youthful discipline. Therefore, it has experienced accelerated growth and change in its conception and framework. The emergence of social and societal marketing is illustrative of the changes endured. Because of its recent development, Lazer and Kelley indicated that social marketing is ill-defined and the definitive statement on it is yet to be written.     

AHP及其应用

本文对AHP的理论核心及发展历史作了一定的阐述,并就AHP对非一量事件多目标决策问题建立定量决策模型作了初步探讨,在此基础上,给出了AHP应遵循的四个基本原理。     

The relationship of psychological and situational variables to usage of a second-order marketing system

The study of one type of second-order market, personal sales, indicated that various consumer attitudes and merchandising strategies were related to utilization of this market. Similarities and differences between this market and other second-order markets were also noted.     

Some strategy implications of a matrix approach to the classification of marketing goods and services

The traditional schemes for the classfication of goods and services do not adequately incorporate the marketing characteristics of services. However, rather than pose a separate classification scheme for services, the author proposes a broadened classification approach to include both goods and services. Some marketing strategy implications of this classification approach are discussed.     

Linking cause-related marketing to sales force responses and performance in a direct selling context

The influence of a firm’s cause-related marketing efforts on sales representative attitudes and behavioral performance is investigated. Results from a field study indicate that the influence of a representative’s construed customer attitude toward the cause campaign on selling behavioral performance is mediated through cognitive identification and selling confidence. Further, the influence of construed customer attitude toward the campaign on selling confidence is moderated by cognitive identification such that the effects are stronger for salespeople with lower levels of identification with the company. The authors discuss the implications of the research and offer directions for further research.