(Mis)trust in marketing: a reflection on consumers' attitudes and perceptions

Consumers are at the focal point of marketers' attention. However, while extensive research is devoted to understanding consumers' motivations, attitudes and behaviour, surprisingly little attention is given to the consumers' views of marketing itself. This paper explores consumers' attitudes towards marketing and their perceptions of it, reflecting critically upon their views. Since much criticism of marketing focuses on its role in promoting consumption, we also consider perceptions of current levels of consumption and the extent to which marketing is held responsible for them. Based on 29 in-depth interviews we find evidence suggesting the prevalence of negative attitudes towards marketing, especially associated with deceptive or dishonest campaigns, although marketing's informative role is acknowledged. Importantly, findings reveal a limited understanding of the discipline, suggesting a gap between the concept of marketing and consumers' perceptions of it. This paper sends marketers important messages from consumers and offers grounds for further debate.     

Attitudes of marketing professionals toward ethics in marketing research: A cross-national comparison

The study reported here examines, in the context of Crawford's (1970) items, differences in research ethics attitudes among marketing professionals in Australia, Canada, Great Britian, and the United States. The study results indicate the lack of significant differences in research ethics attitudes among marketing professionals in the four countries. This finding is interpretable as implying the generalizability of the results of previous research ethics studies involving domestic (United States) marketing professionals as respondents. Ishmael P. Akaah is Associate Professor of Marketing at Wayne State University. He received his M.B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. degrees from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. His articles have appeared in the Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of Advertising Research, Journal of Health Care Marketing, Journal of Business Research, International Marketing Review, Journal of Global Marketing, Journal of Business Logistics, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Direct Marketing, Journal of Business Ethics, Savings and Development, Eastern Africa Economic Review, Journal of Information and Optimization Sciences, and Proceedings of the American Marketing Association.     

Ethical dilemmas in marketing: A rationale

Because of their visibility, marketers are often perceived by society as engaging in unethical or questionable behaviors. The marketing literature does not specifically provide an explanation for this dilemma. This paper suggests that there are three major reasons for this problem: fluctuating limits of consensus, ethnocentrism, and utilitarian economic analyses. Dr Paul Hensel is an Assistant Professor of Marketing at the University of Kentucky. He received his Ph.D. in Marketing from the University of Houston in 1982. He has published in Journal of Marketing Education, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Equal Opportunity International and Marketing Educator's Proceedings.Topics include marketing ethics, advertising effectiveness, and social responsibility in marketing.Alan J. Dubinsky (Ph.D., University of Minnesota) is a Visiting Associate Professor of Marketing in the School of Management at the University of Minnesota. He has served on the faculties of Southern Methodist University and the University of Kentucky. Prior to pusuing his graduate work, he was a territory manager for Burroughs Corporation. He has published widely in the areas of sales and sales management.     

Putting one-to-one marketing to work: Personalization, customization, and choice

The tailoring of a firm’s marketing mix to the individual customer is the essence of one-to-one marketing. In this paper, we distinguish between two forms of one-to-one marketing: personalization and customization. Personalization occurs when the firm decides what marketing mix is suitable for the individual. It is usually based on previously collected customer data. Customization occurs when the customer proactively specifies one or more elements of his or her marketing mix. We summarize key challenges and knowledge gaps in understanding both firm and customer choices in one-to-one markets. We conclude with a summary of research opportunities.     

不确定时代广告主三点启示

19世纪美国人约翰·华纳梅克已经发出这样的慨叹：“我知道我的广告费浪费了一半,问题是我不知道哪一半被浪费了。”而今天,面对充满不确定性的经济和市场环境,广告主们发出的慨叹已经变为,“我不知道我要浪费多少广告费,不是我不明白,是这世界变化快”。     

Internationalization's effect on marketing learning: A study of Syrian firms

The aim of the present study is to understand the effects of international expansion on firms' acquisition of marketing learning. This study's focus on marketing learning complements previous research on the impact of internationalization on the development of foreign-market and technological knowledge. The research finds that the scope of a firm's international activities, perception of gaps in marketing knowledge, and external social capital positively influence firms' acquisition of marketing learning. However, firm's age at initial international market entry appears not to be a significant factor. The study adds to the very limited body of research on the marketing learning outcomes of international expansion, while also offering rare empirical insights from the Middle East on this important subject matter. The paper discusses implications for international managers, policy makers, and future researchers.     

Role transitions in older adults: A marketing opportunity

Consumers act out roles throughout their lives. Marketers assist in this role playing by providing the wardrobes, props, and sets in the form of products and services. They also help people understand acceptable role behavior by portraying roles in their communication programs. Consumers assume new roles as they age. This article is designed to enhance understanding of the often-ignored roles that accompany aging and provides examples of and suggestions for effective marketing for these role transitions.     

Blogging: A new play in your marketing game plan

The emergence, proliferation, and ubiquity of the Internet have not only transformed businesses, but also altered the relationship between businesses and the customer. Recent advances in technology have helped to migrate this relationship to an interactive level where technology contributes to brand building by creating and sustaining a long-term relationship with the customer. Media fragmentation and customer indifference to traditional marketing tools are forcing marketers to seek new opportunities so the marketing message not only captures customers’ attention, but also tries to engage them with the company. This paper discusses blogs within the context of creating this new, more enduring relationship with the customer. Blogs are discussed within the framework of Web 2.0, the next generation of the Internet, which is comprised of user-generated content and social computing. The use of blogs by several companies as tools to better engage the customer in the creation, delivery, and dissemination of marketing messages is also demonstrated.     

小议森林病虫害防治工作的要点

为进一步加强森林病虫害防治工作,保护森林资源和林业生态建设成果,提高我国森林生态环境质量,我们应切实做好病虫害防治工作.本文就森林病虫害防治工作的要点进行初步探讨.     

时不我待 后发制人——后奥运时代的营销策略探讨

伴随着北京奥运会的圆满落幕,中国开始进入一个“后奥运时代”。表面看来,奥运营销的话题已经接近尾声,然而,08奥运对于中国企业的意义却远未止步于此。在宏观环境上,奥运会对中国的经济、文化甚至国家形象所带来的巨大推动力,毫无疑问会持续惠及中国企业。因此,如何借势“后奥运”同借势奥运一样,成为中国企业尤其是赞助商眼下必须关注的关键点。     

A note on the role of cause type in cause-related marketing

This note examines an unexplored area of cause-related marketing: the influence of the cause category on consumer perceptions. The experiment shows that the four cause categories which represent the domain of charitable causes can have a differential effect on attitudes and purchase intention. The health cause category and human services cause category have a greater effect on attitude toward the cause than the animal or environmental cause categories when brand familiarity and cause importance were high. Only the human services category has a greater effect on attitude toward the alliance when brand familiarity and cause importance were high as well as when both were low. For attitude toward the brand and purchase intentions, there were no differences among the cause categories.