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.     

Sellers and buyers on the boundary: Potential moderators of role stress-job outcome relationships

Despite intense research interest in the role stress phenomenon in marketing over the last decade, there have been few attempts to explain the sometimes discrepant findings. This study investigated the influence of three potential moderators (education, job tenure, and work group cohesion) on role stress-job outcome relationships. Hypotheses were developed and tested in two work contexts of interest to marketers: industrial selling and purchasing. Findings point to some interesting moderating effects in the two samples. Work group cohesion reduced the dysfunctional effect of role stress on organizational commitment among industrial buyers. However, a more cohesive sales group experienced stronger dysfunctional effects from role stress on organizational commitment. Level of education buffered the role stress-organizational commitment link but only among industrial sales representatives. Managerial and research implications are also discussed. His research interests are in the areas of job satisfaction, performance, and motivation issues in personal selling and organizational buying. Michaels’ research has appeared in theJournal of Marketing Research, Journal of Marketing, Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, Journal of International Business Studies, Journal of Business Research, andIndustrial Marketing Management. She received her M.B.A. degree in marketing from Boston University. Dixon’s research has appeared in theJournal of Consumer Satisfaction/Dissatisfaction and Complaining Behavior and AMA’sEnhancing Knowledge Development in Marketing. She is a member of the Academy of Marketing Science, the American Marketing Association, and the Association for Consumer Research. Her current research interests include personal selling, sales management, and services marketing.     

Development and validation of scales to measure attitudes influencing monetary donations to charitable organizations

Charitable organizations are under increasing financial pressure to attract and retain private donors. However, scales measuring consumer attitudes toward giving to charity have yielded ambiguous results in the past. Scales to measure consumer attitudes toward the act of helping others and toward charitable organizations are developed and tested for dimensionality and internal consistency using advocated procedures. The resulting measures are important to academicians, policymakers, and practitioners in the development of theory, public policy, and marketing strategy. Deborah J. Webb is a visiting assistant professor of marketing in the J. Mack Robinson College of Business at Georgia State University. She received her Ph.D. from Georgia State University. Her research interests are consumer behavior, marketing and society, and social marketing. Her work has been published in theJournal of Public Policy & Marketing and theJournal of Nonprofit and Public Sector Marketing. Corliss L. Green is an assistant professor of marketing in the J. Mack Robinson College of Business at Georgia State University. She obtained her Ph.D. from Florida State University. Her research interests include advertising and promotion, ethnic consumer behavior, and social marketing. Her research has appeared in such journals as theJournal of Retailing, theJournal of Advertising, theJournal of Advertising Research, theJournal of Services Marketing, and various other journals and proceedings. Thomas G. Brashear is an assistant professor of marketing in the Eugene M. Isenberg School of Management at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He received his Ph.D. from Georgia State University. His research focuses on international marketing management, sales management, and research methodology.     

Functional marketing plan development in department store retailing

Retailers are now implementing the types of formal marketing planning programs that have long characterized consumer goods firms. The functional marketing plans that are developed tend to be a year or less in duration. The primary responsibility for developing the plans resides with the general merchandise manager. The planning efforts of the retailing executive, in spite of their short term nature, do reflect an awareness of the importance of understanding the strengths and weaknesses of competitors and of the need to spell out issues involving profit planning, sales promotion planning, merchandise addition/deletion decisions, and issues involving inventory/physical distribution. A variety of marketing plans are developed. Separate plans are developed by merchandise lines in many organizations. The authors wish to express their appreciation to The Conference Board for permission to use the questionnaire, with modifications, underlying research for The Marketing Plan, Report No. 801, The Conference Board, 1981, as the basis for formulating the questionnaire used in this research     

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.     

企业营销经理胜任特征模型研究

营销经理素质的高低和能力的大小是整个企业业务开展以及人力资源竞争力和整体实力提升的关键所在。本文通过采用工作分析、深度访谈以及人员素质测评等方法和手段,在理论分析与实证研究相结合的基础上,运用聚类分析、相关分析以及T检验等相关统计分析方法,构建了营销经理的胜任特征模型,为有效选拔营销经理、预测营销经理的业绩表现提供了理论与方法基础。     

Success-producer and failure-preventer marketing skills: A social learning theory interpretation

This study examines organizations that emphasize differing types of marketing skills. It is based on a national survey of Health Maintenance Organizations. The organizations are first classified into groups based on their distinctive marketing skill configurations. Six groups were identified. Next, differences between these organization types are examined with respect to organization strategy, characteristics of the chief marketing executive, organizational environment, and performance. These results suggest that more successful organizations develop particular constellations of marketing skills. The results generally appear consistent with a social learning theory perspective on marketing skill development.     

Exploring CRM effectiveness: an institutional theory perspective

This study identifies the potential contribution that institutional theory can make to understanding the success of marketing practices. Based on institutional theory, we argue that the effectiveness of marketing practices decreases when firms are motivated to adopt such practices under the influence of institutional pressures originating in firms’ environments. However, alignment between a practice and a firm’s marketing strategy may buffer against these negative effects. We apply these insights to the case of customer relationship management (CRM). CRM is considered an important way to enhance customer loyalty and firm performance, but it has also been criticized for being expensive and for not living up to expectations. Empirical data from 107 organizations confirm that, in general, adopting CRM for mimetic motives is likely to result in fewer customer insights as a result of using this practice. Our study suggests that institutional theory has much to offer to the investigation of the effectiveness of marketing practices.     

Stress and consumer behavior

Although stress research has received increased attention in the behavioral and social sciences, it has been virtually ignored by marketing researchers. This paper attempts to advance the stress perspective as a useful framework in consumer research. First, the author presents theoretical and conceptual foundations of stress research. Second, the author develops a general conceptual model of the causes and consequences of stress on the basis of theory and research. The model serves as a blueprint for presenting theory and research on stress, organizing and interpreting findings of consumer studies in the context of stress theory, and developing propositions for needed research. Finally, the author provides a research agenda to guide future studies in this area.     

Coping with organizational role stress: Intrinsic motivational orientation,perceived role benefits,and psychological withdrawal

Researchers have long recognized that individuals in stressful marketing roles find ways to cope with organizational role stress. This study examines the effects of three psychological coping strategies—intrinsic motivational orientation, perceived role benefits, and psychological withdrawal—in a model of organizational role stress. Results indicate that intrinsic motivational orientations reduce perceptions of role conflict and role ambiguity, and increase job satisfaction; that perceived role benefits positively influence job satisfaction; and that job dissatisfaction is the primary cause of psychological withdrawal. The study supports the importance of coping efforts in models of organizational role stress among marketing personnel. Dr. Keaveney’s research interests focus on retailing issues including retail buyer behavior, retail store image, and retail price promotions. Dr. Keaveney has also published in the areas of marketing organizational behavior, services marketing, and international marketing. She is co-author with Philip R. Cateora ofMarketing: An International Perspective, which has been published both in English and in Japanese. Dr. Keaveney has published articles in theJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Retailing, Journal of Promotion Management, Journal of Marketing Channels, andJournal of Volunteer Administration. Dr. Nelson’s research interests include topics in marketing research, consumer behavior, and advertising. He has published in theJournal of Marketing, Journal of Advertising, Journal of Business Research, Journal of Marketing Research, and serves as occasional reviewer to these publications as well as to theJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science. He teaches courses in marketing management, marketing research, and multivariate statistics.     

Market segmentation for fund raisers

An analysis to define or segment contributor markets is fundamental to fund raising for charities and other nonprofit organizations. By using the concept on market segmentation, such organizations can aim their efforts toward those target segments most favorable to the particular philanthropy. The article shows how segmentation procedures, well tested in the field of marketing, can be applied by all types of fund-raising organizations. The procedures are particularly effective if based on marketing research. The article concludes by suggesting how tactical use of the marketing mix can be combined in a fund-raising strategy.     

Twenty-first-century organizations: Implications for a new marketing paradigm

Conclusion To conclude this commentary, it may be worthwhile to clearly state the research direction that the Achrol article has launched. First, the article begins by identifying the forces that are causing network forms of organizing to spread. If network organizations continue to proliferate, as they are likely to do, then marketing as both a function and discipline must change, too. Second, Achrol helps us to understand network organizations by providing a comprehensive typology that describes the commonly found network forms. Third, the article specifies some of the key variables that need to be examined to build an integrated theory of network management. It is hoped that at some point in the not too distant future, managers can be shown how to design and operate each of the major types of network organizations. Finally, Achrol urges marketing to adopt a paradigm more consistent with the reality of today’s and tomorrow’s organizations. His article is certainly a step in the right direction. His research interests are in new organizational forms, strategic human resource management, and transnational teams. He has written many articles and chapters on strategic management and has coauthored five books, the most recent of which isFit, Failure, and the Hall of Fame: How Companies Succeed or Fail (1994). He has been a visiting scholar at The Amos Tuck School (Dartmouth College) and the Norwegian School of Management. He is currently conducting a study of human resource management practices of 21st-century organizations, which is funded by the Carnegie Bosch Institute for Applied Studies in International Management.     

The impact of customer satisfaction on CEO bonuses

In this study, we build on prior research in marketing and executive compensation to show that customer satisfaction is a significant determinant of CEO bonuses. Findings demonstrate that the success of CEOs in managing customer satisfaction has a direct, personal, and economic impact in the form of their annual bonus awards. Our study contributes to research on the use of customer satisfaction information, marketing accountability, and marketing’s board level relevance. Our research also extends marketing theory by pointing to a previously unexamined role for marketing performance metrics.     

Problem- and emotion-focused coping dimensions and sales presentation effectiveness

The ability to cope effectively with job-related stress may be important if salespeople are to perform effectively. Therefore, the specific nature of the coping tactics used by salespeople to deal with job-related stress and the use of certain coping strategies associated with sales presentation effectiveness of salespeople were investigated. Data provided by salespeople from three organizations were used to assess the degree to which specific coping strategies were related to sales presentation effectiveness. Before entering academe, Dr. Strutton was in sales with the Tenneco Corporation and was president of a retailing firm in North Carolina. His research has been published in theJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Advertising Research, Journal of Business Research, Journal of Macromarketing, andJournal of Personal Selling & Sales Management, among other scholarly journals. Dr. Strutton’s current research interests include issues relating to sales and channels management. He has a B.S. in chemistry and an M.B.A. in management and received his Ph.D. in marketing from the University of Arkansas. Before entering academe, Dr. Lumpkin worked in marketing research for Phillips Petroleum Company. His primary research interests include retail patronage theory, market segmentation, and research methodology, with recent research focused on the elderly consumer. His research has been published in theJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Retailing, Journal of Business Research, The Gerontologist, Journal of Advertising, Journal of Advertising Research, and other scholarly journals.     

Identity, identification, and relationship through social alliances

The authors studied social alliances, a type of corporate societal marketing initiative. Their research finds that social alliances are an important means whereby employees identify more closely with their organizations while gaining a greater sense of being whole, integrated persons. Furthermore, this integration allows both organizations and their members to align their commercial identities with their moral and social identities. As organizational members struggled to resolve conflicts within their own identities, they were aided by social alliances, which in turn led them to identify more with their organizations. Unlike previous research, the findings suggest that the kind of connections referred to by the informants went well beyond the cold, rational associations described in previous research to emotional attachments that appear to be critical to organizational identification. The results also suggest that participation in social alliances may result in multiple forms of identification: intra- and interorganiza-tion identification. Ida E. Berger (bergeri@ryerson.ca) is the associate director of faculty affairs and a professor of marketing in the School of Business Management at Ryerson University. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Toronto. Her articles have appeared in leading marketing journals, including theJournal of Consumer Research, Public Policy and Marketing, theJournal of Consumer Psychology, andCalifornia Management Review. Her current research interests include social alliances, voluntary and nonprofit sector studies, diversity, and the value of sports in social inclusion. Her teaching interests include marketing theory, consumer behavior, and marketing communications. Peggy H. Cunningham (pcunningham@business.queensu.ca) is the Marie Shantz Teaching Associate Professor of Marketing, School of Business, in the Queen’s University. She completed her Ph.D. at Texas A&M University. Dr. Cunningham’s research interests revolve around two related themes: marketing ethics and marketing partnerships (international strategic alliances, partnerships between for-profit and not-for-profit organizations, relationships between firms and their customers). These areas of study are linked by their focus on the concepts of trust, integrity, and commitment. She is the coauthor of the Canadian editions of a number of marketing textbooks (Marketing Management; Principles of Marketing; and Marketing: An Introduction). Her work is published in a number of journals, including theJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science, the Journal of International Marketing, and California Management Review. Minette E. Drumwright (mdrum@mail.utexas.edu) is an associate professor with a joint appointment in the College of Communication (Department of Advertising) and the College of Liberal Arts at The University of Texas at Austin. Previously, Dr. Drumwright was on the marketing faculties of Harvard Business School and the University of Texas Business School. She currently is the faculty chair of the Bridging Disciplines Program in Ethics and Leadership at the University of Texas. She has a Ph.D. in business administration (marketing) from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Dr. Drumwright’s current research is in the areas of corporate social responsibility, marketing for nonprofit organizations, and business ethics. Her focus is on understanding how managers and consumers integrate noneco-nomic criteria related to society into their decision making. Dr. Drumwright has studied noneconomic criteria in various contexts, including cause-related marketing, partnerships between companies and nonprofit organizations, socially responsible buying behavior, and corporate volunteerism. Her articles and cases have been published in various books and journals, includingCalifornia Management Review, theJournal of Advertising, and theJournal of Marketing.     

The role of brand personality in charitable giving: An assessment and validation

Marketing concepts such as corporate identity, image, and branding are important strategies for nonprofit organizations. In particular, brand personality has been advocated by practitioners but has not been empirically investigated in the nonprofit context. According to social exchange theory and trust, the authors argue that nonprofit stakeholders perceive nonprofit organizations at an abstract level because of the organizations’ intangibility and social ideals. This study develops and refines a parsimonious measure of brand personality specifically for the nonprofit context. The authors conduct a series of six multimethod studies of nonprofit stakeholders to validate the role of brand personality in nonprofit organizations. The results yield four dimensions of brand personality for nonprofits: integrity, nurturance, sophistication, and ruggedness. Thus, current and potential donors ascribe personality traits to nonprofit organizations and differentiate between nonprofits on the basis of the organizations’ personality. Finally, nonprofit brand personality may influence potential donors’ likelihood to contribute. Beverly T. Venable (venable_beverly@colstate.edu; Ph.D., University of Mississippi) is an assistant professor of marketing at Columbus State University. Her research interests are in nonprofit marketing, branding, and ethics. She has published in theJournal of Business Ethics and several national and international proceedings. Gregory M. Rose (rosegm@u.washington.edu; Ph.D., University of Oregon) is an associate professor of marketing at the University of Washington, Tacoma. His research interests include consumer socialization and cross-cultural consumer behavior. He has published articles in theJournal of Consumer Research, theJournal of Marketing, theJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science, theJournal of Business Research, theJournal of Advertising, and theJournal of Consumer Psychology, as well as other journals and proceedings. Victoria D. Bush (vbush@bus.olemiss.edu; Ph.D., University of Memphis) is an associate professor of marketing at the University of Mississippi. Her research interests include cultural diversity in buyer-seller relationships, advertising ethics, and Internet marketing. Her research has been published in theJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science, theJournal of Advertising Research, theJournal of Advertising, theJournal of Public Policy and Marketing, andIndustrial Marketing Management, as well as other journals and proceedings. Faye W. Gilbert (faye.gilbert@gcsu.edu; Ph.D., University of North Texas) is a professor of marketing and dean of the J. Whitney Bunting School of Business at Georgia College and State University. Her research interests are in customer relationship management, health care marketing, and sales management. She has published in theJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science, theJournal of Business Research, theJournal of Retailing, Psychology and Marketing, as well as other journals and proceedings.     

Personality characteristics and salespeople’s choice of coping strategies

The issue of whether salespeople cope with sales stressors in ways consistent with their personality characteristics remains largely unaddressed in the empirical literature. Should certain personality characteristics make salespeople more stress resistant, implications for the selection of sales candidates already possessing such characteristics or for the cultivation of such characteristics within existing salespeople could be developed. A framework is developed suggesting why salespeople with certain personality characteristics—those high on challenge, self-determination, and involvement in self and surroundings—may employ different coping strategies. Support for hypotheses was developed in a study that used a stratified random sample of 322 sales organizations. Salespeople high on challenge, self-determination, and involvement were found to use more problem-focused coping strategies. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Mississippi. Before entering academe, he was in sales with the Tenneco Corporation and was president of a retailing firm in North Carolina. His research has been published in theJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Advertising, Journal of Business Research, Journal of Macromarketing, andJournal of Personal Selling & Sales Management, among other scholarly journals. His current research interests include issues relating to sales and channels management. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Mississippi in 1992. His research has appeared in theJournal of International Consumer Marketing, Developments in Marketing Science, Advances in Marketing, andHealth Marketing Quarterly, among others. His current research interests include business ethics and channels management. Prior to entering academe, he was vice president of a marketing consulting firm in Lubbock, Texas. He has a B.S. in chemistry, an M.B.A. in management, and received his Ph.D. in marketing from the University of Arkansas. Before entering academe, he worked in marketing research for Phillips Petroleum Company. His primary research interests include retail patronage theory, market segmentation, and research methodology, with recent research focused on the elderly consumer. His research has been published in theJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Retailing, Journal of Business Research, The Gerontologist, Journal of Advertising, Journal of Advertising Research, and other scholarly journals.     

工程机械企业营销渠道整合研究——以中联重科为例

中国工程机械企业面临典型的"二元化"结构市场,其地域广阔和市场结构不成熟的特点,使得渠道变革成为无数工程机械企业又爱又恨的环节。本文以营销渠道整合理论为基础,以中联重科为对象,构建营销渠道整合的概念模型,提出了工程机械企业营销渠道整合的策略。     

Fundamental changes in marketing organization: The movement toward a customer-focused organizational structure

There has been growing interest in the future of marketing and changes in marketing’s organization and role within the firm. However, there has not been research that holistically explores key changes in marketing organization. The authors draw on qualitative interviews with 50 managers in the United States and Germany and argue that changes in marketing organization that have been discussed in isolation are part of a more general shift toward customer-focused organizational structures. They initially discuss two specific changes related to the overall shift: changes concerning primary marketing coordinators and increasing dispersion of marketing activities. They then introduce the concept of a customer-focused organizational structure that uses groups of customers as the primary basis for structuring the organization. They identify typical organizational transitions as firms move toward a customer-focused organizational structure and discuss the challenges firms face in making this transition. They conclude with implications for academic research, managerial practice, and business school curriculum. Christian Homburg is a professor of business administration and marketing and Chair of the Marketing Department at the University of Mannheim in Germany. He received his Ph.D. and master’s degrees from the University of Karlsruhe and earned his habilitation at the University of Mainz. His research interests include organizational issues in marketing, customer orientation, industrial marketing, and relationship marketing. Dr. Homburg has consulted and delivered executive education programs for more than one hundred companies, including Daimler-Benz, Siemens, Deutsche Bank, Hoechst, RWE, Thyssen, Krupp-Hoesch and Sodexho. John P. Workman, Jr. is an associate professor of marketing at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska. Dr. Workman conducts research on the organization and role of marketing within the firm, on new product development in high-tech firms, and more recently on organizational issues for e-commerce initiatives. His research uses concepts from organization theory, strategy, and sociology to examine the interactions between marketing and other groups in the firm. Dr. Workman has a B.S. from N.C. State University, an M.B.A. from the University of Virginia, and a Ph.D. from M.I.T. He has consulted for a number of organizations on the topics of e-commerce and marketing organization. Ove Jensen is a Ph.D. student studying under Professor Homburg at the University of Mannheim. He received his master’s degree from the WHU Koblenz. He conducts research on sales management, organizational issues in marketing, and incentive systems. He has extensive consulting experience in the areas of market-focused management and sales management.     

Marketing,market growth,and endogenous growth theory: An inquiry into the causes of market growth

Market growth plays a central role in virtually all strategic marketing models developed in the past 30 years. Although marketing scholars seem implicitly to assume that marketing efforts contribute in some way to market growth, market growth per se remains a conceptual black box in marketing. Using new developments in endogenous growth theory, this article explores the link between marketing actions and market growth. In particular, the authors develop a conceptual model arguing that the effect of endogenous actions on market growth is mediated by knowledge creation, matching, and diffusion. Propositions are proposed to guide future research. The authors discuss the implications for marketing strategy at both business discipline and public policy levels. Sundar Bharadwaj (Sundar_Bharadwaj@bus.Emory.edu) is an associate professor of marketing in the Goizueta Business School at Emory University. He received his Ph.D. from Texas A&M University. His research interests focus on marketing strategy, performance, and risk. His research has appeared in theJournal of Marketing, Management Science, and theitJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science, among others. Terry Clark (tclark@cba.siu.edu) is a professor and chair in the marketing department at Southern Illinois University, Carbondale. He received his Ph.D. from Texas A&M University. His research interests include the intersection of international marketing and marketing strategy. His research has appeared in theJournal of Marketing and theJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science, among others. Songpol Kulviwat (mktszk@hofstra.edu) is an assistant professor of marketing and international business at Hofstra University. He received his Ph.D. in marketing from Southern Illinois University. His research interests include Internet marketing, hightech marketing, international business (sncross-cultural research), and information technology. Prior to his academic career, he worked in the area of international sales management in Thailand.