The expected benefit as determinant of deal-prone consumers' response to sales promotions

This study proposes that the responses of more and less deal-prone consumers to price discounts and premiums depend on the promotional benefit level. At low and moderate benefit levels, low deal-prone consumers show a higher evaluation for price discounts than for premiums but if the benefit is high, deal proneness does not bias the higher evaluation of price discounts. An experimental study shows that low deal-prone consumers are concerned with obtaining price discounts. Taken together, these findings suggest that consumers more concerned with obtaining promotions do not always prefer price discounts.     

Schemas determining the incentive value of sales promotions

There are three types of schemas for evaluating sales promotions: schemas using cognitive algebra, schemas analogous to perceptual processes, and simple nonalgebraic heuristics. Each type of schema requires different information to evaluate a promotion. The schema a consumer uses to evaluate a promotion may therefore determine whether or not the promotion is seen as valuable. The effects of salespeople, product type, and the consumer's situation on the schemas used to evauate promotions are discussed.     

Product information and consumer choice confidence in multi-item sales promotions

This research augments efforts to produce a richer understanding of the drivers of consumer choice confidence. It examines the interplay between two marketing interventions that consumers encounter in retail marketplaces, diagnostic product information and multi-item sales promotions. Results indicate that the influence of product information varies as a function of sales promotion format. The information effect is weaker when consumers are allowed to select the products that will be included in the promotion. Perception of information adequacy is revealed as a mediator of the information diagnosticity effect. The implications for marketing theory and promotional strategy are discussed.     

From Fatwallet to eBay: An investigation of online deal-forums and sales promotions

Sales promotions are an important part of retail advertising strategy. Traditionally, research on sales promotions has generally assumed that the buyers are end consumers who do not engage in reselling, in large part due to high transaction costs. However, the recent Internet related technologies have dramatically lowered the cost of transferring goods between consumers, leading to relative ease of reselling activity amongst individual consumers. Little is known about the impact of this phenomenon on retailer's sales promotion strategy. In this research we investigate the reselling activity in online auctions for products that active deal seekers can obtain at deeply discounted prices from retailers. We further investigate the role of deal-forums in the resale process. Data is collected from an online deal-forum (http://www.fatwallet.com/) and eBay to test various reselling-related hypotheses. The results show that there is a significant abnormal increase in the number of newly posted auctions of a product after the deal information of this product is posted on deal-forum website. We also find that there is a significant price incentive for individuals to resell. The implications for sales promotion research and practice are discussed.     

Understanding consumers' perspectives on food labelling in India

This study aims at identifying the factors influencing consumers' perception on food labelling and its impact on food purchase decision making, through personal interviews of 631 respondents using a structured questionnaire. To analyse the consumers' perceptions on food labelling, factor analysis has been carried out to identify the underlying dimensions among a set of food labelling attributes using the principal component analysis. Based on factor analysis, four sets of components/factors have emerged, that is, (i) serving method; (ii) quality and nutrition; (iii) production and storage; and (iv) product identification, which explain 66.271% of the variance. Logit regression analysis indicates that among the socio‐demographic indicators, the estimated coefficients for gender, education, income and location of residence are statistically significant. Similarly, information on quality and nutrition, production and storage processes, and basic information of the product is found to be significant, implying that these factors are more likely to influence the use of food labels in making informed purchase decisions by the consumers. The findings of the study give practical insights on food labelling issues for the food processors and policy makers.     

Danish consumers' attitudes to the functional and environmental characteristics of food packaging

This paper presents the results of a study of Danish consumers' attitudes to packaging and the importance of the environmental and functional characteristics of packaging for their purchasing decisions. The aim is to evaluate whether and how purchasing behaviour can be influenced in such a way as to limit the environmental problems caused by packaging. The study deals with consumers' attitudes to (a) packaging in general, and (b) the specific packaging which consumers take home with them (primary packaging). Consumers' attitudes to various industrial, transportation, and storage packaging are not explicitly included in the analysis. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications of the results for the environmental authorities and food and packaging manufacturers.

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Einstellungen dänischer Verbraucher zu Funktions- und Umwelt-Eigenschaften von Lebensmittelverpackungen

Zusammenfassung Berichtet werden die Ergebnisse einer Untersuchung der Einstellungen dänischer Konsumenten zu Verpackungen und der Bedeutung der Umwelt- und Funktions-Eigenschaften von Verpackungen für ihre Kaufentscheidungen. Ziel ist es, beurteilen zu können, ob und wie stark das Kaufverhalten so beeinflußt werden kann, daß Umweltprobleme, die durch Verpackung entstehen, eingegrenzt werden können. Die Studie befaßt sich mit Verbrauchereinstellungen (a) zu Verpackungen ganz allgemein und (b) speziell zu den Verpackungen, die Verbraucher mit nach Hause nehmen (Primärverpackungen). Die Einstellungen zu anderen Verpackungsarten, wie z.B. Industrie-, Transport- oder Lagerverpackungen werden nicht gesondert erhoben. Abschließend diskutiert der Beitrag die Implikationen der Ergebnisse für Umweltbehörden und für die Hersteller von Lebensmitteln und Verpackungen.

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Tino Bech-Larsen is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Marketing, The Aarhus School of Business, Haslegaardsvej 10, DK-8210 Aarhus V, Denmark.     

服务营销是市场营销的要素之一

服务营销学脱蜕于市场营销学，20世纪60年代兴起于西方。不少学者敏锐地指出服务营销学的兴起和发展，标志着市场营销领域的服务革命。自20世纪60年代以来，服务营销学的发展大致可分为以下三个阶段：     

Exploring consumers' preferences with regard to department and specialist food stores

Consumers' lifestyle changes and striving towards better time management have resulted in the greater choice they are offered with regard to store formats. Therefore, this study was undertaken to identify the factors that influence consumers in their patronage of a particular store format and to categorize department and specialist food store consumers according to their preferences in store layout and product range in a South African context. A qualitative research approach was used and data were collected using semi‐structured interviews with open‐ended questions. Purposive sampling recruited participants shopping for food in a department store in Johannesburg. Forty semi‐structured interviews were conducted before data saturation was reached. Store‐related factors such as store location, appearance and hygiene, service quality, convenience of trading hours, and consistency in store layout predominantly influenced participants in their patronage of a specific store format. Furthermore, product‐related factors such as quality, price, product range and convenient packaging enhanced consumers' store preference. Department store consumers were orientated towards one‐stop shopping and time‐saving strategies, while specialist food consumers were focused on food shopping and the trading hours of the store. Although similarities in participants' preferences with regard to department and specialist food store were found, different preferences were found regarding the placement of specific items within the store. Participants had similar preferences regarding the product range of a food store. However, department store participants emphasized the provision of convenience food and non‐food items. The findings of this study are valuable in providing department and specialist food store retailers with guideline recommendations regarding store layout and product range in order to effectively respond to the needs and preferences of consumers within an emerging economy.     

以优秀的营销团队拓展市场

新中国要有自己的汽车工业，这是全国人民和共和国第一代领导人的共同心声。1953年，毛泽东主席亲笔命名并题写“第一汽车制造厂奠基纪念”，一代伟人赋予了一汽第一的使命。由伟人亲笔命名的“解放”卡车，作为中国人制造的第一辆汽车，从此引领了中国汽车产业的滚滚东流。     

Japanese consumers' use of extrinsic and intrinsic cues to mitigate risky food choices

The stated preference data were used to simulate and examine consumers' valuation of important extrinsic and intrinsic cues that are associated with risky foods. This analysis generates information on how consumers assess trade‐offs between price and selected intrinsic and extrinsic cues to determine their choice among alternative products. From this, optimum level of product quality attributes (i.e. intrinsic cues) and optimum price level for import products can be derived. Also, most effective sources of communicating food safety and risk management can be identified. The results show that the country origin cue is a key factor in understanding consumers' choice behaviour for food product that entails potential risk, which may suggest that consumers are using this information as a risk‐reduction strategy.     

Analysis of consumers' willingness to pay for new food prepared from cowpea flour

Consumers' willingness to pay for cowpea products was analysed by a multi-ordered response model. The analysis indicated that sociodemographic factors are weakly linked to consumers' willingness to pay while product characteristics are strongly linked. Marketing promotion is possible. Thus, akara products, made from cowpea paste, have potential for extending the utilization of cowpeas.     

How consumers' values influence responses to male and female gender role stereotyping in advertising

ABSTRACT

The present study aims to explore the moderating effect of culture-related values on responses to male and female gender role stereotyping in advertising. Based on an experiment in Sweden (n = 507) and Germany (n = 506), we test the impact of respondents' masculinity, power distance, assertiveness values and feminine role orientation on ad attitudes and brand attitudes. The results show that, in general, perceived stereotyping contributes positively to ad and brand attitude, and this effect is enhanced for more masculine, more power distant, more assertive and less feminine-role oriented individuals. In addition, consumers respond more negatively to perceived female stereotyping compared to male stereotyping, and this is especially true for more power distant and more assertive individuals.     

Assess the impact of subjective norms of consumers' behaviour in the Greek olive oil market

The objective of the research was to highlight the role that socio-economic and spatial attributes of consumers – households exert on their choices regarding not only the supply modes but also the price they are willing to pay for different categories of olive oil. Regarding WTP for different olive oil labels, consumers are willing to pay premiums only for olive oils being processed by either private companies or cooperatives, with the latter to gain 34% of them in case they would decide to change the olive oil they usually purchase. The most important consumer profile is the young educated consumer one.     

1-6月全国乘用车主要品牌销售情况

6月份乘用车销量与上月比呈小幅增长，其中多功能乘用车（MPV）增幅比较显著。从轿车品牌市场表现来看．桑塔纳、捷达和凯越分别位居当月销量前三名。在中高档轿车品种中．领驭表现一校独秀，当月销售1．03万辆，比上月增长近1.3倍。     

Connected consumers' responses to negative brand actions: The roles of transgression self-relevance and domain

Brand misdeeds abound in the marketplace, but prior research indicates that having a strong connection with a brand buffers consumers from adverse effects of brand transgressions. However, the present research questions the scope of this buffering effect. The studies in this research demonstrate that strongly connected consumers are not so forgiving of a brand transgression if the brand's actions are personally relevant to them or if the negative actions are of an ethical nature rather than related to product performance. In particular, this research finds that the well-documented buffering effect emerges only when negative brand actions are not self-relevant for the individual consumer and the negative actions lie in the product, not ethical, domain. Therefore, contrary to the findings of prior research, connected consumers' brand attitudes are far from immune to brand misdeeds. Implications for managing brand crises conclude the article.     

Strategic responses to market globalisation among advertising agencies

The advertising industry is undergoing major changes as markets and clients become more global. Using the integration-responsiveness framework and the transnational framework, it is apparent that advertising agencies have a high need to be simultaneously integrated and responsive. This paper reports on a series of depth interviews with international agency leaders intended to gain an assessment of both the extent to which their firms are responding to these important but conflicting needs and the appropriateness of the framework for understanding the strategic options available for ad agency management. The findings indicate that the agencies have tried to modify their strategies to accommodate both kinds of pressures. However, their success in this regard is questioned and other broader strategic concerns are considered.     

Nutrition information in the market: food labelling as an aid to the consumer

This research was conducted in order to find out how consumers perceive and use the information given on food labels. It included two different studies: (i) a pilot study consisting of in-depth interviews with the help of an interview guide in 25 households, (ii) a consumer survey of personal interviews with a representative sample of the Norwegian population, 1050 persons over 15 years of age. The data showed that, even though the food labels were perceived as difficult to understand, there were nevertheless many consumers who made use of them. The typical pattern was occasional use; 46% read them very or rather often. The typical reader is a women between 30 and 59 years of age, and with a high education. Of all the substances listed on the food labels, most people looked for the additives (60%) and amount of fat (58%). Only 10% reported that they were very satisfied with the food labels as they appear today, whereas about 40% were rather satisfied. Suggestions from the respondents to make the food labels more satisfactory are discussed.     

Ethnic matching in the U.S. venture capital market

We document the role of entrepreneurial founder and venture capital (VC) partner co-ethnicity in shaping investment relationships. Co-ethnicity increases the likelihood that a VC firm invests in a company. Conditional on investment, co-ethnicity strengthens the degree of involvement by raising the likelihood of VC board of director involvement and increasing the size and scope of investment. These results are consistent with trust and social-network based mechanisms. Shared ethnicity in our sample is associated with worse investment outcomes as measured by investment liquidity, however, which our results suggest might stem from looser screening and/or corporate governance.     

瞄准市场紧密合作努力做好改装车联销工作

唐山市冀东机电设备有限公司(简称冀东机电)在近几年解放中、重型卡车的销售中，取得了令人瞩目的成绩，连续三年保持在解放营销体系内“全国销量第一”，即：2002年销售5086辆；2003年销售3725辆；2004年销售5610辆。在各年销售的车型中，各类改装车占总销量的比例均达到80％左右。因此可以说，改装车销售的好坏直接影响到总量能否实现增长。