Representing the perceived ethical work climate among marketing employees

This research develops and tests a measurement model representing the ethical work climate of marketing employees involved in sales and/or service-providing positions. A series of studies are used to identify potential items and validate four ethical-climate dimensions. The four dimensions represent trust/responsibility, the perceived ethicalness of peers’ behavior, the perceived consequences of violating ethical norms, and the nature of selling practices as communicated by the firm. Both first- and second-order levels of abstraction are validated. Relationships with role stress, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment are described and discussed. The scale is unique from previous attempts in its scope, intended purpose (marketing employees), the validation procedures, and in that it is not scenario dependent. The results suggest the usefulness of the marketing ethical climate construct in both developing theory and in providing advice for marketing practice. Barry J. Babin (Ph.D., Louisiana State University) is an associate professor of marketing at the University of Southern Mississippi. His research involves behavioral interactions between exchange actors and the environment. Barry’s research appears elsewhere in theJournal of Marketing, theJournal of Retailing, theJournal of Consumer Research, theJournal of Business Research, and other professional publications. He is the immediate past president of the Society for Marketing Advances and the current Marketing Section Editor of theJournal of Business Research. James S. Boles (Ph.D., Louisiana State University) is an associate professor of marketing at Georgia State University. His research concentrates on the multifarious aspects of selling, particularly on job-related attitudinal and behavioral outcomes. His research appears elsewhere in theJournal of Marketing, theJournal of Retailing, theJournal of Applied Psychology, theJournal of Business Research, and other professional publications. He is highly involved in sales and creative training. Donald P. Robin (DBA, Louisiana State University) is the J. Tylee Wilson professor of business ethics in the Wayne Calloway School of Business and Accountancy at Wake Forest University. His research appears elsewhere in theJournal of Marketing, theAccounting Review, theJournal of Business Research, theAmerican Business Law Journal, and many other places. He has published in several business ethics journals includingBusiness Ethics Quarterly, theJournal of Business Ethics, and theBusiness and Professional Ethics Journal. He is a Distinguished Fellow of the Society for Marketing Advances.     

Do citizenship behaviors matter more for managers than for salespeople?

This research was designed to investigate the effects of organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs) and objective sales productivity on sales managers’ evaluations of their sales personnel’s performance and to examine whether the impact of OCBs on performance evaluations is greater at higher levels of the sales organization hierarchy. Two samples were obtained from the same organization: a sample of 987 multiline insurance agents and a sample of 161 agency managers. Objective measures of sales productivity were obtained for both samples along with evaluations of three dimensions of OCBs and an assessment of overall performance. The results indicate that managers’ evaluations are determined at least as much by OCBs as they are by objective measures of performance. After partialing out common method variance, the results also indicate that OCBs account for a greater proportion of a sales manager’s evaluation than of a sales representative’s evaluation. The implications of these findings are discussed. Scott B. MacKenzie (Ph.D., UCLA, 1983) is a professor of marketing and the Edgar G. Williams Faculty Fellow at the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University. His research on advertising effectiveness, organizational citizenship behavior, and leadership issues can be found in theJournal of marketing Research, Journal of Marketing, Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Applied Psychology, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Personnel Psychology, Journal of Management, andThe Leadership Quarterly. Currently, he serves on the editorial boards of theJournal of Marketing Research, Journal of Marketing, Journal of Consumer Research, andJournal of Consumer Psychology. Philip M. Podsakoff (D.B.A., Indiana University, 1980) is the John F. Mee Professor of Organizational Behavior and Human Resources at the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University. He is the author or coauthor of more than 60 articles and/or scholarly book chapters that have appeared in such journals as theJournal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Research, Academy of Management Journal, Psychological Bulletin, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Journal of Applied Psychology, The Leadership Quarterly, Organizational Dynamics, Research in Organizational Behavior, Journal of International Business Studies, andJournal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology. He serves on the Board of Editors of theJournal of Applied Psychology, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, andThe Leadership Quarterly. Julie Beth Paine is a doctoral student in management at the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University. Her research interests include competence in performance, performance evaluation processes, and reward systems.     

The role of satisfaction with territory design on the motivation, attitudes, and work outcomes of salespeople

The primary emphasis of previous research concerning salespeople has been focused on their attitudes and behavior. The relationship between organizational variables and salesperson attitudes and behavior has received very limited attention. Sales territory design is largely uncontrollable by the salesperson, yet is acknowledged by managers and researchers as an important factor enabling salespeople to perform well. The objective is to examine satisfaction with territory design from the perspective of the salesperson. A conceptual model and hypotheses are developed linking the satisfaction with territory design with role ambiguity, intrinsic motivation, job satisfaction, and performance. Role conflict, met expectations, organizational commitment, and intention to leave are also included in the model. Survey results provide strong support for 19 of the 21 hypotheses examined. The findings offer significant insights concerning the role of territory design satisfaction in face-to-face selling and its consequences. Several managerial implications and avenues for future research are discussed. Ken Grant is the deputy head in the Department of Marketing, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia. He is a member of the editorial boards of theEuropean Journal of Marketing and theJournal of Marketing Practice: Applied Marketing Science. He has published in theInternational Journal of Research in Marketing, European Journal of Marketing, Industrial Marketing Management, and several other journals. He advises companies on marketing planning, new products, and sales management and conducts research and publishes in these areas. David W. Cravens holds the Eunice and James L. West Chair of American Enterprise Studies at Texas Christian University. His research on sales management and marketing strategy has been published in theJournal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, and other leading journals in marketing and management. Before becoming an educator, he held various industry and government executive positions. He is internationally recognized for his research on marketing strategy and sales management. He has been a visiting scholar at universities in Austria, Australia, Chile, Czech Republic, England, Ireland, Germany, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Singapore, and Wales. His textbook,Strategic Marketing (Irwin/McGraw-Hill 2000), is widely used in strategy and management courses. George S. Low is an associate professor of marketing in the M. J. Neeley School of Business, Texas Christian University. He received a B.A. in advertising from Brigham Young University, an M.B.A. from the Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario, and a Ph.D. in marketing from the University of Colorado-Boulder. His research on the management of integrated marketing communications and brands has been published in theJournal of Marketing Research, Journal of Retailing, Journal of Advertising Research, Marketing Management, Marketing Science Institute’s Working Paper Series, and other journals. William C. Moncrief is a senior associate dean and professor of marketing at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas. He received his B.Sc. in political science and his M.B.A. from the University of Mississippi. He completed his Ph.D. at Louisiana State University in 1983. His work has been published in leading marketing and sales journals, including theJournal of Marketing Research, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, European Journal of Marketing, Journal of Business Research, Industrial Marketing Management, andJournal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, among others. His research interests are in the field of sales management and include topics such as sales deployment, sales contests, international sales, telemarketing, turnover, laptop computers, sales job activities, and quality control. He has taught in Germany, conducted research in Europe, and has most recently consulted in Mexico.     

Selling strategies: The effects of suggesting a decision structure to novice and expert buyers

This research investigates the impact of selling strategies on selling effectiveness. The authors compare two selling strategies: (1) an agenda strategy, in which a salesperson attempts to influence the structure of the buyer’s decision by suggesting constraints that eliminate competitive products from consideration, and (2) a more typical selling strategy that summarizes the target product’s benefits. The results show that when sellers use an agenda selling strategy, target products receive higher evaluations and have higher probabilities of being considered and chosen. Buyer expertise moderates this effect, with the agenda strategy in most cases having more impact on novice buyers than on expert buyers. These findings demonstrate the importance of selling strategy to selling effectiveness, suggest the potential benefit for sellers of using selling strategies that attempt to influence the structure of the buyer’s decision, and provide support for the contingent nature of selling effectiveness. Judy A. Wagner (Ph.D., Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University) is currently an assistant professor of marketing at the University of Texas at Arlington. Her primary research interests are personal selling strategies, sales management, and buyer decision making. Her research has been published inAdvances in Consumer Research and the proceedings of the American Marketing Association and is forthcoming in theJournal of Business Research. Noreen M. Klein (Ph.D., Pennsylvania State University) is currently an associate professor of marketing at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Her research interests include consumer decision making and the behavioral aspects of pricing, and her research has been published in theJournal of Consumer Research andOrganizational Behavior and Human Decision Making. Janet E. Keith (Ph.D., Arizona State University) is currently an associate professor of marketing at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Her research interests lie in behavioral issues in channels of distribution and in sales and sales management. Her studies have been published in journals such as theJournal of Marketing Research, Journal of Marketing, Journal of Business Research, andJournal of Marketing Channels.     

A three-component model of customer commitment to service providers

Although research into the determinants of service provider switching has grown in recent years, the focus has been predominantly on transactional, not relational, variables. In this research, the authors address the role of consumer commitment on consumers’ intentions to switch. Drawing from the organizational behavior literature, they build on previous service switching research by developing a switching model that includes a three-component conceptualization of customer commitment. Structural equation modeling is used to test the model based on data from a survey of 356 auto repair service customers. The authors’ results support the notion that customer commitment affects intentions to switch service providers and that the psychological states underlying that commitment may differ. As such, future marketing research should consider these different forms of commitment in understanding customer retention. The implications of this model for theory and practice are discussed. Havir S. Bansal (hbansal@wlu.ca) is an associate professor of marketing at Wilfrid Laurier University. He earned his Ph.D. from Queen’s University in 1997. His research interests are focused in the area of services marketing with emphasis on cuctomer switching behavior, word-of-mouth processes in services, and tourism. His research has been published in theJournal of Service Research, theJournal of Quality Management, andPsychology and Marketing and has publications forthcoming in theJournal of Services Marketing andTouris Management. He has also presented at and published articles in the proceedings of various national and international conferences. P. Gregory Irving (girving@wlu.ca) is an associate professor of organizational behavior at Wilfrid Laurier University. He received his Ph.D. in industrial/organizational psychology from the University of Western Ontario. His research interests included commitment and work-related attitudes, psychological contracts, and organizational recruitment and socialization. His research has appeared in a variety of journal including theJournal of Applied Psychology, Personnel Psychology, theJournal of Organizational Behavior, theJournal of Management, Human Performance, andBasic and Applied Social Psychology. Shirley F. Taylor (Ph.D., University of British Columbia) (staylor@business.queensu.ca) is an associate professor in the School of Business at Queen’s University, where she teaches and conducts research in the area of services marketing. Her research interests include service provider loyalty and switching, customer commitment, and perceptions management of service delays. Her work has been published in theJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science, theJournal of Marketing, Psychology & Marketing, theJournal of Service Research, theInternational Journal of Research in Marketing, and theJournal of Public Policy and Marketing. She currently serves on the editorial boards of theJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science, theJournal of Business Research, and theCanadian Journal of Administrative Sciences.     

How does sharing a sales force between multiple divisions affect salespeople?

An increasing number of firms are sharing a sales force between multiple divisions of their companies. Although this practice may increase organizational efficiency by reducing unit selling costs, it is not clear how it affects outcomes at the level of the individual salesperson. This study examines the effects of sharing a sales force between multiple divisions on salespeople’s role perceptions, satisfaction, and performance. The results indicate that sharing is associated with higher levels of role stress and lower levels of work satisfaction and nonfinancial performance. The association between sharing and financial performance is not significant. Formalization and centralization of the sales organization moderate the relationships between sharing and the outcome variables. Higher levels of formalization lessen the effects of sharing on salespeople’s role conflict, role ambiguity, and work satisfaction. Conversely, higher levels of centralization exacerbate the effects of sharing on role ambiguity and work satisfaction. His research interests include issues in personal selling, sales management, and channels of distribution. He has published in theJournal of Retailing, European Journal of Marketing, Journal of Macromarketing, Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, and various conference proceedings. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His research interests include management of brand equity and competitive analysis. He has published in theJournal of Marketing Research, Journal of Marketing, Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, Strategic Management Journal, Journal of Advertising Research, Industrial Marketing Management, andPlanning Review. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Pittsburgh. His research interests are in the areas of personal selling and sales management. His articles have appeared in numerous journals, and one of them received the William O’Dell Award for the most outstanding article published in theJournal of Marketing Research. He has coauthored several books includingSales Force Management: Planning Implementation and Control (Irwin, 1992). He received his Ph.D. from the University of Illinois-Urbana.     

Export marketing,interfunctional interactions,and performance consequences

Firms with export operations have internal environments that are often geared toward serving the home market. As a result, export marketing and other business functions compete for resources, which thus increases the likelihood of conflict between them. Using survey responses from more than 700 exporting firms, the authors test a model of the antecedents and consequences of two important interaction variables: exporting’s interfunctional connectedness and conflict. The model explains 52 percent and 49 percent of variance in exporting connectedness and conflict, respectively. The authors identify the key drivers of successful interactions as follows: management commitment, organizational training and reward systems, relative functional identification, centralization, and export employee job satisfaction and commitment. The authors also demonstrate that connectedness is most critical for export success when export markets are in a state of turbulence, whereas conflict is most detrimental when the firm’s export environment is stable. John W. Cadogan (j.w.cadogan@lboro.ac.uk), Ph.D., is a professor of marketing in the Business School at Loughborough University, United Kingdom. His primary areas of research interest are international marketing, marketing strategy, and sales management. He has published on these issues in theJournal of International Business Studies, theInternational Journal of Research in Marketing, theJournal of Business Research, Industrial Marketing Management, theEuropean Journal of Marketing, theInternational Marketing Review, theJournal of Marketing Management, theJournal of Strategic Marketing, and other academic journals. He received his degree from the University of Wales (United Kingdom). Sanna Sundqvist (sanna.sundqvist@lut.fi), Ph.D., is a professor in international marketing in the Department of Business Administration at the Lappeenranta University of Technology (Finland). Her research interests deal with the international diffusion of innovations, market orientation (especially in an international context), and consumers’ adoption behavior. She has published in theJournal of Business Research, theInternational Journal of Research in Marketing, theEuropean Journal of Marketing, theCanadian Journal of Administrative Sciences, and theAustralasian Marketing Journal. She received her degree from the Lappeenranta University of Technology, Finland. Risto T. Saiminen (risto.salminen@lut.fi), Ph.D., is a professor of industrial engineering and management, especially marketing, in the Department of Industrial Engineering and Management at Lappeenranta University of Technology, Finland. His primary areas of research interest are customer relationships and networks in business marketing, pedagogy in industrial engineering and management, and international marketing. He has published on these issues in theJournal of Business and Industrial Marketing, theJournal of Marketing Management, theEuropean Journal of Engineering Education, theInternational Journal of Research in Marketing, theEuropean Journal of Marketing, and theAustralasian Marketing Journal. He received his degree from Lappeenranta University of Technology, Finland. Kaisu Puumalainen (kaisu.puumalainen@lut.fi), Ph.D., is a professor in technology research in the Department of Business Administration at Lappeenranta University of Technology, Finland. Her primary areas of research interest are innovation, international marketing, and small businesses. She has published on these issues in theInternational Journal of Research in Marketing, theJournal of Business Research, theEuropean Journal of Marketing, R&D Management, theCanadian Journal of Administrative Sciences, theJournal of International Entrepreneurship, theAustralasian Marketing Journal, and theInternational Journal of Production Economics. She received her degree from the Lappeenranta University of Technology, Finland.     

The effects of extrinsic product cues on consumers’ perceptions of quality, sacrifice, and value

The authors report the results of two experiments designed to test the effects of extrinsic cues—price, brand name, store name, and country of origin—on consumers’ perceptions of quality, sacrifice, and value. The results of the experiments support hypothesized linkages between (a) each of the four experimentally manipulated extrinsic cues and perceived quality, (b) price and perceived sacrifice, (c) perceived quality and perceived value, and (d) perceived sacrifice and perceived value. The results also indicate that the linkages between the extrinsic cues and perceived value are mediated by perceived quality and sacrifice. R. Kenneth Teas is a distinguished professor of business in the Department of Marketing, College of Business, Iowa State University. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Oklahoma. His areas of research include consumer behavior and decision processes, marketing research methods, services marketing, and sales force management. His articles have been published in numerous journals, including theJournal of Marketing, theJournal of Marketing Research, theJournal of Consumer Research, theJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science, theAmerican Journal of Agricultural Economics, theJournal of Retailing, theJournal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, theJournal of Occupational Psychology, andIndustrial Marketing Management. Sanjeev Agarwal is an associate professor in the Department of Marketing, College of Business, Iowa State University. He received his Ph.D. from The Ohio State University. His areas of research include multinational marketing strategies, modes of foreign market entry, and sales force management. His articles have been published in theJournal of Consumer Research, theJournal of International Marketing, International Marketing Review, Industrial Marketing Management, theJournal of International Business Studies, theJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science, and theJournal of Personal Selling and Sales Management.     

Organizational culture and ethical research behavior

The author examines, in the context of Wallach’s (1983) conceptualization, the influence of bureaucratic, supportive, and innovative cultural dimensions on marketing research professionals’ reported ethical research behavior. The results indicate that marketing research professionals in organizations of bureaucratic-innovative-supportive culture reflect the highest reported research ethics behavior, followed by those in organizations of innovative-supportive and bureaucratic-only cultures, respectively. He received his M.B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. degrees from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. Professor Akaah’s articles have appeared in theJournal of Marketing Research, Journal of Advertising Research, Journal of Macromarketing, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Business Ethics, Journal of Health Care Marketing, Journal of Business Research, International Marketing Review, Journal of Global Marketing, Journal of Business Logistics, Journal of Direct Marketing, Journal of International Consumer Marketing, Proceedings of the American Marketing Association, and elsewhere. His current research interests include consumer decision processes, marketing ethics, and international marketing strategy.     

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.     

Socializing children about television: An intergenerational study

This article describes a study on mothers’ views of television and children’s perceptions of their mothers’ socialization efforts regarding television. Results from the investigation involving 174 mother and child (in Grades 3–6) dyads suggest that mothers’ perceptions of their responsibilities regarding children’s television viewing vary by parental style. In addition, children’s perceptions of mothers’ verbal interactions about TV and coviewing together with opinions, monitoring, and controlling of television similarly vary across parental styles. These findings support previous research that parental styles play a role in determining the manner in which mothers socialize their offspring about television. Les Carlson (Ph.D., University of Nebraska-Lincoln) is a professor of marketing at Clemson University. His research interests center on consumer socialization and environmental advertising. His work has appeared inInternational Marketing Review, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Advertising, Journal of Business Research, Journal of Consumer Affairs, Journal of Consumer Psychology, Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Current Issues and Research in Advertising, Journal of General Psychology, Journal of Macromarketing, Journal of Marketing Education, Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, Journal of Public Policy and Marketing, and various conference proceedings. He is a past editor of theJournal of Advertising. Russell N. Laczniak (Ph.D., University of Nebraska-Lincoln) is a professor of marketing and chair, Departments of Management and Marketing, at Iowa State University. His primary research interests deal with marketing communication. His research has been published in theJournal of Consumer Psychology, Journal of Advertising, Journal of Current Issues and Research in Advertising, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, Journal of Consumer Affairs, Journal of Business Research, Psychology and Marketing, Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, Journal of Marketing Communications, Marketing Letters, and various conference proceedings. Ann Walsh (Ph.D., University of Nebraska-Lincoln) is an assistant professor of marketing at Western Illinois University. She has published in theJournal of Advertising, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Consumer Affairs, and American Marketing Association Educators’ Proceedings.     

An empirical test of trust-building processes and outcomes in sales manager-salesperson relationships

This study examines three trust-building processes and outcomes in sales manager-salesperson relationships. This study, based on a sample of more than 400 business-to-business salespeoples from a variety of industries, shows two trust-building processes (predictive and identification) to be significantly related to salesperson trust in the sales manager. Interpersonal trust was found to be most strongly related to shared values and respect. Trust was directly related to job satisfaction and relationalism, and indirectly related to organizational commitment and turnover intention. Thomas G. Brashear (brashear@mktg.umass.edu) (Ph.D., Georgia State University) is an assistant professor of marketing in the Isenberg School of Management at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. James S. Boles (jboles@gsu.edu) (Ph.D., Louisiana State University) is an associate professor of marketing in the Robinson College of Business at Georgia State University. His research has appeared in a variety of journals, including theJournal of Marketing, theJournal of Business Research, theJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science, theJournal of Retailing, theJournal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, and theJournal of Applied Psychology. His areas of research interest include personal selling, sales management, key and strategic account management, and business relationships. Danny N. Bellenger (mktdnb@langate.gsu.edu) (Ph.D., University of Alabama) is currently chairman of the Marketing Department in the Robinson College of Business at Georgia State University. His research has appeared in a number of academic journals including theJournal of Marketing Research, theJournal of Marketing, theJournal of Advertising Research, theCalifornia Management Review, theJournal of Retailing, theJournal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, Industrial Marketing Management, and theJournal of Business Research. He has authored four monographs and four textbooks on marketing research, sales, and retailing. Charles M. Brooks (brooks@quinnipiac.edu) (Ph.D., Georgia State University) is an associate professor and chair of the Department of Marketing and Advertising at Quinnipiac University. His research has appeared in theJournal of Business Research, theJournal of Retailing, Marketing Theory, and theJournal of Marketing Theory and Practice.     

The relationship of learning and memory with organizational performance: The moderating role of turbulence

Extensive research has documented how firms’ learning orientation and memory are related to organizational performance. The objective of this study is to examine the moderating role of turbulence on the relationships between firms’ learning orientation and memory and their organizational performance and innovativeness. The study also provides insight into the differential relationships of firms’ learning orientation and memory to their performance and innovativeness. Using survey data collected from 200 supply management professionals, the results suggest that the extent to which learning and memory are associated with organizational performance is contingent on the level of environmental turbulence. Specifically, under low environmental turbulence, learning orientation and organizational memory appear to be related to performance and innovativeness; however, under high environmental turbulence, only learning orientation is a useful predictor. Sangphet Hanvanich (hanvanich@xavier.edu) is an assistant professor of marketing at Xavier University. She received her PhD from Michigan State University. She has published in various journals including theJournal of Service Research andStrategic Management Journal. Her primary research interests are in the areas of marketing strategy, marketing alliances, international business, and international marketing. K. Sivakumar (k.sivakumar@lehigh.edu) (PhD, Syracuse University) is the Arthur Tauck Professor of International Marketing and Logistics, chairperson, and a professor of marketing in the Department of Marketing at Lehigh University. Before joining Lehigh in 2001, he spent 9 years as a faculty member with the University of Illinois at Chicago. His research interests include pricing, global marketing, and innovation management. His research has been published in theJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science, the Journal of Marketing, theJournal of International Business Studies, Decision Sciences Journal, Marketing Letters, the Journal of Business Research, the Journal of Interactive Marketing, theJournal of International Marketing, International Marketing Review, theJournal of Product Innovation Management, Pricing Strategy & Practice: An International Journal, Psychology & Marketing, Marketing Science Institute’s Working Paper Series, and other publications. He has won several awards for his research (including the Donald Lehmann Award) and is on the editorial review board of several scholarly journals. He has won outstanding reviewer awards from two journals. Home page: www.lehigh .edu/~kasg. G. Tomas M. Hult (nhult@msu.edu) is a professor of marketing and supply chain management and director of the Center for International Business Education and Research at Michigan State University. He serves as executive director of the Academy of International Business. He is associate editor of theJournal of International Business Studies, Decision Sciences, and theJournal of Operations Management. His research has been published in theJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Academy of Management Journal, Strategic Management Journal, theJournal of Marketing, Decision Sciences, theJournal of Operations Management, theJournal of Management, and theJournal of Retailing, among others.     

Efficacy of perceived risk as a correlate of reported donation behavior: An empirical analysis

Various environmental trends suggest a challenging future for nonprofit organizations’ quests for fund-raising and volunteer recruitment. Previous research indicates that the perceived risk paradigm may be a valuable framework for examining donation behavior. The evidence generated in this study shows that risk perception has little bearing on money and time donation behaviors. Results also suggest that while perceived risk does not predict donation behavior well, it improves prediction when used in conjunction with demographic variables. His articles have appeared in theJournal of Marketing Research, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of the Market Research Society, Long Range Planning, Journal of Business Research, andInternational Journal of Research in Marketing. Dr. Yavas serves on the editorial review boards of theJournal of Business Research, International Marketing Review, and other journals. His articles have appeared in theJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Business Research, andInternational Journal of Advertising. Dr. Riecken’s contributions have received outstanding paper awards at the conferences of the Decision Sciences Institute, Academy of Marketing Science, and Southwestern Marketing Association. His articles have appeared in theJournal of Marketing Research, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Retailing, Journal of Business Research, Journal of Advertising Research, Journal of Consumer Affairs, and other marketing and management journals. Dr. Babakus serves on the editorial review boards of theJournal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, Journal of Business Research, and other marketing journals.     

The influence of ethical climate and ethical conflict on role stress in the sales force

Several leading models of ethical decision making include factors contributing to an organization’s ethical climate as significant determinants affecting ethical choice. The relationship of ethical climate to ethical conflict and role conflict is examined in a salesperson context. Results suggest that salespersons’ perceptions of a positive ethical climate are negatively associated with their perceived ethical conflict with sales managers. Implications and directions for future research are provided. He has experience in wholesale and retail sales. His research interests are in sales, sales management, marketing ethics, and consumer behavior. His articles have appeared in theJournal of Public Policy and Marketing, Journal of Business Ethnics, Journal of Marketing Management, Journal of Marketing Theory & Practice, andIndustrial Marketing Management, as well as various national and regional proceedings. He is coauthor ofSales Management: Analysis and Decision-Making. He is currently the president of the Academic Council of the American Marketing Association. He is a Southern Marketing Association Fellow and a Southwestern Marketing Association Fellow. He has published 15 books and more than 50 articles. His books includeMarketing: Concepts and Strategies andBusiness Ethics. His work has appeared inJournal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, among others. His major research focus is marketing implementation and ethical compliance frameworks for organizations. Before commencing his academic career, he worked in sales, product management, and sales management with Exxon and Mobil. He has received various teaching and research awards, including being named the Marketing Educator of the Year by Sales and Marketing Executives International (SMEI). His primary research is in personal selling and sales management. His work has appeared inJournal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management, andJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science, among others. He is the coauthor of five textbooks, includingThe Professional Selling Skills Workbook, Sales Management: Analysis and Decision-Making, andMarketing Principles and Perspective.     

Decision-making time in organizational buying behavior: An investigation of its antecedents

This study reports an empirical investigation focusing on the length of time firms take in making major purchase decisions (DMT) and examines antecedents such as buyclass, firm size, decision-making unit (DMU) size, information sources, and size of the consideration set. Data were provided by a national sample of organizations involved in the purchase of telecommunications systems. Findings suggest that firm size, buyclass, DMU size, information sources, and size of consideration set all significantly affect DMT. Antecedent relationships among the independent variables were also largely as expected. This study provides a starting point for a fertile area of research with important implications for organizational buyers and sellers as well as researchers. She holds a B.S. in Marketing and an MBA from the University of California at Berkeley and a Ph.D. in Marketing from Northwestern University. Her research interests are in the areas of technology diffusion and management as well as consumer behavior, advertising, and macromarketing. She has published in theJournal of Consumer Research, Public Opinion Quarterly, Journal of Business Research, Journal of Macromarketing, European Journal of Marketing, IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, Telematics and Informatics, andJournal of Economic Psychology. She is a member of the Editorial Policy Board of the Journal of Macromarketing and President of the International Society for Marketing and Development. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Nebraska. Dr. Johnson’s research interests focus on interorganizational relationships in marketing contexts, such as distribution channels or business-to-business marketing with emphasis on cross-culture interorganizational marketing relationships. Dr. Johnson’s research has appeared in theJournal of Marketing, Journal of International Business Studies, Journal of Business Research, andCurrent Issues and Research in Advertising, among other journals and conference proceedings. She has also presented her work at a variety of domestic and international conferences. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. His research interests are in the areas of pricing, consumer behavior, and marketing research. He is coauthor ofConsumer Behavior: Concepts and Applications, currently in its fourth edition, and his research has been published inDecision Sciences, Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of Business Research, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Macromarketing, Journal of Retailing, Journalism Quarterly, and other leading journals and publications of professional societies. He holds degrees in engineering and management from India and a Ph.D. in marketing from Northwestern University. Dr. Dholakia’s research deals with technology, innovation, market processes, globalization, and consumer culture. Dr. Dholakia has published over 70 papers in professional journals and proceedings in management, marketing, and technology. Among his books areEssentials of New Product Management (coauthored, Prentice-Hall, 1987).     

The effects of downsizing on organizational buying behavior: An empirical investigation

To survive in today’s highly competitive markets, many firms are initiating fundamental changes in organizational form and practice. These restructuring efforts are having significant effects on the organization and management of work within customer firms. However, these important changes have been largely ignored in the extant marketing literature. The research presented in this article first describes a general theory of the effects of organizational downsizing. Then, it examines the potential effects of downsizing on buying center structure and purchase participant characteristics. Findings support several of the hypotheses related to the proposed effects of organizational downsizing on the outcome variables of interest. Jeffrey E. Lewin (Ph.D., Georgia State University) is an assistant professor and Chair, Department of Marketing at Western Carolina University. His research interests include business-to-business marketing, relationship marketing, personal selling and sales management, and organizational buying behavior. His work has been published in theJournal of Business Research, theJournal of Business & Industrial Marketing, Advances in Business Marketing and Purchasing, and other publications. He serves on the editorial review boards of theJournal of Business Research and theJournal of Business & Industrial Marketing and is a reviewer for theJournal of Business-to-Business Marketing, theJournal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, andIndustrial Marketing Management.     

Psychological climate, empowerment, leadership style, and customer-oriented selling: An analysis of the sales manager-salesperson dyad

This study examined antecedents and performancerelated consequences of customer-oriented selling. The antecedents include sales managers’ leadership styles, psychological empowerment, and the psychological climates of organizations. Data were gathered on two separate performance outcome measures. Responses from 106 sales managers and 313 sales representatives were analyzed. The results indicate that transformational leadership, empowerment, and specific components of the psychological climate are important predictors of customer-oriented selling. Craig A. Martin (craig.martin@wku.edu), PhD, is an assistant professor of marketing in the Department of Marketing at Western Kentucky University. He received his PhD from the University of Memphis. He specializes in sales and sales management, the consumer socialization of adolescents, sports marketing, and advertising to adolescents. He has had research accepted for publication in theJournal of Advertising, theJournal of Advertising Research, theJournal of Consumer Marketing, theJournal of Business and Industrial Marketing, theJournal of Marketing Theory and Practice, theMarketing Management Journal, theInternational Journal of Retail and Distribution Management, theInternational Journal of Internet Marketing and Advertising, and multiple national and regional conferences. Alan J. Bush (alanbush@memphis.edu), PhD, is a professor of marketing in the Department of Marketing and Supply Chain Management at the University of Memphis. He received his Ph.D. from Louisiana State University. His current research interests are primarily sales force research and sports marketing. His research has appeared in theJournal of Marketing Research, theJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science, theJournal of Business Research, theJournal of Retailing, theJournal of Advertising, theJournal of Advertising Research, theJournal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, and others.     

“Migrating” to new service providers: Toward a unifying framework of consumers’ switching behaviors

This article explores the applicability of a model of migration from the human geography literature as a unifying, theoretical framework for understanding consumers’ service provider switching behaviors. Survey data from approximately 700 consumers are used to examine the usefulness of the push, pull, and moorings (PPM) migration model. The PPM migration model performs better than an alternative model; all three categories of antecedents to switching (migration)—push, pull, and mooring variables—have significant direct, and some moderating, effects on switching intentions. Harvir S. Bansal (Ph.D., Queen’s University, hbansal@wlu.ca) is an associate professor of marketing at Wilfrid Laurier University. His research interests are focused in the area of services marketing with emphasis on customer switching behavior, word-of-mouth processes in services, structural equation modeling, and tourism. His research has been published in theJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science, the Journal of Services Marketing, the Journal of Service Research, Tourism Management, theJournal of Quality Management, andPsychology and Marketing. He has also presented at and published articles in the proceedings of various national and international conferences. Shirley F. Taylor (Ph.D., University of British Columbia, staylor@business.queensu.ca) is an associate professor in the School of Business at Queen’s University, where she teaches and conducts research in the area of services marketing. Her research interests include service provider loyalty and switching, customer commitment, and perceptions management of service delays. Her work has been published in theJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science, the Journal of Marketing, Psychology & Marketing, theJournal of Service Research, theInternational Journal of Research in Marketing, and theJournal of Public Policy and Marketing. She currently serves on the editorial boards of theJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science, theJournal of Business Research and the Canadian Journal of Administrative Sciences. Yannik St. James (ystjames@business.queensu.ca) is a doctoral candidate in the School of Business at Queen’s University, where she conducts research at the intersection of consumer behavior and marketing strategy. Her research interests include the role of affect in consumer behavior, brand management, and services marketing. She has presented her work at the Association for Consumer Research Conference, the Academy of Marketing Science Conference, and the Frontiers in Services Conference.