Slotting allowances: a time series analysis of aggregate effects over three decades

Slotting fees and related discounts are important but controversial mechanisms for obtaining shelf space in marketing channels for consumer packaged goods. The theoretical field is divided between the efficient market and the market power schools of thought. Results from empirical studies and analytical models point in different directions. This paper analyzes trends in key macro economic variables to see if the patterns are more consistent with an underlying market efficiency model vs. a market power one. The data span 30+ years and focus on retailers in the marketing channel for food and kindred products. The variables studied include new product introductions, retail selling area, consumer price indices, profitability, cost of goods sold and selling expenditures. Efficient market explanations do not fare well in the analyses in comparison with market power explanations for practically all the variables studied. The paper conlcudes with recommendations for regulators and retail management.     

Optimizing marketer costs and consumer benefits across “clicks” and “bricks”

The Internet has revolutionized the retailing landscape and how goods and services are sold and distributed to consumers. One avenue of significant growth in online selling comes from multichannel retailers who offer products in stores as well as over the Web. These hybrids may leverage their “brick” locations by allowing customers to pick up or return orders purchased online at retail stores. This option lets Web-based buyers avoid added shipping costs and long package carrier lead times, albeit at a cost to retailers. To examine the viability of this strategy, we develop a mathematical model that examines the cost and value of providing in-store pickup and return. The model is used to determine the best subset of brick-and-mortar stores to handle in-store pickup and return demand. One of the principal takeaways is that not all retail stores should be offering in-store pickups and/or returns. Our computational results show optimizing the set of pickup and return locations may reduce system cost over baseline marketing policies where these services are set up at all or none of a retailer’s stores. In addition, we show that retailers can significantly improve some consumer benefits at little extra cost.     

A test of the share/price market planning relationship in one retail environment

Over the past few years two important approaches to marketing strategy planning have been developed. A key planning relationship in each approach is the relationship between prices and market share. The Boston Consulting Group suggests that market share leaders match the prices of their lowest priced competitors while the Profit Impact of Marketing Strategies study has found that share leaders have higher prices. Which is correct? This empirical study tests the direction of the share price relationship in one specific retail environment, namely gasoline retail markets. The results strongly indicate that the share leaders in gasoline retailing consistently have higher prices then their lower share competitors. The study represents the first time that marketing planning relationships such as that between share and price have been extended to retail operations from their more traditional areas of application in marketing by manufacturers.     

Transparent pricing: theory,tests, and implications for marketing practice

In today’s retail markets, products display opaque pricing, i.e., a single number that provides no information about the allocation of the retail proceeds among agents who bring the product to market. We study transparent pricing, which is an alternative strategy in which allocation information is revealed. We differentiate transparent pricing from related marketing practices such as social marketing, cause-related marketing, and pay-what-you-want. Using controlled experiments in multiple product categories with diverse sampling frames, we find that transparent prices systematically alter consumer utility functions and stated choice behavior. Our results support explanations drawn from both neoclassical and behavioral economic theory, including inequity aversion, procedural justice, and altruism. Classical theory predicts that price transparency should have little effect on consumer behavior. However, results from behavioral economics suggest that consumers may relax “self-interest” in the face of transparent prices, leading to counter-intuitive preferences. For example, in one set of studies we observe a significant proportion of consumers selecting the more expensive of two replicates of the same product. In another study, a subset of motorists willingly pays higher gasoline taxes for the same gallon of gas, increasing the overall price per gallon. We explain this behavior via parameterized utility functions that contain both self-interested and other-interested components moderated by characteristics of the decision-maker and characteristics of the choice context.     

微观视角下的零供冲突及其解决对策探讨

解决零供冲突对理顺零售商与供应商的关系、完善供应链管理、维护零供双方以及消费者的利益有着重要的现实意义。零供冲突具体表现为低、中、高三个层次,高层次营销领域内的冲突才是零供冲突最终的表现形式和真正的发展趋势。零供冲突产生的原因主要包括零售商牢牢掌控零售终端,供应商在销售渠道建设方面力不从心、产品缺乏差异性、长期“寄人篱下”并利用零售商卖场“做广告”以及品类管理与品牌管理所产生的冲突等方面。供应商应加强产品创新、以品牌力量为导向强化市场推广、组成联盟对抗零售商、自建销售渠道摆脱对零售商的依赖以及与零售商共同商定合理的供应链利益分配比例,有效化解零供冲突。     

A model of sales supervisor leadership behavior and retail salespeople’s job-related outcomes

Retail salespeople play an important role in a retailer’s marketing mix, yet little empirical research has examined how retail managers might assist sales personnel in the performance of their jobs. This paper reports the results of a study that explored a causal model of sales supervisor “leadership behavior” and seven job-related outcomes of retail salespeople. Implications for retailers and researchers are provided.     

Gaining comparative advantage in supply chain relationships: the mediating role of market-oriented IT competence

Trading partners continue to make significant investments in information technology (IT) infrastructure to facilitate the flow of market information across supply chains, yet the underlying mechanisms linking IT implementation to firm performance have not been clearly specified. Drawing on the resource-advantage theory of competition, we develop and test a model that proposes market-oriented IT competence as a mediator of the effects of a firm’s IT infrastructure on market information flow which, in turn, yields comparative advantages in supply chain relationships. Market-oriented IT competence is conceptualized as a firm’s ability to deploy an IT infrastructure in support of the organization-wide collection, dissemination and use of market information to respond to market needs. We test the effects of market-oriented IT competence using data collected from managers in the logistics services industry. Findings show that market-oriented IT competence is a critical link between IT infrastructure and comparative advantage in supply chain relationships.     

The role of slotting fees and introductory allowances in retail buyers’ new-product acceptance decisions

Although slotting fees and introductory allowances have become well established in the grocery and other industries, they remain a source of controversy among channel members. Retailers claim that these fees and allowances help mitigate the risks associated with new-product acceptance. Manufacturers counter that retailers are abusing slotting fees and allowances by using them as a source of profit. The authors investigate this controversy by empirically examining the role of slotting fees and allowances in the retail buyers’ product acceptance decision process. Results provide evidence to suggest that introductory allowances are indeed being used by retailers in the sample to offset perceived risks and costs of carrying new products. However, findings regarding slotting fees are much less supportive of retailers’ claims. J. Chris White (Ph.D., Texas A&M University) is an assistant professor at the University of Central Florida. His primary research and teaching interests include marketing strategy and management, retail management, international strategy, and promotion strategy. Lisa C. Troy (Ph.D., Texas A&M University) is an assistant professor of marketing at Utah State University. Her primary research and teaching interests include product innovation and new product development, marketing strategy, retail management, and international marketing. R. Nicholas Gerlich (Ph.D., Indiana University) is an associate professor of marketing at West Texas A&M University. He is actively involved in the development of Web-based courses and has research interests in the marketing of new products.     

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.     

The negative effect of policy restrictions on consumers’ post-purchase reactions to price-matching guarantees

Price-Matching Guarantees (PMGs) are a mechanism by which retailers can reassure consumers of the competitive price of products they offer. While current research in marketing has studied consumers’ pre-purchase perceptions of the retailer as a result of offering price-matching guarantees, research on the post-purchase impact of PMGs has been relatively limited. While price-matching guarantees are typically assumed to result in positive consumer perceptions of the retailer, no study to date has examined the potentially negative post-purchase impact of PMGs. This paper examines the potential negative effect of policy restrictions which may prevent the disbursement of a price-matching refund, on consumer perceptions. Two experiments (Experiment 1 n = 120, Experiment 2 n = 50) are utilized to dissect the impact of policy restrictions on consumers’ perceptions of service quality, price, and loyalty. The paper concludes with a discussion of the managerial implications of the findings on price-matching guarantee policies. All authors contributed equally to the paper and are listed in alphabetical order. This research has been supported by a research grant from the Fordham University Graduate School of Business, the Babson Board of Research, and the Marketing Science Institute.     

Technology and the customer interface: What consumers want in the physical and virtual store

For companies to realize the benefits of recent innovations in customer interface technology, they need to understand the value consumers place on technology as part of the shopping process. A national survey of 2,120 online consumers was conducted to explore how people want to shop in both online and in-store environments and determine how interactive and conventional media work together to move consumers through the purchase process. The study investigated 128 different aspects of the shopping experience, from common elements to recent innovations. The results indicated that consumers are generally satisfied with the convenience, quality, selection, and value provided by retailers today. They are less satisfied with the level of service provided, the availability of product information, and the speed of the shopping process. The findings suggest that new technologies can enhance the shopping experience, but applications must be tailored to the unique requirements of consumer segments and product categories. Raymond R. Burke is the E. W. Kelley Professor of Business Administration at Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business and the founding director of the school’s Customer Interface Laboratory. His research focuses on understanding the influence of point-of-purchase factors and new retailing technologies on consumer shopping behavior. Prior to joining Indiana University, he served on the faculties of the Harvard Business School and the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School. He has consulted for a number of leading manufacturers and retailers, and his virtual shopping technology is used by market research firms around the world. His articles have appeared in various professional journals, including theHarvard Business Review, theJournal of Consumer Research, theJournal of Marketing, andMarketing Science. He is also coauthor ofADSTRAT: An Advertising Decision Support System.     

Why do suppliers choose wholesale price contracts? End-of-season payments disincentivize retailer marketing effort

Although theoretical work has shown that end-of-season payment contracts, which allow suppliers and retailers to share the cost of unsold inventory, increase total profit, most suppliers and retailers today still use simple wholesale price contracts. In a series of experimental studies, we show that supplier preferences for wholesale price contracts can be explained by their concern that end-of-season payments contracts will disincentivize retailer marketing effort. Moreover, suppliers’ pessimistic predictions regarding reduced retailer effort are confirmed by retailers’ reduced investment in marketing effort in our experiments. Our results suggest that for suppliers and retailers to benefit from end-of-season payments contracts, retailers should publicize their demand-enhancing marketing practices.     

Explaining the variation in short-term sales response to retail price promotions

This study focuses on the short-term sales response to price promotions in retail grocery stores and attempts to explain its variation using frequency of price promotions and the consecutive scheduling of price promotions. Retail managers’ expectations and tenets from behavioral theories provide the basis for the hypotheses that the frequency of price promotions and consecutive scheduling of price promotions affect short-term response to price promotions. The hypotheses are tested on three frequently purchased product categories, using store-level data from retail chains in three major markets. The analysis is validated with additional data on the same product categories and markets. A variety of managerial implications are drawn from the results and suggestions for future research are offered. He has been recognized with numerous teaching and research excellence awards. Dr. Kumar has published numerous articles in many scholarly journals in marketing and forecasting. He has coauthored a text titledMarketing Research and is currently working on two other textbooks. He is on the editorial review board of many journals. Dr. Kumar has lectured on marketing-related topics in various universities worldwide. His research interests include developing forecasting models, international marketing strategy and international marketing research issues, models for sales promotions, and new methodologies for product positioning and market segmentation. Dr. Kumar received his doctoral degree from the University of Texas at Austin. He has published articles about retailing and marketing strategy in scholarly journals such as theJournal of Retailing, International Journal of Research in Marketing, andJournal of Business Ethics. His current research interest focuses on models for sales promotions and marketing strategy. Dr. Pereira received his doctoral degree from the University of Houston.     

当前全球消费市场发展研究

利用翔实数据比较2010年以来全球消费市场的发展情况。认为中国零售市场增长极快，全球零售商250强增速明显，发达国家零售巨头地位仍举足轻重。世界500强企业中，百货、超市、专业店增长放低。     

The accuracy of brand and attribute judgments: The role of information relevancy, product experience, and attribute-relationship schemata

A multidimensional approach for accuracy of ratings is introduced that examines consumers’ abilities to assess various brands across a set of attributes and attribute performances across a set of brands. A model is presented that addresses the roles of the relevancy of information, attribute-relationship schemata, and consumers’ product category experience on the accuracy of their brand attribute ratings. Study participants were provided either with relevant or irrelevant attribute information for various automobile brands and later asked to rate the attribute performances of brands. The results indicate that the provision of relevant information in the judgment environment increases brand and attribute rating accuracy but does not favorably affect consumers’ brand attribute-relationship schemata. Rather, consumers’ product experience was directly related to their attribute-relationship schemata, which in turn were related to improved accuracy of brand and attribute ratings. Kevin Mason is an associate professor of marketing at Arkansas Tech University. His research interests include consumer information processing and choice strategies. He has published in theJournal of Marketing Theory and Practice, Journal of Consumer Marketing, Central Business Review, Journal for the Association of Marketing Educators, andInternational Advances in Economics Research. Thomas Jensen is professor and Wal-Mart lecturer in retailing in the Department of Marketing and Transportation at the University of Arkansas. His research interests include consumer information processing, advertising and price perceptions, and retail image and patronage. His work has been published in theJournal of Consumer Research, Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, Psychology and Marketing, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, Journal of Retailing, Journal of Business Research, and other journals. Scot Burton is professor and Wal-Mart chairholder in marketing, Department of Marketing and Transportation, University of Arkansas. His research interests include public policy and consumer welfare concerns, survey research measurement issues, and consumer price and promotion perceptions. His work has been published in theJournal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Public Opinion Quarterly, Journal of Applied Psychology, Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, Journal of Retailing, and other journals. Dave Roach is a professor of management at Arkansas Tech University. His research interests include information processing, judgmental accuracy, and organization change. He has published inHuman Relations, Journal of Applied Psychology, International Journal of Computer Integrated Manufacturing, Journal of Information Technology Management, Journal of Consumer Marketing, Central Business Review, andJournal for the Association of Marketing Educators.     

The role of customer service in determining customer satisfaction

Most consumer satisfaction/dissatisfaction research is focussed either on identifying product classes and personal/usage characteristics associated with dissatisfaction, or is focussed on modelling the psychological processes underlying the phenomenon. Most retailers, on the other hand, focus only on handling customer complaints. This paper focuses on retailer controllable sources of customer dissatisfaction. Findings from a large scale Canadian survey of 982 cases of recent automobile buyers show that while there are some differences in the determinants of consumer satisfaction among four different car models, it is the dealer-related factors that exert the greatest effects. Specific implications are highlighted for the retailer’s attention and possible retail responses are discussed.     

Comparison of consumer reactions to price-matching guarantees in internet and bricks-and-mortar retail environments

The present study investigates consumer responses to price-matching guarantees (PMGs) in the Internet environment and contrasts them with their responses in a traditional bricks-and-mortar retail environment. The effect of store reputation on consumer responses to price-matching policies is also investigated in both Internet and bricks-and-mortar retail settings. Two studies using a 2 × 2 × 2 between-subjects full factorial experimental design with two levels of PMG presence (PMG present, PMG absent), two levels of retail environment (Internet, bricks-and-mortar), and two levels of store reputation (no/low reputation, high reputation) were conducted. In study 1 reputation was manipulated using store names, while in study 2 the reputation was manipulated using store characteristics. The findings of two studies suggest that consumer reactions to price-matching guarantees, such as store price perceptions, postpurchase search intentions, and willingness to claim a refund if a lower competitive price is found, differ across the two purchase environments.     

Determinants of retail profit performance: A consideration of retail marketing strategies

The influence of retail marketing strategies on profit performance was investigated for a sample of thirty-five retail firms for the nine year period from 1970–1978 (n=315). Sales growth, market share, the capital-to-labor-ratio, and average inventory were found to be significantly associated with profit performance as hypothesized. Findings suggest that the keys to evaluating and selecting retail marketing strategies are: the impact on sales growth, market share, capital-to-labor ratios, and the average inventory level. Managerial implications are presented.     

Outsourcing and its implications for market success: negative curvilinearity,firm resources,and competition

Over the past few decades, outsourcing has become a widely used and researched means for firms to change their performance. In this article, we attempt to link outsourcing to the market success of firms, specifically their market share. We argue that although firms may be able to increase their market share through outsourcing, this is only true up to a point, beyond which market share actually decreases as a consequence of further outsourcing. There is, in other words, a negatively curvilinear (inverted U-shape) relationship between outsourcing and market share. We also hypothesize that the outsourcing–market share relationship is moderated negatively by both the strength of firm resources and the extent of competition in a firm’s market. We empirically confirm these arguments through a panel data analysis containing over 19,000 observations on manufacturing firms and offer some case examples to illustrate the mechanisms driving these results. Finally, we discuss implications for marketing research and practice.     

Assessing the predictive validity of two methods of measuring self-image congruence

The predictive validity of two measurement methods of self-image congruence—traditional versus new—were compared in six studies involving different consumer populations, products, consumption settings, and dependent variables (brand preference, preference for product form, consumer satisfaction/dissatisfaction, brand attitude, and program choice). The traditional method is based on tapping the subject’s perception of product-user image and the subject’s perception of his/her self-image along a predetermined set of image attributes and adding the self-congruity scores across all image dimensions. Three problems were identified and discussed in relation to the traditional method: (1) the use of discrepancy scores, (2) the possible use of irrelevant images, and (3) the use of the compensatory decision rule. The new method is based on tapping the psychological experience of self-congruity directly and globally. The findings demonstrated the predictive validity of the new method over and beyond the traditional method. His research interests are mostly in self-concept, quality of life, and systems theory. His research interests are mostly in pricing and product quality. Her research interests are primarily in family decision making. Her research interests focus on the social psychology of clothing and patronage of clothing retailers. His research interests are mainly in the social psychology of travel and leisure behavior. His research interests are mainly focused on self-concept, quality of life, environmental marketing, and sports marketing. His research interests are mainly in self-concept and value-expressive advertising. He is the Academy of Marketing Science Distinguished Professor of Business and is the founder of the Academy of Marketing Science. He currently serves as the organization’s executive director. His research interests are mostly in consumer behavior and advertising.