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.     

Customer value,satisfaction, loyalty,and switching costs: An illustration from a business-to-business service context

Although researchers and managers pay increasing attention to customer value, satisfaction, loyalty, and switching costs, not much is known about their interrelationships. Prior research has examined the relationships within subsets of these constructs, mainly in the business-to-consumer (B2C) environment. The authors extend prior research by developing a conceptual framework linking all of these constructs in a business-to-business (B2B) service setting. On the basis of the cognition-affect-behavior model, the authors hypothesize that customer satisfaction mediates the relationship between customer value and customer loyalty, and that customer satisfaction and loyalty have significant reciprocal effects on each other. Furthermore, the potential interaction effect of satisfaction and switching costs, and the quadratic effect of satisfaction, on loyalty are explored. The authors test the hypotheses on data obtained from a courier service provider in a B2B context. The results support most of the hypotheses and, in particular, confirm the mediating role of customer satisfaction. Shun Yin Lam (asylam@ntu.edu.sg; fax: 65-6791-3697) is an assistant professor of marketing and international business in the Nanyang Business School at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. Lam received his Ph.D. from the University of Western Ontario and has research interests in a number of areas including retail marketing, customer loyalty, and customers’ adoption and usage of technology. His work has appeared inMarketing Science, theJournal of Retailing, theInternational Journal of Research in Marketing, andAdvances in Consumer Research. Venkatesh (Venky) Shankar (vshankar@rhsmith.umd.edu) is Ralph J. Tyser Fellow and an associate professor of marketing in the Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland. His areas of research are e-business, competitive strategy, international marketing, pricing, new product management, and supply chain management. His research has been published or is forthcoming in theJournal of Marketing Research, Marketing Science, theJournal of Marketing, theStrategic Management Journal, theJournal of Retailing, theInternational Journal of Research in Marketing, theJournal of Public Policy and Marketing, andMarketing Letters. he is co-editor of theJournal of Interactive Marketing; associate editor ofManagement Science; and serves on the editorial boards ofMarketing Science, theJournal of Marketing, theInternational Journal of Research in Marketing, theJournal of Retailing, and theJournal of Academy of Marketing Science. He is a three-time winner of the Krowe Award for Outstanding Teaching and teaches Marketing Management, Digital Business Strategy, Competitive Marketing Strategy, and International Marketing (http://www.venkyshankar.com). M. Krishna Erramilli (amkerramilli@ntu.edu.sg) is an associate professor of marketing and international business in the Nanyang Business School at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. He has undertaken many studies on marketing strategy issues in service firms, particularly in an international context, and has published his work in journals like theJournal of Marketing, theJournal of International Business Studies, theColumbia Journal of World Business, and theJournal of Business Research. He has presented numerous papers at international conferences. His current research interests center on the international expansion of Asia-based service firms. Bvsan Murthy (abmurthy@ntu.edu.sg) is an associate professor of marketing and international business in the Nanyang Business School at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. Prior to turning to the academe a decade ago, he had 20 years of international industry experience. He has published in journals likeThe Cornell H.R.A. Quarterly and theInternational Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management and has also written industry white papers/monographs and chapters in books. His current research interests center on strategic services marketing/management and customer value management.     

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.     

Creating a firm-level dynamic capability through capitalizing on market orientation and innovativeness

Drawing on the resource-based view of the firm, this study addresses the dynamic capability-generating capacity of market orientation on firm performance. Whereas prior literature has examined environmental turbulence as a contextual condition shaping the market orientation-firm performance relationship, this study takes an internal approach by focusing on existing stocks of resources within the firm while controlling for environmental conditions. A conceptual model is developed that explains how market orientation can be transformed into dynamic capability when complemented by transformational (reconfig-urational) constructs, such as innovativeness. The empirical results support the authors— theory that the effect of market orientation on firm performance is strengthened when market orientation is bundled together with internal complementary resources, such as innovativeness. The authors discuss the findings in the context of varying stages of the product life cycle and at different levels of market development. Bulent Menguc (menguc@brocku.ca), Ph.D., Marmara University, is currently an associate professor of marketing at Brock University, St. Catharines, Canada. His areas of research interest include sales force management and internal marketing, strategic orientations, and cross-cultural research methodology. His research has appeared in theJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science, theJournal of Retailing, theInternational Journal of Research in Marketing, theJournal of Business Research, theJournal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, Industrial Marketing Management, theJournal of Business Ethics, and theEuropean Journal of Marketing, among others. Seigyoung Auh (sauh@yonsei.ac.kr), Ph.D., University of Michigan, is an assistant professor at Yonsei University, South Korea. His research interests are the application of the resource-based view to marketing strategy, the role of top management teams on marketing strategy, and innovation and organizational learning. He has publications in theJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science, theInternational Journal of Research in Marketing, theJournal of Business Research, Industrial Marketing Management, and theJournal of Economic Psychology, among others.     

Market-focused strategic flexibility: Conceptual advances and an integrative model

This article develops the concept of market-focused strategic flexibility. It begins with a review of the historical perspectives of strategic flexibility. To support the conceptualization, the authors offer a theoretical schema that considers market-focused strategic flexibility as conceptually rooted in capabilities theory, resource-based views of the firm, and options. With the conceptualization in place, the authors propose an integrative model that explicates the mediating role of market-focused strategic flexibility in marketing strategy frameworks. Propositions are developed relating market-driven and driving orientations to market-focused strategic flexibility with consideration for how turbulent macro environments modify the relationship. In addition, the authors offer propositions regarding outcomes of market-focused strategic flexibility under conditions of macro environmental turbulence. Jean L. Johnson is an associate professor of marketing at Washington State University. Her research includes partnering capabilities development in, and management of, interfirm relationships and management of international strategic alliances. Her research appears in journals such as theJournal of Marketing, theJournal of International Business Studies, theJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science, and theInternational Journal of Research in Marketing. She serves on the editorial boards of theJournal of Marketing and theJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science and reviews for others. She spent several years in the advertising industry and has lived, taught, and conducted research in France and Japan. Ruby Pui-Wan Lee is a doctoral candidate in the marketing department at Washington State University. Her areas of research include interfirm relationships marketing strategy, and international marketing. She has presented papers at major conferences. In addition, her research has appeared in the theJournal of Advertising Research and theJournal of International Consumer Marketing. Amit Saini is a doctoral candidate in marketing at Washington State University. He conducts research in the area of marketing strategy implementation, technology-marketing interface, e-commerce strategy, and customer relationship management. He has presented papers at major conferences, and his research appears in theAmerican Marketing Association—Marketing Educator's Conference Proceedings. His industry experience includes sales management and quantitative market research. Bianca Grohmann is an assistant professor in the John Molson School of Business at Concordia University. She received her Ph.D. from Washington State University in 2002. Her research focuses on consumer behavior issues such as gift giving, selfprophecy, and consumer response to sensory stimuli in purchase situations. She has made numerous presentations at major conferences such as those of the Association for Consumer Research and the Society for Consumer Psychology.     

The role of contingency awareness,involvement, and need for cognition in attitude formation

This research investigates the role of involvement and need for cognition in influencing contingency awareness in attitude formation. Two experiments examine the nature of favorable attitudes formulated through established classical conditioning procedures. The results of Experiment 1 indicate that awareness influences attitudes toward a conditioned stimulus, particularly under conditions of high involvement and high need for cognition. Experiment 2 suggests that contingency awareness mediates the relationship between inferential belief formation and attitudes and that this effect is stronger under high involvement and high need for cognition. Implications for understanding the role of classical conditioning procedures in advertising are discussed. Randi Priluck (Rpriluck@pace.edu) is an associate professor of marketing at Pace University in New York. She received her Ph.D. from Drexel University in 1995. Her research areas of interest include classical conditioning and its advertising implications, cobranding strategies, and relationship marketing. She has written articles for theJournal of Advertising, theJournal of Current Issues and Research in Advertising, theJournal of Product & Brand Management, Psychology & Marketing, theJournal of Consumer Marketing, theJournal of Marketing Management, theJournal of Marketing Practice: Applied Marketing Science, theInternational Journal of Consumer Marketing, theInternational Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, theJournal of Marketing Education, and theJournal of Services Marketing. Brian D. Till (Tillbd@slu.edu) is an associate professor and chair of marketing at Saint Louis University. He received his Ph.D. from the University of South Carolina in 1993. His research areas of interest include classical conditioning, cobranding strategies, and the use of celebrity endorsers in advertising. He has published in theJournal of Marketing Research, theJournal of Advertising, theJournal of Current Issues and Research in Advertising, Psychology & Marketing, theJournal of Product and Brand Management, and theJournal of Consumer Marketing.     

A framework for market-based organizational learning: Linking values, knowledge, and behavior

The authors review the concept of organizational learning and present a broad conceptual framework for its modeling. Within this framework, one specific process for market-based organizational learning is postulated. An empirical test of this model leads the authors to conclude that a more positive learning orientation (a value-based construct) will directly result in increased market information generation and dissemination (knowledge-based constructs), which, in turn, directly affects the degree to which an organization makes changes in its marketing strategies (a behavioral construct). Managerial implications are discussed. His research interests lie primarily in the areas of organizational information use and market-based organizational learning. His work has been published in theJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Advertising Research, Journal of Business Research, andJournal of Marketing. His research interests include both individual and organizational learning. He has published in the areas of consumer decision making, advertising effectiveness, and market-based organizational learning. His research interests include organizational marketing and marketing channels. His work has been published in theJournal of Marketing, Journal of Business and Economic Statistics, Journal of Business Logistics, Journal of Purchasing and Materials Management, andJournal of Health Care Marketing.     

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.     

Domestic country bias,country-of-origin effects,and consumer ethnocentrism: A multidimensional unfolding approach

This study uses a multidimensional unfolding approach to examine the preference patterns of U.K. consumers for domestic products and those originating from specific foreign countries for eight product categories. Results indicate that the observed variability in preferences is linked to consumer ethnocentrism. However, the latter's capability in explaining consumer bias in favor of domestic products is dependent both on the specific country of origin and the particular product category. Implications of the findings are considered and future research directions identified. George Balabanis (g.balabanis@city.ac.uk) is a senior lecturer at City University in London. He has published articles in several journals including theJournal of International Business Studies, theBritish Journal of Management, International Marketing Review, theEuropean Journal of Marketing, andInternational Business Review. Adamantios Diamantopoulos (a.diamantopoulos@lboro. ac.uk) is a professor of marketing and business research at Loughbough University Business School, United Kingdom. His main research interests are in international marketing and research methodology. His work has been published, among others, in theJournal of Marketing Research, theJournal of International business Studies, theInternational Journal of Research in Marketing, theInternational Jorunal of Forecasting, and theJournal of Business Research.     

Export channel design: The use of foreign distributors and agents

Because many manufacturers are unable to integrate vertically into global distribution, the nonintegrated market entry modes of foreign distributor and agent are frequently used. Unfortunately, little is known about choosing efficiently between distributor and agent because research has only partially examined the importance of transaction and production costs in determining institutional arrangements. To specify efficient channel design, this article develops and tests hypotheses linking the characteristics of export exchange to the cost-minimizing mode of export channel governance. Based on a sample of 269 manufacturers, results suggest that market diversity, type of transaction-specific asset, and production cost economies all affect the choice between foreign-based agents and distributors. The article concludes with the implications of these results for export management and future export research. He received his Ph.D. from Michigan State University. His research interests include distribution strategy and international marketing. He has published in theJournal of Marketing, European Journal of Marketing, Journal of International Business Studies, Journal of Business Research, Industrial Marketing Management, andJournal of Advertising. He serves on the editorial review boards of various professional journals including theJournal of Marketing and theJournal of Business Research. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Maryland. Her research interests include buyer-seller relationships and business-to-business marketing. She has published in theJournal of Business Research, Industrial Marketing Management, Journal of Global Marketing, and in the proceedings of various professional conferences.     

Relational benefits in services industries: The customer’s perspective

This research examines the benefits customers receive as a result of engaging in long-term relational exchanges with service firms. Findings from two studies indicate that consumer relational benefits can be categorized into three distinct benefit types: confidence, social, and special treatment benefits. Confidence benefits are received more and rated as more important than the other relational benefits by consumers, followed by social and special treatment benefits, respectively. Responses segmented by type of service business show a consistent pattern with respect to customer rankings of benefit importance. Management implications for relational strategies and future research implications of the findings are discussed. Kevin P. Gwinner is an assistant professor of marketing in the School of Business at East Carolina University, North Carolina. His primary research interest centers on improving and managing the performance of frontline, customer-contact employees. His research has been published in theInternational Journal of Service Industry Management, International Marketing Review, and theJournal of Marketing Education. Dwayne D. Gremler is an assistant professor of marketing in the College of Business and Economics at the University of Idaho. His current research interests are in services marketing, particularly customer loyalty and retention, relationship marketing, service encounters, and word-of-mouth communication. His work has been published in theInternational Journal of Service Industry Management, theJournal of Professional Services Marketing, andAdvances in Services Marketing and Management. Mary Jo Bitner is a professor of marketing and the research director for the Center for Services Marketing and Management at Arizona State University. Her research focuses on customer evaluations of service, service quality, and service delivery issues. She has published in theJournal of Marketing, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Business Research, Journal of Retailing, and theInternational Journal of Service Industry Management. She is coauthor of the textServices Marketing (McGraw-Hill, 1996).     

Managing culturally diverse buyer-seller relationships: The role of intercultural disposition and adaptive selling in developing intercultural communication competence

Given the increase in cultural diversity within marketing organizations as well as within current and potential customer bases, possessing the appropriate communication skills becomes crucial to success in managing culturally diverse relationships. Although marketing researchers have recognized the importance of adaptive selling behavior for successful buyer-seller relationships, the exploration of the intercultural aspects of these relationships has only recently begun. This article examines how adaptive selling behaviors and intercultural dispositions of marketing executives contribute to their perceived intercultural communication competence. Results show that in addition to being adaptive, the intercultural disposition of a marketer is of key importance in developing intercultural communication competence. Theoretical and practical implications for incorporating intercultural communication into the development of successful buyer-seller relationships are discussed. Victoria D. Bush (Ph.D., University of Memphis) is an associate professor of marketing at the University of Mississippi. Her research has appeared in such journals as theJournal of Advertising, theJournal of Advertising Research, Industrial Marketing Management, theJournal of Public Policy and Marketing, theJournal of Business Ethics, and theJournal of Services Marketing. Her research interests are in diversity, advertising, and ethics. Gregory M. Rose (Ph.D., University of Oregon) is an associate professor of marketing at the University of Mississippi. His research interests include consumer socialization and cross-cultural consumer behavior. He has published or has forthcoming articles in theJournal of Consumer Research, theJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science, theJournal of Business Research, theJournal of Consumer Psychology, theJournal of Advertising, theJournal of Marketing, and other journals and proceedings. Faye Gilbert (Ph.D., University of North Texas) is an associate professor of marketing at the University of Mississippi. She has published in theJournal of Business Research, Psychology and Marketing, theJournal of Health Care Marketing, theJournal of Research in Pharmaceutical Economics, theJournal of Applied Business Research, theJournal of Marketing Management, theJournal of Marketing Theory and Practice, and theJournal of Marketing Education, among others. Her work emphasizes the application of consumer behavior theory to health care and to channel relationships. Thomas N. Ingram (Ph.D., Georgia State University) is a professor of marketing at Colorado State University. He has been honored as the Marketing Educator of the Year by Sales and Marketing Executives International (SMEI) and as a recipient of the Mu Kappa Tau National Marketing Honor Society Recognition Award for Outstanding Scholarly Contributions to the Sales Discipline. He has served as the editor of theJournal of Personal Selling and Sales Management and is the current editor of theJournal of Marketing Theory and Practice. His primary research is in personal selling and sales management. His work has appeared in theJournal of Marketing, theJournal of Marketing Research, theJournal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, and theJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science, among others. He is the coauthor of three textbooks:Professional Selling: A Trust-Based Approach, Sales Management: Analysis and Decision Making, andMarketing: Principles and Perspectives.     

Re-examining salesperson goal orientations: Personality influencers, customer orientation, and work satisfaction

Several scholars have noted the importance of relationship marketing and the critical role that salesperson knowledge plays in the formation of buyer-seller relationships. However, research on salesperson learning motivations has been relatively scarce compared with research on firm-level learning orientations. One promising stream of research in this area is salesperson goal orientation. Drawing from previous work in control theory, the authors extend previous research in this area by proposing relationships between personality influencers, goal orientations, customer/selling orientation, and overall work satisfaction. Their hypotheses are tested using data obtained from a sample of 190 real estate agents. The results provide support for their hypothesized model. Specifically, learning orientation is shown to positively influence customer orientation, while performance orientation is shown to positively influence selling orientation. Eric G. Harris (eharris@lklnd.usf.edu Ph.D., Oklahoma State University) is an assistant professor of marketing at the University of South Florida. His current research interests include goal orientation, customer orientation, and personality models applied to consumer and employee behavior. He has published articles in theJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Psychology & Marketing, theJournal of Consumer Marketing, theJournal of Business & Psychology, Services Marketing Quarterly, theJournal of Services Marketing, and theJournal of Marketing Management. John C. Mowen (jcmmkt@okstate.edu) Ph.D., Arizona State University) is Regents Professor and holds the Noble Chair of Marketing Strategy at Oklahoma State University. He has published articles in numerous leading journals, including theJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science, theJournal of Marketing Research, theJournal of Marketing, Decisions Sciences, theJournal of Applied Psychology, theJournal of Personality and Social Psychology, Psychology and Marketing, and theJournal of Consumer Psychology. He is a past president of the Society for Consumer Psychology. His teaching and consulting interests focus on consumer behavior and motivating the workforce. His research focuses on the factors that motivate and influence the decisions of consumers and employees. Tom J. Brown (tom.brown@okstate.edu; Ph.D., University of Wisconsin) is Ardmore Professor of Business Administration and an associate professor of marketing at Oklahoma State University. His articles have appeared in leading marketing journals, including theJournal of Marketing Research, the Journal of Marketing, theJournal of Consumer Research, and theJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science. His current research interests include causes and effects of corporate reputation and the customer orientation of service workers. He is cofounder of the Corporate Identity/Associations Research Group. Teaching interests include marketing research, services marketing, and corporate communications. He is coauthor (with Gilbert A. Churchill Jr.) ofBasic Marketing Research (5th ed.). Consulting interests include marketing research, corporate reputation, and the customer orientation of service workers.     

Service quality, trust, specific asset investment, and expertise: Direct and indirect effects in a satisfaction-loyalty framework

This study proposes an integrated framework explaining loyalty responses in high-involvement, high-service luxury product markets. The model is rooted in the traditional (attribute satisfaction)-(overall satisfaction)-(loyalty) chain but explicitly incorporates facility versus interactive service quality, trust, specific asset investment (SAI), and product-market expertise. The authors focus on disentangling the direct versus indirect effects of model constructs on attitudinal versus behavioral loyalty responses. The results support the traditional chain but also show loyalty can be increased by building a trustworthy image and creating exchange-specific assets. The authors found that overall satisfaction is the precursor both to loyalty and to building SAI. Finally, consumers have different costs in reducing adverse selection problems with information, and thus the negative effect of product-market expertise on behavioral loyalty needs to be controlled if the direct versus indirect effects of model constructs on loyalty are to be disentangled. Jyh-Shen Chiou (jschiou@nccu.edu.tw) (PhD in marketing, Michigan State University) is a professor of marketing in the Department of International Business at National Chengchi University, Taipei. His research interests include satisfaction and loyalty, strategic marketing, and international marketing. His work has been published in theJournal of Service Research, Psychology & Marketing, theEuropean Journal of Marketing, theJournal of Interactive Marketing, Information & Management, theJournal of Social Psychology, theJournal of Business Logistics, Advances in Consumer Research, and other scholarly journals. He has taught courses in marketing research, strategic marketing, and global marketing. Cornelia Droge (droge@msu.edu) is a professor of marketing in the Department of Marketing and Supply Chain Management, the Eli Broad Graduate School of Management, at Michigan State University. Her research interests focus on satisfaction/ loyalty and strategic marketing (especially areas related to the interface of marketing with logistics, supply chain, and operations). Her work has appeared inManagement Science, theStrategic Management Journal, theJournal of Marketing Research, theJournal of Business Logistics, theJournal of Operations Management, theJournal of Product Innovation Management, and other scholarly journals. She is also coauthor of three books.     

Firm-level export performance assessment: Review, evaluation, and development

Export performance is one of the most widely researched but least understood and most contentious areas of international marketing. To some extent, this problem can be ascribed to difficulties in conceptualizing, operationalizing, and measuring the export performance construct, often leading to inconsistent and conflicting results. This study reviews and evaluates more than 100 articles of pertinent empirical studies to assess and critique export performance measurements. Based on gaps identified in this evluation, guidelines for export performance measure development are advanced, suggesting, however, a contingency approach in their application. Several conclusions and implications for export strategy and future research are derived from this analysis. Constantine S. Katsikeas holds the Sir Julian Hodge Chair in Marketing and International Business at Cardiff Business School, Cardiff University. His main research interests lie in the areas of international marketing and purchasing, global strategic alliances, and competitive strategy. He has published widely in these fields and his articles have appeared inJournal of International Business Studies, Journal of International Marketing, (formerly Columbia)Journal of World Business, Journal of Business Research, Industrial Marketing Management, andManagement International Review, among others. Leonidas C. Leonidou is associate professor of marketing at the University of Cyprus. He obtained his Ph.D. in marketing from the University of Bath, and has research interests in international marketing, relationship marketing, strategic marketing, and marketing in emerging economies. He has published extensively in these fields and his articles have appeared in various journals includingJournal of International Business Studies, Journal of Business Research, Journal of International Marketing, andManagement International Review. Neil A. Morgan is assistant professor of marketing in the Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. His research interests focus on strategic issues concerning marketing resources and capabilities, and marketing planning and implementation processes and their links with business performance. His work has appeared inJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Business Research, Industrial Marketing Management, British Journal of Management, European Journal of Marketing, and other journals.     

Price levels and price dispersion within and across multiple retailer types: Further evidence and extension

In this article, the authors develop hypotheses on how prices and price dispersion compare among pure-play Internet, bricks-and-mortar (traditional), and bricks-and-clicks (multichannel) retailers and test them through an empirical analysis of data on the book and compact disc categories in Italy during 2002. Their results, based on an analysis of 13,720 prkce quotes, show that when posted prices are considered, traditional retailers have the highest prices, followed by multichannel retailers, and pure-play e-tailers, in that order. However, when shipping costs are included, multichannel retailers have the highest prices, followed by pure-play e-tailers and traditional retailers, in that order. With regard to price dispersion, pure-play e-tailers have the highest range of prices, but the lowest standard deviation. Multichannel retailers have the highest standard deviation in prices with or without shipping costs. These findings suggest that online markets offer opportunities for retailers to differentiate within and across the retailer types. SDA Bocconi Graduate School of Management Fabio Ancarani (fabio.ancarani@sdabocconi.it) is an assistant professor of marketing at SDA Bocconi University’s School of Management, Milan, Italy. He has been a visiting scholar at the Robert H. Smith School of Business, University of Maryland at College Park. His teaching and research interests are related to marketing strategies in the digital economy. His research has been published in journals such as the theJournal of Interactive Marketing and theEuropean Management Journal. Venkatesh Shankar (vshankar@rhsmith.umd.edu) is a Ralph J. Tyser Fellow and an associate professor of marketing in the Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland at College Park. His areas of reseach are e-business, competitive strategy, international marketing, pricing, new product management, and supply chain management. His research has been published or is forthcoming in theJournal of Marketing Research, Marketing Science, theJournal of Marketing, Strategic Management Journal, theJournal of Retailing, theInternational Journal of Research in Marketing, theJournal of Public Policy and Marketing, andMarketing Letters. He is co-editor of theJournal of Interactive Marketing; associate editor ofManagement Science; and serves on the editorial boards ofMarketing Science, theJournal of Marketing, theInternational Journal of Research in Marketing, theJournal of Retailing, and theJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science. He is a three-time winner of the Krowe Award for Outstanding Teaching and teaches Marketing Management, Digital Business Strategy, Competitive Marketing Strategy, and International Marketing (http://www.venkyshankar.com).     

Organizational capabilities in e-commerce: An empirical investigation of e-brokerage service providers

E-commerce not only has tremendous potential for growth but also poses unique challenges for both incumbents and new entrants. By examining drivers of firm performance in e-commerce from a capabilities perspective, the authors conceptualize three firm capabilities that are critical for superior firm performance in e-commerce: information technology capability, strategic flexibility, and trust-building capability. The extent and nature of market orientation is conceptualized as a platform for leveraging e-commerce capabilities. The authors test the effects of e-commerce capabilities on performance (e.g., relative profits, sales, return on investment) using data from 122 e-brokerage service providers. The results indicate that information technology capability and strategic flexibility affect performance given the right market orientation. Amit Saini (asaini2@unl.edu) is an assistant professor of marketing at University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He conducts research in the area of marketing strategy, technology-marketing interface, e-commerce strategy, and customer relationship management. He has presented papers at major conferences, and his research appears in theJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science and American Marketing Association—Marketing Educator’s Conference Proceedings. His industry experience includes sales management and quantitative market research. Jean L. Johnson (Johnsonjl@wsu.edu) is a professor of marketing at Washington State University. Her research includes partnering capabilities development in, and management of, interfirm relationships and management of international strategic alliances. Her research appears in journals such as theJournal of Marketing, the Journal of International Business Studies, theJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science, and theInternational Journal of Research in Marketing. She serves on the editorial boards of theJournal of Marketing, theJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science, the Journal of Retailing, theJournal of Business and Industrial Marketing, and reviews for others. She spent several years in the advertising industry and has lived, taught, and conducted research in France and Japan. She has been selected to cochair the 2006 winter American Marketing Association (AMA) conference.     

Building service relationships: It’s all about promises

Her research focuses on customer evaluations of service, service quality, and service delivery issues. She has published in theJournal of Marketing, Journal of Business Research, Journal of Retailing, and theInternational Journal of Service Industry Management. She is coauthor of the textServices Marketing (McGraw-Hill, forthcoming).     

A dyadic study of interpersonal information search

Although interpersonal word-of-mouth communication, by definition, takes place between two people, rarely has the phenomenon of word of mouth been studied using both members of the dyad. Building on the literature, this article offers a model of active interpersonal information search that is tested by using a method in which information seeker and source perceptions were obtained. Source characteristics were important determinants of interpersonal influence, but seeker characteristics also played an important role. Interestingly, it proved useful to distinguish between demographic and attitudinal homophily of seeker and source as the former was inversely and the latter directly related to interpersonal influence. Mary C. Gilly is an associate professor in the Graduate School of Management and associate dean of Graduate Studies at the University of California, Irvine. Her Ph.D. is in marketing from the University of Houston. Her research interests include the unintended effects of marketing actions, such as the effects of advertising on employees. She also has interests in services marketing, such as customer service, including consumer complaint handling, and cross-cultural service encounters. Her work has been published in theJournal of Marketing, theJournal of Consumer Research, theJournal of Business Research, and other academic journals. John L. Graham is a professor in the Graduate School of Management at the University of California, Irvine. His Ph.D. is in marketing from the University of California, Berkeley. His primary research interests regard international marketing, international business negotiations, and structural equations modeling. His work has been published in theJournal of Marketing, theJournal of Consumer Research, Marketing Science, theJournal of International Business Studies, Management Science, and other academic journals. Mary Finley Wolfinbarger is an associate professor at California State University, Long Beach and is doing research on the topics of internal marketing and gift giving. She teaches Marketing Principles and Marketing Research. She received her Ph.D. in marketing from the University of California, Irvine. Her work has appeared in theJournal of Marketing and other academic journals. Laura J. Yale came to Fort Lewis College in 1991. She holds degrees in Hotel, Restaurant, and Travel Administration from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and received her Ph.D. from the University of California, Irvine. She teaches a variety of courses in Marketing and Travel and Tourism Administration, including Marketing Research, International Marketing and Services. Her industry experience and most of her research interest are in the services sector, particularly the tourism industry. She is on sabbatical leave this academic year, writing an introductory textbook on the tourism industry. She will return to teaching in September 1998.