Extending the service-dominant logic: from customer centricity to balanced centricity

This is a contribution to the reorientation of marketing. It aligns the service-dominant logic with other developments in marketing and management. It claims that the marketing concept and customer-centricity are too limited as a foundation for marketing and have not—and cannot—but partially be implemented in practice. It urges marketing scholars and educators to accept the complexity of marketing and develop and teach a network-based stakeholder approach—balanced centricity—epitomized by the concept of many-to-many marketing.     

The family and consumer decision making: A cultural view

An understanding of consumer behavior based on the traditional Western nuclear family (husband, wife, and unmarried children) model is inadequate to handle marketing on a global scale or to interpret changes at home. The number of relatives influencing purchase—and who they are—can vary as can the type of decision making, which may be allocative, stressing individual responsibility, or consensual. This article re-examines our basic assumptions and then considers marketing under alternative family scenarios—extended families, further familial shrinkage, and more participatory decision-making.     

Learning effect in multinational diffusion of consumer durables: An exploratory investigation

Literature reflects that a product/technological innovation introduced later in a country results in faster diffusion as the consumers in the lag market have an opportunity to learn about the new product from the consumers in the lead market. A systematic understanding of the learning that takes place between consumers in two countries—a pair of lead and lag countries—can provide insights for a firm’s international market entry decisions. To provide a richer understanding of the underlying structure and patterns that govern this process, propositions linking factors (country characteristics, product/innovation characteristics, and time lag) to the learning process are drawn. Subsequently, these propositions are tested through an empirical investigation of the diffusion patterns of four consumer innovations in multiple European countries. The findings help provide some preliminary guidelines for manufacturers regarding selection of foreign markets and the timing and order-of-entry decisions. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Houston in 1995. His research interests include global competition and marketing strategy, brand equity and brand extensions, customer satisfaction and brand loyalty, and issues pertaining to product development and introduction. He has been recognized with numerous teaching and research excellence awards and has published numerous articles in many scholarly journals in marketing and forecasting. He has coauthored the textbookMarketing Research and is currently working on a book titledInternational Marketing Research, which is based on his marketing research experience across the globe. He is on the editorial review board of many journals and has lectured on marketing-related topics in various universities worldwide. His research interests include developing forecasting models, international marketing strategy and research issues, models for sales promotions, and new methodologies for product positioning and market segmentation. His research interests focus on marketing strategy and international marketing. He has published articles and presented at conferences on research in his area of interest.     

A comprehensive model of customer direct and indirect revenge: understanding the effects of perceived greed and customer power

This article develops and tests a comprehensive model of customer revenge that contributes to the literature in three manners. First, we identify the key role played by the customer’s perception of a firm’s greed—that is, an inferred negative motive about a firm’s opportunistic intent—that dangerously energizes customer revenge. Perceived greed is found as the most influential cognition that leads to a customer desire for revenge, even after accounting for well studied cognitions (i.e., fairness and blame) in the service literature. Second, we make a critical distinction between direct and indirect acts of revenge because these sets of behaviors have different repercussions—in “face-to-face” vs. “behind a firm’s back”—that call for different interventions. Third, our extended model specifies the role of customer perceived power in predicting these types of behaviors. We find that power is instrumental—both as main and moderation effects—only in the case of direct acts of revenge (i.e., aggression and vindictive complaining). Power does not influence indirect revenge, however. Our model is tested with two field studies: (1) a study examining online public complaining, and (2) a multi-stage study performed after a service failure.     

“Trust but verify”? The performance implications of verification strategies in trusting relationships

Considerable extant research demonstrates the benefits of trust in buyer-seller relationships. More recent research points out downsides of the vulnerability inherent with trust. Recognizing this dilemma of trust, partners may offset the vulnerability of trust with verification strategies—efforts to produce information relevant to the exchange relationship. This research examines the use of three types of verification strategies—monitoring, assurances, and corroboration—which may be employed to safeguard against the vulnerability of trust. When control mechanisms like trust and information are combined, they may complement one another and enhance performance or function as substitutes, be redundant or compete, and consequently detract from performance. Emerging theory on combined modes of governance provides insights. We draw on this theory and develop hypotheses proposing that combinations of trust and verification may enhance or detract exchange performance—depending on the specific verification strategy. The hypotheses are tested on a sample of 230 buyer-supplier relationships. Results of the research provide some support for the proposed relationships and yield implications for the management of cooperative exchange relationships.     

Looking at the age of salespersons

This research reports on the significance of identifying and measuring the attitudes of salespersons, especially on how they perceive their self-development opportunities. The analysis of attitudes—after the employees were segmented into four age groups—indicates that the salespersons between the ages of 26–35 display lower levels of enthusiasm than the norm. Seeds of anxiety, excess mobility, new career demands and other reasons are examplified in related literature of the last decade. Some marketing practices and implications are discussed.     

Toward a theory of the boundary-spanning marketing organization and insights from 31 organization theories

Now more than ever, marketing is assuming a key boundary-spanning role—a role that has also redefined the composition of the marketing organization. In this paper, the marketing organization’s integrative and mutually reinforcing components of marketing activities, customer value–creating processes, networks, and stakeholders are delineated within their boundary-spanning roles as a particular emphasis (labeled MOR theory). Thematic marketing insights from a collection of 31 organization theories are used to advance knowledge on the boundary-spanning marketing organization within four areas—strategic marketing resources, marketing leadership and decision making, network alliances and collaborations, and the domestic and global marketplace.     

Customer relationship management and firm performance: the mediating role of business strategy

As managers and academics increasingly raise issues about the real value of CRM, the authors question its direct and unconditional performance effect. The study advances research on CRM by investigating the role of critical mechanisms underlying the CRM-performance link. Drawing from the sources → positions → performance framework, the authors build a research model in which two strategic postures of firms—differentiation and cost leadership—mediate the effect of CRM on firm performance. This investigation also contributes to the literature by drawing attention to the differential impact of CRM in diverse industry environments. The study analyzes data from in-depth field interviews and a large-scale, cross-industry survey, and results reveal that CRM does not affect firm performance directly. Rather, the CRM-performance link is fully mediated by differentiation and cost leadership. In addition, CRM’s impact on differentiation is greater when industry commoditization is high.     

Effects of accountability on symbolic information search and information analysis by organizational buyers

Most studies of the organizational buying process assume that buyers acquire and use information “prosocially”—to make better decisions and promote their company’s welfare. The authors propose, however, that demands to account for their behavior causes organizational buyers to also gather and use information for political purposes—to protect their own self-interest. The authors present the results of an empirical study that investigates the extent to which four types of accountability—informal, official, process, and decision accountability—result in political (or symbolic) information search and prosocial information analysis by organizational buyers. Study findings suggest that buyers accountable to superiors and those accountable to subordinates or peers engage in more symbolic information search. Buyers accountable for their decision-making process analyze information more extensively. Surprisingly, buyers accountable for decision outcomes neither search for symbolic information nor analyze information more extensively. She received her Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her research interests include industrial buying behavior, business-to-business relationships, and international marketing. She has published articles in theJournal of International Marketing and theJournal of Macromarketing, as well as various conference proceedings. He received his Ph.D. from Northwestern University. His research interests are in the marketing strategy and public policy areas. His work has been published inJournal of Marketing, Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Public Policy and Marketing, Journal of Advertising Research, and several other journals.     

A taxonomy of marketing planning styles

This study examines marketing planning styles among a sample of organizations in the health care industry. A taxonomy of marketing planning styles—limited marketing planners, constituency-oriented marketing planners, and comprehensive marketing planners—is derived and then related to the literature on planning. Differences among the marketing planning styles are tested based on hypotheses relating to planning comprehensiveness. The results suggest that: (i) marketing planning styles differ fairly distinctly in their attention to selected elements of the environment; and (ii) the marketing planning style employed is related to the level of competition and to organization size and complexity.     

The incidence of unethical practices in marketing research: An empricial investigation

The authros examine from the perspective of marketing professionals the incidence of unethical research practices and the influence of organizational factors as determinants of the incidence of unethical research practices. The results indicate some degree of indicence of unethical research practices, particularly of those involving respondents. In addition, the results suggest four organizational variables— extent of ethical problems within the organization, top management actions on ethics, organizational role, and industry category—as determinants of the incidence of unethical research partices.     

Ethnic markets—A Canadian perspective

Reworking published 1981 Census of Canada data, the authors initially present—for all ethnic communities of significant size (40.000⁺ nationally)—information on mother tongue, language spoken most often at home, and place of birth. Comparable provincial and CMA data is then provided. The authors conclude that marketers must supplement Census data with knowledge of such factors as the relative strength of ethnic affiliations and the drawing power of ethnic media. Custom designed studies of ethnic purchase and consumption patterns are also considered essential.     

Is purchasing management to buying as marketing is to selling?

This article examines the hypothesis that marketing concepts and techniques can be as useful to purchasing managers performing the buying function in the 1970s and 1980s as they were to advertisers and sales managers engaged in marketing in the 1950s and 1960s. Relevant concepts are briefly reviewed, and results of a survey of purchasing managers are reported. The data suggest the potential—but not actual—value of marketing-oriented thinking for purchasing managers.     

A review of empirical studies of aggregate marketing costs and productivity in the United States

This article reviews empirical studies of aggregate marketing cost and aggregate marketing productivity in the United States. A methodological comparison is made of five cost studies for 1929 and seven productivity studies covering a period from 1869 to 1968. The cost studies do not clarify—one way or the other—if marketing costs too much or too little. The productivity studies, on the other hand, despite a variety of methodologies, reveal a rising secular trend over the past century. Thus, it may be concluded that irrespective of changes in cost, marketing is becoming more productive.     

Self-service technology effectiveness: the role of design features and individual traits

Self-service technologies (SSTs), such as in-store kiosks, are increasingly prevalent and becoming a critical component of marketing. Researchers and practitioners alike have recognized the need to understand the effectiveness of these computer-based innovations for self-services—in particular, how to strengthen customers’ perceived control over and evaluations of SSTs. Drawing on the resource-matching theory and the technology-based services and self-services literature, the authors hypothesize the interactive effects of two SST design features—namely, comparative information and interactivity—on customers’ perceived control and interface evaluations. The authors then propose that the interaction pattern is further moderated by two individual traits: prior experience and technology readiness. The hypotheses are tested in two separate computer-based experiments with representative samples of the general U.S. population in a shopping environment. The findings support the hypotheses, enhancing knowledge in this emerging domain and providing important implications for managers and researchers.

Ranking economic history journals: a citation-based impact-adjusted analysis

This study ranks—for the first time—12 international academic journals that have economic history as their main topic. The ranking is based on data collected for the year 2007. Journals are ranked using standard citation analysis where we adjust for age, size and self-citation of journals. We also compare the leading economic history journals with the leading journals in economics in order to measure the influence on economics of economic history, and vice versa. With a few exceptions, our results confirm the general idea about what economic history journals are the most influential for economic history, and that, although economic history is quite independent from economics as a whole, knowledge exchange between the two fields is indeed going on.     

Defining roles for logistics during routine and radical technological innovation

Technological innovation has become increasingly important to new product development in American industry because of the potential competitive advantage it offers. In this study extensive observation and interviewing over more than two years in one prominent Frtune 500 industrial manufacturer provides strong evidence that logistics can and does play important—and sometimes surprising—roles in the development and launch of new technological products. This article describes logistics activities during the development and launch of technological innovations, identifies key roles played by logistics, relates lessons learned and proposes directions for future research.     

The rise of the US Portland cement industry and the role of public science

American Portland cement rose spectacularly during the 1890s from being a niche product to dominating a much larger market. The contributions of innovations, factor endowments and public science—factors highlighted as contributing to the more general American industrialization occurring at the same time—are analyzed. The successful commercialization of the rotary kiln, enabled by abundant supplies of fuels and minerals, played a key role, as did greater demand. Geological surveys, as highlighted by David and Wright, assisted in some states, but an econometric entry model does not demonstrate that they made a systematic significant contribution to the rise.     

Modelling trends and cycles in economic time series: historical perspective and future developments

This paper provides a retrospective on the modelling of trends and cycles in economic time series and considers where the research agenda currently stands and where future developments might lie. A brief survey of the early empirical research on trends and cycles is first provided before attention is focused on four papers published in 1961—our ‘annus mirabilis’ of trend and cycle modelling—which we argue have been ‘prime movers’ in various aspects of research in this area. The links from these papers to current research issues are then teased out before the likely future directions of research in both theoretical and applied aspects of the modelling of trends and cycles are considered.

Customer-directed selling behaviors and performance: a comparison of existing perspectives

Sales researchers have spent decades developing and empirically testing various scales that reflect distinct theoretical perspectives of salesperson behavior and job functioning. Despite extensive research in this area, little comparative work has been done to assess the relative effectiveness of these different scales in explaining salesperson performance or to explicate whether or not they are best considered in isolation or as working together—even potentially interacting—to influence sales success. We examine four established scales related to customer-directed salesperson job functioning, and look at how well they relate to both self-reported and objective job performance measures. Our analyses are based on responses from 524 salespeople drawn from three different firms. The results show that two scales (ADAPTS, Selling Skills) outperform the others. Furthermore, we find an important interaction between ADAPTS and Selling Skills that helps to predict superior objective performance.