Evaluating channel performance in multi-channel environments

Evaluating channel performance is crucial for actively managing multiple sales channels, and requires understanding the customers’ channel preferences. Two key components of channel performance are (i) the existing customers’ intrinsic loyalty to a particular channel and (ii) the channel's ability to attract switching customers. We apply the Colombo and Morrison (Colombo, R., Morrison, D., 1989. A brand switching model with implications for marketing strategies. Marketing Science 8, 89–99) model to assess channel performance along these dimensions. Using data from a large home-shopping company, we analyze the evolution in the performance of its main channels over time, and test for differences in channel performance among different product categories offered by the company, as well as between different customer segments. Based on the results, we derive implications for managers to operate a company's multiple sales channels more effectively.     

5G无线局域网环境下OFDM对无线信道的适应性分析

建立了基于广义平稳不相关散射假设(WSSUS)下的多径时变信道模型。针对无线局域网(WLAN)的特点，从802．11a协议出发，从全信道和子信道两个角度分别建立信道模型，阐述了OFDM利用循环前缀对抗多径信道码间干扰(ISI)的机理，并仿真了不同多普勒频移对系统误码底板影响，结果表明OFDM系统对WLAN具有强大适应性。     

企业间销售线索分享是多多益善吗?——基于特许经营渠道关系的实证研究

现有的企业间营销渠道信息分享研究主要关注宽泛层面的信息分享,很少关注越来越普遍的销售线索分享及其独特性。基于汽车特许经营渠道中300家4S店的实地调研数据,从特定类型的信息分享视角实证分析,发现仅仅增加特许人分享的销售线索数量会降低受许人对销售线索的使用效果;特许人分享的销售线索丰富度(拉力)可以扭转特许人分享的销售线索数量对销售线索使用效果的负面效应,而特许人的监控(推力)却不能弱化其负面效应;通过强化受许人对销售线索的跟进,特许人分享的销售线索丰富度提升了受许人对销售线索的使用效果。上述结论有助于未来研究细分企业间信息分享的类型,为有效提升信息分享效果提供更为深刻的洞察;通过将销售线索区分为两个维度(信息数量和丰富度),识别出不同维度信息量作用的差异,有助于推进渠道企业间信息分享研究。     

The relationship between network structure and international channel performance: a moderating effect of E-business activity

This study is an investigation of international marketing channel modes, relationship with an export company's network of business, e-business activity, and marketing channel performance. An initial case study of three international enterprises was followed up with a questionnaire survey based on a model derived from the literature and the results of the case organisations. The main influences identified from the questionnaire survey were local market conditions and the level of cooperation between channel members. The main differences detected among the network's structural relationships resulted from differing degrees of centralisation. Different channel modes resulted in different degrees of mutual trust, centralisation, profitability, and formality in the relationship between an enterprise and its overseas contacts. The level of electronic business activity was positively related to the level of cooperation with channel partners and to the sales performance of the channel.     

Unlocking the magic in successful tourism destination marketing: the role of sensing capability

ABSTRACT

Tourism destinations are facing an increasingly competitive environment, and the need to offer a compelling visitor experience is intense. However, destinations are hindered by the fragmented nature of their governance structure, with a disparate group of actors from service providers to local government agencies involved. The purpose of this study is to investigate how the tourism destination can respond effectively to changing market trends and develop a shared vision for the destination among the various actors. The resource-based view (RBV) of the firm perspective is adopted to identify the role of network management capabilities, which facilitate the coordination of actors needed to ensure destination efficacy, thereby addressing a lack of scholarly attention to marketing capability in the tourism destination. The empirical context is set in Killarney, Ireland’s most enduring and popular tourism destination. The findings point to the presence of a dynamic destination sensing capability in Killarney, which is driving a market-sensing capability and orchestration capability. This investigation provides important insight into how a successful tourism destination is able to sustain the magical ingredient of tourist engagement over two centuries.     

Marketing UK Towns and Cities as Shopping Destinations

This paper reports the results of research into the range of actors involved in the marketing of urban places as shopping destinations and the processes by which this marketing activity is planned. The paper highlights the differences between the process of marketing planning in this context (at the interface of the public and private sectors), as opposed to processes in private sector organizations from which the majority of current marketing theory was developed. It suggests various implications as to the characteristics of what Ashworth (1993) has termed a 'special type of marketing' to be applied to urban places.     

Information and channel profits

New marketing information technologies, associated with point-of-purchase scanner systems, have increased the potential information available to manufacturers and retailers. In this paper, we explore the pricing and profit implications of this technology within a channel setting. We find that improved information about demand always results in greater absolute profits, as well as a claim on greater division of channel profits for the informed channel member. The greater profitability is due to the informed channel member's ability to “fine tune” prices in response to changes in demand conditions. However, total channel profits are highest when only one channel member acquires information. We also show that fine-tuning of price has the effect of smoothing sales, as informed firms charge higher prices during high demand periods and charge lower prices during low demand periods. Lastly, we show that an equilibrium where both channel members acquire information does not lead to a prisoners' dilemma.     

Innovations in Information Technology: Insights from Italian Renaissance Art

Information technologies help in defining historical eras. Innovations in information technology (IT) often lead to profound changes in social, cultural, and economic processes. Art historical approaches open up a realm of earlier forms of IT and provide productive fresh perspectives on technological innovations. Changes in image production during the Renaissance advanced possibilities for art to address or "hail" the viewer in more personal ways, implicating patrons and consumers alike within the artwork's system of meaning and value. Renaissance patrons successfully appropriated the form and symbols of religious art; contemporary corporations likewise appropriate cultural referent systems within marketing and image campaigns. By considering painting as an IT, we gain theoretical links between disparate yet interlinked cultural fields such as photography, art, marketing communications, and the Internet.     

Information Technology Use and Firm's Perceived Performance in Supply Chain Management

Purpose: This article proposes a theoretical model to investigate (a) a positive direct relationship between the specific use of ITs (applied to management) and the firm's performance as perceived by retailers and (b) a positive indirect relationship through information quality and information sharing.

Design/Methodology/Approach: The theoretical model proposed in this paper is contrasted using structural equation modelling of the retail distribution channel for home appliances.

Findings: The research shows that there is no positive direct relationship between the specific use of ITs and the retailer's perceived performance in the relationship with the provider. The results do, however, provide evidence for a positive indirect relationship through both information sharing and satisfaction obtained from the relationship with the provider.

Research Limitations: The analysis has been developed from the retail perspective. We suggest that future research focus on the retailer's and the provider's perspectives.

Practical Implications: In the context of SCM, the competitive advantages achieved through IT use derive from a better network of relationships between the firms involved as a result of greater information quality and information sharing. Specific use of ITs stimulates greater information sharing between retailer and provider and thus greater satisfaction and better perceived performance of the retailer in the relationship with the provider. However, the effect of IT use on information sharing occurs only through the quality of the information shared.

Originality/Value: The study shows that information quality is an antecedent of information sharing and that both information quality and information sharing act as necessary conditions for improving the retailer's perceived performance in the relationship with the provider. This article develops a measurement scale to evaluate the intensity of IT use. Finally, the research confirms that firm performance can be modeled as a second-level latent variable composed of three different dimensions (economic benefits, marketing benefits, and adaptation benefits).     

The Role of Social Mechanisms in Promoting Supplier Flexibility

Purpose: This study explores a conceptual framework for social mechanisms (trust and shared vision) to induce supplier flexibility (i.e., volume, mix, new product, and delivery flexibility).

Design/methodology/approach: The current study is based on marketing research reviews of social mechanisms and supply chain flexibility literature. To explore these issues, the authors developed and tested hypotheses with data from 162 members of the SMIT (Supply Management Institute, Taiwan).

Findings: The results show that trust has a direct impact on supplier's volume flexibility and delivery flexibility. Furthermore, the findings indicate that a shared vision has direct impact on supplier's mix, new product, and delivery flexibility. Finally, shared vision plays a mediating role among trust and mix, new product, and delivery flexibility.

Research limitations/implications: This research considers buyer's perspective in examining social mechanisms that enhance supplier flexibility. A clear understanding of social mechanisms effects could evaluate competence trust and risk of respective flexibility that may affect social mechanism effectiveness.

Practical implications: This article contributes to management guidelines on how to align suppliers to respond quickly to customer demands.

Originality/value: The study provides novel insights into social mechanism impact on suppliers' respective flexibility.     

Manufacturer Support for a Partially Integrated Channel in South Korea: Power‐dependence vs. Marketing Effectiveness Perspective

This article introduces the unique context of a partially‐integrated channel (PIC) that incorporates both market and hierarchical governance forms. In so doing, it examines determinants of the manufacturer's support for a PIC. Using power‐dependence and marketing effectiveness theories, we collected data from 172 marketing managers in charge of PICs in 15 companies in South Korea. The results showed that from the power‐dependence perspective, demand volatility, manufacturer's competitive intensity, and channel concentration are positively related to a manufacturer's dependence on the retailer, which is positively related to the manufacturer's support for the PIC with a retailer. From a marketing effectiveness perspective, channel bonding and customer linking are positively associated with manufacturer marketing effectiveness, which is an antecedent to PIC support for a retailer. Copyright © 2013 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Relevance of actors in bridging positions for product-related information diffusion

Research in marketing examines concepts that deal with social interaction, for example opinion leadership and word-of-mouth. Two types of actors play key roles in social networks where social interaction takes place: actors who have a lot of contacts (so called hubs) and actors in bridging positions. Given their importance in social networks, the lack of studies in marketing literature that focus on bridges is surprising. Information on bridges' roles in the diffusion of product-related information on an individual level is important for companies to take relevant actions. Therefore, this paper analyzes the relevance of actors in bridging positions for product-related information diffusion in a representative study of consumers in the mobile phone market of a large European country. The study shows that bridges display lower degrees of information seeking as well as lower levels of opinion leadership. Therefore, although in central positions, they are less suited to be used in company-initiated actions, for example in seeding strategies.     

Demand forecast information sharing in the competitive online and traditional retailers

An important strategic issue for retailing business managers to study is the information strategy. In this paper, we develop a profit-maximization model to investigate the benefits of demand forecast information sharing for the competitive online and traditional retailers with the consideration of the compatibility of the product with online marketing. Both retailers use a Bertrand model to compete. We analyze and compare two scenarios: (1) when forecast information is not shared between the online and traditional retailers; (2) when forecast information is shared between the online and traditional retailers. Our results show that both the online and traditional retailers will be better off from information sharing. Especially when the channel forecast is less accurate, the product is more compatible with online marketing, and the market is more volatile, both retailers will profit more. Based on our results, optimal strategies are derived and probable paths of future research are identified.     

Beyond the Return on Advertising: Elasticity of the Return on Advertising as a Diagnostic Metric to Maximize Profit

With increased marketing expenditures, managers need to be equipped with valid and reliable measures capable of showing links between marketing investments and a firm's profitable performance. In this paper we demonstrate that traditional return on advertising (ROA) can be a misleading metric if a firm's goal is profit maximization. Then, we introduce a new diagnostic tool: the elasticity of ROA and show how this metric can help marketing managers to choose more profitable levels of advertising. This new measure has the same virtues as other traditional measures of elasticity and provides real advantages over the conventional metrics.     

Headquarters to subsidiary transfer effects on marketing strategy exploitation

The transfer of locally created marketing strategies worldwide represents a key competitive advantage for multinational corporations (MNCs). Although a research topic of much interest, empirical content of past studies is scarce. Absorptive capacity studies typically test direct effects of either the transfer capacity of the strategy's initiator or the recipient's ability to process and exploit the strategy on related learning outcomes. Mixed findings allow the possibility of more complex relationships. This study examines the relationships between MNC headquarters and marketing units located in subsidiary firms using a sample of 213 marketing managers. The study systematically explores linear, interaction, and quadratic effects within a structural equation modeling paradigm. The findings indicate that the relationship between a MNC headquarters' transfer capacity and a subsidiary marketing unit's processing capacity on the strategy's exploitation is one of mediation and moderation. The subsidiary marketing unit's processing capacity is a key mediating variable and headquarters' transfer capacity moderates the effects of this variable on the exploitation of the marketing strategy by the subsidiary's unit.     

Behavioral changes of multichannel customers: Their persistence and influencing factors

This study addresses how behavioral changes following a new channel's adoption persist over time, and how their patterns vary among customers. We verify the roles of individual behavioral traits reflecting self-selection, marketing exposure, and loyalty in explaining these differences. Based on the elaboration likelihood model and attitude commitment theory, we develop hypotheses to predict these traits' effects on customers' membership in a particular segment with a unique post-adoption behavioral pattern. A latent class model is developed to empirically identify various customer segments and connect behavioral traits to the probability of segment membership. The results reveal that only 25% of the sample exhibits permanent behavioral changes, and most of these tend to buy from numerous stores with intense cross-buying. Approximately 43% of customers who temporarily changed their behaviors were strongly inclined to use multiple shopping channels and spend substantial amounts on hedonic products. The remaining 32% who did not change their purchases appear to be frequent buyers. We also discuss the work's implications for managing multichannel customers.     

Cause-Related Marketing: Keys to Successful Relationships with Corporate Sponsors and Their Customers

SUMMARY

An increasingly popular method for nonprofits to raise awareness, educate the public, and receive financial support from corporations is through cause-related marketing. The distinctive feature of cause-related marketing is the corporate sponsor's contribution to a designated cause being tied to customers' participating in revenue-producing transactions with the sponsor. The sponsor benefits from favorable publicity and increased sales. This article discusses factors contributing to the potential success of a cause-related marketing campaign: the sponsor's product quality, fair pricing, and customer traits; the nonprofit's and the sponsor's reputation, shared values, good communication, and commitment; a well-planned and executed campaign, and specific terms that protect both party's assets and clearly outline each party's responsibilities.     

The effects of trust and shared vision on inward knowledge transfer in subsidiaries’ intra- and inter-organizational relationships

Drawing on the social capital literature, this study examines the relationship between trust and shared vision and inward knowledge transfer to subsidiaries from both the subsidiary's corporate and external relations. Previous literature has acknowledged and theoretically suggested that potential differences may exist in knowledge transfer between intra- and inter-organizational relationships, it has not yet been well examined empirically. The study provides some initial insights into the literature by theoretically suggesting that the effects of trust and shared vision on inward knowledge transfer differ in importance in intra- and inter-organizational relationships. Hypotheses were tested on data collected from 75 Western MNCs’ subsidiaries located in China. The study represents an effort towards a better understanding of the context where trust and shared vision are more of vital importance.     

Marketing Cooperation in Automotive Strategic Alliances

ABSTRACT

The increasing numbers of strategic alliances formed in many industries have been noted and discussed since the 1980s. This paper describes and analyzes change and stability in the patterns of cooperation that occurred within the global automotive industry during the period 1991–1995, with a particular focus on marketing and distribution cooperation. The geographical reach of marketing alliances is analyzed. The scope of the cooperation that occurs within inter-company alliances with marketing contents is also discussed, and the effect of participation in marketing alliances on individual actors is addressed. Using structural network methods, two measures of centrality are used and compared in order to determine the most central actors. The consequences of maintaining positions with different degrees of centrality in the alliance networks are discussed. The use of longitudinal data allows for analyses of the dynamic, changing nature of marketing alliances in the broader context of other forms of cooperation.     

Consumer Brand Marketing through Full- and Self-Service Channels in an Emerging Economy

A unique characteristic of emerging economies is the wide variety of dominant channel formats. We evaluate the influence of a brand's marketing mix on channel partners and consumer sales in both full and self-service channels in one emerging economy (Brazil). We use monthly stock-keeping-unit (SKU) level sales, and marketing mix data from the beverage category in southeastern Brazil spanning more than four years. In this study, we specify a panel vector autoregression framework with error decomposition to account for endogeneity between sales and marketing mix, cross-sectional heterogeneity among SKUs, seasonality, and the different aggregation of marketing mix elements across the channels. The results show that structural differences in these channels cause differences in the responses to some of the manufacturers' marketing mix elements. Package size variety, price and merchandising have a greater long-term effect on sales in self-service than in full-service channels. Brands' channel relationship programs support price increases in self-service channels without a corresponding decrease in sales. Distribution gains are important in both channels. In the full-service channel, package size variety has the highest long-term effect among all of the modeled marketing mix elements. Our study highlights that marketing mix strategies popular in the self-service dominant channels of the developed economies are not as effective in the full-service formats that remain important in emerging economies.