A note on cultural consistency within the service firm: The effects of employee position on attitudes toward marketing culture

This study represents the beginning of an exploration of the internal constraints and barriers that stand in the way of successful strategy implementation within service organizations. A determination will be made if one of the internal constraints is perhaps the lack of consistency among employees regarding marketing practices, attitudes, values, norms, and ideals. Specifically, service firm employees’ attitudes toward their actual and ideal marketing culture were measured. Attitudinal differences were examined between ground-level, middle-, and top-management employees from a cross-section of service industries. Significant differences were found for a variety of marketing culture components. Many of the differences remained even after removing possible effects of number of employees in the firm and age of the firm. Managerial implications are given.     

An experimental approach to improve student attitudes toward careers in selling

Students' negative attitudes toward careers in selling are well documented in the literature. This study shows how such attitudes can be improved by minor changes in course content of the introductory marketing course. Such changes are necessary if the full potential of the personal selling component is to be realized.     

The current status of outcomes assessment in marketing education

Under pressure for accountability and in pursuit of valid measures of their performance, institutions of higher education are examining outcomes assessment as a means of program and institutional evaluation. Through a survey of chairs of marketing departments, this study explores the current status of outcomes assessment in marketing education in universities in the United States. It examines attitudes toward several potential measures of educational outcomes as well as current and anticipated collection patterns for these measures.     

Marketing theory: A current status report

“Marketing Theory: A Current Status Report” presents the findings of a study conducted among a select group of marketing though leaders. This study explored their attitudes regarding the present state of marketing theory and particularly their views regarding the need for a general theory of marketing. Further, the question of whether academicians and practitioners have differing views concerning the need for theory is examined, as is the question of the importance of practicality in research.     

Marketing research for public health: A demonstration of differential responses to advertising

This study illustrates the use of marketing research techniques outside of the traditional limits of marketing. It examines awarencess of two distinct promotional themes promoting venereal disease prevention. The study is done with a relatively homogeneous sample and shows the need for a segmentation strategy in promoting this critical public health issue. Both attitudes and media behavior of respondents are examined and it is shown that the different promotional appeals are recalled by persons with different sets of values and different media habits. This study was supported by grants from the Graduate School, University of Missouri-St. Louis and the School of Business, University of Missouri-St. Louis.     

Theory in consumer behavior: A status report

This article examines the attitudes of 40 opinion leaders in marketing toward theory in consumer behavior. These individuals exhibited favorable attitudes toward theory in marketing in general. More favorable perceptions of the value of the contributions of theory to consumer behavior existed than for promotion and channels of distribution. In comparison to eight other areas of marketing, the consumer behavior area was perceived as having made the greatest past contribution to marketing thought and the one most likely to make worthwhile future contributions. The sample believed that much future effort was needed in progressing toward a general theory of consumer behavior and that such effort would indeed be forthcoming.     

The professor-consultant: An important marketing resource

There has been little published on the topic of marketing consultants. The literature void is even more pronounced when a major source of outside expertise, the professor-consultant, is examined. The authors have surveyed marketing academicians to determine their attitudes toward consulting and the scope and nature of their consulting activities along with the kinds of clients for whom they work. The findings show that professors hold generally favorable attitudes toward consulting and work in a wide range of topical areas while serving many diverse clients.     

Development and validation of scales to measure attitudes influencing monetary donations to charitable organizations

Charitable organizations are under increasing financial pressure to attract and retain private donors. However, scales measuring consumer attitudes toward giving to charity have yielded ambiguous results in the past. Scales to measure consumer attitudes toward the act of helping others and toward charitable organizations are developed and tested for dimensionality and internal consistency using advocated procedures. The resulting measures are important to academicians, policymakers, and practitioners in the development of theory, public policy, and marketing strategy. Deborah J. Webb is a visiting assistant professor of marketing in the J. Mack Robinson College of Business at Georgia State University. She received her Ph.D. from Georgia State University. Her research interests are consumer behavior, marketing and society, and social marketing. Her work has been published in theJournal of Public Policy & Marketing and theJournal of Nonprofit and Public Sector Marketing. Corliss L. Green is an assistant professor of marketing in the J. Mack Robinson College of Business at Georgia State University. She obtained her Ph.D. from Florida State University. Her research interests include advertising and promotion, ethnic consumer behavior, and social marketing. Her research has appeared in such journals as theJournal of Retailing, theJournal of Advertising, theJournal of Advertising Research, theJournal of Services Marketing, and various other journals and proceedings. Thomas G. Brashear is an assistant professor of marketing in the Eugene M. Isenberg School of Management at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He received his Ph.D. from Georgia State University. His research focuses on international marketing management, sales management, and research methodology.     

Reflections on the future of marketing

Restraints upon business institutions can be expected to grow more stringent in the latter part of the twentieth century and thereafter. Shortages of raw materials, pollution, and changes in salient societal attitudes are likely to force public policymakers to demand increased corporate attention to consumer welfare. The author examines what the role of the marketing function may be in this kind of milieu. Although significant changes in marketing practices, and shifts of emphases among the various marketing activities are anticipated, the author concludes that marketing will remain an essential force in an economy where the service sector will dominate.     

“Will a global marketing strategy work? An energy conservation perspective”

To what extent, and under what conditions, a marketing strategy can and should be standardized across national boundaries is an issue still to be resolved in the marketing literature. Proponents of standardization point to economies of scale whereas opponents stand firm on segmentation. This study is an attempt to gain insight to the issue of standardization through cross-cultural research in four nations. The results of this study of energy conservation suggest that market segments, similar on attitudes and behavior, do exist across countries. Within such a specific segment, a global strategy may be appropriate, but a single global strategy, aimed at all segments and countries, would not be effective.     

Determinants of sports sponsorship response

Despite the growing role of sponsorship in the marketing activities of firms worldwide, academic research in this area has been limited. Adopting a classical conditioning framework, this research examines the effects of consumers’ attitudes about a sports event, their perceptions of sponsor-event fit, and their attitudes about the sponsor on a multidimensional measure of sponsorship response. The results suggest that sponsor-event fit, perceived sincerity of the sponsor, perceived ubiquity of the sponsor, and attitude toward the sponsor are key factors in generating a favorable response from sponsorship. Liking of the event and perceived status of the event have differing significance depending on how response is measured. Sponsorevent fit also has interaction effects with perceived status of the event and personal interest in the event. The implications of these findings for sponsors and event managers are examined, and future research directions are outlined. Richard Speed is an associate professor of marketing in the Melbourne Business School at the University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia. He received his Ph.D. from the Loughborough University of Technology, United Kingdom. In addition to sponsorship, he researches and publishes on decision-making for marketing strategy and the use and management of brands. Peter Thompson is principal of Et² Sponsorship Strategy and a visiting research fellow of the Melbourne Business School at the University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia. He holds a B.D.Sc. and an MBA from the University of Melbourne. His reserch of sports marketing, personality management, and sports broadcasting.     

Corporate culture,environmental adaptation,and innovation adoption: A qualitative/quantitative approach

Deshpandé and Webster have identified the linkage between corporate culture and innovation adoption as an important industrial marketing topic. In the present study, this relationship is examined by both qualitative and quantitative research methods. The linear regression model, which depicts the corporate culture of adaptive companies attempting to survive in a competitive international environment, demonstrates that corporate culture is predictive of technology adoption. Qualitative data collected through in-depth interviews supplement quantitative results. The divergent cultures and survival modes for innovative and noninnovative companies are presented. Theoretical and methodological implications for marketing research are discussed, and management implications for industrial marketers are presented. Benefits of juxtaposing qualitative/quantitative methods are illustrated. She completed her doctorate at York University in Toronto, Canada. Her current research interest centers on innovation adoption, poststructuralism, and marketing ethics.     

Television commercials in violent programming: An experimental evaluation of their effects on children

Using an experimental method, this study found that when a commercial was viewed immediately following a high-violence dramatic programming segment, children’s ad copy recognition scores were significantly lower and attitudes toward the ad and the advertised brand were significantly less favorable than when the commercial was viewed following a low-violence (but otherwise near-identical) program segment. The influence of program violence level on some advertising response measures was more pronounced when the commercial was positioned immediately following the dramatic programming segment than when immediately preceding it. The study cautions advertisers to examine carefully whether, in reaching for high audience ratings and cost efficiency through violent television programs, they may be sacrificing communication effectiveness of their brand advertising. He has published numerous articles on advertising effectiveness, children and advertising, buyer behavior, and marketing strategy in theJournal of Marketing Research, Journal of Marketing, Journal of Communication, Journal of Retailing, Journal of Consumer Affairs, Journal of International Marketing, and others. Her primary research interests are in children and advertising issues, buyer behavior, and marketing ethics. Her research has appeared in theJournal of Services Marketing, Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media, Journal of Nonprofit and Public Sector Marketing, and proceedings of numerous national and regional marketing conferences.     

A suggested taxonomy for marketing thought: The case of lacking applied development and research in marketing

An examination of marketing literature reveals a surpricing deficiency of articles discussing theoretical applications in marketing. These deficiencies are largely in the area of specific, practical, everyday applied marketing. This article casts the literature into an overall taxonomy of marketing thought and development, highlighting the deficiency. Then the article discusses the deficiency positing reasons for its continued existence. It is thought that such a taxonomy might better help marketers identify critical need areas that might well result in unusually productive findings and advances important to all marketers. EDITOR'S FOOT-NOTE: Reviewers have agreed that marketing has no Taxonomy and needs one, but that a full study and statement would be a Herculean task. The paper published here is presented as a beginning and, as the author himself states, “in the hope to stir controversy, debate, and effort.”     

The nature and measurement of marketing productivity in consumer durables industries: A firm level analysis

Improving productivity is a major concern in American industry. Efforts to enhance marketing productivity have been hampered by a lack of a clear conception of what constitutes productivity in the marketing area and an associated absence of standards or benchmarks with which to compare a firm’s performance and costs. In this paper a concept of marketing productivity is presented. The PIMS data base is then used to develop situation specific benchmarks for the consumer durables industries. Reliability and validity tests of the benchmarks are presented and the managerial implications of this approach are discussed. U S WEST, Inc.     

Marketing and non-marketing materials sent by American Colleges and Universities

This report discusses educational marketing materials used by admissions offices in a random sample of 858 American colleges and universities. Information requested and received by a potential student is described and classified as marketing or non-marketing. This paper shows why four-year institutions and those offering higher degrees are significantly more likely than two-year colleges to use marketing materials in their responses to prospective students. The value of these findings for admissions offices and marketing specialists are presented.     

Transcendent customer experience and brand community

Transcendent customer experiences (TCEs), which have aspects of flow and/or peak experience, can generate lasting shifts in beliefs and attitudes, including subjective self-transformation. With data from a pre-test/post-test quasi-experimental field experiment we examine the impact of TCEs on customers’ integration in a brand community. Because TCEs are highly desirable and valued for their own sake, customers value marketing activities they perceive as instrumental to them. This study demonstrates that a TCE in the context of a marketer-facilitated consumption activity can strengthen a person’s ties to a brand community, delivering a particularly strong form of brand loyalty. Alternate phone numbers for James H. McAlexander.     

试论国际旅游企业外派人员的管理

国际化经营是当今旅游企业发展的主要经营方式.外派人员的管理已成为国际旅游企业人力资源管理的关键性问题.影响国际旅游企业使用外派人员的因素主要有文化因素、政策因素、外派人员成本、雇员的家庭因素和归国问题等.选拔外派人员应充分考虑雇员的工作因素、交际能力、家庭状况及语言技巧.对外派人员的培训主要包括文化认知、技能、态度、知识等方面的培训.     

Modality and offering effects in sales presentations for a good versus a service

More businesses than ever are using telemarketing as a complement to or substitute for face-to-face selling. More businesses than ever are also selling services in lieu of selling goods. Yet, despite these trends, no empirical research has documented the relative effectiveness of telesales versus face-to-face presentations for selling goods versus services. The author begins to fill this void in the literature by presenting an initial investigation into the effects of modality (telesales vs. face-to-face presentation) and offering (a service vs. a good) on consumer recall, attitudes, and behavioral intentions. The findings reveal that recall is higher in a face-to-face presentation, attitudes and behavioral intentions are more positive following a telesales presentation for a service, and attitudes and behavioral intentions for a good are unaffected by the nature of the sales presentation. Implications of the findings for research, business practice, and future study are discussed. David M. Szymanski is the Al and Marion Withers Faculty Research Fellow and Director, Center for Retailing Studies, in the Lowry Mays College & Graduate School of Business, Texas A&M University. His research interests include applied meta-analysis, marketing strategy, personal selling, product innovation, and retailing strategy. Representative research has appeared in theJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, andJournal of Retailing.     

A communications model for marketing decisions

The purpose of this paper is to report the development of a communications model which could be helpful in making marketing decisions. The proposed model shows relationships between persuasibility, self-esteem, source credibility, and communication discrepancy. The importance of these variables is explained in the context of a general marketing situation. Because a major goal of marketing activities is to influence buyer attitudes, it is important to know how the buyer's self-esteem, the seller's credibility, and attitude discrepant communications may influence the effectiveness of persuasive efforts. Knowledge of these relationships can aid decision making on the part of manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers, and other channel members. The proposed model can be used to optimize efforts in choosing target markets, selecting advertising media, selecting price levels, developing advertising formats, and in making a multitude of additional marketing decisions.