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

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

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 longitudinal study of the impact of market structure,firm structure,strategy, and market orientation culture on dimensions of small-firm performance

The purpose of this article is to determine market orientation’s relative impact on small-business performance, compared to other influences, in an integrated model using longitudinal data. Contrary to expectations based on the management literature, the results indicate weak causal relationships between market environment, small-firm structure, and small-firm strategy. The results further indicate weak influences of these variables, but strong and consistent influences of market orientation, on various measures of small-firm performance. Contrary to expectations based on business policy literature, relative product quality and new product success were not significant influences on profitability, perhaps due to the significant influence of market orientation on these variables. In addition, although increases in growth/share had a significant short-term influence on increases in profitability, high levels of previous years’ firm growth/share had a negative influence on current profitability. The previous year’s level of firm coordinating systems and market competitive intensity has a significant impact on the level of small-firm market orientation.     

Examining the effect of salesperson service behavior in a competitive context

While few scholars debate the importance of doing things to improve the quality of the buyer–seller relationship, little is known about what salespeople can do after the point of the initial sale to enhance customer satisfaction and trust. On the basis of extensive exploratory interviews across professional selling domains, this research develops a set of behaviors, referred to here as “salesperson service behaviors.” Using data gathered from 358 customers, the authors empirically demonstrate the effect of these behaviors on customer satisfaction and trust and, ultimately, on an objective measure of customer share of market. The authors develop a competitive model that uniquely features customer evaluations of competing sales representatives. The results indicate that these salesperson service behaviors are important in building trust and customer satisfaction, which in turn lead to increases in customer share of market.     

消费品市场：2014年运行特点及2015年发展趋势

通过2014年中国消费品市场统计数据的分析,其发展呈现如下特点：如社会消费品零售总额增速继续回落而网上零售继续超高速增长;乡村消费品市场增速明显回落但增速仍快于城镇;多数大型百货商店呈负增长;餐饮业市场增速有所回升,限额以上单位餐饮收入增速由负转正等;从整体上看物价回落趋势明显。基于上述数据分析和发展特点,对2015年发展环境和趋势进行预测,并从服装消费、大兴零售企业家纺销售、家电销售、化妆品销售和食品销售五个方面进行了具体的分析预测。     

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.     

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.     

Cooperative advertising,pricing strategy and firm performance in the e-marketing age

Cooperative advertising plays a strategically important role in marketing programs. In this paper, we use a game theoretical model to study not only cooperative advertising but also pricing strategy in a manufacturer—e-retailer supply chain with the consideration of product categories. First, two cooperative advertising models (the leader-follower Stackelberg and the strategic alliance) are established and analyzed. We then compare the two models to develop some important theories and managerial insights. Furthermore, we utilize a bargaining model to implement profit sharing and determine the manufacturer’s participation rate for cooperative advertising in the channel coordination of strategic alliance. Based on our results, we derive optimal market strategies and identify probable paths of future research.     

产品市场竞争度对企业研发的影响——基于中国制造业的实证分析

本文运用中国制造业的222家企业连续5年的微观面板数据研究了产品市场竞争度对企业研发的影响,研究发现:民营企业比重和行业平均利润率衡量的产品市场竞争度与企业专利水平之间呈现倒U型结构;而行业集中度衡量的产品市场竞争度与企业专利水平呈现正U型结构。在中国,作为产品市场竞争度的衡量指标,民营企业比重和行业平均利润率比行业集中度更合理。     

市场力量与市场结构转换——关于规模零售商经营模式转变及其对市场结构影响的分析

在只有生产商与消费者的市场结构中,生产商之间进行垄断竞争,因产品差异每个生产商都有一定的垄断程度;在有规模零售商的市场结构中,规模零售商的零售业务的目标转变为市场占有或销售量最大化,从而展开了规模零售商之间同质商品的纯价格竞争.规模零售商凭借其渠道力量迫使生产商进行价格减让或收取通道费以支持其价格战.这样由于规模零售商的介入,生产商与消费者之间的价格关系或市场关系发生了变化,消费者能够购买价格更低的商品.     

中国与印度纺织品出口竞争力比较

运用国际市场占有率、RCA、TC等指标,对中印纺织品的出口状况及国际竞争力进行了比较。研究结果表明,两国出口的纺织产品结构相似,主要出口市场相似,存在较强的竞争性关系。中国在出口规模上具有优势,但出口单价较低,附加值较少。因此,中国应提高纺织产品的技术含量,调整产品结构,采取市场多元化发展战略,进一步提高产品的国际市场占有率。     

The product elimination function

Historically, major consideration given to product management has focused on research and development or the introductory stage of the product life cycle. The authors present an empirical study delineating the variables to be considered in the product elimination process. More specifically, the elimination process is evaluated under a situation of poor product performance despite a generally viable market. The basic objectives of the study were: to determine the significant variables in the product elimination process of the Small Appliance Industry; to determine the relative importance of the variables; to examine the interaction among variables. The data obtained through personal structured questionnaire interviews were analyzed and provided a ranking of twenty-six variables relevant to the elimination process. Moreover, the Johnson's Hierarchical Clustering Schemes was applied to determine the interaction among variables. The results indicate that profitability and financial variables are most significant in the elimination decision-process. Second, the primary clusters of importance are concerned with market share, market growth rate, consumer awareness, and competitive action.     

Relationships among measures of retail salesperson performance

A lack of understanding of the relationships among measures of salesperson performance exists in practice and in the retailing/sales management literature. This article examines the relationships among three commonly used measures—one outcome (sales volume) and two judgmental measures (managerial evaluations and salesperson self-evaluations). We empirically demonstrate that not all judgmental measures are related to outcome measures; that is, salesperson self-evaluations are significantly related to sales volume, but managerial evaluations are not. The study also examines the efficacy of retailers using short outcome-measuring periods for evaluation purposes. The results suggest that outcome measure variance within salespeople for short periods is high and therefore these data should be used with caution. He received his Ph.D. in marketing from The Ohio State University. His research interests are in the areas of retailing, logistics, and sales management. He has published extensively in journals such as the Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of Marketing, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, and Journal of Retailing. He is co-author of Retailing Management. He received his Ph.D. in marketing from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His research interests are in the area of sales management and organizational behavior. His has published in the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, and International Journal of Physical Distribution and Logistics Management.     

企业间要素重配能够提升中国制造业的生产率吗?——来自我国制造业企业数据的经验证据

基于2002～2007年的制造业微观企业数据,本文使用一个全新的实证框架,研究了企业间要素重配对中国制造业生产率增长的影响作用。我们发现,虽然目前我国市场扭曲程度较高,但是市场化改革的努力已经使得企业间要素重配成为制造业生产率增长极其重要的原因;由于中间投入对要素重配具有乘数效应,其产生的要素重配效应占据了最大份额;企业的进入、退出市场行为在要素重配中也表现突出。进一步的研究表明,外商直接投资、出口等市场化行为对促进企业间要素重配起非常重要的作用,而国有资本比重等因素却对要素重配产生负面影响。     

How sales controls affect job-related outcomes: the role of organizational sales-related psychological climate perceptions

In this study, the authors propose a theory that incorporates the mediating effects of three important organizational sales-related psychological climate perceptions (e.g., the organization’s customer orientation, sales innovativeness, and sales supportiveness) to explain how sales force controls affect sales-related outcomes. Based on a survey of 293 salespeople and using path analysis, the authors find that the inclusion of these psychological climate perceptions allows for explanatory improvement in linking sales controls to salesperson job satisfaction and performance. These results complement previous studies in that formal controls were found to affect outcomes directly. However, they also provide important insight into the indirect effects of sales controls—through salespeople’s perceptions of managerial commitment to making the salespeople effective (i.e., the sales-related psychological climate).     

Creating market anticipation: An exploratory examination of the effect of preannouncement behavior on a new product’s launch

Preannouncements are strategic marketing communications directed at market participants including investors, suppliers, distributors, and buyers. Most empirical literature focuses on antecedents influencing a firm’s preannouncement behavior and on outcomes related to deleterious responses by competitors. This study differs and follows the large body of extant research that examines preannouncing behavior as a deliberate marketing communication process aimed at influencing market participants in the firm’s favor. The authors develop and test a model of preannouncement behavior that affects the success of a new product launch through market anticipation, competitive equity, and new product development resources. The findings indicate that preannouncement behavior engenders new product success through its positive effect on market anticipation—a favorable industry-wide bias in advance of new product introduction—and emphasizes the use of preannouncements as business-to-business marketing communications aimed at influencing current and prospective supply chain partners in the firm’s favor. Kim Schatzel (schatzel@umd.umich.edu) (PhD, Michigan State University) is an assistant professor of marketing at the University of Michigan, Dearborn. Her business experience includes more than 20 years of corporate and new venture work including tenure as the founder and CEO of a multinational $250 million automotive components firm and three start-up technology-based companies. She is interested in the study of new product development, business-to-business marketing communications, and firm reputation issues. She has published articles in theJournal of Marketing, theJournal of Business Research, and theJournal of Product Innovation Management. She is also highly committed to teaching excellence and has won several awards for undergraduate, graduate, and executive teaching. Roger Calantone (rogercal@msu.edu) holds the Eli Broad University Chair in Business at Michigan State University and is also the director of the Broad Information Technology Management Program (ITMP). He is interested in the study of new product innovation and technology decisions in industrial firms. Currently, his research is focused on new product decisions, industrial market segmentation, global logistics, and the use of neural network and autonomous learning models to valuate product components. He is the author of more than 200 refereed academic articles and proceedings and is coauthor of several books. His publications have appeared in journals such as theJournal of Marketing, the Journal of Marketing Research, Marketing Science, Management Science, Decision Sciences, and theStrategic Management Journal.     

Organizational antecedents to and consequences of service business orientations in manufacturing companies

Although various manufacturing companies have developed into total solution providers, no research addresses their service orientations. Building on the literature on organizational service climate, this study explores the organizational parameters and service business orientations that explain relative product sales and service volume of manufacturing companies. Following an exploratory study involving in-depth interviews, the authors conducted an empirical survey of 137 companies in The Netherlands, Belgium, and Denmark. The study assesses the effects of organizational parameters on the implementation of service business orientations and validates the important distinction between services in support of the client’s actions (SSC) and services in the support of the product (SSP). The findings demonstrate that services in support of the client’s action leverage relative product sales, while services in support of the product generate service volume. In addition to the main effects, the moderating effects of the organizational parameters are discussed.

人民币升值与我国出口增速下降关系的实证研究

人民币升值以来.中国时美国的出口增速大幅下降。但在两变量模型中,2005年8月至2008年2月的月度统计数据计量表明。人民币对美元汇率和中国对美国出口额之间并没有长期稳定的协整关系。在多变量模型中证实,长期中,中国CPI的大幅上扬是导致出口增速下降的最重要的原因;其次原因是美国次级债危机爆发引起的消费下降;再次是因为人民币升值步伐的加快。短期内,CPI依然是影响出口增速的最重要的原因,但是人民币升值步伐的加快对出口的影响要大于美国消费下降的影响。     

双边市场中交易配比的机制与效率—基于全球最大专业市场的研究

本文基于对全球最大的专业市场———义乌“中国小商品城”市场经营户、客商及相关主体所作的万余份问卷调查,对双边市场中交易配比、外部性和代理人数量关系的理论进行了经验分析。结果表明,采购商数量的增加会促使其提高采购规模和降低采购频率,且显著地与经营户的年均销售额、销售倍增数正相关;电子商务平台的应用减少了进入实体市场采购的客商比重,买卖双方之间具有较为显著的交叉正外部性和群内负外部性。同时,本研究结果还显示表征市场特征的产品质量、经营环境、电子商务、物流配送等变量与市场外部性强度呈正相关关系,专业市场本身品牌的塑造和经营户自属品牌的建设对于增强买卖双方进入中间交易平台具有较强的正效应。     

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.