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).     

Bundle evaluation in different market segments: The effects of discount framing and buyers’ preference heterogeneity

Heterogeneity of buyers’ preferences has played a significant role in the earlier economic analyses of bundling and continues to be important in the recent investigations initiated by marketing and consumer researchers. Guided by a decision-framing conceptualization, this study suggests that in a market characterized by heterogeneous preferences for items included in a bundle offer, buyers’ bundle evaluations may vary significantly depending on which item is featured as the price leader (i.e., the discounted item). When two unequally preferred items were evaluated for purchase as a set, bundle evaluation was more enhanced when the price leader was also the more preferred item. Thus, under such preference conditions, bundle evaluation may be quite sensitive to the choice of the price leader. Besides highlighting the importance of incorporating psychological considerations in bundling research, the results of this study also raise questions about the validity of a key assumption made in the extant analyses of bundling strategies. Specifically, perceived savings on one item may not always transfer readily to other items included in a bundle offer. He received his Ph.D. in marketing from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. His research interests include price perception, pricing strategy, price bundling, and decision making. His research has been published in theJournal of Consumer Research, Journal of Marketing Research, andReview of Marketing. He is a member of the editorial advisory board ofPricing Strategy & Practice.     

浅析我国开展消费信贷存在的障碍及对策

在我国采取措施扩大内需的时候 ,消费信贷作为重要手段却未发挥应有作用 ,本文拟从消费者、消费信贷者、政策和法律等方面来分析我国开展消费信贷存在的障碍并探讨相应对策     

Cross-cultural research in advertising: An assessment of methodologies

The volume of scholarly work in cross-cultural advertising has been increasing in recent years. This study examines empirical studies in this area from a methodological perspective. Cross-cultural research designs should include many critical facets that do not surface in studies involving single cultures. These facets are discussed within the context of cross-cultural advertising literature. It is apparent from this review that a sharper focus on cross-cultural research tools and considerations can strengthen studies of advertising, lead to more robust results, and increase validity and reliability. Both students and practitioners need meaningful and generalizable findings that will emerge only when strict methodological considerations are adhered to. His articles have appeared in theJournal of Marketing, Journal of International Business Studies, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, and others. His areas of interest include global new product development, entrepreneurship, and exporting.     

The role of brand personality in charitable giving: An assessment and validation

Marketing concepts such as corporate identity, image, and branding are important strategies for nonprofit organizations. In particular, brand personality has been advocated by practitioners but has not been empirically investigated in the nonprofit context. According to social exchange theory and trust, the authors argue that nonprofit stakeholders perceive nonprofit organizations at an abstract level because of the organizations’ intangibility and social ideals. This study develops and refines a parsimonious measure of brand personality specifically for the nonprofit context. The authors conduct a series of six multimethod studies of nonprofit stakeholders to validate the role of brand personality in nonprofit organizations. The results yield four dimensions of brand personality for nonprofits: integrity, nurturance, sophistication, and ruggedness. Thus, current and potential donors ascribe personality traits to nonprofit organizations and differentiate between nonprofits on the basis of the organizations’ personality. Finally, nonprofit brand personality may influence potential donors’ likelihood to contribute. Beverly T. Venable (venable_beverly@colstate.edu; Ph.D., University of Mississippi) is an assistant professor of marketing at Columbus State University. Her research interests are in nonprofit marketing, branding, and ethics. She has published in theJournal of Business Ethics and several national and international proceedings. Gregory M. Rose (rosegm@u.washington.edu; Ph.D., University of Oregon) is an associate professor of marketing at the University of Washington, Tacoma. His research interests include consumer socialization and cross-cultural consumer behavior. He has published articles in theJournal of Consumer Research, theJournal of Marketing, theJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science, theJournal of Business Research, theJournal of Advertising, and theJournal of Consumer Psychology, as well as other journals and proceedings. Victoria D. Bush (vbush@bus.olemiss.edu; Ph.D., University of Memphis) is an associate professor of marketing at the University of Mississippi. Her research interests include cultural diversity in buyer-seller relationships, advertising ethics, and Internet marketing. Her research has been published in theJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science, theJournal of Advertising Research, theJournal of Advertising, theJournal of Public Policy and Marketing, andIndustrial Marketing Management, as well as other journals and proceedings. Faye W. Gilbert (faye.gilbert@gcsu.edu; Ph.D., University of North Texas) is a professor of marketing and dean of the J. Whitney Bunting School of Business at Georgia College and State University. Her research interests are in customer relationship management, health care marketing, and sales management. She has published in theJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science, theJournal of Business Research, theJournal of Retailing, Psychology and Marketing, as well as other journals and proceedings.     

引进版英语口语教材在中国的适用性初探

随着中国进一步对外开放,英语学习者已经不满足于各种英语语言能力水平考试,而是追求口语交流能力的实际提高。引进版口语教材因其语言地道实用而受到广大英语学习者的青睐,但是其不可避免地存在一定的“水土不服”一不能较好地适应中国英语学习者的特点和要求。该文扼要地运用Krashen的“输入理论”、Swain的“输出理论”等原理,对《英语900句》、《走遍美国》及《走进美国》等三本引进版口语教材进行分析,评析其长处以及不足,对于引进版口语教材如何适应中国英语学习者提出一些要求,取其精华,为我所用。     

中国省际劳均收入的收敛研究——基于核密度函数和Markov随机过程理论的分析

采用核密度函数和Markov随机过程理论研究了我国省区劳均收入分布的动态演变和发展趋势。研究发现,改革前我国省区劳均收入为多峰分布,其遍历分布为偏向低收入的双峰分布;改革后,劳均收入分布经历了从多峰到单峰再到双峰的演变过程,其遍历分布为偏向高收入的双峰分布。从长期发展趋势看,改革后我国多数地区将会收敛于高收入区间。