Consideration set measurement

The consideration set is a concept that is both intuitively appealing and practically useful. However, there is no standard operational definition of the construct, little reported research investigating alternative measures for empirically assessing the construct, and only limited investigation of interproduct differences in set characteristics (typically focusing on set size). Results of the experiment reported here indicate that situation-specific operational definitions yield smaller reported consideration sets that exhibit greater correspondence to reported purchases than do situation-neutral definitions, and that semantic variations within definition type have little impact on measured set characteristics. Further, findings indicate that much of the interproduct variation in consideration set size is related to awareness set size.     

The moderating effects of insupplier/outsupplier status on organizational buyer attitudes

A conceptual model of the relationships among buyers’ perceptions of and attitudes toward elements of a vendor company’s marketing mix is developed and tested, and the moderating effects of insupplier/outsupplier status are assessed. Attitude centrality and self-perception theories predict that buyer perceptions of and attitudes toward the company, the salesperson, and the product will be more closely interlinked for insuppliers than for outsuppliers. Theory regarding category-based affect and attitude accessibility predicts that buyers will use extrinsic cues to a greater extent when making judgments about outsupplier as compared with insupplier salespeople. The results indicated significant moderating effects of insupplier/outsupplier status and generally validated predictions made on the basis of attitude theory. Perceived company reputation was more strongly related to salesperson and product attitudes for insuppliers than for outsuppliers. Extrinsic cues were used to a greater extent by buyers evaluating outsuppliers. Implications of the findings for management and a more complete understanding of organizational buying are discussed. His research interests include attitudinal influences on consumer and organizational buying behavior, sales force motivation, and job attitudes. His research has been published in theJournal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, andJournal of Advertising Research, as well asJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science.     

A dynamic demand analysis for electrical energy by class of consumer

Conclusion In the preceding discussion, the price responsiveness of consumers has been estimated. The results not only indicate consumer reaction to changes in price is significant, but also they should completely dispel any argument over the efficacy of the market mechanism to restore equilibrium between supply and demand. Note, however, that demand is relatively inelastic, implying that a large change in price is needed to induce a sufficient change in the quantity demanded for the restoration of equilibrium. If the problem is to curtail the sales of electricial energy, the solution is obvious. The author would like to thank Joseph R. Antos and J. Wilson Mixon of the Bureau of Labor Statistics for helpful comments. The views expressed are those of the author and do not reflect the policies of the Bureau of Labor Statistics or the views of other BLS staff members.     

A proposed mechanism for commercializing university technology

Numerous successful small companies have been created in recent years based on technology developed within universities. Often the companies are direct spin-offs from the university, involving faculty members who participated in the research and development programs which created the technology. These companies present interesting problems as well as opportunities for both the university and the faculty members involved. The paper discusses several aspects of these problems and suggests a mechanism to help the universities become more effective in encouraging such companies and sharing in the economic rewards, while maintaining their own integrity.     

A note on spatial and temporal price and allocation modeling: Quadratic programming or linear complementary programming?

This paper presents a clarification of the specific conditions under which the linear complementary programming (LCP) formulation, instead of the quadratic programming (QP) formulation, is applicable in such areas as spatial and temporal price and allocation modeling. An important condition for the use of the LCP formulation is that the coefficient matrix of the demand and/or supply functions is asymmetric. Dynamic formulations can be treated as a LCP but it is demonstrated that the problem can be reformulated in a standard QP format.     

Modeling oil refinery operations

This paper develops a model to analyze the relative responsiveness of refined petroleum product output to changes in the relative prices of these products. A scheme is devised and implemented that shares out total production into motor gasoline, distillate fuel oil, kerojet fuel, and other refined products. A multinomial logit specification is used whereby the share of each of these products is a function of relative prices, a seasonal factor, and the relative amount of crude output to total product output. Finally, the structural stability of the estimated relationships are tested for and the null hypothesis of stability is not rejected.     

A spatial view of intra-urban migration search behavior

The search behavior of intra-urban migrants was examined using spatial analysis techniques to determine if distinct patterns of distance, direction and sectoral bias are present in the search patterns of households seeking new residences. Map transformation and standard ellipse analysis indicated that little sectoral bias was present with regard to the CBD, but some directional and distance bias was evident. The similarity in the size of the search space and the nearness of the new residence to the center of the search space suggested that the migrants did follow a systematic search procedure while looking for a new home.