Relationships in business markets: Exchange episodes,value creation,and their empirical assessment

Conclusion David Wilson (1995) has provided us with much grist for thought with his integrated framework for customer-supplier relationship development. In focusing on which constructs are “active” and therefore most meaningful at each stage, he has opened a new vista for research in this area. Our models and empirical research ought to reflect this, but to date they largely have not. I have suggested qualitative, longitudinal research as a preferred next step in gaining the knowledge that we will need to make field-survey, longitudinal research worthwhile. Wilson also is to be lauded for drawing greater attention to value creation as a central undertaking in customer-supplier relationships. Understanding and actualizing value creation (and value sharing) are critical aspects of the market-sensing and customer-linking capabilities in market-driven organizations (Day 1994), yet the mechanisms underlying them and the methodologies for accurately assessing them remain largely unknown. Here, particularly for tool development research, it would seem to be an opportune time for business marketing academics and practitioners to form their own collaborative relationships for mutual gain. His research interests are in working relationships between firms in business markets and measurement techniques. His articles have appeared inHarvard Business Review, Journal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Research, Management Science, Psychological Bulletin, andPsychometrika, among others. He has been vice president of the Business Marketing Division of the American Marketing Association and is a fellow of the American Psychological Association.     

Identity, identification, and relationship through social alliances

The authors studied social alliances, a type of corporate societal marketing initiative. Their research finds that social alliances are an important means whereby employees identify more closely with their organizations while gaining a greater sense of being whole, integrated persons. Furthermore, this integration allows both organizations and their members to align their commercial identities with their moral and social identities. As organizational members struggled to resolve conflicts within their own identities, they were aided by social alliances, which in turn led them to identify more with their organizations. Unlike previous research, the findings suggest that the kind of connections referred to by the informants went well beyond the cold, rational associations described in previous research to emotional attachments that appear to be critical to organizational identification. The results also suggest that participation in social alliances may result in multiple forms of identification: intra- and interorganiza-tion identification. Ida E. Berger (bergeri@ryerson.ca) is the associate director of faculty affairs and a professor of marketing in the School of Business Management at Ryerson University. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Toronto. Her articles have appeared in leading marketing journals, including theJournal of Consumer Research, Public Policy and Marketing, theJournal of Consumer Psychology, andCalifornia Management Review. Her current research interests include social alliances, voluntary and nonprofit sector studies, diversity, and the value of sports in social inclusion. Her teaching interests include marketing theory, consumer behavior, and marketing communications. Peggy H. Cunningham (pcunningham@business.queensu.ca) is the Marie Shantz Teaching Associate Professor of Marketing, School of Business, in the Queen’s University. She completed her Ph.D. at Texas A&M University. Dr. Cunningham’s research interests revolve around two related themes: marketing ethics and marketing partnerships (international strategic alliances, partnerships between for-profit and not-for-profit organizations, relationships between firms and their customers). These areas of study are linked by their focus on the concepts of trust, integrity, and commitment. She is the coauthor of the Canadian editions of a number of marketing textbooks (Marketing Management; Principles of Marketing; and Marketing: An Introduction). Her work is published in a number of journals, including theJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science, the Journal of International Marketing, and California Management Review. Minette E. Drumwright (mdrum@mail.utexas.edu) is an associate professor with a joint appointment in the College of Communication (Department of Advertising) and the College of Liberal Arts at The University of Texas at Austin. Previously, Dr. Drumwright was on the marketing faculties of Harvard Business School and the University of Texas Business School. She currently is the faculty chair of the Bridging Disciplines Program in Ethics and Leadership at the University of Texas. She has a Ph.D. in business administration (marketing) from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Dr. Drumwright’s current research is in the areas of corporate social responsibility, marketing for nonprofit organizations, and business ethics. Her focus is on understanding how managers and consumers integrate noneco-nomic criteria related to society into their decision making. Dr. Drumwright has studied noneconomic criteria in various contexts, including cause-related marketing, partnerships between companies and nonprofit organizations, socially responsible buying behavior, and corporate volunteerism. Her articles and cases have been published in various books and journals, includingCalifornia Management Review, theJournal of Advertising, and theJournal of Marketing.     

关于转变经济增长方式的几个问题

本文对当前我国学术界关于粗放与集约概念的由来及转变经济增长方式含义的几种观点作了简要的评析;对如何正确理解实现经济增长方式的转变提出了自己的看法;论述了转变经济增长方式的必要性和转变的数量界限;阐明了顺利实现经济增长方式转变应处理的几个方面的关系。     

Question order effects in taste testing of beverages

The effect of order position has been demonstrated in marketing research, sometimes compromising survey results. This paper studies the influence of order position in product taste trials of carbonated beverages using a sequential monadic design. The authors measure attitude ratings across product trials rather than across products to examine the effect of order position on preference ratings.     

Strategy in research design and hypothesis testing

The efficiency of a research design may be measured in terms of the degree to which knowledge is enhanced within given resource constraints. Thus, two different types of research design, even though they contain the same number of expected observations, may differ considerably in the amount of information provided. An example is the number N of 32 observations obtained with an analysis of variance witheither 2 factors, 2 levels per factor and a replication of 8or 4 factors, 4 levels per factor and a replication of 2. We analyze and compare the relative efficiencies of regression and variance analysis models and their implications to research strategy development. Three major considerations are evaluated: (1) short versus long time horizon (interval until effects of a decision are realized), (2) small versus large cost of erroneous rejection of the Null Hypothesis and (3) gross versus refined stage of development of the research study. A set of general guidelines towards improved designs is developed.     

An empirical test of trust-building processes and outcomes in sales manager-salesperson relationships

This study examines three trust-building processes and outcomes in sales manager-salesperson relationships. This study, based on a sample of more than 400 business-to-business salespeoples from a variety of industries, shows two trust-building processes (predictive and identification) to be significantly related to salesperson trust in the sales manager. Interpersonal trust was found to be most strongly related to shared values and respect. Trust was directly related to job satisfaction and relationalism, and indirectly related to organizational commitment and turnover intention. Thomas G. Brashear (brashear@mktg.umass.edu) (Ph.D., Georgia State University) is an assistant professor of marketing in the Isenberg School of Management at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. James S. Boles (jboles@gsu.edu) (Ph.D., Louisiana State University) is an associate professor of marketing in the Robinson College of Business at Georgia State University. His research has appeared in a variety of journals, including theJournal of Marketing, theJournal of Business Research, theJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science, theJournal of Retailing, theJournal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, and theJournal of Applied Psychology. His areas of research interest include personal selling, sales management, key and strategic account management, and business relationships. Danny N. Bellenger (mktdnb@langate.gsu.edu) (Ph.D., University of Alabama) is currently chairman of the Marketing Department in the Robinson College of Business at Georgia State University. His research has appeared in a number of academic journals including theJournal of Marketing Research, theJournal of Marketing, theJournal of Advertising Research, theCalifornia Management Review, theJournal of Retailing, theJournal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, Industrial Marketing Management, and theJournal of Business Research. He has authored four monographs and four textbooks on marketing research, sales, and retailing. Charles M. Brooks (brooks@quinnipiac.edu) (Ph.D., Georgia State University) is an associate professor and chair of the Department of Marketing and Advertising at Quinnipiac University. His research has appeared in theJournal of Business Research, theJournal of Retailing, Marketing Theory, and theJournal of Marketing Theory and Practice.     

Salespeople’s use of upward influence tactics (UITs) in coping with role stress

Researchers’ attentions have recently focused on how salespeople cope with role stress. This study focuses on salespersons’ use of six upward influence tactics (UITs) with the immediate sales manager, and how salespeople use UITs to lessen the impact of two role stressors (perceived role conflict and role ambiguity) associated with the sales job. The study also evaluates the potential moderating role of UITs on relationships between role stress and manager satisfaction and propensity to leave. Analysis of data gathered from a heterogeneous sample revealed differences in use of UITs between salespeople classified as either high or low in role stress. Salespeople who perceive high role conflict employ assertiveness and upward appeal UITs more frequently. Salespeople who perceive high role ambiguity use exchange and coalition-building UITs more frequently. Results also suggest that salespersons’ use of assertiveness and ingratiation UITs exacerbate relationships between perceived role ambiguity and two outcomes: satisfaction with supervisor and propensity to leave. Implications of the study findings for sales managers are reviewed, as are implications for further research. His research interests are in the areas of personal selling and sales management. His work has appeared inJournal of Education for Business, Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, and various national and international conference proceedings. Jeffrey K. Sager, Ph. D., conducts research in the areas of salesperson turnover and job stress. His work has appeared in theJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, andJournal of Business Research. His research interests are in the fields of strategic management and organizational behavior. His research has been published in theAcademy of Management Journal, Journal of Applied Psychology, and several other journals.     

Economie en vooruitgangsidee

Summary The object of this article is the relation between economic science and the idea of progress in western civilization. That relation can clearly be observed in classical economic theory (influenced by the Enlightment) and the modern theory of growth (Golden Age Economics). The author rejects any identification of economic progress with an unlimited increase of GNP. He proposes a link between the idea of economic progress and the divine mandate of stewardship, which implies that the inter-subjective scarcity of non-renewable resources and environmental factors should constantly be taken into account. He concludes with some remarks about economic growth as a goal of economic policy.

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Rede uitgesproken bij de aanvaarding van het ambt van gewoon hoogleraar aan de Vrije Universiteit op 10 maart 1972.     

Markov-Chain Analysis of Internal Manpower Supply

The separation of manpower forecasting into a demand forecast and a supply forecast emphasizes that each depends on quite different sources of information. The demand forecast is based primarily on an estimate of sales, which is then transformed into the number and type of personnel needed to produce and sell the company's products. The information for forecasting internal supply can often be treated as if it were independent of the external environment and is often available within the firm. If a matrix representing the probability of transition from one job classification to another can be prepared for the relevant classifications, Markov-chain theory can be used to generate a forecast of internal manpower supply.