Perceived agency politics and conflicts of interest as potential barriers to IMC orientation

While the concept of integrated marketing communications (IMC) is widely acknowledged in the literature, research on potential barriers to its implementation is relatively scarce. In particular, the possible significance of interagency politics and conflicts of interest has received little empirical consideration. This is perhaps somewhat surprising given the generally acknowledged proposition that marketing budgeting is largely a political process. This paper describes an exploratory study of leading Australian public companies and investigates the relationships between perceived agency politics, conflicts of interest and IMC orientation. The findings suggest that the salient conflict of interest is between advertising and public relations firms. The limitations are discussed and directions for future research offered.     

Building brand equity with cause-related marketing: A comparison with sponsorship and sales promotion

Building brand equity is a key objective for a range of communication activities; however, greater understanding is required on how different communication options compare in their impact on consumer response to a brand. In particular, firms are increasingly using cause-related marketing (CRM) to achieve business as well as social objectives, yet there has been limited research comparing the effectiveness of this strategy to other communication methods that may achieve similar brand-related outcomes. Using an experimental design, we examine consumer attitudes toward CRM and CRM's impact on brand attitude compared with two other communication options: sponsorship and sales promotion. Our results show that consumers respond more positively to CRM and that this strategy can be more effective in achieving brand-related objectives. However, consumers must perceive that the partnered cause fits with the brand. In fact, perception of fit plays a more critical role in determining the impact of CRM than in the impact of sponsorship or sales promotion. These findings suggest that when firms are considering their communication mix, CRM can be a more effective way of developing favorable brand associations, but managers must associate with causes that consumers will perceive to fit with the brand. Furthermore, this fit should be communicated.     

Management Responses to Social Activism in an Era of Corporate Responsibility: A Case Study

Social activism against companies has evolved in the 50 years since Rachel Carson first put the US chemical industry under pressure to halt the indiscriminate use of the chemical DDT. Many more companies have come under the spotlight of activist attention as the agenda social activists address has expanded, provoked in part by the internationalization of business. During the past fifteen years, companies have begun to formulate corporate responsibility (CR) policies and appointed management teams dedicated to CR, resulting in a change in the way companies interact with social activists. This paper presents findings from a longitudinal case study of managerial responses to social activism targeted at a company with relatively well-advanced CR practices and reputation. The case describes the unfolding of the internal processes over an 8-year period, including the role played by different managers and the tensions in the decision-making processes. The findings emphasize how values and beliefs in the company interact with economic arguments and how those are mediated through functions and relationships in the company and beyond. The paper shows how critical managers’ understanding of the motivations of activists behind the campaign is in shaping their actions. It reveals the paradoxical outcomes that can result from social activism at the level of the firm, the industry, and the field.     

Debt and disadvantage: the experience of unmanageable debt and financial difficulty in England and Wales

In common with a number of other developed western states, the UK has seen significant growth of consumer debt over the past three decades. In tandem, there has been an associated increase on the demand for debt advice. Using data from the English and Welsh Civil and Social Justice Survey, this article explores how debt problems are experienced across the population and goes on to contextualize the distinct nature of debt problems and their relationship to other problems of everyday life. Findings reaffirm the increased vulnerability to debt problems experienced by socially excluded groups, such as lone parents, those with a long‐term illness or disability and the people with no academic qualification. Results go further to demonstrate that vulnerability is not constant but is also influenced by broader economic and social factors; in particular, findings demonstrate how problems directly associated with the economic downturn increase vulnerability to unmanageable debt and financial difficulty. Given this relationship, and the prolonged longevity of debt problems compared with other problem types, we would expect to see an increase in the experience of debt problems as the effects of the recession become fully apparent, and for some time thereafter. Discussion focuses upon the policy relevance of findings to frontline debt counselling and advice services operating within an increasingly tighter financial environment. Specifically, emphasis is placed upon potential benefits of offering debt counselling and advice as part of an array of other social welfare advice services, and even working across sectors to get better penetration into hard to reach groups.     

Sodium and ready meals: a survey of Irish consumer awareness

The aim of the study was to gain an understanding of Irish consumer attitudes towards ready meals and current sodium issues in Ireland. A questionnaire was distributed to 357 consumers via convenience quota sampling to a range of nationalities in both rural and urban/city areas of Ireland. The survey revealed that a high proportion of respondents (45%; n = 161) were worried about the amount of salt they consumed. Despite this, 58% (n = 207) stated they never look at the sodium/salt contents on nutritional labels with 68% (n = 244) claiming that sodium/salt contents would never affect their buying choice. The survey also uncovered that 76% (n = 270) of the Irish consumers surveyed consider ready meals to be high in sodium and 80% (n = 285) consider them to be an unhealthy option. Despite this, 50% (n = 179) of the respondents consumed a ready meal at least once a week with a further 17% (n = 59) consuming them two to three times a week. Of those who did consume ready meals, 78% (n = 191) chose them due to their convenience. A total of 75% (n = 269) of all the respondents said they would choose a chilled ready meal over its frozen counterpart. The reason for this being attributed to the fact that chilled ready meals were perceived to be healthier (44%; n = 158) and of better quality (54%; n = 194) than their frozen counterparts. Results from this study highlight the need for concerted actions involving consumers, manufacturers and retailers to reduce sodium levels in Irish ready meals, as despite being reasonably aware of the sodium issue consumers were not making informed choices to reduce sodium/salt consumption.     

Stuck in a rut: emerging cocoa cooperatives in Peru and the factors that influence their performance

Agri-cooperatives play an important role in helping resource-poor farmers reach high-value markets. In addition to linking smallholders to markets, cooperatives provide their members with various services, such as extension, credit, input subsidies, and social programmes. While the literature contains many examples of success, there has been limited discussion on the often long and turbulent process by which cooperatives develop over time and the viable options for shortcuts. This study examines four emerging cocoa cooperatives in Peru to determine their overall business viability, the key factors that advanced their development, and their capacity to address the needs of their members. Our findings suggest that strategies for supporting cooperative development have largely failed to address major internal weaknesses and the challenges posed in the external environment. The cooperatives have received time-bound, uncoordinated, and often small-scale, interventions, which have focused on infrastructure expansion and technical assistance. Important areas related to business management and governance structures, trust relationships with buyers, and sufficient working capital have largely been ignored. Shortcuts may be achieved through improvements in access to business development and financial services, deeper engagement by private sector to support the development process, and commitment by stakeholders to monitoring and critical reflection for strategy refinement.     

数字整合营销的现实与未来

在未来的两三年中,线上媒体投放在整个广告支出方面可能会翻一倍,数字媒体同时又是一个销售渠道,数字化将渗透到我们生活当中的方方面面,渗透到品牌的方方面面。     

Analysis of Productivity Differences among Foreign and Domestic Firms: Evidence from Germany

This paper presents differences in firm-level total factor productivity (TFP) across 22 manufacturing and 17 service industries in Germany over the period 1995–2004. It is an attempt to study whether and to what extent foreign multinational enterprises (MNEs) are more productive relative to German firms. As well as distinguishing between foreign and domestic firms, we also distinguish between German MNEs and domestic firms that do not have any foreign presence. Controlling for endogeneity through semi-parametric techniques, our findings indicate considerable heterogeneity in firm performance across types of firms. The foreign/domestic distinction is not as clear cut as has been suggested elsewhere; multinationality is important in explaining productivity differences rather than foreignness. JEL no. D24, F21, F23