A Market-Forces Policy for the New Farm Economy?

This paper first discusses the changes that are bringing about the New Farm Economy. A wave of consolidation has shifted agricultural production to larger, lower cost producers in almost all sectors of agriculture. At the same time, supply chains represent a new form of ownership and control that is replacing commodity markets as the preferred way to market farm output. Both consolidation and the development of supply chains offer the possibility of producing a greater variety of safer, cheaper food. The paper argues that farm policy, crafted for the agriculture of the 1930s, is no longer necessary to raise or stabilize farm incomes, and is largely ineffective anyway. Moreover, farm policy impedes the market forces driving innovation and efficiency in the farm economy. Letting market forces guide the evolution of the farm economy, unfettered by outdated government programs and unnecessary farm subsidies, is the best way to harness the benefits of the New Farm Economy. Getting rid of government subsidies and control will lead to dramatically fewer farmers in agriculture: a policy to deal explicitly with those who will leave agriculture is needed. A transition policy is described that focuses on helping reduce the number of farmers by offering a buyout to farm producers which subsidizes their exit from farming and prevents reentry.     

Inferring Market Structure from Customer Response to Competing and Complementary Products

We consider customer influences on market structure, arguing that market structure should explain the extent to which any given set of market offerings are substitutes or complements. We describe recent additions to the market structure analysis literature and identify promising directions for new research in market structure analysis. Impressive advances in data collection, statistical methodology and information technology provide unique opportunities for researchers to build market structure tools that can assist real-time marketing decision-making.     

Integrated beach resorts,informal tourism commerce and the 2004 tsunami: Laguna Phuket in Thailand

Issues of importance related to informal tourism commerce are explored in this paper with particular reference to the case of Laguna Phuket, an integrated beach resort in Thailand. The extent and nature of informal trade at the destination is analysed before and after the Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004, based upon data collected during fieldwork. The sector is shown to display distinctive qualities, including resilience in the face of a natural disaster, and to have a role in purpose‐built as well as conventional resorts. Its relationship with the formal tourism industry is also discussed and this emerges as close, yet with potential for both conflict and cooperation. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Sniffing Effect: Olfactory Sensitivity and Olfactory Imagery in Advertising

The authors examine the influence of olfactory sensitivity on the effectiveness of olfactory imagery in advertising. Findings reveal that the use of olfactory imagery can negatively impact ratings for ads, the product advertised, and likelihood to buy, especially for individuals sensitive to smell. The authors demonstrate that the act of sniffing can reverse the negative effects of olfactory imagery in olfactory sensitive individuals. An event-related potential (ERP) study provides evidence of emotions triggered during sniffing and forming olfactory imagery, explaining the underlying mechanism behind the observed behavioral and perceptual effects. Results show that olfactory imagery has an impact on the evaluation of ads, with a possible negative impact for sensitive individuals. Furthermore, the article demonstrates that these effects can be reversed by introducing sniffing cues in the ad. Thus, the use of a multimethod approach, combining behavioral and neuroscience experiments, provides insight into the effectiveness of advertising strategies in consideration of individual differences in consumer olfactory sensitivity. This article provides support for advertisers to consider incorporating sniffing cues (to trigger positive scent-associated emotions) in the construction of scent-relevant ads to enhance positive ratings of ads.     

International Marketing Ethics: A Literature Review and Research Agenda

Globalization has changed the nature of business in the twenty-first century (Doh et al. in Bus Ethics Q 20(3):481–502, 2010). With the increased internationalization of multinational corporations, the need to address international marketing ethics arises (Carrigan et al. in Int Market Rev 22(5):481–493, 2005). Given the diversity of environments and cultures, ethical issues are numerous and complicated (Iyer in J Bus Ethics 31(1):3–24, 2001). The understanding of international marketing ethics is critical to academics as well as practitioners. This paper is a literature review (1960s through 2013) of the study of ethics in international marketing. In order to develop a comprehensive review of articles, we review topics such as ethical problems, moral philosophies, and culture and ethics. We also discuss the methodological procedures that are used in international marketing ethics. Researchers and practitioners alike can use this research on international marketing ethics to discuss the phenomena and subsequently lead to future work research.     

Introducing Marketing Letters’ data policy

Marketing Letters - This issue introduces Marketing Letters’ data policy, formulated by our data policy board, comprised of Dina Mayzlin, Darren Dahl, Anirban Mukhopadhyay, and Joachim...     

Consumption to compensate for the feeling of “loss of ownership of self” Women’s journeys through the liminal transitions of marriage

This interpretive study derives a conceptual framework explaining how Indian women experience a loss of self through the transformational event of marriage. The self-discrepancy of losing one’s self motivates these women to renegotiate their sense of self through consumption. Data were collected through 76 in-depth interviews analyzed by a constant comparative method and grounded theory. Our research question is to what degree and in what ways do women in India experience a loss of self upon marriage and, if they do, through what consumer practices (if any) do they attempt to compensate for this feeling of loss? Analysis revealed three common stages in Indian women’s married life (1) marriage as a life transitional event inducing liminality (2) loss of Self: dissonance (3) compensatory consumption as a response to dissonance. Our research contributes to life cycle theory by focusing on liminal transitions. We find that self is a possession that women can lose after marriage in India. Based on these findings we argue that understandings of identity and life cycle must be amended to consider self-discrepancy and coping processes. We develop a model of consumption that results from a perceived loss of self. This is all part of a process of self-identity reconstruction. We also expand psychological ownership theory to include ownership of self.     

Antecedents of brand loyalty in South African retail banking

With new banks entering the South African market and consumers generally not satisfied with their current bank, brand loyalty in the banking sector is receiving greater attention. A gap in the literature exists regarding the issues of bank loyalty and their antecedents in South African retail banking because of the few studies available in the South African context, the new competitive environment in the banking sector, the multi-cultural nature of the market, and the likely switching behaviour by customers. The South African context is a multi-cultural environment and therefore offers a unique background as most previous brand loyalty studies have been in mono-cultural contexts. The purpose of this study was to investigate the antecedents of brand loyalty, including satisfaction, brand relationship quality, customer advocacy, and brand trust in retail banking. We report on a survey of 351 banking customers through SEM using AMOS. While the findings are generally supportive of previous studies, some surprising results are discussed and implications for both theory and practice are highlighted.