Consumption and Remittances in Migrant Households: Toward a Productive Use of Remittances

This article reviews the magnitude of remittance flows into Mexican households and examines the consumption patterns of remittance-receiving households. A thorough understanding of the dynamics of remittances and consumption in migrant households in Mexico should inform policy makers of the best ways to channel these resources into productive uses. The Mexican Income and Expenditure Survey for 1989 is used to compare and test patterns of consumption and uses of remittances in urban and rural Mexico. (JEL F2–F22 , O1–O15 )     

The effects of the service environment on affect and consumer perception of waiting time: An integrative review and research propositions

The management of buyers’ perceptions of waiting time by service businesses may be critical to customer satisfaction. Although reducing actual waiting time is important, what managers view as a short time to wait may feel too long to customers. Relevant literature from architecture, environmental psychology, psychology, physiology, operations management, sociology, and marketing is integrated to build a conceptual model of how the service environment may influence affect and, in turn, waiting time perception. Based on this model, propositions about how specific service environment elements (e.g., lighting, color, temperature) may influence affect and time perception are presented. Finally, a research agenda and implications for service facility design are proposed. She received her Ph.D. from Texas A&M University. Her areas of interest include the retail/service environment, internal marketing, and service quality. She has published articles in theJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Retailing, andInternational Journal of Research in Marketing, among others. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Arlington. She formerly was in sales and marketing planning at IBM, where she was involved in bringing numerous products to market.     

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.     

Exploring the brand value-shareholder value nexus for consumer goods companies

It is generally claimed that brand names are a corporate asset with an economic value that creates wealth for a firm’s shareholders. However, the scholarly literature has neither provided a comprehensive theoretical basis for this claim nor documented an empirical relationship between brand value and shareholder value. This exploratory study describes a rationale for, and documents, the statistical strength and functional form of a brand value-shareholder value relationship for publicly held consumer goods companies in the United States. A theoretical argument supportive of a positive relationship between a firm’s accumulated brand value and market-to-book (M/B) ratio was empirically validated. However, even though firms with higher accumulated brand values have higher M/B ratios, the functional form of the relationship was found to be concave with decreasing returns to scale. Theoretical and managerial implications of these findings are outlined, as well as study limitations and directions for future research. Roger A. Kerin (Ph.D., University of Minnesota) is the Harold C. Simmons distinguished professor of marketing at the Edwin L. Cox School of Business, Southern Methodist University. His research focuses on marketing strategy and product management issues. He has published more than 50 articles appearing in such journals as theJournal of Marketing, theJournal of Marketing Research, Strategic Management Journal, andManagement Science, in addition to authoring four books. He presently serves on numerous editorial review boards and is a former editor of theJournal of Marketing. Raj Sethuraman obtained his Ph.D. from Northwestern University and is an assistant professor at the Edwin L. Cox School of Business, Southern Methodist University. His research focuses on competitive marketing strategies, especially price and advertising strategies. He has published in several journals including theJournal of Marketing Research, Management Science, Marketing Letters, theJournal of Business Research, and theJournal of Consumer Psychology.     

Consumer information cues in television advertising: A cross country analysis

This paper compares the number of consumer information cues found in television advertisements in three countries: Australia, Ecuador, and the United States. Earlier studies conducted by Resnick and Stern in the United States and Dowling in Australia were replicated in Ecuador. Content analysis of 108 Ecuadorian television advertisements evaluated the number and types of information cues in each commercial. Results indicate that a much greater proportion of Ecuadorian television commercials contain consumer information cues than those broadcast in the other two countries. The explanation suggested for this observation is that Ecuador, due to its level of economic development, has many more products in the introductory stages of the product life cycle. This situation, in turn, requires more extensive communication of consumer information to market the products effectively. This finding implies an additional dimension, information content level, which must be considered when adapting international campaigns to conditions in developing countries.     

Unemployment and welfare consequences of international outsourcing under monopolistic competition

This paper challenges the conventional academic view that international outsourcing is just another form of gainful trade. Contrary to that view, we show that labour‐service outsourcing can reduce the high‐wage country's welfare even when product‐market trade is beneficial, within a model that combines involuntary unemployment and monopolistic competition. Outsourcing's impact on welfare is worsened by a definite loss of jobs and a possible contraction in the range of varieties produced worldwide. While owners of capital benefit from outsourcing under certain conditions, labour's welfare always falls.     

Knowledge organisation in R&D alliances: its impact on product innovation

Based on the knowledge-based view of the firm, this paper analyses how alternative configurations of technological relatedness in interfirm research and development (R&D) alliances influence specific types of product innovation. A longitudinal study of pharmaceutical firms provides support for the argument that complementary alliances contribute to the development of both radical and incremental innovation. Collaborating with partners that have similar technologies only enhances incremental innovation, although its impact is curvilinear. These evidences highlight the importance of designing a suitable portfolio of R&D alliances in order to develop different innovative competences.