The individual dual needs for assimilation and distinctiveness as a segmentation mechanism: developing the concept among students

The present study proposes that the individual's needs for assimilation and distinctiveness serve as a valuable mechanism for consumer segmentation and suggests that augmenting the List of Values with these dual needs enriches the understanding of consumer responses to marketing strategies. Results of a study using a sample of 536 students in an Israeli university identified five segments with significantly different needs for assimilation and differentiation. These segments showed different preferences for marketing communications and distribution channels in their purchasing decision of a cell phone. Mass media and website usage influenced segments marked by high assimilation, while word of mouth influenced segments characterized by high distinctiveness. Augmenting the List of Values with dual needs based segmentation moderated students’ tendencies to favour/dislike marketing communications and distribution channels.     

The effect of consumer emotional disclosure on fairness perceptions

One way consumers cope with an unfair consumption experience is to express how they felt about it. Understandably, these disclosures are often rich with emotion. Does emotional disclosure in this context influence consumers' perceptions of fairness? Drawing hypotheses from the emotional disclosure literature, this research reveals that writing about emotions improves consumer fairness perceptions and satisfaction. However, the benefit of emotional disclosure disappears if the disclosure is solicited by the company perceived to be responsible for the unfairness and they do not offer redress. The findings lead to the recommendation that companies provide and facilitate opportunities for consumers to disclose to third parties the emotions arising from consumption experiences perceived as unfair. Implications for managing customer feedback, complaints, and negative word‐of‐mouth are discussed. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Developing a Marketing Strategy for Nonprofit Organizations: An Exploratory Study

Nonprofit organizations have grown tremendously in the last three decades. With this growth has come a greater interest from the nonprofit sector in the importance of marketing. Nonprofits did not apply marketing techniques until 1960–1970, but it is now a well accepted practice. Traditional marketing strategies do not work for nonprofit organizations, and this study proposes the development of a new marketing strategy specifically for this sector. Through the use of interviews and surveys, the authors examine issues of marketing strategy that are distinct for nonprofits. Unlike previous studies, this study examines these issues from the viewpoint of the nonprofit organization. The perception of marketing is different in nonprofit organizations, and the strategic implications of this finding are discussed.     

Consumer‐Generated Representations: Muslim Women Recreating Western Luxury Fashion Brand Meaning through Consumption

The aim of this paper is to explore the influence of consumer‐generated representations on symbolic brand meaning. The term consumer‐generated representation is used in this research to refer to the image created for a brand based on the defining characteristics of a consumer or group of consumers. A preliminary qualitative study consisting of 12 in‐depth interviews was conducted in Kuwait, specifically exploring Muslim female consumers as consumers of western luxury fashion brands. The findings show that Muslim female consumers generate “Modestly Sexy” representations that recreate meaning for western luxury fashion brands in Kuwait. Thus, marketers need to recognize the importance of managing consumer‐generated representations on a global scale.     

Market and technology shifts in the 1990s: Market fragmentation and mass customization

This paper highlights demographic and psychographic population shifts, which, together with a rapid increase in the flexibility and cost‐efficiency of production processes, will force marketers into more complex market segmentation and niche marketing strategies. The accelerating trends in market fragmentation and “mass‐customization” of production will challenge traditional marketing thinking and strategies during the 1990s.     

Household Determinants of the Adoption of Improved Cassava Varieties using DNA Fingerprinting to Identify Varieties in Farmer Fields: A Case Study in Colombia

We examine factors affecting the adoption of improved cassava varieties of 217 households in the Cauca Department in southwest Colombia. Using DNA fingerprinting through Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs), we identified different cultivars in farmers fields. We also used this information to remove possible bias in the adoption model that could have resulted from a misclassification of improved varieties (IVs). As a result, we found that farmers substantially overestimate their use of IVs and there are important differences in the determinants of adoption between farmer self‐identification and DNA fingerprinting. This finding implies that the incorporation of DNA fingerprinting in IV adoption studies is important to ensure the accuracy of future agricultural economic research and the relevance of subsequent policy recommendations.     

Spatial determinants of productivity growth on agri‐food Spanish firms: a comparison between cooperatives and investor‐owned firms

This study analyses the effect of the spatial factor, location, and interaction effects among peer companies, on the productivity growth of agri‐food companies in Spain. With this aim, we build a productivity growth index and apply a multiequational Seemingly Unrelated Regression on a sample of 344 Spanish cooperatives and investor‐owned firms for the period 2010–2012. Our findings show that agri‐food firms are influenced by spatial factors finding interesting differences between cooperatives and investor‐owned firms. With regard to the geographical location, cooperatives in the western of Spain show higher productivity growth rates, whereas investor‐owned firms in the northeast of Spain present better results. The interaction effect among closer peer companies is also a relevant factor to determine the productivity growth in agri‐food companies. This factor is more relevant for cooperatives than for investor‐owned firms.     

Is Oil Palm Expansion a Challenge to Agroecology? Smallholders Practising Industrial Farming in Mexico

Agroecology has become a powerful alternative paradigm for rural development. In contrast to conventional approaches, this paradigm shifts the emphasis from technology and markets to local knowledge, social justice and food sovereignty, to overcome rural poverty and environmental degradation. However, the spread of this approach faces several obstacles. This paper deals with one of these obstacles: the ‘preference’ of smallholders for industrial farming. We specifically analyse the widespread uptake up of oil palm by smallholders in Chiapas. Contrary to agro‐ecological assumptions, oil palm proved favourable to smallholders in Chiapas because of historical and contemporary state–peasant relations and the advantageous economic circumstances within the oil palm sector. Based on this research, we identify four challenges for agroecology: (i) the existence of contradictory interests within the peasantry as a result of social differentiation; (ii) the role of the state in making conventional development models relatively favourable to smallholders; (iii) the prevalence of modernization ideologies in many rural areas; and (iv) the need for this paradigm to acknowledge smallholders' agency also when engaged in industrial farming. These challenges need to be tackled for agroecology to offer viable alternatives in a context of agro‐industrialization.