Unplanned buying and in-store stimuli in supermarkets

Manufacturers and retailers in industrialized countries spend large sums on advertising and/or in-store promotion in the hope of increasing sales of their merchandise through ‘impulse’ buying. Results are reported in this paper of the unplanned buying behaviour of 450 consumers in 15 major supermarkets in South Africa compared with similar studies in the United States and the United Kingdom. The findings indicate that unplanned buying is higher in the United States than in South Africa, but that the importance of in-store stimuli holds true across cultures. Analysis of other variables such as brand loyalty, specific outlet, and presence of a shopping list is also reported on a cross-cultural basis.     

Pricing practices in two industries

Although a critical part of marketing decision making, very little has been written about industrial pricing policy and strategy. This article has three objectives: First, to report the pricing practices of the chemical and construction industries; Second, to compare their pricing policies; and third, to develop a simple pricing framework for industrial marketers. The results of this study are interesting and somewhat unexpected. The buyer and his behavior only play a small part in pricing policy. A pricing framework or model is presented in a logical and systematic way.     

Corporate Identity,Ethics and Reputation in Supplier–Buyer Relationships

Multi-national corporations (MNCs) have been criticised for not behaving ethically in some situations, which could have a negative effect on their reputation. This study examines the ethics of a large MNC in its relationship with its suppliers. A brief literature review of corporate identity, business ethics and buyer–supplier relationships is undertaken. The views and perceptions of the buying staff and the suppliers to a large South African MNC are obtained and discussed. The results indicate that this MNC has a good corporate reputation among both its suppliers (an important stakeholder) and its own buying department. The existence and implementation of formal codes of ethics was found to be a necessary, but not sufficient condition for good ethical practice. Candid relationships with suppliers emerged as a second and important factor. Ethical perceptions of buyers by suppliers are driven by the management of corporate identity, through the elements of ethical standards and candid relationships. We present a model of corporate identity/reputation in Buyer–Supplier Relationships. Michael Bendixen is a Professor of Research Methodology and Statistics at the H. Wayne Huizenga School of Business at Nova Southeastern University, Florida. His research interests include business ethics, governance and culture. His articles have appeared in the European Journal of Marketing, Industrial Marketing Management, Journal of Business Research, Journal of International Business Studies and Journal of Marketing Management amongst others. Russell Abratt is a Professor of Marketing at the H. Wayne Huizenga School of Business at Nova Southeastern University, Florida. His research interests include corporate identity management and business ethics. His articles have appeared in the Journal of Business Ethics, Journal of Business and Psychology, European Journal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Management, Industrial Marketing Management, and Business Horizons amongst others.     

An examination of the ethical beliefs of managers using selected scenarios in a cross-cultural environment

Academic literature addressing the topic of business ethics has paid little attention to cross-cultural studies of business ethics. Uncertainty exists concerning the effect of culture on ethical beliefs. The purpose of this research is to compare the ethical beliefs of managers operating in South Africa and Australia. Responses of 52 managers to a series of ethical scenarios were sought. Results indicate that despite differences in socio-cultural and political factors there are no statistically significant differences between the two groups regarding their own ethical beliefs. Results thus support the view that culture has little or no impact on ethical beliefs.Russell Abratt (DBA Pretoria) is Professor of Marketing at the University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa. His research interests include business ethics and promotional strategy. His work has been published in various sources includingJournal of Business Ethics, European Journal of Marketing, International Journal of Advertising andIndustrial Marketing Management.Deon Nel (DCom Pretoria) is Professor of Marketing at the University of Pretoria, South Africa. His research interests include business ethics and group decision making in organisations. His work has been published in various sources includingJournal of Business Ethics, European Journal of Marketing, Management Research News.Nicola Higgs is a graduate student at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.     

A cross-cultural study of the perceived benefits of a retailer loyalty scheme in Asia

The aim of this paper is to explore loyalty, loyalty schemes, and loyalty cards, as well as the internationalisation of loyalty schemes. We focus on loyalty schemes in Asia to define the primary objective of our study: to assess the impact of perceived benefits on the feelings of participants of a specific retailer's loyalty scheme, as well as customer loyalty towards the retailer. A literature review of loyalty schemes and loyalty cards is undertaken as well as the internationalisation of these cards. A survey was conducted in five Asian countries in which Toys’R’Us operates, namely Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Thailand. Data was collected among members of the Toys’R’Us Star Card loyalty programme. Structural equation modelling was used to build a model that can be used to explain the simultaneous structural relations between perceived benefits, emotional feelings, and loyalty behaviours. Invariance testing was applied in order to test whether the model holds across the five countries. Our findings suggest that perceived benefits have a weak direct effect on loyalty behaviours. However, perceived benefits have a much stronger effect on feelings, which in turn have a strong effect on loyalty behaviours. We also found subtle differences between the countries in the study, which could either be attributed to cultural differences, to marketing practices, or to both, which can only be ascertained through further research.     

The Evaluation of Sports Sponsorships

This article considers how sports sponsorships are evaluated by sponsors. The important question is to determine whether a systematic approach is used in the light of the huge expenditures involved in sponsorships. The role of sports sponsorships in the promotional mix is discussed, as well as the evaluation of sports sponsorships. This study involved a sample of 28 sponsors in South Africa during 1988. A framework for the evaluation of sponsorships is presented for use by companies wishing to enter the world of sponsorship.     

The impact of internal marketing on the perception of service quality in retail banking: A Ghanaian case

Although there is a large volume of literature on internal marketing, there is limited empirical evidence on its impact on the perception of service quality in developing nations. A literature review of internal marketing and service quality has been completed. A survey of 32 top managers, 100 employees and 200 external customers of a major bank in Ghana was undertaken to assess the impact of internal marketing on the perception of service quality. The results suggest that internal marketing can have an influence on service quality. Implications of the study are highlighted, limitations noted and directions for future research are outlined.     

Perceptions of IMC and organisational change among agencies in South Africa

This paper reports on the development of Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) in an emerging market, South Africa. It also deals with the organisation of advertising agencies in an IMC environment. A brief overview of IMC is given as well as a review of the organisation of agencies. The study consisted of in-depth interviews of 20 senior advertising agency executives. The results indicate that most agencies are developing their IMC strategies and that it is growing in importance in South Africa. Some recommendations are proposed to enable agencies to become more effective in future.     

Understanding Factors Affecting Salespeople’s Perceptions of Ethical Behavior in South Africa

Sales professionals have been frequent targets of ethical criticism. This paper reports on a survey on ethics of sales professionals in South Africa. The results revealed salespeoples views on controversial sales practices that involve direct monetary consequences; on practices that adversely affect customers, employers and competitors; and on sales peoples sensitization of ethical issues. Stealing from a competitor at a trade show was viewed as the most unethical of the scenarios, while phone sabotage and lying to a customer were held to be the next most unethical scenarios. Analysis of the results lead to a discussion of the implications for sales management. Ethical perceptions were affected by financial considerations. Marketing and Sales Managers will have to review their approach to training in sales ethics as well as how sales professionals implement the market driven approach.