Coupon characteristics and brand choice

The effects of coupons on brand choice and repurchase behavior were examined in a laboratory panel experiment. Each of the 122 consumers purchased a candy bar on 10 different occasions; on the seventh purchase occasion, each consumer received an announcement of a new candy bar and one of four versions of a coupon. Results showed that whether or not a consumer will use a coupon depends on the size of the coupon offer, how easily the consumer can redeem the offer, how brand loyal the consumer is, and whether or not the consumer is deal prone. We also found, after statistically adjusting for our censored sample, that loyalty and coupon Characteristics influence whether or not a consumer will continue to purchase a formerly discounted brand. Information aggregation theory (Tybout & Scott, 1983) explains better than attribution theory how the coupon affects repurchase decisions.     

Heterogeneity in sales districts: Beyond individual-level predictors of satisfaction and performance

This article examines the influence of heterogeneity within a sales unit on the unit’s satisfaction and performance.Sales unit refers to a set of salespersons working out of the same office and for the same supervisor, andheterogenity refers to salespersons’ dispersion or variance on key dimensions. Specifically, drawing on theories in social psychology, the authors study the influence of sales unit heterogeneity in terms of (1) demographic characteristics (e.g., gender dispersion), (2) skills and rewards (e.g., reward dispersion), and (3) goal orientations (e.g., learning orientation dispersion) on a sales unit’s performance and job satisfaction levels. The hypotheses developed are tested using data from a study involving 476 salespeople belonging to 105 sales units in a large organization. The authors find that the focal heterogeneity variables account for nearly 25 percent of the total variance explained by the full set of independent variables included in the model. R. Venkatesh is an assistant professor of business administration at the University of Pittsburgh’s Katz Graduate School of Business. His articles on product bundling, cobranding and sales force management have appeared or are forthcoming in theInternational Journal of Research in Marketing, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Business, Journal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Research, andMarketing Science. Goutam Challagalla is an associate marketing professor at Georgia Tech. He received his Ph.D. in marketing from the University of Texas at Austin, where he won the Outstanding Dissertation Award. He has published articles on sales management and marketing theory in marketing and psychology journals. Ajay K. Kohli is Isaac Stiles Hopkins professor of marketing at Emory University’s Goizueta Business School. During 2000–2001, he is on leave from Emory and working at the Monitor Company. He has published in several journals on market orientation, sales management, and organizational buying behavior.     

Private Equity as Canary in a Coal Mine: Building the Ecosystem for Effective Global Financial Integration

A burgeoning private equity (PE) industry provides investment capital to build the capacity of an economy for innovation and entrepreneurial growth. We argue that for PE to contribute to this, capacity building requires effective systems for allocation of financial capital to the private sector and an ecosystem of supportive organizations. To illustrate these claims, we review the recent history of PE in the Middle East–North Africa region to contrast the PE industry in Middle East–North Africa, which stagnated after the financial crisis, with the industry in Turkey, which recovered quickly from a brief pause after the crisis and has thrived since 2008. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Understanding corporate B2B web sites' effectiveness from North American and European perspective

The globalization of economic activities has led multinational business-to-business (B2B) firms to use their corporate web sites extensively to communicate with their stakeholders. Using a field study of 368 business customers, this paper examines three factors of information that influence corporate web sites' effectiveness in a B2B context and whether these factors differ by web site user's national origin. Results indicate that informativeness of a corporate web site is important for both North American and European visitors. Quality of information is important for European users but not an important aspect for North American users. Usability is the most important factor for North American users but it is not important for European users. Implications of these results are discussed for managerial practices and further research.     

Impact of injuries on work performance among the surgical blacksmiths of West Bengal

The manufacture of surgical instruments is one of the leading small-scale industrial sectors in West Bengal, India. The present study was undertaken to assess the rate, type and cause of injury incidents among surgical blacksmiths and whether these incidents affected the work performance of the blacksmiths. A cluster of 216 skilled and 225 unskilled blacksmiths (male), engaged in the manufacture of surgical instruments, was selected from Baruipur subdivision as study subjects. The study included: 1) completion of a questionnaire; 2) measurement of physical parameters; 3) incident records; 4) statistical analysis of the data. The present study revealed that the blacksmiths suffered very frequently from work-related injuries. The number of injuries that occurred during 2004 - 2005 for skilled and unskilled blacksmiths was 1413 and 1610 respectively. Unskilled blacksmiths were disproportionately affected. These injuries resulted in a high rate of lost workdays, i.e. 517 and 742 workdays for skilled and unskilled workers respectively. The study thus indicated that surgical blacksmiths are highly prone to injuries in their occupation, mostly affecting the fingers (23% and 23%) and back region (21.7% and 22%) in both groups, which consequently affected their health, productivity and work performance.     

Control system diversity: Implications for selling centers

It is often the case that members of selling centers are governed by different control systems (i.e., some selling center members are governed more by behavior controls while others are governed more by outcome controls). Surprisingly, there is little research which examines the impact of control system diversity (CSD) on selling center processes (e.g., decision comprehensiveness) and outcomes (e.g., performance). The present research integrates the literature on psychological stakes to show that CSD is positively related to decision comprehensiveness when psychological stakes are high but not when they are low. Decision comprehensiveness, in turn, is positively related to performance. This research uses data from multiple sources across 61 selling centers to provide novel insights into a new form of diversity and the under researched context of selling centers.     

Planned versus unplanned timing changes in payment and product receipt: Implications for sales promotion and services management strategy

Promotional tools and services management strategies are often intertwined with changes in the timing of payments for and receipt of products. A series of studies investigates how the timing of payments and the receipt of products impacts purchase intentions and consumer dollar valuations—e.g., how much extra customers would pay to receive a product more quickly. Using the “time and outcome valuation model” as a theoretical basis, the studies assess the impact of timing changes across four classes of phenomena: delaying the receipt of a good (DR), delaying the payment for a good (DP), advancing the receipt of a good (AR), and advancing the payment for a good (AP). Findings reveal that in unplanned timing changes, the hypothesized sequence for dollar valuations, DR > AP > DP > AR, is supported. However, in the planned timing changes, the sequence for purchase intentions reverses for AR and DR. Additionally, the study resolves the controversy in the literature over the gain/loss nature of the four classes of phenomena. The managerial and theoretical implications of these results are discussed for sales promotion and services management strategies. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Consumer evaluation of brand alliance signals

A consistent finding in brand‐alliance research is that a well‐known, reputable brand ally improves consumers' evaluation of an unknown brand. The authors contribute to this research by examining the effects of a brand ally at different levels of cognitive elaboration and message argument strength. Results suggest that the brand ally serves as an endorser of the primary brand in two key ways. When cognitive elaboration is low and the ad contains strong arguments, the ally serves as an endorser. On the other hand, the presence of a reputable ally is an information cue when cognitive elaboration is high and the ad contains weak arguments. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Perceptions of importance and what safety is enough

This research explores perceived importance of safety and security measures from the perspectives of tourists and service providers. Use of face-to-face-semi structured interviews with supply side providers in Thailand results in recognizing safety measures to ask tourists about, other than those found in the literature. Researchers collected questionnaire data from international leisure and business tourists to Thailand on importance of safety and security measures. Analysis of the importance of 23 safety and security measures show a six factor pattern in thinking about measures. However, the most important measure is not in a factor. Therefore, the study considers analysis method issues and raises questions about the value of structured data and merits of the recognition of if-then conditions by research methods such as long interviews. Examination of practical, theoretical and methodological values of findings includes considering research needed and the utility of safety measure information in business decision making.     

The Effect of Single and Dual Sales Targets on Sales Call Selection: Quota versus Quota and Bonus Plan

Ross (1991) demonstrated that a salesperson's quota acts as a reference point (target or goal) and influences sales call selection. Ross, however, focused only on the effect of a single reference point. The use of multiple goals is quite common in the sales environment, for example in the quota plus bonus compensation structure and in the use of incentive plans. Our study compares and contrasts call selection when a single goal (quota) is given versus when dual targets are assigned (a quota plus bonus level). Consistent with our hypotheses, we find that call selection patterns are influenced by the number of targets assigned to the salesperson.