Marketing versus public relations in selling nuclear power

All too often, the terminology and practices of public relations are used when marketing is what is really needed. This misapplication appears most often when a concept, an idea, or an intangible product is involved. Webster defines public relations as: relations with the general public through publicity; those functions of a corporation, organization, branch of military service, etc., concerned with informing the public of its activities, policies, etc., and attempting to create favorable public opinion.This definition implies a general, ongoing effort to supply information supporting the image of an organization. There is, however, a considerable difference between this kind of activity and the specific, overt process of marketing. This difference has been particularly apparent in attempts of public utilities to “sell” nuclear power plants. Utilities, of course, are monopoly suppliers and, as such, must seek a favorable image in the community. Thus, when public opposition to nuclear power plants mounted, many utilities responded with stepped-up public relations programs; the method they knew best. This article examines the experience of several utilities in locating nuclear plants and suggests how marketing techniques might be used in selling this intangible product.     

Integer goal programming model for the implementation of multiple corporate objectives

The problem of long-range planning and investment project evaluation is complicated by the presence of multiple conflicting goals measured in incommensurable units, indivisibility of alternative projects, and the desire of management to consider mutually exclusive marketing-pricing strategies. The model proposed in this study attempts to allow for these complexities through the use of integer goal programming. It is the hope of the authors that this model will provide management with an additional decision-making tool for implementation of multiple corporate objectives.     

Repetition and attitudinal discrepancy effects on the affective response to television advertising

Significant, favorable attitudinal response toward both the brand and ad were observed at the first exposure in a laboratory experiment on the effects of repeated exposure to television advertisements. At higher levels of repetition, lower, although still positive, ratings were obtained. Response was significantly mediated by prior brand attitude. Mean differences in attitude toward the brand and ad were only partially accounted for by changes in brand perception.     

Market similarity and market selection: Implications for international marketing strategy

International market selection patterns for a sample of 954 new products suggest that firms exhibit a significant preference for markets similar to the home market. Preferences for similar markets decline as firms gain experience in a variety of markets, however. This pattern suggests the importance of uncertainty and information in global market selection and marketing mix management. Alternative means of gathering information about foreign markets permit and support very different approaches to global marketing activity. More fundamentally, a global perspective on the relationship between market conditions, marketing policies and programs, and consumer response can be developed systematically to improve global marketing performance.     

Product vs. customer focused industrial selling

Successfully introducing sophisticated new product innovation in industrial marketing requires a high degree of customer empathy on the part of the salesforce. This article describes a group-oriented exercise designed to improve the performance of the salesforce by their analyzing a specific new product's relative advantages, compatability, divisibility, complexity, and risk as perceived by its customers. A follow-up survey of the salesforce indicated that, as a result of this exercise, greater effectiveness and efficiency in achieving marketing objectives were realized.     

Satisfaction with Cultural/Heritage Sites

SUMMARY

This study attempted to investigate the relationship between cultural/heritage destination attributes and overall satisfaction, and to identify the difference in the overall satisfaction of tourists in terms of selected demographic and travel behavior characteristics. The expectancy-disconfirmation theory provided a conceptual framework for this study. This theory holds that consumers first form expectations of products or service performance prior to purchasing or use. The study area for this study was Virginia Historic Triangle (Williamsburg, Jamestown, and York-town). The survey was conducted at five different sites in the Virginia Historic Triangle. The findings indicate that there is a relationship between destination attributes and overall satisfaction with cultural/heritage experience. The study also reveals that overall satisfaction may show variation by gender, length of stay, and decision horizon. The study concludes with appropriate marketing and management implications.     

An industrial analysis market information system

The United States maritime industry share of world cargo movement has declined steadily for the last decade. The authors maintain that this situation is partially due to the industry's lack of a marketing orientation. Successful marketing hinges upon an effective market information system. This paper presents such a system for the U.S. maritime industry and discusses various information sources as a foundation for this system.     

The perils of personal capital in antebellum America: John Spotswood Wellford and Virginia's Catharine Furnace

The Fredericksburg Iron and Steel Manufacturing Company's ironmaking facility, Catharine Furnace, had the look of a prime mover in antebellum Virginia's industrial sector when it opened in 1838. Its manager and principal owner, John Spotswood Wellford, successfully tapped into his social capital to secure military ordnance contracts, but in the process the firm became utterly dependent upon his ability to secure this work through personal connections. By failing to expand the market for its pig iron and castings in local, regional, and national markets, the firm relied upon these ordnance contracts for shot and shell for its existence. When Wellford died in 1846, the Fredericksburg Iron and Steel Manufacturing Company collapsed. A few years later, Catharine Furnace stood cold and abandoned – a severe reminder of the limited prospects of Virginia's industrial economy and the perils of relying on an individual entrepreneur's personal capital during a critical period of American industrialisation.     

PROBABILISTIC MODELING OF WORKFORCE-BASED DISRUPTIONS AND INPUT–OUTPUT ANALYSIS OF INTERDEPENDENT RIPPLE EFFECTS

This paper extends the formulation of the input–output model to account for events that cause time varying and probabilistic workforce disruptions. One example of such an event is a pandemic, because the rates with which it affects the working population vary from period to period and are coupled with uncertainties. To address such complexities, the paper develops two extensions: (i) a method of translating unavailable workforce into a measure of sector productivity disruption, and (ii) a simulation framework to account for the possible variations in economic output losses. These extensions are implemented via a MATLAB program to simulate a pandemic scenario in the Commonwealth of Virginia.