Management Research News: Volume 14 Issue 4/5

Healthy Outlook for UK Market Research Industry

Peter Todd

The Market Research Society (MRS) is the professional industry body for those producing and using techniques for market, social and economic research. Over the last forty years…

The Marilyn Project: Avoiding the soldier blues

Mick Byrne, Delaney, Fletcher, Slaymaker, Delaney, Bozell, Roy Langmaid

Like many organisations, the Army is preparing itself for significant population changes in the 1990s. The demographic trough means that there will be something like 25% fewer…

Understanding consumer choice: a new approach?

Len Marchant, Peter Hutchinson

To give objective guidance the market researcher needs a clear and valid conceptual model of consumer choice, a compatible quantifiable model, accurate meaningful measures and…

Citizenship, morality and broadcasting

David Docherty, David Morrison

In May 1988, the Home Secretary announced the establishment of the Broadcasting Standards Council. The new eight‐person Council is chaired by Lord Rees‐Mogg. As well as its…

Researching people with disabilities

Philip George

There are over six million disabled adults in this country. This was the principal finding of the recent OPCS survey into disability — a finding which surprised many people. Given…

The Green consumer revelation: How the availability of environmentally friendly products has really affected household purchasing patterns

Judith Passingham, Nick Battinson

After examining why the Green era happened and putting Britain in a European context the authors move on to consumer perceptions of the environmental issue. They argue that the…

Camera tracking: a new tool for market research and retail management

H.C. Phillips, R.P. Bradshaw

Various attempts have been made to study in‐store customer behaviour, mainly using manual recording techniques. Manual recording usually involves tracking a customer round a store…

DTI: Enterprise and Education Initiative: Marketing a change within the education world in attitudes towards business

Endellion Sharpe

The Department of Trade and Industry's Enterprise and Education Initiative forms part of a broad Government strategy to promote greater understanding and co‐operation between…

“… And what sex will you be next birthday?” The Market Research Week Survey revisited

Derek Farr, John McKenzie

As part of the 1989 Market Research Week initiative to promote the “Your Opinion Counts” campaign, a number of the leading Telephone Research agencies volunteered to undertake a…

The management and valuation of marketing information

Bill Blyth

The paper takes, as its starting point, the belief that the management and valuation of information in the broadest sense is ignored in both management texts and practice.

The …. space …. between …. words. The application of a new model of communication to quantitative brand image measurement

Wendy Gordon, David Corr

This paper was written in response to an increasing number of requests by marketing people to provide an answer to the question “What is the essence of my brand?” Many of these…

Generalising to the specific: Strategic forecasting for business

Michael Willmott

The essential element at the start of any strategic forecasting exercise is the need to think strategically and creatively (if not philosophically). There should be no…

“We'll meet again…” Repeat attendance at group discussions — does it matter?

Wendy Hayward, John Rose

Recognising respondents at group discussions can be an alarming and embarrassing experience for both moderators and observers alike. Alarming because recruitment questionnaires…

Pan‐European advertising: dream or reality?

Karen Keen, Lucienne Hellebosch

Much has already been said and written about the future of Pan‐ European advertising, a review of which clearly indicates the existence of two camps among the affected parties.

The face to face interviewer: an endangered species?

Stella Hall, Jackie Katryniak

This paper sets out to present evidence that the face to face interviewer is indeed an endangered species. They examine the issues involved and the importance of the factors which…

New profiles of affluence: marketing to the rich in the 1990s

Ginny Valentine, David Wright

By the year 2000 the Henley Centre forecast that whilst Britain in aggregate will have a third more spending power than it currently possesses, the upper quintile in the…

Fieldwork — are full‐time interviewers the way forward?

Maureen Amar

NOP's problem was that they had insufficient interviewers in London generally and particularly in certain areas; those they had are not fully mobile in the sense that they cannot…

Noise in the system: why advertising research is even harder than we think it is

Michael Warren

The hypothesis behind this paper is simple and is as follows. Techniques and systems to help us develop and evaluate advertisements are available from the survey literature and in…

“I'll give you my opinion for what it's worth”

Sharon Miller, Karen Nunwick

The purpose of this paper is to explore the views of all those involved in the giving and receiving of incentives — respondents, interviewers, field office staff, researchers and…