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The authors investigate how employee social support impacts children’s perceptions of service quality of a child helpline chat service and the chatters’ immediate well-being. Specifically, the purpose of this study is to examine how action-facilitating support, nurturant support and emotional reflections influence the children and to test whether this impact varies depending upon the controllability of the issues discussed.

The authors develop hypotheses about the influence of social support and controllability on children’s perceived service quality and well-being. Chat conversations are coded on the social support given by the employee and the controllability of the issue. Questionnaires are collected to measure children’s service quality and well-being. Using structural equation modeling, hypotheses are tested with a sample of 662 children and chat conversations of a child helpline.

The study reveals that for children chatting about controllable issues, nurturant support and negative emotional reflections negatively influence the immediate well-being of these children. Positive emotional reflections positively influence immediate well-being. For children chatting about uncontrollable issues, nurturant support and negative emotional responses positively influence the perceived service quality.

This study contributes to the services marketing literature by broadening the current understanding of the impact of social support on children’s service quality perceptions and well-being, and by showing how this impact is moderated by the level of controllability of the issue discussed.

Looks at the problem of segmentation in terms of the British car market. Identifies the distinctive needs. Media and characteristics of both British car buyers and buyers of imported makes. Gives a valid method for testing the existence of distinguishable market segments. Presents the implications of segmentation for marketing strategy.

This paper seeks to assess how different segments in the movie market respond to three marketing drivers, namely prices, product availability and viewing channels (including piracy).

A total of 12 conjoint profiles were designed with various levels of the three marketing drivers and a questionnaire was administered to respondents from a major Canadian city. Respondents were then segmented by their channels of acquiring pirated movies and a regression model was run to test for their potential differential responses to the three marketing drivers.

The data show that consumers who had recently obtained hardcopies of pirated movies were more price‐sensitive than other consumers. On the other hand, consumers who had obtained pirated movies through two channels, namely purchasing hardcopies and downloading softcopies, were not as eager as non‐pirates to see the movie as soon as it was released or in a movie theater. Surprisingly, the different segments appear to place a similar value on viewing a movie on an authentic DVD as compared to a pirated one.

As respondents were from a convenience sample in a Canadian city, further research should replicate and extend this study in other geographical markets.

The findings demonstrate the need to segment consumers of pirated products by the channels of acquisition and suggest that the movie industry's attempt to portray piracy as being immoral or unethical has had limited impact.

This paper sheds light on the differences between consumers who obtained pirated movies through purchasing hardcopies and those through the internet.

Selected differences observed among segments of the public in terms of socio‐economic and sociographic characteristics, raise the hope that donors of voluntary contributions can be defined through behaviouristic giving variables, which can be profiled and accessed. Data collected from telephone interviews in Indiana regarding giving behaviour and socio‐economic/sociographic characteristics of the sample, plus individuals' media exposure, suggests that such surveys can isolate segments which are different in their giving orientations, and can aid the targeting of marketing/advertising strategies.

A survey of Fortune 500 vice‐presidents of marketing and planning reveals their views of the business environment in 1995 along with their expected changes in corporate and marketing strategy. These perspectives can serve as a catalyst to other executives for thinking about future business environments as well as possible corporate responses to the shape of the future. Whether the predictions of the organizational managers we surveyed materialize or not, their views are worthy of careful scrutiny by any organization that takes strategic planning as a serious and important exercise in plotting a firm's future.

This articles provides a managerial framework to examine and analyse factors that may influence government decision making in less developed countries. In order to market successfully to these buyers, a series of hurdles has to be cleared. These include meeting eligibility, following procedures, establishing critical linkages, developing competitive offers and exerting appropriate influence. International firms can enhance their success and profits by taking a serious, long‐term approach to these markets.

Reviews two volumes which represent the invaluable contribution which marketing intelligence can make to marketing decisions: the first documenting nine case studies from a variety of fields, the second containing 20 detailed case studies in five categories. Also reviews an article which explores the issues involved in arts marketing.

Considers the mixed results of studies linking between wives′ employment and time‐saving behaviours. Argues that a possible explanation is found in limited conceptual frameworks, inconsistent use of concepts, and insufficiently sensitive research measures. Concludes that both studies, and product development and promotion, should utilize a broadened conceptual framework of consumer time restraints, rather than just wives′ employment.

How does ownership of units of home capital affect time use? What are the determinants of ownership of home capital? The objective of this paper is to inquire into the nature of these relationships.