Regulated industries such as the telephone industry are generally less competitive than those in the manufacturing sector, due to restricted entry and uniform rate setting…
Abstract
Regulated industries such as the telephone industry are generally less competitive than those in the manufacturing sector, due to restricted entry and uniform rate setting. Recently, peripheral competition with AT & T has emerged in areas such as microwave transmission. Telephone companies however, have exclusive markets and interface with competition only at territorial boundaries in the form of inter‐connecting lines. AT &T is a de jure monopoly controlling approximately 85 percent of the U.S. telephone revenues; GTE, its largest competitor, has only 8 percent while independent companies cover the remaining 7 percent.
Dave Hanson and Conway Lackman
Cultural differences often pose major difficulties in international negotiations and management. These cultural differences reflect differences in the assumptions people make…
Abstract
Cultural differences often pose major difficulties in international negotiations and management. These cultural differences reflect differences in the assumptions people make about how business is organized and what social strategies should be followed for career success. Managers working in different cultures can identify these strategies by asking people about the types of skills in which they take the most pride and what they regard as the most prevalent causes for career failures. The foreign manager should also look at the ways in which subordinates interact. With whom do people tend to associate in the organization? How do they tend to present themselves? Finally, managers can promote changes in organizational culture by clearly and consistently setting out a framework in which different career strategies would become appropriate. Training should be provided in the new sets of interpersonal and organizational skills. The prospects for successfully changing behaviors in the foreign organization will be enhanced if people are not asked to adopt social strategies under the new rules that have generally been considered as sources of risk and ruin under the traditional patterns.
The purpose of this paper is to improve the capability of managers to forecast revenues and develop marketing plans for B2B component products.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to improve the capability of managers to forecast revenues and develop marketing plans for B2B component products.
Design/methodology/approach
The methodology used is a dynamic market simulation at the product level. A previously developed consumer goods speciality product forecasting model is extensively modified to capture the different parameters (i.e. direct selling) relevant to a business‐to‐business (B2B) component goods product category. A dynamic simulation is developed using a set of equations developed to capture the marketing mix. Using just the demand equation (total supply exogenous) and employing the entire model (supply endogenous), sales are predicted.
Findings
The key findings are that the simulation produced more accurate (lower error) forecasts. The dynamic simulation for total demand for B2B auto components produced a mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) of 8.5 percent, comparing favorably with the average MAPEs of 30 percent achieved by 168 companies forecasting B2B products.
Research limitations/implications
The main research limitation is that the model is limited to B2B component products.
Practical implications
The practical implication of the model is that it improves the ability of marketing managers to successfully reach revenue targets.
Originality/value
This improved ability adds value to the B2B component marketing manager's planning process by providing a method of specifying a marketing plan that is likely to result in revenue that achieves or exceeds the target revenue and knowledge of what marketing mix levels would move present sales to meet or exceed target.
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Conway Lackman and Charles Brandon
Employs weights based on relative errors produced by two or more modelsto formulate a consensus forecast. This method better captures changingpatterns through time and sharply…
Abstract
Employs weights based on relative errors produced by two or more models to formulate a consensus forecast. This method better captures changing patterns through time and sharply reduces size of forecast error.
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Conway Lackman, Kenneth Saban and John Lanasa
One of the drivers of both strategy and success in the marketplace is the role of market intelligence. Samples a broad cross section of firms regarding their level of MI activity;…
Abstract
One of the drivers of both strategy and success in the marketplace is the role of market intelligence. Samples a broad cross section of firms regarding their level of MI activity; MI data sources and MI accountability. Regarding MI activity and its value to consumer/competitive intelligence, two‐thirds of the companies indicated a dramatic increase in level of activity and nearly three‐fifths (54 per cent) said the impact of MI contributes heavily to tactical and strategic decision making. One third said activity was level, while none indicated a reduction. 44 per cent indicated MI contributed somewhat to decision making and only 2 per cent felt MI contributed little to strategy and success in the marketplace. Regarding MI data sources, customers, manufacturing, and R&D are the central source. Regarding MI accountability, about half held marketing accountable for MI.
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Kenneth Saban, John Lanasa, Conway Lackman and Graham Peace
Investigates the functional relationship between organizational learning and the new product development process. The two major learning styles studied included Duetero and…
Abstract
Investigates the functional relationship between organizational learning and the new product development process. The two major learning styles studied included Duetero and Non‐Duetero. After surveying key employees involved in new product development from 212 diversified businesses, the results showed that businesses employing Duetero learning were more: knowledgeable about the factors that drive successful and failed products; inclined to establish business goals and employ balanced measures when benchmarking new product performance. All of which suggests that organizational learning does impact new product performance, and should be considered a critical component to the NPD process.
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Andy Haynes, Conway Lackman and Audrey Guskey
Introduces the concept of comprehensive brand presentation (CBP), a formalized approach to align manufacturing and communications functions in the business firm. The linchpins of…
Abstract
Introduces the concept of comprehensive brand presentation (CBP), a formalized approach to align manufacturing and communications functions in the business firm. The linchpins of CBP are total quality management (TQM) principles and integrated marketing communications. The CBP enhances success through synergistic execution of the manufacturing and marketing processes via increased focus on measuring customer response to both manufactured product and promotional efforts supporting that product. CBP defines the TQM principle of “out of control” as the variance between actual brand image and customer specifications as rated by the target customers. CBP’s operational objective is to minimize that variance and, thereby, maximize the expected probability of product acceptance and subsequent target market brand loyalty.