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This study examines the results of a program intended to act as a selection tool for mass merchandisers and a development tool for small manufacturers. The evaluation program assessed the management practices and products of potential suppliers. Based on past experience, buyers for mass merchandisers consider small manufacturing enterprises a poor risk as potential suppliers of retail goods. As part of the evaluation process, firms were asked 34 closed-end questions regarding their management practices, and each product was evaluated on 41 specific qualities necessary for the mass merchandising market. Of the 1,690 firms that participated in this project, about 5 percent had their products accepted by a national mass merchandiser. A review of the evaluation data reveals that firms needed high performance in both areas of evaluation to be successful in the marketplace, not just a strong firm or a marketable product. However, each of these areas separately had a statistically significant effect on the success of the product in gaining a retail buyer’s attention.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of market orientation for small manufacturers vying to be suppliers in the mass retail marketplace. It examines the mediating effect of product‐related factors (market readiness and market level) on the market orientation‐performance relationship. The paper also assesses the performance of these manufacturers using measures such as buyer review and actual product acceptance.

This paper uses the results of a program, designed to evaluate and develop small manufacturers for the mass retail marketplace, to test the effect of a market orientation philosophy and product‐related factors on small firm performance.

It is found that while a market orientation is critical for the success of these manufacturers, product‐related factors have an even greater value in assessing their performance. Specifically, an evaluator's assessment of a product's readiness for the marketplace and his/her recommendation for the type of market it should enter were much better at predicting product performance for the small manufacturers taking part in the program.

The paper shows that small firms wanting to supply the mass‐merchandising marketplace should not rely solely on market orientation when trying to compete at this level. Market orientation may improve your market readiness, but it does not predict success for small manufacturers. Instead, low market orientation levels and poor product‐related factors strongly predict failure.

To the authors' knowledge no other articles examine market orientation's effect on small manufacturing performance using specific product‐related measures as a mediating variable.

Aims to verify the usefulness of a “balanced approach”.

This study examined 236 small manufacturers that had attempted to become suppliers to the mass merchandiser market. Each firm was asked to complete a self‐assessment instrument and allow its product to be independently evaluated by a trained marketing professional.

The results suggest that, while the balanced approach is useful in evaluating small suppliers, the reliance on only firm‐related items is not as effective as an approach using an instrument that also includes product‐specific measures. Firms with superior management and products were more successful in reaching a merchandiser's shelves than those with poor ratings in each area.

This study not only evaluated management areas similar to the ones recommended by Kaplan, Norton, and Kanji, but also included an assessment of product attributes. The study suggests that a balanced approach to performance assessment includes both firm and product measures. Buyers and suppliers in the mass merchandising industry could use this approach to more accurately assess the strengths and weaknesses of a potential relationship.

Examines consumerist developments in progressive Western economies. Studies present literature about consumerism, developing some propositions forming the basis for a theory of consumerism. Goes on to test the propositions, based on empirical data, to form the foundation for a framework to enable marketing to encompass consumerism. Examines in the first part the USA and the consumerist movement there, looking at various public interest groups active in the USA. Addresses the phenomenon in Europe in the second section stating that Sweden is the most consumer‐friendly, followed by the UK, France and Germany. Concludes that the consumer has a right to expect safety, quality, health; information, education and protection; and truth, authenticity and choice.

In the UK at the moment a great deal of concern is being expressed about the role of the small business and the fact that it is the small businesses which can create new jobs at a time when large organisations are reducing their labour forces. Many pious hopes are being expressed that at least some of those receiving redundancy payments will invest this money in starting a new business. Technological innovation is also a very popular phrase with politicians and others who regard it as some kind of universal panacea. These ideas unfortunately seem to be confused by two fallacies, the first being that the UK is a nation of small businesses (when comparison with the USA and Germany shows that we are in fact large‐company‐oriented) and the second that whilst we in the UK are good at inventing we are not so good at putting inventions into production. It can be argued that in comparison with many countries we are no longer even good at inventing (with some very notable exceptions), and this can be demonstrated by the lower number of patent applications. To transform wishful thinking into reality it may be of benefit to study the reaction of the USA when faced with a similar situation. In the past the high standard of living achieved within the United States was ascribed to the entrepreneurial spirit and innovativeness of its people and of its small firms which rapidly grew into large organisations, in their own turn hiving off staff to start other small firms, thereby repeating the whole process. However once signs appeared that these basic qualities were diminishing, with a consequent erosion of the standard of living, various remedies were suggested, one of which was the formation of Innovation Centres. The present paper traces the development of these Centres and gives an indication of their early successes. Various small initiatives in this area are being shown in the UK but it would appear that the economy could benefit from Governmental support of similar Innovation Centres to those in the USA.

The purpose of this paper is to examine how a firm’s investment behavior relates to its subsequent bank loan contracting.

Using a sample of US firms during the period 1992-2011, the authors examine the association between overinvestment (underinvestment) and three characteristics of bank loan contracts: loan spread, collateral requirement, and loan maturity.

The authors find that overinvesting firms obtain loans with higher loan spreads. Additional tests show that the effect of overinvestment on loan spreads is generally more pronounced in firms with lower reputation, weaker shareholder rights, and lower institutional ownership. The effect of overinvestment on collateral requirement is mixed, and investment efficiency has no significant relation to loan maturity.

The results are subject to the following caveats. First, while the study provides empirical evidence that investment efficiency affects bank loan contracting terms, especially the cost of bank loans, the underlying theory is not well-developed. The authors leave it up to future research to provide a theoretical framework to clearly distinguish the cash flow and credit risk effects of past investment behavior from those of existing agency conflicts. Second, due to data limitation, the sample size is small, especially when the authors control for corporate governance measured by G-index and institutional ownership.

The finding that overinvestment is costly to corporations suggests that managers should consider the potential trade-offs from such investment decisions carefully. The evidence also alerts shareholders and board members to the importance of monitoring management investment decisions. In addition, the authors find that corporate governance moderates the relationship between investment decisions and cost of bank loans, suggesting that it would be beneficial to design effective governance mechanisms to prevent management from empire building and motivate managers to pursue efficient investment strategies.

First, the findings enhance understanding of the potential economic consequences of overinvestment decisions in the context of a firm’s private debt contracting. The evidence suggests that lenders perceive higher credit risk from overinvestment than from underinvestment, likely because firms squander cash in the current period by investing in (negative net present value) projects that are likely to result in future cash flow problems. Second, the study contributes to the literature on the determinants of bank loans by identifying an observable empirical proxy for uncertainty in future cash flows that increases credit risk.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a retrospection on the importance, origins and development of the research programs in the author’s career.

The study uses an autobiographical approach.

Most of the articles, research monographs and books that constitute this research and publishing efforts can be categorized into seven distinct, but related, research programs: channels of distribution; marketing theory; marketing’s philosophy debates; macromarketing and ethics; relationship marketing; resource-advantage theory; and marketing management and strategy. The value system that has guided these research programs has been shaped by specific events that took place in the author’s formative years. This essay chronicles these events and the origins and development of the seven research programs.

Chronicling the importance, origins and development of the seven research programs will hopefully motivate and assist other scholars in developing their own research programs.

Examines the fifthteenth published year of the ITCRR. Runs the whole gamut of textile innovation, research and testing, some of which investigates hitherto untouched aspects. Subjects discussed include cotton fabric processing, asbestos substitutes, textile adjuncts to cardiovascular surgery, wet textile processes, hand evaluation, nanotechnology, thermoplastic composites, robotic ironing, protective clothing (agricultural and industrial), ecological aspects of fibre properties – to name but a few! There would appear to be no limit to the future potential for textile applications.

Examines the fifteenth published year of the ITCRR. Runs the whole gamut of textile innovation, research and testing, some of which investigates hitherto untouched aspects. Subjects discussed include cotton fabric processing, asbestos substitutes, textile adjuncts to cardiovascular surgery, wet textile processes, hand evaluation, nanotechnology, thermoplastic composites, robotic ironing, protective clothing (agricultural and industrial), ecological aspects of fibre properties – to name but a few! There would appear to be no limit to the future potential for textile applications.