Richard S. Lapidus and John A. Schibrowsky
Provides an outline for implementing a defensive marketing strategy.Advocates a procedure which combines aggregate complaint analysis and aquality function development tool known…
Abstract
Provides an outline for implementing a defensive marketing strategy. Advocates a procedure which combines aggregate complaint analysis and a quality function development tool known as the House of Quality. The combination of these procedures allows marketers to identify common customer complaints and to assess the synergy between different combinations of service attributes. Then measures customer perception of service attribute combinations for changes in satisfaction level. Argues that the development of a complaint management program can positively contribute to the firm′s competitive advantage.
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John A. Schibrowsky and Richard S. Lapidus
While many firms have developed programs to handle individualcomplaints, few have implemented programs to analyze aggregatecomplaints over time. Attempts to fill that void and…
Abstract
While many firms have developed programs to handle individual complaints, few have implemented programs to analyze aggregate complaints over time. Attempts to fill that void and outlines a method to analyze and manage aggregate complaints. This is a critical part of a complete complaint management program.
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Kim-Shyan Fam, James E. Richard, Lisa S. McNeill, David S. Waller and Honghong Zhang
This paper explores how consumer psychographics impact responses to sales promotions (SPs), and specifically whether equity sensitivity (ES) moderates attitudes towards sales…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper explores how consumer psychographics impact responses to sales promotions (SPs), and specifically whether equity sensitivity (ES) moderates attitudes towards sales promotion in the retail purchase experience (PE).
Design/methodology/approach
The study examines data from a survey of 284 Hong Kong consumers, using a shopping mall-intercept method. Every third person walking past the researchers was asked to participate in the survey. After obtaining their permission, those agreeing to take part in the study were surveyed either inside or outside of the shopping complex. The face-to-face intercept surveying method also increases confidence in sample and response reliability.
Findings
The study finds that ES has a significant positive relationship with evaluations of the retail PE. Consumers identified as “Benevolents” were significantly more positive towards SPs and reported significantly higher satisfaction with the PE. In contrast, consumers identified as “Entitled” were less positive towards SP and less satisfied with the PE. In addition, noncash SPs significantly positively influenced Benevolents' PE.
Research limitations/implications
The current study extends and expands equity theory and ES research by applying these concepts to consumer SPs. The study is limited to an examination of common consumer purchases, across different product categories and SP types. While this allows us to examine the relationship between SP attitudes, ES and purchase satisfaction, future comparisons between individual sales promotion techniques (SPTs) and specific consumer profiles are recommended.
Practical implications
From a retail perspective, it is important to understand individual differences and what influences and motivates the consumers' retail PE. Retail managers are advised to track customer purchases and satisfaction levels linked to SPs as this would allow for the identification of which customers are more likely to fit the Entitled or Benevolent psychological profiles and predict their likely responses to SP offers.
Originality/value
To date, there has been little research on individual psychological differences between consumers when offered SPs at retail stores. The current study contributes to the marketing literature by extending the price fairness equity model to the retail PE, thereby addressing a prominent gap in the literature.
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Richard S. Allen, Margaret Takeda and Charles S. White
This study aims to examine the cross‐cultural differences in equity sensitivity between the USA and Japan.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine the cross‐cultural differences in equity sensitivity between the USA and Japan.
Design/methodology/approach
A sample of 390 Americans and 202 Japanese were surveyed to determine their equity sensitivities and how each group would likely respond to under‐payment scenarios.
Findings
The findings support the notion that the Japanese are in fact more entitled in their equity orientation than Americans. Furthermore, the Japanese were also significantly more likely to respond with overt actions to reduce their feelings of inequity.
Research limitations/implications
Foremost among these limitations is the fact that the situation presented to the subjects was hypothetical rather than real. Since it would be considered unethical to manipulate subjects in real work settings a first person scenario approach was utilized consistent with other equity theory literature. While the scenario was easily identifiable by the student subjects, it is unknown if the findings from this research would apply to adults working in real world organizations.
Practical implications
The results may have important implications for international human resource strategies and practices. Equity sensitivity may affect perceived value of rewards (compensation), promotion (selection), and motivation (performance management) all of which are critical issues in the effective management of human resources. This study illustrates that cross‐cultural differences exist in regard to equity sensitivity and these differences may affect the efficacy of human resource strategies in global organizations.
Originality/value
This paper offers a significant contribution to the literature on equity sensitivity by testing the theory in a cross‐cultural setting.
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Anna Marie Johnson, Claudene Sproles and Robert Detmering
The purpose of this paper is to provide a selected bibliography of recent resources on library instruction and information literacy.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide a selected bibliography of recent resources on library instruction and information literacy.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper introduces and annotates periodical articles, monographs, and audiovisual material examining library instruction and information literacy.
Findings
The paper provides information about each source, discusses the characteristics of current scholarship, and describes sources that contain unique scholarly contributions and quality reproductions.
Originality/value
The information may be used by librarians and interested parties as a quick reference to literature on library instruction and information literacy.
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Phillip T. Lamoreaux, Lubomir P. Litov and Landon M. Mauler
We document the emergence of the Lead Independent Director (LID) board role in a sample of U.S. firms from 1999–2015. We find that firms that adopt an LID board role are larger…
Abstract
We document the emergence of the Lead Independent Director (LID) board role in a sample of U.S. firms from 1999–2015. We find that firms that adopt an LID board role are larger and have more independent boards, higher institutional investor holdings, and an NYSE listing. Firms with greater anticipated benefits from monitoring also adopt an LID role, e.g., firms with dual CEO-Chairman, with more takeover defense mechanisms, and with higher cash holdings. Using an event study methodology, we find that investors respond positively to the adoption of an LID board role. Lastly, using instrumental variables to address endogeneity in the LID board role, we find that firms with an LID are more likely to terminate poorly performing CEOs. Taken as a whole, these results suggest that the LID board role enhances firm value and improves the quality of corporate governance.
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Mounira M. Charrad and Daniel Jaster
The article shows that the concept of patrimonialism is useful for the analysis not only of nation-states, but also of local and imperial power structures. Highlighting the limits…
Abstract
The article shows that the concept of patrimonialism is useful for the analysis not only of nation-states, but also of local and imperial power structures. Highlighting the limits of empires, we consider how local conditions shaped the strategies of colonial states in the process of empire building. We argue that the strength of local patrimonial networks before colonization, coupled with the sequencing of colonial conquests, either facilitated or hindered the French colonial and imperial project. Using a comparative-historical approach based on the analysis of two cases, Algeria and Tunisia, we find that the French colonial state employed markedly differing strategies of domination in each case. In Algeria, the French initially attempted and failed to destroy local patrimonial networks and the social practices associated with them through extensive military action. The failed attempt to destroy local practices resulted in over a century of resistance and bloodshed. When military rule became too costly, the French opted instead to rely on decentralized control that used the very structures they originally sought to eradicate. With constant reminders of the misguided colonial strategy in Algeria, the French used a different form of rule in Tunisia. They incorporated the existing Tunisian bureaucracy into their own political project, using it to limit the power of local patrimonial networks and transforming them instead through the development of capitalistic agriculture. The article illustrates the importance of paying close attention to local patrimonial networks in the analysis of colonial and imperial strategies.
Jenna Drenten, Cara Okleshen Peters and Jane Boyd Thomas
The purpose of this study is to examine the consumer socialization of preschool age children in a peer‐to‐peer context as they participate in dramatic play in a grocery store…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to examine the consumer socialization of preschool age children in a peer‐to‐peer context as they participate in dramatic play in a grocery store setting.
Design/methodology/approach
This research employs a case study approach as outlined by Yin. A preschool located within a major metropolitan area in the Southeastern USA was selected for investigation. Located within each of the three classrooms was a grocery store learning center. This learning center provided children the opportunity to engage in dramatic play while enacting grocery shopping scripts. A total of 55 children between the ages of three‐ and six‐years old were observed over a six‐week period. Observations were recorded via field notes and transcribed into an electronic data file. Emergent themes were compared with theoretical propositions, fleshing out an overall interpretation and description of the case context.
Findings
Findings indicate that even very young children (ages three to six years) are able to successfully adopt and utilize adult shopping scripts within the grocery store shopping context. The children followed a common sequence of behaviors that mimicked adult shopping patterns. Furthermore, the children demonstrated peer‐to‐peer consumer socialization strategies, directing each other on how to perform appropriate shopping scripts.
Originality/value
This study differs from previous research in that the data reveal that preschool age children do in fact exhibit peer‐to‐peer influence while enacting shopping scripts. Although research has examined children as consumers, no researchers have used dramatic play to study young children in a grocery store setting. The rich content obtained from observing children in dramatic play in a grocery store learning center is unique to the marketing literature and provides a better understanding of the consumer socialization of young children.
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Charles H. Schwepker and David J. Good
Because salespeople operating under an outcome‐based control system are likely to be motivated by self‐interest, sales quotas are believed to drive salespeople to perform…
Abstract
Because salespeople operating under an outcome‐based control system are likely to be motivated by self‐interest, sales quotas are believed to drive salespeople to perform unethical behavior, particularly if this behavior is deemed necessary to achieve quota. Accordingly, this article examines the relationship between perceived quota difficulty and moral judgment. Two factors potentially moderating this relationship, ethical climate and consequences for not making quota, are also considered, as well as the influence of market attractiveness and self‐efficacy on quota difficulty. The analysis indicates a significant relationship between quota difficulty and moral judgment when salespeople foresee negative consequences for failing to achieve quota. Further, self‐efficacy and market attractiveness affected perceived quota difficulty. Implications of the study are offered.