|
on Marketing |
|
Issue of 2010‒08‒06
seven papers chosen by Joao Carlos Correia Leitao University of Beira Interior and Technical University of Lisbon |
| By: | Clonan, Angie; Holdsworth, Michelle; Swift, Judy; Wilson, Paul |
| Abstract: | Although interest in âsustainable foodâ has grown substantially in recent years, an official definition for sustainability has yet to be agreed upon. âSustain: the alliance for better food and farmingâ provide guidance to consumers wishing to make more sustainable food purchases, in the form of seven guiding principles. Using these principles, this study seeks to assess UK consumerâs priorities towards sustainable food. A detailed structured questionnaire explored shopping habits, attitudes to sustainable food components (organic, fair-trade, local food and animal welfare), stated purchasing behaviour and demographic information. Questionnaires were sent to 2,500 randomly selected Nottinghamshire (UK) residents. A response rate of 35.6% was achieved. The data reveals that consumers prioritise packaging, how food is produced and animal welfare when considering sustainable food components. Stated purchasing behaviour demonstrates that âfree rangeâ and âlocalâ products are more likely to take precedence over other sustainability aspects. Future research will seek to compare and contrast stated and actual preferences by comparing the population survey results to actual purchasing behaviour from supermarket data. |
| Keywords: | Consumer, sustainable food, purchasing behaviour, free range, local, animal welfare, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, |
| Date: | 2010–03–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aesc10:91948&r=mkt |
| By: | Basant Kumar Purohit |
| Abstract: | Indian pharmaceutical sector is currently witnessing faster introduction of new drugs, with shorter life cycles, given the intense competition. Often, pharma companies fail to strategically align their sales force with brands to gain the competitive edge. Personal selling literature too is silent on this front. This study for the first time, suggests a new conceptual framework to align sales career cycle (SCC) stages with brand life cycle (BLC) stages of the drugs for more effective selling to physicians. Through a series of propositions, the study highlights the relevance of sales career cycle stage in influencing physicians for increasing prescriptions and the alignment of sales efforts at various SCC stages with the brand life cycle. Pharmaceutical companies would stand to gain from this study by profiling the medical representatives based on SCC stages and allotting them the drug in the appropriate BLC stage. [W.P. No. 2010-07-01] |
| Keywords: | Indian pharmaceutical sector, new drugs,life cycles,pharma companies, strategically align, Pharmaceutical companies, Pharmaceutical companies |
| Date: | 2010 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ess:wpaper:id:2725&r=mkt |
| By: | Maria Arbatskaya; Hideo Konishi |
| Abstract: | This paper compares the equilibrium outcomes in search markets with and without referrals. Although it seems clear that consumers would benefit from referrals, it is not at all clear whether firms would unilaterally provide information about competing offers since such information could encourage consumers to purchase the product elsewhere. In a model of a horizontally differentiated product and sequential consumer search, we show that valuable referrals can arise in the equilibrium: a firm will give referrals to consumers whose ideal product is sufficiently far from the firm’s offering. It is found that the equilibrium prices are higher in markets with referrals. Although referrals can make consumers worse off, referrals lead to a Pareto improvement as long as the search cost is not too low relative to product heterogeneity. Similar results are obtained in the presence of referral fees and in the case where firms can price-discriminate among consumers and consumers can misrepresent their tastes. |
| Date: | 2010–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:emo:wp2003:1004&r=mkt |
| By: | Dahlan, Rolan Mauludy; Situngkir, Hokky |
| Abstract: | The integration process between evolutionary approach and conventional economic analysis is very essential for the next development of economic studies, especially in the fundamental concepts of modern economics: supply and demand analysis. In this presentation, we use the concept of meme to explore evolution of demand. This study offers an evolutionary model of demand, which views utility as a function of the distance between the two types of sequences of memes (memeplex), which represent economic product and consumer preference. It is very different from the conventional approach of demand, which only views utility as a function of quantity. This modification provides an opportunity to see innovation and transformation of consumer preferences in the demand perspective. Innovation is seen as a change in sequence of memes in economic products, while the transformation of consumer behavior is defined as a change in the aligning memes of consumer preference. Demand quantity is the result of the selection process. This model produces some interesting characteristics, such as: (i) quantitative and qualitative properties of evolution of demand, (ii) relationship between consumer behavior and properties of evolution of demand that occurred and (iii) power law on the distribution of product lifetime. At the end we show the improvement of utility function, in the concept of meme, might create a new landscape for the further development of economics. |
| Keywords: | Evolutionary economics; memetics; demand; evolution; innovation; transformation of consumer behavior |
| JEL: | D11 D91 D40 O33 L16 E11 L15 O31 E20 |
| Date: | 2010–07–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:24159&r=mkt |
| By: | Andreas Chai |
| Abstract: | This paper posits that significant changes in 19th century British recreational travel patterns resulted from a change in the manner in which tourists used entertaining stimuli in order to attain pleasure. Consumers no longer merely viewed arousing stimuli, but attempted to use them to produce emotional states of being which they could partially modify to intensify pleasurable feelings (Damasio 2003). The impetus for this modification stemmed from an increasing awareness that emotional responses could be to some degree self-cultivated, as embodied in the Romantic ethos that become popular at the time via the emergence of the paperback novel and magazine industry (Campbell 1987). By learning how to manipulate and modify mental images in a way that may not necessarily correspond with objective reality, Romantic tourists learned to elicit pleasure through engaging of their imagination. Such a change in the mode of pleasure seeking had important long run economic consequences for tourist regions throughout the European continent. |
| Keywords: | Consumer specialization; Emotions; Tourism; Romanticism Length 27 pages |
| JEL: | D11 D13 O12 O40 |
| Date: | 2010–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:esi:evopap:2010-08&r=mkt |
| By: | Joseph E. Harrington, Jr. |
| Abstract: | This paper identifies conditions under which an industry-wide practice of posted (or list) pricing is a plus factor sufficient to conclude that firms violated Section 1 of the Sherman Act. For certain classes of markets, it is shown that, under competition, all firms setting a list price with a policy of no discounting is contrary to equilibrium. Thus, if all firms choose posted pricing, it is to facilitate collusion by making it easier for them to coordinate their prices. It is then argued that the adoption of posted pricing communicates the necessary intent and reliance to conclude concerted action. |
| Date: | 2010–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:jhu:papers:565&r=mkt |
| By: | NELLES Jennifer |
| Abstract: | In this complex and highly interconnected world, one government rarely possesses full capability in any given policy area. It is therefore vital to understand how governments can work together to achieve collective goals. This paper examines how horizontal cooperation between local governments emerges in metropolitan regions. It tests a theoretical framework that unites the two dominant, but so far isolated, approaches to regional governance and cooperation in four cases: the Toronto and Waterloo city-regions in Canada, and the Frankfurt and Rhein-Neckar regions in Germany. Findings demonstrate the inconsistency of the systemic and intervening factors that anchor the two dominant approaches and propose an alternative approach – civic capital – to explain observed patterns of cooperation. Finally, the paper reflects on the theoretical and policy implications of these findings for research in comparative politics and regional governance. |
| Keywords: | regional governance; intermunicipal cooperation; civic capital; regional development; regional marketing |
| Date: | 2010–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:irs:cepswp:2010-18&r=mkt |