Proceedings of the 1979 Academy of Marketing Science (AMS) Annual Conference

Consumers tend to rely heavily upon stored information in the majority of their purchases. Prevalent among such information is brand identification. National, private and generic branded products are now evident in many U.S. markets. This paper seeks to explore significant attributes common to national, private, and generic brands and to profile the developing generic branded product buyer.

The present study provides a life style profile of the early adopter of cable television service. A questionnaire was administered to 600 householders from which 149 were later identified as early adopters and 238 as non-adopters. The early adopters were found to be younger, have a higher annual income and more children at home aged 11 to 15. They were more achievement oriented, more individualistic, more materialistic, and possessed greater self-esteem than the non-adopters. They were greater users of the media in general and of television in particular.

The importance of neighborhood and dwelling unit attributes in the home purchase decision is explored in this study. The findings should be informative and useful to those involved in the marketing of homes. Differences in attitudes by former renters and owners as well as low, medium, and high socioeconomic groups are reported.

Behavioral scientists have noted an increasing emphasis on ethnicity and ethnically defined identities among diverse social groups. The relationships between ethnicity and two concepts central to the innovation diffusion paradigm - opinion leadership and innovativeness - are empirically investigated within the Black American subculture. Tests on seven hypotheses derived from prior research on black-white consumption patterns reveal significant differences in the correlates of these two diffusion contracts which appear to be attributable to both ethnic and socioeconomic influences.

This paper reports on a survey of females which examined the relationship of feminine role orientation to purchase and use of cosmetics. Females of pro-feminist orientation were expected to generally use less cosmetics. A sample of 182 coeds at two colleges were measured for feminist orientation using the Attitude Toward Women Scale and their use of various cosmetic products was recorded. Significant relationships were found, having potential interest to cosmetics marketers.

Using cluster analysis it was found that a homogeneous group of cigarette smokers could be meaningfully grouped on the basis of the beliefs they endorsed concerning continued cigarette smoking and that systematic relationships existed among these groups relative to their intentions to continue smoking and their present product usage rates.

The present article is a sequel to an original article dealing with the senior citizen market segment which appeared in 1968. The U.S. Department of Labor Bureau reau of Labor Statistics, has just released the findings of 1973 data. While in absolute terms the senior citizen market is growing more than proportionately, its economic gains continue to lag behind the national average. However, this segment is expected to gain substantial economic strength both in absolute and relative terms.

Recently, marketing researchers have recognized the importance of incorporating consumer perceived attribute uncertainty in consumer multiattribute evaluation models. However, marketing researchers have overlooked an important theory -- the expected model -- that has received extensive discussion in related disciplines. The study reported in this paper examines the applicability of the expected utility theory as a descriptive model in a marketing context.

The concept of the family life cycle has proven to be a useful but incomplete tool for marketers. Significant changes in life-styles have created the necessity for altering and updating this concept. This article explores these changes and integrates them into new life-cycle patterns.

India is a country in which tradition plays an important role in regulating social and economic life. Caste system played an important role in selecting occupations including retailing. Following the independence in 1947 and the subsequent inception of five-year plans several social and economic changes have taken place. The major objective of the study was, therefore, to determine the impact of socio-economic changes in retailing. Analysis of data collected from 513 randomly selected retailers in Bangalore city revealed that socioeconomic changes did have and continue to have impact on retailing.

The field of logistics lends itself well to analysis through computer simulation. One such simulation technique is the Graphical Evaluation and Review Technique (GERT). The GERT model, its applicability to logistics, and areas of future research are discussed.

This study examines grocery shoppers’ reactions to situations where advertised specials are not available. Emphasis was placed on type of action taken and experiences with "rainchecks." Shoppers with limited education and income levels were less assertive than their more sophisticated counterparts when confronted with questionable selling practices and merchandising miscalculations.

Several authors discuss factors affecting Franchisee/ Franchisor relationships. This work evaluated the Franchisee’s view of various factors in terms of importance of Franchisor’s contribution to short run profitability and contribution to operating practices.

This exploratory study examined the awareness, shopping behavior patterns, and patronage motives of consumers of pre-owned merchandise. Data were obtained through telephone interviews from a sample of 343 respondents by using a random digit dialing method. The paper discusses the implications of findings for marketing strategy formulation. Also presented are directions for further research into this neglected area of retailing.

Retail executives were interviewed to determine their problems and attitudes about energy conservation. They had little conservation information and reported few conservation efforts. The executives were concerned about potential sales declines caused by energy saving measures.

Various aspects of the relationship between export manufacturers and their overseas distributors are examined in study reported in this paper. Some support is found for an association between manufacturer stake in the relationship and conflict level, while strong support is found for an association between conflict and performance levels.

The attitudinal and demographic characteristics of the downtown worker were examined as they pertain to their shopping behavior in the central business district. These findings are examined in the light of a neglected market segment that may be instrumental in the revitalization of the downtown shopping area.

This paper reports on the attitudes of Japanese exhibitors in industrial trade shows in Japan. The research used a mail questionnaire in Jaoanese calligraphy. Japanese exhibitors were found to perceive the same three major benefits of exhibiting as do North American exhibitors; however, they deemed trade shows to be more effective.

Business opportunities in Vietnam are plenty and Japan as well as many European countries have been exploiting them successfully -- the key to success is the willingness to understand the Vietnamese business environment. With adequate preparation and foresight, American businessmen could soon do business with Vietnam as they do with China.

Besides the "traditional" avenues of financing provided by world and U-S. money center banks providing service to their customers, three "new" sources of financing are developing for the Caribbean Basin.

This paper examines the relationship between a number of export policy measures and the export sales performance of a sample of companies in the U.K. clothing industry. Policy measures are used first in a discriminant analysis of above- and below-average exporters and, second, to explain a multi-dimensional measure of export performance using canonical correlation. The "jack-knife" technique is used to test the stability of these analyses.

Because of obvious social, cultural, economic, and political differences between nations, most forecasters building models for international market demand estimation reject the determinants specified in domestic demand models. They believe international forecasters must “adapt to foreign conditions.” This study suggests, however, that because all consumers must act through the economic system, forecasting models which draw from economic system variables can be used across countries.

The governments of the industrialized countries are reviewing their policies regarding direct foreign investments in the less developed countries by multi national firms. In the industrialized countries national unions are concerned with job loss, domestic businessmen are concerned with competition from less developed countries, and government officials are concerned with relative declines in technological strengths.

The quintupling of crude oil prices in 1973–1975 caused a giant increase in Iran’s and Saudi Arabia’s oil revenues which are channeled to finance their ambitious five-year development plans. For example, the new Saudi Economic Development Plan (1975–1980) calls for an expenditure of approximately $142 billion. Consequently, Iran and Saudi Arabia now rank as the most rapidly growing import markets between Europe and Japan.

The current rhetoric involving the new international economic order creates the impression that it is possible and that U.S. firms should begin to adapt to it. The reality is quite different. Domestic political and economic considerations make U.S. agreement doubtful. Implementation problems are nearly insurmountable. And the internal difficulties of the developing nations make much of it of suspect value. This paper analyzes the NIEO so that a more rational evaluation of its impact on international marketing can be achieved.

The sex role of women, as expressed in magazine advertising, was researched. Life-style themes were found to be undesireable by women as the degree of role reversal was increased. The current trend in promotions, therefore, toward more "liberated" life-style themes is in direct contradiction to these results.

The cable converter is a "brown box" that may be attached to a television in order to permit a choice of up to 35 channels. This study found that introduction of the converter was associated with up to 35 percent more television viewing compared to respondents without converters. The implication for sponsors, stations, and networks is that the audience fragmentation caused by increased choice of channels may be more than offset by the increase in viewing time. In the longer term, marketers should gear themselves to exploit the opportunities of the more specialized audiences that television with the cable converter may be able to deliver.

The present study identifies, measures, and compares differences in interpersonal communication patterns between men and women. 64 female college students and 52 male students participated in an experiment in which they simultaneously listened to a newly released instrumental record album and subsequently engaged in spontaneous word-of-mouth. 53 percent of the women initiated product related conversations compared with 44 percent of the men. The women averaged .97 contacts per participant, whereas the men averaged .92 contacts. 83 percent of the conversations originated by males were with other males, while 71 percent of the word-of-mouth initiated by females were with other females.

Food ingredient labeling has been a controversial topic in recent years. Current proposed regulations are aimed toward greater specificity in food ingredient information by using chemical names. Industry representatives believe this approach ineffective and likely to heighten consumers’ negative attitudes toward preservatives and additives contained in a product. This study examines the effects of alternative food ingredient labeling information on consumer product evaluations. Three different products and three levels of food labeling specificity are employed to measure their impact on consumer product perceptions.

In order to better understand the consumer socialization process, questionnaires were administered to some 607 middle and high school adolescents to examine the development of consumption--related skills, knowledge and attitudes. Criterion variables included brand knowledge, price accuracy, consumer affairs knowledge, and consumer role perceptions.

A group of women college students were exposed to a portfolio of print ads then tested for four types of unaided recall. Three biorhythm scores were computed for each subject from birthdate information. Individual age, grade point average, and various biorhythm measures were regressed against the four ad recall scores. Significant correlations were found between the biorhythm measures and three of the four ad recall measures. Results indicate that biorhythm theory offers potential for increased understanding of certain areas of consumer behavior.

This paper reports the results of a study of the characteristics of audiences of grocery store newspaper advertisements. Advertisement readership was not strongly associated with any consumer demographic characteristic and only weakly associated with attitudinal characteristics.

This article presents a model for improving the teaching effectiveness of marketing professors. The model suggests a hierarchy of cognitive objectives and affective objectives as well as a taxonomy of teaching styles that are hypothesized to be most appropriate for each objective. In addition, an evolutionary contingency theory of education is proposed.

As colleges and universities confront greater numbers of non-traditional students, there is a need to offer academic experiences in less traditional packages.

This article discusses some of the major ways in which the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) affects marketing professors, their priorities, curriculum design, and course content.

It is essential that effective techniques of performance evaluat)on be advanced to guide, reward, motivate and develop faculty if higher education is to optimize the value it adds to the economy.

Undergraduate students at Lehigh University were surveyed regarding the effect of selected factors, such as class size, on students’ evaluations of courses and faculty. The results of this study, which would probably not surprise most faculty, are in fact quite different from the conclusions reached by a number of researchers.

The writer offers a new approach for case method teaching which incorporates the more direct application of marketing theories to actual problem-solving scenarios. A matrix model for analyzing cases distinguishes between the

form

of

analysis

and the

substance

of a problem and concomitant alternative approaches to solution.

This paper reports the results of a survey measuring the current status of the undergraduate consumer behavior course in American four year colleges and universities. Specific attention is given to the pedagogies of consumer behavior instructors.

The paper discusses the evolution of a unique Two Phase (formal instruction, methodology workshops)/Experiential (project) pedagogical approach in transferring marketing research skills; how this approach is conducted; the role of “research methodology” classes in the process of transferring research skills to students; applications of students’ acquisition of research skills; and the evaluation of this process by students and clients.

This research identified salient choice criteria and developed an instrument for measuring student perceptions of marketing as an academic major. The analysis identified the factor dimensions of freedom, growth and significance as being important in students’ choice decisions. MANOVA analysis examined differences in perceptions of freshmen and sophomore students.

One of the factors that determines the effectiveness of the case study method of instruction is the quality of the teaching.

In the following paper, the authors develop an expanded product life cycle-procurement strategy model that will assist the purchasing executive in understanding his/her intradepartmental, intracompany, and external relations as well as provide an integrated framework for formulating effective procurement strategies.

Shortages are unprecedented in the experience of most sales managers and magnify a new set of issues. The general question is: “What sales strategy and tactics are appropriate under conditions of tight supply?” The subissues entail determining what adjustments must be made in selling-buying relationships to achieve objectives.

As a service innovation the credit card has been issued in three forms--the retail store card, the travel and entertainment card, and the bank card. The credit card in all three forms may be conceptualized as a service system for facilitating value exchanges. Each type of card, however, represents a system possessing a different degree of identification with attributes salient to the use of these cards for making purchases. This paper empirically investigates these attributes and the perceptions consumers have regarding the performance of each type of card on a given attribute.

Although manufacturing productivity has been studied quite extensively over the past several decades, there has been little attention paid to marketing productivity. This paper proposes a tentative technique for measuring marketing productivity for industrial companies by using market share and profitablility as the two major variables for productivity measurement. One of the intents is to generate further discussion and investigation regarding marketing productivity.

The authors study the attitudes, expectations, and level of preparation for business of a sample of 200 women considering going into marketing-oriented businesses. The authors found that almost 70% of the respondents planned to start a new business, over half never worked in the field they were considering entering, and for over 70% the business would not be their only source of income.

Industrial buying is rapidly changing toward a position of strategic importance in many organizations. As this trend continues, there will be an increased need for concepts and tools to understand the strategic management of the buying process. This article presents the buying strategy of segmenting supply markets for more effective planning and decision-making in the industrial buying function.

Various problems and questions concerning the design and implementation of self concept research are addressed. Discussion of some of these problems is based on analysis of self concept literature; other problems were discovered during two research studies performed on the self concept.

Researchers concerned with measuring psychological constructs have myriad techniques from which to choose. A fundamental selection criterion is the reliability of the techniques. This study empirically assesses the comparative test-retest reliabilities of three common measurement methods for collecting proportions data. All are found to have high and comparable reliabilities.

Recent research has demonstrated that reliability and validity for multidimensional scaling-produced perceptual maps are lower than some marketers are willing to tolerate. An alternate technique (hand-drawn maps) has produced marginally higher reliability and validity scores. The premise of the present research is that before discarding potentially useful tools such as multidimensional scaling and the hand-drawn technique, further exploration of reliability and validity should be conducted. This research examines the reliability and validity of MDS-generated and hand-drawn perceptual maps as the number of stimuli in a set varies and as the subjects’ familiarity with the stimuli varies.

It is argued that canonical correlation analysis is not a generally useful analytical tool. This results partially from certain unresolved statistical problems and partially from the nature of the constraints which are a part of the canonical correlation model. Fundamentally, however, the lack of usefulness of canonical analysis lies in the irrelevance of the criterion to be maximized, i.e., maximize the correlation between the

derived

canonical variates, to standard marketing research problems and hypotheses. Several alternatives to canonical analysis are briefly suggested.

The problem of incomplete questionnaire response is a vexing one to researchers who rely on data collected by mail surveys. Using a sample of 23,350 potential respondents, a mail survey experiment was performed to test two survey-concurrent means for decreasing item omission. Combinations of survey sponsorship and anonymity assurance were found that significantly improved questionnaire completion in demographic groups that have been previously identified as most prone to item non-response. An analysis of trade-offs between response rates and item completion was performed and recommendations for survey sponsorship and anonymity conditions are developed.

The present study discusses different measures of error rates, a measure of practical significance, in discriminant analysis. The error rates obtained by different measures is compared using sales force data. A new statistic, R, is provided for comparing error rates directly with R

2

. The main finding was that the leaving-one-out method provided the best measure of error rate.

Mother-daughter conflict or congruence in brand and mass media perception could be very important for retail and marketing decision makers. The presence of conflict would indicate the need to advertise directly to daughters as opposed to the mothers. This exploratory study indicates the presence of highly significant level of congruence regarding brands. Mass media preferences however illustrate significant conflict. Thus, there is justification to advertise directly to daughters.

An attempt was made to validate nonmetric MDS perceptual maps in marketing by comparing them to configurations generated by the direct method. The congruence between these two approaches was generally low although it was reasonable for approximately 44% of the subjects.

This exploratory study was designed to test the influence of informed consent versus free consent, upon respondent’s information. One group of undergraduate students (110) received a questionnaire with full disclosure as to the information sought while another group of students (108) received the same questionnaire with nondisclosure of the information sought. Both groups were basically similar on demographic characteristics collected. Suprisingly, there were no significant differences (at or less than the .05 level) for any of the interpersonal orientation characteristics collected between the two groups. The tentative conclusion to be drawn until additional research is done on other marketing topics is that researchers may be able to fully inform respondents about the nature of the study without endangering the accuracy of the information sought.

A survey was employed as an exploratory,

partial

test of a theoretical framework for predicting/describing response to mail surveys. This framework suggests that in order for individuals to respond to a mail survey, they must have sufficient justification. Justification is defined as perceived benefits minus perceived costs. In order to provide a

preliminary

test of this framework, 10c incentives were employed as one factor from within the frameworks and follow-up was employed as one factor from outside the framework. The results indicate that a different segment of the population is induced to respond with dime incentives than is induced to respond with follow-up. The best response rate (86%) was produced by both including a dime and sending a follow-up questionnaire. However, the inclusion of a dime with no follow-up questionnaire had a response rate (70%) which compared very favorably -- but cost only half as much per sample member -- with the dime plus follow-up.

A new approach to measuring the weights of evaluative criteria is described and empirically evaluated. There was a significant difference of a systematic nature between weights calculated with this approach and those estimated by direct questioning in the study. The correlation between stated attitudes and those generated using calculated weights is higher than the same correlation using direct weights.

The paper describes the application of marketing to the operation of blood banks. It is proposed that blood banks could develop a more effective relationship with their donor markets by segmenting those markets and evolving strategy with identified target groups in mind. The paper outlines the information needed for this approach and provides an illustration of its use in a Red Cross operated blood bank.

A multi-attribute attitude model, based on the efforts of Rosenberg and Fishbein, was used to determine whether a multi-criteria scale can be used to predict student preferences for universities. Data were gathered from 241 freshmen in five state universities in Ohio. Respondents were asked to weight the importance of 18 selection criteria and evaluate seven universities using those criteria. These data were compared to the respondents’ preference ordering of the universities. The results indicate a high level of predictability, particularly for highly ranked universities.

In order to identify the community’s needs for continuing education, a community college researched its market. One interesting result of the study was the discovery that previous education was a key determinant of the potential customer’s interest in continuing education.

The advertising of legal services appears as if it is here to stay (Griffith, 1978). Recent judicial action (

Bates & O’Steen vs. State Bar of Arizona, 1977

) has paved the way for increased usage of the advertising mode of communication for lawyers and. other “learned” professionals (see, for example,

U.S. vs. American Pharmaceutical Association,1975

). This state of affairs has necessitated the need for thoughtful empirical research into the area of marketing professional services.

Law enforcement agencies are becoming more interested in disrupting the channels of distribution for stolen property. Unfortunately, marketing literature is largely devoid of research dealing with the marketing behavior of stolen property dealers. This paper describes the marketing functions performed by “fences” in Colorado.

The paper discusses a segmentation of lay leaders of one Diocese of the Episcopal Church. The segmentation is based on answers to 34 Likert-style attitude statements about the Diocese. The segments were then evaluated on other questions that they were asked. The clustering routine used offers several advantages over other clustering techniques.

This study extends energy conservation research by analyzing the perceptions and actions of both energy consumers and energy producers. Survey findings indicate key differences in consumers’ and producers’ cross perceptions as well as discrepancies between consumers’ attitudes and behavior. Implications for energy marketers are discussed.

Political and social forces are bringing about changes in the way professionals market their services. In this paper we explore the types of marketing strategies that professionals are likely to employ. Based on data gathered from a random sample of practicing CPAs, we conclude that marketing strategies within professions are likely to vary with the structure of professional practice units.

A conceptual model for analyzing consumer behavior in health service markets is proposed in this paper. Primary emphasis in model formulation is on the goals, outcomes and responses of individuals and institutions in health service markets. The framework that is presented should aid in the development of marketing theory, research and policy analysis for health care services.

In view of significant changes which have come in the structure of player-management relations in the business of major league professional baseball, this study analyzes specific consumer perceptions from a four-market area. It confronts several areas of attitude which are critical to the continued popularity of the “product” and attempts to isolate any perceived price elasticity of demand for the “product” which might loom on the horizon as dramatic changes continue to emerge in the structure of the sport.

In this paper, the causes of new product failure are analyzed in order to improve the new product planning process. Product management and organization, new product planning, timing, competition, product deficiencies, and marketing deficiencies are each investigated. From this assessment, twenty-three contributors to new product failure and twenty-one recommendations for reducing the rate of failure are offered. An extensive reference list is included.

This paper puts forward several conceptual propositions relating style diffusion and adoption to reference group theory. These propositions are contrasted with the traditional diffusion of innovations paradigm, which has been most often used as an empirical and conceptual framework for studying styled products.

Frequency of product use and date of first trial were examined as possible bases for a strategic segmentation framework. The framework was found to be quite useful for identifying early heavy users of four grocery products. Correlates of heavy usage/early trial were also determined.

This article discusses some of the fundamental channel management issues that should be considered in new product planning to promote channel member support for new products. These are: 1) obtaining channel member input into new product planning, 2) enhancing the product’s acceptability to channel members in terms of margin requirements, 3) fitting the product into channel member assortments, 4) providing education and training and 5) detecting “problem products” before they reach the channel members.

This paper addresses the issue of “What underlies lack of brand loyalty?” Two types of problems are identified : routine ones which are solved by loyalty and persistant ones which are resistant to solution by loyalty. Differences in loyalty to product classes are demonstrated and related to problem type.

The socially aware consumer today needs more information in order to make responsible purchases.

Marketing literature is replete with the problems of the “disadvantaged” consumer, marketing abuses, and governmental legislation designed to reduce consumer complaints. The data used to establish policies to minimize consumer abuses are based, for the most part, on complaints of dissatisfied consumers.

Amidst controversies surrounding recent concepts and theory in the discipline, hov does marketing theory measure up in terms of maturity? Such an assessment is long overdue. A periodic appraisal of the state-of-the art in marketing theory is an essential, if not indispensable condition for the maturing of the discipline. Evaluated against four major stages of theory development, marketing theory appears to have accomplished no more or less than its sister disciplines in social sciences. A cramp in the progress of maturity has been contributed by some methodological and attitudinal problems which may be overcome by adopting some objective perspectives toward marketing theory in general, thus expediting its further development.

This paper questions the concept of an institutionalized corporate conscience, suggests that business responsibility can only be personal, and recommends an ethical framework for the marketing executive in corporate life.

Consumer protection agency personnel may benefit from an understanding of the consumer satisfaction/dissatisfaction literature. Research in the consumer complaining behavior area is especially applicable to the agency’s roles of mediator and educator. An overview of the literature and observations drawn from agency experience are bases for the authors’ conclusions.

Theories and explanations pertinent to exporting and tests of these are reviewed. The firm’s interrelationship with new theoretical developments is assessed. A prognosis of probable research direction covering attitudinal and other determinants of the firm’s export effectiveness is identified. Also, a conceptual reclassification for products is proposed.

Solid waste pollution from non-returnable and pull-tab beverage containers is a source of solid waste pollution. This issue has resulted in many governmental bodies developing public policy initiatives to protect environmental quality. Using a quasi-experimental research design, this study examines consumer perceptions of anti-litter legislation which prohibits the marketing of beverages in nonreturnable, pull-tab containers. Study results indicate that significantly different consumer perceptions of the legislation exist between respondents who have actual experience with the impact of the legislation and those respondents who live in jurisdictions where such legislation has not yet been implemented.

Consumers typically are not as knowledgeable nor as “rational” as influential theoretical models postulate. Instead, consumers are characterized by certain biological, psychological and social features which not only constrain their ability to achieve their goals in today’s complex shopping environments, but which also limit their ability to specify appropriate goals in the first place. This paper identifies some of the more important constraints on optimal consumer decision making and emphasizes that public policymakers should give explicit and systematic recognition to these limits in devising future consumer policy.

The purpose of this paper is to present a method of modifying corporate social performance through reward adjustment. A rationale is developed for regulatory reform consistent with the basic principles of a private enterprise system. Included in the proposal are organizational forms needed, measurement areas, indexing of performance, linking of performance to rewards, implementation, and enforcement.

The exploratory research discussed here focuses on the question of associations between personality factors and the extent of involvement in leisure time pursuits, and also evaluates the possibility that personality may be a useful segmentation variable.

The European Common Market (EEC), established in 1958 by the six member countries Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and West Germany, vas expanded by admitting Denmark, Ireland, and the United Kingdom (UK) on January 1, 1973. The expansion of EEC from “six” to “nine” member countries was a milestone in the process of European integration since the end of World War II. By 1980, the EEC plans to accomplish a full economic monetary union. As the Community moves toward “ever closer union of the people of Europe,” a new political entity, the United States of Europe (USE), is emerging.

A comprehensive model and review of the channel decision process is presented in this paper. The decision areas outlined in the model follow: (1) mission of the organization (integrate with definition of market targets and strategic opportunity assessment), (2) the development of marketing strategy, (3) interaction of channel decisions in the marketing mix, (4) the identification of channel activities, (5) the development of channel objectives (integrate with identification of market targets and tactical opportunity assessment), (6) channel coverage, (7) channel cooperation and control, (8) channel structure and design, (9) determination of the market offer, and (10) definition of market targets (integrate with mission of the organization and strategic opportunity assessment). A discussion of each area and its decision implications is contained in the main working paper. Only highlights will be presented here.

When Peter Drucker claimed that distribution was the last frontier for marketers, his claim was dramatic and broad. One distribution and promotion approach that has not achieved the sophistication of other aspects of marketing is an underdeveloped marketing approach referred to as “direct marketing.” Direct Marketing is non-personal selling, where merchandise is purchased without seeing the actual product or negotiating the price or delivery terms. The offering is made by direct mail, television, telephone, or printed ads in newspapers, magazines and catalogs. It is estimated that over 6,000 firms do direct marketing and spend about $18 to $20 billion annually.

Magazine and television exposure patterns were examined via a national probability sample of 6,056 respondents, of which 864 were 65 years of age or older. Results indicate that public policy makers and social institutions offering programs to the elderly should concentrate on specific vehicles in their efforts to communicate with this growing segment of citizens.

Consumers sometimes behave in a manner predicted by cognitive consistency theories. At other times, they exhibit variety seeking behavior. This report summarizes a number of studies which demonstrate that variety needs differ by situation, sex, and age.

Cunningham and Cunningham recently examined how much individuals from various sectors of society know about consumer protection laws and their rights as consumers.

1

Their finding that consumer knowledge does not vary across income segments was based on a survey of six hundred respondents, primarily women. This study is particularly significant since its results are at odds with conventional wisdom. The changing definition of appropriate roles for males and females in our society, however, raises serious questions about the usefulness of studies which assume that women are the primary decision makers in consumer goods purchases. Their findings would take on even greater interest if they could be duplicated using a broader population. The purpose of the present paper is to report such a replication and extension of the Cunningham and Cunningham study. In the replication and extension the same questionnaire was used, but was administered to a sample of men and women. In cooperation with the Consumer Protection Division of the Washington State Attorney Generals Office, questions covering familiarity with state laws were added to the questionnaire.

Understanding the environment of industrial marketing and how decisions are made in regard to suppliers and products involves a basic knowledge of what the industrial marketplace is, how it differs from consumer markets and behavior, and how factors unique to the industrial buying environment interact to influence ultimate buying decisions. Three models of organizational buying behavior are used to illustrate the development of effective industrial marketing strategy.

The study’s findings reveal that there are very few significant differences as to purchase criteria for convenience goods prototype, shopping goods prototype, and by brand. Also there are very few significant differences as to patronage criteria for stores (e.g., department, discount, or food) between blacks and whites based on the selected socio-economic variables of age, income levels, and educational levels.

Relatively few definitive reports’ concerning the state of consumer welfare in the socialist nations have appeared in the western professional literature and popular press. However, the reports which are available generally suggest a pervasive shortage of consumer goods, varying according to product category and severity of shortage from nation to nation. It appears that many, if not most, reports of this type treat the shortage of consumer goods as a monolithic phenomenon. As a consequence, the western observer is presented with an unbalanced perspective which ill prepares him to understand the nature of the situation.

This is a preliminary report of exploratory research on the potential for social class impact on the attitudes of elementary school children toward advertising on TV and radio and in certain quality children’s magazines. Some apparent social class impact was found among third graders.

This paper addresses the problems arising from the misadaption of organization theory concepts to channels of distribution. The pedagogical problems are specifically adressed. The paper concludes with a call for a redefinition of channels of distribution.

Marketing is finding a larger proportion of female entrepreneurial leaders than ever before. This paper examines and compares women entrepreneurs and non-entrepreneurs to establish significant characteristic differences. In addition, a corollary objective of determining the usefulness of these characteristics in predicting behavior provides marketing with a useful tool in forecasting an individual potential for success/adaptability.

The marketing task of colleges and universities is complicated by the fact that each must serve many different publics or customer groups: students, faculty, alumni, governing bodies, potential employers, etc. These groups frequently seek directly conflicting benefit bundles or products from the institution. For example, students’ desires for low fees, small classes and personal attention may not be compatible with a faculty’s interest in higher salaries, low teaching loads and the opportunity to do research. Pragmatically oriented governing bodies may attach a low, or even negative value to the output of faculty research efforts.

The dominant methodologies unique to marketing studies should be different from those typically associated with experimental research and laboratory tests in the hard, physical sciences. The data base for marketing would require a different approach of field research. Ecological perspectives and viewpoints are advocated as an alternative research strategy for the advancement of the science of marketing. And a new, third domain of marketing study, macro marketing management, is suggested as a promising area where the approach of the science of ecology in field research studies can be applied.

A segmentation model based on automobile buyer product specifications is defined in this study. The best descriptor, buyer level of education is positively correlated with the complexity of specifications. There are implications for communications.

Marketing the services of international carriers is undergoing major changes. Hitherto, limitations on competition resulted in part from regulation including international agreements under the International Air Transport Association (IATA). At a 1978 meeting of IATA, the Executive Committee made recommendations to fundamentally alter “traffic conference procedures and objectives.”

Purchasing management should assume great significance, especially from a cost control point of view. Unfortunately, even though the need for purchasing efficiency in the higher educational institutions is well recognized, very little research has been reported. Most of the earlier research in hospital buying behavior was essentially descriptive in nature and dealt with purchasing decision-making process in the higher educational institutions’ context.

The following paper presents a taxonomy of normative marketing strategies based upon the product life cycle concept.

The following paper conceptually relates birth order to the consumer purchasing process and the marketing mix.

Malcolm McNair’s “Wheel of Retailing” hypothesis, published in 1958, describes the instability of the American distribution structure. Innovative competitors constantly enter to challenge the established retailers. After much competitve jockeying, if successful, the innovator becomes the established leader; but, alas, they are then mature and ripe to be knocked off their pedestal by yet another innovator.

Several studies have examined the change in the relative evaluation of a chosen alternative from before to after a decision (Brehm, 1956; Anderson, Taylor and Holloway, 1966; Holloway, 1967; LoSciuto and Perloff, 1967; Mittelstaedt, 1969; Cohen and Goldberg, 1970; Sheth, 1970; and Winter, 1974). These studies generally suggest that the degree of favorable relative change with the chosen alternative is greater when the predecision attitude toward the chosen alternative is similar to that toward an unchosen alternative, than when the chosen and unchosen alternatives are dissimilar.

The purpose of this paper is to profile the demographic characteristics, media habits, and shopping behavior patterns of heavy, medium, and light purchasers of health foods. The findings suggest some interesting strategy implications for the owners and managers of health food stores.

This paper sketches selected results of empirical research of student attitudes on a host of social and marketing related issues, and evaluates the degree and direction of attitudinal changes by replicated research in 1972 and 1978. Both research results were analyzed to ascertain racial differentiation on the subjects and whether such differentiation increased or decreased during the six year period.

This article investigates four alternative measures of shoppers’ attitudes toward the usefulness of preshopping activities in reducing food costs. Measures studied differed in the type and degree of aggregation among the different attitudinal items. Each attitudinal measure (or group of measures) was employed as the predictor variable(s) of shoppers’ price as a shopping goal and the proportions of explained variance were compared. Disaggregated measures had more common variance with the criterion measure than aggregated measures had with the latter.

The conflict inherent in the planning and execution of total distribution trade-offs impacts, to a certain extent, on all organizational units or subsystems. The intensity of such conflict is primarily a function of the interdependence of “felt need for joint decisionmaking”

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that exists among these organizational subsystems. As a result of the growing strategic importance

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of customer service programs,

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the marketing/physical distribution interface has become characterized with high degrees of interdependence and intergroup conflict. The purpose of this article is to conceptually explore the nature of the conflict associated with the processes and to propose an approach to reducing the dysfunctional aspects of such conflict.