Armen Tashchian

Multicriterion Clusterwise Regression for Joint Segmentation Settings: An Application to Customer Value

The authors present a multicriterion clusterwise linear regression model that can be applied to a joint segmentation setting. The model enables the consideration of segment homogeneity, as well as multiple dependent variables (segmentation bases), in a weighted objective function. The authors propose a heuristic solution strategy based on simulated annealing and examine trade-offs in the recovery of multiple true cluster structures for several synthetic data sets. They also propose an application of the model to a joint segmentation problem in the telecommunications industry, which addresses important issues pertaining to the selection of the objective function weights and the number of clusters.

Validating the S-O-R Paradigm for Consumer Involvement With a Convenience Good

The Houston and Rothschild S-O-R consumer involvement paradigm is tested for validity with measures of involvement for a shampoo purchase decision. A multitrait-multimethod matrix approach confirms the convergent and discriminant validity of the measure employed. A causal modeling analysis suggests that enduring involvement may work through situational involvement to influence consumer responses. Marketing implications are discussed.

The Project Method Approach: An Integrated Teaching Tool in Marketing Research:

This article discusses the integrative role of the project method approach in marketing research. Using the six-step framework of the marketing research process, the article illustrates the effective execution of the project method approach and shows how the project method not only fosters at least 10 useful managerial skills but also incorporates the traditional lecture, case analysis, and games and simulation approaches to teaching marketing. Limitations of the project method and some observations on alternative approaches to its implementation are discussed.

An Investigation of the Job Burnout Syndrome in Personal Selling

Job burnout has been described as a syndrome of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and a feeling of reduced personal accomplishment that frequently occurs among individuals who do client-centered work of some kind such as selling. Burnout is a particularly troubling condition as it has been related to a host of organizational problems ranging from increased turnover to decreased job satisfaction and performance. Burnout has been well documented and studied in several client-centered positions such as nursing and teaching, but it has received little attention in the sales literature. This paper builds on previous research by shedding light on the sequential steps in the burnout process in personal selling while empirically testing a model of burnout in the professional selling position.

Development and validation of a Scale measuring Attitudes toward Smoking

Abstract The authors developed the Smoking Attitudes Scale (SAS) and administered it to 2 samples of U.S. students who were smokers or nonsmokers. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis with LISREL (K. G. Jöreskog & D. Sörbom, 1989) methodology revealed that the SAS consists of 4 factors. The overall instrument possesses good internal consistency and adequate construct validity as well.

Accountability Forces in Performance Appraisal: Effects of Self-Appraisal Information, Normative Information, and Task Performance

This study investigated the effects of self-appraisal information, normative information, and task performance on performance appraisal ratings. Participants rated a fictitious “subordinates” performance on a clerical task (which was either very good or moderately poor) subsequent to receiving self-assessment information (high or low) and normative information (present or absent). Self-appraisals affected performance ratings for poor performers but not for good performers, suggesting that judges are more motivated to please ratees than they are merely to adopt the “subordinates” view of their own performance. Furthermore, objective normative information had greater influence than self-appraisals on performance ratings, suggesting that information source credibility has more influence than felt accountability on performance appraisals. Implications of the findings for organizations were discussed.

The Integration of Microcomputers in Marketing Research and Decision Making

This paper focuses on the integrative and pervasive use of microcomputers in marketing research and managerial decision making. The marketing research process is conceptualized as consisting of six phases. At each phase, microcomputer applications and illustrative software are identified as implications for the practice of marketing research discussed. Next the paper illustrates the use of microcomputers in selected application areas such as market segmentation, sales forecasting, new product development, pricing and decision support and expert systems. Guidelines for the selection of microcomputer software in specific situations are provided. The paper concludes with some observations on the future applications of microcomputers in marketing research and decision making.

Effects of Self-Appraisal Information, Appraisal Purpose, and Feedback Target on Performance Appraisal Ratings

This experiment investigated the effects of three factors on performance appraisal ratings: self-appraisal information, appraisal purpose, and feedback target. Two hundred and three subjects rated a subordinates performance on a clerical task subsequent to receiving either a high or low self-assessment. They were told they would provide performance feedback either to the experimenter (organizational agent) or their subordinate, and their ratings would be used either for an administrative decision or developmental feedback. Performance ratings were significantly higher when subjects received a favorable subordinate self-assessment than when self-assessments were unfavorable. A significant interaction was found between feedback target and the appraisal purpose. Implications for the use of self-appraisals in organizations were discussed.

Signal Detection Theory and Single Observation Designs: Methods and Indices for Advertising Recognition Testing

Most marketing applications of signal detection theory (SDT) produce an estimate of the respondents memory accuracy based on exposure to a number of advertisements. Marketing practitioners, however, are usually more interested in the performance of an individual advertisement, or elements of that ad. Moreover, advertising recognition paradigms are typically limited to single observations per respondent. The authors present and compare two alternative methodologies that estimate SDT parameters for such designs by pooling recognition performance across respondents. They present two simulations that explore the most efficient methodology and suggest guidelines for selecting appropriate accuracy indices.

Faculty Evaluation Perspectives in Colleges of Business: How Marketing Department Heads' Evaluations Differ from those of Department Heads in other Business Disciplines

Simulated evaluations of business professors for the purposes of merit pay increases are analyzed using conjoint analysis. Results from a national sample of department heads at AACSB accredited colleges show that significant interdisciplinary differences in evaluation perspectives exist within business colleges. A continuum exists between the academic perspective of marketing department heads and the professional perspective of accounting department heads.