David Loudon

Accountants' attitudes toward advertising: a longitudinal study

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to examine the attitude of accountants towards advertising and to investigate changes in attitude that may have occurred between 1993 and 2004.Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected from accountants using a mail survey approach in 1993 and using an e‐mail survey approach in 2004. Questions on the two surveys were identical and a random sample of accountants was selected for each study. Statistical tests were used to compare responses from 1993 with responses in 2004.Findings – Analysis of the results revealed significant positive shifts in the attitudes accountants have toward advertising of accounting services. Negative attitudes toward various aspects of advertising shifted to either a neutral or a positive position. This dramatic, positive shift in advertising attitudes by accountants occurred while skepticism towards advertising remained relatively high, overall, among the general public. Between the two time periods, changes in the use of various mark...

Physicians' Adoption of Pharmaceutical E-Detailing: Application of Rogers' Innovation-Diffusion Model

Electronic detailing (e-detailing) means using digital technology by pharmaceutical companies as a means of relaying information about pharmaceutical products to physicians. This study addresses the factors that could affect the decision of physicians to adopt e-detailing technology. Based on the theoretical foundations of technology adoption models, Rogers work on diffusion of innovations could be useful to study physicians adoption of e-detailing. The authors propose a revised model to help explain physicians adoption of e-detailing.

Direct-to-Consumer Advertising of Pharmaceuticals: Concepts, Issues, and Research

Direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising of prescription drugs, legal only in the United States and New Zealand, has generated a great deal of research in the marketing literature. To introduce this special issue of Health Marketing Quarterly on direct-to-consumer advertising we will provide an overview of the subject including its history, benefits, criticisms, and the public’s reaction. In this way, we hope to highlight those areas concerning DTC advertising that are addressed by the papers in this issue. The increase in DTC advertising represents a shift from the emphasis on the more traditional ‘‘push’’ strategy to a ‘‘pull’’ strategy. The push strategy focused on pharmaceutical reps calling on medical providers to provide information and samples of medications which were then prescribed to patients. The pull strategy focuses on promoting the medications to the consumer who in turn, will ask the medical provider about the product.

Marketing Retail Health Clinics: Challenges and Controversies Arising From a Health Care Innovation

Since their founding in 2000, retail-based health care clinics, also called convenient care clinics, have flourished but continue to generate controversy. This article examines the literature with respect to the industrys background, establishment of industry standards, types of services offered, marketing of retail health clinics, industry growth with new target markets, and patient demographics. It also examines the growing relationship with insurers and third-party payers, quality-of-care concerns by medical associations, and legal regulations and their potential impact on industry growth nationwide.

Characteristics of Physicians Targeted by the Pharmaceutical Industry to Participate in E-detailing

Electronic detailing (e-detailing) has been introduced in the last few years by the pharmaceutical industry as a new communication channel through which to promote pharmaceutical products to physicians. E-detailing involves using digital technology, such as Internet, video conferencing, and interactive voice response, by which drug companies target their marketing efforts toward specific physicians with pinpoint accuracy. A mail survey of 671 Iowa physicians was used to gather information about the physician characteristics and practice setting characteristics of those who are usually targeted by pharmaceutical companies to participate in e-detailing. A model is developed and tested to explain firms targeting strategy for targeting physicians for e-detailing.

The “Happy End” Effect: Colonoscopies Provide Clues on Enhancing Marketing Training

ABSTRACT With many activities, even unlikely ones such as colonoscopies, it appears that ending procedures are important and affect evaluation of the entire experience. This has been dubbed the “happy end” effect. Training specialists, while acknowledging the importance of endings (e.g., seminar closures, class conclusions, and workshop completions), often place greater emphasis on openers, icebreakers, and starters. A sample of trade publications in the training and development field, as well as professional publications was reviewed. It was found that such resources had significantly higher numbers of articles/exercises and pages devoted to beginning activities than to closings. A number of suggestions are offered on how closing activities could be better incorporated into training and development programs to improve them.

An empirical analysis of ethical and professional issues in physicians’ advertising: A comparative cross-sectional study

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study is to investigate current attitudes and opinions of physicians’ advertising and to compare them to the attitudes expressed 10 years previously. This study was designed to determine (a) consumers’ attitudes toward advertising by physicians, and (b) whether age, occupation, income, education, or sex of consumer accounted for any significant difference in attitudes toward physicians who advertise. The study seems to confirm the belief of many marketing professionals that advertising and marketing do not have a place in the management and operation of professional services.

A Longitudinal Assessment of Consumers' Attitudes Toward Accounting Advertising

This study investigates current attitudes and opinions toward accounting advertising and compares them to the attitudes expressed 10 years ago. It replicates a survey administered in 2004 and uses the same questionnaire and the same population to compare responses longitudinally. Both the 2004 and 2014 respondents agreed the public would be provided useful information through advertising by accountants, and both groups also believed it is proper for accountants to advertise. The study seems to confirm the belief of many marketing professionals that advertising and marketing clearly have a place in the future of accounting services.

An Empirical Analysis of the Public's Attitude Toward Legal Services Advertising

The purpose of this study was to determine (a) consumers’ attitudes toward advertising by lawyers and (b) whether age, occupation, income, education, or sex of the consumer accounted for any significant difference in attitude toward lawyers who advertise. It was our intent to discover information through this study that would be useful to lawyers in planning marketing strategies and improving the quality of their advertising.