Gopalkrishnan R. Iyer

Internet retailing: enablers, limiters and market consequences

Abstract Despite a tremendous and enthusiastic reception for Internet retailing in the last few years, this new channel has not performed as anticipated, nor has its acceptance been as pervasive as originally expected. This paper details the many inherent structural and functional weaknesses of Internet retailing. Various strategies designed to improve the performance of e-tailers are explored.

The Internet and the price–value–loyalty chain

Abstract The Internet and associated technology (including the World Wide Web (WWW)) are fast changing the conceptualization and determinants of value to the customer. One primary reason behind the change is that the transparency of price information over the Internet enables closure of the traditional information asymmetry that exists between the buyer and the seller and brings down the ability of marketers to differentiate solely on the basis of price. Marketers would, thus, have to explore what constitutes value for the consumer and determine newer ways to create and deliver such value to the customer. We develop a series of propositions to demonstrate how the Internet affects price and nonprice factors contributing to value. Given certain key behavioral characteristics of consumer online shopping, we then note the challenges that marketers would face in attracting and retaining loyal customers.

The impact of religion and reputation in the organization of Indian merchant communities

The complex interplay of religion, reputation and repeated transactions among trade and business communities that dominate the Indian intermediary markets are detailed. Using prior historical sociological and ethnographic accounts, the author highlights some unique aspects of Indian merchant communities and the common elements that these share with other business communities in Asia. The analysis lends credit to the notion that marketing theory can gain substantially from a focus on identity, family and other forms of kinship relations. Strategic implications drawn from the analysis show that while foreign consumer goods firms cannot afford to ignore the large and growing Indian market, their success will depend to a large extent on their understanding of the intricacies of the Indian merchant communities that dominate various marketing channels.

Business, Consumers and Sustainable Living in an Interconnected World: A Multilateral Ecocentric Approach

Current conceptualizations of environmental responsibility follow a human-centered approach wherein the natural environment is seen as instrumental to human ends. Environmental responsibility, in this context, emerges primarily as the preservation and sustenance of nature in a manner that would limit waste, enhance the aesthetic and spiritual value of nature, and confer psychological and economic rewards upon individuals and businesses that follow a sustainable course of interaction with nature. In contrast, this paper advances an ecocentric approach to sustainable living that ensures the dialectic between human systems and natural and technical systems by explicitly recognizing nature as central to survival and progress. Environmental responsibility within this approach is viewed to be multilateral and institutional rather than merely as moral responsibility of business or of governments.

Personal selling of high technology products: the solutions selling imperative

ABSTRACT Traditional focus on the study of high-technology firms and products has practically ignored the importance and potential contributions of the sales force, especially in business-to-business marketing. This article suggests that traditional sales force strategies associated with high-technology products have been supply driven (i.e., driven by the strategies of the marketing firm). We suggest that in order to enhance the success of high-technology products and services, firms need to be more demand driven in their sales structures (i.e., driven by the strategies of the buying firm). We suggest that it is imperative that high-technology firms adopt “solution selling” to enhance high-technology adoption as well as enhance competitiveness. We describe this change in focus and draw out its various managerial and academic implications.

Franchise Partnership and International Expansion: A Conceptual Framework and Research Propositions

Although academic research has provided tremendous insights about the organizational form of franchising, considerable work remains with regard to understanding the critical factors that enable international franchise expansion and performance. The authors advance the argument that a franchise relationship is essentially an entrepreneurial partnership, and that this partnership influences the speed, scale, and scope of franchise expansion into international markets. In the proposed conceptual model, the authors detail the links among the franchise partnership, international expansion, and franchise system performance.

Linking Web‐based segmentation to pricing tactics

While numerous firms have successfully segmented customers using various segment‐based pricing models and tactics, the advent of the Internet has introduced a new element of opportunity with respect to such pricing. This paper identifies the various areas of opportunity for segmenting World Wide Web consumers. Several known pricing tactics are assessed for their application to the World Wide Web consumer markets.

International Exchanges as the Basis for Conceptualizing Ethics in International Business

Extant business ethics literature available for application to international business demonstrates some variety but no comprehensive principles. While the domains of both international business and business ethics are expanding, they are also becoming increasingly divergent. At the same time, the primacy accorded to the multinational enterprise in both fields ignores the socio-cultural and political embeddedness of economic activities, and multiple agencies in international business (individuals, firms, nations, etc.). Some international business theorists have offered the view that international exchange should be the central building block for theories on international business. In this paper, it is argued that international exchange could be the fundamental unit of analysis for international business ethics as well. The potentially unifying features of exchange norms and ethical principles leads the author to develop some core exchange ethics principles that are tested on three recent international business practices.

Understanding the Role of Complaint Handling on Consumer Loyalty in Service Relationships

ABSTRACT The authors explore the role of 5 drivers of loyalty: customer usage level, service pricing, service quality, membership in the firms loyalty program, and satisfaction with complaint handling. The effects of these drivers may differ for customers who complain versus those who do not complain, as well as for satisfied complainers versus dissatisfied complainers. Testing the proposed models with customers of a large airline, the authors found that satisfaction with complaint handling was key to consumer recommendation of the service to others. The results also underscore the importance of service quality and service pricing as determinants of customer loyalty.

Country Effects on CRM Success

Abstract Customer relationship management (CRM) adoption is growing at a dramatic pace in firms and is significantly impacting customer and business market behaviors. As a result, most firms have started developing and implementing CRM strategies. However, country effects on CRM strategy outcomes in international environments have not been discussed and are the focus of this paper. In this paper, we examine the impacts of marketing infrastructure and marketing institutions on the development of CRM strategies and success in the implementation of such strategies. Our framework has utility in understanding the impacts of country-specific factors in the outcomes of CRM Strategy.