John J. Withey

Differences between Exporters and Non-Exporters: Some Hypotheses concerning Small Manufacturing Businesses

Survey data generated by four hundred small, United States manufacturers are analyzed seeking to compare exporters with non-exporters by number of employees, scope of international activities and, attitudes about the future role of exporting among small businesses. The paper concludes with three hypotheses regarding differences between small, U.S. exporters and small, U.S. non-exporters.

Face-to-face selling: Making it more effective

Abstract Research reported here suggests that adaptable field sales personnel can identify cues that signify differences in purchase behavior across different customer groups. A national sample of sales engineers from the construction industry were able to identify 14 specific characteristics that differentiate expected purchase behavior across three discrete buyer groups. Further, using a previously developed scale for measuring adaptability, differences between more adaptable and less adaptable salespeople turned out to be significantly large, making a strong argument for continued training in adaptability.

Improving postpurchase satisfaction in industrial distribution channels

Abstract Factors significant to postpurchase satisfaction among buyers of industrial installations are identified in this article. From data provided by 95 industrial equipment buyers, seven factors are investigated for their potential impact on postpurchase satisfaction. One factor, perceived ability of the equipment to attract new customers to the buying organization, was found to dominate postpurchase feelings of equipment buyers. Quality of repair service had a minor effect on postpurchase satisfaction. Manufacturer training programs relating to equipment use and application were also relevant, but only if ability to attract new customers was absent. No other factor made a significant impact on buyer satisfaction.

Realities of channel dynamics: A wholesaling example

Using the formation of wholesaling institutions as an example, this paper argues that while perhaps conforming to established models of channel formation, channel structure results primarily from short-term and narrowly focused decision making. The paper describes a six step sequence that an evolving merchant wholesaler can be expected to pass through, each step characterized by immediate and short-term concerns.

Understanding Purchasing Behavior in Public Sector Markets: A Call for Research

Using a broad literature base and numerous case histories, the author identifies a public sector purchasing process containing four generic components universal to all government purchasing situations. A number of propositions relating to each component are made, each in need of field testing. Scholars are called to a program of research necessary to test the propositions and validate the process components.

Income Level and Pre-Purchase Shopping Behavior

The author searches for a connection between income level of the shopper and the number of product substitutes considered prior to purchase. Using a mailed questionnaire with a national probability sample derived from warranty card data, the studys design controls for rural/urban differences in product availability, attitudes toward selected product attributes, and prepurchase information sources.

Market Attitudes and Opinions of Chief Executive Officers as Predictors of Small Professional Service Firm Performance

Abstract The authors seek to define the relationship between attitudes and opinions about marketing and company performance among very small professional services businesses. Responses to 47 attitudinal statements are regressed on 3 measures of company performance. Eighteen of the 47 are found to be associated with company performance. But only a very few attitudes about marketing turn out to be significant across all measures of company performance. Improvements in staff expertise, employing the services of public relations specialists, advertising in appropriate professional journals, and emphasizing price/value in the service were the only activities thought to be universally effective, regardless of how company performance is measured. Managerial implications are discussed and suggestions for additional research are presented.

Modes of Social Interaction Between Organizations: A Social-Psychological Explanation of Relationships Between Marketing Channel Dyads

Abstract The social-psychological approach to inter-organizational relationships is a timely and relevant focus of research in light of the increasing roles of coordination, cooperation and coalignment in strategic marketing channel systems. In this paper, the authors investigate boundary spanning attitudes and behaviors, and they posit social interaction as a salient theoretical underpinning of marketing channel relationships.