Joseph J. Belonax

The Role of Purchase Importance on Buyer Perceptions of the Trust and Expertise Components of Supplier and Salesperson Credibility in Business-To-Business Relationships

The success of business-to-business relationships between sales representatives and buyers depends on many factors. Past literature has indicated that the credibility (trust and expertise) attributed to the sales representative and the sales representative’s firm may significantly affect a number of variables related to this relationship. Little research, however, has been undertaken to determine whether the importance of the purchase decision affects buyer perceptions of the trust and expertise components of credibility. Specifically, the current study investigates whether buyer perceptions of trust and expertise of the salesperson and the company they represent vary by the perceived importance of the purchase decision. Contrary to prevailing thought, the results indicate that buyer perceptions of supplier and salesperson expertise and trust were higher in minimally important purchases than in extremely important purchases.

The Effect of Personal Relationship and Consultative Task Behaviors on Buyer Perceptions of Salesperson Trust, Expertise, and Loyalty

Creating long-lasting business partnerships between buyers and sellers continues to be a major concern of marketing managers and scholars. The effect of salesperson personal relationship and consultative task behaviors on buyer perceptions, however, has not been thoroughly explored. In response, this study investigates the connection between sales behaviors and buyer assessment of salesperson attributes and loyalty. The results support the contention that consultative task and personal relationship behaviors play a vital role in influencing buyer perceptions of expertise, trust, and relationship loyalty.

The Influence of Involvement and Product Class Quality on Consumer Choice Sets

The study findings suggest that the level of response involvement (high versus low) and the variability of product class quality (high versus moderate versus low) influence the size of the consumer’s choice set. By manipulating product class quality the authors show that as the variability in product class quality increases, consumers reduce the number of brands they will consider purchasing (evoked set) and increase the number of brands they won’t consider (inept set). They also use the response involvement variable a priori to categorize the (sample) population. The results indicate that, as the variability in product class quality increases, the high response involvement groups form smaller evoked sets and larger inept sets than the low response involvement groups.

Centralized and decentralized buying influences

Abstract This article empirically measures the effects of organizational separation on industrial buying in the commercial construction industry. It was reasoned that the relationship between organizations and their buying centers should depend on the separations between organizational buying units. Two types of organizational separation were measured— geographic separation and communication separation. Industrial sellers must relate selling effort to buying behavior and procedures. This study reports on how buying influence varies between firms that operate at various levels of organizational separation. The managerial implications of matching the pattern of buying influence with appropriate selling effort is presented.

The Evaluative Uncertainty and Evaluative Importance Dimensions of Perceived Risk

This article looks at the concept of perceived risk from an information processing viewpoint, emphasizing the alternative evaluation state of the choice process. The initial degree of perceived risk that exists for a brand-choice situation within a product class is redefined to include the components of evaluative uncertainty and importance and then tested through an experimental design. The results indicate that perceived risk, as manifested in the form of evaluative uncertainty and importance, tends to increase as the average level of brand quality within a product class decreases and the variability in brand quality increases. These findings suggest that the acquisition of additional brand attribute information may sometimes increase rather than reduce the consumer’s perceived risk, even though such information may result in a more clear differentiation among alternative brands.

An Analysis of Discriminating Criteria as a Consequence of Consumer Involvement With a Financial Service Decision

Although considerable progress has been made by consumer researchers in understanding the role of involvement in decision making, their scope of interest has been confined largely to the study of product and message involvement. In an effort to broaden the scope of interest, this paper focuses on service involvement. An empirical study is presented that identifies which criteria are the most discriminating as a consequence of varying levels of consumer involvement with a financial service decision.

Women’s Role Stereotypes in Magazine ADS: A 25 Year Perspective - from Suburbia through the Feminine Mystique to Liberation

This paper contains a summary and analysis of the findings of a number of scholars concerning the trends in female role stereotype portrayal in magazine advertising over the period from 1958 through 1983. The findings were mixed but tend toward positive change in women’s portrayal.

Is the Marketing Concept Short-Term Oriented?

The marketing concept has been exposed to extensive review and critique. This paper examines the criticism that the marketing concept leads to a short term orientation. It concludes that the concept, if naively interpreted, could lead to short-term orientation. The paper calls for a broader interpretation of the marketing concept such that the concept is made applicable to the entire organizational hierarchy. It also suggest processes which will lead to a longer term orientation.

Demand Characteristics as Determinants of Behavior: An Unconscious Effect

The environmental setting and the willingness to participate in a study may contain within themselves enough Information to unconsciously influence the performance of subjects. Λ 2 × 2 factorial experiment to test these hypotheses is reported. Results support both hypotheses.

Image Variables as Discriminating Factors: a Comparative Study of Credit Unions Versus Banks

Deregulation has created a very competitive financial services industry. Of particular concern to the dominant banking sector has been the growth in the number of credit union members and their economic potential. In an effort to understand this trend, this paper seeks to identify which image factors significantly discriminate bank patrons from credit union members. Factor scores generated by a Principal-axis factor analysis of twenty image variables are used as input into a Multiple Discriminant Analysis. Results indicate that three factors significantly discriminant bank patrons from credit union members.